Ultimate Courage (True Heroes #2)(18)
Tension melted out of her shoulders, and she breathed easier as she gave Gary a genuine smile. “I’d really appreciate the place to stay.”
Gary grinned. “Good. Let’s take you up now and introduce you to Greg between classes. Then you can have some peace and quiet to yourself for the rest of the evening.”
“Peace, maybe.” Rojas coughed and looked pointedly at the ceiling. “But quiet, not so much. The adult classes aren’t as high-pitched as the kids’, but there’s a fair amount of noise until about twenty-one hundred hours.”
“That’s nine o’clock p.m. for those of us who remember we’re not wearing a uniform.” Gary rolled his eyes. “You boys are holding on tight to your old habits.”
Rojas shrugged. “Some habits are good to keep fresh.”
“And some are worth letting go.” Gary’s gaze held his for a long moment. This wasn’t the time to be working on those issues, though, so Rojas remained silent until Gary huffed out a breath. “You training with us tonight?”
Rojas shook his head. “Wanted to get Miss Hall here settled in then head next door to get Boom some frozen yogurt.”
“Are you seriously going to walk back?” Elisa sounded appalled.
“Sure.” Rojas grinned.
Gary rolled his eyes again, uttering a groan this time. “Don’t let this roughneck jerk your chain. We’re friends with the owners next door. One of their kids will give him a ride back on a delivery run. Boom’s frozen yogurt won’t even have time to melt.”
Chapter Six
Elisa sat on the edge of the bed and looked around her, bemused.
Oh, it was a pleasant enough studio and much nicer than some of the motels she’d stayed in over the last several months. The room was minimally furnished with a bed and nightstand. The bathroom had the essentials: toilet, sink, and shower. Despite the somewhat bare furnishings, the room was painted in pleasant cool blue-grays with white trim. The carpet was thick and lush under her bare feet.
It was welcoming. Not just the room, but the school and its owners. Gary had brought Greg up for personal introductions just a few minutes ago, after she’d had a chance to retrieve an overnight bag from her car. Both men were warm and friendly, and didn’t seem bothered in the least by her intrusion.
Gary had waved off her apology. “Any friend of the boys at Hope’s Crossing is good people. All we ask is that you leave your mental baggage at the door and come inside ready to do good things.”
The boys at Hope’s Crossing.
None of them were boys by her definition. As far as she could tell, Alex was a couple years older than she was and Brandon was around the same age as Alex. That put them in their mid-thirties if she was guessing right. She hadn’t met Cruz yet, but she’d gotten the impression they’d all served together in the military sometime in the past before they’d reassembled at the kennels.
But both Gary and Greg looked to be in their late forties, with an equal amount of laugh and worry lines around the corners of their eyes and mouths. The men of Hope’s Crossing and the owners of Revolution Mixed Martial Arts Academy had seen things. All of them. She’d have to be blind and deaf not to get a sense of the life experiences each of these men had had. Each of them had gone out and lived.
Leave your mental baggage at the door.
She shivered at the memory of her first night in a motel. She’d driven for as long as she could manage to stay awake. Long enough to refill her gas tank at least twice. And she’d given in and gotten a room only because she might have fallen asleep at the wheel. As tired as she’d been, she’d lain awake for hours listening to every sound in the dark. Certain her ex had found her. Or that some other predator was planning to mug her or worse.
She had her own issues, for sure. And she was very much hoping those wouldn’t catch up to her here.
Her ex had a knack for finding her. The knowledge that he could do it repeatedly, consistently, but not knowing how he was doing it had been driving her progressively insane. He was a man with a temper and a whole lot of patience. He wanted to make her regret having left in the first place, and every time she managed to escape him was only adding to the eventual payback. Of that she was sure.
But she didn’t plan to ever be under his control again. Five years had been enough. Once she’d gotten a clear understanding of the special projects he was overseeing, investing in, she’d decided she didn’t want any part of the life he’d arranged for the two of them.
The last six months had been a constant effort to get away and build a life of her own.
The important thing right now was to get some rest, think clearly, and plan her next steps. Hopefully she’d be able to come up with something unpredictable.
So far, her attention had only managed to stay focused on Alex Rojas and his incredible generosity. Okay, and she sort of wondered if the tennis ball was still in his pants pocket. As random thought processes went, she was going to need to go for more constructive stuff.
Standing, she groaned. Today had included a good mix of sitting, standing, and even some walking, but she’d done a lot of driving in the days prior. Her hamstrings were tight and aching and no amount of stretching so far had made the soreness disappear completely. Maybe she needed to get into better shape.
Staying above a mixed martial arts school was already influencing her mindset.