LEGEND (Cerberus MC 19) by Marie James -Review Tour

LEGEND (Cerberus MC 19) by Marie James-Review Tour

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 6, 2022

I wouldn’t call it love at first sight, but my body definitely reacted when I saw her.
Getting Faith Robbins under me became my obsession.
I knew I wanted fast and done.
It’s how I always did things.
Looking for anything more with a woman was never in the cards.
I wasn’t like the other guys in the Cerberus MC. I didn’t want more.
It was physical, sating a desire.
Then someone began to seek revenge, and my other instincts kicked in.
Spending time with her was about protecting her, keeping her safe.
Now if only I could remind my heart what the plan was.

••••••••

REVIEW: LEGEND is the nineteenth instalment in Marie James’ contemporary, adult CERBERUS MC erotic, MC, romance series focusing on the members of the Cerberus MC- all former members of the US Marines. This is attorney Faith Robbins, and Ethan ‘Legend’ Packwood’s story line. LEGEND can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Faith and Ethan) LEGEND follows the building romance and relationship between attorney Faith Robbins, and MC member Ethan ‘Legend’ Packwood. Faith Robbins struggles with issues of trust having grown up in the foster care system. Ethan’s continuous attempts to seduce our story line heroine are met with rejection and oft-times disrespect but Faith has a stalker, and Ethan has proclaimed himself our heroine’s protector, a protector who is constantly at odds with Faith’s hot and cold, back and forth, up and down attitude towards the man himself. As the incidents against Faith increase, growing more threatening with each occurrence, Ethan pulls Faith into the Cerebrus clubhouse, where she will be protected and surrounded by eveyrone involved but Faith’s need to remain independent are about to place her in the direct line of fire, where her life will hang in the balance for perceived sins of the past. What ensues is the building but acrimonious relationship between Faith and Ethan, and the potential fall-out as Faith refuses to acknowledge the danger to her own life and that of the people she loves.

Ethan ‘Legend’ Packwood has lusted after Faith for as long as he can remember but the some-time MC attorney battles between head and heart refusing to be another nameless body in the ‘Legend’s’ long list of conquests and bed partners. When pushed away one final time, Ethan keeps his distance, a distance that Faith struggles to accept and understand. A little TSTL (too stupid to live) Faith refuses to remain secluded, increasing the target already on her back.

The relationship between Faith and Ethan is tempestuous at best. Faith refuses all of Ethan’s attempts at seduction but when Ethan backs away, Faith feels rejected, often worried about other women, or Ethan’s history with the female members of the Cerberus MC. Living at the MC clubhouse, Faith and Ethan’s relationship quickly turns into something more but Faith continues to doubt Ethan’s need for the woman with whom he is falling in love. The $ex scenes are passionate, erotic and intense, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful, energetic and familiar secondary and supporting characters including six new members: Spade, Aro, Slick, Boomer, Harley and Ugly; MC president Kincaid, and his brother Dominic; Apollo and April; MC member and homicide detective Colton Matthews; Harley’s wife Lana; Grinch; psychologist Brynn ‘Slick’ Sullivan, bartender Drake, and Faith’s best friend Sylvie Davis. Grinch’s storyline is next.

LEGEND is a story of vengeance and obsession; family and friendships, relationships and love. The premise is dramatic and intense ; the characters are animated and-the camaraderie between the MC members is cherished and fun; the romance is provocative and seductive. LEGEND ends on a bit of a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Previous reviews
Jinx
Thumper
Apollo
A Very Cerberus Christmas

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Let’s see…where to begin…

I’m inching up on the BIG 4-0. The gray hairs are doubling what seems like daily, and the wrinkles and laugh lines are more pronounced than ever.

I have an amazing husband (Married just over 15 years.)

We have two boys we’re doing our best to raise as respectful gentleman.

I have a master’s degree in criminal justice which I used to work as a juvenile probation office until deciding to write full-time in June of 2019. So that means there’s usually always some criminal/law element to my novels.

If I’m not writing; I’m reading.

