Fight Like A Girl (Part One)

by Dawn Pendleton

  Is he serious? “Just tell me.”

  “Promise me.”

  I sighed. “Fine. I promise I won’t freak out.”

  “Good. And don’t interrupt. After you told me about being attacked, I started looking into whether or not there was a hit out on you.”

  “Like mafia?”

  “Yes, and don’t interrupt again. There wasn’t, though, which made me wonder why the hell someone wouldn’t want you to fight, so I dug deeper. There wasn’t any information to be found, so I snuck into your opponent’s house. Her father is kind of a big shot in the mixed martial arts arena, so I thought maybe he was trying to buy his daughter’s success. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any evidence of trying to take you out.” He paused.

  “Why is that unfortunate?”

  He gulped. “Because he found me snooping through his garage and pulled a gun on me. I barely escaped, but at least he didn’t see my face. So now he’s suspicious, which is why I didn’t want to go to the hospital.”

  “So what now?” I asked.

  He blew out a breath. “I’m not sure. Since he didn’t see me, I think we’re safe, but we need to hide my injury from everyone. You didn’t tell anyone at the gym, right? So no one knows what happened to me?”

  “Umm, well no one at the gym knows, but Wynter was here.”

  He squeezed his eyes shut. “What did you tell her?”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Everything.”

  “Dammit, Max! I told you not to tell anyone,” he scolded me.

  I stared at my hands. “I was worried about you, and she just showed up. She’s pretty persistent when she wants to be. I knew she wasn’t going to just go away. I did what I had to do.”

  “Well, now we need to make up a lie to tell her,” he suggested.

  I shook my head. “I won’t lie to Wyn.”

  “You don’t have a choice. This is my secret, and I don’t want everyone knowing.”

  “No, it’s not just your secret. It’s mine, too. And I trust Wynter more than I trust you,” I added before I thought better of it.

  “Are you kidding me?” He asked, his brows drawing together. “I took a bullet for you and you don’t trust me?”

  I laughed. “You didn’t take a bullet for me. You took a bullet because you’re an idiot who got caught snooping around my competition. I’m not some weak-willed woman who needs you to save her, Kingston. I can take care of myself.”

  He seemed to weigh my words for a minute before he spoke again. “I guess you’re right. We’ll just be trainer and fighter.”

  “After my first fight, I think it’ll be a good idea if you and I don’t work together anymore,” I told him. I’d been thinking it since the beginning, but I didn’t understand why my heart felt heavier as I said it.

  “Right.” He shakily stood up and made his way toward the front door. “Take care of yourself, kid.”

  Nine

  I didn’t hear from Kingston all the next day. I didn’t go to the gym, though, which I figured would irritate him. When I didn’t hear from him by ten, I called Freddie.

  “Hi Freddie, it’s Max. Is Kingston in?” I asked. I called the gym line and not Kingston’s cell. I didn’t want him to know I was checking up on him.

  “No, he’s not, but he called here not ten minutes ago looking for you. Don’t you two have cell phones?” the older man asked, obviously not impressed with either of us.

  “Yeah, sorry about that. I’ll call him directly,” I lied.

  “Are you okay, Max? I know you’ve been going through a lot lately, and I want you to know I’m here if you ever need anything.”

  I smiled into the phone. “Thanks, Freddie. I appreciate that. But I’m fine, I promise. I’ll talk to you after my fight.”

  The fight was in thirty-six hours, and I still had to get to Connecticut. Boston occasionally hosted fights, but generally, I was going to have to travel to get to my fights. It was fine with me, seeing as I loved to travel. Wynter agreed to drive me to my first fight, though I wasn’t even sure if she still would, given how disappointed she was in me.

  My relationship with Kingston, if it could even be called that, frustrated her. She wanted me away from him, but there was something about him that drew me in. I had no idea what it was, but I wouldn’t walk away without finding out. Of course, he basically said goodbye the night before and walked out of my life, so who knew if I’d even see him again.

  Wynter showed up at noon.

