Flint: Book 1 (Freedom In The Cage) Read online

  Kevin wasn’t to be denied.

  “Take it easy. There is a simple solution to this problem we seem to have in front of us. I want her.”

  Kevin pointed to Jade. Stone shifted his stance because he instantly became uncomfortable. Did this guy really just ask for Jade like she was an object to be simply handed off? His blood began to boil. Stone wanted nothing more than to punch the daylights out of Kevin, but that would only make things worse. This whole time Flint sat quietly, squeezing his fists together. He felt rage building up in him all over again. However, he remained calm, following Stone’s lead. He was in awe that Stone’s conversation resonated with him so soon. Jade was the first to speak.

  “If that will make this misunderstanding go away. Name your terms quickly before I change my mind.”

  Kevin smiled a devilish grin. He wasn’t attractive in the least bit to Jade. Kevin was a smoker, so his teeth were stained with various shades of yellow and brown. His clothes always reeked of stale cigarettes, which Jade detested.

  “Don’t wrinkle your nose up at me, beautiful. I just want one date. You can even pick the place if you like. It doesn’t even have to be a romantic date, but a date, nonetheless. You know I’ve been watching you. I know you feel my eyes upon you.”

  “You are a manipulative son of a…” It was becoming an ever-increasing struggle for Stone to keep his composure. “The answer is no, do what you need to, man, but the answer is no.”

  Flint was waiting for his chance to chime in.

  “Kevin, dude, why don’t you just come after me. Leave her out of it. Name your price.”

  “You don’t get it, do you? I’ve been trying to get close to Jade for a while now. She has been above board with me since day one. And now, I finally get what I want.”

  Flint and Stone both agreed that this wasn’t something she should do, but Jade was headstrong and wasn’t going to let this turn into something more when she could nip it in the bud. One date wouldn’t kill her. She even hoped this would be the end of her having to train him. And for that, she would sacrifice herself and go on this date.

  “Stone, Flint, I’m good to go on a date. This way, everyone gets what they want, and we can get back to normal. Kevin, when do you want to do this? Does next weekend sound okay?”

  Kevin agreed and turned and walked out of the room. During the exchange, some other gym members came over to make sure everything was okay. This seemed to be the perfect time to introduce Flint to them all.

  “Hey guys, this troublemaker is Flint. He will be joining us indefinitely. Flint, this is my little brother Brickson or Brick as we call him. I call him brother because that is what he is to me. There are a few people I hold that dear. They are all in this room. You are family now.”

  The guys all shook hands as they welcomed Flint to the gym officially.

  “Glad to have you here, bro,” Brick was the first to speak up. “Make sure you control your temper. On a side note, I do appreciate you jumping to Jade’s rescue, but just know that she can kick my butt on most days.”

  “Alright, back to business. I think we’ve had enough theatrics for today.” Stone told them he had some business to take care of but would be back. Flint, feeling as if he had caused enough damage, took the opportunity to head home. There was a presentation he needed to prep for in the morning.

  Chapter 7

  Phoenix Risen had pretty much become Flint’s second home. The invitation to be a part of their family was just what he needed. Stone decided that he would do most of his training with him. The more he progressed, the more Brick would work with him on some wrestling techniques and takedown moves. That was his specialty. Stone was more of a kickboxer whose knowledge of Muay Thai and Capoeira was unmatched. Stone was still working on getting him to join the crew. They would all train each other to build up their house. Everyone was excited to work with Flint. Stone bragged on him nonstop. Now it was time to show and prove his worth.

  Flint would arrive early at the gym, leave to work for a few hours, and then return for more training. Being the adrenaline junkie that he was, he thrived from this.

  A few days into training, he was shocked when Stone told him about a match for amateur MMA fighters.

  “It’s just a tournament they do every year to try and see who has the best talent coming up through the ranks. Guys from all over the state are competing. It would be a good thing for you if we can get you trained and ready in time. If not, there is always next year.”

  Flint was not trying to hear the next year’s part.

  “Tell me what I need to do. Train me. I know I am a hothead, but I’m ready. What do you say?”

  Stone shook his head as if to say no.

  “This would require a lot of sacrifice—hard work and determination from you. Your body is going to be put through the wringer. I don’t have time to waste with someone who isn’t ready to handle being torn down and rebuilt brick by brick. Do I believe you can be amazing? Hell yeah. I think you are pretty good now. You just need some refinement and the ability to control yourself, your breathing, and your mind.”

  Flint agreed, and they began. Stone wrote out a diet plan for Flint. It wasn’t bad considering he was in amazing shape already, but Stone didn’t want any garbage polluting his body. Most of the foods on the list were things he already ate, anyway. Flint was eager to get started.

  Since the other day’s events, Flint’s mind was still unsettled about Jade and her having to go on the date to save his hide. He decided to bring it back up to Stone to see if anything would change.

  In the middle of his training session, he brought it up.

  “Man, is Jade really okay? I’ve been meaning to ask you about her.”

  Flint felt Stone’s eyes on him, and they were not the friendly ones.

  “No man, not like that. I mean, she is hella nice, but I just want to make sure she’s okay. I don’t want her to have to put herself in a compromising position for my screw-ups.”

