Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
NOAH (PAST)
I was about to reply to the email the Director sent me earlier this week when someone knocked on my office door. It cracked open and revealed Alex, the new trainer I’d be working alongside this year.
We hadn’t officially met since I only got in late last night, but I already knew everything I needed to know about him. Top of his class—not as good as I was, but good enough that I approved his application—which meant he would be competent enough not to screw up, but unfortunately for me, he was too cheery for my liking.
“Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Brown,” he started as he stepped into my office uninvited. Annoyance bubbled in my veins at his intrusion. He gave a bright smile that I was sure charmed a lot of people. It only fueled my irritation. He shut the door behind him and walked over to my desk, where I was still seated. Placing his hands behind his back, he continued, “I just wanted to introduce myself and say that I’m very much looking forward to working with you. I’ve heard?—”
I tuned out the rest of his sentence. It was always the same when anyone met me for the first time. I didn’t need to listen to him list my accomplishments and how eager he was to learn from me.
When his chatter quieted, I focused my attention back on him and noticed his outstretched hand. I stood from my seat, towering over him on the other side of the desk. He wasn’t short by any means, but I still had a few inches over him.
Then I did the professional thing to do, gave him a curt nod and reached over for his extended hand and shook it. “Mr. Avery,” I said as I let go of his hand. Bracing my palms against the wooden surface in front of me, I added, “Next time, wait until you’re let in before coming into my office.”
His smile faltered and he cleared his throat. “I-I didn’t mean…”
“I’ll see you in class, Mr. Avery,” I said, cutting him off.
“Yes, sir,” he replied before hurrying out of the room.
I let out a sigh and hunched over my computer to quickly reply to the offer I’d gotten every few months with the same answer I’d always given.
Thank you for the offer, but I’m satisfied with the position I currently hold and I’m not looking to fulfill a new position at the moment.
For the last two years, Director Williams had been offering me a unit chief position back in Bemes. Although it would be a much better pay than what I earned here as a training officer and I would be closer to my mother, who always reminded me I should visit more, I just didn’t want the change.
I’d been at this job for the last decade and I liked stability. I didn’t want to have to acclimate to new people, a new role, or a new city.
After clicking send, I locked my computer screen and looked at the clock to see that it was almost 8:00 a.m. So I left my office and headed for the training room. I paused in front of the double steel doors, looking through one of the small windows inside each door to watch the group I’d have to train for the next twelve months clustered together in the middle of the room.
I frowned when I noticed Avery talking with the students at the front of the group. He erupted into laughter at whatever one of them seemed to have just said.
I shook my head.
Fraternizing with students was discouraged, but I guessed he must have missed that part of the rule book before he came to work here. Either that, or he was choosing to ignore it.
Something I’d have to discuss with him after today’s session.
Finally, I took a deep breath and pushed the set of double doors open.
Here we go.
As soon as I entered the training room, heads turned in my direction. When they realized who I was, their spines straightened and a hush fell over the room. It became quiet enough that you could hear the sound of my footsteps echoing in the room as I walked to the center of it.
The sound of a low whistle and murmurs broke the silence that had descended around us as I approached and took place in front of them. I even got a few wide eyes from some of the students standing right in front of me.
I’d been teaching at the Academy for almost ten years now and had gotten used to the reaction when people discovered what I looked like. I was younger than people who had filled my role previously, and I wasn’t oblivious to my looks. So I simply brushed it off like I’d always done and cleared my throat.
“Listen up, everyone,” I said loud enough for everyone to hear. “My name is Noah Brown. I’ll be overseeing most of your training here.” My eyes swept across the room, my gaze jumping from trainee to trainee to assess each of them until…
My stomach dropped when my gaze locked with hers. Her eyes slightly widened, recognition flashing within them.
No fucking way.
Even if she was mostly hidden behind the people in front of her, I instantly recognized her. The woman from last night was in my classroom. As a recruit.
As my fucking recruit.
