I nod. It requires some effort since a million thoughts run rampant through my brain.
Suddenly, the bathroom door bangs open, and Cole stumbles out while pulling on his tall boots. He clunks to the door and puts his arm out for Sutton. “Thank you. We’re indebted to you. Forever.” Cole smiles and squeezes his arm as Sutton frowns.
What was that? “We” are indebted? He makes it sound like we are together. That’s not good. Not good at all. Why doesn’t he just ask for Wilson to come and lop off our heads now? But we’re not together. Nothing has happened and nothing can happen. I won’t be the reason Cole gets killed.
“Be safe,” Sutton says.
“See ya,” I squeak out.
He shakes Cole’s hand, eyes me with warning again, and closes the door.
“Man, he was in and out fast,” Cole says. “I even brought him a bagel.”
“He’s got lots of patients to tend to. You know, all the shooting victims.” I push for a response.
He looks at me like I shouldn’t know what’s going on out there. His mouth moves like he wants to say something, but nothing comes out. He slowly walks over to his safe, pulls out his pistols, and shoves them into his holsters one at a time. A knock interrupts the awkwardness.
Cole answers, opening the door slowly to find Bruno standing outside, looking droopy from the wet weather. He lifts the hood over his head and smiles.
“Morning, buddy.”
“Yeah, yeah, come in,” Cole says.
Bruno pushes past him and removes his wet poncho, placing it over a chair at the table. “What’s for breakfast? Or more importantly, how’s it taste?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t had time to eat,” Cole says. He pulls on an overcoat and double-checks the room to make sure he doesn’t forget anything. In the meantime, Bruno nods his head my direction.
“Hey, I hope you’re ready for another titillating day standing outside my door,” I say with sarcasm.
He smiles his big, contagious smile. “As always, I’m ready for hours of excitement.”
Cole looks at him, at me, and then back at him. He puts his hand on Bruno’s shoulder. “I hope your day isn’t too exciting. I don’t want to have to beat your ass when I get back.” He claps his hand jovially on Bruno’s shoulder as he speaks, but I sense the threat behind it.
“No fun, I promise. Just complete boredom.” Bruno grins and steals a glance at me.
Cole calls Zeus and they’re out the door. He doesn’t even bother saying good-bye. A feeling of emptiness comes over me and I can’t take another day in my room, staring at the walls. I’ve got to do something purposeful.
Before Bruno steps out into the hallway, I stop him. “Hey, I have an idea.”
Bruno turns his head toward me, squinting his eyes with suspicion.
“I don’t want to cause any trouble, but I have a favor to ask.”
“Great, this should be good. What is it?” He tilts his head, his arms folding across his massive chest. “And as long as it won’t piss off Cole.” His tone indicates I’m Cole’s property. That aggravates me, so I take a deep, cleansing breath.
“It’s nothing like that. It’s just—I’ve been in so many bad situations. Wrong place, wrong time type things, and wondered if you’d show me the basics of self-defense. I hate not knowing how to protect myself… especially if something happens to one of you.” The words fall out, pleading and hopeful as I try to read his expression. “Leaving me helpless is cruel, don’t you think?”
He hesitates and, noting my bruises, seems resigned to do it. “I guess you’ve got a point. All right, I’ll help you.”
“It’s always so loud in here. No one will notice the noise… Plus, there’s no harm in teaching a weak, recovering female a few things, is there?” I do my best to look as downtrodden as possible.
His eyes rest on the dark bruises that pattern my upper arms. The handprints are obvious from where the guard held me down—they’re taking the longest to fade. Looking at them infuriates me, but watching his expression change to one of solemn anger helps assure me he’s one of the “good” guards. He takes off his Glocks and lays them on the counter after removing the clips.
I stand and face opposite him, hands hanging at my sides.
He looks around again, unsure.
“All right, I’m ready,” I say.
So he begins. “First things first. Always be aware of your surroundings. Don’t walk anywhere alone. If you must, carry something sharp between your knuckles if you can find something. Avoid dark places—that’s a given. Use common sense and always trust your gut.” He circles around me as he speaks. “I’m guessing you’re not in the best physical condition, right?” he asks, but it’s more of a statement.
“Most definitely not.”
“Well, we’re going to whip you into shape. You don’t stand a chance if you can’t run or punch correctly, so let’s begin with that.”
Next thing I know, I’m doing push-ups. I can barely bang out twenty when he yells at me to go faster. He makes me sprint back and forth between the rooms, throw a mix of punches, and do more push-ups. I was sore before, but now I know I’ll be an invalid.
Two hours later, I’ve had enough. I’m throwing up in the bathroom when he says, “That’s enough for today. You’re tough. I’ll give you that. I’m willing to bet you’ll have this down in no time.”
“Thanks,” I mumble before I heave again. My freaking stomach.
I can almost hear the smile in his voice. “Don’t be ashamed. Believe me, at some point we’ve all had our heads in the toilet bowl. Although, I prefer to puke in a trash can myself. There was this one time the water splashed back in my face. And that’s probably one of the nastiest things that’s ever happened to me.” Then he takes up his post outside our rooms in the hallway.
I stumble to Cole’s bed and lie down. Every muscle, including the tiniest ones I didn’t know existed, hurt. Should I keep this from Cole? The answer is I can’t.
I’ve never been a liar, but I’ve had plenty of experience around them. My stepfather was the prime example. He lied all the time. He lied to all of us when he married my mother and we moved to High Society. At first, it was all rose-colored glass and then he smashed it. He showered my mom with flowers and cards. He bought us ice cream and took us to school. But he did it all just to win her heart, and when he did, everything changed. He began feeding her pills to the point she was barely coherent half of the day, and when she was, she was angry… angry at me. His hypocritical behavior, and my mother’s inability to distinguish the truth, drove my brother away. I resigned myself to never, ever be a liar.
The thoughts make me antsy, but when I try to get up, every muscle screams. I sit in a huff, knowing walking off my anxiety won’t work right now.
At last, Zeus bounds into the room, making his entrance with lots of wet kisses. Cole speaks in whispers to Bruno in the hallway for a minute before he comes in.
“Hey, babe. Heard you had an interesting day.” He smirks at me.
Did he just call me babe? “Uh, yeah. I figured it wouldn’t hurt if Bruno taught me some basic self-defense. I hope you’re not angry with me.”
He pauses in the doorway, thinking. “I guess I don’t have a choice, do I? I’m betting if I said no, you’d do it anyway. And knowing Bruno, he’d teach you.”
That’s it? That was easy. “So you’re okay with it?” I want to jump up and down, but my body won’t allow me to move.
He can’t hide his surprise. “You’re that excited about learning self-defense? Just don’t use any of it on me, because you wouldn’t win and I don’t want to be the one responsible for putting your ass back on bed rest,” he says. He laughs, takes my chin in his hand, and tilts up my head. “Please be careful. Just because you know a few things doesn’t make you invincible. Plus, I’ll still do everything in my power to protect you,” he says. “Which reminds me, we still need to talk,” he says. I raise my face to his. “Now don’t freak out. I’m going to ask you some basic questions about your past, and if you’re uncomfortable, we’ll stop.”