Chapter 47 Sloane #2
I furrowed my brow in confusion. “A great honor? Your life expectancy just dropped to zero for someone you don’t even know. Your termination ends in death.”
“That’s enough, Jaden. This is an introduction, not a fucking interview,” Darren scolded, clearly not liking my line of questioning.
Sloane nodded, unbothered by the exchange. “Yes, an honor. And my family will be rewarded should my sacrifice be required.”
Well, someone had a damn good life insurance policy.
My gaze returned to Darren, catching the warning in his eye that made my stomach clench. He’d found another sucker willing to die for me, and I needed not to fuck it up.
“Is there anything else, then?” I asked him, hoping to be dismissed.
The look he gave me was not one of approval. “No. You both can go. I’ll see you at dinner.”
I nodded. “Okay, then,” I said gently, and walked out of his office with Camaro at my side and Sloane following close.
I had a new problem to figure out now. Trying to discern what kind of trouble Sloane would be for me. Was she the nosy type?
She seemed to be too straitlaced for that. She acted like more of a soldier compared to Clive and Owen. And the fact that she was soloing this job without a partner told me Darren must have really been impressed with her.
I was suddenly interested in what made her that impressive.
Making my way into my private gym, Sloane followed me in, and I stopped at my octagon.
“I don’t have a training partner today. Would you mind filling in for me?” I asked her.
“Of course,” she said with a professional nod. “What would you like to start with?”
“I thought maybe a little light sparring?”
She dipped her chin at me. “I will wait for you to change then,” she commented, noting I still wore my regular clothes.
“Oh, sometimes I like to practice in regular clothes since I’m rarely attacked in my workout clothes,” I answered with a wink, then pointed at the trunk against the far wall. “But I do have pairs of shorts that I usually slip on to avoid showing off my ass.”
I gave her a tight smile before I headed to the trunk and discreetly slipped on the shorts. My bare ass wouldn’t be the only thing exposed since the stupid string of pearls concealed absolutely nothing.
Sloane gave me a sly grin as she followed me. “You’ve been through multiple attacks, yes?” she asked as she removed her suit jacket and tie.
“More than I’d like. What about you? What kind of action have you been through?”
“I have been on many rescue missions for extraction in dangerous cities around the world. I have also been the head of many security details for multiple politicians, celebrities, and infamous drug lords and their families for several years. I’ve had my fair share of action.”
“Uh-huh,” I said, listening intently as I began to wrap my hand, making sure I left my rings on this time. “So what’s the real reason you want to give all that up just to babysit me full-time?”
Her lips curled as she began to roll up her sleeves.
“I’d heard about you before. The rumors made you sound respectable and intriguing.
When Scott reached out about possible recruitment, I decided it was a worthy opportunity.
” She began to roll up her other sleeve and continued her explanation.
“Most wives or daughters of my previous clients are spoiled until they’ve become rotten inside.
Your background did not give me that impression. ”
I raised my gaze to her. “No?”
What the hell gave her that impression?
“No,” she affirmed as she began to wrap her hands. “You seemed like a person worth protecting, deserving of such selfless devotion.”
I paused at her answer, surprised she felt the way she did without ever knowing or meeting me.
“You got all that just from pieces of paper?”
She stepped closer to me, her chin dipping low as she looked down at me. “No, I’ve actually been watching you for the past week. And your interactions confirmed my initial perception.”
I felt my lips folding into a tight line, wondering if I should tell her the truth about my recent personality switch.
“Interactions with who?” I asked tentatively.
Her brows knitted together. “Does it matter?”
“More than you could imagine.” If she had been basing her perceptions on my interactions with Darren, which were now entirely different from how they were almost a month ago, then she really had no clue who I was.
Would she change her mind if she did? And then I suddenly paused, wondering why the hell I was seeking a stranger’s approval.
“You know what? Never mind. Let’s just go to work. ”
Sloane nodded in agreement. “Would you like to do drills first or get straight to the sparring?”
