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Three kicks.
“Haven’t seen you around much, Kian,” Gino called from his spot behind his desk. “Where you been?”
I gave the bag another quick round of punches before I answered. “Around.”
Gino sniggered. “Got anything to do with that short brunette you brought to the fights the other week?”
I couldn’t help but smile at the mention of Rebel. “Yeah, maybe a little something.”
“She’s a hottie.”
I glared at him, and he laughed.
“Damn, bro. It’s like that, huh? Sorry, sorry. No more talking about your girl.”
My girl. Vaughn’s girl. Fang’s girl.
Rebel wasn’t anyone’s girl but her own.
It was one of the things I liked best about her.
“You kicked that guy’s ass the other night,” Gino mused. “And you’re pulverizing my punching bag right now.”
I shook my hands out between rounds, breathing harder with each one. “That’s what it’s for, right?”
Gino nodded. “Everything else okay with you?”
I blew out a breath that lifted my hair from my sweaty forehead. I didn’t want to tell him the truth about my complicated relationships. “Broke as fuck, but other than that, all good.” I paused, watching him. “Hey, you got any work going here? I could teach? Boxing or fitness, whatever you prefer.”
Gino screwed up his face. “Full up at the moment, bro.”
“What about a women’s self-defense class? You haven’t got anything like that.” I would make Rebel come.
Gino glanced over at the whiteboard that held the gym’s already pretty packed schedule. “Maybe. But one class a week ain’t gonna fix your money woes, Kian.”
I leaned on the bag with one arm and gave it a vicious thump with the other. “Suppose not.”
Gino gazed around at the rest of the gym. There wasn’t much to see. Two guys on a couple of treadmills on the other side of the room. Another lifting free weights to our left. Still, Gino waved me in. “Come here. I need to talk to you about something.”
Intrigued, I stepped in closer.
The shorter man grabbed my arm and dragged me a few steps farther away from the weights. “I might have a different sort of job for you… One that pays a fuck ton more than a self-defense class every now and then.”
A fuck ton of money sounded good. “I’m interested.”
Gino beamed and slapped me on the back. “Good. Good. I had a lot of interest in you after the last fight. It made you a favorite, you know? People keep asking when you’re coming back, because no one has seen you lose yet this year.”
I shrugged. “You have.”
“Yeah, but I’ve known you since you were a runty kid. The fights have been bringing in a new crowd lately. A lot of them have never seen you go down.”
I unstrapped one of my gloves so I could run my fingers through my hair. “What are you getting at, Gino? Just get to the point.”
“I need you to come in and win a couple matches.”
“How is that a job?”
“Then throw one.”