Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
It’s easy for me to drown out the people, the cheers, and the voices. I push everything away, fears, guilt, and worry… it’s all gone at this moment.
This is how it is when I fight. It’s my one escape, the only time everything is quiet around me. My demons can’t reach me when I’m inside the pit.
I don’t even hear Franco ring the bell, but I know the fight has started when Boris rushes toward me, fist raised. He takes a giant swing at me, air swooshes across my face, but as I suspected, he is slow. I can easily move out of the way in time for the right hook.
What I didn’t expect him to do is follow it up with a left jab.
His fist hits me above my left eye, and it hurts like a bitch. My head snaps back with the force, and I see stars. Jesus, fuck, he might be slow, but his fists pack a punch.
Shaking off the pain, letting it fuel me, I take a step to the side, avoiding his next punch. I need to be smarter and faster than this guy if I’m going to win.
Moving around him, I get in some good jabs here and there, but nothing seems to faze him. His pupils are blown out, completely black, which makes me think he’s on something. He swings again, and I duck down, coming up with a right hook, my fist slamming into his chin. It’s a hit that would have knocked most guys out on their ass.
This guy just smiles. What the fuck?
I’m so shocked that I’m momentarily distracted and don’t see the next punch coming. His fist clobbers me in the side of the head, and I swear it feels like I got hit with a fucking brick. Before I can recover, he hits me again, this punch landing in my gut, knocking the air from my lungs. Pain lances across my body like a lightning bolt.
Trying to get away from him, I stumble back, but he continues his assault. Raining punches down on any part of my body he can get to. My head spins, and my stomach churns. I’ve never tapped out before, never had a reason to, or was afraid enough to, but I’m fucking close now. My pride can handle the hit. I’m stupid, but I don’t want to die.
Boris swings and gets me again on the head. Pain erupts inside my skull as my head is forced to the side. My teeth rattle in my head, and my vision blurs, and for a moment, I think I’m knocked out. Darkness blankets my mind, but then I blink them open, and suddenly, I see her.
Kennedy.
Her eyes meet mine, and everything around me snaps back into place. The people, the warehouse, fucking Boris… and right there in the center of the crowd is Kennedy. Her eyes are wide with fear, her lips trembling, and all I can think is that she doesn’t belong here. I need to get her out of here.
Another punch to the gut that sends whatever air is left in my lungs out on a gasp. It reminds me that I’m still fighting this monster. Deep-rooted anger rises up inside of me, filling my veins with newfound strength. I’m a volcano seconds from exploding.
I don’t know why she is here and why it bothers me so much that she is, but I know I need to finish this fight, get to her and drag her the hell out of here.
Boris swings, but this time I sense it and dodge it, moving my head, and making him miss by an inch. Rolling, I move away from under him just enough to barrel a right hook on the corner of his jaw. His fucking face is apparently made of steel, but at least I caught him off guard. He stumbles back, and I use that small window of opportunity to give him all I’ve got.
My knuckles hurt, but I push it away and keep hitting him. Punch after punch, I strike him over and over again. Head, chest, gut, back, head. Anywhere I can hit him, refusing to let him get even one shot on me.
All it takes is one last punch to the side of the head, and he slumps over, his body falling face-first into the ground. Shocked, I stare down at him while Franco counts to ten, giving the fucking beast a chance to get up and fight again.
Thankfully, he stays down, completely unmoving. Sweat drips down my aching body, and all I want to do right now is get the fuck out of this ring, grab Kennedy, and leave.
As soon as I’m announced as the winner, I climb out of the pit and head straight for her. The crowd erupts around me, threatening to swallow me whole, but I push through the masses to get to her. People rush past her to get to me, almost shoving her to the ground to congratulate me. Anger ignites deep in my gut, and when I reach her, I wrap a hand around her wrist and tug her to my chest.