Page 18 of Alive and Kicking
Enzo purses his lips as he looks her up and down. “Uh, Vivy… I love ya, but there’s no way you’ll be able to do that.” Viv’s face falls and she looks absolutely dejected. I kind of want to punch Enzo in the face for putting that look on her face, and I’m not the only one either going by the thunderous looks on the other guys’ faces. “It’s just not something you could physically do. It takes a lot of force to do somethin’ like that and you just don’t have the upper body strength. There’s another way that might work for you though. We can try it out later.”
Viv’s face regains some of it’s excitement. “Fine. I want to see what the guys are capable of anyway.”
Viv drops to the floor and starts stretching out her limbs like she’s about to start a marathon, while Enzo eyes each of us before returning his eyes to her. “How bad am I allowed to hurt them?”
My eyes narrow at the surety in his tone. He really believes we’ll be no match for him. Viv looks us over. “Minimal damage. We’ve got a lot going on today and they need to be able to protect themselves.”
Enzo pouts at her like she’s just told him he has to wait till after dinner to get a cookie. But he steps out into the center of the mats on the floor and gestures for one of us to step forward as he gets into a loose stance.
Then I stand there and watch him kick each of my best friend’s asses. It’s like he’s a fucking robot. Every hit that makes contact with him doesn’t even phase him. The only one that makes him even work for it is Zane, and that’s just because he’s a slippery opponent in a fight.
When it’s my turn, I find that I’m actually nervous after watching the beat down he just gave the others. He comes at me over and over again and it’s all I can do to deflect. I don’t even have time to think of any counter moves or form a strategy. The way he moves is much faster and more fluid than it should be for a man his size. Maybe we should have brought him some French toast to appease his beast before we got into the ring with him.
One moment I’m on my feet dodging a jab, and the next I’m flat on my back with Enzo’s forearm braced across my shoulders.
What the fuck just happened?
Enzo stands up and dusts off his unruffled sweatpants. “Not bad guys. You need a little work but that was pretty good.”
Sloane stares at him for a moment. “Pretty good? You just kicked all of our asses.”
Enzo smirks at him. “Yeah, but I actually had to work for it.”
“My turn!” Viv chirps happily as she starts nudging me with her foot to get me off the mat.
Rolling onto my stomach, I push myself up and take my spot with the others. Viv and Enzo circle each other before he steps into her space and tries to grab her. She’s not there anymorethough. My eyes can barely track her as she ducks under his arm, jabbing her elbow into his ribs. Enzo lets out a grunt and twists. His fist flies toward Viv’s face, making Nox and I reach out at the same time to grab hold of Zane. But Viv shifts back on her heels, dodging his fist by just millimeters. Her knee lifts and jabs into his ribs in the same place she got him earlier. Enzo has more of a reaction this time though, holding his hand over the spot and taking a step back from her.
Enzo grins at Viv as he settles back into his fighting stance. This time, he lets Viv come to him. She’s fast and brutal, but even then she’s not a match for Enzo either. Her years of training with him mean she lasts the longest, but it’s only a matter of time before he flips her onto her back on the mats. I expect her to give up. What I don’t expect is for her to rear her head back and smash her forehead into his. Enzo curses as she squirms out of his hold and gets back to her feet and he scowls at her. “We’ve talked about this Vivy. You can’t give yourself brain damage in training. Save it for actual fights.”
Viv shrugs innocently, like there isn’t a red spot blooming on the center of her forehead. That’s when Zane breaks free from Nox and me. He rushes over to Viv’s side, cradling her face in his hands to evaluate the damage. He scowls at Enzo like he was the one that hit her, but Enzo’s too busy rubbing at his own tender spot to pay any attention to Zane. Viv leans her body into his and he relaxes into her instantly.
“Five miles on the treadmill. Now,” Enzo says, glaring at Viv.
She pouts at him but then pulls away from Zane and heads over toward the high-tech looking treadmill. Enzo shakes his head at her as he turns to us, and I’ve not seen the psychotic man look so serious in the few times I’ve met him. I can tell that he really does love Viv, or else he wouldn’t care if she hurt herself.
“Now that I see where you guys are at, let’s get some training in,” he says with a wicked grin, and I start to wonder if ‘training’is just a cover for him to be able to beat the shit out of us. I don’t disagree though. He is The Slayer after all, and I’m willing to learn whatever he has to teach us if it will keep my family and Viv safe.
Viviana
Istare at myself in the full-length bathroom mirror with a frown. It’s been a while since I’ve worn the fancy clothes my dad has my private shopper pick out for me, and it feels weird to be wearing the starched white blouse with bell sleeves and a ruffle collar. Though I am really enjoying the leather pencil skirt. It makes the outfit feel both edgy and classy at the same time. Half my hair is pulled up into a bun with my silver chopsticks, while the other half falls down my back in soft waves. My make-up is darker than I usually go for, my eyes a smoky brown and lips a vivid shade of dark red. My favorite part is that the shade is called Femme Fatale.
When I walk out into the bedroom, Nox is the only one facing me. His entire body freezes and his eyes slowly travel from the top of my head all the way to my toes nestled in the plush carpet. Sloane, who was trying to talk to him, turns to look at me with a similar reaction.
“How much time do we have before the meeting again?” he asks, biting his bottom lip.
It’s very flattering to see their reactions to my outfit, but we really do not have time. Not justifying his question with an answer, I roll my eyes at him before slowly trailing them overthe rest of the guys. Zane, Sloane, and Nox are all wearing dress pants and shirts, but none of them bothered with a jacket or tie. Cain, on the other hand, is wearing a full gray three piece suit with a tie. It’s his normal professor garb, but it never gets old. There is just something about that man in a suit that makes me want to sit quietly and listen to everything he has to say.
We really don’t have time for that either, so I head over to the closet and slip my shoes on. My personal shopper hates me. I know this for a fact because the only dress shoes I have in my closet are an array of four-inch heels. I slip on a pair of classic black pumps, that are as comfortable as death traps in the form of shoes could be, with a sigh.
“Come on. Enzo is driving us.”I glance over myself once more to make sure I’m not forgetting anything before stepping back out.
The guys follow me out of the room without complaint, Zane finding his way to my side immediately, his hand slipping into mine. Before we leave the house, we make a stop for the guys to rearm themselves. I had to get special permission from my dad to allow them to come to the meeting armed, and he only agreed in the end because he knew the danger we would all be in afterwards.
Enzo is parked out front, waiting for us in the Armored Lexus LX570. We own a whole fleet of armored cars, but the Lexus is one of the few that can fit our whole group as well as Enzo. Cain gets into the front passenger seat while Zane and I crawl into the third row. And I pretend not to notice when Sloane gropes my ass while I’m squeezing between the two middle seats. He and Nox take the middle row, and I don’t miss the self-satisfied grin on Sloane’s face.
Enzo pulls away from the house, driving us south over the Brooklyn Bridge. I miss the lack of traffic in Minnesota. It was so nice to be able to just get into a car and drive somewhere withoutbeing stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Things die down as we make our way through most of Brooklyn, driving until we’re surrounded by large warehouses. Soon, there are no other cars around and all we pass are abandoned buildings with boarded up windows. These buildings are all owned by my family. They’re kept empty just to keep people from having a reason to drive through the area.
Enzo parks in front of a building that looks just as abandoned and neglected as the others. There are barely any cars here now, though I know that will change later tonight when the partying starts. Enzo is the first out of the car, keeping one hand tucked into his back pocket. It makes him look relaxed, but I know it’s more because of the gun holstered in his waistband there and less about comfort.
