Chapter 11 Spencer #2
“Jade, would you mind demonstrating some of your skills?” Rick asks her, and her head snaps up to look at him while I keep mine carefully trained on her. She seems uncomfortable, but I don’t understand why.
Before I can voice my concern, Zander walks over to her and grabs her hand, bringing it up to his lips to press a kiss to it.
“It’s okay, Doll. We just need to see how well you can defend yourself,” he tells her in a voice that’s so calm and understanding it sounds strange coming from someone who’s usually so loud and chaotic.
She looks from Zander to Rick before her eyes finally fall on me. I stand taller under her gaze. I’m not sure what she’s looking for, but if it's a weakness, she won't find it here.
She gives a small nod, and Zander all but drags her over to the cabinet to pick a weapon, where she once again grabs the Bo staff.
She seems to favor that, and for a moment, I wonder if maybe that’s why she’s nervous.
Perhaps that’s the only weapon she can actually use, and she doesn’t want us to know.
I guess we’ll find out.
Rick approaches her at the cabinet and talks about how she will demonstrate. Rick wants to stand against her. I open my mouth to let him know I think that’s a bad idea, but Jade is quicker than I am.
“No,” she tells him and takes a step back from them. Her eyes dart around before landing on one of the BOBs we have down here. “I’ll show you on that.” She points to it, and Rick and Zander’s eyes follow her finger across the room.
“That doesn't show us what you can do in a fight, Jade,” Rick tells her. Her shoulders sag, but she nods nonetheless.
Zander and Rick talk about who will go against her with each weapon, and they seem to have it all worked out before long. Jade hasn’t moved from her spot on the mat, and it’s as if she’s frozen in place.
Neither of them seems to notice, though.
Rick grabs another staff and moves to stand in front of her.
“We’re going to rotate out based on our weapon strengths,” he tells her, but she stares straight ahead as if looking through him.
“The goal here is to take us down to the mat or disarm us as quickly and effectively as possible,” he continues, and I’m not even sure she’s listening.
“I don’t feel like it needs to be said, but just in case, I want you to know you’re not actually in danger with us, Jade.
This is about learning, not hurting you.
” Her eyes finally focus as if she’s just realized he was there.
She stares back at him for a moment before she gives a firm nod and drops into a fighting stance.
“On my mark,” Zander says as he moves to the edge of the mat just a few feet away from where I am.
“Three, two, one, fight.” He shouts with a smile.
Even after seeing what she can do, he doesn’t seem concerned, and I wonder if maybe I’m overreacting.
Rick is usually our overthinker, looking at everything from every angle and making sure there is minimal risk.
He must have a reason if he’s pushing for this to happen.
We watch as they stand there, assessing each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.
Rick caves first. Moving forward, he brings his staff high as if to strike her in the head, but it’s a fake-out move. After years of fighting and training together, we all know each other’s movements and maneuvers, but Jade doesn’t, so it should be effective.
Jade doesn’t flinch as Rick brings the staff through the air in a high arch, and doesn't even try to block it. I hear Zander suck in a sharp breath from beside me, but I don’t dare to take my eyes off them.
Right before the hit will land, he pulls back slightly and adjusts his stance so that the hit will land on her legs, taking her to the mat.
I’ve seen Rick do this enough times, both in training and in actual fights, to know that most people don't expect that in the heat of a fight.
Most people take each move for what they see coming and not what could be.
I watch as the staff gets closer and closer, fighting against the urge to shout and warn her because she still isn’t moving.
Her staff is there at the last possible second, successfully blocking him from making contact.
I didn’t even see her move. Then, as quickly as she stopped his hit, she slams the end of her staff into his chest, causing him to stumble back a step before she sweeps his legs out, just as he had intended to do to her.
He lands flat on his back on the mat, and I hear the air as it leaves his lungs.
The room is entirely still as we all look on.
Rick is on the ground. She put him down in two moves and in less than two minutes at that.
Zander breaks the silence first, and really, that’s not surprising.
He whoops and claps for her. It seems to shake her from her concentration, and she rushes forward to offer Rick her hand.
He grabs it, and she helps haul him up. “Are you okay?” she asks even before he’s standing, her voice a few octaves higher than usual. He gives her a nod once he’s standing, and she lets out a breath of relief as she drops his hand.
“That was impressive,” he tells her as he rubs at the spot on his chest. Her eyes dart down to his hand and back up to his face. “I’m fine. I was just a little caught off guard, is all.” He reassures her as he drops his hand.
Zander finally loses his cool and runs over to her, wrapping her in a tight hug. She goes stiff at first, but after a moment, she melts into him. Zander didn’t seem to notice, but looking over at Rick, I know he did.
He turns to me and lifts a brow, and I just shake my head.
I got nothing with her. She’s all over the map, and I don’t know what parts of her are genuine and what parts are an act or a mask.
She seemed genuinely concerned that she hurt Rick and doesn't seem to want to fight us. Maybe she’s not such a threat.
Or perhaps that’s what she wants us to think.
We continue like that for the next few hours. Each taking turns fighting against Jade with weapons we’re good with, but nobody can beat her. We can’t even last for more than a few minutes.
We went through the first two weapons cabinets, and true to her word, she could use everything.
Rick moves to the third cabinet, looking over what’s left, and I keep an eye on Zander and Jade.
He’s standing with her at the center of the mat, just a few feet from me, his smile still in place after watching her take down Rick the first time.
He didn’t even lose it when she took him down.
He’s talking to her in a low voice, and after a moment, she lets out a yawn that she tries to hide behind her hand.
“We should call it for the night, Rick,” I yell over to him. He looks down at his watch before turning back to face us.