“We can spar,” I said, fastening my last glove in place.
“Very good.”
Leaving our shoes on the floor, we stepped into the cage. Sloane closed the gate behind us to make sure Camaro didn’t interfere. She was used to watching me train, but this was a new person, and I didn’t want to take any chances.
Taking our spots on the mat, I stretched out my arms and legs, bouncing a little on my bare feet, trying not to wince as the pearls grazed between my slit.
“Ready?” Sloane asked.
I nodded. “Ready.”
Moving in on each other, we closed the gap between us and immediately started exchanging blows. She dodged most of my strikes, taking only a few to the face and body, and carefully maneuvering around my kicks. I had to admit the woman was fast.
“What kind of a name is Sloane?” I asked as I ducked under one of her roundhouse kicks. “Doesn’t sound very Russian to me.”
She chuckled as we danced around each other. “That is because it is not my birth name,” she answered as she veered to the right of my elbow strike.
“Why don’t you go by your birth name?” I asked.
Her lips curled as she gave me a knowing look.
“That’s a story for another day,” she replied as she released a series of strikes I barely managed to dodge.
Clearly, someone didn’t want to divulge too much about themselves.
“I’ve studied your fighting pattern,” she said, her breathing remaining steady and even.
“You have an interesting fighting style.”
I dodged her strike to my nose, but not the one to my kidney, causing me to wince as I sidestepped her. “How so?” I asked between breaths, trying to ignore those goddam pearls between my legs.
“You have a small frame. Yet you’re able to throw your weight around with much success. It’s fascinating to watch.”
I just barely dodged her kick to my head, moving to my knees to strike her in the gut.
She took the hit and then lightly punched me on the side of my head.
From my vantage point, I quickly turned to jump on her back and wrap one arm around her neck.
“I guess I had to create my own adaptive style,” I said before dropping my weight to hang from her neck.
It only took Sloane a few seconds to shake me. She whipped me around, then slammed me on the floor. But I managed to keep my legs tucked and kicked her with both feet as she tried to regain her balance.
“Have you ever fought Darren?” I asked, standing from a kip-up.
She dipped her chin with a slight nod. “Three times during the trials last week,” she answered, bringing her leg up for a hook kick. “He is the best I’ve ever fought.”
I almost rolled my eyes. Of course, he was.
Dodging her kick, I moved in with a side kick, landing it square into her gut. But she didn’t even react. She just took the hit and then attempted to punch me right in the head. But she switched her tactic and grabbed my arm to flip me over her shoulder, causing me to land on my bad hip.
Ah fuck!
I groaned through gritted teeth, pain flaring up in my joint that started to spread throughout my pelvis and down my leg. When Camaro saw I wasn’t getting back up, she stood on her hind legs against the cage and started to bark. Sloane immediately froze in place.
“You are hurt,” she declared, releasing her hold on me.
“No, no,” I replied quickly, sitting up and waving her off. “It’s from a previous injury. I’m fine. It just flares up sometimes.”
“From your gunshot wound?”
I looked up at her to find concern in her eyes. “He told you about that, huh?”
She frowned at my question. “When I passed the trials and accepted the position, I was given an extensive report on your characteristics, personality, mental state, and various medical records. I studied well.”
Now that was a report I’d love to get my hands on.
“I’m sure it was an interesting read,” I commented, pushing myself up to a stand and placing more weight on my other hip.
She nodded. “I think we are done for the day. Do you need anything for your hip?”
I released a slow, deep breath, the pain aching all the way down my leg. “Just a large bucket of ice delivered to my bathroom,” I said as I pulled my gloves and wraps off.
“Of course.” She headed for the door, leaving me alone with Camaro.
I tried to hide my limp as I stepped out of the cage to put my gloves and wraps away, but Camaro immediately ran to my side to sniff and whine at me.
“Think she’s gonna be a problem, big girl?”
Camaro pressed her nose into my leg, her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she continued to whine at me.
“Yeah, I’ll have to figure out what to do about this one.”