What the hell was she doing working at a bar dressed like that, anyway? He had taken her for the more serious type. He was sure she could have found another type of job.
He walked toward her as she straightened. She had turned to walk back to her chair and was licking the excess water from her lips when she saw him. He had to keep himself from getting visibly hard at the sight of her tongue.
“Are you ready?” he asked more harshly than he’d intended.
He saw her eyes widen at his tone then narrow.
“Yes,” she replied just as harshly. “I told you I could get myself home. If you’re not ready to leave…”
Nick had to keep himself from laughing out loud. She wasn’t one to put up with anyone’s shit. He liked that about her—in small doses.
“Do you have everything?”
“I don’t have anything. He knocked my phone out of my hand last night and I left everything else in the car.” Ria continued, “I can’t remember what happened to my key, though.”
Ty was walking by at that moment. “Your key is at the front desk. Ask Linc.”
Ty was a smart kid; he was quick to realize that Ria was off limits from now on. Nick had wanted to break his arms when he’d seen them around Ria. Then he had become angry at himself. Since when had he ever felt possessive about a woman?
“Okay, let’s go,” Nick said to her, taking her arm as they walked to the front of the gym.
“Hey, Linc, got the key?” Nick asked the man sitting at the front desk.
“Sure thing.” Linc handed over the key and then turned to Ria. “Looks like you’re feeling better. Glad you’re up and about.”
“Thank you,” Ria replied with a smile.
Nick was looking down at her, thinking her smile was beautiful; it brightened her whole face. Right then, he wanted to see more of it.
They walked outside where Nick led her to his car, opening the door for her to get in. As he slid into the driver’s seat, he couldn’t help noticing her long legs as she tugged that damn short skirt down. He was going to find a way to get her to leave the bar. He didn’t want her dressing like that unless she was with him.
“Where’s your car?”
“Do you know where Good Times is?”
“What the hell are you doing there?” Nick was pissed, thinking about how sleazy that place was known to be.
“It’s a job!” Ria snapped back.
“I refuse to believe that’s the only job you could find. You went from an EMT to a waitress in that shithole?”
“I needed something fast. I couldn’t afford to spend a lot of time on interviews. I need money to live. Not everyone has millions in the bank like you do!” Ria retorted.
Nick watched her cross her arms and stare out the window. She was right; he hadn’t needed to worry about money for as long as he could remember. With prize money and all the endorsement deals, he had more money than he could have possibly imagined. He had to admit to himself that he didn’t know what it felt like to be tight for cash.
“I can get you a better job than that,” Nick stated.
“I take the paramedic test at the end of next week. I’ll quit as soon as I get a job,” Ria replied. “But it would be a big help if you called the administrator at the hospital. I probably won’t be able to get my job back, but at least I’ll have references.”
Nick recalled her saying she was going to look for a job in another city. That wasn’t going to work for him. He had to get her out of his system first.
“Are you going to apply for jobs in town?” Nick asked casually.
“I will, but I doubt I’ll get any offers. There’s just not that many jobs available and they’ve already filled my position.” He could hear the frustration in her voice.
“I was an ass that night, sorry. I’m not used to losing; I guess I was trying to get the attention of a beautiful woman to make up for it.”
“You got my attention when you got me fired,” she stated while still staring out the window.
“What?” He had no idea what she was talking about.
She turned to glare at him. “What in the hell do you think I’ve been talking about? When you complained to the administrator at the hospital about my behavior, he called my boss. I was fired the next morning.”
“Are you kidding me? I didn’t complain about you being rude. I thought you were a smartass, and I was pissed you weren’t interested, but I didn’t say shit to the administrator.” Nick frowned, remembering back to that night.
He had called his father to come pick him up. Shit! His father. He had told his father what had happened, laughing it off. Apparently, his father hadn’t thought it had been so amusing.
He should have known his father would complain. He wanted to keep Nick’s life smooth—hell, he still managed his money for him. He didn’t want any distractions in Nick’s life. The only reason his dad kept his nose out of Nick’s dating life was because the women never lasted long.
“Ria, I’ve been training and fighting my whole life. It’s my world, and I’ve only been around people that appreciate and enjoy the sport. You’re the first person that I’ve encountered that didn’t like it. I was surprised. I also thought it was interesting, that it made you different.” He quickly followed up with, “Different in a good way. But I didn’t open my mouth to that administrator.
“I told my dad, and he must have been the one to complain. I’m sorry. He sometimes goes too far while looking out for me,” he said softly.
He looked down her body, catching a glimpse of her breasts at the V of her shirt, before he admired her sexy, long legs that would feel good wrapped around his waist.
He felt bad about her losing her job, but it had actually worked in his favor. It would give him a chance to spend more time with her without a job keeping her busy. Now he just had to get her away from working in a bar. He had enough money to support her while he got her out of his system. After it was over, he would make sure she had a much better job.
