Roger chuckles, shaking out his hands. “Jesus, Emilia, you trying to take my arms off?”
“Don’t go easy on me. I’m in no mood.”
He raises a brow, amusement flickering across his features. “You’re never in a mood. You’re a damn hurricane today. Should I be worried?”
“Just keep up,” I growl, launching into another round of punches.
Left jab, right hook, duck, pivot.
Every strike sends a jolt up my limbs, feeding my anger, grounding me in something real. Something other thanhim.
Konstantin.
The bastard played me. Made me think I had a shot at getting close. Let me humiliate myself on his desk. Let me believe for a second that I had power in that moment. Then he tossed me out like I was nothing.
No job. No way in. I’m fucked now.
I grit my teeth and throw a high kick, forcing Roger to step back.
I should’ve known better. Men like him…they take, they use, and when they’re done, they discard.
But I’m not done. I need to find another way in.
“Alright, alright. Take it easy, killer.” Roger shakes his head as hedrops his hands. “I like my ribs intact.”
“You done already?” I exhale sharply, rolling my shoulders and bouncing on my feet, knowing I could go for hours.
“Not a chance.” He grins, but there’s a flicker of something else in his expression. Concern. “You wanna talk about it?”
I grab my water bottle and take a long drink. “You’re my coach, not my therapist. Now hit me.”
“You’re crazy, you know that?” He laughs, switching the mitts for the grappling gloves he left at the corner of the cage and slipping them on before he returns.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” As I throw another upper kick, my phone rings on the bench.
It could be the boss. He’s probably worried Konstantin killed me or something. If he only knew the actual truth…
“Give me a sec,” I tell Roger, getting out of the cage to grab my cell.
When I see the name flashing on the screen, I frown. A cold knot forms in my stomach as I swipe to answer.
“Reyes? What’s up?”
His voice is tight. “Emilia, look, I hate calling you like this, but it’s Nate.”
The world narrows. My grip tightens around the phone.
“What happened?”
“He got jumped.”
Fuck!
A breath rushes out of my lungs. “What?! You were supposed to be watching his back!”
“I know, but it happened fast. No one saw it coming, and you know he won’t go to solitary.”
My free hand squeezes the back of my neck. “How bad is it? When did it happen?”