“I didn’t realize it was so late,” he says, moving back down the row of cabinets. He takes a second to ensure everything is where it belongs before closing them up and putting his thumb on the pad on the far wall to re-engage the locks.
I watch Jade as he does this to see if she's watching how we store the weapons, but her attention appears to be on Zander. Well, as much attention as she has while looking like she might fall asleep while standing here.
Rick turns and walks back to them, and I do the same. He catches my gaze momentarily, and I know what he's saying without telling me.
All of this may have been to gauge her skills, but we can still kill two birds with one stone by giving her access to weapons and seeing what she does with that information.
If she’s a threat, we need to know so that we can handle her before she gets too deep into our lives and too close to Zander to do damage.
Okay, more damage. Anyone with eyes can see that Zander is already in too deep here.
“I don’t think that we need to go through the rest. Clearly, you’re adept in most forms of hand-to-hand combat,” Rick tells Jade as he reaches us. “Though you’re welcome to come and train with us if you like.” Jade nods, though she doesn't look very sure about it.
“Let's go find something to eat.” Zander doesn’t give Jade time to respond before he’s pulling her back out of the gym, much like how he pulled her in earlier.
Just before they disappear out the door, she looks back at Rick and me.
Her face is expressionless, but something swirls in her eyes.
She’s gone before I can put my finger on it.
“It’s hard to believe she’s that capable even after seeing her in action,” I say, and I’m not really talking to Rick, just stating a fact, but he still nods in agreement.
“I can’t say I can picture her killing, but with how she handles herself, I see that it’s an actual possibility.”
He returns to the heavy bag where he started and pulls his sweater back over his head before fishing his phone from his pocket. I return to the free weights and put them away. After going through so many rounds with Jade, I don’t feel like finishing my set.
By the time I get back to Rick, he’s put his shit away and repocketed his phone.
“Kratos said we should take her to some of the parties coming up and let her get a feel for the school atmosphere, see if it’s something she would be interested in and if it’s something we feel like she can handle,” he tells me without looking back as he heads up the stairs.
“Whatever he says.”
By the time we get to the kitchen, Zander and Jade are gone. I grab a water and head down the hall to my room for the night, leaving Rick to do whatever.
Just as I reach my door, I hear the creak of one farther down the hall.
I watch for a moment. It could be Jade trying to sneak around, and while it is Jade’s door that opens, she isn't the one who comes out. Instead, Zander steps into the hall, and very quietly closes the door behind him. He doesn’t even glance my way before he turns and heads to his room.
Even from here, I see the slight pink on his cheeks and a goofy grin on his face.
I can’t help but shake my head at how easily she got to him before I push my door open and head right to my bed.
I lay in bed for thirty minutes before giving up and heading back out into the hall. I won’t be able to sleep if I don’t check, so instead of pretending it’s even a possibility, I just do it.
The house is still, and I can’t hear anyone moving around from my doorway. Walking down the hall towards Zander and Jade’s rooms, I hear the distant bump of music and know it’s coming from Zander’s. He often falls asleep with something on, unable to handle the silence.
I stop in front of Jade’s door and listen momentarily but hear nothing from inside. I debate between knocking or just walking in. If she’s asleep, it will be counterproductive to knock and wake her, but if I just walk in and she’s awake, I have no good reason for barging in.
I only weigh the choice for a moment before I decide I don’t really need a reason and quietly turn the handle before pushing the door open.
Her lights are still on, and I expect her to be awake based on that, but as the door swings open and I scan the room, I don’t see her anywhere.
Shit.
Before I go and search the house, I decide to check the room a little better. I don’t want to waste all night checking every nook and cranny just to find out she was in the bathroom, even though I highly doubt it.
Stepping in, I head towards her bathroom. Even before I reach it, I know she's not there, but I check anyway.
Just like I thought, it's empty, the light is off, and everything inside is still. I stand in the doorway for a moment before going to the closet, which is empty as well.
With a sigh, I roughly shove a hand through my hair in frustration.
I knew this was going to happen, and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it with Froggie giving orders for us to watch her.
I turn on the spot, intending to search the house for her, when movement catches my eye and stops me dead.
Jade lays in her bed, fast asleep.
At first, I’m not sure how I missed her, but as I turn to take her in, I see how small she really is and just how nestled into the blankets. Anyone could have overlooked her.
She’s curled up in the fetal position facing me.
Her hair fans out around the pillow, the blonde standing out as a sharp contrast against her black pillowcases, with her blanket pulled up high to her chin as if she was attempting to hide away.
Her brow is knit, even in sleep, and as I stand watching her, a soft whimper sounds from her lips, and she jerks.
I don’t realize I’m staring like a creep until she moves.
Clearly, whatever invades her sleep is not pleasant, not that I’m surprised given her past. But, if she were to wake up right now and find me standing over her, I doubt it would be comforting.
I don’t trust her, but I also don’t want her to think I might do anything like that.
While I won’t hesitate to kill her if it comes down to her or us, I would never put my hands on a woman while she slept without consent, but she doesn’t know that.
I retrace my steps, stopping at the door and looking back over my shoulder at her for a moment before I flip her light switch off and head into the hall, closing the door behind me.
Walking back to my room, I feel someone behind me.
“She’s not the enemy here, Spence.” His voice is low, but with how quiet the house is, he might as well be shouting as it carries down the hall to me.
I don’t bother turning to face him as I continue back towards my room. It’s too late to get into this with him, and really, until we know more about her, either one of us could be right. Even if Zander would never admit it, I know he knows it.
“For your sake, I hope you're right, Zan.” I head back into my room, closing my door behind me, and crawl back into bed for the second time tonight.
This time, I lay in bed for less than five minutes before I feel the pull of exhaustion.
I hope I’m wrong about her, for all our sakes.