Page 12 of Pulse
Chapter 4
Ren
Everyone said that if I won the next qualifier that I was a sure thing for the league.
I was like that chick from Million Dollar Baby, knocking out every opponent in the first round. The only difference being, women were lining up to try and be the one that took out the infamous Ren ‘One-Shot’ Miller. And me? I was walking around in a haze, focused on the fight and nothing else.
They made a big deal about these qualifiers, especially since the women’s league was taking off in such a big way. Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena had been turned into a huge stage for the qualifying rounds for both themen’sand women’s leagues. There were TV cameras filming for Pay TV channels, reporters and fancy lights. Even advertisements were plastered everywhere. Every fighter had a sponsor and we all wore their clothing or had a patch on our gear for whatever company paid us money to train and fight. Commercialized fighting. It was big business.
Despite all of that and the crowds that paid good money to come to these things, I knew I’d never get used to the bright lights. I’d come from a lifetime of obscurity and shadows and had been shoved headfirst into the spotlight.
Since Dad was my coach, he came everywhere with me. He gave me advice and pointers on the other fighters, most of which I’d seen fight or had fought myself by this time. One skill The Underground had given me was how to spot weaknesses in my opponent using my own judgment. I’d fought pretty well there on my own without a trainer and could do it all on my own now, but this was Dad’s name on the line. I was just along for the ride.
One place he couldn’t follow was into the female change rooms, so the moment I could ditch him, I disappeared away from his scrutiny and the cameras and all the eyes that were trained on me. All the eyes that expected great things. Sometimes, it was a little too much to handle.
“Ren Miller?” A finger tapped me on the shoulder and I jumped.
Glancing up, I could hardly believe who I was looking at. I’d only seen her a few weeks ago at The Underground and nothing had changed in her appearance. She was still this tall, muscled, blonde Aussie beauty.
“Thunder?” I asked, blinking hard.
“Shh,” she said with a wink, then held out her hand. “I’m Alison, nice to meet you.”
Cracking a smile, I grasped her hand and shook. “Renee, but everyone calls me Ren.”
“I know,” she replied. “I saw that magazine shoot you did with those hunky twins.”
I groaned, covering my face with my hands.
“What? It was brilliant. Totally jealous, by the way.”
“It’s not my scene.”
“It should be. Girl, you could be a model.” She laughed at my awkwardness and nodded toward the ring. “How’s it going?”
“Great, surprisingly.”
“Why are you surprised? You’ve beaten my ass more than once.”
“That was another lifetime,” I replied. One without rules and look where that had gotten me.
“What happened to Ash?” she asked. “I haven’t seen him around since…”
My entire body went tense at the sound of his name and I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“But you two are together, right?”
“Were.”
Alison’s shoulders deflated and she sat next to me. “Oh, shit. Sorry.”
I shrugged.
