Fight It Out Series Box Set

by T M Kelly

“I may be safe here, but is it fair to keep me in this house forever?”

  He lifted his head. “No, and I know you’re doing the right thing.”

  “If you all catch him tonight, I can restart my life outside of these four walls.” I rested my arm on the table. “Do you know how much I miss going to the grocery store?” The thought made me laugh. “Which is silly, I know. And what I wouldn’t give to take a random trip to a craft store and buy way too many things.” He had this look I struggled to read. “What? It’s the simple things in life, right?”

  “Craft store.” He chuckled. “What are you itching to make?”

  “Draw,” I quickly corrected. “All the different pens and pencils have me there for hours. There are way too many to choose from.”

  “I had no idea.”

  “There’s a lot you don’t know about me. Ray was never interested.”

  “You weren’t allowed to express yourself with art?”

  “He wanted me to focus on the house and his meals.”

  “When’s the last time you drew something?”

  I sat back in the chair. “Wow, it’s been years. I did secretly doodle on small scraps of paper, but I quickly threw them away.”

  “There had to be a way you could’ve hid them?”

  “Maybe, but it was just easier to avoid creating a conflict. He could get riled up at the simplest thing.”

  “Finish this fight tonight and I will make sure you have all the pens you ever wanted.”

  “I finish this fight tonight, I want to start thinking about more training.”

  “No rest for the wicked, eh?”

  There was a light knock at the back door. Malik made his way over to answer it. “Good morning.” He stepped back to let Journey and Lincoln inside. “You ready for tonight?”

  “One more agent will be here in about an hour. Then we’re all set.” Journey leaned against the kitchen island.

  I sat there and listened as they talked about what would happen, and where everyone would be positioned during the fight. My mind veered off in a different direction. This would be my first time fighting in front of a crowd of people. The thought was almost crippling. Then Ray’s face flashed through my thoughts. I knew I had the skills to win the fight. After several hours training with Charlie, Lily, and Malik, I was ready to show Spartacus they needed to add me to their lineup.

  “Jenny.” Malik touched my forearm.

  “Yeah?” I shook my head of the thoughts.

  “Journey will drive you to the fight tonight.”

  “Okay. I need to head out in two hours.” I stood to leave the room. “Let me enjoy this fight tonight. I know you all have this plan, but I want to enjoy the feeling of being in the octagon.” Charlie had spent several hours describing the emotions for the lead-up to a fight, during the match, and how you felt after. I wanted to experience it all. There was no way I planned to let Ray take everything away from me.

  “Sit here,” Malik said as he started to wrap the tape around my hands. “This is going to sound crazy but hear me out.” He placed my hand in between his. “I know we have everyone and his brother prepared to stomp on Ray if he surfaces. Ignore it all. When you step into that octagon, just let it all go.”

  “Let it go?” That seemed easier said than done.

  “Yeah. Take the time to enjoy every aspect of the fight.” He continued to tape up my hand. “You don’t get a first fight ever again, so don’t let us take that away from you.” It’s funny how he was saying the same thing Charlie had just mentioned.

  “Are you saying, pretend everything with my husband is not happening? That may be hard to do.”

  “Do whatever to get you to the space in your mind where you can enjoy the fight. That process is different for everyone.”

  He finished with the tape and I tapped my fists together. My chest felt like two cinder blocks were resting on it all day. I was nervous and excited.

  A memory of Ray coming home angry surfaced. The day had started off perfect. He seemed happy when he left for work. I had made cookies with Anora. Things were good. Then he stepped through the door in the evening and I knew immediately something was wrong. When he started to hit me, I used a vision from my childhood to help carry me through the pain.

  My childhood vision would need to be my happy place tonight.

  “Knock, Knock,” Charlie and Lily said in unison as they stepped into the locker room.

  “You need your hair tied up.” Charlie held up a few hair ties.

  I touched my hand to my head. “I didn’t even think about that. Do we have enough time?” The fight was fast approaching and we were about to braid my long hair.

