Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

ELENNA

"Keep your hands up. Like this." Orion demonstrated before grabbing my arms and raising them higher. "Not so tense. If you hit anything like that, you’re going to hurt yourself."

He’d been nothing but focused since we started this lesson. He didn’t say a word about Aidan, or the team. Only when he was correcting my posture, or how I held my hands, did he touch me or even get within a metre or two of me. He didn’t need to. I was aware of him. His presence. The way he filled the room and seemed to steal the air from my lungs.

I shook out my wrists and tried to relax.

"Good. If it helps, pretend the punching bag is someone you don’t like." He stepped behind it and nodded to me. His dark eyes watched, unsmiling. He was fitted into a snug, black singlet and black shorts that did nothing to hide his muscular arms and thighs, even half hidden by the bag.

I nodded and tried to imagine Nicholas Fiorelli. He’d shoot me long before I had the chance to punch him, but he was the first person who came to mind.

I pulled my arm back and punched the bag.

Orion held it to keep from swinging away. "Harder."

I punched harder, then with my left hand as well.

Orion snorted. "Is that the best you’ve got? The only thing you’re going to do punching lightly like that is break a nail."

I caught and held his taunting gaze. He was trying to piss me off, to make me hit harder. It was working. I didn’t want to break a nail. His nose, on the other hand…

I drove my fists into the punching bag.

"You’re not trying. If you hit me that softly, you wouldn’t even leave a bruise." He sounded bored, like he was regretting offering to teach me, because I was doing nothing but wasting his time. His precious time, by the expression on his face.

Forget Nicholas Fiorelli, it was Orion’s face I wanted to punch now. I slammed my fists harder and harder. I’d wipe the smirk off his face.

"Better," he said finally. "Show that motherfucker who’s boss." He was almost smiling, smug as fuck. He knew I was picturing him.

I was sweating lightly by now. Some people hated it, but I loved to sweat; it meant I was working hard. As a bonus, anything that made me sweat was usually a good way to release tension. Especially punching the shit out of something. It felt better than I’d imagined.

Over and over, I punched, grunting with exertion, and to help me hit that much harder. I even drove Orion back a couple of times.

"All right, take a break," he said finally. "Grab a drink.

"Do I get to punch you next?" I opened a bottle of water and took a big gulp.

He smirked. "You think you can?"

If he was Aidan or Finley, I would have flicked the water at him. I was tempted, but had no idea how he’d react. He was almost a foot taller than me, a lot wider and a lot fitter. If he wanted to come at me, I wouldn’t stand a chance.

That should have deterred me, but it tempted me more. I pictured him pinning me to the mat, parting my thighs with his muscular legs. Kneeling between them, his cock erect and ready, glistening with pre-cum.

I took a few more sips before closing the bottle and placing it back beside the wall.

"You think I can’t?" I stood with my hand on my hip and cocked my head at him.

"I think you’ll hurt yourself." His dark eyes became darker. His expression was intense, his cock outlined in the front of his grey track pants, semi-hard.

I couldn’t stop my eyes from dipping down. What he had in there was impressive.

"I might like a bit of pain." He could hurt me with that if he thrust hard enough into my body. The thought made the pulse in my clit throb relentlessly.

His cock went from semi-hard to tenting his pants.

"Really—" He took a step toward me.

The lights went out.

We were plunged into darkness.

"Fuck," he said. "Wait there."

For half a second, I thought this was his doing.

"Wait." I turned the light on my watch.

He turned away, but he snapped back now. "Turn it off," he snarled. "There are lights on outside."

I turned off the light and realised he was right. Across the street, the lights were still on. Through the front window of the Indian restaurant, people continued eating.

"The Fiorelli family—" I whispered.

"I know," he said bluntly. "One of them killed your brother, then he ended up dead. I’m guessing they assume Aidan did it."

"Oscar had a lot of enemies," I said evasively.

Orion snorted. "That’s an understatement. I would have killed the prick myself, given half a chance. He’s done the same to a couple of… It doesn’t matter now." He grabbed my wrist and guided me towards the back of the gym.

I just made out his shape, crouching down, followed by the sound of a zipper.

"Here." He pressed something into my hand.

A handgun. Gripping it and placing my hand on the trigger was automatic. Trained by hours spent at the shooting range.

The thought I might have to use it threatened to give me hives. Every centimetre of skin on my body started to tingle and itch.

"Stay down and stay quiet," he whispered.

I crouched in the corner, where it was darkest, and listened.

At the other end of the building, a door opened. After a few moments, it closed again. They weren’t doing anything to try to hide their presence.

"Orion Scully-Evans," a male voice called out. They sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite place them. It wasn’t Nicholas.

Orion’s response was to put his hand lightly on my lips. "It’s me they want. I’ll deal with this. You should get out the back door." He lowered his hand.