He looked back at her face and saw the surprise in her eyes. She really needed to believe him. He wouldn’t be able to get her in his bed if she was still angry about losing her job.
“You wouldn’t mind calling, then?” she asked hopefully.
Nick tried to hide his smile. He knew she was trying to fight her attraction to him. She could try, but she would be his when it was all said and done.
“First thing in the morning,” Nick assured.
“Thank you. It will make it much easier for me to find a job.”
They reached the parking lot of the bar, and he saw the lone car parked there. He felt the anger rise in him again.
“I still can’t fucking believe you work here. When’s your next shift?” he asked roughly as they got out of the car.
“It’s a good paying job. Quit making me feel bad about it!” Ria yelled at him.
“First of all, don’t yell at me. And I just want to make sure you’re safe until you quit,” Nick replied calmly, but inside, he wanted to shake some sense into her.
She sighed. “I work Friday and Saturday nights. Do you have jumper cables? My car didn’t start because I had left my lights on.”
Nick looked at her car. It was a piece of shit which had to be at least fifteen years old. Something about it was familiar to him, but he figured he had just seen a similar car at some point in the past.
“Yes, I do.” He clicked open the trunk of his car and pulled the cables out. He then adjusted his car so the cables could reach.
He handed Ria the key. “Hop in your car, and I’ll tell you when to start it.”
He saw her nod and then watched as she unlocked her car and got in.
“Pop the hood for me,” he instructed.
She did as he asked.
He hooked the cables to both of their batteries, and, once everything was in place, told her to start the car, which started on the first try. He looked up to see the relief on her face. Obviously, she couldn’t afford to pay for any
repairs if it didn’t start.
She got back out of the car and walked toward him. “Thank you so much. I learned a hard lesson from my stupidity,” she said ruefully.
“It sucks that we always have to learn from our mistakes, doesn’t it?” Nick grinned at her.
“Isn’t that the truth?”
“Where did you lose your phone? Maybe we’ll get lucky.” Nick looked around.
“Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. It was that way.” She pointed.
They walked about a block before she stopped.
“I was walking past this building when he came up behind me and pushed me into the alley.” Ria looked for her phone on the ground.
Nick had to control himself. He wanted to kill the man who’d done this to her. He and Zane would find the fucker and make him pay.
“Oh, my gosh! There it is!” He heard Ria exclaim as she bent over to pick it up. “Today has turned out to be so much better than yesterday,” Ria said to him.
“I’m glad we could be there,” Nick replied. He wished he didn’t have to say we, but he couldn’t take credit for saving her last night.
“What are you doing for the rest of the day?” he asked her.
“Studying.”
“Can I take you to lunch first?” Nick asked softly.
He watched as a myriad of emotions crossed over her face—from confusion to surprise to pleasure. Finally, she nodded.
“How about Sully’s? It’s on the way back to my gym,” Nick told her.
“Oh, you don’t work with Zane?”
“No, my father and I own a gym, as well; but I’ve been working with some of Zane’s guys while I heal.”
“I thought you did a good job with Ty,” Ria said.
Nick kept a straight face. He still didn’t like that Ty already had a connection with her. Right now, Nick was the only man she needed to be thinking about.
“Yeah, he’s a good kid.”
They reached their cars and Nick opened Ria’s door for her.
“I’ll be right behind you,” he said as he shut the door and walked to his own car.
He looked around at the surroundings in disgust before pulling out of the parking lot. She didn’t belong here.
He was going to make sure she got offered a job in the city—after their affair was finished—one she wouldn’t be able to turn down. She was too beautiful to be working in this rat-hole.
Her life was about to change, and she didn’t even know it yet.
Chapter 7
Ria’s mind kept wandering from her studies. She thought back to all that had happened in the last few days. She had gone from almost being raped and possibly killed to having lunch with Nicholas.
During lunch, she’d found out that he had been training since he was thirteen years old. His father used to fight, but had a short lived career, so he’d bought a gym and started training. After growing up around it, it was only natural that Nicholas had started fighting. He’d turned out to be really good, and it wasn’t long before he had started winning the championship fights. As he had aged, he’d gotten even bigger, and had slowly worked his way up through weight divisions.
He had also explained how mixed martial arts fights were judged and how he trained for them, which she had actually found interesting. It wasn’t just about beating one another up; it took years of practice to learn the moves. It was like an art form. She was surprised that she’d enjoyed listening to him explain it to her. In the past, she wouldn’t have looked twice at a MMA fighter, but there was so much more to it than she would have ever imagined. She respected his self-discipline.
He admitted there were a lot of assholes out there, just in it to hurt someone. However, for the true fighters, it was all about the execution of various moves at the right moments.
They had spent two hours getting to know one another. She could have stayed longer, but he’d reminded her that she needed to study. She sighed. She couldn’t wait to pass the exam and get a better job.
He had told her he would be there after her next two shifts to pick her up. She smiled, knowing she would be seeing him again soon.
