All Chapters of Fighting Strong (Fighting For Love 2): Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Katie Lloyd hung up the phone and stared out the window. She was seconds away from a full-blown meltdown and she fought to keep her cool. The secret to staying in control, she knew, was to break things down into small, manageable bits. OK. One thing at a time; one step, then another. So. I need to get there. I need to get there fast. For that, I need a car. Reena and Maggie don’t have cars. So, I need to get my car back. For that, I need to call Mia.There was a major problem with this last part of the thought process, though, namely, that she had no idea where the hell Mia Ferris was. All Katie knew was that her boyfriend Nick Spencer had taken her away for a week somewhere quiet and calm to recover from her beating at the hands of a pimp and pedophile. Even more than a month later, Mia was still in terrible shape, and Katie had offered Nick the use of her car to avoid the hassle of public transport and the stress of crowds. The man's only mode of owned transportation was a motorbi

Katie stood outside her apartment building hoping that Adam would get there soon. The forecast called for snow and she felt the chill in the air. Shivering, she pulled her scarf tighter around her neck.God, she hated that she had to ask Adam for help. Now he had something on her, now she owed him; that made her feel very uncomfortable, indeed. She preferred her relationships with men to be entirely in her favor.Her cell phone rang and she saw that it was Reena. She paused, thinking about not answering, but she knew that if she did that, Reena and Maggie would just take it in turns to keep calling until she went insane or picked up. Whichever came first.“Hi, Reena,” she said, trying to sound normal.“Katie, I just got your voicemail. You OK?”“Yeah. I mean… yeah. Sort of.”Reena was silent, trying to think what to say. “So, he’s really dying?”“Ryan says so.”“And how are you doing?”“I don’t know, to be honest. Relieved, I guess, in a way. Angry, like he’s escaping something. Mostl

Katie looked out the window as Adam drove through Denver traffic. She was already regretting her behavior earlier. She'd spent the past five minutes thinking about how this was actually the second time that Adam had stepped up and helped her, despite the fact that they didn't get along. He'd answered her call for aid to get Nick to come and talk to Mia after she'd been attacked, and Adam hadn't even hesitated to do so, because he'd had been almost as worried about Mia as Katie had been herself. Katie had asked then, Adam had said yes; Katie had been in trouble this morning, Adam had offered her a solution that totally inconvenienced him. And here she was, bitching at him about his trunk being full?Jesus Christ. This guy is doing you this huge favor and you’re acting like the ultimate spoiled brat, and this is after he helped you with one of your best friends? Come on, now. He doesn’t deserve this.“Hey, Adam?”He glanced at her. “Yeah?”“I wanted to say thanks for this. I – I know it

Katie woke up as they crossed the state line into Utah. She sat up, embarrassed, and looked at the clock on the dashboard.“Adam, why didn’t you wake me up or take a break? You’ve been driving for almost eight hours straight… you must be exhausted.”“I’m OK. Don’t worry about me.” He grinned. “You had a good sleep?”She nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.”“Listen, can you get on your phone and find a motel nearby? I see the storm’s coming.”She blinked and gazed up at the sky. “Oh, man. Look at that.”“I know, right? It looks bad. I guess we can turn around and go back, but I can’t believe there wouldn’t be something around here.”Katie peered out her window, doubtful. There was literally nothing at all, as far as the eye could see. Normally, she’d find the open space and rock formations and clumps of trees glorious and wild, but with those heavy clouds moving towards them, the desolation was far from comforting.“OK, let me see.” She untangled herself from her coat and threw it in the back seat.

He looked around them, and blinked when the snow cleared and he saw a large structure about five hundred feet away. “Hey, over there.” Katie followed his pointing finger across the open field. “What is that? A barn?”“The roadside lights aren’t bright enough to tell. But it’s a building and I’ll take it.” He gently sat her down in the driver’s seat and got her coat from the floor in the back. He zipped it up, then wrapped the blanket around her legs. “Just stay here for a sec, OK?”"OK.”Adam put on his own coat, then went back to the trunk and emptied the biggest backpack. In it, he stuffed three more blankets, bottles of water, granola bars, another flashlight, extra batteries, the first-aid kit, and some of his clothes. He strapped his sleeping bag to the bottom of the pack with two bungee cords and he grabbed Katie’s black backpack. “Alright,” he said. “Can you carry your bag and camera?”She nodded. He gently slid the straps up her arms and adjusted the backpack on her shoulder