"There’s probably someone out there waiting for us," I whispered.

He exhaled sharply. "Then stay where you are. I’ll try to lead them away."

"Who are they?" I asked.

"Associates of the Fiorellis," he replied. "I might have disrupted some of their operations. The Brantley twins really hate human trafficking."

I’d heard that about Hunter and Parker, but no one could explain the reason for it. Neither of them had much in the way of a moral compass, so why did they care about that?

"I see why they’d be pissed off." Brantley, Bell or Fiorelli, none of them liked to lose money. I couldn’t bring myself to sympathise with anyone who trafficked other people. Inanimate objects, yes; humans, no. As crimes went, it was the worst of the worst.

"Yeah, but there’s a chance they don’t know you’re here, so shhh."

My phone vibrated in my back pocket. I couldn’t risk taking it out without being seen, but I knew who it was and why.

"We could wait—" I started.

"Aidan would probably shoot me and pretend it was an accident," Orion said.

"He wouldn’t do that." My phone vibrated again.

"No? I might." Orion’s teeth flashed white in the darkness.

"If you do, I’ll shoot you in the ass," I told him.

He actually laughed softly. "I believe you. I prefer you don’t. I like my ass. I know you do too, I’ve seen you looking."

Before I could confirm or deny his claim, he moved away through the shadows.

Aidan was right, he was a cocky prick.

I slipped out of the corner and crawled behind the front desk of the gym.

When we arrived, a woman had stood behind it. Orion had assured her we’d lock up when we were done. She clearly knew him and must have believed him, because she wasn’t here now. Unless she was hiding. I hadn’t seen her leave.

Either way, there was no one behind the desk to see me pull out my phone and glance at the screen.

The first message was from Aidan.

What’s going on there?

The second was from Finley.

Are you okay?

Worried face emoji.

I’m fine

I sent them both.

They’re after Orion

I’d just hit send when I heard a tap at the back door. I jumped.

Another message flashed on the screen.

Let me in

I pushed my phone back into my pocket and crawled, careful not to squeeze the trigger as I went.

I glanced back at the shadows before unlocking the door and opening it a fraction.

"Come on," Aidan whispered.

"We can’t leave Orion here alone." I peered out.

"I took care of them," Aidan said. "Fin is dealing with a couple more."

"Correction, Fin dealt with a couple more." Finley appeared out of the darkness. He slipped a knife back into his boot, not before I saw it glistening with blood. A few drops dripped off onto the floor.

"Get Elenna out of here," Aidan told him. "I’ll help Orion."

"I can get myself out of here," I argued. "I’m even armed." I held up my hand with the gun in it.

"Unless you’re prepared to use it—" Aidan started.

"I’m going to have to at some point," I said. Whether they were after me, Orion or Aidan and Finley, the Fiorellis were going to keep coming. It was increasingly unlikely I’d go for the rest of my life without killing one of them.

A gunshot rang out, followed by a cry of pain.

"Fine," Aidan said quickly. "But stay behind us." He and Finley crawled past me, guns in their hands.

I stayed low, back from them. My heart raced. I was sweating heavier than when I was punching the punching bag. My hands were so slick I had to grip the gun tighter to keep from dropping it.

What was I doing? I should have snuck out the back door and stayed the hell out here.

Aidan, Finley and Orion, they knew what they were doing. I was just as likely to get them killed when I panicked. None of them would blame me if I changed my mind and snuck away. They wouldn’t.

I’d blame myself though. I couldn’t abandon them, no matter how scared I was.

I heard a sound behind me.

I turned as a figure appeared in the doorway. They held the door open with one hand. In the other, they held a gun.

They raised their arm toward me.

I didn’t have time to think or panic. I raised my gun, aimed and pulled the trigger.

The shot sounded loud in the silence.

My hand vibrated from the recoil. I gripped tighter to keep hold of the gun. In a flash, the bullet left the chamber and slammed straight into their face.

Time stopped. The only sound was blood in my ears and a cacophony of thoughts. None of which made sense right now.

The thud of the body dropping to the floor echoed louder in my ears than any of the gunshots.

I killed them.

I killed them.

I killed them.

Time resumed.

Another shot rang out at the front of the gym. A cry of pain was followed by another shot. Then silence that drew out for a minute, two minutes.

It was broken when the back door opened.

I barely had time to raise my gun before Aidan and Finley shot the first two dark figures who walked through. The next two were more cautious, stepping inside with guns in front of them, movements slow and deliberate.

"It’s Orion we want," one said. "Hand him over and we’ll be gone."

"You found him," Orion said from behind them. He shot one in the back of the head.

The other started to turn, gun ready.

Aidan shot them before they could squeeze the trigger.

"Let’s get the fuck out of here," Aidan growled. "Orion, come with us. You have some explaining to do."