Changing the Game (The Breaking Series Book 2) Read online

  Changing the Game

  The Breaking Series #2

  Ember Leigh

  Changing The Game © 2018 by Ember Leigh

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a piece of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

  This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Published by Ember Leigh, 2018

  [email protected]

  Cover art: Covers by Combs

  Editing: Elisabeth R. Nelson

  Contents

  Changing The Game

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Author Note

  NEXT IN THE BREAKING SERIES…

  Stay connected with Ember Leigh!

  Other Books By Ember Leigh

  Breaking The Rules

  A New York Minute

  The Last Resort

  Carlos & Casey

  When In Rome

  Turkish Delight

  Changing The Game

  Lex is no longer a halfcocked hellion.

  But the darkness is still inside him. He’s always known Lila was the one for him, but when that darkness led him down back alleys to drugs, dosing, and illegal fights, she did the only sane thing: walked out. Five years later, fate brings Lila back into his life. Lex is ready to prove he’s not the same guy—he’s clean, sober, successful. The darkness is little more than a memory. He thinks.

  Lila just wants to play it safe.

  Years after her tumultuous ex, Lila should want vanilla, but her heart craves the intensity Lexington Olivo brings. There’s never been anyone who can light her up like he does. When Lex wants a second chance, she can’t say no. But she can’t say yes, either.

  Secrets from their past could ruin everything.

  Because if Lila lets Lex in, it’s not just her at risk. Lex can’t be trusted until she’s sure he’s a changed man. One who’s far away from the underground.

  While he’s busy proving himself, Lex’s past comes pounding on his door. The gang he used to fight for wants him back. And this time, they won’t take no for an answer.

  Chapter 1

  “Is the celebrity ready?”

  Lex cackled, snapping a towel against Travis’s bare back. The makeup artist brushed a final coat of glistening powder on Lex’s chest, something they’d told him would accentuate his pecs and abs. It was standard protocol to get screen-ready, one of the many steps to filming a video he hadn’t known about until a couple months prior. Luckily the stuff didn’t sweat or punch off—not that many of their opponents could land a fist on him or Travis.

  The video series Regular People Fighting UFC Champs had ballooned overnight. This was their fifth filmed episode, and the last in the newly launched series he, Travis, and Amara had cooked up. Once this last session wrapped, only days remained before the premier episode went live.

  And once it did? Lex was ready for anything that came his way. Including super stardom; rabid, half-naked fans; or at least a solid protein-drink promotional deal. Like every other person in LA hoping for their fifteen minutes of fame.

  “Readier than ever.” Travis glanced at his phone one last time, then grabbed for a pair of gloves on the desktop.

  Lex, distracted by the glisten of his own chest, pulled on his own pair. The powder stuff worked. And it looked pretty damn good on camera, too.

  “Who’s on deck today?” He tugged up his shorts a bit, leading the way out of the staff room. They’d been using the bright, spacious MMA training camp in the back of Holt Body Fitness to film these sessions. Volunteers who wanted to take a crack at beating up a UFC champ were invited into the space, then given the necessary equipment and a brief training, before they filmed the hilarious results.

  As he emerged from the staff hallway, Travis in tow, curious eyes found them, lured by the tan chests and bare skin. Blonde ponytails tugged at his attention as he strutted by. God, he had a soft spot for blondes. One of the many perks of working at the gym: beautiful women, all of the time.

  Plenty of doe eyes following his trail, waiting for him to make a move. Holt’s gym attracted a certain caliber too: models, celebrities, and the upper crust of attractive regular people. There was never a shortage of eye candy in this place.

  He headed down the gleaming white hallway toward the back of the gym. As they neared the MMA camp, murmurs grew into clear voices. The back gym sprawled before them, bright and open, the octagon at center stage, cameras lining the perimeter. Temporary stage lights dotted the sidelines, and the camera crew conferred in small clusters of people as they readied the shoot.

  It took a lot of people to produce a fifteen-minute video. In the mix of strange faces, he couldn’t tell who the opponent of the day might be. Amara emerged from the sidelines, beaming at them, her dark eyes focused on Travis in a way which made Lex’s chest tighten.

  He’d had somebody who looked at him like that, a long time ago. And damned if he didn’t miss it sometimes. It’d been five years since he last laid eyes on the only woman he’d ever loved. Travis and Amara brought up memories from that time more often than he liked to admit.

  And if he was honest with himself, it was the one thing missing. Not just love…but her. His ex. The woman he still tried not to think about too much because he knew people like him didn’t get second chances. He’d already used up all his Get Out Of Jail Free cards by meeting Travis, getting clean, hitting the UFC circuit, and then coming to Travis’s gym. There weren’t any ace cards left in his deck.

  “There you guys are.” Amara hugged Travis, then knocked Lex’s shoulder. “We’re all ready.”

  “What do you mean ‘we’?” Lex lifted a brow. “Am I fighting a group?”

  “We’re fighting someone Amara knows today,” Travis said. “Someone’s boyfriend?”

  “His name is Mason,” Amara clarified. “He’s a police officer, and one of the liaisons at a hospital linked up with the shelter. Really nice guy, so don’t kill him, please.”

  “Sweet, a cop.” Lex stretched his arms over his head, a sly grin overtaking his face. “If I let him get a punch on me, maybe he’ll cut me a break on my speeding tickets.”

  Travis smirked. “Like anyone gets speeding tickets in LA.”

  “Fine. He can shoot me once, but I never have to pay a parking ticket again.”