Page 4 of Phoenix's Redemption
Last I heard from an old colleague back home, Jack took up boxing in prison and was making his way to Sunridge to try out at one of these MMA gyms. A small town like this was a great place for a two-time felon to lay low until his next move.
“What’s got you so wound up?”
I looked up, realizing Liam spoke to me. Every bit of his expression screamed self-satisfaction. His perfect lips curled into a smirk and his brows were raised as if he always expected to win. He continued to talk to me. “You look upset. I didn’t hurt your feelings with that pink sneaker comment, did I?”
“I’m used to macho men who don’t know what they’re talking about.” Despite my snarky comeback, I found myself caught between the desire to wipe the smug look off his face and the unexpected, almost strange urge to get closer to him. My knees bumped against his, sending heat trailing through my jeans. “Believe it or not, I wasn’t thinking about you.”
“That is hard to believe.” He leaned against the wall of the vehicle and half-closed his light green eyes, bright like newleaves. They contrasted nicely with his thick black hair. “A few minutes ago, all you could talk about was me and my well-being. So what or who else is making you look like you want to go a few rounds in the ring?”
I released my clenched fists. My nails left marks in my palms. “It’s nothing. Just a way to release tension.”
He gave me a disbelieving stare. “Remind me to introduce you to the sauna. That’s how you get rid of tension.”
I turned away from viewing his bare torso as I pictured him in a steam room, black hair messy and tousled and muscles glistening with sweat. What the heck was wrong with me tonight? “Thanks, but I know how to take care of myself.”
“Judging from the way you were making those fists, I’d say you could use a break from stress.”
I got annoyed at how he thought he knew about my stress level. “I’m used to working in fast-paced environments.”
The next few minutes of the trip were in blessed silence before he started moving his mouth again.
“Was your last job hard like this?” He made an obvious attempt to pry into my career history.
“Harder. Let’s just say I can handle tough cases.”
This time his eyes got real big. “You worked in law enforcement?”
“That’s right. I used to be a cop.” I didn’t see the point in withholding the information from him, since it was on my resume when I applied for this job. “The guys I used to put up with had way more for me to worry about than a few dumb lines about the color of my sneakers.”
“Oof, direct hit.” Liam used his uninjured hand to shield himself. Then he dropped the comic act and gave me an admiring glance. “That’s really impressive.”
“What, that a woman can be on the force?”
“I wasn’t going to say it that way, but yeah. I bet Fury Combat told you I could be problematic.”
I leaned forward and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. “I think they wanted me to learn that on the job.”
He gave an easy smile at my teasing. “You’re a quick study, Soph. I mean, Sophie.”
“It’s okay. You can call me Soph.” Maybe it was the charm in his eyes, or his sharp jawline that made me start to go easy on him. He had been in a tough fight already tonight, after all.
A little alert ticked in the back of my mind. Seriously, what was I doing, getting soft with Liam already? Geez, my libido was shouting over the thoughts in my head.
He put his good arm behind his head, acting like he was on a road trip rather than on his way to the ER. “Why’d you quit the force?”
I blinked, surprised he’d probe into my past life so fast. “I got hurt two years ago when I fell off my bike.” I pointed to my right leg. The scar beneath my jeans itched as I mentioned the injury. “It was a freak accident, but it took months to be able to walk again. I couldn’t run like I used to, and I didn’t want to be stuck behind a desk all day.”
“I don’t blame you. Sitting still is not easy.” He kept eyeing the ambulance door.
“Don’t even think about it,” I warned. “As soon as we stop and that door opens, you’re headed straight into a room in the ER, got it?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Since getting off the force, I cringed inwardly at the word ma’am. The ambulance rolled to a stop. I could see the sign for the ER through the front window.
Liam sat up as the paramedics began to get ready to take him inside. “Once I’m out of here, we do things my way in training. Got it?"
Time for me to lay down the law with him again. "We can try some things your way. However, if you want to keep fighting professionally, you follow Fury Combat's rules, and that means working with me."