Ultimate Courage

by Piper J. Drake

  Long story made short and it was still so many words. He was going to be tapped out for conversation when this night was over. He hadn’t realized how much he relied on monosyllabic responses to get him through most exchanges. He’d talked more in the last twenty-four hours than in as long as he could remember. And most of it had been with Elisa.

  “Administrative assistant.” The man grunted and came out from behind the counter, offering his hand to Elisa. “More like you need a keeper and a bouncer to keep those drooling women with their yapping puntables at bay. I’m Gary Boulding.”

  There was a split second of hesitation, then Elisa took Gary’s hand and gave it a firm shake. Rojas wondered if Gary would interpret it the same way he did. A moment of assessment. It was a good habit to have for any person. Elisa Hall was fairly subtle about it, but a trained eye could still catch her.

  “Mr. Rojas gave me the card for your school.” Elisa’s gaze wandered to the children’s class. “He mentioned you gave self-defense courses.”

  Gary gave her a closer look while her attention was elsewhere. The man saw more than most, and Rojas appreciated his way with reading people. “We do, and you’re welcome to join our next workshop, but I don’t think that’s why Rojas brought you here tonight. We’ve only got the kids’ classes for another hour, then some of the advanced adult classes. Beginner’s adult classes are Monday and Wednesday evenings, and Saturday mornings.”

  “We like to look out for our new employees.” Rojas tossed it out there before Elisa could reply. Her cheeks flushed a very attractive pink, but he didn’t want her to wrestle awkwardly with asking a stranger for help. She had her pride and might find a way to excuse herself and leave.

  He hurried to continue. “I suck at explaining things, so I just brought her over here to introduce her. A hotel isn’t going to be the right fit for her, so I was wondering if you’d mind letting her stay upstairs in the studio for a night or two until she has a chance to find a place to rent somewhere in town.”

  No need to air her private issues until she was ready. Rojas had a good idea of what was going on, but he was sure he didn’t have the full story. And Gary was good at hearing what wasn’t said.

  Gary nodded slowly. “Sure. The studio’s reasonably clean. One of the boys slept up there the night before his fight last weekend, and Greg swapped out the sheets and towels during the week. Should be fine to take you up there now while Greg’s managing the class.”

  “I could pay…”

  Gary shook his head, holding up his hand to stall her. “It’d be complicated to add that income to the books. Why don’t we make a trade instead?” He jerked his thumb to indicate the instructor surrounded by kids. “My husband over there hates sweeping the mats every night and every morning. If you could take on that chore and a couple of others, it’d be more than the boys do when they sleep here for the odd night or two.”

  Elisa blinked.

  Rojas wondered what she was processing faster: the proposed trade or the mention of a husband. “Greg is always griping about the way the mats constantly collect dirt even when no shoes are allowed on them.”

  Tension melted out of her shoulders, and she breathed easier as she gave Gary a genuine smile. “I’d really appreciate the place to stay.”

  Gary grinned. “Good. Let’s take you up now and introduce you to Greg between classes. Then you can have some peace and quiet to yourself for the rest of the evening.”

  “Peace, maybe.” Rojas coughed and looked pointedly at the ceiling. “But quiet, not so much. The adult classes aren’t as high-pitched as the kids’, but there’s a fair amount of noise until about twenty-one hundred hours.”

  “That’s nine o’clock p.m. for those of us who remember we’re not wearing a uniform.” Gary rolled his eyes. “You boys are holding on tight to your old habits.”

  Rojas shrugged. “Some habits are good to keep fresh.”

  “And some are worth letting go.” Gary’s gaze held his for a long moment. This wasn’t the time to be working on those issues, though, so Rojas remained silent until Gary huffed out a breath. “You training with us tonight?”

  Rojas shook his head. “Wanted to get Miss Hall here settled in then head next door to get Boom some frozen yogurt.”

  “Are you seriously going to walk back?” Elisa sounded appalled.

  “Sure.” Rojas grinned.

