Warrior (Relentless #4)(92)

I realized she was thinking about our last night in Maine. But I had another night in mind. It was the first time she’d let her guard down and seemed at ease with me.

“Actually, I was thinking about the night of the storm when the power went out.”

She looked away, but not before I saw color creep into her cheeks. So I wasn’t imagining it; there had been something between us that night.

“People change,” she said as she reached for her tray.

“I hear you’re having some difficulty in training,” I said before she could run away again. “I thought perhaps you might want to talk about it.”

“No thank you,” she replied shortly, but she made no move to leave.

Sensing I shouldn’t push her too hard, I turned my attention to her dinner companion instead. “Jordan, right? I hear you’re pretty lethal with a blade.”

She blushed and nodded mutely.

“She is,” Sara said. “You should have seen her last night, taking on those lamprey demons. If it wasn’t for her, we probably would have been demon chow.”

My Mori growled at the mention of the danger she’d been in less than a day ago, and my body tensed in response. Watching her toss and cry out as fever raged through her body was not an experience I ever wanted to repeat.

An elbow jabbed me sharply in the ribs. “Quit scowling before you scare off my new friend.”

It was impossible to stay upset with her looking so adorably stern. “I certainly wouldn’t want to do that. At least this one doesn’t shed,” I teased.

I hid my smile as I picked up my burger and took a huge bite. I couldn’t remember when food had tasted so good.

Sara turned to Jordan, who looked like she wasn’t sure what to make of the two of us.

“Just ignore him. He has to ruin at least one meal for me before he disappears on another one of his missions.”

“You didn’t hear?” I asked, enjoying myself immensely. “Maybe you would have if you hadn’t disappeared this afternoon.”

“Hear what?” Sara asked warily.

“I’m not going anywhere for the next month at least.”

Her brows drew together. “What? Sick of hunting already?”

“No, I just have another job at the moment.” I watched her face closely as I shared my news. “I’m your new trainer.”

Surprise crossed her face, followed by dismay. Her reaction didn’t bother me because I understood where it came from. She thought I’d abandoned her, and she was trying to push me away so she didn’t get hurt. But I’d worked too hard to break down her walls to let her retreat behind them again.

“I am not training with you,” she blurted, turning to search the room for Tristan, no doubt.

“It was Tristan’s idea,” I lied, guessing she’d accept it easier if it came from him. “He thinks it might help you to work with someone you know.”

She glowered at me. “Since when do you work with trainees, or follow orders for that matter? Don’t you have more orphans to rescue?”

“After you, I have a much greater respect for the people who usually handle those jobs. I agree with Tristan on this. We need to try a different approach with your training.”

“A few days ago, Tristan mentioned a guy in India who he thought might be able to help me,” she said hopefully.

“Janak?” I laughed, imagining Sara working with the quiet Indian man who relied heavily on Buddhist meditation and prayer in his teachings. “Janak’s a nice guy, but way too soft for this. One session with you and he’d be on the first plane back to India.”

She crossed her arms. “So, what is your brilliant plan, to harass me until I get so pissed off that I sic my demon on you?”

I polished off my burger before I responded. After my discussion with Callum earlier, I had a better idea of what would and wouldn’t work with Sara. She probably expected more of the same training, but I had something else in mind.

She shifted impatiently beside me, and I smiled behind my napkin. Laying it on my tray, I said, “If that’s what it takes, but I think something else will work better for you.”

Her eyes widened with barely concealed interest. “What?”

I stood and reached for my tray. “Get some sleep tonight because training starts tomorrow.”

A smile curved my lips as I walked away. I could have answered her, but it was much more entertaining to see her flustered expression.

Chris joined me outside the dining hall. “You’re looking pleased with yourself. And you don’t need a change of clothes, so I assume it went well. Did you tell her you were taking over her training?”

“Yes, and she wasn’t happy about it.”

“She’ll try to get out of it,” he said. “And you know Tristan is too soft-hearted when it comes to her. He’ll give in if she begs him.”

I chuckled. “That’s why I asked him to be unavailable tonight.”

He shook his head. “If she finds out you did that, she’ll set those beasts after you.”

“Let’s hope she doesn’t find out then.”

I started toward the south wing, and he fell into step beside me.

“You working tonight?” he asked.

“I’m meeting with Dax to talk about upgrading security.”