Rise (The Phoenix Series Book 1) Read online

  Rise

  The Phoenix Series, Book One

  M.K. Cunningham

  Rise

  Copyright © 2018 M.K. Cunningham

  All rights reserved.

  Formatting: M.K. Cunningham

  Editing: LDW

  Pictures: CSLW Photography

  www.facebook.com/CSLWPhotography2009

  www.cslwphotography.weebly.com

  ISBN: 6871597

  ISBN-13: 978-1542625364

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons – living or dead – is entirely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Kyle,

  You have supported me since day one. I may change my mind every year on what I want to do and yes, you give me crap but, you have always been there by my side. I love you!

  Mom,

  You have no idea how appreciative I am of you and what you have done for me on this very long journey. I owe you for the many many many times you have re-read the first eight chapters.

  Cassandra,

  Thank you so very much for the photo shoot you did for me. I don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t help me out. You are one great sister.

  Lora,

  You have no idea how excited I was when you said yes to being my book model. I felt so much relief knowing I had a long time best friend on my cover.

  Michelle,

  Oh, Michelle… what to say. Just typing your name made me smile. All the conversations we had over the book and how much you enjoyed beta reading for me made my heart ache. Also, I would like to thank you for letting me use The Slammer & The Great Escape Bed and Breakfast for the photoshoot.

  Chapter One

  Greer

  A s I sit here on this cold, hard metal railing, I can overhear police sirens in the distance. My mind is lost in thought until the chatting of the people below draws my attention. As I peek over the railing, smoking a blunt, I can see Easton, at the door, collecting entry fees. I listen in as two blonde bimbos, with cosmetic boobs, try to convince him to let them in for free. Easton stands by, shaking his head, and waits for them to hand him money. They eventually get shoved out of the way by tall, dark and scrawny kids behind them. The two flaky women look at him appalled and walk away mumbling obscenities.

  As Easton peers at me from the corner of his eyes, he has a smug look on his face, “Don’t fret baby girl, they can try all they want, but nobody gets past me without paying.” All I could do was nod my head and grin ear to ear. I’m aware of how transparent he is. That’s why he is the first person anybody sees before strolling into any of my fights.

  Turning around, I caught sight of a broken window, that I had no intentions of repairing. Looking through to the warehouse floor, it’s becoming packed and crowded. Summer, my kindred spirit, and roommate is standing on crates stacked two high, taking bets. She is extremely good at what she does. Men and some women were very fond of her, and she knew it. Sometimes she played the part of being interested in both sexes to increase the bets.

  She, as always, is wearing her “look at me” attire. Dark jean short shorts, a black spaghetti strap shirt that shows her midriff, a necklace that lay on top of her breasts, black cowboy boots and her lengthy blonde hair up in a messy bun. She is gorgeous and could get away with wearing pajamas if she wanted to.

  To the left of Summer, in the middle of the floor, is the ring. Among the three of us, we didn’t put a great deal of money into it but enough to make sure the crowd knew their boundaries. We purchased four posts and secured them to the concrete for permanent use. Black straps are tied around the posts, a line across the top and middle of each and black rubber mats on the floor.

  Hearing Easton, I look below to admire how he closed the heavy faded door. Putting all his weight into thrusting it shut, his muscles bulged from the plaid cut off shirt he is wearing. Locking the door below, I knew the fight was about to start, and he was on his way up to inform me. Turning around, I’m fixed on the red, discolored doors in front of me. I could make out his footsteps coming up to greet me. He wasn’t loud, but the metal stairs did give off a distinct sound.

  Opening the door, Easton emerged. “Greer, you need to get inside. Your fight starts in five minutes.” He wasn’t just the bouncer but also the announcer. He’s consistently making sure I’m ready to go before heading in and doing his part. Easton is the big brother that I never had and didn’t know I was missing.

  Seeing the heat of my breath as I spoke, “Coming!”

  He grinned and turned to head downstairs. Before heading inside right away, I began to stare out at the city lights one last time. Something about the city calmed me, and I missed it.

  Glancing down at the outfit I was wearing, I had on my comfortable black shorts that stopped at the top of my thighs and hung to my hips and my dark gray tank top that is rolled up just underneath my sports bra and tied in a knot in the back. I wore those two items at every fight because they were extremely comfortable and didn’t restrict me. My long, burgundy, straight hair was tied back into one big braid during fights leaving the shaven part just below my ear line to show.

  Swinging my leg over the railing, my feet hit the cold, metal steps. I headed down the stairs, through the double doors, to the ring.

  The three of us ran the ring and were making more money than expected from it. We always had them in the warehouse, next to the shipping containers, that way we never got caught. It was on the dark side of town, by the river, where nobody would think to come but those who knew about it. The building was worn down and abandoned, had been for years.

  Summer oversaw rounding people up. She would send out a text two hours in advance to all the fighters, and they would do the same to people on their list. I don’t know how she does it, but we always have hundreds of people at the fights.

