Page 80 of Sinful Promise

“I’m meeting the girls at the gym.”

He nuzzles my neck before he releases me. “Fine. I have to go, anyway.”

He turns abruptly and is gone.

I slump against the closest wall, shaking. Roman can be intense. I breathe and pull myself together because I have to meet the girls. Everyone here is tougher than me, and that needs to end.

I find workout clothes in my closet and tug on socks and sneakers. I see a crew member and ask her the location of the gym, and she leads me to it. I open the glass door and step inside. Techno music is blaring.

Francesca punches a long bag suspended in the air, then spins and kicks it with her foot, sending the bag flying. Holy shit. If that were a person, they’d have cracked ribs or worse.

Irina sits on a bench, working her back muscles by pulling on a bar with a lot of weight attached. She smiles when she notices me. “I see you survived Roman’s possessive fit.”

“Yeah. I didn’t know he literally meant no man touches me.”

“He’s hard-core with his rules, for sure. Most of them are.” Francesca winks. “Come over here. I’ll show you some warmups on the mats.”

After a quick warmup, Francesca demonstrates some of her favorite moves. The first one surprises me when she drops to the mat and sweeps my legs out from under me. I’m on my back, staring at the ceiling, wondering what just happened.

“Plant your feet, be aware of your surroundings.”

I do as she instructs and dive out of the way the next time she comes toward me.

“Good. Let’s try yoga moves to loosen your muscles before I teach you how to jab the bag.”

“That bag?” I warily eye the equipment, which reminds me of a side of beef.

“Sure, you’ll be fine.”

Irina joins us on the mat, and I follow their lead as I stretch my back and legs. After twenty minutes of stretching, we move to the bag, and she puts boxing gloves on my hands, the Velcro making a zippy noise as she adjusts it.

“These are huge,” I comment.

“You’ll get used to it. Come.” She puts her hands on my hips and positions my feet before she shows me what to do. We start with a simple jab. “One, two,” she says each time I hit the bag.

I like the workout. We spend over an hour at the gym, and for the first time in days, I’m not missing Katsia.

We head back to our rooms to shower and change before meeting for a late lunch of finger sandwiches and iced tea on the main deck.

“You did very well today, Dasha. You should be proud,” Francesca says.

“Thanks. I didn’t do much.” I bite into a cucumber sandwich and wonder how this is considered food.

“We’ll do more tomorrow before we reach France. You never know when you’ll need to defend yourself.”

“Spend enough time with Roman, and you’ll need it eventually,” Irina says, chuckling.

Irina is skilled at martial arts as well, and I marvel at the fact that I’m sitting with not one, but two women with lethal hands. We all wear many faces. They look normal, but their eyes tell me they have lived more than most. I’m sure they’ve both been through their share of rough times, yet they are independent and fit in well with the criminal elements surrounding them. I would have thought they were powerful CEOs if I didn’t know any better.

“How do you two live this life and the one I don’t see?” My eyes ping between the two of them.

“I grew up this way, so it came naturally. I made my place in my father’s life.” Francesca refills her tea glass and nibbles on a carrot stick.

Irina nods and says, “When I lost my mother, I took that pain to the streets. I learned there were ways to get even when laws are flawed.”

“Both of you are so determined, so strong and worldly. I’d love for some of that to rub off on me.” I hungrily stab at my Cobb salad with my fork and try not to eat too quickly. The workout has made me hungry.

“Trust me, it will happen if you stick around long enough,” Francesca says.

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