T.K.O.: Total Knock Out Read online

  “Listen up, ya’ll. This here is Raegan. She’s joining us as of today so let’s all welcome her.”

  There is a little bit of clapping and cheering as Howard walks back into the office for a second. Then I lock eyes with the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen in my life. I need to look away from those strikingly blue eyes, because someone who looks like that will do nothing but distract me from what’s important here.

  Whitney runs over and throws her arms around my neck. “I’m so excited! Come meet everyone. Hey guys, this is Raegan. Raegan, this is Jack, Lance, and this is Garrett.”

  Jack and Lance come over and shake my hand then turn it into a hug. Jack is about six-foot-one with sandy blond hair and deep brown eyes. His chest and arms are covered in tattoos, like a walking art exhibit. Lance is maybe an inch shorter, with green eyes and light blond hair. He has about as many tattoos as Jack does.

  The last to acknowledge me is Garrett, wearing nothing but his shorts and a cocky grin on his face. The first thing I notice is he doesn’t have a single tattoo on him. Tattoos are hot, sexy even, but the fact he has not a single one draws me to him more. His chiseled chest is flawless and I catch myself eying him up. As he clears his throat, I glance back up like nothing happened, and I’m sure I’m blushing.

  He has little beads of sweat at the ends of his dark brown hair, and across his body and…oh God, Raegan, get it together before your eyes fall out.

  All of a sudden I recognize this guy. I saw him fight that night James and I went out. He’s the one who won and then smirked in my direction. Holy hell.

  I roll my eyes as he inches closer, wearing that same ridiculous grin.

  “Your name’s Raegan? You aren’t a dyke or anything or you? With an ass like that, I’d pray not.”

  I scoff, shocked that he’d have the balls to say such a thing. I’m infuriated, but I refuse to feel insecure anymore. I ball up my fist and before he has a chance to retort, my fist connects with his jaw and Jack and Lance begin laughing and slapping each other on the back.

  There, that ought to show him. Shit, my hand hurts right now but I don’t let him see that. Garrett reaches up and touches his jaw in surprise, but then he looks more amused than anything else.

  “Damn girl, nice punch.” Garrett steps up and puts his hand out, wanting a truce, but I can’t give him that yet. He’s too cocky and his comment pissed me off. My hands are rigid at my sides, my guard up, tension rolls through my shoulders like a wave and I feel my muscles clench. Wanting to prove to everyone here that I’m not a joke, I kick his legs from under him using a move from my kickboxing class. As he falls to the ground, I pin his arms by his side which is something I wasn’t sure I could even do to a man his size. Here, I feel brave. I know no one in this gym can hurt me like Dad could if I ever tried this on him. I can tell by how everyone’s reacting that this doesn’t happen to Garrett often.

  I lean down to where only he can hear me and whisper, “I’m not a dyke, got it?” Then I shove at him, almost letting myself get caught in his eyes. Hell, my body is tingling just being this close to him. Even with me pinning him down, he still doesn’t look pissed. If anything, he looks like he’s enjoying it, and I’m not sure how to take that. I climb to my feet; I’ve earned more hugs, along with congratulations from the guys, but that tingling feeling remains. When Howard comes out of the office hollering my name, I knew I must’ve done something wrong.

  “I’m sorry,” I call out, gritting my teeth and cringing. “I shouldn’t have done that. He pissed me off.” An apology is the only thing I can up with. I’d barely been out there five minutes and I was already taking guys down. What happened to the meek little girl who kept getting beat up by her dad? Where’d she go? I couldn’t help but wonder.

  At Howard’s beckoning hand, I hurry to the office, clasping my hands before me and feeling like I did in high school when I got sent to the principal’s office.

  Whitney is in the office with Howard and neither one of them look irritated. Instead they look happy. I was already to get my ass handed to me; I thought sure they’d throw me out.

  “Raegan, you ready to start training? Seriously training?” Howard shakes my hand, explains a few things, then hands me back over to Whitney. She and I step out of the office, and Whitney smiles, giving me a hug.

