Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Jasmine

Lia’s driving a big black Cadillac Escalade. Jonah’s in the front passenger seat, and I’m in the back. I’m nervous as hell, but also excited. I’ve never been this excited for anything in my life. To be honest, I’ve never had much to get excited about.

We drive for about twenty minutes until we reach a closed gate. Lia waves at the security guard on duty. He waves back, and the gate opens.

“This is the McIntyre family compound,” Lia says, laughing as she pulls inside. “We really need a better name for it. The important thing is it’s completely secure. No one can get in without approval from the guards. It’s a godsend for me and Jonah. He can walk around freely inside the gates, and no one can bother him. We still have to worry about drones with video cameras, but that’s the worst of it.”

As we drive along a pretty tree-lined street, I look around at a lot of open green space. I count five houses, with three more under construction. The street wraps around in a big circle. In the center of the circle is a wide-open grassy space with a playground and park benches.

“My parents live there,” Lia says, pointing at one of the houses to our left. “Next door to them is my brother Jake’s house. And the new construction beside Jake’s house belongs to my brother Shane, who is currently building a house for his family, including Sam and Cooper. Have you met them?”

“Yes. Liam took me up to the penthouse to talk to Shane and his attorney. I met Beth and the kids, and Cooper and Sam.”

Lia points at the two completed houses on the other side of the circle drive. “That one there is our house. And the one next door to us belongs to Beth’s mom, Ingrid.”

“No one else lives in here? Just your family?”

“Yep,” Lia says. “It’s all Shane’s doing. He bought out the entire development when the developer first broke ground.”

I point to another house that’s under construction. “Whose house is that?”

“That’s my sister Sophie’s house. She and her husband will be living there. They’re expecting a baby in April.”

“I didn’t realize Liam has so many brothers and sisters.”

“Yeah, there’s a bunch of us, plus Mom and Dad. How about you? Have you got any siblings?”

“I have an older sister named Angel.” Just mentioning my sister is painful. We were so close when we were younger, but once she started doing tricks, we drifted apart. “I haven’t seen her in years, not since I left home when I was seventeen.” All of a sudden, I feel like a fraud. “Guys, there’s something I should tell you. You might not want to—”

“It’s okay, Jasmine,” Lia says as she pulls the big SUV into a driveway. “Liam filled us in.”

“He did?”

Lia nods. “Yeah, he gave me the basic rundown. Don’t worry. We’re cool.”

Shame and insecurity sweep over me, and a big knot forms in my belly. How can these people be so accepting of me? How can they welcome me into their home? Surely they realize the things I’ve done with complete strangers.

Lia meets my gaze in the rearview mirror. “Jasmine?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s fine. You have nothing to worry about.”

I nod, not really believing her. “Thanks.”

“I’m going to teach you to kick ass, girl, okay? No one will ever be able to hurt you or force you to do anything.”

That makes me smile. “That would be a dream come true.”

“Consider it done.” Lia pulls the vehicle into a huge garage. She shuts off the engine and closes the garage door behind us. “Let’s get started, shall we?” She turns to Jonah. “Honey, can you go entertain yourself for a while? Jasmine and I have kick-ass girl stuff to do.”

Jonah leans over and kisses his wife. “You two have fun. Don’t worry about me.”

* * *

“Your home is really nice,” I say to Lia when we walk inside. I’m finding it hard not to gawk. “It looks like something from a magazine.”

She grins. “I can’t take any credit. My sister Sophie picked out everything. She’s an interior designer. If it had been left up to me, this place would look like a bus station.”

I’ve never even been in a bus station before, but I get the general idea. I like Lia. She doesn’t take herself too seriously, and I never know what’s going to come out of her mouth.

Jonah follows us into the house and heads for the kitchen. “You girls go beat each other up. I’ll make us some lunch.”

“Sounds like a plan, babe,” Lia says.

I follow her down the stairs to a lower level that has numerous windows and a walk-out patio. Despite being below ground, there’s a lot of natural light.

“This way,” she says.

I follow her into a big, wide open room with mirrored walls, wood floors, and black mats everywhere. It looks very much like Liam’s martial arts studio.

“Here’s where the magic happens,” Lia says.

When she motions for me to follow her, we end up in a small locker room. “Have you got workout clothes?”

I shake my head. “I didn’t realize I’d need some.”

“Then it looks like we need to go shopping soon. In the meanwhile, you can wear something of mine. You’re a lot taller than I am, but I think I can find something that will work.”

Lia tosses me a pair of black workout shorts and a white tank top. “Suit up, Jazz,” she says as she grabs something for herself to wear. “Let’s get to it.”

Hearing her call me Jazz brings a smile to my face. Jazz was my sister’s nickname for me.