My favorite genres recently are bully/reverse harem and enemies to lovers. Maybe I’m reliving my traumatic teen years through the girls who actually end up with the boys. (Not that I would change my history since it’s gotten me exactly where I need to be!)

I love coffee. I miss carbs. Music is LIFE. I try not to be too serious.
.

Links

Facebook: http://bit.ly/MarieJamesFacebook
Twitter:http://bit.ly/MarieJamesTwitter
Bookbubhttp://bit.ly/BookBubMarieJames
Instagram: http://bit.ly/MarieJamesIG
Amazon Author Page: http://bit.ly/AmazonMarieJames
Book and Main: http://bit.ly/MarieJamesBookMain
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/MarieJamesGoodReads
Pinterest: http://bit.ly/MarieJamesPinterest
YouTube: http://bit.ly/MarieJamesYouTube
Reader Group:http://bit.ly/MarieJamesStalkers
Newsletter:http://bit.ly/MarieJamesNL

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Legend (Arizona Vengeance #3) by Sawyer Bennett-Review Tour

Legend (Arizona Vengeance #3) by Sawyer Bennett-Review tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 5, 2019

The Arizona Vengeance is hockey’s hottest new team. But hockey’s hottest goalie is learning that even the best players sometimes need an assist.

Everything is clicking for the Vengeance. We may be new, but we’re well on our way to winning the championship, and I’m having the time of my life headlining the sports media as the hottest goalie—hell, player—ever. I for one am going to live up to my name . . . because I am Legend Bay.

Dragging my ass home from the gym, I’m blinded by some gaudy, glowing holiday lights. As usual, my hot-as-hell neighbor Pepper Nantais has gone way over the top. But just as I’m about to tell her off, something else catches my eye . . . Seems like Santa left me a present, and not one I was expecting.

As life takes an unexpected turn, I realize that there’s much more to Pepper than meets the eye. Sure, she’s gorgeous. And exasperating. And her taste in decorating may be a bit . . . unique.

But beneath her carefree demeanor is a fierce determination and a heart of gold. And before I know it I’ve fallen for her. Hard . . .

Pepper is exactly the woman I never knew I needed.

••••••••••

REVIEW: LEGEND is the third instalment in Sawyer Bennett’s contemporary, adult ARIZONA VENGEANCE erotic, hockey romance series focusing on the members of the Arizona Vengeance professional hockey team. This is Vengeance goalie Legend Bay, and children’s book author and artist Pepper Nantais. LEGEND can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading the series in order for the history between and about the characters. There is a slight-cross over with the author’s Cold Fury Hockey series.

Told from dual first person points of view (Legend and Pepper) LEGEND follows in the wake of a surprise ‘gift’ on Legend’s front porch. Struggling with the logistics, the responsibility, and the unpreparedness of the situation, Legend arrives at his neighbor’s front door desperate for help and immediate support. Enter colorful and feisty Pepper Nantais, and the woman with whom Legend will fall in love. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Pepper and Legend, and the potential fall-out as Pepper is targeted by a woman from Legend’s past.

Legend Bay has a hate on for his obnoxious neighbour Pepper Nantais, a woman who pushes all of his buttons with her gaudy outdoor displays, especially during the holiday season, but hate may be too strong of a word, as Legend’s attraction to Pepper is matched by the palpable and intense sexual attraction between the leading characters.

The relationship between Pepper and Legend is an enemies to lovers, of a sorts, enemies predicated on Pepper’s outlandish style and Legend’s inability to accept what is. As Pepper becomes a more permanent fixture in Legend’s life, the sexual attraction can no longer be denied. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense but, once again, I dislike the use of a certain four-letter word.

All of the previous story line couples, and characters play secondary and supporting characters including Bishop and Brooke, Erik and Blue, Tacker Hall, Dax Monahan and coach Claude Perron. We are introduced to Legend’s parents Wendy and Nathan Bay; Pepper’s parents Richard and Meryl Nantais; Legend’s former girlfriend Lida Martin; Lucy and Charlie.

