James laughed.
“Any other time, I’d be happy to see you knock him on his ass,” I said. “But not today. He’s still?—”
“I’m just watchin’ today,” James interrupted, shooting me a dark look.
He didn’t want her to know he had a weakness. Which meant he only trusted her to a certain extent.
“Fine by me,” she said, eyeing me up and down, and her expression suggested she found me lacking. “I’m here to knock you on your ass, Barbie.”
“Barbie?” I asked with a laugh. I’d never been called Barbie in my life, and my current attire of jeans, plain T-shirt, old jacket, and athletic shoes didn’t do anything to earn me the title, not to mention my lack of makeup or hairstyle.
“Are we gonna stand here gawkin’ at each other or are we gonna spar?” she asked as she started wrapping the scar-covered knuckles on her other hand. She was wearing faded black compression shorts and an old T-shirt that had likely once been black, with a distressed white graphic of a snarling pit bull in a circle and the words Red River Fight Night Champion around it. Beneath the logo, in smaller lettering, was 2019 Champion. The armholes were cut wide to reveal a black sports bra underneath. Her feet were bare, and her dark hair was slicked back into a long braid.
She was going to kick my ass.
But I wasn’t going to let her know she intimidated me. I lifted my hands in surrender, then took the bag into the locker room behind me. It only took me a few minutes to change, and I walked out in bare feet, steeling myself for anything.
Tex and James were having a quiet conversation that abruptly stopped when James saw me.
“Don’t stop chatting on my account,” I said, as I walked closer.
Tex gave me a dark look. Was she pissed that James had asked her to do this? Had he coerced her?
“Okay, princess,” she said with a sneer. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
I held her gaze. “Ready whenever you are.”
She walked over to a table and grabbed a couple of jump ropes and tossed me one. I caught it before it hit me in the belly.
“Let’s warm up,” she said, then started to swing her rope and jump.
I followed her lead, starting off slow. I hadn’t jumped rope since I’d been in the police academy and that had been a fluke. My toe caught on the rope a few times, which made Tex smirk with derision. But I soon found my footing and picked up the pace.
Tex picked up her pace too, then started some fancy twists and turns of her rope, never once stumbling or breaking her stride. I wasn’t fool enough to fall for her goading. This was a warmup, not a jump-rope showcase.
She was watching my feet and my breathing, which admittedly had become labored. I’d already proven the night before that I was out of shape. I recognized that she was assessing me.
After about five minutes, she stopped her rope and said, “Okay, let’s move on.”
We did some neck and shoulder rolls, then moved down our bodies, with arm and then hip rolls, her watching my every move. After we finished those, she said, “Let’s see your fighting stance.”
I put my left foot forward, my right foot back, both knees slightly bent. I settled my weight over my back foot, keeping my front foot light. My hands hovered loosely in front of my tucked chin. My elbows were at my sides, my back straight.
Tex walked around me, assessing my stance. I remained on alert, ready for her to pounce.
Sure enough, seconds later, Tex’s right hip rolled and her leg started to swing.
I immediately registered it as a low kick. Instinctively, I lifted my right leg, swinging it outward, prepared to block the kick with my shin.
But Tex pulled back the kick at the last moment, her foot nearly brushing my leg. She returned to her circling as she said, “That’s a Thai move. Where’d you train Muay Thai, Detective Adams?”
My blood ran cold, and I jerked my gaze to James, furious. “You told her?—”
I didn’t finish. Tex slid into my blind side, her foot hooking around my outside lead leg just as I felt a hard shove to my chest. My right foot slid out from in front of me, and I fell forward, pushing my hands out to help break my fall as my knees slammed into the mat.
“So I didn’t knock you on your ass,” Tex said in amusement. “But we’re just getting started.”
I stared up at her, more pissed at myself than her. I’d suspected she’d be sneaky, but that’s what I needed. If I had to defend myself from Razor or some other burly dude, they wouldn’t fight fair. And neither would I.
