Breathe Out (Just Breathe, #2)(74)

I smirk to myself, amused by the idea that if I had met any of the men standing in front of me in the past, I would have f*cked them. Oddly, my body doesn’t respond to them in that way.

“How old are you, Hunter?” I begin.

He looks at me quizzically for a second. “Twenty-six, ma’am.”

With the sweetest smile I can give, I instruct, “Do not call me ma’am. I am not your mother, your grandmother or any woman who is older than you. In fact, I am younger.”

“My apologies, ma’am, I mean Miss,” he corrects.

“That goes for all of you,” I command.

They nod their understanding.

My eyes drift to Joe and I see him fighting a smirk.

“Nice to see you again, Hunter,” I comment.

“You as well, Miss,” he returns with a smile.

“Taylor,” I say, walking toward him.

“Yes, ma’am, I mean, yes, Miss,” he answers.

I smirk when he fumbles slightly. “How long has Hunter known you?”

“Eight years, Miss,” he explains. “We were in the marines together.”

“Who have you brought with you today?” I continue.

“I brought Dale, Dylan and Caesar, Miss,” he reports.

“How long have you known them?” I search.

“I’ve known Dale and Dylan for seven, Miss, and Caesar for twenty.”

My attention turns to Caesar. “Would you trust Taylor with your life, Caesar?”

“Yes, ma’am. I mean, yes, Miss,” Caesar answers without hesitation.

Standing back in front of Taylor, I continue. “Did you all serve together?”

“Yes, Miss,” Taylor continues.

“Were you all in the same regiment?”

“Yes, Miss.”

“What were your ranks?” I inquire.

“We were a part of the marine special operations regiment, Miss. I was a Second Lieutenant, Dale and Dylan were Master Sergeants and Caesar was a Sergeant Major.”

“Did you boys and your regiment serve?”

“Yes, Miss. We all served in Afghanistan.”

“Thank you for your service,” I commend.

“Thank you, ma’am. I mean, Miss.”

“Lose a lot of brothers?” I search.

“Unfortunately, yes, Miss.”

“Why didn’t you stay in?” I inquire.

“Honestly, Miss?” he searches.

“Yes, honestly.”

“I love my country and the people in it, but I do not agree with going to war for the reasons our elected officials choose,” he explains. “Too many innocent people on both sides have been killed all for the sake of power and money.”


My gaze bounces to Taylor and then to Joe. From the look on Joe’s face, I would speculate he knows that this interview is going well. Joe and I have had a number of conversations about politics and religion, among other things, over the past seven months.

With a wicked grin, I say to Joe, “I expect to seem them ready and downstairs in ten minutes.”

Joe gives me a questioning look for a second, before comprehending my statement. He moves to talk me out of it, but I’m already halfway down the hall to my room to change.

The ten of us meet up in the workout room in Joe’s building with Jimmy, Allen and Anna following full of curiosity.

“What are you doing, Emma?” Allen asks.

“The next phase of the interview,” I offer with a smile.

“I don’t get it,” Allen remarks.

“I do,” Anna comments, taking out her phone.

She’s probably taking pictures or video.

Stepping out into the middle of the mat, I call Taylor to join me.

“I’m not sure I’m understanding what’s going on,” Hunter confesses.

“If they’re going to protect me,” I explain. “They need to be able to show me that they can protect me better than I can.”

Catching my drift and eager to prove himself, Taylor gets ready, taking off his suit jacket and rolls up his sleeves. “What are the rules?”

Joe snickers. “There are no rules with Emma when it comes to sparring,” Joe informs him.

Taylor smirks, nodding his understanding. “How long do we go?”

“Until one of us taps out,” I inform.

Taylor nods, and before his head fully rises, I jump in with a lunge and throw a punch, testing boundaries. He barely flinches and deflects my attempt. We dance around the mat for another minute or two, seeing who will strike next. Believing that he’s purposefully waiting for me to attack, exhibiting his self-control and focus, I decide to move in. We take turns striking and deflecting, taking in minimal blows each time as we move around the room for at least five minutes. After a few more minutes, I get bored of toying with him and end up twisting around his body once I’ve knocked him down and secure him into a jiu-jitsu choke hold. Taylor is strong, only weakening slightly under my grip. When his hands clamp on my leg and hits my ticklish spot above my knee, my hands release him. We spin around each other in several different moves as I recover from his hand getting my thigh two more times. Right as I’m about to pin him, Jimmy announces something out loud, completely catching me off guard, allowing Taylor to slam me down on the floor, causing my lungs to choke for air and my head to collide hard with the ground.