  “I plan to help Charlie,” Lily said and squeezed my shoulder. “We’ll have it done in no time.”

  “Is the crowd huge out there?” I was trying not to panic but with each passing minute, I was struggling to avoid the emotion.

  “Open fight night is always crazy.” Lily handed me the brush to hold. “You’ll be fine.”

  “Totally fine. Use your freak-out emotion to help push you along in the fight.”

  “My freak-out emotion?” I tried not to laugh but failed. “Is that a new technical term?”

  “Charlie creates a lot of technical terms,” Lily said.

  “You like all my terms. Don’t try to deny it.” Charlie bent down to my ear. “She has some good ones, too.”

  They were becoming the perfect distraction at the moment.

  A light knock sounded at the door. “Yeah, come in,” I yelled.

  “Thirty minutes,” a young woman with short red hair said as she peeked her head around the door. “We need you out here in twenty-five.”

  “Thank you.” I nodded and felt the top of my head. “Are you almost done?”

  “I’m on the last braid,” Charlie said. “And…done.” She bent down to be eye level with me. “Take your mind away from everything else tonight. We’ll take care of protecting you. Just get out there and kick some ass.”

  “Spartacus would be lucky to have you.” Lily bent down and placed her hand on mine. “I see the passion in your eyes. Ray may have led you here, but what you’re working toward is all you.” She squeezed my hand. “Don’t let him win. That’s your job.”

  I stood up and tugged them both close. “I don’t know what I would do without you two.”

  “Be really fucking bored.” Charlie stepped back. “Well, maybe not.”

  “Yeah.” Lily glanced over toward Malik who was in what looked like a heated conversation with Julian. “He took care of the bored issue.”

  I shoved at them both. “Oh my word, shush.” Malik stepped up beside us. “Were your ears ringing?”

  “What?” He glanced at all three of us and let out a heavy sigh. “What did I do now?”

  “Just looking sexy like you always do.” Charlie kissed me on the cheek. “We’ll be on the sidelines cheering for you. Focus on the fight. We’ll take care of the rest.”

  I watched as Charlie and Lily left the room. “I’m really going to do this.” Regret was creeping up. “Did I make the right choice, Malik?”

  He placed his hands on my shoulders. “I don’t know.” He pulled me close. “What I do know. There are several people out there right now prepared to protect you. We won’t let anything happen to you, Jenny.”

  I knew he couldn’t guarantee my safety. No one could.

  23

  “Let’s do this,” I said and stepped out into the hallway. There were so many people taking up the small space it was hard to focus. If Ray was here right now, I would have no clue because it was that packed. I reached for Malik’s hand. “I’m doubting myself.”

  “We can’t stop now.” He wrapped his arm around my waist. “Just stay close to me.”

  It took a little bit of time weaving around everyone. The hallway heading to the arena was long and narrow. The woman with red hair who gave us the time cue was standing at the entrance to the arena. “Jenny.” She reached out her han
d. “There will be a camera following you toward the octagon. Just use that as your guide.”

  “A camera?” Then I remembered it was a live televised fight. “Oh, right, okay.”

  She pulled back the curtain and Malik placed his hand on the small of my back. “You take the lead, Lioness.”

  I glanced up and smiled at how he called me by my new nickname. Then I took one step forward and placed my body in the entrance to the arena. Suddenly the crowd went crazy. I looked at Malik again. “That can’t be for me?”

  “It is, baby.”

  The thoughts of Ray left my mind. The roar of the crowd switched something in my mind. I felt the excitement in every part of my body. The anvil that sat on my chest all day from nerves quickly disappeared. In its place was excitement. I felt my body shake and I started to jump up and down. Without thinking, I raised my arms high up in the air and started to follow the camera toward the octagon.

  Who was I? This was not me. Or maybe it was and now I could finally let this side of me free.

  “Take your shirt, pants, and shoes off before getting checked by the refs,” Malik said close to my ear.

