Page 21 of Liberator

Uncontrollable rage took me by surprise. I flew down the steps separating us and swung a fist as I closed in on him. It struck Rage in the jaw and barely moved his head. He wasn’t harmed at all. However, pain reverberated from my fist and up my arm into my shoulder. Even my neck felt the sharpness of the nerves sending signals to my brain.

I clutched my fist to my chest and cried out in agony. I knew without looking that my thumb was broken, the skin over my knuckles was split, and my wrist was sprained. The hard- headed oaf had defeated me without lifting a finger.

“Let me see!” Rage demanded.

“Back off!” I growled, choking down the tears that wanted to come.

“Rage! Step away. I think you’ve done enough already. Go outside and cool down or I’ll have to send you away for a few days,” Prime ordered.

“But I…” Rage began.

“Do you really think it’s in your best interest to defy me right now? Will it make you feel better if I beat the shit out of you? Walk away! Don’t test me!” Prime spit out.

Rage apparently saw how foolish it would be to confront his superior. He slowly backed down the stairs, turned his back, and walked out the front door. For a moment no one spoke. Then, the onlookers began to drift away. Their murmuring to each other was all I heard until a softer hand touched my shoulder. It was just as filthy as my own. I recognized it as Flame’s even before I raised my eyes and stared into her exhausted face.

“Prime wants me to take you to wash up. Then, we’re supposed to meet Doc in the infirmary so he can look at that hand. How bad do you think it is?” she asked.

Through teeth grinding because of the pain I said, “I’m positive the thumb is broken. Otherwise, it’s just split skin. Maybe, a sprained wrist. I’m not sure about that though.”

“You gave him all you had inside you, that’s for sure. I’ve never seen that particular demon come out of you before. It’s going to come in handy in a real fight. But you’re going to have to learn how to throw a punch without harming yourself, chica. You need some training before you try that again,” Flame replied.

“I think Rage is just hard- headed,” I said, trying to make her laugh.

“That’s true enough, but your stance and the way you make a fist are all wrong. You’ve got a lot to learn that has nothing to do with scrubbing the damn floors. You need to learn control. You need to find a way to use that anger in a more positive way to defeat those that are stronger and larger than you.”

“I managed to shut Rage up, didn’t I?” I asked.

“You succeeded in that. However, he wasn’t fighting back. He didn’t even try to dodge the fist, and yet I know he saw it coming. Rage is an excellent fighter. If he’d wanted to take you down without you laying a hand on him he would have done so easily. Not even I am a match for him,” Flame admitted.

“Then what do I do? I have to pass the tests to be a prospect. I can’t leave. I have no one and nowhere to go.”

“Vikki, no one here is against you. We all want you to succeed. The men are such idiotas that they see the hazing as fun. They don’t realize what it means to us. We have more courage than they can imagine simply because we have always needed to be tougher in order to survive. I’ve got your back, chica. I know exactly what you need to do, and Prime will approve of the plan. You’re going to kick the shit out of those tests, and you can bet your ass I’ll do it too, probably better,” she declared.

Chapter 15

Vikki

“Use your whole body,Vikki!” Colt yelled at me for what felt like the thousandth time. “You don’t have enough strength behind the punch when you don’t. You’re not kissing the enemy. You want to put the fucker on his ass!”

“I thought I was,” I moaned back. I was covered in dripping sweat. Every muscle was crying out in agony. My feet burned and my fists were raw and bloody.

“Here,” he called and tossed me a towel. “Wipe the damn sweat out of your eyes. You’re not really concentrating on your movements. You act like your afraid of hurting someone, which is the opposite of what I need you to do. Your thumb healed, so stop trying to protect it.”

“I don’t know what the hell you expect!” I screamed in his face. “I’m hitting as hard as I can. Shut the fuck up or help me!”

“That’s it! That’s what I need from you. Use the anger! Get pissed!” he demanded.

I swung at the pads in his hands. I hit them harder than ever before, yet it still didn’t seem to affect him.

He suddenly dropped the pads and came storming toward me, swaggering as usual. I didn’t back away. He’d have ridiculed me if I had. Instead, I held my stance and glared at him. He moved behind me, jerked me back against him with an arm around my waist, pushed the area below my ribs and commanded, “I want the punch to start from here. Breathe, use these muscles, take a small step with your right foot, and let out a grunt when you swing. All of that will add to the power if you’d just fucking listen to me.”

He was so close to me I could smell the shampoo he’d used that morning, even over the sweat we both were streaming. He was hot and hard against me, but I felt nothing except determination to please a teacher. Colt was as sexy as hell, yet I didn’t desire him.

I felt him stiffen his muscles and he pulled me closer before allowing his hand to caress my stomach as he released me. It didn’t take a college degree to understand what he was doing and why.

Rage had walked into the boxing gym. He’d seen me in Colt’s arms, and my teacher had seen a chance to enrage his friend just for kicks. Since I’d taken a shot at Rage everyone had been trying to see how far they could take him by baiting him just to see his reaction. He always gave them a show, and I always ignored his actions. He didn’t own me. I had to prove that, so I took the other’s flirting and baiting in stride.

“It’s time to go back to the club and get ready for your shift,” Rage ordered, grabbing me by the arm and dragging me several feet away from Colt.

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