Page 74 of Broken Promises

“Bullshit. You got scared and started hiding. It’s nice to have people fight your battles for you and keep you safe, but what happens when they’re not there?” she asked, blowing smoke at me. “You end up locked in a room with two rapists climbing all over you.”

Her words stung, and I physically recoiled. “That’s not fair.”

“No? You’re lucky Lavaro slithered back to town and saved you. What would’ve happened if he didn’t? You would’ve been held down and raped for God knows how long. Did you know some people are held captive for days, months even, and rapedfor hours on end at a time?” she asked, nausea swimming in my stomach.

“Beckett, stop.”

“No one came to save them. They only had themselves, and they weren’t ready to fight,” she continued as if I hadn’t spoken, tossing her cigarette in the ashtray as she stood. “We’ve seen the aftermath of that, you know? Women who are found beaten and bloody, their eyes dead of emotion and their bodies no longer feeling like their own. They gave up fighting before it even began. Is that what you would’ve done? Let them use your body for their own sick enjoyment because you felt so helpless?”

Angry tears pricked my eyes as flashbacks ran through my mind. I’d fought hard to try and escape. The reality though, was that I hadn’t been strong enough to save myself.

“You weren’t there. You don’t know shit,” I gritted out, and the grin she gave me pissed me the fuck off.

“You’re right, I wasn’t. You were though, and you waited until some kind of knight in shining armor came to your rescue because you’re a weak bitch.”

I got in her face, my cigarette falling to the cement floor. “Fuck you. I don’t need saving.”

“Look at you. You can’t even stand up for yourself against words. Get mad at me, Raven. You think you’re scary?” she chuckled, giving me a light shove back. “You’re nothing. No wonder Reid just saw you as your brother’s kid sister.”

My fist swung out and slammed into her cheek, the anger draining fast as I realized what I’d done.

I fucking punched Beckett Donovan.

“Fuck, Beckett. I’m sorry,” I choked out, confused when she laughed and rubbed her cheek with amusement.

“Damn, little Raven Pierce has some weight behind her punches. Go on, hit me again.”

“This is a trap and I don’t?—”

She shoved me again, making me stumble. “This is me proving you can’t hold your own. I’m no threat to you, but the monsters out there? They’d kill you in more ways than death. You want to see your friends die? Let people do what they want to your body because you can’t defend yourself? Is that why you were going to let Michael and Devon into your panties? You were too weak to say no?” I swung again, missing this time as she grabbed my wrist and twisted it behind me, pinning me uselessly to her front. “Your scrappy fist fights won’t mean shit when the mafia comes knocking. Neither will hiding behind other people.”

I slammed my heel down on her foot, dropping my body weight to try and get her to release her grip on me, and I winced as it worked but her leg came out and kicked me in the shoulder to make me fall forward to the ground.

“Um, ouch,” I scowled, rolling over to glare up at her. “Zav and Ander destroyed every muscle in my body last night. I don’t need this shit today.”

“Your tongue obviously still works since you keep making excuses,” she said dryly, offering me a hand to pull me to my feet. “I’m not even trying and you can’t beat me.”

“You’re not trying?”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” she deadpanned, picking up my dropped cigarette and putting it in the ashtray.

“I have no chance against trained professionals,” I grumbled, dusting myself off.

“Hate to break it to you, but all the people currently after you are trained. Just means you need training too. Get in the cage.”

“I knew this was a trap. You just wanted an excuse to beat me up.”

She rolled her eyes, motioning to the cage across the room. “Stop being a little bitch. I won’t beat you up, I’ll just show you some techniques. You want to prove to yourself that you don’t need the guys, right? This is how you do it.”

I glanced at the cage, hesitating before pulling Ander’s hoodie over my head and placing it on the bar with my phone and knife. She got tired of waiting for me to make my move, grabbing my wrist and tugging me behind her. I’d never stepped foot inside the cage before, but I knew a lot of people had lost their lives here.

It was a little daunting to think about.

“Alright. Show me your fighting stance,” she encouraged, groaning when I didn’t move. “This is going to be a long fucking day, isn’t it?”

“I don’t have a fighting stance. I don’t fight in a cage like you,” I huffed.

“Good stance keeps you balanced and helps you control the weight of your punches. Crash course in murder fists,” she grunted, showing me how to stand and waiting for me to copy her. “Good, at least you don’t tuck your thumbs in.”

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