“It was brought to us from the Hindus. It’s a mixture of breathing, body posture, and meditation. It is supposed to help the body relax and achieve inner peace. Charity is an instructor that Ammo found. He has her come in on Saturdays for the group of us that enjoy it. Today I know three other ladies are coming in. Me, Amber, Charlotte, Eve, and a few of the guys are all going to be here. Join us. If nothing else, you will have fun. Charity makes sure of that,” Sarah explained.
“Eve? Really she is coming?” I was excited that I could see her. See for myself she was all right.
“Yeah, Eve. So, you will stay?” Amber asked.
“Yeah, I will.” I smiled at them.
“Good. Get out of this.” Sarah launched herself at me. I barely escaped her grasp. She and I kept working. I heard Amber get up, but I kept my focus on Sarah.
Amber walked over to Ammo. She had seen him come in as Sarah was working with Mary.
“How is she?” he asked.
“She is fantastic. We like her; thanks for bringing her to us.” Amber smiled at him.
“Amber,” he growled.
Amber rolled her eyes and laughed. “She is very good. Sarah was just going to see if she knew how to defend against weapons. She has retained what she learned in her classes. They were given by Evanston PD by the way. I think you should do weapons training with her. I also think she would like to go shooting with you. Or we could do a ladies’ night at the range,” she gave her assessment to Ammo. “We talked to her, Ammo. We could tell she was all over the place. I think her brain just needed to catch up to her heart. She’s all sorted now.”
“Hmm,” Ammo was thinking about it. “If you and Sarah want to head up, Charity will be here in a half hour. We will come up about twenty minutes into the class so Charity can get everyone situated.” He came to where Sarah and I were on the floor. I had just gotten away from her again.
“Come on, Sarah, let’s go get ready for Charity,” Amber called to her from the door. She left.
I sat on the floor, looking at Ben. No, he was Ammo right now. I saw what the girls were talking about when they described how he was with them.
“Stand,” he commanded.
I stood, and he came up behind me. “Do not hold back. I will not let you hurt me. Begin.” He brought his arm around my throat. I went into action. I got away from him and, like he’d said, he held himself so I couldn’t hurt him.
“What if I came at you like this?” He put his hands into a gun shape and pointed at me.
I immediately put my hands up and waited for instructions. He yelled them out. I complied and got on my knees. I watched him. I waited for him to get close enough. As soon as he did, I went for his balls and grabbed the gun as my class instructor had said to do.
“Good. Now, if it was not me and if it was a real gun, would you panic?” he asked as he held his hand out for me.
“No, I don’t think so. We practiced in class with real unloaded guns in class. They never bothered me,” I explained. I watched him. I could see my Ben peeking through the Ammo exterior.
“Would you like to learn how to shoot?” he asked.
“Who says I don’t know how?” I was being cheeky.
“Fair enough. We will go to the range sometime. And when Hunt gets his property set up for the training he wants to do, we can go out there and see how you do running through that,” he told me. “Would you like some water?” he asked, walking out towards where his desk was. He had a mini fridge and pulled out some water bottles. He offered me one. I drank it down.
“Did they tell you about Charity coming in for yoga?” he asked.
“Yeah, I would like to try it if that’s all right,” I said.
“Sure is, anything you want.” He smiled at me and pulled me over to him. “I love you. I am glad you took those classes. It was Officer Marco that taught you?”
“Yeah. He’s really patient. He explains things really well. That helped a lot too.”
“He comes here for training occasionally. He told me about the classes he wanted to teach. I helped him put them together. I am glad they were successful.” He smiled. “We should head upstairs. I am going to leave you up there and come back down here.”
“What, yoga not your thing?” I teased him.
“I have done it before. I took some classes with Charity before I approached her. I don’t mind it, but I need my own form of meditation today.” He took my hand, kissed it, and started to pull us upstairs.
Chapter 23
Ammo
Charity had everyone on their mats doing whatever their abilities dictated. Some were very basic, and some were quite advanced. She smiled at me while she walked over. She was tiny. Five foot on a good day. She had her mother’s beautiful brown skin from her Hindu heritage. She had her English father’s bright blue eyes. Her dark brown hair was tied up on her head. She was a very calming person to be around.
“Hello. Sarah said you had Mary here. Hi, Mary, I am Charity. Would you like to try?” she said, gesturing behind her. I gave her Mary’s hand and let her lead Mary over to a mat. “Are you joining us or going to your cave?” Charity asked me.
“Cave, but I will come up before you end.” She nodded. I gave her a chin lift and went back to my training room. I needed to pound out my feelings on what was going on with Tarzan. I put on a pair of gloves and started pounding.
I heard a throat clear. I looked over to the door. Ninja was in the doorway. He’d come in for Charity’s classes. He’d said it was because he liked yoga. I called bullshit. It was because he had a thing for Charity. But with him it could have been both. I stopped pounding and looked at him. I wiped at the sweat pouring off my head. I was soaked. He said nothing. I went back to pounding. He moved into the room.