  I took a second and glanced around the arena. Everyone was raising their arms and yelling. It was hard to look for one particular person, but I tried. On my first glance, I couldn’t see Ray anywhere in the audience. I lifted my shirt and tossed it to Malik. Then I bent to slide my shoes off and drop my pants to the floor. Malik picked them up. “Thank you,” I said and placed my hand on his shoulder. Then I took a moment to adjust my spandex tank top and shorts.

  “Just let them look you over, then you’re set free,” Malik said.

  I inhaled deeply and prepared myself for the next big moment. Then I threw my hands out to the side and let the refs check under my braid, around the waist band of my pants, and under my arms. Malik handed me my mouthpiece, and the refs placed Vaseline on my eyebrows and under my eyes. Before I could go up the steps, they looked at my gloves and tape job. I pounded my fists together and quickly walked up the steps. Before I stepped into the octagon, I took another look around the arena trying to find Ray amongst the hundreds of people screaming and yelling.

  Finally, I stepped onto the mat and quickly walked over to one side. It was time to focus. I had to let Ray go for now. There were too many people scattered around. Trying to locate my husband if he made an appearance was too much. I hopped up and down to warm my body up.

  Two days ago, I had been notified that I would be fighting Cherry Sadler. I had to go to Spartacus and weigh myself before the fight. That was an adventure. I wasn’t supposed to leave the guest house, but weigh-in was mandatory. It took four vehicles and switching out between each SUV in a dark undisclosed location. Spartacus had called twenty-four hours later and let me know that Cherry and I were the same weight. Malik had let me know I was in the bantamweight class because I was one hundred and twenty-seven pounds.

  This whole night was about getting that first shot and having your name added to a fight card. Upon further research, Malik found videos on the Internet that showed Cherry practicing. She was brutal and when she had the opportunity there was no forgiveness.

  I felt nervous and confident. If that was possible to feel both emotions.

  Cherry was running from side to side and yelling shit in my direction. “Don’t listen to her, Jenny,” Charlie yelled from behind me.

  “She’s just trying to psych you out. Ignore her,” Lily screamed.

  I stepped side to side and threw a few punches out in front of me. It was time to focus on something else. There was no way I would let Cherry get into my head.

  The referee called us forward and we tapped fists. Then I stepped back and waited for the bell to ring. We had three rounds at three minutes each. Before the loud sound of the bell dinged, I glanced around one more time. There was a man in a hoodie standing by an entrance to the lower level seating. I looked back at Malik who was going to be my corner for the fight. “The guy in the hoodie at the entrance in the three o’clock direction.” His smile fell and he stepped back. Before I could say another word, the bell rang to start the first round.

  I moved forward and followed Cherry’s movements as we edged closer to each other. It took a few laps of circling each other around the octagon before Cherry finally lunged forward and threw the first punch. Her fist grazed past my cheek and then she attempted to strike a second time. This time she managed to make contact with the side of my head. I jumped back to avoid another blow.

  “Come on,” Cherry said around her mouthpiece. “Did you come here to fight or show off that cute figure?”

  I moved my shoulders up and down and thought about the perfect move to attempt. “What did we discuss the other day?” Lily yelled from beside me.

  Her words made me realize I needed to find a way to get behind Cherry. Without thinking I stepped forward quickly and dropped my body to grab her around her waist. My intent was to take her down to the mat. Unfortunately, she was ready for that move. When she moved to the side to avoid my takedown, my body plowed into the fence and I fell to the mat.

  Cherry didn’t wait. She was behind me and laying one punch after another against my head. I lifted my head and noticed the man in the hoodie standing at a different entrance.

  “Jenny,” Malik yelled. “Get up. Don’t let her take you down this way.”

  “Yeah, Jenny,” Cherry said beside my ear.

  I lifted my body up without using the fence for support. Cherry was directly next to me. I spun in a half circle and threw my forearm against the side of her face. My opponent stumbled back but never fell from the blow. I quickly ran toward her and threw a few more punches against her head.

