Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
“All right, I’m going to help you out, child.” Julia was feeling magnanimous. She gripped the big knife and Kala took a step back, her combat boots squeaking on the floor. It was good to know she had a sense of self-preservation. “This is too big for you to wield. You should have taken one of the steak knives. They’re easier to conceal, but they’re sharp enough to do some damage if you know what you’re doing. If you had come at me with a knife that big…well, I would take it from you and run you through with it.”
Kala frowned. She was developing an excellent resting bitch face. “Not if I stabbed you first.”
Julia held up her left hand, showing off the wicked scar there. “A man in Hong Kong tried to stab me with a knife about that size. I took it in my nondominant hand and managed to wrestle it away from him. Then I had his knife and I killed him. Should I show you how?”
“Uhm, boss,” John began.
Julia sighed. “I wasn’t going to use her. I was going to use the idiot who was about to either get murdered by a teenager or kill her himself.”
“Sorry. She reminds me of my sister.” The mercenary didn’t have the same control as Kala. He flushed quite easily, and his eyes narrowed. “I didn’t know the kid was so violent. It wouldn’t have worked. I would have taken her down. You think about that the next time you try something stupid.”
She might kill this one herself. “Yes, because it’s stupid to try to get away from the people who kidnap you. So foolish of her. Don’t fuck up again or I’ll let her try. And don’t call her a bitch.”
“Thanks,” Kala said. “I don’t like it when people call me that.”
“You haven’t earned the title yet, honey. But you will.” She looked back at John. “Give us a bit of space. And let me know when the meeting is done.”
He leaned in. “Do you want us to steal the key?”
She shook her head. “No. My brother will have much better luck getting into the bank. I can’t. I’m dead. Even if I wasn’t, I don’t have the same face anymore. But watch them. Find out where they go, and scout a good place to meet with the Taggarts. If they find the intel, I want it in my hands this evening. And call in for pizza. I’m hungry, too.”
“No sauce.” Kala’s expression softened slightly. “It upsets my stomach. And I know it’s weird, but I like anchovies.”
“You heard the girl. And Kyle will want something with a lot of meat.” She would share with him like they used to. Many a night they’d sat up late and eaten pizza in bed. Usually after an op. They would throw down and then get hungry because they burned a lot of calories.
If Kala was back with her parents tonight, would Kyle be happy with her? Could she remind him of how good it could be between the two of them?
“Did you really do that thing with your hand?”
Ah, so Miss Taggart was curious. She had to admit it. She did like the girl. It wasn’t often she found a young woman who wasn’t a complete braying sheep. She would bet the kid’s other siblings were and she was considered the troublesome one. “I did. It hurt like hell, but what are you going to do?”
“I wouldn’t know what to do,” Kala admitted. “My dad won’t train me. He sent me to karate but the dude teaching the class was an asshole, so I left.”
“You should find a woman to teach you.” Julia opened the fridge and grabbed two bottles of water, handing one to Kala. “At least the basics. When you get comfortable, you’ll need to spar with men. Don’t let them hold back on you. Take the pain. Take the losses. The pain and loss will teach you more than beating the shit out of a hundred well-matched opponents. Figure out how to take on the ones you shouldn’t be able to. Why won’t your dad teach you? From what I understand he’s trained everyone else.”
“Pretty much. I thought he might let me sit in on some of…” Kala moved back to the table and sat down. “Well, I thought he would let me sit in on some recent training sessions.”
“You mean you thought while he was training MaeBe Vaughn he might care enough to train you, too?”
“Something like that. My dad cares. He cares too much.”
“Does he?” It wouldn’t hurt to challenge the girl’s thinking. “Mine trained me. He wanted me to be like him. I think yours wants something different for you. Isn’t it funny, though? In both instances neither man cared what we wanted.”
Kala leaned in. “I don’t know about that. I think he and my mom had it hard, and they don’t want the same life for me.”