  Gary rolled his eyes again, uttering a groan this time. “Don’t let this roughneck jerk your chain. We’re friends with the owners next door. One of their kids will give him a ride back on a delivery run. Boom’s frozen yogurt won’t even have time to melt.”

  Chapter Six

  Elisa sat on the edge of the bed and looked around her, bemused.

  Oh, it was a pleasant enough studio and much nicer than some of the motels she’d stayed in over the last several months. The room was minimally furnished with a bed and nightstand. The bathroom had the essentials: toilet, sink, and shower. Despite the somewhat bare furnishings, the room was painted in pleasant cool blue-grays with white trim. The carpet was thick and lush under her bare feet.

  It was welcoming. Not just the room, but the school and its owners. Gary had brought Greg up for personal introductions just a few minutes ago, after she’d had a chance to retrieve an overnight bag from her car. Both men were warm and friendly, and didn’t seem bothered in the least by her intrusion.

  Gary had waved off her apology. “Any friend of the boys at Hope’s Crossing is good people. All we ask is that you leave your mental baggage at the door and come inside ready to do good things.”

  The boys at Hope’s Crossing.

  None of them were boys by her definition. As far as she could tell, Alex was a couple years older than she was and Brandon was around the same age as Alex. That put them in their mid-thirties if she was guessing right. She hadn’t met Cruz yet, but she’d gotten the impression they’d all served together in the military sometime in the past before they’d reassembled at the kennels.

  But both Gary and Greg looked to be in their late forties, with an equal amount of laugh and worry lines around the corners of their eyes and mouths. The men of Hope’s Crossing and the owners of Revolution Mixed Martial Arts Academy had seen things. All of them. She’d have to be blind and deaf not to get a sense of the life experiences each of these men had had. Each of them had gone out and lived.

  Leave your mental baggage at the door.

  She shivered at the memory of her first night in a motel. She’d driven for as long as she could manage to stay awake. Long enough to refill her gas tank at least twice. And she’d given in and gotten a room only because she might have fallen asleep at the wheel. As tired as she’d been, she’d lain awake for hours listening to every sound in the dark. Certain her ex had found her. Or that some other predator was planning to mug her or worse.

  She had her own issues, for sure. And she was very much hoping those wouldn’t catch up to her here.

  Her ex had a knack for finding her. The knowledge that he could do it repeatedly, consistently, but not knowing how he was doing it had been driving her progressively insane. He was a man with a temper and a whole lot of patience. He wanted to make her regret having left in the first place, and every time she managed to escape him was only adding to the eventual payback. Of that she was sure.

  But she didn’t plan to ever be under his control again. Five years had been enough. Once she’d gotten a clear understanding of the special projects he was overseeing, investing in, she’d decided she didn’t want any part of the life he’d arranged for the two of them.

  The last six months had been a constant effort to get away and build a life of her own.

  The important thing right now was to get some rest, think clearly, and plan her next steps. Hopefully she’d be able to come up with something unpredictable.

  So far, her attention had only managed to stay focused on Alex Rojas and his incredible generosity. Okay, and she sort of wondered if the tennis ball was still in his p
ants pocket. As random thought processes went, she was going to need to go for more constructive stuff.

  Standing, she groaned. Today had included a good mix of sitting, standing, and even some walking, but she’d done a lot of driving in the days prior. Her hamstrings were tight and aching and no amount of stretching so far had made the soreness disappear completely. Maybe she needed to get into better shape.

  Staying above a mixed martial arts school was already influencing her mindset.

  She reached for her overnight bag and pulled out a clean tee and pair of soft sweats. They were comfortable to sleep in and perfectly reasonable to roll out of bed and drive out of town in.

  As she was pulling her current shirt over her head, a knock sounded at the door.

  She jerked her shirt back down to cover her breasts and belly, reining in a moment of panic. “Who is it?”

  “It’s Alex.”

