Was she scared? Was she hiding from something? Or someone?
“Are you okay?”
Her eyes flashed open. Beautiful hazel eyes. And so fucking expressive that a million emotions passed through them. Shock. Confusion. Recognition. “Hi.”
Her soft voice was kind of breathless. From whatever she was hiding from? Or him?
He’d seen her at The Tea House a week ago. Two assholes had tried to mess with her, and he’d been a second away from stepping in, but she hadn’t needed saving. She’d thrown one of the jerks onto his ass and saved herself.
He checked the window beside the door, then returned his gaze to her. “I’m Zane.”
“Bonnie.”
Bonnie. It fit. Pretty. Simple. Different. “Is everything okay, Bonnie?”
She swallowed and glanced over her shoulder at the wooden door before looking back at him. “I just need somewhere to hide for a second. Is that okay?”
“Are you in danger?”
“Not the physical kind. At least, I don’t think the physical kind. But what’s out there could definitely hurt me.”
What the hell was she talking about? Whatever it was, for some damn reason, if this woman needed shelter, he wanted to give it to her.
She glanced down at his chest, and there was the smallest flaring of her eyes before her gaze shot back up.
He stepped back. He was big. Big enough to come across as a threat. “Stay as long as you need.”
He headed back toward his bag.
The soft pad of footsteps sounded behind him. “This is the place you mentioned? Your gym?”
He paused, their conversation the week prior coming back to him. After those assholes had messed with her, he’d offered to let her train here. “This is it.”
“It looks great. Actually, it looks like the kind of place my brother and cousins would like.”
He turned. “Who’s your brother?”
“His name’s Noah. He was a Marine. And my cousins are all badass military guys too.”
Zane lifted his bag to his shoulder. “I’ve met Noah.”
“You have?”
“Yeah. We went a round in the ring.”
Her focus flickered to the octagonal ring before flinging back to him, an emotion he couldn’t place crossing her face. Longing? Why the hell would that be her first emotion at the mention of her brother?
“Have you been in a ring before?” he asked.
“Once or twice. I’ve done a lot of self-defense classes.” Her brow creased. “Have you ever offered any kind of classes?”
“No. This place isn’t really built for that.”
She nodded almost absently, and when she glanced out the window, she gasped and stepped back so the hallway wall covered her.
He followed her gaze to two women crossing the road outside the gym, one older and one maybe early thirties. He looked back at Bonnie. It wasn’t fear in her eyes. Apprehension? “You know them?”
“Knew them. I haven’t seen them since the last time I was here.”
