I looked up at Ryan. “You know how they say you gotta join a gang in prison? It’s mostly true. It didn’t take long for me to have a whole bunch of guys getting in my face, and the more I beat them down, the more they came after me. I went with the ones who told me they could help me get my own back from the son of a bitch who...”

I still couldn’t say it, so I just shrugged. I knew Ryan would understand though. He might’ve been in juvie instead of prison, but there was a common unspoken language.

“Anyway, I had what I needed in my cell that morning. Skinny little thing. Looked like somebody had broken the handle off an awl. I put it inside my waistband. I was still limping so it made it easy to hide it. He was busy adding water to the shit they called soup.” Half-lost in the memory, I twitched my shoulders out of reflex. “The cameras, they covered almost the entire room. One of the guys came up, stood between me and this piece of shit. He stood there, laughing at me. I remember that. Ain’t so fucking tough now, are ya, Bobby?”

For a moment, it was like I was back there again. Seeing him, hearing that obnoxious, nasal voice. I gave myself a mental shake and refocused my gaze on Ryan.

“I took that piece of steel and shoved it into his heart through his back. He crashed, straight down. A couple of the others had caused a...diversion. Picking a fight up front. The whole thing took all of fifteen seconds, and I was back at my station before the guards even noticed I’d moved. Took them almost a minute to realize this guy was dead on the floor.”

Ryan’s lids flickered.

“You want to fire me now?” I asked caustically. “After all, you took on a guy who you knew killed a man to protect his family. Not a cold-blooded murderer.”

“I don’t think the man we wanted changed.” Ryan stood, his gaze pensive. “I don’t buy into an eye for an eye. I think it breeds ugliness. But I also think there are some sickness that just can’t be cured. I don’t know the people who came after you, not by name. But I know their type. Some might call them animals, but that’s an insult to animals.” Ryan tossed back the rest of his whiskey and put the glass down with the decisive clink.

His gaze slid back up to mine and held me captive.

“Animals, see, they don’t prey on others for the pleasure of it, or for money. They hunt to survive. You took down a sick sort of monster. Maybe a couple of them.” He shrugged. “I can’t fault you for that. You leave that kind of sickness alive…it just infects others.” He nodded at the bottle. “Think of that as your housewarming gift. Look me up if you need to talk, kid.”

Chapter 11

Ace was proving to be the biggest pain in my ass.

I spat blood on the mat, eyed him from the corner of my eye, and moved to shove upright.

He held out a hand.

I almost ignored it.

He waited patiently.

Finally, I accepted, but when he went to help pull up, I shifted and hooked my foot behind his. He reacted almost as quickly, and we ended up in a twisted snarl on the ground. Except this time, I was on top.

Driving the heel of my hand into his block of a head, I panted and tried to catch my breath.

It had taken a week, but I’d finally managed to take him down.

And he was laughing about it.

A pained laugh, but there was no mistaking the whoop coming out of him. After a few seconds of it, I let him go. Because I’d made the mistake of turning my back on him – once – I backed out of his range before he could make a grab for me.

“What, you’re not going to help me up, country boy?”

“Kiss my ass.” I grabbed a bottle of water and twisted off the cap. I grimaced at the metallic taste. Nothing like the taste of my own blood in my mouth.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Someone was watching me. I glanced up, saw Carly lingering in the doorway to the gym. My stomach tightened. Her eyes lingered on my mouth and I reached up to wipe away the blood only to wince.

“Lip’s split.” Ace leaped to his feet with ridiculous ease.

“Thanks.” I picked up the towel, trying not to think about the woman who was now pretending not to watch us. Seemed fair, really. I pretended not to watch her a lot myself. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“It won’t take long to whip you into shape.” He glanced over at Carly and then back at me.

A glint appeared in his eyes.

Don’t. I tried to communicate the warning with mine.

The grin on his face looked decidedly smug.

He came hard, low and fast. Maybe it was the fact that she was watching. Maybe it was the fact that I was finally picking up on his weird style of fighting. I didn’t know. But this time, I managed to counter, and I watched, half-breathless as he flew through the air and landed on his back a few feet away.

The next few seconds passed in utter silence, and then Carly started to laugh.

Ace just lay there, motionless. I wasn’t taking any chances though. I circled around, eying him cautiously. Those arms and legs of his were dangerous. I spent so much time on my back around him, I should’ve been charging by the minute. Dazed eyes blinked, then rolled sideways to meet mine. He sucked in a pained breath while Carly continued to whoop and laugh, clearly delighted.

“You...” His voice came out weak, barely a wheeze. He waited a few seconds, focused on breathing, and then tried again. “Son of a bitch. You going to help me up or what?”

Running my tongue across my teeth, I eyed him as he lay there. Then, slowly, I took a step back. “Hell, no.”

“Smart man.” He groaned and rolled over, pushing upright onto his hands and knees. A few more seconds passed before he shot Carly a look. “You keep laughing, princess. Remember, you and me have a session this afternoon.”

“Maybe I should have Bobby take over.” She said it between giggles. “I don’t think...” She stopped and wiped her eyes. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you fly so high, Ace.”

***

She was the only one in the gym when I came out of the shower.

Sweat gleamed on her skin as she pulled the bar toward her chest, going through a series of lat pull-downs that had her muscles flexing. There was something damn sexy about seeing a woman like that. She clearly wasn’t worried about getting mussed up or about letting anybody see her sweat.

Not that she should be. She was gorgeous no matter what.

When she sensed me looking at her, she raised her head and shot me an easy smile, one that hit me straight in the dick.

The blood that had cooled somewhat after the shower started to heat right back up, albeit for different reasons. I was starting to think I should’ve gone for an ice-cold shower instead of merely lukewarm.

Metal clanged as she finished her set and I glanced toward the door as she came off the seat.

“I wasn’t kidding, you know,” she said as she walked toward me.

Form-fitting black outlined curves that were probably outlawed in some country or another. She was so fucking sexy, my mouth watered just looking at her. All woman, so outrageously female, and my hands were itching to touch her again, to learn that body in full-on detail.

I hadn’t taken the chance to explore the one night we’d had together. It hadn’t been all that long ago, which should have explained why I remembered it so vividly, but I knew it was more than that. There had been other women in my life. Not scores of them, but enough that I knew Carly was different. None of them had ever stood out in my mind in such sharp contrast, with such clarity, that I could remember the feel of their skin hours, days, weeks after I’d held them against me, remember their scent, their taste. But with her...I couldn’t forget a single thing about her. And I didn’t want to.