  Oh. Her hands shook as she opened and closed them a couple of times to get them to quit clenching by default. Trying to ease off the rush of adrenaline, she focused on who was on the other side of the door.

  It wasn’t her ex. And Alex hadn’t shown any signs of wanting to take her back to her ex, either.

  In fact, his gruff tone had returned and she was starting to realize it came out when he was about to do something nice and felt awkward about it.

  He was really sweet, in a super rough and ready kind of way.

  “You okay in there?”

  The man gave good voice. She wondered whether he knew it and if he was the person who usually answered the phones at the kennels. It’d explain a lot of disappointed-sounding callers with very ridiculous questions from this morning.

  “Can I come in?” He sounded uncomfortable.

  “Oh!” She hadn’t realized how long she’d kept him waiting for a response. Crossing over to the door, she unlocked and opened it, backing away as she did.

  “For you.” Alex held out a small container. He had a bag dangling from his other hand, presumably with Boom’s frozen yogurt.

  She took the container and her mouth watered at the sight of the pristine white swirl of frozen yogurt inside. Abruptly, she realized how insanely hungry she was. One problem. “No spoon?”

  He fished around in the bag and came up with a plastic-wrapped utensil. “Got one.”

  The man thought of everything. He might be heaven sent. She could dream about him with wings later.

  “How much do I—”

  He waved her off. “Come to work in the morning and work it off. We seriously do need an administrative assistant, and I don’t want to conduct interviews.”

  Frustration churned in her belly for a minute, warring with the sharp hunger. She shouldn’t accept favors from him. Favors and unspoken expectations were how misunderstandings got started. And she hadn’t decided to stay yet. Part of the reason she’d been able to stay on her own this far was because she’d always taken off at the first sign that her ex had found her again.

  The text was more than a sign. It was a bright red warning flag.

  Alex’s voice cut across her train of thought, calm and mater-of-fact. “I got you plain frozen yogurt because I wasn’t sure what you’d like, but I’ve got a couple of containers on the side here with strawberries, kiwi, graham crackers, and random candies. Didn’t want to set off any allergies. It’s been a while since you’ve eaten and you don’t want to keep thinking so hard on an empty stomach.”

  Hunger and appreciation for his consideration won out. “The strawberries, please. And the graham crackers.”

  “They’ve got a cheesecake flavor down there. You might like it with these next time.” He handed over the containers and she thought there might be a hint of amusement in his eyes.

  He was really good at disarming her. Or she was tired. Probably a little of both. Either way, his presence was comforting and exciting at the same time. She didn’t think it was a good idea but she also didn’t want him to leave just yet either.

  Taking the offered goodies, she headed over to the nightstand to save herself from a clumsy fumble and drop. The last thing she needed was to spill food all over Gary and Greg’s wonderful carpet. Opening her frozen yogurt, she carefully shook out a portion of each topping into her container then closed everything up again and handed the sides back to Alex.

  As he took them and stowed them back in his bag, she risked a glance at his hips. The tennis ball was gone. She had no idea when he’d taken it out of his pants, but she didn’t have an excuse to be looking anymore, so she risked a glance up at his face.

  He was watching her, a bemused sort of half smile shaping his lips.

  Heat burned her cheeks and she was pretty sure embarrassment was going to strangle her to death in the next few seconds. Curiosity. It was such a bad idea to give in to curiosity.

  Alex cleared his throat. “I’m going to get this back to Boom. In the meantime, take this.”

  He reached into his back pocket and held something out to her.

  It took her a long minute to recognize what he had in his hand. A new phone.

  “Oh no.” She held up her hands and shook her head. “I can’t take that from you.”

  “It’s a pre-paid loaner.” He shifted to a firmer tone. “If you’re running, and I think you are, you need to get rid of your current phone. Now. I’m going to take it for you and ditch it someplace away from here. I’m not going to ask you why right now, or from what, but I won’t let you stay here with friends while you still have something that could lead whoever you’re running from to you the minute you turn it back on.”

