by Ash, Nikki
Fighting Love
The Complete Series
Nikki Ash
Contents
Free Book
Tapping Out
Tapping Out
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Epilogue
Marco’s Letters to Bella
October 18th
October 19th
October 20th
October 21st
October 22nd
October 23rd
October 24th
October 25th
October 26th
October 27th
October 28th
October 29th
October 30th
October 31st
November 1st
November 2nd
November 3rd
November 4th
November 5th
November 6th
November 7th
November 8th
November 9th
November 10th
November 11th
November 12th
November 13th
November 14th
November 15th
November 16th
November 17th
November 18th
November 19th
November 20th
November 21st
November 22nd
November 23rd
November 24th
November 25th
November 26th
November 27th
November 28th
November 29th
November 30th
December 1st
December 2nd
December 3rd
December 4th
December 5th
December 6th
December 7th
December 8th
December 9th
December 10th
December 11th
December 12th
December 13th
December 14th
December 15th
December 16th
December 17th
December 18th
December 19th
December 20th
December 21st
December 22nd
December 23rd
December 24th
December 25th
December 26th
December 27th
December 28th
December 29th
December 30th
December 31st
January 1st
January 2nd
January 3rd
January 4th
January 5th
Clinched
Clinched
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Epilogue
Takedown
Takedown
Prologue
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Epilogue
Untitled
My Kind of Love Preview
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Other Books by Nikki Ash
About the Author
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Tapping Out
A Fighting Love novel, Book 1
Tapping Out
Copyright © 2018 Nikki Ash
All rights reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
Cover design: Jersey Girl Design
Cover photograph: Depositphotos
To my readers who have watched Bella grow up into the young woman she is today—this book is for you! Thank you for taking a chance on me! <3
Tapping Out
The act of a struggling fighter signaling to the referee, usually by quickly tapping three times on the mat or opponent, that they give up and concede def
eat.
Chapter One
Bella
Present Day
Two lines mean pregnant. One line means not.
Two lines. Pregnant.
One line. Not.
I sit on the edge of the tub in the bathroom with the door locked. My head is down as I stare at the tiled floor. There are thirty-four tiles. One is cracked. The grout is dirty. I should buy better cleaning supplies. The test said three minutes. It’s probably been closer to ten, but I can’t look. Will the test still be accurate if I don’t look right away? Maybe I should take another one just in case.
Two lines and my life changes.
One line and nothing changes.
“Bella, you’ve been in there forever. Are we still going to dinner? The shower isn’t even running. Gina is going to be here any minute.” When I don’t respond, Tristan knocks on the door again. “Bella!”
“I’ll be out in a minute,” I yell through the door, praying he can’t hear the tremble in my voice. If he knows I’m freaking out, he will without a doubt force his way in here to find out what’s going on, and right now, Tristan is probably the last person I want knowing what’s going on.
Taking a deep breath, I stand and walk slowly toward the counter silently praying for one line—as if praying now is going to make a difference—if I pray right this second, the results will miraculously change in my favor. The second line will just disappear and all will be right with the world. Maybe I don’t need a miracle. Maybe there’s only one line. Maybe I’m freaking out over nothing. I swear to God if there’s only one line, I’m getting on birth control today. Not that I’ll need it, because if I’m not pregnant, I’m never having sex again. Okay, maybe not never again, but not anytime in the near future.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. After holding it in for a few seconds, I let out a slow exhale. Nope, doesn’t work, I’m still freaking out. I open my eyes and stare at the test.
Chapter Two
Bella
Five Years Ago
I’m sitting in my bedroom staring outside at the beautiful weather. After five days straight of rain, I am sick of being indoors. The sun is shining and there isn’t a cloud in sight. I’m dying to go for a run, but I’m not in the mood for another run on the treadmill indoors, so I text my two best friends: Marco and Tristan. Surely, one of them will want to join me for a run.
Group text: (Marco, Tristan, Bella)
Me: What are you guys doing? I’m bored.
Tristan: Mom is making me help clean the house. You?
Me: That sucks. Watching Something About Mary.