  “Flint, you need to focus on the things that you can control. Jade isn’t your problem, and what she has to deal with isn’t your battle. This fight that’s coming up is your focus and your only goal. I told you Jade is more than capable. She has handed out many beatings and tongue-lashings since coming to Phoenix. Her hands are amazing. Trust me, you don’t want to be on the receiving end of them.”

  Flint laughed at the thought of her hands being a force to reckon with. He’d felt them on his skin, and there was no way they could be forceful. Stone punched him in the shoulder with a quick jab.

  “Kid, listen, clear your mind. Focus. You are worried about the wrong things. If you are wasting my time, I’m not here for it, man. I could be training others. I chose to do this for free.”

  Flint gets back into his fighting stance to show Stone that he was ready. They began doing some punching bag drills.

  As the days progress, Flint was getting more powerful and quicker. He was quickly exceeding Stone’s expectations. It’s like the more difficult the tasks he throws at him, the more he eats it up and begs for more. This kid is definitely hungry. As long as he stayed that way, Stone would continue to feed him. He may have a chance of winning this competition. That would be great for Phoenix Risen. The group could use a win. It hadn’t been easy pulling in clients since Brickson’s last fight. He fought a great fight but ended up suffering some damage to his cerebral cortex. That rocked the family. The team didn’t know how to handle it. Brickson didn’t know how to handle it. He began having seizures and went through a bout of depression and severe anxiety. Now here he was, two years later and almost ready to fight again. It seems that when he went down, people lost faith in Phoenix. Before that, thirty percent of the top fighters in the region were from this gym. Stone had trained some best.

  While Stone had disappeared into his thoughts, Flint was steadily working on his bag work. Stone had to admit, watching him work was pure finesse. The raw talent that Flint possessed was something only a few people ever possessed.<
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  “Hey man, where did you go? I was talking to you about the fight, and you zoned out on me.”

  Stone asked him what he wanted to know. He told him what he could expect. There would be a lot of pain and a lot of mental abuse. Flint would have to push past it all, and he would be victorious. Stone sold it so well that Flint was beginning to believe that he could win. The thought drove him even harder. He pushed himself into training. He was training so much that he was barely sleeping.

  If only Hannah was here, we could be doing this together. “Sis, at least I’m not completely lost without you. It has been hard without you by my side, but I think I may have found a place where I can finally fit in. They accept me, flaws, and all. I miss you so much. Hopefully, I will have my first fight in a few months. I’m going to win that fight, and it will be my dedication to you because I know you are watching over me.”

  From that point on, he became more relentless with his training. Stone never saw a more determined man, except when he was starting out.

  Chapter 8

  “Hey Jade, can we spar for a bit? I know you got a client coming in, but I sure could use it. Maybe you could too.”

  Stone always seemed to know when she needed a friend. They sparred for about an hour. The way Jade was fighting, he knew she had some stuff going on. He eased into the conversation.

  “How is your mom doing lately? I know she was going through some difficulties not that long ago.”

  “Yeah, it is just us now. Her sister passed last month. My mom’s health is deteriorating, but she’s still got them hands, though.”

  “Baby sis, you do know that you can always talk to me no matter what or when. I will always be available for you. We can even spar if you need to release that dragon you’ve got lurking inside. I’ve fought you before. I know what’s there hovering just beneath the surface.”

  They both laughed. She got a few good licks in when they sparred a few years ago. Stone had this thing that you truly don’t know someone until you’ve fought them. That was also one of his tests before he cleared any of his fighters to fight. This was no easy feat.

  Feeling better after they worked out, Jade shared some of her thoughts about this date coming in another few days. Stone asked if she wanted to call it off, but she assured him she was good.

  Jade wanted to make sure that Kevin didn’t get any mixed signals while on this date. She was having a hard time deciding what to wear. One part of her wanted to wear gym shorts to prove a point, but she knew Kevin would find a way to make that sexual. Finally, she decided on a pair of dark blue denim jeans with a burnt orange shirt. Nothing too frilly or revealing to encourage him.

  Two days later, Kevin picked Jade up from the gym at seven pm sharp. He was taking her to get something to eat at a place called Jacob’s. The food was divine. It was one of her favorite establishments. You could pick your own steak, and they cooked them on the open grill.

  “Jade, I know we got off to a bad start, but truthfully, I’ve been attracted to you for a while. I know your rules are that you don’t date anyone you train or that you work with. I’d honestly like for you to just think about it. If after today you think I’m a good guy, then take a chance with me. Otherwise, at least you will get a great meal. What do you say?”

  Jade was bothered by the fact that he thought there was even a possibility for her and him.

  “I’m sure you’re a good guy. I’m not interested, but I agreed to the date, so I will uphold that. If we have a decent time, then that is even better, but I really don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

  “Fair enough. I can respect that.”

  The two ordered their dinner and chatted. The conversation wasn’t bad. Kevin was a decent guy, but just not the guy for her. He kept bringing the conversation back to him and what he has accomplished in his life. He owned two mechanic shops in the area and was about to open a third. Kevin shared that his wife left him about a year ago and took his ten-year-old daughter with her. Jade could see that it bothered him some, but he shifted the conversation and said it’s her loss. He started bad-mouthing the mother of his child to a woman he barely even knew. Jade had never been so turned off by a person than she was at that very moment.

