Page 34 of Taking Jenny
Mal’s eyes widened in surprise. “Even you?”
Longshot gave him a solemn look. “I have long suspected Justice has been hiding things from the court. A red order on these two—” he shook his head at us, “—is laughable. They’re not hardened criminals, that much is obvious. If he is afraid of them, then he is slipping. A ruler who is slipping is no longer a ruler the people will trust or respect. He is at the precipice of his people’s downfall, unless we act now.”
Finally, Mal turned to me again. “Jenny, are you willing to train?”
I swallowed hard, considering my options. “What if…I didn’t participate in Illiapol? If I got there and just stood at the startand didn’t run, didn’t fight, or anything? It’s no fun for them if I don’t run, right?”
Surge said, “Were you not to run, instead of chasing you, they would torture you. Horribly. They would brutalize you, heal you, and do it all over again. For as long as it entertained them. Until you begged for death. Then, they would execute you in the worst way they could imagine.”
My stomach twisted violently and it was all I could do not to throw up my bread and coffee. “Then, I guess I’d better train.”
CHAPTER 11
Tiger
They started with running, which Jenny made clear she hated. When she returned with Longshot, she collapsed onto the terrace, red-faced and gasping, “I’m going to die.”
I raced to her side, crouching down to examine her. “What is wrong? Are you hurt? Why is your face so red?”
She closed her eyes and shook her head, until she could breathe enough to speak again. “Just meant…they’re going to catch me. Right now…I’m fine. Sort of.”
Longshot stood over her, hands on his hips. “Youwilldie, with that kind of an attitude.”
I stood back up and glared at him. “Do not mock her!”
“I was reminding her to keep her mindset where it needs to be, Tiger,” Longshot said firmly. “I was not mocking her.”
She patted my leg to get my attention again. “He’s right, Tiger. I can’t let myself think like that. I have to keep going.” She struggled back to her feet and asked him, “What’s next?”
“Do you have any weapon or combat training?” Longshot asked.
She shook her head. “No.”
“Do you have a profession on Earth?”
“I’m a barista.”
He squinted at her. “In your world, that’s a person who makes coffee, right?”
She grimaced. “Yes. The most athletic things I usually do are sweep and mop the floors at work or have sex. I don’t think either of those are going to help me right now.”
Longshot rubbed his jaw for a moment. “They might, actually.”
I immediately inserted myself between them. “You’renothaving sex with her.”
The other man chuckled. “What I meant was, if she has sex frequently, then her core muscles are likely fit, so that gives her an advantage with regards to her posture, her breath work, her endurance. So, sex is good, and a healthy exercise. And relax, boy, I don’t fuck humans.”
Jenny frowned, obviously surprised to hear him say that. “Ever?”
“No.” Disgust coated his voice.
Jenny huffed indignantly. “I’m feeling insulted for my people.”
“No insult intended,” Longshot said. “It is merely my preference. Your people are too small and breakable. I’m not sure how I could enjoy that.”
I smirked. “You should try it sometime. Might surprise you.”
Longshot didn’t look convinced. “Our next round of training is in ten minutes, Jenny.” He left us at the end of the terrace.
