Free UNBROKEN: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (Midwest Alphas) (Book 2) by Tabatha Kiss

idea how difficult it is to wrangle a three-figure crowd on your own?”
    I laugh and continue greeting the incoming patrons. Their faces begin to blend together, a mixture of new and old as they all pile inside to fill the arena. A few regulars notice Tobias near the door and excitedly ask him if he’s fighting tonight. He holds up his hands and tells them no. I laugh, realizing that the Untouchable has more fans than I once thought.
    “Hello, Claire.”
    I blink repeatedly as his face comes into view. For months, I’ve seen him here and there, but his likeness has always faded away into nothing. Not this time. He reaches out and places money in my hand with a smile on his face.
    “Rick…” I say his name as my tongue swells in my mouth. “What…”
    “You look nice,” he says, looking me up and down. “Being a Dame really suits you…”
    My eyes fall over his shoulder towards Tobias by the door. “What are you doing here?” I ask him, stalling, willing for Tobias to notice.
    Rick holds up his hands in surrender. “I’m not here to cause trouble,” he says, shaking his head. “I’m just here to fight.”
    “To fight ?” I repeat.
    His eyebrows bounce as he walks away from me, aiming towards the back of the arena. I stand frozen in my shoes and watch as Lillian throws her arms around his shoulder and kisses his cheek.
    “No…” I say out loud.
    “Claire, what is it?” Tobias stands over my shoulder and follows my line of sight until he sees Rick with Lillian. “What the hell is he doing here?”
    “He’s fighting in the tournament,” I mutter, still too stunned to move. “Amy—!” I call her name and she steps closer to us.
    “What’s up?” she asks.
    “Did you know about this?” I ask her.
    “Know about what?” She looks in his direction and watches as Lillian leads him towards the locker room in the back hallway. “Is that…?”
    “Rick, my stepbrother,” I say.
    “I thought he was in Chicago…?” she questions.
    “He’s supposed to be,” Tobias growls.
    “He moved to St. Louis a few months ago,” I say, my tongue moving too fast for me to stop it.
    “He what?” Tobias asks with flames in his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    “I just found out a few days ago—”
    “Why didn’t you tell me, Claire?” he asks again.
    “It didn’t seem important,” I say, stumbling over my words. “My mother told me he moved for a job, but I never thought it would be something like this…”
    Tobias takes wide strides in Rick’s direction, quickly leaving us behind at the door. I push forward, but he moves too fast for me to reach him. Amy passes the jar off to the other girls, barking orders to keep it safe while she fights through the crowd to catch up with me. “Tobias!” I call his name, following far behind his quick movement.
    He bursts into the locker room, where fighters from each district have gathered around Lillian, practically worshiping at her feet.
    “Let’s have some good, clean fights, gentlemen,” she says. “Remember, we are not animals. Blood is not encouraged — although, it’s not frowned upon either.”
    They chuckle at her joke. Tobias finds Rick in the back and grabs his arm.
    “Tobias, stop—!” I shout.
    He doesn’t listen. He forces Rick against the wall, pressing his forearm hard against his neck to hold him there. I step closer to stop him, but Amy stops me, her eyes falling on Lillian as her thick heels tap loudly against the hard linoleum floor.
    “Tobias, I assume you have a good reason for pinning my fighter against a wall?” she says with a calm, but forceful, tone. She folds her arms across her round breasts and stares up at him.
    Tobias’ eyes never leave Rick’s face. “He tried to kill me,” he says.
    Lillian raises an eyebrow. “Is this true?” she asks Rick.
    Rick smirks. “I have no idea what he’s talking about, ma’am.”
    “Tobias, release him,” she says. He doesn’t budge. “Release