7 #2
She’d often wondered if the irony was lost on him that he was the stiffest and coldest person in Braderhelm.
“You used to live in another prison?” Elise asked, struggling to mirror Khalani’s position on the floor.
“We all did.”
Elise’s eyes widened as Serene added, “Yep. We’re all convicted criminals. Especially my brother, Adan. Don’t ask what happened to the other guy.”
Adan scowled at Serene, but Elise’s gaze held renewed interest as she glanced at Adan before reoccupying herself with stretching. Serene gave Khalani a conspiratorial wink, and she chuckled to herself as Brock stood.
“All right, we’re going to pair off and do some mock fights. Adan, you’re with the new girl.” He gestured to Elise. “Winnifred, I want you with me. And Khalani, you’ve got Terror.”
Serene gave Brock the middle finger and sauntered toward her.
“He calls you ‘Terror’?” Khalani cocked her head.
“I call him ‘Dick for Brains.’” Serene shrugged. “But ‘Masochistic Asshole’ is near the top as well.”
She struggled to hide her smile as Brock belted out, “All right! Stop jabbering. I want one person with both palms raised. The other is going to practice hitting the opposite hand—no hard punches. We’re just going through the movement. One hundred reps on each side before switching. Go.”
Khalani turned to Serene, who smirked and raised her palms. “Hit me with your best shot.”
She went through the movements slowly, focusing on her technique, just like Takeshi had taught her. Halfway through, she noticed Serene’s attention kept drifting to Brock, who was helping Winnie.
Khalani snuck a glance over.
Winnie’s arms were trembling as she slowly hit Brock’s open palms. But he didn’t berate or give a condescending remark.
“You got this, Winnifred. C’mon.” He pumped her up, meeting her hit for hit. “Keep fighting. There you go.” Pride leeched out of his voice. “Finish strong.”
Winnie finally hit one hundred reps, sweat matting her silver hair to her forehead, as her arms slumped by her side.
“Winnie hasn’t worked this hard in ages,” she breathed out. “Not sure she’d be much help in a battle.”
Brock frowned and placed a firm hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t say that. The Death-Zone is tough for even me to cross, and I’m twenty-six and trained my whole life for it.
You overcame the harshest environment on Earth with a smile on your face.
Know that if I were putting a team together, you might not be picked, but you’d damn well be considered. ”
He spoke with a depth of sincerity that Khalani didn’t know Brock was capable of. Winnie’s eyes held a slight sheen and she mouthed “thank you” to him.
Winnie was the type of woman who’d been overlooked all her life. She had the biggest heart and intellect but struggled to stand up to the people who abused their power.
But Brock saw the truth. Winnie was never their burden.
She was their inspiration.
Khalani’s lips perked up as she turned to Serene, who was still staring at the two of them, an unreadable expression in her eyes.
“You ready?” Khalani asked, holding up her palms.
“Yeah.” Serene blinked, snapping out of it. They continued throwing punches as a familiar figure bounded down the stairs.
“Raziel.” Brock crossed his arms. “Wasn’t expecting you.”
Raziel was clad in dark cargo pants, a long-sleeved vest, and the characteristic black mask covering the lower half of his face.
He strutted over like he was walking in a bar, but his astute gaze took in every inch of the room, lingering on Khalani for a moment.
“Jack told me you were training down here. Thought I might swing by and watch.”
“Is that all?” Brock’s expression was skeptical as Raziel shrugged.
“You know how it is. Stay in hiding for too long and people get antsy, meddling in areas where they shouldn’t.” He glanced at her again.
“Tell me, how’s Ryder holding up?”
Raziel’s gaze swung to Brock, the first hint of emotion crossing his face. “My brother’s still resting. Being kidnapped and underfed in a slave camp for months didn’t help. But Lane said he’d make a full recovery.”
Raziel glanced away, clearly not wanting to say anything more about it. But Khalani couldn’t help the words that left her mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
Raziel shifted his hard gaze to her. “For what?”
“Ryder wasn’t the most welcoming person in camp, but when it came down to it, he didn’t hesitate to help us escape.
And I know you blame Takeshi for what happened.
But he had the chance to kill Doctor Strauss, and I…
I was the one who made him leave. I thought we wouldn’t make it out otherwise. But maybe if I hadn’t…”
Khalani bit her lip as her eyes floated to the ground, the guilt threatening to swallow her whole.
“I know I can’t take back what happened, and saying sorry doesn’t fix anything. But I just needed you to know that I am.”
