“I know it’s not fair since I’m the one who took off, but I don’t know if I trust Zane and Sebastian.” She pulled away, mouth quirking to the side, as if she were battling through the inner turmoil raging inside her.
I nodded, not because I didn’t trust them, but because I could understand why she didn’t. She wasn’t used to this life; the crime families, the gangs, everything was new to her, and the fight-clubowner was as close to a gang leader as she’d ever gotten, aside from us.
“And when they follow me around, I’m just reminded of that night. If I’d only stayed inside, or stayed with Zane, it might not have happened,” she said. “It reminds me of how weak I am, which is why I haven’t really been putting up much of a fight when it comes to working out with you and Merrick. I want to be prepared; I want to know how to protect myself without having to rely on a man to watch my every step.”
“Or they could’ve gotten into the club and taken you either way,” I said, not wanting her to place the blame solely on her shoulders. “We’ll never know. But I do think they’re only looking out for you, and I know they’re carrying a lot of guilt on their shoulders. And I understand wanting to protect yourself, which is why we’ll never stop training, but in the meantime we do need their help.”
“I know.” Her shoulders slumped slightly in defeat.
“But Kellan is going to speak with them about holding back a little. There has to be a happy medium we can reach.”
“Good luck telling them that. But I’m grateful for any reprieve at this point.” A soft smile played on her lips. “I guess we should get started with the training if there’s any hope of me being able to defend myself.”
I got the pads out and instructed her to perform the different kicks and punches, positioning the pads in a different place for each one. I only had to correct her stance a few times, and she was truly grasping the basics. “Now we just have to work on your strength and how to anticipate an attack and block.”
“Just?” She chuckled, doubling over to catch her breath. “That sounds like a lot more than you’ll be able to teach me in one lesson.”
I shrugged. “It just takes practice, and you’re already getting the hang of it. Soon enough we’ll be teaching you how to wield a blade and shoot a gun.”
She grimaced. “I don’t know about all that. I’m pretty squeamish about blood.”
“We’ll see.” I grinned, dropping the pads and heading back to collect our waters. We lapsed into a comfortable silence as Sophia caught her breath. The echo of the front door opening and multiple footsteps clomping through the doorway drew me on high alert, but I relaxed a moment later when their voices floated down to us.
“Francine is here?” Sophia asked excitedly before she mopped up the sweat from her brow and guzzled down the rest of her water.
Despite only meeting the one time at the ice cream shop, Francine quickly became one of Sophia’s favorite people. We rushed up the stairs just as they were coming down the hallway. Kellan, Spade, and Merrick all followed behind the older woman.
Sophia pounced on Francine the moment she laid eyes on her, wrapping her up in a tight embrace. I honestly wasn’t sure if Francine had truly made that much of an impact on her, or if she was just grateful to see someone apart from the six of us for once.
“I’d appreciate the hug more if you weren’t getting your sweat all over me.” Francine patted her gingerly, not pushing her away despite her words.
“Sorry.” Sophia winced. “I’ll run up for a shower quickly.”
She turned on her heel and rushed up the stairs, nearly tripping in her haste.
I grinned, but the smile faded the moment I glanced back at Francine. “You read the note?”
She nodded, tucking her hand into her pocket like she hadn’t been able to part from it. “And I want to be there when you go tonight.”
I couldn’t argue with her. She had a right to be there since she was the only reason we had this lead in the first place, and she could be extremely stubborn.
We all headed into the kitchen, and Merrick helped me gather refreshments. We both grabbed a water and a protein shake for ourselves and put the kettle on for Francine. Someone must’ve made a fresh pot of coffee earlier since there was still some warming on the machine. Merrick poured Kellan and Spade a cup before rejoining me at the counter.
“How was your talk?”
“It was good.” I grinned, pressing my lips to his in a tender kiss. “Thank you for giving us some time alone.”
“Anything for you, little devil.” He chased my mouth as I pulled back, stealing another kiss before pulling away and gathering a mug and tea bag for Francine just as the kettle went off.
I grabbed our drinks and Sophia’s as we joined the others at the table, a tense silence filling the air between them.
“What’s going on?” I asked, a furrow forming between my brows.
“I told Francine we’d take the lead just in case it’s a setup, but she wants to go in first.” Kellan frowned.
“If that boy is going to kill any of us, he’s going to look me in the eye while he does it.” She crossed her arms over her chest, her jaw set stubbornly.
“It’s almost lunch; why don’t we get some food ready while we discuss it?” I tried to appeal to both of them, but neither would budge.