“Ammo,” he greeted.
“Ninja.” I kept pounding.
He let me keep pounding. He watched me. I knew he had something to say, but he kept his mouth shut. I was getting annoyed that he was there. I stopped and turned to him. “What, Ninja? I know you would rather be upstairs watching Charity than down here with me.”
He let a slight smile creep across his lips. “Come upstairs,” he said. He turned and was gone before I could do anything.
“Ugh!” I let one more punch go. He was right; I should go upstairs. I had probably pounded enough. But I was still not ready to be done. My head was not clear enough from the Tarzan and Jenn situation.
“Get upstairs now, Ammo. Or I will take you up there.” Ninja stuck his head back in the room from the doorframe.
“Fine!” I whipped off my gloves and grabbed a towel from a stack I left by the door. I used it to dry off some of the sweat and went upstairs. By the time I got there, Charity had Ninja back in a position like he’d never left.
I looked at the group for Mary and saw Charity had her between Sarah and Eve. She had a peaceful look on her. I felt relieved that she seemed to have finally given up the worries she was making up.
“Come here, Ammo. There’s about fifteen minutes left. Let’s see if we can cool you down from your form of meditation.” Charity took my arm and led me to a mat and before I knew it, she had me going through a series she put together for me. It really did help me cool down and get my head back in order.
As I was finishing, I heard giggling. I opened an eye and looked to where I had last seen Mary. She and the other ladies were chatting softly. Mary had positioned herself so she could watch me. I bet she had enjoyed watching me move though my paces.
“Thank you, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your time today. See you all next week!” Charity said. Ninja walked her out.
“Come on, ladies, let’s go shower,” Amber said, standing. The rest followed and headed to the locker room. Mary lagged behind. She stopped where I was still reclining on the mat. She squatted down next to me.
“Too bad we are not showering together. You are so hot right now,” she softly said so I could hear her. She ran a nail down my arm. I grabbed the towel I had earlier
and threw it on my lap. My gym shorts would leave nothing to the imagination. She laughed and quickly ran from my reach. She was smiling. I would let her have it. I liked seeing her like this. She followed the girls into the locker room. I was smiling.
“His face didn’t crack!” I heard, followed by laughter. I turned and saw Ape, Phoenix, and Adam. They were grouped together, getting up. They had seen the whole exchange. Assholes.
I flicked them all off and headed to the locker room. I wanted to shower and change. They followed me. “So, Ammo, how are things?” Adam smirked.
“Fuck off, asshole,” I growled at him. I pulled off my clothes and threw them in the bag in my locker that held my other dirty clothes. I grabbed my shower kit and strode to the showers.
“How’s Tarzan?” Phoenix asked.
“Not good. Lego headed over there to take food and do any chores they need done. The ladies are setting up a rotation for food and help. Everyone will get a turn.” I washed my hair and body. I stood under the spray thinking about how wrong it was to be losing her. She hadn’t even hit thirty yet.
“They will be in my prayers,” he said, turning back around. I finished, grabbed a towel, and went to see what clothes I had in my locker. Not finding anything but T-shirts and gym shorts, I got dressed so I could run up to my apartment. I took my dirty laundry bag with me. I needed to get some things to make dessert for Rosa’s tomorrow. I planned on stopping at the store on our way back to Mary’s house.
I quickly dumped my dirty laundry in the basket and loaded the bag with clothes to stash in my locker. I changed into a black polo and a pair of jeans. I walked out of my closet and saw the picture of my parents. It was taken a year or so before their deaths at their anniversary party. My mother’s engagement ring was proudly displayed on her hand that my father was kissing. I went to my safe and got out the small box it was stored in. After the accident, Gramps had taken it to get cleaned then had given it to me and said I was to give it to the one who would hold my heart. That was why he gave it to my grandmother. I pocketed it, knowing I would give it to Mary. I grabbed the bag of clothes, some of the things I needed for dessert, and went down to my car to drop those off. I took the bag and went back to my locker.
As I walked down the stairs, some of the ladies came out. Sarah nodded at me. “She’s almost done.” She left with Amber and some of the wives.
I went to my locker and dropped off my bag. The guys were at their lockers changing. I ignored them. “Hey, Ammo, seriously, we are all happy for you,” Ape said. I gave them a chin lift. I picked up a towel that had gotten left behind and threw it in the towel service bin. I went back out to wait. I had just leaned up against the wall when Charlotte, Eve, and Mary walked out. They were laughing and smiling. Mary’s hair had been left down; it was still damp. She had on a purple sweater that had lace at the shoulders. Her jeans hugged her curvy legs. She looked beautiful.
“Hey, Ammo, we are heading over to Lance’s. Dean is there as well as my girls, who, I am sure, have destroyed the kitchen.” Charlotte smiled.
“Sure.” I followed them up the stairs and over to Domino’s. We walked in and the smell of something delicious being baked hit us in the face.