  “I think you’re gonna be fucking awesome,” she exclaims. “My brother deserved that, and you took him down like a pro. I couldn’t have picked someone better to take my place. Your kickboxing lessons will come in handy so you aren’t completely behind in this, you’ll be good in no time.”

  I can’t help but convey an attitude of excited amusement as I reflect upon what she said. I am really going to do this; I am going to train to be a fighter. I’ll be able to start saving to get my own place, away from Dad.

  A new Raegan Montgomery is born; she’s taken the place of the one who died the night she removed James from her life. I envision my Mom and let out a sigh. I can do this. I’m so excited—until I realize the first thing Whitney said.

  That arrogant, perfect, sexy blue-eyed asshole is her brother.

  Chapter 3

  Garrett

  I wake up this morning to find my sister sitting in her usual chair at the kitchen table, slowly nursing a cup of coffee. This is typical for Whitney, but this morning she looks nervous as she twirls a strand of hair around her finger. I can’t recall seeing her do something so girlie before. Normally, she’s never nervous. I mean, she’s dating Howard from the gym for crying out loud. He’s built tough, muscles are etched into his skin like a tattoo. He used to fight, but now he trains us. I never would’ve expected them to end up together, but she softened him up and he fell head over heels for her. He hates watching her in the ring though. Every time she steps in there, he’s ringside cringing and keeping a watchful eye on her. If she ever got hurt, he’d probably want to even the score and beat the shit out of her opponent. But she’s as tough as I am, and rarely loses a match. Must be that Johnson blood we have running through our veins.

  When she sees me, she startles, glances up at me, and gives me a half smile. I can tell something’s wrong, and I tell myself if Howard hurt her, he’s going to pay; no one gets away with hurting my sister.

  She’s tugging at the fabric tablecloth, anxious, and I pull her hand into mine wondering what’s going on with my twin sister. We aren’t identical twins; we’re fraternal which is why people that don’t know us can’t tell. As kids we were inseparable and had each other’s backs no matter what. I got into more fights than I like to admit to because of Whitney. She was always sassy, and I always had to kick some guy’s ass when she stuck her foot too far into her mouth.

  “Hey sis, what’s going on?”

  “I wasn’t sure how to tell you this.” She frowned, biting her bottom lip. “I’ve wanted to for a week now. But I just…I want you to remember I love you, Garrett…so much.” She pauses before adding, “I’m pregnant. Howard and I are going to move in together.”

  She keeps talking, but all I hear is, I’m leaving you alone in this apartment and you’ll never have to see my bras hanging all over the bathroom anymore. Thank you Lord!

  “You’re going to have this apartment to yourself, so that should make you happy right?”

  I snap out of my thoughts, nodding my head. “Yeah, Whitney, whatever makes you happy. A baby, huh? I’m going to be an uncle? Howard’s excited?”

  She instantly beams and starts rattling on and on, talking with her hands like a damn girl; she doesn’t usually blather on like this with so much dramatics.

  “Oh God, Garrett, he’s thrilled! I know I’m not showing or anything but he talks to my belly and kisses it, and ah, he’s so amazing!”

  I can’t imagine Howard doing being all mushy like that, but I guess becoming a parent brings all that shit out in people.

  “That’s awesome. I’m happy for you guys. Why’d you seem so upset though?”

  “I wasn’t sure how you’d take it. I mea
n, we’ve lived together for years now and soon it’s just going to be you. On the bright side, now you can bring all the women here you want.” She slaps my arm trying to get a rise out of me. I know she’s kidding, but she also knows I don’t bother bringing women home.

  “Yeah, this place is gonna turn into a regular whore house as soon as your gone,” I tease. “Let me go put an ad in the paper and get a sign made to put on the front door. A little red lamp in the window, maybe.” Whitney smacks my arm, hard. Which makes me think of what she’s been doing for a living. “Um, you’re not gonna be fighting anymore right?”

  “Do I look stupid, Garrett? I’m pregnant. Looks like it’s just you, Jack, and Lance now.”

  “Hey, I was just checking. I’m about to head down to Lou’s, you coming?”

