The Only Way Read Online Free PDF Page B

head. It was as much a boy's name as any, but it felt strange to speak her own name while she was pretending to be someone else.
    "Gage," the older boy replied. 
    "Fine. Come on."
    Farris led them through a dim hallway, the walls yellowed with dirt and years. The noise of the crowd rose as they walked, and Hart felt her heart thump in her chest, beating fast. They emerged into the arena, a small room with bleachers around the edge and a ring in the center. It was bare bones, but that didn't really matter. This crowd wasn't looking for anything fancy; Hart could see that with one look at their shouting faces. They were here for blood.
    "Get in the ring, and we'll count it out," Farris instructed. "Get your opponent down for ten and the purse is yours."
    Gage climbed in effortlessly, ducking the ropes. Hart watched, wondering if she'd been wrong about his experience. Or if she'd overestimated her own.
    She took a deep breath and followed. The mat was springy beneath her feet, stained here and there with splotches of red. She kept her eyes up, trying not to think about the men who had come before her, who had fought here, bled here and maybe died here.
    Ten dollars would feed her family. That was what she had to focus on.
    The crowd jeered as she and Gage took their respective corners. Heckles rang through the air along with the encouragement to 'kill' each other. Hart kept her eyes on the boy across from her, trying to tune out the drunken shouts. He was bigger than her, but her father had always told her it was better to be fast than big. 
    Hart was fast and nimble, like the deer from which she took her name.
    As Farris stepped into the ring, addressing the crowd, Hart frantically tried to remember what else Duncan had told her over the years. Knees bent. Hands up. Stay on your toes. Keep moving. Tire the other guy out.
    She could do this. She knew she could.
    The bell rang and Gage came at her, barrelling down from the other side of the ring.
    Hart bent her knees, brought her hands up, and ducked. Gage's swing missed, his arm whizzing over her head. She danced away, circling to keep him in front of her. He narrowed his eyes and tried again. The crowd's cries grew as she sidestepped. 
    I can do this , Hart thought.
    She and Gage circled each other, feeling each other out. Gage wasn't rushing anymore. Hart kept on her toes, not bothering to throw a punch yet. Her time would come when Gage had exhausted himself.
    After a moment, as the crowd jeered, Gage charged again. Hart ducked to her right and hit the ropes. She stumbled over own her feet and Gage barrelled into her. He hunched over to get his shoulder against her back.
    He felt enormous, pinning her like that, and her heart pounded as she struggled to wriggle free.
    After a moment of desperate flailing she managed to squirm out of his hold. She darted back to the center of the ring as Gage spun to face her, a cocky smirk on his lips. She narrowed her eyes.
    She leapt forward and took a swing. A solid punch landed right in his stomach. Her hand hit firm muscle and Gage curled up over the blow. He straightened a second later, recovering faster than she thought he would. He swung up wildly.
    His fist caught Hart in the side of the head. She stumbled backwards, ear ringing. He advanced and it was all she could do to scurry away. She shook her head to try to clear the fog. She felt something wet on the side of her face and realized with a start that her ear was bleeding, dripping blood down her jaw.
    She ducked low and punched out. Gage dodged it easily and clipped her again, this time on the jaw, his fist glancing off the bone.
    It hurt .
    Hart swung wildly, landing a blow on Gage's shoulder that barely slowed him down. She ducked and slammed into him. Her body weight propelled him back, into the ropes. He gasped for breath. She knew he was too big to keep pinned for long, so she flung herself back. She got in a sharp right jab while he was still recovering his footing. Her