UNDYING: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (Midwest Alphas) (Book 3) by Tabatha Kiss Page B

She sits up in bed with bright eyes and kicks her blanket away; forever the morning person.
    “Mom, I have to go. I just wanted to hear from you that you were okay…”
    “Oh, I’ve got bodyguards and guns,” she jokes. “Mommy’s gonna be just fine.”
    “That’s good…” I smile.
    “I know it’s hard, honey,” she says, “but at least you’re with Tobias now, right?”
    “Yeah,” I mutter, feeling the sharp stab to my heart. “At least I’m with Tobias.”
     
    ***
     
    I push the curtains apart and peek out into the bright, winter wonderland outside. Our hotel room is on the tenth floor, giving me a pretty good view of the city completely obscured by a blanket of snow and ice. I’d give anything to be a child again and have a chance to actually enjoy it. Out of school. No responsibilities. Just me in a huge coat and gloves, making snow angels and throwing snowballs at friends until my mother pokes her head out to tell me to come back inside for hot cocoa and Charlie Brown specials.
    The bathroom door opens and Amy steps out, perfectly clothed and dolled up, along with a subtle cloud of her body spray. She brushes a hand through her freshly-curled locks and stares at me in my pajamas. “Not coming again today?” she asks.
    I shake my head.
    “Well,” she sighs, “you know what I have to say about that.”
    “The same thing you said yesterday?”
    “Yep.”
    “Tobias doesn’t need me bothering him right now,” I mutter. I close the curtain and fall back onto the bed.
    “And Ryan hates me. Doesn’t stop me from doing my job.”
    “Which is?”
    She sighs. “Running an illegal underground MMA tournament.”
    “Well, if you’re lucky, you won’t have to run it for much longer…”
    I twitch as her petite form suddenly appears over my head. She stares down at me with firm, angry eyes, a startling counter to the pink eyeshadow brushed along her lids. “Ten more minutes,” she says, her hands straddling my shoulders.
    “What?”
    “I’m going to give you ten more minutes of this crap. Then , I want you up , I want you showered , dressed , and smiling , because you’re coming back to work with me today.”
    “Amy—”
    “Lillian would have never allowed this and neither will I,” she continues. “Claire Holloway can mourn her life all she wants. Claire the Alpha Dame has shit to do.” She pushes off and stands back up. “You want the Alphas to win this thing or not?”
    “Yes, I do—”
    “Then get off your ass and help.”
    “What can I do?” I ask, propping myself up onto my elbows.
    “Strap on your wings, little birdie,” she says. “Our men need us.”
    “For what ?”
    She shrugs. “I don’t know. I just know Pike made me promise to quote get her ass over here today unquote.”
    “You’re doing that quote unquote thing a lot…”
    “Don’t change the subject.”
    I sigh and kick off my blanket. “Fine.”
    “That’s my girl.”
     
    ***
     
    I step into the gym and stomp my shoes against the floor to knock the snow off my heels. When I look up, I notice Tobias glancing in my direction from inside the ring. His eyes quickly turn away as I slide my coat off my shoulders, focusing on Ryan as he throws a punch towards his jaw. I flinch, almost feeling the pain on my own face, but Tobias dodges the blow with ease.
    “You’re not leaving this ring until one of those punches connects, Ryan,” Pike shouts.
    “He’s too fast…” Ryan says, nearly out of breath.
    “Then be faster.” Pike peers down at me and wipes a line of sweat from bleeding down into his eyes. “Tobias, if he hits you, you run laps around the building.” He hops down from the ring and steps over to me.
    “Who exactly are you rooting for up there?” I ask him, confused.
    “Come with me,” he says without breaking his stride towards the back. “Amy, keep them moving.”
    “Okay!” she shouts back.
    Once again, I catch Tobias looking in my direction from the corner of his eye before