“Is it okay if I call you that?” Lia asks, studying me.

“Yeah, sure. It’s what my sister called me.”

“What about your parents?”

I shrug. “It’s just my mom. She’s in the business, too. It’s how she gets her drug money.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, where’s your father?”

I shrug. “I have no idea who my father is. He was one of Mom’s tricks. Same for Angel. Sometimes Mom’s not careful. Or the tricks offer her extra cash if she’ll let them go bareback.”

Lia cringes. “That’s—ew. What jerks.”

“Yeah. It’s not uncommon. A lot of guys don’t want to wear rubbers, and they’ll pay extra to go without them.”

“Did you ever—”

“No! I didn’t want to risk bringing any kids into that life. I always insisted on using protection.”

“Good.” Lia walks to the center of a large black mat and waves me over. “Come on, Jazz. Let me teach you how to kick some ass.”

* * *

We work hard for about an hour. She teaches me how to stand right so I’m less likely to lose my balance, how to hit, how to duck and pivot, how to knee a guy in his junk. I especially like that one. We go over the basics. She tells me I’m in an accelerated course. She also says I’m a fast learner and that I should pick this up pretty quickly. She says once I’ve mastered the basic moves, I can move on to Krav Maga. That’s really what I want to learn. I want to be able to knock an attacker senseless in seconds.

Jonah comes down to tell us lunch is ready. We wash up and go upstairs to eat in the kitchen. He made some fancy dish with corkscrew pasta and this weird green sauce. With it, we have a salad and garlic bread.

I take a hesitant bite of the pasta and chew. “What is this?” I ask Jonah.

“It’s homemade pesto. Do you like it?”

“I love it.”

Jonah sure isn’t what I expected. He seems like such a regular guy. He’s got a calm vibe, and he’s kind. I’d expect a big star like him to have an equally big ego. And obviously he’s crazy about Lia.

After lunch, Lia and I go back downstairs and get back to work. She teaches me how to hit a punching bag. Then she has me practice punching her hands, which are covered in thick, padded gloves.

She has me repeat everything over and over and over again.

“You’re building muscle memory,” she explains. “Before long, you’ll be able to act without thinking about it. It’ll come naturally to you.”

We finish around four-thirty. I go to the bathroom to change back into my own clothes.

When I leave the bathroom, I find Lia watching a video on a huge TV mounted on the wall. It takes me only a second to realize we’re watching Liam in the ring.

“This was an MMA championship a couple years ago,” she says.

“MMA? What’s that?”

“Mixed Martial Arts. It’s a combination of boxing, Jiu-Jitsu, and Judo, among other styles.”

We watch Liam in action. He’s insanely good, moving powerfully and fast. So fast I can barely track his actions.

“He won, of course,” Lia says with more than a little admiration in her voice. “He always wins. He’s been studying martial arts of all types since he was five years old. It’s second nature to him, like breathing.”

I’m in awe of Liam as I watch him in the video. His strength and speed are phenomenal. He’s amazing. It’s hard for me to reconcile the fact that the nice guy I met is this powerhouse.

“He’s something, isn’t he?” Lia says.

I can only nod.

At the sound of footsteps behind us, we turn just as Liam’s coming down the stairs, followed by Jonah.

“How’d it go?” Liam asks.

“She did great,” Lia says. “Jazz is a fast learner.”

Liam grins. “Jazz?” He smiles at me. “Well, Jazz, are you ready to go?”

After thanking Lia for the lesson, and thanking Jonah for lunch, I leave with Liam. We head back to his apartment building.

“Your sister is amazing,” I tell him on the drive. “She’s so nice to me, even though she knows what I am.”

“What you were,” he says. “Just because that was your past doesn’t mean it has to be your future.”

“Once a ho, always a ho,” I say. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that.”

“From people who wanted to control you, right?”

“Well, yes.”

“They lied.” He glances from the street to me. “You can be anyone you want to be, Jasmine. You can reinvent yourself and start over with a clean slate.”

I wish that was true. I’d give anything to be the kind of girl Liam would be interested in. Of course, he’d never be interested in someone like me—not in a prostitute. Not even a former one. I’d be kidding myself if I ever thought I had a chance.

Dr. Shaw calls Liam’s phone shortly after we get home to give me the results of my STD tests. He hands me the phone, and I put the call on speaker.

“Everything looks good, Jasmine,” she tells me. “If you experience any problems, call my office and we’ll get you in for an appointment. Have you given any thought to birth control?”

I remember at my appointment she asked me if I was sexually active and if I was taking birth control. I told her I wasn’t sexually active now. I glance up at Liam, not sure how to answer. “Not really.”

“Well,” the doctor says. “It’s something for you to consider. Before you become sexually active again, you might want to consider using birth control.”