  “You all ready to go? I was thinking we could hit up Foxwoods tonight!” She was far too excited for a casino.

  I didn’t gamble much, but I figured I could just socialize. “Sure,” I agreed.

  I grabbed my duffel and Wyn carried my gym bag and we walked together down to the car. Once we were on our way, I decided to bite the bullet and send King a text.

  Wynter and I are on our way to Foxwoods. Thanks for training me.

  Simple and to the point. I didn’t mention that I missed him, which I didn’t. Yeah, right.

  My phone rang almost immediately. The caller id showed Kingston’s name.

  “Hello?”

  “Don’t leave yet. I need a ride,” he explained.

  “Wyn, pull over. Kingston wants to ride with us,” I said to my friend, who rolled her eyes but dutifully pulled over.

  “Where are you?” I said into the phone.

  A heavy sigh filled my ear. “Meet me at the gym in ten minutes.” He hung up.

  Irritation didn’t even begin to cover how I felt, but I directed Wynter to the gym and decided to let Kingston have an earful when I saw him.

  When we pulled up to the gym, Kingston and his friend Caleb were waiting outside.

  Wynter freaked out. “No fucking way. He’s not coming, Max.”

  “Will you relax? If nothing happened between you two, it’s not a big deal, right?” I gave her a pointed look.

  “Right,” she mumbled. She popped the trunk as she pulled over to let them in.

  With their bags secured in the back of Wynter’s car, Kingston and Caleb jumped in the back seat.

  “Hey girls,” Caleb greeted us.

  “Hi Caleb,” I replied, eyeing Kingston, who was unusually quiet.

  “Thanks for the ride. I’m fighting tomorrow, too, and I don’t have a car.”

  Wynter rolled her eyes as she put the car in drive. “You could have taken the train.”

  Kingston laughed. “She’s got a point.”

  “Shut up, King. You’re the one who insisted we ride with them so you could keep an eye on your girl,” Caleb stated.

  “Fuck you, Caleb.”

  I bit back a laugh. At least I knew Kingston was having just as hard a time staying away from me as I was from him.

  “I have some ground rules,” Wynter announced.

  “Oh, great.” Caleb shifted in his seat.

  “I’m in charge of the music and when we stop,” she said, ignoring Caleb altogether. “And that means whatever I say goes. Tonight, we’re relaxing and not practicing fighting, or whatever.”

  Caleb looked at Kingston. “Practicing fighting?” His eyes met mine. “How are you two friends when she knows nothing about this world?”

  I laughed. “We don’t talk about fighting. She keeps me grounded and well-rounded.”

  “Or keeps you distracted,” Kingston muttered from behind me.

  I turned to glare at him. There were so many things I wanted to say to him, but I decided to wait until I got him alone.

  * * * * *

  Foxwoods was gigantic. I felt lost almost immediately, but Wynter acted like she owned the place, so we all followed her through the hotel to check-in. Despite its massive size, I felt like she and I had a security detail, the way Kingston and Caleb hovered around us.

  After a few minutes at the desk, Wynter turned to us. “We’ve got two rooms,” she said, handing me a key and then turning to the guys. “You two are sharing.”

  Kingston and Caleb shared a look, but I ig
nored them, ready to drop our stuff and maybe do a little gambling. Even though I wasn’t a big fan of it, I’d never really been to a casino, and with the fight tomorrow, I couldn’t drink, so I wanted to enjoy myself in some way.

  Wynter led our expedition to the fifth floor, where both rooms were located. She slid the key into the lock at our door and turned to Kingston and Caleb. “We’ll meet you guys out here in half an hour.”

  “Why so long?” Caleb piped up.

  Wynter rolled her eyes. “We require time to get ready.”

  “Fine.”

  Thirty-four minutes later, Wynter had done my makeup and put me in a sexy-as-sin red dress. She even managed to do her own makeup and slip on a slinky black dress. When we exited our room, Kingston and Caleb were impatiently waiting.

