Page 215 of Dark Love

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“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I wrap my hands and nod towards where Imogene sits with a tablet in hand.

“She said she’ll be fine. That our training won’t bother her at all.” Payne doesn’t seem to believe the words even as he says them.

“We don’t pull our punches. What if I give you a black eye or something?” What I don’t need is a crying woman, glaring at me for the rest of my life.

“Imogene is stronger than you think. She’s got this.”

Hopefully, he’s right. I pull on my gloves and secure them.

Payne and I have done this so many times before, the dance takes longer as we search for a weak spot. Just to test the waters, I let Payne land the first blow. I’m going to feel that in the morning.

Imogene doesn’t even blink.

Good. I can relax and enjoy the fight.

***

“You guys do that a lot, don’t you?” Imogene sets down the tablet.

“Vex likes to beat me up on a regular basis.” Payne grins.

Payne hasn’t won a sparring match once, but he’s tied a few times. He just doesn’t have the heart of a killer. “I like to keep you in shape. Want to hit the mat?”

He looks at Imogene for a long moment.

She’s all smiles in a body that still looks skeletal from starvation.

“Sure.”

We pull off our gloves and shoes and move to the mat.

Payne has a bit of an advantage on the floor since he’s lighter than me.

He flips me onto the ground in no time. I let him get comfortable as I wait for an opening to turn the tide.

There it is, a small opening. I hook a leg around him and we swap places.

Payne grins as I drive a fist into his side.

“NO! Don’t hurt him.” Imogene flies across the room, landing on my back, pummeling me with her weak, little fists. “You can’t hurt her. I won’t let you hurt her. I won’t let you hurt me.”

And that ends us practicing for the day.

Payne scoots out from under me and squats down to Imogene’s eye level. “Immie Baby, Vex isn’t hurting me. You’re safe. You’re not with the monsteranymore.”

Like that’s going to be enough to talk down this woman. She’s not hurting me. She doesn’t have enough strength yet to do anything significant, but it is messing with my head to have a crazy woman screaming at me and hitting me with her bony fists.

“Immie, open your eyes. You aren’t in the pit. You’re safe.” Payne moves closer.

“Stop hurting her.”

Imogene’s cries are worse than any blow Payne could ever strike.

“Immie, It’s Payne. You’re safe here. He’s dead. That monster can’t hurt anyone ever again.”

“Dead?”

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