UNDYING: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (Midwest Alphas) (Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

were.”
    Her eyes grow wide. “Are you back for good? Please tell me you are, because I miss you like crazy. ”
    I chuckle and my eyes fall on Tobias across the room. He stands near the front door with his arms crossed and his head down, although it’s obvious his ears are laser-focused on us. “We’ll see,” I answer.
    Ryan takes a closer step in and extends his hand. “Good to see you, Claire,” he says. I offer my palm and he gives it a delicate shake. “And she’s not lying about that last part. She’s been miserable without you.”
    I look at her and smile as she nods her head up and down. “I missed her, too,” I say as I pull her back in for another hug. I gaze over her shoulder at Tobias and we lock eyes. It would have been nice if our reunion went like this one, but Tobias is determined to make this as horrible as possible for some reason.
    Pike travels in from the kitchen and sits down near the coffee table. “Now that Amy has decided to show up, we can get started,” he mutters with bite towards her. “As you all have heard; Lillian Tombs is dead.”
    It’s sudden and blunt, but that’s Pike for you. I look around the living room at the other Dames. Each of them sit on the brink of tears, especially Veronica. She stands up from her seat next to Pike as soon as the words fall off his lips. Kimi and Lisa sit on the couch together, wrapped together under a blanket to fight the cold. Ryan towers above Amy with his arm draped around her. Heather, for obvious reasons, was not invited tonight. And then there’s Charlie, the watchful guardian leaning against the kitchen doorway. My entire life is in this room, with the obvious exception of my mother. Rick knows that and he’ll surely use them to get to me.
    Veronica paces in front of the fireplace, drawing her long, white coat tighter around her. “And we’re sure it was the Kings?”
    “The cops are keeping the details quiet,” Pike says, “but I’ve got friends in low places.”
    “How did she die?”
    I cringe.
    He clears his throat. “She was stabbed — in the back.” A tear falls from Veronica’s cheek, but she quickly wipes it away. “But that’s not the worst thing…”
    “What else could there possibly be?” Amy asks.
    “Well… during their search of the club, they easily stumbled upon a rather odd-looking venue…”
    “They found the arena,” I say.
    “Along with every record Lillian kept on every single fight in Midwest Alpha history.”
    “So, that means they know who we are.” Amy says, her voice shaking.
    Pike shakes his head. “No,” he answers. “Lillian had the foresight not to include names, just code words that only she knew the meaning of, but we can safely assume all arenas have been outed — so stay away from them. The cops on her payroll won’t help us none. They’d just deny they knew anything and we have no way of proving otherwise.”
    “Did she have family?” The tiny voice squeaks out from under the blanket and Lisa clears her dry throat. “I mean… is someone handling her funeral?”
    I turn to Pike, probably the only person in this room that knew her well enough to answer that question.
    “No,” he says. “She didn’t have any family.”
    “I’ll do it,” Charlie says.
    Pike looks at him, but quickly turns away. “All right,” he says.
    Silence falls on the room. There’s a single deduction to be made here, but none of us want to say it out loud. It pains me to think of it, as I credit the existence of the Midwest Alphas and the Dames as giving my life a fresh purpose. Nothing last forever, I suppose.
    “So, that’s it then…” Veronica drops her hands to her sides. “The Alphas are done.”
    Pike holds up a finger. “I wouldn’t go that far just yet…”
    “Seems pretty cut and dry to me,” she argues.
    “Then you obviously never gave a shit about the Alphas in the first place,” he says, his narrow eyes locked on her face.
    “Lillian’s dead. The arenas are gone. No