"I know you broke it off with the Neanderthal. I'll forgive you for slumming it. Come back to me."
"Never, Lawrence, he's the only man I want. There was never a you and me. Go to hell." She hangs up on him.
Wait, she wants me? Why won't she call me? Why are we suffering through this if she wants me? I start to plan, I'll be going to her soon enough. She's too stubborn to come to me. Moreover, I need to protect her.
She starts dialing another number, but the sequence puts a jam on my signal. Interesting. My girl knows how to block out wires and traces. I turn on the feeds to her flat and watch her pace. Because of the block, I can't hear what she's saying, but I can tell she's relaxing as her pacing becomes less and less. She finally sits down and continues to talk to this person. I wonder if it's Greg. He wouldn’t want us to know, but he was just as confused by her as we were until we found the note. I asked Joshua not to tell Derek or Greg about the threat. If they confront her, she'll pull away from them too. She needs someone. In my mind, I flash back to that night she and Derek went for their ride, she relaxed and looked less stressed. I can't take them from her life. She might be mine, but they are her life.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
MAYA
Ican't believe he actually called and asked me out. I want Duncan to call, but his last words ring through my head again.
"If you walk out now, you better be real sure before you come back." I don't know if I'm confident in our future. I then hear James's voice. "That's love, darling." I've run on the treadmill so much lately I'm afraid I'm going to break it. I look at my phone and know I need to make the call. I dial the number, being sure to add the codes to prevent a trace or someone to listen in. I wait for him to pick up, then I start to pace my condo.
"Maya, it's been a long time. How are you doing? James, Greg, and Derek are worried about you. They told me about your man."
"I knew they'd call you, Dr. Mason. He isn’t my mananymore. I know you told me over and over it wasn't my fault, but how can I believe that? What if he dies? I could kill him too. Now with this stalker threatening him, I have to protect him."
"Maya, your parents’ deaths were a tragic accident. Death is inevitable, it happens to us all. You can't outrun it or outfight it if it's your time. Yes, he could die, but is loneliness worth that? What's not to stop your stalker from killing him even now with you away from him?"
"No. I can't let that happen. He can't die. I need him. I hurt so much."
"Pick yourself up and do what you're good at, fight for what you want. Do you want him?"
"Yes." I feel calm and sit on my sofa, looking out at the DC skyline.
"Then you know what you need to do. As for right now, go to the gym and work off that tension I hear in your voice. Use your release. I'm always here for you. As for your stalkers, find them and put a bullet between their eyes. Come on, Maya, fight. You know how to do that."
"Thank you, Dr. Mason." I hang up and grab my gym bag, then head down to the garage and jump into my truck.
It takes about twenty minutes to get to the gym. I walk in and say hi to the guys as I walk to the locker room to change. No classes are going on right now, but people are practicing. It's Friday night, so there will be fights starting soon and I'm hoping to get involved. I stretch out, bouncing on my toes and warming up, when the owner walks up.
"Want to fight tonight, Maya?" Vic asks me.
"Yes."
"I have a new guy who asked specifically to fight you." Hepoints to a corner where a man is standing in the shadows watching us.
"Who's he? What level?"
"He says he knows Krav Maga and is an MMA fighter. He came in the other day and asked if you do the Friday night fights. I told him you do them every other week. I warned him that none of our guys would fight you anymore. Guess word is getting around to the other gyms that we have a master with a lot of talent."
"Okay, I'll fight him." I smile at Vic. I'm not a master, but I'm good.
"Maya, are you sure? He looks like he wants to actually fight you, no holds barred."
"I got this, Vic. Put on the song." I continue to stretch and warm up my muscles.
Vic comes back to help me put on my safety gear. I enter the matted area where we grapple and fight. I don't know my competitor. He's about six feet with short blond hair and brown eyes. He smiles at me as I put my mouth guard in and my helmet on. He puts on regular open-faced headgear; my helmet has face protection. Vic steps to the center of the mat.
"Okay, let's keep this clean and show the newbies how this works. Maya, please be gentle." He looks at me. I smile through my gear and mouth guard.
My opponent doesn't shake my hand or introduce himself. He steps into the center, holds out his gloves, and I bump them with mine. The music I like to release to starts and I barely hear what my opponent says.
"Let's go, girly." He slips in his mouth guard. Why would he say that to me?
He immediately kicks out without warning. Thank God for all my training, I barely avoid the kick as I drop down and come up with a punch to his low stomach. He drops his elbows onto the back of my neck and I feel the pain ricochet through my head and body. I fall back and see his leg come at me again. I turn to take the brunt of the hit on my right shoulder. I twist back, step in, and nail him in the solar plexus with my left fist and then bring my right into the side of his headgear. He staggers back for a second. This is just a show of training, so I don't advance on him. I start to tell him how to avoid that hit when he rushes me. He grabs me around the middle and lifts me up. My body flies through the air, and when I hit the mat, I immediately roll to avoid the knee coming down for my face. This guy is dangerous. I pop up to my feet and look at him. I turn to see Vic rushing in to stop the match. The man swings and hits Vic in the face. Vic goes down, and others rush to his aid. I see a doctor I know kneeling by Vic to help him. I turn back to my fight.
