Reckless Retribution (West Warriors Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

around, the more she opened up. It turned out that she didn’t have many female friends. ‘Too catty,’ was her opinion of them.
    I could totally understand where she was coming from. At my previous schools, I literally had one friend. She told me she mostly hung around her boyfriend and his friends. By that point, I had known her for all of an hour, and by then end of that hour, I felt like I had known her forever.
    It was during one of my first classes I was sitting in the middle of one of the rows, when she came sauntering into the room, her shiny black hair swishing behind her as she walked. Boys’ heads turned and followed her as she passed. I expected her to take a seat near a group of guys that were huddled at the back, but she didn’t. She walked along my row and took a seat next to me, and from that moment, our friendship began, and the rest, as they say, is history.
     
    ****
     
    Thursday, my shift at the club went better. I answered the phone more confidently, and I worked my way around the computer system. Kal went through how to wipe the equipment down, which I thought was gross, and I finished that off while he chatted to the guys and made them watch replays of their last fights. Once I’d finished, I stood behind them at the seating area to watch some of the footage. I turned away once it got brutal and bloody. I glanced over at Jamie. He looked relaxed on one of the couches, his muscular arms running along the back of it and one ankle propped on his knee. I remembered back to him washing his truck and how hot he looked. He glanced back at me, causing me to startle a little, and I quickly redirected my gaze, embarrassed he’d caught me looking at him.
    Kal looked over in my direction then turned to look at Jamie and almost glowered at him. Something unspoken passed between them, and Jamie raised his eyebrows questioningly at him. The others were still fixated on the fight. Feeling awkward, I walked back around to the desk and carried on with some work.
    Once Kal had finished with the guys, I double-checked that it was still okay for me to have Saturday afternoon off, and he assured me it was and that he would cover. I promised him I would work an extra day or extra hours to make up for it, but he kindly told me I didn’t need to.
     
    By Friday, I would definitely say I was in the swing of things. I didn’t have to be directed by Kal and made my own routine up of tasks. It usually went: emails and computer work for an hour, clean the shake bar then the gym equipment, and back to my desk. It seemed simple enough, but with the phone calls, taking deliveries, and making shakes up in between all that, it was enough. Sometimes, I managed to go on the internet and study for a bit, but I was sure to close the tabs so Kal didn’t find out.
    Throughout my shifts this week, I’d spent quite a lot of time watching the guys in the cage sparring and fighting. They used a lot of techniques I’d seen in self-defense classes around campus. I’d never had the guts to join in, and I hated the thought of other people watching me. I wasn’t uncoordinated, thanks to Dad. I’d gotten quite good at dodging his fists sometimes; I just felt that if I knew more techniques, it would help me get a better advantage over him if I ever needed it. Just thinking of that made me feel ill, but I knew someday a time would come when my life depended on me being able to defend myself from him, and I would rather be prepared than not. I made a point to ask Kal about some training in the morning. I trusted him, even in the short time I had known him, so I knew he would make me feel at ease.
    Over the course of my first week, I got to know the boys more. Cam and Marc came over frequently when Kal wasn’t around and would ask me things like when I was graduating, my plans for after it, and what I liked to do outside of work and school. In turn, I asked them questions, and they told me fighting was their “job.” I was surprised at