Marco: Of course you are…
Me: Oh hush! Wanna go for a run?
Tristan: Can’t… cleaning!
Marco: Where?
Me: Red Rock.
Marco: Okay. Pick you up in twenty.
Me: Okay.
Tristan: Have fun
I pause my favorite movie and throw on my athletic shorts, a sports bra, and a tank top. Then I grab my favorite hoodie from over the back of my chair and throw it on over my head. Even though it’s April in Vegas, the weather is cooler along the trails. I put on my socks and running shoes then grab my water bottle from my nightstand to fill it up in the kitchen. Once I’m dressed and ready to go, I grab the hair tie from around my wrist and throw my thick mane up into a ponytail.
As I’m leaving my room, I get a text, so I stop and check it.
Lucas: Wanna hang out?
Me: Can’t
I stuff my phone into the front pocket of my hoodie then pull it back out.
Me: Sorry. Another time?
Ever since starting high school this year, it feels like everything is changing. For so long, I was just Bella, the MMA fighter. Guys always saw me as one of them. But this year, something shifted.
I look at myself in the mirror to see if anything significant has changed, but I’m still just… me. I have chocolate brown hair that has a natural curl to it and matching brown eyes just like my dad. I am on the skinnier side from years of working out but was blessed with decent cleavage. I take a closer look in the mirror. My lips are naturally full like my mom’s, and my skin tone is an olive color like my dad’s. Most people say I’m the perfect mixture of both my parents.
While I don’t think I’m ugly, I don’t think I’ve suddenly morphed into some hot chick. I don’t wear makeup, my hair is almost always up in a ponytail out of my face, and I can usually be found wearing nothing but athletic attire when I’m not in my school uniform, since I pretty much live and breathe fighting.
My phone dings again.
Lucas: Sure. Maybe we can go to the movies?
Not having any idea how I want to respond to his question, I close out the text and put my phone away. I don’t think I look any different than I did last year, but for some reason the guys are acting like I’m the new girl in town. I was born in Las Vegas and have lived here my entire life, so I don’t get it. I take one last look at myself in the mirror then turn my light off and head downstairs.
“Mom! Dad!” I yell as I walk through the living room. “I’m going running with Marco.”
No answer.
I get to the kitchen and see my younger siblings—Nathan and Lilly—sitting at the bar eating a bowl of cereal. Nathan is five years younger than me and Lilly is seven years younger. Long story short, my parents met when they were young, real young. My mom was eighteen and fresh out of high school and my dad was twenty-two. They fell for each other instantly but were both heading in different directions in life. My mom had no idea she was pregnant when they parted ways, and once she knew, she had no way to get ahold of my dad. Five years later, they found each other, and surprise! I was in tow. Once they fell back in love, they got married and then came my brother and sister.
“Hey, where are Mom and Dad?” I grab an apple from the fridge, my go-to fruit in the morning, and take a bite, then fill up my bottle with cold water and ice.
“In their room,” Nathan says through a mouthful of cereal. I look at the clock. It reads 8:00. There’s only one reason my parents would still be in their room this late and I don’t even want to think about that reason. Sure, I’m aware that’s how my siblings and I were brought into this world but still…
“Okay, well, let them know I went running with Marco.”
“Ugh. Running.” Lilly scrunches her little nose in disgust. She clearly takes after our mom when it comes to exercise, which means it doesn’t happen. Like at all. Give my mom a book and a comfy couch and she’s good to go. My dad, on the other hand, is a retired UFC fighter and owns a couple UFC training facilities, including one here in Las Vegas, called Cooper’s Fight Club. While I enjoy curling up with a good book on a rainy day, I’ve grown up in the gym and will choose anything athletic over lounging around like a couch potato.
“Can I go?” Nathan asks. Like me, Nathan enjoys the more physical activities. He’s not really into fighting, but he loves to sweat. He usually spends his days at the recreational center my dad and his friends started years ago. It’s a sport’s complex for kids and teens to spend their time at as opposed to running the streets. Nathan is really into football and for only being ten years old, he’s actually really good at it.