  She was so glad they had reached the end of the meal. She was ready to go.

  The waitress came by and asked if they wanted some dessert. Jade answered a quick no, although their lemon meringue pie was one of her favorites. It wasn’t worth it to prolong this evening.

  “No, thank you. He will take the check now, though.”

  “Of course. Be right back,” the waitress left and was back in two minutes, placing the check onto Kevin’s side of the table.

  “What, you’re not paying?”

  Kevin tried to joke with Jade, and she started fumbling around as if she was looking for her purse. She shrugged her shoulders in response.

  Kevin paid the check and left a decent tip. He then walked over and pulled her chair out for her to get up. When he did those simple things, he wasn’t half bad. It’s just when he opens his mouth. On the drive back to the gym, they made small talk. When they arrived, he got out and opened her door for her.

  “So, what do you think? Can a guy get some love? A hug? Or something?”

  Kevin leaned in to hug her and tried to kiss her on the lips. With one quick action, she grabbed his wrists and twisted it enough to make him turn around with her back to him. Jade crossed his arm over his chest and held him in place.

  “What in the hell?”

  “Are you serious right now? I gave you what you asked for. This was not a part of the deal. This ends now. If you pursue this thing with Flint anymore, I will personally go down and file a report of you assaulting me. This won’t end well for you. I’m about to release your hand, nod if you understand.”

  Kevin nodded, and she released him. He staggered away from her, a little embarrassed.

  Chapter 9

  Flint was coming around the corner from taking the trash out when he saw what was going on with Jade and Kevin. He rushed over, but before he could intervene, Jade had the situation handled and waved him off. There was no need to end up where this all started. He backs away hesitantly. Flint makes his way back inside the gym, and within moments, Jade followed. She was alone. He could hear Kevin speed off as the door closed behind her.

  “Are you alright, Jade?” he asked

  “I’m fine. You have to understand that I can take care of myself. I don’t need you to jump to my defense all the time. I don’t need people seeing me as weak. I am not a damsel in distress.”

  “Okay! I get it. I’m just protective of those I care about. The way I see it is that I will always owe you a debt. You possibly saved my life. That I will never forget.”

  Jade raised her eyebrow at the thought of him saying he cares about her. She had done everything to deter anyone from getting too attached.

  “Whether you like it or not, I owe you. I was raised to protect others. Maybe you aren’t used to it. I don’t see you as weak.”

  “We good,” Jade offers up. She turns to walk away, and Flint reaches for her hand.

  “Hey, wait a minute,” he immediately regretted grabbing her hand the way he did. Jade turned and instinctively punched him in the chest. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to ask you if you’d want to grab some coffee with me? Just as friends.”

  “Flint, I’ve already told you before.”

  “It’s just coffee, I promise.”

  Jade finally consented to go after they got finished at the gym for the evening.

  Flint walked away, smiling on the inside at the thought that she finally caved in. Don’t go getting ahead of yourself. It’s just coffee.”

  Flint hadn’t noticed that Stone was in the ring until that moment. “Are you ready for me yet?”

  Stone motioned for him to come on.

  The two began to spar—Stone lectured Flint on the need to take training seriously.

  “Being talented is only part o
f it. You have to think and be smart about each jab or takedown. Your competition will be doing the same thing. They will fight as if their lives depended upon it. In some cases, it will. You need to fight with the same mentality only more,” Stone instructed as he continued throwing punches. Flint was deflecting them and defending himself pretty well. Each day that passed by, Stone felt more confident that this guy would do some big things.

  After sparring, Flint was instructed to go through his cooling down drills. Halfway through, Jade asked if he was just about ready to go before she changed her mind.

  “Almost. I just need to finish this up.”

  Jade’s last client for the day had canceled on her, so she was done. She wanted to spar with Stone, but she knew she wasn’t up to it. Instead, she decided to shower and change and wait for Flint to finish up.

  Before long, Flint finished up and took a quick shower, and met Jade out front. It was a nice 72 degrees out, so they decided to walk to the diner since it was only a few blocks away. The smell of freshly cut grass always did something for Flint. It reminded him of his childhood. That was one of the few things he and his father did together. They worked on the lawn. Jacob refused to hire someone to maintain it for him, that was until his health started bothering him.

  “Are you alright?” Jade asked, noticing that he had left her presence for a moment.

  “Yeah, my bad. Don’t know why I just did that. It’s been a while since I’ve thought about my dad.”

  “You are full of mystery, aren’t you?”

  “All you have to do is ask,” Flint replied while opening the door to the diner.

  As the two found a booth to sit down at, the waitress came right over with an ice-cold pitcher of water. It was so cold that the condensation rolled off the pitcher and onto the table.

  “Hi folks, I’m Mary. Oh, I’m sorry. Let me grab that. What can I get you two this evening?”

  Flint knew the place well; he had been coming since he joined the gym. He told the waitress he wanted a patty melt with no onions.