The world building continues to focus on the players, the game, the camaraderie and the relationships of the Arizona Vengeance. The premise is entertaining, emotional and uplifting; the romance is passionate and seductive; the characters are energetic, strong and sassy. LEGEND is a spicy, spirited and heart warming addition to Bennett’s ARIZONA VENGEANCE.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Bishop
Erik
Legend

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Since the release of her debut contemporary romance novel, Off Sides, in January 2013, Sawyer Bennett has released more than 30 books and has been featured on both the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists on multiple occasions.

A reformed trial lawyer from North Carolina, Sawyer uses real life experience to create relatable, sexy stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From new adult to erotic contemporary romance, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.

Sawyer likes her Bloody Marys strong, her martinis dirty, and her heroes a combination of the two. When not bringing fictional romance to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to a very active toddler, as well as full-time servant to two adorably naughty dogs. She believes in the good of others, and that a bad day can be cured with a great work-out, cake, or a combination of the two.

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | BOOKBUB | AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE | INSTAGRAM

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Legend (Real #6) by Katy Evans-Review and Book Tour

Legend (Real #6) by Katy Evans-Review and Book Tour

Legend Banner

LEGEND
(Real #6)
by Katy Evans
Genre: new adult, contemporary, MMA, romance
Release Date: February 9, 2016

Legend

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / The Book Depository / itunes / Google Play

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 9, 2016

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.

•••••

REVIEW: LEGEND is the sixth and final installment in Katy Evans’s contemporary, new adult REAL romance series. This is MMA fighter Maverick Cage, and Reese Dumas’s storyline. Reese Dumas is the cousin to Brooke Tate-wife MMA champion Remington ‘Riptide’ Tate. LEGEND can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Maverick and Reese) LEGEND follows Maverick ‘The Avenger’ Cage’s rise to stardom, and his building relationship with a woman with close connections to Maverick’s ultimate challenge.

Maverick Cage fights to prove he is the best; that the past is unable to hold him back; that the sins of the father no longer fall on the shoulders of the son. Maverick is a man looking for a trainer; hoping to be the best; and the best will come at the hands of Remington ‘Riptide’ Tate but there is one potential problem standing in the way. Maverick has fallen in love with Reese Dumas, and Reese’s cousin is Remington’s wife Brooke. Reese has been hired by the Tate’s as their nanny and she has quickly fallen for the man whose past is almost as vulnerable as hers. Maverick knows that Reese is the only woman who can capture his heart but is she able to choose a side when the final challenge comes to blows?

The relationship between Maverick and Reese begins at the gym where Reese discovers that the hardened wannabe MMA fighter is not the man everyone believes him to be. Maverick’s family reputation precedes his introduction to the Underground world of the MMA, and Reese knows that to be accepted Maverick may have to take some advice from the man he believes destroyed his life. The $ex scenes are intimate and intense.

Remington and Brooke (and their son Racer) play secondary and supporting characters as the building story line focuses on the championship match between Remy and Mav. Remington is hoping to pass on the crown to an opponent worthy of the title, but Maverick’s private hell may be the one thing holding back our story line hero. The world building focuses on the MMA, the fight to the finish, and people who stand behind the making of a Legend.

LEGEND is a story about a man in conflict: with his past, his present and his future. An entertaining and moving story about two people with broken pasts and broken hearts. LEGEND is a seductive look at a passionate hero who believes he is worthy of so much more than a dying man’s reputation. The premise is inspiring; the characters are heartbreaking and heroic; the romance is a well-deserved path to a happily ever after.

Copy supplied by the tour operator through Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Legend Teaser

