Page 16 of The Blonde Who Came in from the Cold
“It’s not called—”
Alex kicked the bag again, and this time it almost swung free of the hook. “Do you think I don’t know that?” She didn’t even try to keep her voice down. “Of course you do. You think I’m too stupid to be here. You think I’m too stupid to live.”
She pulled back and hit a speed bag as hard as she could. It bounced back because that was its job and she dodged it expertly, because that was hers, but King lunged forward and grabbed it—as if that was his. But it wasn’t.
“You’re going to get hurt.”
She was up on her toes and leaning close. “Too. Late.” She was covered in bruises—they all were. But that wasn’t what she meant and he knew it. Some people choose this life because they’re runningtoand some because they’re runningfrom, but for most... it was both. Suddenly, he wanted to know what thing had hurt Alex Sterling; he wanted to hurt it back.
“Come on.” She stepped back and bounced on the balls of herfeet a few times, keeping her blood pumping and her energy up. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
After six weeks, King was fairly certain she knew exactly what he had, but before he could say so, Alex went for his teeth. It served him right for smiling.
“What’s the matter? Afraid of getting beaten up by a girl?”
She flicked him on the end of his nose, and he blew out a breath of frustration.
“I’m not going to get hurt by you, Sterling.”
“Yes, you are. Because I’m going to punch you in your perfect face.”
“You’re not—”
“On the count of three.”
“We have an early workout in the morning—”
“One.”
“I’m trying to help you. This isn’t a place where you can ignore rules and—”
“Two.”
“Will you listen to me? I get that this is a game to you, but it’s not to me! This is life.”His life.“And death...” Did his voice crack? King didn’t know—didn’t necessarily care. He just knew that—“If you can’t appreciate that fact—”
“Just to be clear”—Alex stopped bouncing—“I’m not going tosaythree and then punch you in the face. I’m just going to hit you as hard as I can and—spoiler alert—I can hit pretty hard. For a girl.”
Maybe King could hog-tie her and put her on the bus? She’d be cold overnight, and she might need a bathroom eventually, but it was for her own good because she simply couldn’t understand what she was signing up for. She had no idea what she was about to give up.
“You appear to be under the misperception that a life in the clandestine service is some kind of movie. Fast cars and tuxedos and ball gowns, but—”
Then she punched him. He actually staggered back a half step, momentarily stunned. “I got my first black belt when I was twelve. Or didn’t you read that in whatever file you pilfered?”
He touched his lip and his finger came away bloody. Alex looked like she was wondering if she should feel bad—maybe apologize. They were on the same side, technically. Officially. But she also had the look of a woman who had been fighting her own, personal demons since she was old enough to know what the words meant. She looked relieved to finally have one who could hit back.
So she hit him again. “You want to fight, let’s fight.”
“Sterling—”
She pulled back to hit him again, but that time, he blocked it, and Alex gave him a look that said,It’s on.
The night was dark and still. There was nothing but one lone bulb and the filtered rays of moonlight shining down like spotlights as they danced across the dusty floor. It was a ballet of punches and parries, kicks and thrusts. She was warmed up and dressed for a workout, and he was fighting cold and in street shoes, but that didn’t matter.
“I never said you weren’t good enough,” King said after she landed a blow to his stomach and he stumbled back, unsteady.
“Pretty sure you did.” Alex charged, trying to take advantage of the moment, but he shifted his weight and pushed, sending her wide and making her angry.
“I said this is the real world. People get hurt, Sterling.” He was breathing hard, even though he’d hardly moved. “They die.”