  “That’s it, Jenny,” Charlie yelled. “No mercy.”

  Cherry laughed and dropped her body down to plow into me. I fell onto my back and wrapped my legs around her waist. There was a way out of this, but she was powerful, and I wasn’t ready for her strength.

  Right as I was trying to inch to the side and move my head under her arm, the bell rang for the end of the round. “Saved by the bell,” Cherry said and pushed off my body to stand up.

  I hopped up and walked over to the small stool next to Malik. “Well, that was shit.”

  “You look amazing for a first-time fighter.” He wiped the sweat off my face and chest. “She’s going to continue talking smack. Use it to drive you to the end result.”

  Charlie placed a bag of ice on my chest and back. “It’s true, opponents love to find ways to throw us off. We just have to find a way to not let that happen.”

  Malik rubbed more Vaseline above my eyebrows. “When that bell rings don’t wait, just jump forward. Take her down before she has a chance to prepare for your move.”

  “Okay.” I stood up and took a small drink of water.

  “Get it.” Malik grabbed the stool and stepped away.

  I stood there waiting again for the bell and glanced toward the two entrances. Both men in hoodies stood there with their arms crossed leaning against the concrete wall. Wait, two men in hoodies. So it couldn’t be Ray, but why were two figures in exactly the same clothes and in the same position?

  “Focus, Jenny,” Malik barked. “We have the rest.”

  The bell rang starting the second round. I did exactly what Malik instructed and lunged forward, ready to throw my first punch. Cherry laughed and stepped away again. Her move pissed me off. I turned on my heel and jumped forward. This time my opponent was unable to move away. I wrapped my arms around her waist and used all my strength to pull her down. Then my eyes caught sight of three men in hoodies standing behind the announcers. The middle guy was looking in my direction and pulled his hood back a few inches. It was Ray. The smirk he had plastered on his face was enough to cause me to forget what I was doing. Cherry knew I was not paying attention and used that moment to throw me onto my back and start throwing one punch after another against my face.

  I glanced in the direction where Ray was standing. The three men
were gone. Was I dreaming?

  “Get out of there, Jenny,” Malik was screaming over and over.

  I lifted my arms to shield my face. Cherry had her body lying over me and was holding me down perfectly. I didn’t know how to get out of this mess.

  “You ready to give up?” Cherry said from beside my ear.

  I was tired of giving up. It was easier to let go but what if I fought back? Something came over me, and I used all my strength to move my body out from underneath Cherry. Then I hopped up quickly and jumped onto her back.

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” Lily screamed.

  I wrapped my arm under Cherry’s left arm and looped it all the way around her neck. I was in the perfect set up for an armbar. Maybe I had more strength than I gave myself credit. Cherry dropped to her knees on the mat and bent her body forward. I continued to hold on tight to Cherry’s arm. If I let go, she would have the ability to twist around quickly and put me in the same hold.

  “You know what to do,” Lily said.

  I did know what to do. With all the strength left in my body, I held on tightly and stayed close as she fell to the floor. Cherry’s arm was flush to the side of her head and straight out in front of her. My hold tightened and I heard a pop. I could tell by how her arm was shaking in my grasp that she was losing control.

  “What’s next?” Lily yelled.

  I tightened my hold even more. The moment I pulled her arm closer to her body, Cherry tapped her hand twice on the mat. The referee jumped forward and separated us. I stood up and glanced around. Did I just win that fight?

  “You did it.” Malik ran into the octagon and wrapped his arms around my waist. My body was quickly raised up over his head as he walked around the octagon. I’d just won. Holy shit. I threw my arms up in the air and screamed my excitement.

  Cherry was sitting on the stool being looked over by the doctor. I tapped Malik on the shoulder to be let down and made my way over to check on Cherry.

  “Good move.” Cherry pulled me down closer and hugged me quickly.