Page 195 of Stand: Part One

“Very good.”

Leaving our shoes on the floor, we stepped into the cage. Sloane closed the gate behind us to make sure Camaro didn’t interfere. She was used to watching me train, but this was a new person, and I didn’t want to take any chances.

Taking our spots on the mat, I stretched out my arms and legs, bouncing a little on my bare feet, trying not to wince as the pearls grazed between my slit.

“Ready?” Sloane asked.

I nodded. “Ready.”

Moving in on each other, we closed the gap between us and immediately started exchanging blows. She dodged most of my strikes, taking only a few to the face and body, and carefully maneuvering around my kicks. I had to admit the woman was fast.

“What kind of a name is Sloane?” I asked as I ducked under one of her roundhouse kicks. “Doesn’t sound very Russian to me.”

She chuckled as we danced around each other. “That is because it is not my birth name,” she answered as she veered to the right of my elbow strike.

“Why don’t you go by your birth name?” I asked.

Her lips curled as she gave me a knowing look. “That’s a story for another day,” she replied as she released a series of strikes I barely managed to dodge. Clearly, someone didn’t want to divulge too much about themselves. “I’ve studied your fighting pattern,” she said, her breathing remaining steady and even. “You have an interesting fighting style.”

I dodged her strike to my nose, but not the one to my kidney, causing me to wince as I sidestepped her. “How so?” I asked between breaths, trying to ignore those goddam pearls between my legs.

“You have a small frame. Yet you’re able to throw your weight around with much success. It’s fascinating to watch.”

I just barely dodged her kick to my head, moving to my knees to strike her in the gut. She took the hit and then lightly punched me on the side of my head. From my vantage point, I quickly turned to jump on her back and wrap one arm around her neck. “I guess I had to create my own adaptive style,” I said before dropping my weight to hang from her neck.

It only took Sloane a few seconds to shake me. She whipped me around, then slammed me on the floor. But I managed to keep my legs tucked and kicked her with both feet as she tried to regain her balance.

“Have you ever fought Darren?” I asked, standing from a kip-up.

She dipped her chin with a slight nod. “Three times during the trials last week,” she answered, bringing her leg up for a hook kick. “He is the best I’ve ever fought.”

I almost rolled my eyes. Of course, he was.

Dodging her kick, I moved in with a side kick, landing it square into her gut. But she didn’t even react. She just took the hit and then attempted to punch me right in the head. But she switched her tactic and grabbed my arm to flip me over her shoulder, causing me to land on my bad hip.

Ah fuck!

I groaned through gritted teeth, pain flaring up in my joint that started to spread throughout my pelvis and down my leg. When Camaro saw I wasn’t getting back up, she stood on her hind legs against the cage and started to bark. Sloane immediately froze in place.

“You are hurt,” she declared, releasing her hold on me.

“No, no,” I replied quickly, sitting up and waving her off. “It’s from a previous injury. I’m fine. It just flares up sometimes.”

“From your gunshot wound?”

I looked up at her to find concern in her eyes. “He told you about that, huh?”

She frowned at my question. “When I passed the trials and accepted the position, I was given an extensive report on your characteristics, personality, mental state, and various medical records. I studied well.”

Now that was a report I’d love to get my hands on.

“I’m sure it was an interesting read,” I commented, pushing myself up to a stand and placing more weight on my other hip.

She nodded. “I think we are done for the day. Do you need anything for your hip?”

I released a slow, deep breath, the pain aching all the way down my leg. “Just a large bucket of ice delivered to my bathroom,” I said as I pulled my gloves and wraps off.

“Of course.” She headed for the door, leaving me alone with Camaro.