This was exactly why I didn’t step out of my routine because things like this were bound to happen. Of course, the only time I decided to be selfish and do something for myself, the woman I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about since last night ended up being one of the one hundred and fifteen initiates.
A snicker pulled me out of my thoughts.
My gaze darted to where it came from, my eyes landing on a blond recruit standing tall in the middle of the crowd, his arms crossed over his chest and an amused expression painting his features.
Not for long.
I stepped forward and the crowd parted for me. I walked up to him. His face fell. I leaned my face down until only a few inches separated us. My eyes narrowed, and for a moment, I just stared at him.
“Name?” I asked quietly.
His smile dimmed at my question. He must have thought I already knew his name based on the current expression on his face. No one was ever that important.
I kept staring at him and his throat bobbed up and down as he swallowed. Then he cleared his throat and said, “Williams, sir. Asher Williams,” he said, his voice slightly cracking at the end.
“ Asher ,” I started, emphasizing his first name. Recruits were always referred to by their last name, but in his case, I’d decided it would have to be earned. If ever . “Care to enlighten me on what’s so funny?”
He peered at the trainee next to him for backup, his eyes flicking back and forth between the brunet and me. He looked away, leaving him to his own devices. He brought his gaze back to mine and cleared his throat again. “It was nothing, sir.”
“Think of that next time you interrupt me. Got it?”
He shifted in his place and nodded.
I straightened and turned around, walking back to my previous position.
“Now where were we,” I said, all of the trainees’ attention back on me. I went over the basics—rules, schedules, and program expectations if they wanted to make it at the end of this.
I’d managed to do most of it without looking at her, but right as I moved on to the training part of today, I couldn’t help but chance a glance at the girl from last night.
Only to find her already watching me.
For two hours, I kept my attention away from her.
Or at least I tried to. But it inevitably kept going back to her every few minutes and I still didn’t know her name because I didn’t bother with introductions, too restless to get today over with.
I’d been standing at the back, observing the class as Avery ran them through defensive tactics before he finally let them pair up. To my discontent, Williams immediately beelined for her.
It looked like he pleaded with her for a few minutes before she finally relented and waved her hand before her, gesturing for him to lead the way. He gave her a flirtatious smile before getting into position.
She rolled her eyes at him and did the same.
He suddenly moved to close in on her, hoping to catch her off guard, but she managed to step out of his way. He laughed and I heard him whisper to her, “I see you like to play hard to get even in a fight.”
Green fumes sprouted in my chest at their familiarity. I tore my gaze away from them to try and tame them, turning my attention to another pairing of two guys—a man with his brown hair tied in a half-bun and a blond with his hair buzzed short that looked to be twice his size. They were going at each other like they held a vendetta against one another.
The blond one rushed forward, his fist moving to hit the other trainee square in the jaw, but he put up his hands up to block the shot just in time. He then retaliated by aiming a few leg kicks at his opponent’s legs until he brought it farther up that his foot hit the blond’s ribs.
I watched them spar for a few more minutes until a loud thud resonated in the room. And it came from behind me.
Tendrils of anger started to form when I realized who was behind me.
If that bastard hurt her…
I whipped around, only to find her holding him down in an armlock. I held in my smile as I watched this Asher guy struggle under her grip, his face turning beet red by the second as he kept trying to get himself out of her hold instead of submitting.
She applied more pressure and leaned down to whisper something in his ear, the hint of a smile gracing her lips.
I like her.
Asher finally tapped the mat and she let go. He rolled away from her and peeled himself off the floor, standing straight and dusting his clothes to right them, his breaths harsh and his face still red.
She held out her hand for him to shake and he reluctantly took it, a strained smile on his lips. Then he turned on his heels and headed for the water dispenser, grabbed a paper cup and filled it with water. His gaze flitted to her again while he brought the water to his lips, but he immediately looked away when he saw me watching him.
A few minutes later, I dismissed them for the rest of the day. While most of everyone stayed behind, she was the first to bolt out of the room.
