Page 68 of Quake
It was Saturday.
Unable to keep things bottled up a moment longer, I drove across town to the only place I knew I could go.
Pulse Fitness shat all over Beat. In size, facilities, and scope, but it still didn’t hold a candle to the long-standing reputation Beat had built up over the last twenty years. Every time I came here, it was the new versus the old. Mixed martial arts ruled here, and as a boxer, I felt like an interloper.
Dropping a few coins into the parking meter, I walked toward the gym, wondering if I was doing the right thing. I needed to confide in someone. I needed someone to help me see the next step. Should I go after Juliette, or should I just let her go?
Ren would know. Renalwaysknew.
Glancing through the windows, I saw Lori was at the front desk—the desk that was usually unmanned—tidying up an assortment of flyers and merchandise. She was a sight for sore eyes, what with her arms full of tattoos and her black and blue hair. She looked tough as fuck, but on the inside, I knew she was sweet as hell.
When I came in, she smiled.
“Hey, Caleb,” she said cheerfully, but when she saw the black eye I was sporting, her expression faded. “I hope you didn’t get that shiner in a brawl.” She waggled her finger.
I bet she was used to seeing guys rock up to this place with cuts and bruises, especially since word on the street was that her boyfriend partook in a very underground style of fighting.
“It’s nothing,” I said, shrugging it off. “Is Ren around?”
“Uh, yeah.” She nodded toward the gym. “She’s floating about.”
“Thanks. Take care.”
Leaving her behind, I went out onto the main gym floor, my gaze raking over the state-of-the-art equipment, searching for Ren’s familiar head of brown hair. The place was pumping, though I expected it on a Saturday. Pulse was mainly a fighter gym, but they catered for all kinds of fitness goals. They were that well rounded they even had yoga and spin classes. I suppose it brought in the cash and fluffed up their bottom line.
Ren spied me before I spied her.
“Caleb,” she said, coming up behind me. “What are you doing here?”
Turning, I was glad to see her smiling face. Despite our first meeting and my subsequent attempts at seducing her, she now saw me as one of her mates.
“What happened to your face?” she exclaimed before I had a chance to say hello. “Are you fighting again?Seriously?”
I shook my head, dislodging her hand. “It wasn’t that kind of fight.”
“Shit, I don’t like the look of you, Caleb,” she said, studying me closely. “What’s the matter?”
“I didn’t know who else to talk to,” I began, my gaze flicking to Ash, who was watching us from across the gym.
Ren followed my gaze and flipped her husband the bird before turning back to me. “Don’t worry about that oaf,” she said. “Let’s go upstairs, and you can tell Auntie Ren all about it, okay?”
I nodded and allowed her to lead me across the gym floor. To the side was a set of stairs that led up to the office, and beyond was an apartment where she lived with her husband, Ash. That was how ingrained into the fitness industry they were.
She led me into the living room and closed the door behind me, gesturing for me to sit on the couch. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Nope.” I flopped down on the couch, suddenly feeling exhausted. It was like my energy just evaporated, and that was unusual for a guy like me.
“Now,” she said, sitting beside me. “Tell me what’s going on. You look like shit warmed up, Carmichael.”
“Juliette…” I began, the images from the police report flashing into my mind.
Her name wasn’t Juliette. It was, but it wasn’t.
Ren frowned. “What about her?”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. How could I explain it to her? The truth was terrible…a fucking, literal nightmare.
“Start from the beginning,” she murmured. “Take your time.”
