Page 47 of Theirs to Desire (Club M: Boxed Set)

FIONA

R aymond is in front of me, with a wickedly serrated blade in his hand.

Adrian and Brody are behind me. If they move, he will lunge, and I’ll get slashed. I can feel the wheels turn in their heads as they try to figure out the best way to take down Raymond.

Next time, maybe the club security can search Raymond first?

I don’t take my eyes off the blade. I need to remember to ask Xavier for a bonus. Being knifed should get me some danger pay, right?

Of course, my mind is wandering because I’m trying my absolute best not to freak out. I probably won’t die if the blade cuts me. Adrian and Brody will stop Raymond before he has a chance to attack more than once.

You have a black belt in taekwondo. Use it.

A sudden calm descends over me. My inner voice is right. After Raymond, I doubled-down on my training. I’ve spent hours in the dojang, honing my skills, building my confidence. Now, it’s time to prove it.

I take a step back, then another. “Where do you think you can run to?” Raymond mocks. “Not so brave now, are you, Fiona? What did you call me just now? An asshole?” He smiles without humor. “I’m going to make you pay for that, bitch.”

I don’t think so, Raymond.

If Raymond had a gun, I would have closed in on him to grab the weapon. But with a knife, I need to back up a little and give myself room to fight. I’m not running away; I’m getting in kicking range.

Tension radiates off Adrian and Brody. Their anxiety rolls off them in palpable waves.

Raymond is such a fool. Does he really think he has options in this scenario? If he cuts me, my dominants aren’t going to let him walk out of the room alive.

The first step is to create a distraction. I raise my hands in the air, doing my very best to look helpless. “Put down the knife,” I beg, looking into Raymond’s eyes, not at the blade. I don’t have to fake the tremor in my voice. “It doesn’t have to go down like this.”

The second step is to attack. The voice of my instructor sounds in my ear. Aim for the fingers holding the knife.

My left leg snaps up in a powerful kick I’ve practiced a thousand times in the dojang. I aim for Raymond’s wrist, and I connect with a shuddering impact. Raymond shrieks in pain, and the knife goes flying across the room.

And then Adrian and Brody are on him, and it’s all over. At least, I think it is.

Until I look at Adrian’s face.