Free The Girl by the Thames by Peter Boland Page A

within the gang, remember.”
    “Fair enough,” said Duff. “Put ‘em away.” There were a few groans of disappointment as everyone pocketed their phones. “You two ready?”
    Lena nodded and felt a delicious hit of adrenalin in her blood, as the rest of the gang crowded around her and Gem.
    “Hold on, hold on,” Duff held his hand up, a signal for everyone to be quiet. “Give ‘em some space, people.” They all moved back forming a natural circle around the two of them.
    “I ain’t cool with this,” said Gem.
    “Well, Lena seems to be all right with it,” Duff replied. “Go on, don’t wuss out on me.”
    “It’s going to be a quick fight,” Gem said, squaring up to Lena.
    “Well, you got nothing to worry about, then,” Liz shouted out.
    Lena sized up Gem. He was about the same height, but carried a lot more weight. But he was far too confident and she could use that to her advantage. Lena quickly formed a strategy. The process was instinctive for her. She didn’t need to think about it. Her fists were already raised and she stood on the balls of her feet, ready to move. Gem would want to end this quickly. He’d already given away his tactics. He would come in fast and hard. He stood in front of her, a mirror image, hands up, clenched tightly. His small eyes seemed to be fixed on a point somewhere around her chin. That would be his target.
    “Ready?” Duff said.
    “Ready,” said Lena and Gem.
    “Let’s get ready to rumble,” Si shouted out.
    “Go on, Lena,” the two girls added.
    “Fight!” Duff shouted.
    Gem came in fast, just as Lena had expected. She took a step back as Gem swung a punch at her chin. Lena jerked her head back so it looked like the punch had maximum impact. In reality it had just glanced off her. She even let out a whimper to add to the deception.
    Gem followed it up with a left hand to the same place. Again, Lena moved back letting it slide off her face. She threw her head back, giving the impression he’d landed a belter. By now his confidence would be soaring and he’d think the fight was his. He’d want to land a killer blow to finish her. Sure enough, he pulled his right hand back to put full force behind it. The punch was released. Just before it hit Lena, she dipped her head so the blow landed on her skull just above her hairline. It was the hardest part of the head, where the bone was thickest. Like hitting a rock. Gem’s bare knuckles cracked against it, almost breaking. He cried in pain as every nerve in his hand lit up. He instinctively grabbed his injured fist with his other hand, leaving his stomach unprotected. Lena brought her leg up and planted it into his gut.
    A gush of air came out of Gem’s mouth. He was winded and clutched his midriff while still holding his bruised hand. This left his face unguarded. He looked up just as Lena head butted him square on the nose. Water filled his eyes and blood fell out of his nose. He couldn’t see properly and staggered back, drifting over to the left. Lena took her time, following him at a walking pace. Gem tried to clear the blood and snot away from his face with his cuffs, leaving his middle section unprotected. Lena moved in close and drove her foot deep into his already sore stomach. The force of the second kick knocked him over backwards.
    Lena seized her chance to end the fight. She fell on top of him and pelted him with rapid blows to the face. Swear words machine-gunned out of her mouth. A frenzy took over her. Now she had him down, there was no need for strategy and she could revert to a blind, violent rage.
    Seconds later a pair of huge arms wrapped around Lena’s waist and she was lifted up in the air. She continued to swear and pounded uselessly on the arms that held her.
    “Get the fuck off me,” she screamed.
    “Take it easy, tiger, you won.” It was Seb who held her tightly. “Cool it, okay.”
    Lena felt anything but cool. The rage had taken hold of her and she wanted to fight anything