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“I see you’ve met the geeky one.” She says this with a smirk on her face so I know she’s joking, but I still throw a palm over my chest as I gasp.
“You wound me!”
“Shut up.” She laughs.
“Shouldn’t you be going off to your new house?” I remark, a grin on my face.
She pushes me gently on the shoulder, but I grab it, pulling a pained face and groaning. “Damn, Kit, you’re so violent.”
She snorts and jumps slightly as Charlie comes to stand beside her, his hand wrapping around her waist. “You ready?” he asks.
“I—well… what about Dean?”
Dean looks at her and then me, finally turning his attention to where Ty stands leaning against the doorframe to his office, watching us all intently.
“I’ll be good, you go and set up your new home and I’ll come by tomorrow—I mean, if that’s good with you?”
“Of course, it is!” She reaches up onto her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around Dean’s neck. He whispers something to her that I don’t quite catch and she nods her head in reply before pulling back and walking out of the warehouse with Charlie.
“Evan? I need a word in a couple of hours.”
“Okay,” I say, looking down at myself. “I’m gonna head home and grab a shower.” I look at Dean and then Ty, puffing my chest out and using my best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice, “I’ll be back.”
Dean laughs and Ty shakes his head but I just smirk at the impression because I got it spot on.
I head for the warehouse door, my eyes widening as I realize that Luke has been standing there the whole time, watching us. I raise a brow as I get closer to him.
“He’s been asking about us,” he says, his voice low. “Why would he ask about us?”
My brows knit together as I turn to take a quick look at Dean who is now talking to Ty. “He seems okay.” I shrug.
“Yeah, well, I don’t trust him. He gives me bad vibes.” Luke crosses his arms over his chest, still staring at him. “I don’t like him being here.”
I shake my head, patting him on the shoulder. “You need to take a chill pill and relax.”
He makes a noise in the back of his throat so I quickly remove my hand and pull the warehouse door open.
He’s only voicing my own thoughts that Dean must have been asking about us, and yeah, it could be suspicious, but we don’t know the guy. Add in the fact that Kitty asked me to find him, then I trust he’s here for Kitty and not for any other reason.
I take one last look at Luke before the door closes. I know Luke won’t let him out of his sight: he hates new people.
“That’s it for today, ladies,” I announce, clapping my hands. “Remember to put your name down for next week’s class on the way out.”
They all scatter, collecting their bags and water bottles, chatting among themselves as I start to clear away the small mats and equipment that I use to teach the self-defense classes that I run.
I’ve been running them at the local community center for years now; helping women defend themselves against anyone they need to.
When Kaylee first came to the compound, I recognized the signs of abuse right away—I’ve seen it enough over the years when I volunteered at the women’s shelter that my dad runs. It’s one of his many charity ventures along with his environmenta
l business.
Being in that environment and seeing the physical abuse that the women had to put up with was what made me want to teach self-defense in the first place. At first it was at the shelter and then I started at the community center, and now, six years later, I teach two classes a week on Monday and Friday.
“Evan?” I look up at Haley, one of my regulars. “I was wondering if it would be okay to bring my niece with me next time?”
I roll up the mat and hook it under my arm before widening my stance. I wish we could afford the proper mats, but money is tight at the center, so I have to improvise with yoga mats. “How old is she?”
“She’s sixteen… but… she’s not exactly in with the ‘cool kids,’ if you know what I mean.”
