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“Did you make these improvements all by yourself? The bookshelf, the seating, the water and electricity? You can’t do anything like that, can you?” I asked without further ado.
"You almost sound like I'm incapable of anything, sis," he grumbled, a little miffed. "But if you want to know for sure. I had help."
Visibly pleased with himself, he nodded his chin toward the makeshift boxing ring behind me, where Alex emerged from a corner shielded by another screen.
“Alex?” My heart leaped with joy and relief. Overjoyed, I ran to meet him and fell around his neck. He let it pass with a smile.
"Rina, it's all good. I'm happy to see you, too." Lovingly, he kissed me on the hair and hugged me tightly.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, on the one hand pleased to see him, but at the same time worried for his safety.
"I ran into your brother Jordy at the university. At first, I was a little confused to see a prospective professor of medicine in the law wing, but under a pretext, we could talk briefly in the library. He told me about your project and the tunnel system." His eyes shone with excitement. I hadn't seen that glow in a long time.
Before, it had been every day, and together with Alex, I had experienced many adventures. It was never dull with him. He needed the thrill of the forbidden, the excitement that lay behind it and went hand in hand with the illicit.
“He gave me a map of the underground tunnel system, which included those passageways underneath Columbia University,” he continued. “That very night, I set out to find your training center, and I found it.” His smile beamed, making him seem so much younger. Brought out of the rigidity of what had happened, he had come to life once again.
"After that, he's been helping our brothers and me move everything here for the last few nights," Chris added, walking over to us. "Oh yeah, and Alex will be taking over your trainingfrom now on. Better than the book and me, right?” he grinned mischievously at me.
My gaze slid over Alex’s well-trained body. We had never talked about it, but at that moment, I realized that, unlike me, he had never stopped doing martial arts. He probably didn’t want to hurt me, and that’s why he had never brought it up.
“Still doing kung fu, karate, and kickboxing, then?” I asked, demonstratively crossing my arms in front of my chest. It hurt me more that he hadn’t included me in his life than the fact that he was still allowed to practice his hobbies, whereas I was excluded from everything.
“Rina, don’t be angry. Please!” he said apologetically, rubbing his hands over my arms. “You’ve been so unhappy with everything, and I didn’t want to make it harder for you.”
He was not wrong, after all. It had been considerate of him. But how much more had he kept from me in recent years? No, Alex was not like that! Ashamed of this thought, I leaned my forehead against his chest and lowered my arms.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. It was sweet of you to be considerate of me.” Smiling, I raised my eyes. “But from now on, only the whole truth. Promise!” I demanded.
Solemnly, he raised his hand to take an oath, laughing. “I hereby, Myrina Johnson, vow always to tell you the truth. From now until forever." He sealed his promise with a warm kiss.
Chris cleared his throat beside us. “You two, this is all cute, the making out and all, but do I need to remind you we don’t have all night?”
“It’s okay, you slave driver.” I laughed, reluctantly breaking free from Alex’s embrace. “I’ll just change quickly.”
Smiling, I went to my screen, behind which training clothes were already waiting. It was good to have Alex here. He made me happy and laugh and reminded me of better times. We never really had a chance to talk when he would sneak intomy bedroom at night. We had to be very quiet, and instead of talking, we usually let passion get the best of us. It wasn’t the sex we used to have, wild, loud, and unbridled. No, now it was quiet, gentle, and combined with a feeling of security.
Physically, we knew each other through and through. But now I had to ask myself whether that still applied mentally. We had both changed in recent years. Had the other been part of this process?
Ridiculous this thought! Shaking my head, I changed my clothes. It was Alex we were talking about here—my Alex. We had known each other since childhood and would marry in the summer. We had always been a team, which had not changed even with the takeover of the Knights of the Seals. Nothing could separate the two of us. Together, we could do anything.
Full of energy, I ran onto the training mat and began my warm-up while languidly watching Alex box. For the following weekend, I could not guarantee that it would remain with quiet, gentle sex.
Punctually,two hours after my arrival, Chris escorted me outside the cathedral into the fresh air. A gentle breeze stroked my face, which was glowing from my workout. Despite the cool water from the new sink, I felt sweat trickle down my back. I had noticed with relief that it was very humid in the cathedral and the confessional. So, the film of sweat on my forehead was easily excused. But not my rather cramped movements. Every step hurt and my legs almost didn't support me anymore from exhaustion. Still, I felt better than I had felt in years. Alive.
Down at the street, Stephan had already parked the car and waited for me. Since he made no effort to get out of the car or walk towards us, my brother took me to the limousine andhelped me get in. Just before he shut the car door, he put on a severe face.
“Don’t forget to pray the rosary daily, Myrina.” Without waiting for an answer, he slammed the door and returned to the cathedral. There, together with Alex, he wanted to discuss the next steps.
Alex was very experienced in martial arts, but we quickly realized that this would not help us when dealing with weapons. He was as perplexed by the collection of weapons that my brothers Jordy and Rick had procured as I was.
The next training session was to take place the day after tomorrow. I had also not told the two the whole truth about the attack in the museum. I had deliberately left out the attempted rape, as well as the mysterious Mr. Baldur and the recordings from the surveillance camera. Once out of fear, they would stop the training and keep me locked up in the house, and also because I simply didn’t know how to judge my non-husband. Besides, Alex had always had a problem with jealousy, and I could well do without discussions of this kind.
“Miss Myrina, I’m afraid the area around Central Park North and East 116thStreet is closed. We will have to go home via Harlem," Stephan told me in his detached tone.
“No problem,” I muttered, lost in thought. “Just take the route that seems best.”
I felt the butler's scrutinizing gaze on me in the rearview mirror. To my surprise, he spared any comment and continued north on Amsterdam Avenue instead.