  Caleb seemed shocked by Wynter’s attire and paid me almost no attention, which was more than fine, since Kingston couldn’t seem to take his eyes off me. I had a similar problem. Seeing him in black slacks and a button-up shirt with a loose tie forced some dirty thoughts into my mind as I considered how much fun we could have with that tie.

  “You shouldn’t show so much skin,” he muttered as we made our way to the elevator.

  “Bite me,” I whispered to him with a smile.

  He shook his head and the four of us went downstairs.

  It turned out, the place was packed, far busier than any of us expected, but a good portion of the crowd was anxious for the fights tomorrow night, which excited me. People might not know my name yet in the mixed martial arts world, but they were going to.

  After an hour of playing slots, I was beyond bored.

  “Want to get out of here?” Kingston asked.

  I glanced at Wynter and Caleb, who were both thoroughly engrossed in a game of roulette. “Sure.”

  He walked me to my room, not saying a word the whole way up.

  “Max,” he said when I opened my door. I turned back to him and waited. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  He sighed. “For everything. There are things I can’t tell you about myself, and it’s not because I don’t want to. Believe me, I’d like nothing better than to tell you everything you want to know, to answer all your questions, but the things I know, the things I’m keeping from you – they aren’t my secrets to share. I hope you can understand.”

  I nodded. “I get it.”

  “Don’t give up on me, though. If everything goes as planned, it won’t be much longer and I’ll be able to tell you everything.”

  I didn’t trust him, but the fact that he wanted to tell me made a difference. I stepped forward and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. “When you tell me everything, we’ll talk more about us, but for now, there can be nothing between us.”

  He hung his head. “I know.”

  * * * * *

  Kingston tipped his head at me. “You’re up, kid.”

  I gulped, ready to get in the ring, but nervous, too. True to his word, Kingston didn’t make a pass at me, and the day went smoothly, with the four of us watching each of the fights together. Caleb’s fight was hardly a fight, considering it was over so fast. Wynter, I noticed, cheered him on the most. I wondered if something had changed between the two of them last night. I would have to catch her alone later. For now, I was ready.

  The fight was fair, with our weights almost exactly matched, but the brunette was taller than me, which meant I had more muscle mass than she did, so I took advantage. We circled the ring several times before she made her move. There was no time to think as my natural instinct took over. In minutes, she was down and we moved on to the second round. I blew out a heavy breath.

  The fight wasn’t even half-way over and I was exhausted, but somehow, I managed to get through it without going down. The brunette went down a second time and I was thrilled. One more round and I’d be declared the winner.

  “You’ve got this,” Kingston shouted in my ear when I approached him for a drink between rounds. “Take her out.” His nod of approval gave me a second wind and the bell barely dinged again before I had knocked the girl out.

  Shouts from my friends reached my ears and I grinned, happy to have not only won my first fight, but also to have proven, to myself and everyone else, that I was more than capable of making it in the MMA world.

  Kingston put my zip up sweatshirt over my bare shoulders and I was vaguely aware of a buzzing against my hip. I reached into the pocket and pulled out my phone. The number didn’t look familiar but I answered it anyway.

  “Great job Max,” a strong male voice spoke in a hushed whisper.

  It took me less than a second to recognize that deep voice. “Daddy?”

  Part Two coming in late November.

  More from Dawn Pendleton

  Broken Series

  Broken Promises

  Broken Dreams

  Broken Pieces

  Broken Valentine

  Best Friends Forever Series

  Dreams Series

  Crazy Dreams

  Wild Dreams

  Unbroken Dreams

  Fight Like A Girl

  Part One

  Part Two

  Part Three

  Callahan Brothers Series (releasing 2015)

  (order subject to change)

  Roman

  Riley

  Reece

  Ryan

  Ryder

  About the Author

  Dawn Pendleton spends her time between Maine and somewhere warm for the winter, dragging her husband and pup wherever she goes. A lover of travel, an avid reader, and a softie at heart, Dawn writes romance novels that face the dark reality of life, which is that not everyone gets a happily ever after right away.