The dreadful silence expanded.
Raziel was the Aces’ Enforcer, one of the most feared men in Hermes. But when Khalani finally found the courage to look up, his eyes gleamed with an unspoken emotion. And Raziel simply nodded.
That was enough.
Brock cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to him. “Let’s move on to the next lesson. Disarming your opponent.”
They practiced with plastic knives Brock had obtained from upstairs, and he paired up with Khalani this time. She was currently pinned to the ground, his arms wrapped around her from behind, the knife inches from her throat.
“Practice what I told you,” he ordered. “Lean your weight forward and dislodge my grip.”
But Khalani didn’t do that.
She pulled her arms together and drove her elbow into his stomach.
He cursed, and she was barely able to release herself from his grip. But Brock thrust the knife toward her stomach, stopping just before impact.
“Dead,” he hissed. “You should’ve listened to me.”
“I thought of a quicker way. And it worked, didn’t it?” Khalani rose to her feet, wiping the sweat off her forehead.
“It worked for two seconds,” Brock scoffed. “You were too busy gloating in your silly victory before thinking about your opponent’s next move. If I were your real enemy, you’d be dead.”
“Points for creativity, though,” Raziel added from the corner. His eyes gleamed, arms crossed over his chest. During their training, he’d transitioned from silently studying her to critiquing every inch of her form with Brock.
She should’ve known that apology wasn’t going to carry her far.
“Question.” Serene raised her hand.
Brock sighed. “What?”
“Can I practice the elbowing technique on you too? Seems like an important part of training.”
“You’re all done for the day. We’ll pick this back up tomorrow.” Brock stormed off, and Serene grinned, knowing she’d gotten under his skin. A place she thrived in.
Khalani returned to her tiny bedroom, which was more like a mini storage closet, but compared to the cells she’d lived in previously, it might as well have been a mansion.
After finding the spare towel and toothbrush in her room, she zoomed over to the showers Jack had shown them earlier.
The water covered her ears, overloading her senses, and for a few blissful moments, Khalani pretended that nearly every inch of her life wasn’t a waking nightmare.
But try as she might, problems couldn’t be drowned underwater. After lathering her body with soap, drying off, and brushing her teeth, she changed into gray sweatpants and a plain white T-shirt that reached her butt.
But on the way back to her bedroom, she heard voices.
Peeking down the hall, she caught a glimpse of Jack speaking with Jericho, who was still standing guard in front of Takeshi’s room.
Khalani rapidly tapped her fingers against her thighs, zeroing in on the door that called to her like water in a desert. Unable to resist, she threw the towel on the bed and ventured down the hall.
They both turned at her approach.
She gulped, wishing for the power of invisibility so she could squeeze right past them. But with the way their eyes carefully tracked her, that wasn’t going to happen.
“Hi.” She cleared her throat, rubbing her hands together.
Jack eyed her wet hair. “I’m glad to see you washed up. Lord knows we needed it after the camp.” His expression grew distant, and she nearly forgot that he’d been stuck in the prison camp for months.
“Are the Dealers still looking for us?”
“Undoubtedly,” he stated. “But my men have laid false trails in other sections of the city, and they’re beginning to bite. My advice is to continue gathering your strength over the next couple of days, because we could be moving out any moment.”
Jack’s voice grew stronger, and Jericho straightened beside him. She admired the way everyone respected Jack and hung onto his every word. Even after escaping from a prison camp, he immediately thrust himself back into the leadership role like he was born for it.
“Thank you, Jack.” Khalani gazed up at him earnestly. “You’re a good leader.”
His lips twisted, like a part of him didn’t fully believe that, but he nodded. She glanced at the door again, her heart racing faster. “Is it okay if I talk to him?”
“Last I recall, he tried to kill you.”
“I…I know. But it’ll be worse if he thinks he’s all alone here. Takeshi needs to know that he still has people that care about him, even if he doesn’t remember. It will just be a few minutes.” She dug her nails into her palms, nearly losing her thin layer of control.
Jack considered her words, studying her long and hard. She waited with bated breath, already planning for him to say no. If so, she’d find another way to sneak past Jericho.
Khalani was certain Serene would help her.
She didn’t know what type of desperation Jack recognized in her expression, because he finally said, “You have five minutes and five minutes only. And Jericho will stay inside with you.”
“But—”
“That’s nonnegotiable.” Jack lowered his head. “Be certain of your decision, Khalani, because if he tries anything, he’ll suffer for it.”