Page 9 of Lady Death

Keres kept her gaze on her opponent as they circled each other. She had pushed herself for days, working out every minute she could spare. Building her endurance. Ignoring pain. The almost botched hit on Peterson had taken its toll on her psyche, proving she wasn’t quite as strong as she thought she was. Or brutal enough. Davorin had blanketed the city with a demand on who killed his Deathmen. He was so focused on finding the identity of the killer, some of his businesses were being left unsupervised, and Darby had come up with a brilliant plan to strike a major blow. The almighty kingpin might be impossible to get to with a direct attack, so they had to figure out a backdoor.

Her sparring partner took advantage of her slight distraction to get in a kick to her midsection, hitting the healing knife wound on her side. Keres winced and bent slightly, which allowed her partner to slip behind her and put her in a headlock.

“Tap out,” Darby ordered.

Keres looked at him and shook her head. She didn’t want to yield. She’d prove to them all she was tough enough to kill every asshole in this city. Trying several ways to get out, she was brought down as the arm tightened more, slowly crushing her windpipe.

“Keres! I told you to tap out.”

Lack of oxygen was causing the edges around her vision to go grey. Still, she didn’t want to admit defeat. Didn’t want to cave to being bested.

“You’re so fucking stubborn,” Darby grumbled. He folded his arms across his chest and waited.

Fuck!She was stuck. Her one lapse of concentration caused her to fail. Reluctantly, she tapped against her opponent’s arm, and she was immediately released. Fallingforward, she sucked in gasps of air, coughing as her lungs reinflated.

“You’re done for today,” Darby told her harshly. “Hit the showers and get the fuck out of here.”

Keres rolled over, still gasping air as she looked up at the industrial ceiling. Tears leaked from the outer edge of her eyes as she came to grips with the fact that she was still that frail woman who couldn’t protect herself. The man who just beat her ass held out a hand, and Keres grabbed it, rising to her feet. Giving a nod of thanks, she ducked out of the ring and headed to the women’s locker room. Her tank top was sweaty and probably stank to high heaven. Reaching her locker, she grabbed her duffle and took off her soaked shirt. Before she peeled off her sports bra, however, an awareness came over her. Someone was watching. Could feel the stare burning into her back. Slipping her hand into the gym bag, she grabbed her gun and spun, bringing the barrel up. The man from the bar and the loft was there, leaning against the doorframe.

“Don’t stop undressing on my account,” he said.

“What the hell are you doing here? How did you find me? And why the fuck are you in the women’s locker room?”

He held up one finger. “I came to see you.” He held up a second finger. “I followed you, of course. I wasn’t going to let you walk home by yourself. It’s a dangerous city, and I should know because I had my hand in that.” Finally, he held up the third finger. “Isn’t it obvious why I’m standing here? Because of you.”

“None of that answerswhy.”

He straightened and walked slowly toward her, seemingly unfazed by having a loaded weapon trained on him.

“You got distracted in the ring,” he said calmly, like he was discussing the weather. “Dropped your guard.”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious.”

He stepped so close that the barrel of her gun came to restagainst his chest. “Do you always pull a gun on a man?”

“Only if the day ends in Y.”

He smirked. “You’re not going to shoot me, Keres. The safety is still on.”

“You don’t have to mansplain to me how to fire my own weapon.” She stepped back and let her arm fall away. “How do you know my name?”

“I followed you, remember? Is the big guy out there your man?”

“I find it hard to believe if you’ve researched me that you haven’t researched the hell out of him.”

He shrugged. “I know he was married to another man so I’m curious where you fit in.”

They had a staring contest, one she tried to win but eventually had to blink. “He’s my friend.”

“Such a good friend that he helps you kill people?”

“Shh,” she cried. “Don’t talk about that in public!”

“You’re the only woman in this building right now, Keres. No one is coming in here.” He advanced, and she retreated, all the way to the wall. He placed his hands on either side of her, trapping her.

The telltale tingling of panic shot up her spine. Her breathing grew shallow, and her skin broke out in a cold sweat. In her head, she recited the capital of every state to prevent hyperventilating. A comping mechanism her therapist gave her. Montgomery, Juneau, Phoenix…

“You have a wild look in your eyes. Reminds me of a caged animal.”

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