"He's good, I can still kick his butt. He's thinking of moving in with me again."
"Why is he moving in?" I see the questions in his eyes he's not asking.
"He doesn't like the place he's staying at now, my place is quiet. He doesn't want to move back in with his dad. I'm fine, stop worrying." I smile at him.
"Uncle Marcus is going to possibly be coming to London for the holiday too."
"When was the last time Uncle Marcus crossed the pond?"
"Been years. I think he's hoping to see you, he seems lonely. Actually, I believe the last time he crossed the pond was when Isabella died."
"I'll call him soon." I can't react to his comment about Isabella. I know how much James misses her.
I can't tell James that Derek wants to move in because he's worried about my stalker. The rest of the meal goes by without any more talk of my job or Derek.
As we walk out to the curb, he hugs me and kisses my cheek again.
"Maya, it was rather enjoyable to see you. You appear happy. Are you seeing someone?"
"Uh, what?" I almost fall over.
"You've a special smile I've seen off and on tonight. I thought you might be thinking of someone."
"Oh no, I'm just super excited about my new position on the ERT." How can he tell? I was thinking of Duncan and missing him.
"Okay. Will I see you at Christmas for sure?"
"Yes, I'll call when I've made my reservations," I promise.
"Take care, darling, please be careful, and remember I love you."
"Thank you, James. I love you too." I hug him again. I'm happy about the job, but the relationship that's starting withDuncan is making me feel more human than a robot. Having James notice makes me aware I need to be more careful, but I also feel guilty for lying to him.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
MAYA
"Use the momentum of your opponent to send them past you. Deflect the punch and give them a little push. They'll end up on their ass and wonder what they did."
I demonstrate the move for the class, sending a student gently to the ground. I smile and help the student up as a shadow falls across the doorframe. I turn to see who it is and my smile widens. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my father’s old friend.
"Hello, child, can you talk for a moment?" he says in Hebrew.
"Give me a minute," I reply back. My Hebrew flows off my tongue as though I've spoken it every day when I haven't in months.
I set up another student who knows the moves I want to teach next, then I walk out into the hall with my towel and water bottle.
"Hey, stranger. What are you doing here?" I greet him in English.
"I am good. I need a favor," he continues in Hebrew and I begin to worry.
I look around us and not seeing anyone, I raise an eyebrow at him in question.
"I'm teaching this class until four, then we can practice." Again, I reply in English. I want to see if he will cave and tell me what's going on.
I've known David Harel most of my life. He served in the Israeli Army with my father, before David went on to be Mossad and my father to become a lawyer. David helped teach me my knife fighting skills, as well as fine-tune my Krav Maga training. After my parents’ deaths I very rarely saw him, although he was always like an uncle to me. Him showing up here doesn't surprise me because of what James said over a month ago, but him only speaking in Hebrew tells me that he is hiding something.
"Why practice? I'll win every time. I might have taught you a lot but not everything I know," he says in Arabic and I become more confused.
