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“And from what’s I’ve heard, it's different from what you’ve normally done.”

Fantastic. I leaned forward. “Different how?”

“I can’t go into specifics, but I believe you’re the best choice. It means travel and time away.”

The best words he could say.

“I’m in.”

He smirked. “I figured, but I wanted to give you a heads-up in case you needed to take care of anything here first.”

“Nope.” Nothing to reschedule. No one to say bye to. “I’m ready now.”

“Good. I’ll let you know more as soon as I hear.”

With that, I was dismissed.

“Thanks.” I stood and paused at his door.

I wanted to ask a million questions. My heart was beating, not pounding, but showing signs of life for the first time in weeks.

A long, distant mission was exactly what I wanted.

Now I had to hope they chose me.

He wouldn’t have given me a heads up if he didn’t think I’d get the assignment, though. Right? That would be cruel.

“I’ll be waiting.”

CHAPTER 3

Emilia

My heartbeat filled my ears, but I focused on my breathing.

Keep it slow and steady.

Don’t over-exert myself.

Stay calm and clear-headed.

I ducked under the fist aimed for my right temple and thrust my leg out, taking down my opponent before launching myself on top of him, pinning his hands with one of mine while pulling the knife from my thigh holster and holding it against his throat.

“Fine,” he gasped under me.

“Say it!” I pushed the blade harder. One more millimeter, and I’d have him bleeding.

“You’re the best,” he grumbled before I jumped to my feet and walked away.

Coach waited for me with his arms crossed at the edge of the mat. “You had him. You didn’t need to pull your knife.”

No, I didn’t.

But I wanted to.

Plus, the brothers needed the occasional reminder not to mess with me. I beat each of them at least once in the last six months. Yet, a handful of them always wanted a rematch. Their tiny dicks and massive egos couldn’t handle being bested by a lowly female.

Unfortunately, it was a lesson some of them couldn’t remember. They didn’t like a woman in their space, let alone one who could beat them. Most had accepted me and the fact I wasn’t going anywhere. Getting to this point took years. Half of them feared me, and half of them respected me.Either was fine with me.