  “Howard’s picking me up. But thanks anyway, big brother, I appreciate you.” She leans in and kisses my cheek as I shake my head, laughing. I was born about three minutes before she was and when we were younger I always made it a point to throw it in her face that I was the older sibling. She was my little sister, and still is. To me, she will always be the little girl with pigtails making mud pies in the backyard. After she runs to the bathroom, I sit there and wait my turn.

  Scrolling through my phone, I realize it’s turned into nothing more than a little black book for me. Looking at the girls’ names in my contact list, I realize I don’t remember most of their faces. Sex is a quick fix for me, which is why I don’t bother bringing them home; bring them home and shit gets complicated. Who knows why I even bothered getting numbers. Going through the list, I delete a bunch of them, and now there’re maybe ten contacts inside my phone. Sometimes I just have to put a chapter behind me; I won’t talk to most of these girls anymore. Call me a pig, but that’s the way it is.

  Whitney emerges, and I jump in the shower. When I’m done, I run the towel over my hair once, then just leave it. I’ll be covered in sweat later, so it doesn’t really matter. I shouldn’t have even taken a shower this morning, but I went to the bar last night with Lance, and afterward my body reeked of the bar, and the sex I had with some chick in the closet.

  Lance’s been out a lot more lately. His family is going through their own turmoil; they have been for awhile. His dad just lost his job and even though he should be saving his money to help pay bills in the house, and his mom’s medical bills, he deserves some time to himself. That’s exactly why I didn’t let him pay for a single drink last night. He was able to clear his mind; it was nice to see my best friend smile again.

  But this redhead kept throwing herself at me. She was sexy as hell with her little black dress barely covering her ass. When we went into the closet, it didn’t take much for me to fuck her and leave. She was ready the minute I slid that dress up, and the fact she was commando made it that much easier. Convenient as hell, no strings attached.

  I like the no commitment thing. We both got what we wanted then she was off doing her own thing on the dance floor. Maybe I’m a selfish bastard but I have a good heart. It’s just caged where it should be, where none of these ruthless women can get to it.

  Once I reach Lou’s, I walk in to find Whitney just hanging out. I know it must be pretty awkward for her to walk in and not be able to spar around with me or one of the guys. Howard is talking to Jack and Lance on the soft mats, and once I take my shirt off, I’m standing beside them.

  I clap my hand on Howard’s shoulder and congratulate him on the news Whitney shared with me this morning. Once that’s out the way, we pair up and begin going through our normal training routines. Howard decides he’s had enough, he retires to the office and Whitney plays supervisor.

  For almost a year and a half it’s just been the five of us here at Lou’s. The sign still says Lou’s Gym, but this place is far from just a gym. Howard is big into the fighting scene and recruited Jack. Lance found out through Jack and jumped aboard to help his family out. Once I caught wind of what was going on after my parents’ death, I had to get in on it and I am pretty damn good. I’ve only been defeated maybe ten times in two years. I’m quick on my feet and if the opponent gets a shot in, they’re a lucky bastard.

  The door opens and all of us turn. Hardly anybody ever comes in here. I spot this beautiful girl in pink shorts and a dark gray shirt. Poor thing must be lost; maybe I should go see if she needs any kind of help. This isn’t a place women randomly walk into and I can’t help but feel a little concerned for her.

  Whitney beats me to her, and leads her into the office where Howard is. When Whitney walks out of the office I motion her over and begin interrogating her.

  “Is she lost?”

  “No, she wants to join so I showed her to Howard. Maybe she’ll take my place.”

  I chuckle, shaking my head. “Yeah, okay, because you’ve met her before, haven’t you? Oh wait, no, you’re just doing some wishful thinking.”

  She glares at me. “Pregnant or not, I’ll knock you on your ass, Garrett, don’t get sarcastic on me.” She jabs her finger in my face. Before I can snap at her, we watch the office door shut. I stare at it, gaping.

  The door never shuts and it’s kinda got us all wondering what the hell is going on and who the hell this girl is. I turn to Lance who doesn’t look half bad for having drank as much as he did last night.

  “How you feeling today?”

  “I’m good. Dad’s out job hunting today. I have enough saved I can take care of things a while longer until he finds something. Thanks for last night, I needed that.”

