The Only Way by Jamie Sullivan Read Free Book Online

haul from the ring.
    "We should get started. Let me just find your sparring partner." Leo said. "Ruby!" He bellowed into the empty room. Hart jumped at the sound, looking around.
    After a moment, a door in the far wall swung open, and a girl sauntered out.
    She looked out of place in the grungy gym and yet completely comfortable in her surroundings. She was about Hart's age with a mane of wild red curls flowing over her shoulders. She wore simple clothes but nicer and cleaner than what Hart usually saw in the Gutter.
    Hart shifted nervously, instantly uncomfortable. She understood girls from the Gutter, even the ones who tarted themselves up to stand by the fence every night. They had a certain hunger in their eyes that she recognized, that she sympathized with.
    This girl didn't have that desperation about her. Instead, she looked at ease in her setting and her skin—it was something Hart had never felt and couldn't relate to.
    Leo smiled as she approached. "Hart, this is my daughter Ruby." He drew the girl to his side, an arm draped over her shoulder. "Ruby, this is our new fighter."
    Hart shifted under the weight of Ruby's gaze. After a second, the girl cocked a skeptical eyebrow. "He's kind of small."
    Hart bristled. "Size isn't everything."
    The girl shrugged easily. "Yeah, but it helps." She had bright green eyes that sparkled at Hart, amused at her indignation. Hart dropped her gaze.
    "Be nice," Leo chided, amusement in his voice.
    "You said something about a sparring partner," Hart prompted, refusing to meet Ruby's eyes. She just wanted to start with her training, not be laughed at by some girl who thought she was better than Hart because she lived further from the trash heap.
    "That's me, kid," Ruby laughed.
    Hart's head snapped up, meeting Leo's gaze angrily.
    "She's a girl!" Hart protested, wincing at the irony. If she was going to be a real fighter, she had to fight against men.
    "Yeah. And she's a damn good boxer." Leo said easily. "You'll be lucky if you can take her."
    A smug smile spread over Ruby's face. For a moment of blind panic, Hart was sure that Leo knew the truth, that he was calling her out for her deception. But neither Leo nor Ruby said anything. They just watched her placidly, smiles on their faces. Hart crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes.
    "Fine," she huffed. "You gonna get mad if I hurt her?"
    "Probably not something you have to worry about, kid," Ruby laughed.
    "Save it for the ring, girlie," Leo laughed. He turned to dig around in a small locker, emerging with a roll of tape. Ruby obediently held out her hands, allowing her father to wrap her knuckles. Their friendly rapport, their ease with each other, their comfort in the gym—all of it reminded Hart too much of her and Duncan.
    She choked back the pain that threatened to claw its way up her throat and out her mouth in a primal scream, forcing herself to focus on getting ready, stripping off her sweatshirt and her shoes. Leo came over to her next, gently taking her hands and wrapping them, protecting the skin of her knuckles.
    "First thing's first," Leo said, addressing both her and Ruby. "Stretching. Loosen yourself up. If you go into the ring without stretching, you're liable to tear something, and then the other guy'll have you pinned in a second."
    Ruby rolled her eyes but dutifully started stretching, pulling her arms across her chest and tugging her legs up behind her. Hart did the same; it was nothing Duncan hadn't told her a million times before.
    When Ruby ducked into the ring, Hart followed, sizing her up. The girl was smaller than her, a few inches shorter and narrower through the torso, although her pert, firm bust was bigger than Hart had ever hoped for. More than could be hidden under some simple cloth wrappings, anyway. The top she wore was tight and black, clinging to her frame, and Hart forced herself to look away from the swell of Ruby's breasts beneath the fabric. It was the kind of figure Hart knew she'd never have, but