“What did you girls make?” Eve asked, going over to Maddy and Ally.
“A cake for Mom and Lance,” Maddy answered. I knew them from when we’d rescued Eve. I’d thought then as I did now, that they were great kids.
“Aw, girls, that was so sweet,” Domino said. He was trying hard to find a place in their lives. Neither he nor Charlotte had said that Maddy and Ally were his. But I was pretty sure he was their father.
“Hiya, Hunt, how are you? How’s married life?” I asked, shaking his hand.
“Great and great! Good to see you, Mary,” he said, giving Mary a hug.
“How are things with you both?” he asked.
“Great for us. Did you hear about Tarzan and Jenn?” I frowned as I said it.
“Yeah, it’s so fuc—fudged up.” He corrected himself. He tried to watch his language around Charlotte’s girls. We all did.
“How is the property coming?” I was excited for them and their idea.
“Great. We should be ready to move into the house next weekend. I have designs to go over with you for the two training courses.” He was excited to have his and Eve’s dream come true.
“So, what are you two up to tonight?” Domino asked, looking at us and my arm around Mary’s shoulders.
“I am taking Mary out to dinner. How about you?” I wondered what they were all up to.
“Eve and I are going to eat with Domino, Charlotte, and the girls, then we are heading back to Charlotte’s,” Hunt said.
“I hope you all have a fun night. I think we are going to take off and start ours.” I looked at Mary and she nodded in agreement with me. She stepped out from under my arm and said goodbye to everyone. I opened the door for her and waved as I stepped out.
“Ammo, I am good till Monday morning. If you are not here, call Hack!” Domino yelled after me. I gave him a chin lift and closed the door. We headed to the garage.
“Did you have a place in mind for dinner?” Mary asked as we walked to the car.
“Yup, do you like Thai?” I opened the door for her.
“Yes, very much.” She got in.
“Perfect, I know just the place,” I got in and drove over to the Thai restaurant that held some of my favorite people, the Chimpongs.
I found parking close to the front door. I helped Mary out and walked to the restaurant. “This is one of my favorite restaurants,” I told her as I opened the door and let her walk in. April greeted us.
“Hi, Ammo, how are you? Two today?” she said, grabbing some chopstick packages. “Here, I got your table open.” She led us to the table I preferred.
“I am good, April. How are you? How are your brother, grandmother, and mother? I know your dad is fine. He’s always fine,” I asked while we sat down.
“Yes, Dad is fine.” She laughed. “I am good; trying to get through senior year. The brat is good. That gym you got him into is looking for sponsors for a fight night with a gym in Little Saigon. Mom is good, not worrying anymore. And Grandma is Grandma.”
I laughed; she was the typical grandmother, her gray hair up in a bun, always ready to give hugs. “Mary, this is April Chimpong; she and her family run this restaurant. April, Mary is the woman I am going to marry.”
“Are you serious?” Her eyes were wide.
I smiled. “Yup.”
“Oh, congrats you two! Mama and Grandma will be so happy! Just wait till I tell them.” April clapped her hands together and looked at both of us with a big smile. “So, Mary, how hot do you like your food?” Mary was still blushing from my introduction.
“I like some heat, but not so hot it burns my senses out,” she told April.
“Any meat preferences?” April asked.
“Easy on the seafood, but no. I like chicken, beef, and pork,” she said.
“Okay, and what do you want to drink?” April asked.
“I would like iced tea and a glass of water.”
“Okay, I will be back with that. Ammo, you know Mama and Grandma are going to be crazy, right?” she said and left to go tell them my news.
I picked up Mary’s hand. “Be ready for this.” It started with a screech. Then lots of yelling in Thai. Then a black-haired and a grey-haired whirlwind blew in from the kitchen. April trailed behind with our drinks.
“Hello, Hom. Hello, Kamon,” I said to the ladies. Mother and daughter looked alike; all that was different was Hom was older with her gray hair. They’d immigrated from Thailand when Kamon was eighteen; they had just lost her father and Hom wanted to start over. Not long after moving to Chicago, Kamon had met Manoj, who was from a village near theirs in Thailand. They’d married and had two children—April, whose Thai name was too hard to pronounce so she had taken the American one—and Kasem, their son.
“Oh, my sweet Benboy. You finally met
her!” Kamon said while she waited for her hug.
“Beautiful. I wish you many year happy, health, and baby,” Hom said to Mary, then started back in Thai. Hom’s English was not great, but she tried very hard. My Thai was okay at best. She was talking too fast for me to get anything more than beautiful, lucky, greatest joy.
“Yes, Kamon, I did. Her name is Mary.” Kamon turned from me and gave Mary the biggest hug her tiny body could muster.
“I have been waiting for him to meet someone. I want him to have lots of babies. They will all be special, just like him. He saved my son. We need more like him. Come on, Mama, we must cook for them.” Kamon started back to the kitchen. “Benboy, noodle or curry night?”
Ammo and Mary Page 11