“I don’t know how,” I whispered, lacking the strength to speak any louder.
“That’s okay. Just start by talkin’ to me. There’s nothin’ you can’t tell me, and nothin’ I won’t help you with. You aren’t alone, baby. We’re goin’ to figure this out together.”
“I’m weak,” I sniffed.
“No. You’re the strongest person I know.”
“I don’t feel strong.”
The longer he held me, the calmer I felt. I still didn’t know what we were going to do, and how we could stand up against Leon. But we had here, and we had now, and he couldn’t take this moment from us.
“I wanna take you somewhere,” Benny said when I finally pulled away.
I nodded. I didn’t know where he meant, but I didn’t care. I’d go anywhere with him.
He led me to my room and pulled out some clothes he’d bought me over the last few weeks, loose-fitting and comfortable.
Then we were in his car, driving through the late-night city until we pulled up in the lot of his gym. It was closed now, with no one but us here as he switched the lights on.
“What are we doing here?”
“We…” He grinned as he rummaged through a large tub filled with boxing gloves and mitts. “Are gonna teach you how to fight.”
thirty-seven
Harper
THE FIRST HIT.
My arms were sore, but my head was clearer as I got into the car to go to work the following morning.
Sparring with Benny was an entirely different form of exercise to my morning runs, which I may have been skipping out on more often than not these days.
My body ached, and yet I felt lighter. I knew one sparring session didn’t magically make me an expert at self-defense, but knowing some of the basics was satisfying. Benny said we could go back as often as I wanted, and I planned to take him up on that.
I didn’t think Leon would try anything physically threatening against me, and certainly not against Benny, but after what had happened with Tristan, well, it wouldn’t hurt to know how to defend myself. It also gave me a wonderful opportunity to feel his body against mine in a whole new way.
Last night had gone from him teaching me how to punch correctly, to some basic holds on the mats, which had very quickly devolved into us grinding on each other until we weretoo hard to focus on training anymore and we’d fucked in the gym showers before coming back to my apartment to fuck again.
Benny had only just left to go back to his gym for work, but I was already texting him something I hoped would have him struggling to keep a neutral expression as soon as he got out of the car and read it.
Sunlight poured through the car windows as we left the underground garage, and my hand smoothed over the seat beside me to find… nothing.
I turned to look and sure enough, it was empty. No granola bars. No fruit. No hand-wrapped sandwich. No snacks.
I looked up to meet Matthew’s eyes in the rearview mirror, only to find that thoseweren’tMatthew’s eyes. I didn’t recognize the man in the driver’s seat.
I swallowed, dread twisting in my gut. “Where is Matthew?”
The man’s dark eyes flicked to me in the mirror for a moment before returning to the road.
“Mr. Kimberly is no longer in the employment of Lorens Industries. My name’s Jerry, and I’ll be your driver from today. A new personal assistant will be with you from tomorrow.”
“Stop the car.”
Jerry’s eyes flicked to me again, for longer this time. Then away. He said nothing. He didn’t stop.
“I said stop!” I demanded.
