My bedroom door slams open with a BANG and my head snaps back, taking in Zeke standing in my doorway. His gaze travels over my body, no doubt surprised to see me dressed and ready for today’s training session. “You’re ready,” he states, his brow arching as a flicker of surprise crosses his face.
I push away from the windowsill, not needing the usual ten-minute warning, swallowing down every bullshit comment about what I heard downstairs that wants to come flying out of my mouth. “Wow, you’re observant today,” I say, striding straight past him, hating the thought of having my back turned to the man who will most likely be responsible for ending my life. But as long as they don’t know I overheard them in Gia’s office, I should be safe. I hope.
My hands pulse at my sides, curling in and out of fists as I do what I can to relax. Ever since finding out the boys could be alive, I haven’t been able to concentrate. The desperation to get out of here drives my every move and sitting still simply isn’t possible.
I need to run.
I need to make a plan.
I need to find a way to get to them.
Nothing else matters to me, not anymore.
The boys could be suffering; they could be laying in dirty cells in agony, slowly bleeding to death. Maybe I’m their only chance at survival. Fuck, even if it means ending my own life just to save theirs, I’d do it. I need to play Gia’s game more now than ever because the alternative … shit, I can’t even think about that.
Skipping down the steps, I beat Zeke to the bottom, but I feel his hard stare digging into my back the whole time. I grip the railing at the bottom and catapult myself around the corner, leading toward the ridiculously expensive elevator. Hitting the button, I wait patiently for it to arrive and by the time the door opens, Zeke is there, moving in beside me. We move silently into the elevator together, and as the door closes us in, his suspicious gaze slowly turns on me. “Why?” he questions, his tone low and curious.
I shrug my shoulders, avoiding his piercing stare. “Couldn’t sleep. Figured I’d get a head start on the day.”
I sense his eyes narrowing further, but when the ding sounds our arrival at the training room and the door begins to open, it releases the tension in the small metal box, and his gaze finally falls away. I stride into the room with a sharp eye, taking note of every man here, where they stand, who they spar with, and what weapons they have at their disposal.
I won’t allow myself to be ambushed in this house. I’ve been prey to assholes of this world too many times, and that shit sure as fuck won’t be happening again.
“Where do you want me?” I murmur, feeling Zeke hovering far too closely.
He glances over at the shooting range, his lips pressing into a tight line when he finds all the lanes full. “Training mat,” he mutters, a hint of disappointment in his tone. “We need to work on your speed and agility. They’re lacking. We’ll shoot this afternoon.”
Irritation burns through me as I turn on my heel and march across the room. Not only because of his comments about my lacking skills, but because I’d had my heart set on shooting or at least some form of weapon training. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a whore for shooting, I don’t particularly love it, but when I’m on the training mats and my body starts to ache, this bitch gets a little too emotional. I can’t always trust myself to bite my tongue.
Zeke has a particular fire about him when training, he pushes me to my limits and then keeps going until I break. He’s ruthless, and right now, I can’t trust my emotions not to get in the way. It’s going to be one of the hardest things I’ll ever do, especially because the few hours I stay down here are another few hours the boys will suffer.
“Alright, in position,” he says as we step up onto the training mats. He pauses for a brief moment, watching as I cross the mat and turn to meet him head on. My gaze quickly flicks over his shoulder as I take note of my new position in the room, where guards now stand, how quickly they could get to me, and just how many I’ll need to fight off if it comes down to it.
Zeke sees the quick calculation and his gaze narrows just a bit, but he decides not to say anything about it. Perhaps he thinks I’m just getting better at knowing my surroundings, a lesson he taught me himself, or perhaps he thinks I’m a shady bitch and I’m up to something. The asshole can read me like a book, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve already screwed myself over.
I’m so fucked. So fucking fucked.
Keeping my gaze on Zeke, I try to appear as the broken, frustrated girl I was before overhearing his conversation with Gia, and I plaster a scowl across my face, waiting for his instructions. His eyes remain narrowed. “I’m going to come at you,” he tells me, not shrugging off his suspicions, but definitely putting them aside to do the job his boss has demanded of him. “I want you to block me. You’ll need to read my every move. Watch my feet, watch how I advance toward you. Be prepared. My moves are going to get faster, more precise, and the moment you see a chance, I want you to strike back.”
Swallowing hard, I give a firm nod, not needing much more instruction than that, but I don’t know why he bothers with the long, drawn-out explanation when he could sum it up with a simple, I’m going to kick your ass for the fun of it, try and stop me.
Zeke moves toward me, and I brace myself, watching his every move. I’ve gotten pretty used to his style over the past week, but my head has never been as clear as it is today. Today, I’m ready for him.
His weight shifts onto his right foot, and just like that, his hand shoots out and I throw everything I have into my defense. His hit slices straight past my face, and without even a hint of warning, my hand that just blocked him flies back up in a scrappy, backhanded whack to the side of his face.
He blinks quickly, taking a step back as though he’s never been so confused in his life. He hadn’t expected me to get through, especially when he had his full attention on me. So far, the only hits I’ve been able to land are the bullshit ones that happen when his back is turned. “You’re focused today,” he says, trying to sound as though he’s giving me the nod of approval, yet the suspicion is still deep in his tone.
My brows furrow, and I watch him carefully as his jaw ticks. I bet the asshole wants to rub his face, but he won’t dare lift a finger to his jaw in my presence and silently admit that it actually hurts. “Would you prefer that I wasn’t?” I throw back at him, holding my fighter’s stance, more than ready for him to come at me with a harder, more brutal edge. “I didn’t realize that beating the shit out of unsuspecting young women is what got you hard, but I’ll keep that in mind.”
He snaps out at me, his hands moving like lightning and proving just how much I still have to learn. His big hand closes around my throat, squeezing tight. “Don’t push me, Shayne. I am not in the mood for your bullshit today.”
I keep myself calm, having learned that panicking in situations like this doesn’t help anybody. So instead, I throw my hand up, bracing my fingers together as I spear them right at his throat in a wicked blow. He immediately releases his hold around my neck, and I suck in a desperate breath as he stumbles back, clutching his throat and trying not to cough. Rage burns through his gaze, but I stand tall. “You’re a scrappy fighter, Zeke, trained by Moretti scum,” I say, mimicking the words he’d used on me during our first training session. “You didn’t think I’d come prepared for a cheap shot? I’m insulted.”
I walk around him, keeping my sharp stare on him at all times, watching the stillness of his body and waiting for him to strike. His eyes never leave mine and that suspicion only grows until something finally snaps into place. Whatever he thinks he knows, he doesn’t say a damn word, and I briefly wonder just how much shit I’ve put myself in, but he lashes back out at me, throwing his whole body into it.
My eyes are wide, focusing on his every movement, but he’s too fast and keeps getting through with devastating blows, but I don’t give up. I’ve learned what giving up means over the past week and that’s not something I want to put myself through again, so I keep fighting, keep blocking, even when my aching lungs scream for it to end.
Zeke advances on me, every step he takes bringing him closer and closer. He’s trying to force me back, get me trapped between him and the wall with nowhere to run, but I’ve been trapped far too many times to allow that kind of bullshit to go down. So, with every step he takes toward me, I sidestep, moving me across the mat and forcing him to turn until he’s the one with his back to the wall.