Page 6 of Caged

“Yes. I’ve lost before, so that’s not it. It’s supposed to be a training session, not a violent take down and embarrass your teammate session. He set out to make me look bad.”

“Did he beat everyone else?” she asked, her even tone helping calm me down.

He had. I knew where she was going—maybe I was taking it too personally.

I replayed the other fights in my mind on fast forward, ignoring my body’s reaction to watching him—his sexy forearms and arrogant grin—as he beat every opponent.

“Not gonna lie, Char, it helped my bruised ego when Jamie went down almost as fast as I did.”

AJ gave Jaden a run for his money, and Doug almost beat him. No money changed hands because no one had ever seen Jaden fight, so they hadn’t bet on him.I doubt anyone bets against him next month.

I made a mental note to schedule extra sessions with my coaches. I still trained regularly in boxing, and had added Brazilian Ju Jitsu to my schedule so I could learn the fine art of grappling. The Krav Maga I’d learned in the FBI didn’t help me against the guys at SSI. I justified my decision with thereminder that in my line of work, learning another defensive skill never hurt.

“So maybe it wasn’t so much about beating you as it was about proving himself.”

“Maybe.” I still believed he had a personal vendetta against me. Though I couldn’t understand why.

“If you’re assessment, that he doesn’t think he measures up to his father and brothers, is correct, then it would make sense.”

My assessment was spot on. His rebellious attitude was textbook. “You’re right.” I conceded.

“Of course I am.” She laughed. “So, what are you going to do about it?”

When I told her I’d train more, she called me out for not addressing the real issue. Jaden Sheppard challenged me in ways that rattled my nerves. Knowing she was right, but not wanting to think about it, I changed the subject.

“How’s the planning coming along.”

Charlie was happy to oblige and fill me in on the latest wedding planning drama. She wanted a simple wedding, but her fiancé was torn between pleasing his betrothed and pleasing his mother, who wanted a big lavish event.

“I wouldn’t care if we weren’t paying for everything,” she said, explaining the latest battle over the size of the guest list.

There wasn’t much I could do to help, but as her maid of honor I could listen when she needed to vent.

I wondered how I’d deal with family drama around planning a wedding. First, I’d have to find someone I wantedto spend my life with.And someone willing to spend the rest of their life with me.

After what happened with Gavin, at the FBI, I doubted it’d ever happen. He hadn’t only destroyed my trust in him, but in all men. At least at the romantic level.

I had an hour to kill before the Women’s self-defense class I was helping teach at SSI, so I refilled my coffee and sat down to read. My newest obsession was regency era romances. I loved the handsome rogues who were actually good guys under their rakish exteriors.

I made sure my navy SSI polo was properly tucked into my khaki cargo pants before walking into the training room. It was the only finished room in the training building at the back end of the property. According to the last update, the jointly owned SSI/Law Enforcement Training Center would be up and running shortly after Jamie and Emily got married in July.If nothing goes wrong. The project was ambitious with a covered outdoor range, an indoor range, a kill house, and several training classrooms. Because the joint SSI/LE training center acronym, SSILETC, reminded of me FLETC (the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center), where I’d done my FBI training, I referred to it as SLETC (pronounced Slet-C). It stuck.

Today’s Women’s Self Defense class would be the first official class held in the new space. I helped set up chairs in the freshly painted but still undecorated room beforehelping Meg sign in students. Including Emily, her best friend, Ashley, and AJ’s fiancée, Blake.

“What happened?” Emily asked, indicating my eye.

“It’s nothing.” I shrugged it off.

“Tell me the other guy looks worse,” Ashley said, making everyone laugh.

Including me. “Of course.” Meg knew it was a lie, but I didn’t think she’d throw me under the bus. “Meg, go sit. I’ve got this.”

“Are you sure?” Meg asked. She was taking the class with her friends as a refresher.

“Positive. Go.” I ushered them away. “Have fun.”

Once everyone settled in, John began the lecture. He explained the importance of paying attention to your surroundings and trusting our intuition. He demonstrated how easy it was for someone to sneak up on us, by stepping into the space of a high school student who was glued to her phone and not paying attention.

The class laughed when he cleared his throat, causing her to yelp. The laughter didn’t last long because John, a great instructor, covered the girl’s embarrassment by thanking her for providing the perfect demonstration. She blushed and nodded before putting her phone away.

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