It was Wednesday evening, and she was going through some practice questions when she heard a knock at the door. Knowing Lacey was coming over for a review session, she went to open the door.
“Hey, Lacey. Thanks for coming.” Ria opened the door wider to let her friend in.
“No problem. Anything to get you out of that fucking bar,” Lacey declared.
Ria huffed and shook her head. “It’s actually not that bad.”
Lacey looked at her like she had just lost her mind. “Yes, Ria, it is that bad.” She scowled at her.
“Okay, okay. I won’t be there much longer.”
As they made their way to Ria’s small coffee table to study, Ria’s phone beeped, indicating she had received a text message.
She picked it up.
I’m thinking about you. Can you take a break tomorrow for dinner?
Ria tried to contain her smile, but couldn’t. She texted a yes to dinner then put the phone down and caught Lacey staring at her.
“Who was that?” Lacey asked with a frown.
Ria sighed. She hadn’t told Lacey about Nicholas yet; she didn’t want to jinx it by talking about it too soon. She hadn’t told Lacey about what had happened, either. She knew Lacey would once again get on her for working at the bar, and she didn’t feel like listening to her.
“Do you remember Nicholas, the fighter?” Ria asked.
“Who could forget?” Lacey replied. “That was him, and you’re happy about it?”
Ria felt a giddy grin spread across her face. She was excited about it and wanted to share it with her best friend. Men like Nicholas never attempted to get to know her, yet during their lunch together he had been the perfect gentleman, completely wiping out the first impression he had made on her a month before. He had even lived up to his promise about calling the administrator. Her former boss had called and told her he would give her a reference when the time came. Ria felt as if her life was finally looking up.
“Yes, can you believe it?”
“Yes. I can believe he’d be interested in you; he would be crazy not to,” Lacey said encouragingly. “But I thought you hated the guy. How did you start talking?”
“Before I go too far, I’m fine and it won’t happen again.” Ria began the story about leaving work that night.
Ria made it through the story without Lacey interrupting too many times. By the end, Lacey had calmed down and was clearly happy for her.
“Oh, Ria, that’s amazing!” Lacey said with jubilation as she stood up to feel the back of Ria’s head. “It’s like a fairy tale, except for the almost getting raped and killed part.” She grunted as she examined Ria’s head.
Ria giggled. That was true.
She sat still while Lacey felt around the lump. It was slowly coming down, but her neck was still stiff and it was uncomfortable to move her neck.
“How are you feeling?” Lacey asked.
“Stiff, but otherwise, I’m okay.”
“You know I’m mad at you for not telling me, right?” Lacey frowned.
“I’m sorry. I know how you feel about me working there, and I kind of felt like I deserved what happened.” Ria teared up as she said the words. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. I’m getting fired from jobs and stealing money.” She looked down in shame.
Lacey sighed. “I wish you would let me help you. I can’t think of a better place to spend it than on you. Have you thought about finishing your bachelor’s degree?”
Ria had tried the college thing, but she hated sitting in the classroom. She was about halfway to a chemistry degree when she had simply gotten tired of the lectures and the impossible tests they used to weed out students. She was better at learning in a hands-on environment, which was why becoming a paramedic had been more interesting for her.
“I’ve been thinking about it,” Ria admitted.
“I’m s
o glad to hear that, Ria.”
Lacey came from a family that believed in the importance of an education, so she was always encouraging Ria to finish her degree.
“Well, let’s get you ready for this test, then maybe you’ll think about starting back in the fall,” Lacey declared.
A door opening drew their attention. Her mother came into the room, stopping when she saw Lacey. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company.”
“It’s all right, Mom. Remember I told you Lacey was coming over?”
Her mother’s trembling fingers went to her temple. “I must have forgotten. I was just going to get a drink.”
“Hello, Mrs. Sloan,” Lacey said gently. Her sharp gaze studying her mother.
Ria got up from the table, going to the small kitchen to pour her a glass of tea and then handing it to her. Her mother almost dropped it.
“Thank you, sweetheart. I’ll leave you two alone so you can study.” Her mother left the room, closing the door behind her.
“She’s not doing any better is she?” Lacey asked.
“She has her good days and bad days. She needed a few more weeks in rehab, but her insurance wouldn’t pay for it.” It hadn’t been the best place for her, either. Her mother had told her that a couple of the other patients had even offered to sell her what she was trying to get off.
“As soon as I pass the test and get a job that pays more money, I’m going to send her to a better one. Suncoast has an excellent reputation.”
“Ria, she’s been on drugs so long her chances of success—”
“Don’t say it,” Ria snapped. “My mother has been beating the odds since she was fourteen years old. I’m going to fix her.”
“Ria—”
“Let’s get back to studying.”
Lacey closed her mouth and asked her another question she thought might be on her test.
Over the next few hours of studying, Ria felt herself becoming more and more prepared, and Lacey seemed to agree she was almost ready. For the first time in a long time, hope blossomed that she was going to live a normal life.
* * *
Stand of Redemption Page 5