SEATTLE
Maverick
‘Not in a million years, kid.’
‘NOT INTERESTED.’
‘Get the fuck out of my face!’
Four cities in two
days, and more doors slammed in my face than I can count. I sling my backpack
over my shoulder and scratch another name from my list.
Hopping on to a bus
and hopping off thirty minutes later, I scan the mix of both commercial and
apartment numbers down the block, then knock on my last door.
“Coach Hennesy?”
He’s a tall man, his
hair like pepper, clad in sweats, with a yellow timer hanging from his neck. He
gives me a questioning look.
“I’m your next
champion.”
He laughs, but then
he must see something on my face. In my stance. Thirst, resoluteness, guts.
Maybe I’m wearing my balls in my eyes. He falls sober and swings the door
wide-open. “Come on in.”
He doesn’t ask for my
name.
I guess with one
look, he knows he’ll find my name in the dictionary, right next to
“determined.”
He leads me to his
garage. “Where’d you train before?” he asks.
“Self-taught. I watch
videos.”
He scoffs, then
shrugs. “Okay, let’s see what you’ve got.”
I eye the equipment
across the room. The heavy bag hangs from the ceiling, the leather worn from
other fighters before me. There’s a boxing dummy at the corner. Speed bag.
Weights. A whole private gym set up here. I drop both my bags, then zip open my
backpack and start to put on the gloves without bothering to remove my hoodie.
“Take that off; I
need to know what you’ve got. Need to see your form,” Hennesy says.
I clench my jaw.
Slowly unzip my hoodie. Take it off and glance past my shoulder, shifting to
keep my back from the coach’s view. The guy is clearing the fighting area.
Good. We can get down to business. He walks to me when I face him.
“Give it over.” I
hand him my hoodie and he tosses it aside, then crosses his arms and looks at
me. “Speedball first.”
I inhale, position
myself before the speedball, and hit. Wham.
I keep on hitting,
lightning fast, my fists making the bag fly.
I would have warmed
up first, but I’ve been doing this for days, and I won’t stop until I’ve got
myself a coach—and not even then.
I’ve got momentum
now, and I pick up speed, my arms moving back and forth, working the speed bag
until it’s moving so fast you can’t even see it.
I’m starting to
sweat; it’s stuffy in here, but I can’t stop. I need him to take me on. I need
one yes to get me in the ring. Just one yes and I’ll do the rest.
“Time.” Hennesy stops
me. He signals to the boxing dummy and the heavy bag. “Let’s see you pound the
bag.”
I swing out and slam
my knuckles on the bag, putting everything into my fists. Thack, thump, thud.
Hennesy’s composure
starts to crumble with excitement. “Holy shit, boy!”
I’m getting in to it.
I’m in the zone—where it’s just me, the leather brown bag, my fists, and
nothing else but slamming the spot I’m looking at.
“I’ve seen enough.”
He stops the bag from swinging. His eyes glassy. “Fill this out.”
I pull off my right
glove and grab a pen as he slaps a paper onto a desk at the corner. I bend down
to fill out my name and contact information and realize, too late, that I
exposed the tattoo on my back.
“You’re his boy.”
I freeze
midsignature.
A second ticks by.
Then two.
I slowly set the pen
down and take one last look at the paper. I might not get to fill it out after
all. I turn.
His face has paled.
I wait it out for a
few beats. Maybe he’s different. Maybe he can deal with it.
He tosses my jacket
at me. “Get out. Nobody wants to see you fight.”
I frown fiercely as I
catch my jacket in my fist and edge forward, equally mad now. “That’s too damn
bad. ’Cause I’m fighting anyway.”
I keep my eyes on him
as I pull off my left glove, shove my arms into my hoodie, and zip up.
I walk out and the
door slams behind me. I clench my jaw, and I shove my gloves into my bag and
spot the old, black gloves inside too. I push them down into the bottom of the
duffel bag and zip it up.
The season starts in
a week and a half. No coach? No fight. I can’t even get into a gym.
But I won’t let
anyone or anything keep me from the ring.
I pick up a penny
from the ground.
And I spot a girl in
workout clothes across the street, tying her shoelaces. She’s a step away from
the gym door. I straighten, pull my hoodie over my head, and cross the street,
following after her like I belong.
Meet Maverick “The Avenger” Cage in
Legend, the newest stand alone in the REAL series releasing February 9th!
PRE-ORDER NOW
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1TFo2L4
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1JYmeal
Amazon PB: http://amzn.to/1TFpRrb
iBooks: http://apple.co/1Uxz4Sz
Nook: http://bit.ly/1PdMnGl
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1HDokuT
IndieBound: http://bit.ly/1DkKdgP
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1Jn0sMa
Google Play: http://bit.ly/1HyXaYg
Maverick “the Avenger” Cage wants to
rise to the top and become a legend in the ring. Though he keeps his identity
well guarded, he's known on the fighting circuit as the new kid with a chip on
his shoulder and a tattoo on his back that marks him as trouble. He's got a
personal score to settle with the Underground's one and only Remington
"Riptide" Tate.
As Mav trains, he meets a young
girl—the only other new person in the town--and sparks fly. When things get
heated between them, he finds out she's none other than Reese Dumas, the cousin
of Remington Tate’s wife. A girl who's supposed to root against him and a girl
he's supposed to stay away from.
But Maverick fights for the woman in
his heart, and the monsters in his blood. The world’s eyes are on them and the
victor will go down in history as the ultimate fighting champion; the ultimate
LEGEND.
* LEGEND is the 6th and final
installment of the REAL series, but it can also be read as standalone or after
the three Remington and Brooke books (Real/Mine/Remy.)
Real (Book One) The Real Series
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1CHl6sS
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1w35g8N
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1zT7J31
iBooks: http://bit.ly/1tHrTct
Mine (Book Two) The Real
Series
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1I2nbzy
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1tHrdns
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1zmq1cT
iBooks: http://bit.ly/1yhymBF
Remy (Book Three) The
Real Series
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1vOn8T2
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1w35lcN
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1ynVnBv
iBooks: http://bit.ly/1vlqhom
Rogue (Book Four) The
Real Series
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1vOnjh8
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1FOFfJy
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1wvpqI6
iTunes: http://bit.ly/12xnylU
Ripped (Book Five) The
Real Series
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1Bfzsi
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1yia714
Barnes
& Noble: http://bit.ly/11X9CAG
iBooks:
http://bit.ly/1ynQ9FV
Hey!
I’m Katy Evans and I love family, books, life, and love. I’m married with two
children and three dogs and spend my time baking, walking, writing, reading,
and taking care of my family. Thank you for spending your time with me and
picking up my story. I hope you had an amazing time with it, like I did. If
you’d like to know more about books in progress, look me up on the Internet,
I’d love to hear from you!
Website:
www.katyevans.net
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKatyEvans
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/authorkatyevans
Email:
authorkatyevans@gmail.com
0 komentarze:
Post a Comment