excerpt

It’s midweek already, and I’m halfway through my workout when I get a text from Brooke:
Hey! Huge line at the Underground registration, might pick up lunch on our way back home. Don’t wait for us – lunch home w/Diane
Me: Got it ☺ Will take Racer to park and meet you home ltr
I set my phone aside and scan the gym again. Some otherworldly impulse has me walking past the weights section. I cross the treadmills, bicycles, toward the mats at the end and the boxing bags. I scan the area where Maverick always works out. There are several guys at the bags now. None of them are as big, or mysterious. Or hot.
He’s gone.
Disappointment washes over me. I wait a bit, checking the time. Five minutes to leave for Racer.
Reese, you’re acting stupid.
“You’re looking for your friend? The one you come in with?”
“I . . . ah . . . yeah.”
“He hasn’t come in.”
“Right. Thanks.”
I head to pick up Racer from day care, meet Pete there with the stroller and our snacks, then sit Racer inside and push him to the park. There’s this spot I like under the shadow of a tree. I head there. “How was day care, Racer?”
“Okay.”
He’s scanning the park for dogs, I know.
“This is nice, isn’t it?”
I pull out his fruit bears and open them. He dives in.
“Racer, I ran extra hard today and I’m suddenly hungry. If I tell you an extra story tonight, would you give me one of your fruit bears?”
“Two stowies,” he negotiates.
“Okay, two stories, for two bears?” I shoot back.
He hesitates, then nods and lets me pull out two bears, examining my hand thoroughly. I let him open my palm.
“See? Two?”
He grins a dimpled grin that I could eat up, and then continues eating.
I shove them in my mouth and start to set up my blanket and stop in my tracks when I spot the figure doing pull-ups on the tree.
His T-shirt is riding upward due to the lifted position of his arms, and I can see the concrete-like squares of his abs perfectly.
His extraordinary eyes blaze and glow when he spots me a few feet away, not far from the tree. He drops himself to the ground, lithe as a cat and surprisingly quiet, and as he stretches to his feet from the crouched position he landed in, his eyes are direct and interested and warm. No, not warm. More.
There’s a flip in my stomach when his lips curl a little. He ambles over and I have the oddest sensation that he was waiting for me. But . . . was he?
“Maverick.”
“Mavewick!” Racer repeats, and puts out his fist.
He bumps fists with Racer. “Dude. Cool cap.”
He taps Racer’s Yankees baseball cap. Then his eyes lift to meet mine.
My stomach feels unsettled, but it’s not from hunger, more like from nerves or something like . . . anticipation.
“Didn’t see you at the gym today,” I say.
He shakes his head. “I talked to Oz.”
“You did?”
He gives me this quiet, perfect smile and simply nods.
“That’s great.”
“Yeah.”
We smile for the most delicious few seconds.
“So you’re fighting during the inaugural?” I ask excitedly.
He pulls out a page from his back jeans pocket. “That’s me.”
I take and scan the page. It indicates his accepting the Underground terms and rules of engagement, states his coach’s name, and then his name. A dangerous little chill runs down my spine when I read:
Maverick “the Avenger” Cage
And Maverick “the Avenger” Cage is watching me read this paper, studying my reaction.
My palms are sweaty all of a sudden. “Well . . . wow.”
My stomach is quaking upon seeing his name, I don’t know why. Maverick Cage. His name is a conundrum. Maverick means “rebel,” and cage . . . But it looks like this maverick is coming out of his cage.
He tucks the page back into his jeans. “I had to tell someone.”
“And you came to tell me?” If I sound bewildered, it’s because I am.
He stares into me, a liquid look coming to his eyes. “It wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t for you.”
“That’s totally not true.”
He glances down at the stroller. “I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t tell my buddy here.” He fist-bumps Racer again and Racer giggles at the attention.
“Mom and Dad are busy, so I get to keep him for an extra while,” I tell Maverick.
He stares at me. He has a very stubborn, arrogant face, but when he smiles, pleasure softens his granitelike features. And he’s smiling right now. Dear me. “So he’s not yours,” he says.
“God, no. I wish!”
I can’t think straight when he looks at me. I feel naked. As if he knows that I’ve missed him. As if he knows that just looking at him makes me feel odd. Odd and oddly sensual inside. Responding to him.
I open my blanket and bend over to smooth it on the ground. Then I realize my butt is sticking out, the Himalayas of butts out there for him to see. In tight exercise gear. Fuck.
He kneels on his haunches at the edges of the blanket and opens his hand. “Share the blanket with me?”
