I shrug. “Wanted something to remind me that they got away.”
She’s silent for a minute, looking over the ink. “Haven’t lost in a while, huh?”
“I was undefeated for the last eight months.”
“Hmm. And now you’re stuck here babysitting me and Lil.” She meets my gaze again.
“Not stuck. And not sad about being here.”
“If you say so. What’s your fighter name?”
I groan, my cheeks burning. “The Grim Goliath. Usually just Grim, though.”
Her laughter echoes throughout the room and fills all the little cracks in my soul.
“Accurate. I’m not calling you that, though.”
“No?” Are we flirting right now? I think we’re flirting. My dick sure thinks we’re flirting.
“No. Unless that’s what you want to go by. Is it? You can change it, you know. Parker can make you a whole newidentity. First name Grim, Last name Goliath.” She’s laughing again and touching my arm.
“What if I want the full thing? First name: The?”
“Oh my god, no.”
“I bet Parker would make it for me.”
“I’ll threaten to punch him again if he does.”
“When the hell did you punch Parker?”
She tilts her head to the side. “In kindergarten.”
Shocked, I let out a loud laugh. “Oh, shit! I didn’t realize it was Parker who pulled Lil’s hair!”
“Yep. It was a rare moment of assholery.”
“He doesn’t really seem the type. I can’t see him in the shed.”
She purses her lips and makes a noncommittal humming noise.
“Okay, so tell me aboutyourtrip to the shed.”
She cocks an eyebrow and stares at me for a moment. “Which one?”
I cock my eyebrow right back, and her eyes flash darker for a second. “Just how many times have you gone to the shed?” I finish off the first cookie and grab a second.
She smirks at me. “Nope, I’m not telling you that. Even Lil doesn’t know that. But I’ll tell you about the first trip. About four years ago, one of the new guards cornered Lil out of view of the others and squeezed her boob. He didn’t realize I could see. Lil was in shock. Totally frozen. I walked up, grabbed his gun from under his jacket, and believe it or not, the night we met was not the first time I shot a guy in the dick.”
I spend a minute coughing after choking on the cookie I had just taken a bite of. When I can finally breathe again, I look at her with a different kind of respect. And a little bit of fear. “Damn.”
“Yeah. Dad took him to the shed, and I asked if I could help take care of things.”
“And it didn’t freak you out?”
She shrugs again. “It didn’t bother me. I know I can handle doing it if it needs done, but I’m fine with someone else taking care of it. I’m more of a quick, clean-kill kind of girl. Mostly.”
Not really knowing what to do with that, I eat another cookie.