And against my better judgment, I went after her.
She rounded the corner and headed for the hallway that led to the dorms, but before she could reach her destination, I opened up a nondescript door, wrapped my hand around her elbow, and hauled her into what looked like a storage room.
She barely had time to react before I slammed the wooden door shut.
“What the—” She stopped mid-sentence when I flicked the lights on and her eyes landed on mine. “Jo—Mr. Brown?” Her eyes widened, and she stumbled back, but my grip on her didn’t let her go far.
“What are you doing here?” I questioned, my voice tight.
Her brows pinched together, but she didn’t respond.
The muscle in my jaw ticked as I repeated through gritted teeth. “I asked what are you doing here, Mia ?” I demanded. My tone was accusatory, but deep down I was furious. More at myself than I was at her, but in this moment, they both blurred together.
She ripped her arm from my grip. “If it wasn’t obvious already, I’m here to train. And my name is Amalia.”
Realization slowly dawned on me. I pinched the bridge of my nose, closed my eyes, and threw my head back. This was already a worst-case scenario, but now it was even worse than I could have ever imagined.
Not only did I sleep with one of my students, I slept with the one that the Director personally selected for me to watch over. I hadn’t had the chance to look over her file after he called me because I’d wanted to assess her in class before I knew of her accolades.
I shook my head. “You’re Amalia Abara,” I stated.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “The one and only.”
“Of course you are.” I let out a laugh of disbelief.
God, I was fucking stupid. Of course it had to be her and the revelation felt like a slap in the face. Fire erupted in my chest as I looked at her.
“Did you know who I was at the bar last night?” Before she could get a word in, I continued my line of accusation. “Is that why you approached me?” I rubbed a hand through my hair before dragging it down over my face. “Did you think it would help you get favors if you slept with me?”
The moments the words left my mouth, I regretted them.
She reared back at my accusation as if I had backhanded her across the face. “Excuse me?” She narrowed her eyes, the green in her irises turning ablaze. “I won’t stay here and let you talk to me that way, so I’m leaving,” she said, her tone harsh.
She pushed me out of her way, but the second her fingers wrapped around the handle and she opened the door, my hand darted out and slammed it back shut.
My breathing grew heavy and I knew what I was about to do would be a mistake, but I had to apologize. I’d stepped out of line and that wasn’t who I was. My hand still rested on the door, while the fingers of my other one skimmed against the hand she had resting at her side.
“Amalia,” I whispered.
Tension crackled between us as she turned around, but she didn’t look at me. So I brought the hand from above her head and tugged her chin up, forcing her to meet my gaze. She stared up into my eyes, the glint of fire still there, but I could tell it wasn’t from anger.
She was upset and I was the reason behind it. I didn’t like it.
“What do you want? Throw more insulting questions at me?” she asked harshly.
I brushed my thumb back and forth along the side of her hand. “I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I was out of line and I shouldn’t have said what I said. I didn’t mean any of it, Amalia.”
The blazing hurt in her eyes dimmed at my words and for a moment, time seemed to stop as we stared at each other. Conflicting emotions flooded me when she looked at me, my mind battling with indecision.
I released her chin and gently cradled her jaw in my hand, the feel of her skin somewhat soothing against my hardened calluses. Her lips parted ever so slightly, and an intense desire to kiss her, to feel her lips against mine one more time instantly hit me.
One more time wouldn’t hurt, right?
The pad of my thumb swiped against her bottom lip, and she sucked in a breath. The sound acted as a tether, grounding me back to reality and the gravity of what I was about to do.
I dropped my hand like her skin was hot coal, stepped away from her and left, knowing this was the right decision to make.
I didn’t trust myself around her, which meant I needed to avoid her as much as I could. I couldn’t avoid her during class, but surely I could limit my interactions with her and stay away from her outside of it.
Yeah, I could do that.
Everything would be fine.
But even I knew that was a lie.