Breaking Phoenix

BREAKING PHOENIX UNDERGROUND BRUISERS BOOK 2 E.C. LAND RAE B. LAKE CONTENTS Trigger Warning 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 Epilogue Also by E.C. Land & Rae B. Lake Breaking Phoenix This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons, organizations, events, or locales are entirely coincidental. Breaking Phoenix. Copyright © 2023 by Rae B. Lake & E.C. Land. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations used in articles or reviews. Published by Dark & Damaged Romance Publishing LLC Cover Design by Clarise Tan, CT Creations Editing by Jackie Ziegler Formatting by E.C. Land Proofreading by Rebecca Vazquez TRIGGER WARNING This content is intended for mature audiences only. It contains material that may be viewed as offensive to some readers, including graphic language, dangerous and sexual situations, murder, rape, extreme violence, childhood bullying, and domestic violence. Proceed with caution. This book does entail several scenes that may very well be a trigger to some. Also, tissues are a must with other scenes. Not for the faint at heart. If you don’t like violence and cannot handle certain subjects, then this is not a book you’ll want to read. CHAPTER ONE PHOENIX This is the freedom everyone kept telling me about? I lift another crate over my head and toss it in the direction of the half-full pallet. Over and over, night after night, I do the same thing. When I got out of the military, everyone told me I would finally be able to start my life as a free man. So far, this is nothing to write home about. My muscles burn as I keep an intense pace. The pain feels good. A soft footstep behind me has my ears perking up waiting for whoever it is to speak. “Hey, Phoenix, not trying to bother you or anything. Just trying to see how you’re feeling tonight?” I turn to see Kyle, one of the newer dock workers shifting from foot to foot as he looks me over. Putting on the best show I can, I limp closer to him. “I don’t know, man. I must have twisted my ankle or something. This shit has been bothering me all night.” The complaint does exactly what I want. Kyle’s eyes go wide as he focuses down on my foot. He’s not here to see how I’m feeling or to be friendly. Kyle’s here to find out if I’m a good bet for tonight’s fight. There’s nothing like stacking the odds against myself. If Kyle goes around and tells everyone that I’m fucked up, I’ll get a bigger cut when I win. I chuckle to myself as Kyle makes up an excuse about getting back to work and then runs off. When will these bastards learn? There’s nothing they can throw at me that I’m not ready for. I’ve been fighting for my life way before I enlisted in the military. A few dock workers won’t be any type of challenge for me. No, a challenge would be five against one. The last time that happened was when I was twelve years old and still a scrawny little kid hiding out of sight. Troy, my foster brother, always seemed to find me though. That asshole had it out for me the minute the state placed me in the same house as him. He made sure I knew every day that he was the big man in the house. His father would beat on him and he, along with the other foster kids, would beat on me. Countless days I ran from him and hid in closets just to stay away from another beat down. Troy may not be in my life any longer, but those scars still run deep. After a few more hours, BJ knocks on the side of my latest container to get my attention. “Damn, bro, did you do all this by yourself?” He whistles, impressed. I shrug my shoulder, looking around at the empty space in the crate. Usually, it’ll take three men to clear out one of these crates, but I managed to get three-quarters of it done on my own. If BJ hadn’t interrupted me, I’d be able to finish it all on my own as well. “What’s up? It’s quitting time?” I ask before I pull my wrist up and glance at my watch. It’s twenty past the end of the day, actually. I should be in the locker room getting ready for this fight. “Yeah. You want to push back the fight? Give you some more time to cool down?” BJ asks, shoving his hands in his pocket. “Nah. Just let me change. I’ll be right out.” I walk by him, not bothering to look at the growing crowd at the end of the dock. They’re waiting for a show and that’s exactly what I’m going to give them. I pull a large wad of cash out of my pocket and hand it to Gene, the older dock worker who takes all the bets. He counts it fast and hands me a ticket. He shakes his head at the amount I give him. “You seem awfully sure of yourself, my boy.” He cocks a brow. “Of course, I am.” I continue on into the building, leaving him to get the rest of the bets from those waiting around for the fight. No one bothers to speak to me.