“Where did you learn to fight?” I ask, changing the subject, hoping to find safer ground. “I mean, really learn. Your skills are beyond basic self-defense. Jiu jitsu? Krav maga, maybe? Better yet, why?”
She pulls her knees up, feet resting on the lip of the counter as she folds into herself. Visibly trying to make herself smaller as she wraps her arms around her legs. Defensive.
“Why do you keep asking me that?”
“I can’t be genuinely curious? It isn’t every day I meet someone able to take me to the mat,” I admit, risking giving her a small smirk, “especially a woman half my size. It’s impressive, Chloe.”
“I ran away from home when I was sixteen.” Her voice is careful, controlled, cautious. “I ended up at the orphanage. Jay took me in and started teaching me.”
My hand stills on the bag of pasta. Sixteen. She’d been just a child.
“Why did you run away?”
“Staying would have gotten me killed. One way or another,” she admits in a quiet voice. Her eyes are downcast, examining the floor.
The matter-of-fact way she says it makes rage rise in my chest. It was obvious now that someone had hurt her. Someone had hurt her enough to make her feel that running for her life was her only option.
“Who were you running from?” I force calm that I don’t feel into my voice as I ask the question through clenched teeth.
“My father.” There’s venom in her voice now. “He despised me. I was never good enough. Never what he wanted. And he made sure I knew it.”
I abandon the pasta completely, moving to stand in front of her. Placing a hand on each side of her on the counter, placing my chin on the top of her knees, looking up at her. I need to see her face. Searching for answers to what she’s not saying.
Her eyes search mine for a moment, sighing deeply before continuing. “When I got to the orphanage, I was shy, scared. Weak. An easy target. Jay knew I needed a way to find confidence in myself, so he started to train me himself. Then sent me to his friend Marcus, who teaches MMA.”
“How long did you train?”
“Two years, give or take. Until I had to get a job to help Jay with expenses, I chose to stay on at the orphanage. He continued to help me stay in shape even after that.” She shrugs it off, like none of it matters, but I can see the regret in the line of her shoulders. “But I learned enough to protect myself if I ever needed to.”
Enough to throw Raffaello on his ass.I think back on that night at the orphanage again, then to the day in the gym.Enough to surprise me.
Pride surges through me, mixed with fury at her father for making her feel that she needed those skills in the first place.
“Your father,” I say carefully, testing the waters, “where is he now?”
And just like that, the walls slam back up. I watch it happen — the way her expression closes, the way her body goes rigid. I lift my head from her knees, not letting her avoid my eyes, though she tries.
“I don’t know. And I don’t care.” The lie is obvious. “I haven’t seen him since I left.”
She’s lying or at least not telling me the whole truth. The question is why?
“Chloe —”
“Your water is going to boil over.” She redirects my attention back to the stove, and she’s right, the water’s rolling higher and higher, ready to edge over the brim.
“Damn it.” I move to turn the flame down, contemplating her admission while I pour the dry pasta into the pot.
“Are you still afraid of him?” I ask quietly as I stir the pasta into the now simmering water.
“Every day.”
The raw emotion in her voice makes my chest tighten. I set down the wooden spoon that I’d used to stir the pasta and move back to her, my hands resting on either side of her legs. Caging her gently.
“You’re safe here, Chloe. Whatever you’ve been running from, whoever hurt you— they can’t reach you here.” I mean it. I’ll make sure of it. I’ll burn the damn world down to make sure it’s the truth.
“Basili, you don’t understand. I?—”
“I know you’re keeping secrets; you’re possibly the worst liar I’ve ever met.” I keep my voice gentle and smile at her softly. “I know there’s more to the story than you’re telling me. It’s okay. You don’t owe me anything. But I owe you everything. You brought my child back to me.”
