Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 74324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
He wanted to better himself, and the only way to do that, he had to fight someone better than him.
Adam swung his left fist, pulling it at the last second so it glanced off my jaw instead of taking me at the temple.
I smiled.
He’d have never connected, but he didn’t know that.
Rule Number One of Konn Fight School: Don’t pull your punches.
You fight to survive. You do what you have to do to get your opponent down on the ground, and you don’t stick around to see how he fared.
I retaliated with a right hook to Adam’s lower belly, causing him to lean forward slightly.
“Guard!” Casten bellowed.
I wanted to laugh.
Adam wouldn’t be fast enough. Nice try, though, coach.
Instead of hitting him with the fist to the face that he would be expecting, I swept my right foot out, and tripped him.
Adam stumbled but didn’t go down.
But it was enough to get him off balance, and I used that to my advantage.
The next five minutes I used to show him just how important it was to guard.
I bobbed, swooped, ducked, jabbed and just generally beat the crap out of Adam.
Not enough to knock him out, but he did start losing steam.
Fast.
He was good, I’d give him that. But he wasn’t at my level, and it was likely that he never would be.
I wasn’t being conceited, it was just obvious that I was better than him.
Adam was definitely good, but I’d just had more…experience. My skills were ingrained in me from years of my father’s lessons, my time in the military and now the DEA.
You can learn the motions, use them, and live by them.
But you’re not a killer until you’ve watched the life drain out of another human being’s eyes.
Knowing that you were responsible for putting that look there.
And when I fought, I was willing to kill if I had to.
Adam, however, wasn’t.
He was moving inefficiently, exhausting himself and just going through the motions now.
Something I saw him realize just seconds later.
“You’re just playing with me, aren’t you?” He breathed through a gasping breath.
I grinned.
“You wanted it, you got it.”
He swung a slow punch at my kidney, and I blocked and turned, bringing his back to my front without effort.
I could see the moment he realized he was defeated.
But instead of knocking him out, I followed the move up with a nerve strike to his neck, bringing him down to his knees.
Although he’d be awake and aware, he wouldn’t be able to move his legs properly for about a half-hour or so.
“Win,” I said to him.
He hung his head.
“Win,” he confirmed.
The gym was silent as I walked out of the ring to my belongings.
Without a word I dressed, only stopping to grab my gun from Casten before I was out the door and heading to work since it was probably the best place for me right now.
At least until I shook off this noxious attitude and was able to talk to Annie with some semblance of control.
Chapter 18
There’s a fine line to how much stupidity I can take before it exceeds the limit of my medication. And unfortunately for you, you just crossed it.
-Mig to a perp
Annie
I don’t know what I expected of Mig when I walked into my house later that evening.
But it wasn’t the man I got.
“Have you had dinner yet?” I asked softly, eying the way he lounged on the couch with a wariness that didn’t bode well for our evening.
“No,” he rumbled low in his throat.
I swallowed thickly, very aware of the way he was looking at me like I was dinner.
“I’m making steak and mashed potatoes. It’s all I have.”
I’d been meaning to go to the store for the past couple of days, but I’d been avoiding it since I knew that it would inevitably turn into an errand for Jennifer.
And I wasn’t buying her groceries. There was only so much waiting on and catering to her that I could stomach, and I had surpassed my limit now.
She was totally taking advantage of us and milking her situation for all it was worth.
So, Jennifer could suck it.
And I would’ve almost believed that I would do anything for her if she truly needed it, because I couldn’t stop thinking about the innocent life she was carrying.
The baby who had no say in who her parents were or how they behaved.
Suddenly, it all became so very real.
What was I to Mig?
Was I supposed to be his girlfriend?
Could I be the kind of girlfriend who takes care of her man’s baby from another woman?
What if I wanted kids of my own?
“Mig?” I asked, shutting the fridge softly and turning around.
He looked up from the couch, and it was then I saw the shiner on his eye.
“What happened to your face?” I asked in alarm.
He grinned.
“Just a little bit of release. You got me all riled up, and I didn’t want to take it out on you when I got here, so I burned it all off at the gym,” he mumbled, returning his gaze to the TV.