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I hadn’t been this happy in a while.
“You’re getting distracted,” Hudson said, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I looked at my hands. My knuckles were bleeding, but that was normal.
“You always do that,” he continued. “You get all lovey dovey over your bruises.”
I rolled my eyes, which was probably not a good idea considering the way my vision blurred.
“I like seeing them. They remind me how strong I am,” I replied while I lunged at him, this time landing on the balls of my feet, twisting my ankle. My foot slipped on the slick mat, and I fell, my hands planted on the ground to catch myself. Hudson landed on top of me, his elbows framing my head and his hands resting on the mats beside me. My arms were trapped beneath me.
“You get careless when you’re emotional,” he grunted.
I struggled to move beneath him, and I knew I only had a few seconds before he’d take full advantage of my position. I twisted my body, trying to wrench my arms away. A slap to my ear made my head ring, and I gritted my teeth. “I’m not emotional!”
“Prove it. Get me off of you.”
Hudson had taught me how to survive a fight. He’d taught me a lot of things that I hoped I’d never need. But now, I was grateful he’d forced me to learn. If I didn’t have the skills, I’d be dead.
I turned my head, trying to bite his hand, but he was too smart. He moved it out of the way before I could sink my teeth into his flesh. His other hand reached for my throat.
I caught his wrist in both hands. “That’s it. You’re fighting back,” he hissed, his breath hot on my neck as he moved his thumbs to my throat, pinning me to the ground. I struggled to breathe while I kicked him, but it was no use. “You’re angry because you aren’t in control of your own life,” he shouted. “You’re angry because you should be in charge, not Atticus.”
I closed my eyes as he continued to lecture me. “Why are you telling me this?” I grunted.
He squeezed tighter. “Because you need to understand it if you’re going to get away from the DuPonts.”
I wriggled in his hold, trying to break free, but I knew it wasn’t going to happen. He wanted me to fight back, but I knew I didn’t stand a chance against him. He was too powerful, too smart. So I did the only thing that I could. I jerked his hands off my neck and pulled them close to my mouth.
I bit his wrist, sinking my teeth into his flesh.
His hand loosened, but he didn’t let go.
“That’s it,” he hissed, his hot breath brushing against my ear. “Fight back. Fight for your freedom.”
I dug deep within my reserve of strength and threw him off of me, slamming him into the mat with every muscle clenched.
Hudson was shocked.
I was shocked.
My heart thumped and adrenaline took over. I had to finish him off. I had to win.
Thinking quickly, I jumped on top of him, sinking my fingers into his arm, digging my nails into his skin. I was ready to kill him. I wanted to. I needed to. “That’s it!” he encouraged, as if I wasn’t drawing blood. He twisted his body and pushed me off him, sending me flying across the mats and into the safety wall. It shook violently, rattling the metal frame. “I’m impressed,” he said, his eyes full of excitement and pride.
I wiped at the blood dripping down my face. “Again,” I said before charging after him.
Hours later, when my legs wobbled from exhaustion, Hudson yelled, “Enough.” He was always the one to end our fighting sessions, and usually only when I was on the verge of blacking out. I wiped the sweat from my brow and drank from a water bottle. I offered Hudson a drink, but he declined. Ruthless bastard ran on whiskey and pain.
As I sat on the floor and tried to catch my breath, he stared at me. “What?” I asked, knowing he was itching to say something.
He cleared his throat, his wrinkly face a portrait of anticipation. “I’ll probably get in trouble for this, but I’m getting old and tired of working for the DuPonts.” He wiped at a bead of sweat on his temple.
I eyed the guards in the training room but didn’t stop Hudson from speaking. “What?”
“You shouldn’t be locked up in this tower. You worked hard to protect yourself, kid. You earned the right to make decisions for yourself.”
I chewed on my lip, surprised. “I thought you listened to everything the DuPonts told you to do. It’s why you spent three years training me.”