His knuckles are still scarred. I can’t decide why I keep looking at them. I get a gut squeeze of empathy every time I see the bruises. His hands are huge. He plants them on the blanket, then shifts to lean back on his arms, stretching out his legs before him. Other couples are nearby on blankets. It feels intimate when I set my stuff down, and I feel myself go hot when I sense him watching me settle down next to it.
He spreads out just a little more and squints up at the tree, then looks at me in silence.
I search the picnic bag. “Want some . . . kid food? Or I’ve got . . .” I pull out my emergency Snickers bar, which I’m proud not to have touched yet, and I hand it over. “Plus one water and a drinking cup with a lid.”
I pass the drinking cup to Racer and hand Maverick the water. He takes it. “I’m good.” He opens the water bottle and hands it to me.
I shake my head. I’m not hungry, really. Or thirsty. My stomach feels full of butterflies again and it makes no sense, since I don’t even know him.
He shifts up higher on his arms, the flex of his torsal muscles visible through the cotton of his shirt.
“I almost thought you’d arrived to the gym and got yourself kicked out,” I try.
“Not yet. There’s still tomorrow.” He smirks.
And there’s a tinge of merriment in his eyes.
“Wee, and the ducks?”
I jerk my attention back to Racer and my pending business with him. “Right. I promised we’d feed the ducks today.” I quickly pack our stuff and then push the stroller toward the lake. He walks beside me.
I feel him watching me as I stop at the dispenser to fill up a cup of duck food.
“Mavewick, get me out,” Racer commands.
Maverick sweeps him up and sets him on his feet.
“Don’t go in the water, Racer, just stay on the edge, and don’t let them bite your finger. Do it like this. . . .” I show him how to cup his hand. “Or throw it in the water and watch them pick at it.”
He nods and starts throwing all over, sending the ducks after the nibbles.
I sit on the ground, the scent of damp grass surrounding us as Maverick sits beside me.
“Hey, I want to do something for you.”
“What?”
I can’t remember how to breathe.
I give him a moment to explain, but he’s not helping me out, only smiling. His face is open, friendly, his smile captivating. But his eyes are guarded, careful. I try to keep my voice indifferent.
“You mean for the gym?” I ask, a puzzled frown on my face.
He nods. “For that. And Oz.”
“Oh.” I shake my head, laughing softly. “It’s nothing, really.”
When he looks at me, he looks curious, and unsatisfied somehow. But a genuinely appreciative smile touches his eyes. “Trust me. It’s not nothing. It’s something, and I appreciate it.”
His open gratitude makes me so warm. He makes me feel impulsive.
“I’m in a healthy-living boot camp this summer. You’re meeting the new Reese,” I hear myself blurt out.
Wow. Did I just spew it out like that?
I’m so desperate for him to share bits of himself that I’m just totally baring myself to him without his even asking. Thank god he takes it in stride with an attractive little dance in his eyes.
“What was the old one like?” he asks easily.
I shrug and shake my head, not really wanting to get into that.
When he does nothing to fill the silence that settles between us, it leaves me with nothing to do but look up at him. I lift my lashes, and he’s staring at me with a look of total intrigue in his eyes. Wisps of hair tease my face, and I push them away, feeling really restless under that stare.
“Help me kick my own ass, and we’ll call it even,” I suddenly suggest.
He shakes his head with playful stubbornness. “We’re not even. I still owe you.” His eyes grow thoughtful, and he reaches into his pocket and extracts something. “Open your palm.”
He looks so intense that I open my palm and watch him drop something in it. “What’s this?”
“My IOU.”
I stare at the penny in my palm, then look up at him in confusion.
His voice sounds a little more harsh and textured all of a sudden. “I don’t have a lot right now, but I got this.”
“For a rainy day?” I ask.
“For any day.”

About The Author

Katy EvansFollow: Website / Facebook / Twitter

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!

 

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Legend (Real #6) by Katy Evans-Excerpt Reveal

Legend (Real #6) by Katy Evans-Excerpt Reveal

LEGEND
Real #6
by Katy Evans
Genre: adult, contemporary, MMA, erotic romance
Release Date:February 9, 2016

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / The Book Depository / itunes / Google Play

ABOUT THE BOOK:

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.

excerpt

 

‘Not in a million years, kid.’
‘No.’
‘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.

 


 

 

Katy EvansFollow: Website / Facebook / Twitter

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!

 

 

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