  As I walk to the bottom of the stairs, I stare at the brown door that looks like it’s about to fall off its hinges. On the other side are people waiting for the fight to start. I jump up and down and crack my neck from side to side. Fist bumping my hands together, I’m ready.

  As I push open the door and begin to walk out, I see Easton joining Summer on the crates. He has a small speaker at his feet and a microphone in his hand. “Ladies and gentlemen. Tonight, in the blue corner we have a bulky hulk looking motherfucker, Matt Conway, and in the red corner we have our undefeated champ in her purest form, Greer Robinson.”

  The crowd cheers when my name is mentioned, and we always wait for them to calm down so they can hear him. “Greer seems to be the only thing standing in Matt’s way. Will the tables turn tonight, or will Greer lay a smackdown on him? If you haven’t placed your bets, you had better get to it. Once the bell rings the bets stop.” Easton always gets straight to the point and never fucks around when it comes to money.

  As I place my left hand on the black strap, I start to climb into the ring. Getting closer I examine Matt from head to toe. He has dark chocolate skin, a shaved head, blue eyes, massive abs and black shorts. Matt is in the far corner staring at me, and I can see he is out for blood.


  “Blue, you ready?” Easton bellows as he is staring at him.

  Matt nods his head and drops down to his fighting position. His back is hunched over, elbows bent and fists in front of his face. I’ve never seen Matt in my life but the way he is staring at me, it’s like I’ve done him wrong somehow.

  Easton’s voice catches my attention, “Red, you ready?” I look over at him, smiling, and nod. He lifts the hammer that he is holding in his right hand and hits the small gong that is placed next to the speaker.

  Matt comes charging at me and swings full force at my face but misses. I step back, slide to the left of him and tangle my right leg with his. He falls onto his back, and I never let up. I twist my body around his; that way I’m on top of him, straddling his stomach. I get a few punches to his face before he starts blocking them.

  The crowd is going wild, and I can hear Summer from the crates yelling. She has her hands cupping her mouth in an O shape, “Knock his ass out, Greer!” Her voice was laced with encouragement, and I loved it.

  Matt bucks me off, and I make sure I land on my feet. My thoughts become distracted once again by the sound of sirens in the distance. They sound closer than last time. Before I know it, he comes in hard, and his hit doesn’t disappoint.

  Matt is on top of me, inches from my face. He has both of his hands around my neck squeezing the fuck out of it, cutting off my airway. I panic. I place my hands on his face, both of my thumbs digging into his eye sockets, and push up. He continues to hold on without letting up. I can’t breathe and feel my face heating up and turning red. Noticing that my thumbs are not doing the job, I lift my right knee and make contact with his balls. He releases me instantly. Both of his hands now cupping himself.

  I turn over coughing uncontrollably, trying to crawl away from him. I can feel the blood pouring out of my nose, running down my chin and onto my chest. As I get to a post, I lift myself up and turn to see him making his way to his feet. I start running as hard as I can in his direction, place my hands on top of his shoulders to hoist me in the air, then take him down twisting my thighs around his neck. With the impact of hitting the floor and my legs squeezing his neck as hard as possible, he passes out. I can see Matt’s groupies from a distance yelling and curse at me. I look down to see drool coming out of his mouth.

  Easton is still on the crates and counting. By the tenth count, Matt is still sleeping like a baby, and I am declared the winner, yet again.

  He lifts his right hand in the air to get everyone’s attention, “Ladies and Gentlemen!” Easton begins to make his speech. “We’ve got your winner tonight. Give it up for her folks.” The crowd is going wild.

  Summer jumps down from the crates to hand out money that is owed. I look over at her, and she has a massive grin on her face. I know by that look we are bringing home a lot of money tonight.

  As I’m wiping the blood from my face onto my stained shirt, I look over to Matt, and he is finally starting to wake up.

  Summer is grinning from ear to ear as she approaches me, “Way to go girl. Tonight has been the biggest turn out yet. We’ve made so much money!” I could see the excitement in Summer’s hazel eyes as I turn to look at her. Taking both of her hands, she examines my face. “I can’t believe you let Matt sock you like that. How’s the nose pain?” With the adrenaline pumping through me, I can’t feel a thing, which is excellent. Just then Summer pinches my nose and shakes the blood off her fingers before stuffing a tampon up my nostril.

  Laughing uncontrollably as I tilt my head back to keep the tampon from falling out, “whatever gets the job done!” Seconds later my ears are consumed by the one thing I have heard all night, “Summer, Listen!”

  I peel my face from her hand, that is still messing with the tampon, and look around. Easton is in the middle of making his introductions for the next fight as the sound gets louder. I can hear the sirens getting closer and look to Summer with worried eyes, yelling loudly, “RUN!”

  The crowd starts panicking, and everybody is bumping into each other in different directions. From outside, I can hear someone over the PA system. “Sheriff’s office, the building is surrounded. Come out with your hands up.” I look back over to Summer, and she has disappeared.

  Scanning the crowd, I find Easton on the West side of the building moving crates, Summer is helping him. I run to them knowing what he is up to. Under the crates is a tunnel that leads out to the river. After moving the last one, the front door bursts open. Summer jumps down to the floor along with Easton, and they both look to me, waiting for me to drop down.