  I clap my hand on his back, pulling him in for a quick hug. “Anytime, you’ve helped me before. Anything you need, I’m there for you.”

  “It’s just getting so damn hard. She’s refusing to go to the doctor anymore. Says they don’t know what they’re doing. We can’t make her.”

  “I’m sorry, Lance.” When we were kids, his mom was like another mother to me; always driving us around, bringing us snacks. His father is doing his best to take care of the family. I hate seeing them like this.

  A few minutes later, the office door opens and we all stumble over each other trying to pretend we’ve been actually doing something productive. Everyone stops when Howard stands there with this girl right beside him. She looks a little nervous, her blue eyes filled with weariness and hesitation. As she scans over us, I notice she looks at me a little longer than everyone else. I flash her a grin and she quickly glances away. Damn, I wish I could have approached her before Whitney got to her.

  “Listen up, ya’ll. This here is Raegan. She’s joining us as of today so let’s all welcome her.” Howard’s voice booms throughout the gym. The guys immediately hug her and Whitney is more than thrilled to have another woman around.

  Raegan. My guess is that it’s short for Raegan. She is beautiful, like an angel, and I wonder if being with her is like being in Heaven. I almost get hard just thinking of it. The fact she’s in here is screwing with my head. I’m worried she’s going to distract me and throw me off my game.

  I step closer to her once I adjust myself and decide to give her a proper greeting; she rolls her eyes as I take that step. She has no idea how much that just turned me on. Being the ass I am, I speak without thinking.

  I know what I said is fucked up and I figured she’d run out crying, but instead she punches me.

  Shit.

  I can’t be angry; I’m the jackass who made a shitty comment. This girl is a firecracker and she’s already blowing up my world. She doesn’t even know it. When she pins me to the ground, I’m so aroused it isn’t funny and I pray she can’t tell. Her blonde ponytail is on the side of her shoulder hanging where the breeze from the air vent can catch it sending a whiff of her shampoo my way. Damn.

  Once she makes it very clear to me she isn’t a dyke, she lets me up. Then Howard calls her name. Once he announces she is part of our group now, I make a mental note to start trying to show her I’m not a complete asshole.

  Whitney shoots me a look from hell as I threw my hands up admit
ting defeat. Yes, I know I was way out of line, but this girl definitely showed she can take care of herself. She has the potential to be as great as Whitney if not even better.

  Whitney leads Raegan over to the punching bags and begins showing her the proper technique so she doesn’t hurt her hand. Raegan is a natural. She doesn’t miss a beat and she seems so focused, almost like she was imagining punching someone’s face in. I’m almost positive that face is mine.

  Whitney throws a few punches as well, and I stop sparring with Lance to walk over there. She doesn’t need to be messing with any of this in her condition, and if Howard saw, he’d be pissed.

  As soon as Raegan sees me coming, I smirk. She rolls her pretty little eyes again. “Whitney, I can help her. You don’t need to be doing any of this.”

  Whitney tries to protest, but I put my hand up to her and she backs down. Mumbling, she walks off. No doubt she’s pissed at me and by the scowl on Raegan’s face, she is too.

  “I can do this by myself. I don’t need your help. Not unless you want to be my practice dummy.” She gets in three or four good jabs and the sound of her voice absolutely mesmerizes me.

  I hold the bag for her as she continues to wail on it, showing no mercy. “I’ll be your practice dummy anytime, babe.”

  “I’m not your babe.”

  “Whoa now, don’t kill me, I’m sorry. It was just a slip of the tongue.”

  “Don’t call me that again, got it?” She sneers.

  This girl is some kind of strong because the last punch she gives the bag before she walks away almost knocks me down. I can see Whitney glaring in my direction but I just shrug and stalk back to Jack and Lance.

  “Geez, dude, she’s gonna bust your damn nuts if you don’t watch yourself. I thought your sister was mean but I think she may have her beat.” Lance is being absurd and I want to punch that smug smirk off his face.

  Jack just stands there with his arms crossed, looking astonished. Asshole. He walks off to go lift weights and Lance follows to spot him. That leaves me on the mat, watching from my peripheral vision as Raegan grabs some water.