Page 83 of Cash

“Oopsie, my ass! You’re trying to decapitate me!” Axel growls as he repositions the pads.

“You got me fired from my job! Remember that, Axel?” Candy bellows back as she lets another punch fly.

“You got you fired, woman!” Axel insists as he ducks below her latest punch.

Candy drops her arms, stares at a wary Axel for a moment, then tackles him. Axel, expecting another punch, is caught off-guard. They go down hard with Candy on top. She sits up and grins manically.

“Oh, fuck no! We’re not doing this again!” Axel shouts as he heaves his body hard.

Candy’s dislodged and lands next to Axel on the mat. Axel bolts to his feet and stands above her, finger pointing directly at her face.

“I’ve apologized for causing trouble at the toy store a dozen times, Candy! You haven’t apologized even once! Woman up and admit it was just as much your fault as mine!” Axel demands.

Candy pushes to her feet and faces Axel. Axel takes a cautious step back but continues to point at her. Suddenly, Candy’s face breaks into a huge smile, and she nods her head.

“It was my fault too. I can admit that now. Maybe these sessions have helped me see that. Thank you for letting me work through it here. Friends, Axel?” Candy asks quietly as she holds her gloved hand out.

“If I shake your hand are you going to use the opening to sucker punch me? Again,” Axel asks while still keeping his distance.

“No, I won’t. I’m ready to work with you instead of against you.”

Axel inches forward and shakes Candy’s hand. When she doesn’t exploit the opening he’s giving her, Axel’s shoulders relax, and his usual pout appears.

“Took you long enough, Candy. I was starting to worry you were going to rearrange my face to the point I’d be as ugly as Pooh,” Axel jokes.

“Well, fuck it all to hell. Our Thursday fun has come to an end,” Petey grumbles from next to me.

“Yep, it has,” I agree as I turn back to my class.

*~*~*~*

Over the last few months, the club has had several acts of vandalism in one form or another. Axel’s bike, the attempted fire at the garage, Ava’s bakery windows egged. We’ve looked at these incidents from every angle and can’t find a connection. Over the years, the club’s made a lot of enemies but most of them would just shoot one of us. They wouldn’t mess around with petty vandalism. Even Livi and James can’t connect the dots to one particular person. All we know is that someone with personal knowledge of the club is angry with us. Why we have no idea. We also don’t know if the attacks will become more serious or life-threatening.

While working, Livi and James have been keeping a closer eye on our businesses. Rex’s cameras have only picked up one person, all in black, doing the crimes. Livi swears it’s a female form, but the rest of us aren’t convinced. To date, the crimes haven’t been overly expensive to correct, but it’s getting frustrating.

A few of Livi’s female coworkers have been coming in with her and James for their training sessions. All of them take the sessions seriously, and James has even quit complaining. Mostly. I like to think we’ve improved their odds of surviving each shift a little better.

I watch as Livi crosses the gym headed toward the locker room. Long, dark hair with its auburn sheen, swaying in its ponytail. Lithe, lean body moving with purpose. After she changes, she’s working with Pooh today on takedowns. She has a real love for testing herself and gaining knowledge. James has told us how she’s used her abilities during a few arrests lately and how they’ve gained her some new respect from male coworkers.

A few minutes later, Livi waves at me as she approaches Pooh. He has his back to her and just as she reaches him, he whirls. Trying to catch her off guard, Pooh goes for a takedown. Livi, with no hesitation, uses her hand to push his head down while she sidesteps his attempt. Pooh tries to sweep her legs out with one of his, but she expected it and once again stays safely out of range. I grin, remembering the night we worked on that particular move. It ended with a much happier ending than it will today for Pooh. For me, it ended with us in the shower and Livi’s mouth wrapped tight around my cock. Pooh’s only going to receive a dirty look from Livi for trying to trick her.

After Livi’s finished working with Pooh, we meet by the desk. She’s beaming as she usually is after a workout session. I push a few loose strands of hair behind her ear before dropping a quick kiss on her mouth.

“You have plans for this evening?” I ask.

“Nope. Thought we were just going to hang out at your place, weren’t we?” Livi questions.

“Thought tonight would be a good night for you and Axel to finally have your shoot,” I answer with a grin.

“You need to trick him, or he’ll find another excuse to avoid it.”

“Yep. Already spoke with Bailey, and they have no plans,” I agree while looking for Axel’s hulking form.

“Axel!” I shout when I spot him near the weights.

“What?” he hollers.

“Want to go for a ride tonight and then stop for dinner somewhere?” I ask.

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