Page 37 of Celestial Combat

“Kali, hey.” His voice was smooth. “What’s up?”

“Not much.”

He stopped a few feet away, adjusting the strap of his bag. His gaze flicked over me, assessing, like he wasn’t sure if he should bring it up. “I, uh… I heard about what happened.” His voice dropped slightly, more serious. “I’m real sorry. How’re you doing?”

I forced a small, almost indifferent shrug. “I’m better.”

“Trevor will find that piece of shit. We’ll take care of him.”

I gave a small smile. “Thanks.”

His eyes flicked to his bike that I was leaning against. “Didn’t know you were into bikes.”

“Didn’t know you had one. You’re not even seventeen yet.”

He smirked; a quick, cocky flash of teeth. He didn’t need to say it. I already knew he had a fake license. Perks of being aDeMone.

I let out a quiet breath and shifted, straightening my posture slightly. The easy part was over.

“I need your help.”

His smirk faded a little, replaced with curiosity. “With what?”

I hesitated, then met his gaze head-on. “I want you to teach me how to fight. Like you did in that underground Fight Club.”

A beat of silence.

He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “C’mon, Kali, you know Trevor would kill me. Can’t he hook you up?”

“Trevor’s not here.” My voice was firm. “And I don’t like his guys.”

Tony studied me carefully, like he was waiting for me to laugh, to backtrack, to say I was joking. But I didn’t. I let him see how serious I was.

“Please.I want to learn how to protect myself.”

Something shifted in his expression.

He didn’t answer right away, and I could tell he was weighing it, trying to decide whether it was worth the inevitable fallout.

Slowly, he nodded once. “Alright.”

I let out a small breath of relief. “Thanks.”

“But it’s only between you and me. No one else can know.”

“Duh, genius,” I laughed, pushing off his bike. “Trevor and Francesca would have both our heads on a stick. I doubt Gìo would give a shit, though.”

He laughed too, shaking his head. “Alright, alright.”

PART 3

BACK TO PRESENT

Chapter 13

Present

24 years old

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