  Her breath left her in a rush. He was right. She’d felt a little bad and worried some, but she hadn’t considered the full impact. He had. And he was taking action.

  Alex came a step closer, still holding out the phone. His jaw was set, but his eyes held a kindness, an understanding. “It’s okay to accept help. We don’t know your story, but we know how to take care of ourselves. Part of that is taking simple precautions like this. I could’ve recommended for you to do this and you probably would’ve on your own. Right?”

  She nodded, her mouth dry. “Maybe not as fast. Maybe too late.”

  And she’d been lucky she hadn’t been found sooner. Each time she’d left a place, she had gotten a new phone. But not until she’d safely reached her next destination. It’d seemed more prudent to have a phone with her while she was traveling, for the GPS and to call 911 in case she got caught up in an accident. The way Alex presented it, she’d be wiser to get rid of the current phone right away and grab a pre-paid along the way.

  It was just that every time she’d left in the past, there’d been no time. She’d been rushed and panicked and had to get as much distance as possible between her and her pursuers.

  His voice broke in on her thoughts, quiet and almost comforting. “Don’t start going down those routes. Asking ‘what if’ too much is going to ruin your night.”

  He was right. So right. She reached out and took the phone from his hand. Their fingers brushed in the exchange, and she tried to ignore the zing the minor contact gave her. There were so many other things she needed to concentrate on, but suddenly all she wanted to do was look him in the eye and find the stillness in his gaze again. The eye of the storm. Instead, she pulled her phone out of her back pocket and gave it to him. She hadn’t even realized he’d turned it off earlier.

  “The new phone is a pre-paid number, like I said. I got it with cash, so it’s not traceable to any name, and we can take the cost out of your paycheck if it’ll make you feel better. I programmed a couple of numbers in, but you’ll have to remember which they are. Better than having names in the phone in case someone gets a hold of it. First number is for this school. Second is Hope’s Crossing Kennels. Third is my personal number. Fourth and fifth numbers are Gary and Greg. You need any of us, we’re just a phone call away.” He pocketed her phone. “Gary and Greg will set the security system when they leave to go home. You should be fine to move around up
here, but if you go back downstairs, the motion will set off the silent alarm. You won’t realize you’ve set it off until the police arrive. Gary and Greg won’t be far behind. They live in the neighborhood behind this shopping center, literally a five-minute run. Best to stay up here in this room and avoid all of it.”

  She nodded, stunned. He’d given her all those numbers and she silently repeated the order over and over in her head. If he’d gone to the trouble, she wasn’t going to make him tell her more than once. Revolution MMA, Hope’s Crossing Kennels, Alex, Gary, Greg.

  He was inviting her to call him again. He wasn’t telling her to leave.

  “Hey.” He reached out slowly, giving her enough time to step away if she wanted. He brushed a lock of her hair away from her eyes. Then his gaze dropped lower, and he brushed another lock away from her collarbone, raising goose bumps all along her skin in a delicious way.

  His eyes were a warm caramel, very kind at the moment, though they could burn with anger readily enough. She reminded herself of how scary he’d been the night before.

  For a good cause, a small part of her mind pointed out.

  In any case, he was generous in offering her employment and making sure she had a place to stay. She was not going to ponder other things, the kinds of things to make a new job complicated and totally inappropriate.

  Because she shouldn’t be thinking anything inappropriate about a well-built man with an expressive mouth and incredibly sexy stubble across his strong jaw.

  She swallowed, hard.

  After a moment, he said, “It looks like you’ve come a long way. You can rest here. It really is okay.”

  New people in her life, all ready to help her with no explanation but what they’d been able to put together themselves. Her throat tightened. There’d been a long time there when her own family and friends, who’d known her since childhood, hadn’t believed her when she’d been looking for help. They’d been fooled the same way she had, and it was so much easier to wonder if maybe, just maybe, there was some unfortunate misunderstanding. Easier to believe she’d made a mistake than the unpleasant reality.