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
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Blurb
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
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Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1w35g8N
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Mine (Book Two) The Real Series
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Remy (Book Three) The Real Series
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Rogue (Book Four) The Real Series
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Ripped (Book Five) The Real Series
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Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1yia714
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iBooks: http://bit.ly/1ynQ9FV
About the Author:
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
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