  “Just keep going.” I close the door and knock some crates over on top. The place is crawling with cops, and I don’t want them finding the tunnel before they can escape.

  Racing over to the tiny window behind me, I bust it out with my elbow. Lifting my left leg, I kick out the remaining shards of glass that are sticking out on the bottom. Once I’ve cleared it, I force my body to get through it as fast as possible. As I have my leg hanging out the window, someone grabs me from behind.

  Looking over my shoulder, a cop with a gas mask on is trying to pull me back into the warehouse. Twisting my upper body to the right, far enough to elbow him in the ear where the plastic isn’t protecting him, he let’s go of my shirt. I push myself the rest of the way out of the window and run.

  As I make my way around the corner, I head East, running straight to the parking garage. My matte black Harley-Davidson Custom Fat Boy is waiting for me. I grab my sunglasses and phone, from under the front frame, and I rev it up. Walking over to the garbage can, behind my motorcycle, I grab the black duffle bag lying behind it. Unzipping the bag, I pull my dark straight legged jeans and my long black boots out of the bag and put them on. Taking a seat, I put it in first gear and speed off.

  Turning left, out of the ramp, I head South. As I get a mile out of town, my phone starts vibrating in my pocket, so I pull over.

  “Greer,” Summer sounds worried.

  “Summer, thank God! Did you and Easton make it out alright?” I try to keep calm but feel like I’m failing.

  “Yeah, we had no problems at all. Thank you.”

  I could hear sirens in the background, “Summer, where are you guys?”

  “We are driving down the road heading East into the city. Easton wanted me to call you to make sure you made it out in time. We want to let you know I’m going to stay with him tonight. In case we are being followed, we don’t wanna track them back to your place.” My place is off the grid, and they know if anything ever happens they have somewhere to stay.

  “Alright, I’ll see you two sometime in the morning.”

  As I was getting ready to hang up the phone. “Greer, what happened tonight?”

  I shake my head in disbelief, knowing she can’t see me.

  I can hear her voice crack, “Did someone rat on us? I mean, I’m so thorough on everything.” She said exactly what I was thinking.

  Letting out a big puff of air, I could almost scream. Not at Summer but for the fucked-up night this turned out to be. “We will get to the bottom of this.”

  “Ok.” Pausing before continuing, “ we’ll see you tomorrow.” She sounded disappointed. I was as well because I didn’t know where we made our mistake. I would have to backtrack everything and everyone.

  I start my bike back up and head North for the next forty-five miles before taking a left into my driveway. My mind is replaying tonight’s events over and over the whole drive home.

  ***

  The room smells of mold. I always wake to a hard mattress with no bedding. It is still cold and dark, but enough light peeks in through the bottom of the door to see just a bit.

  I hear voices, they are faint, but I hear them. Whoever it is, is approaching my door, and before I know it, he is here. He has a rough voice from all the cigars he smokes. My body is used to whatever torture he gives me, and all I feel is numb anymore.

  I’m subjected to nightmares every night, for the past three years. I always wake up, cov
ered in sweat. It is a cycle of unrelenting dreams, of the hell I lived.

  That morning, I roll out of bed and have my usual morning breakfast, coffee and a bit of ganja. I sit on the steps outside facing the driveway of my cabin, that lays on twenty acres of land.

  I’m surrounded by trees in every direction with only one way in and out. Going up my dirt driveway, two miles long, I have hidden cameras every hundred feet in the trees. After driving one mile to the house, I put in a black paved road, which has motion powered lights along both sides of my driveway so I could be alerted if anyone approaches the house.

  As you approach, you will find a two-story oak log cabin with a wraparound porch and one massive bay window located on the second floor. The two-car garage begins ten feet to the left of the house, facing the South. There is a large in-ground pool, with a built-in waterfall, a Jacuzzi, and a bar. Off to the South of the pool, my shed, with a couple four-wheelers, a dune buggy, and some miscellaneous stuff, is covered in mossy oak as well. I have every inch of the inside and outside covered with hidden cameras. Due to my debilitating past, I’m very fond of my security, I feel comfortable and safe with it.

  I just got off the phone with Summer, she and Easton are on their way back from the city. I step inside and slip into some comfortable clothes.

  As Easton pulls up in his cherry red, 1969 Ford Mustang, I can see Summer in the passenger seat excited to see me. She practically jumps out of the car before he can pull into the circle drive. She comes running up to me, almost tripping on the top step and hugs me.

  “God, I was worried about you.” She hugs me tighter and tighter which makes me feel uncomfortable since I hate being touched. Deep down she knows it, but I never stop her. Her and Easton are the closest thing to family that I have.

  After putting the car in park, Easton opens his door and steps out. He is standing behind the door, leaning into it, staring at us. Easton has short, curly, dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a muscular body. You can always catch him wearing his black leather jacket that zips up from the bottom left to the top right, he can pull that shit off. Easton is a great looking guy, I’ve always thought of him as a big brother.