Stand of Redemption (5 page)

“I’ve been sick about what I did. I had to give it back.” At least now she could get over the guilt, but it didn’t take away how shitty she felt about doing it in the first place.

Zane stared at her. “He could have reported you. He had no excuse to attack a young, d
efenseless woman.”

Ria nodded her head. She didn’t know what to do now.

“What’s his name?” Zane inquired.

“Henry Masterson,” Ria replied.

Zane nodded his head. “Okay, I can handle him without going to the police, then.”

Ria wondered what he meant by handling him, but something about Zane made her b
elieve he would take care of the situation. “Thank you.”

She turned back to Ty. “I don’t know where I would be if you hadn’t shown up when you did.” While she reached to give him a hug, she felt herself start to cry, thinking about how close she had been to being hurt.

“Oh… um… Okay. It was no problem.”

Ria squeezed him tightly as he awkwardly patted her on the back.

She heard Lane snickering at Ty’s discomfort, but didn’t care.

She heard the front door open
as she held on to Ty for support.

“Nick. Hey, man, you’re late,” Zane yelled as he walked toward the front door.

Ria jerked around to look at the man walking in. It was Nicholas. Their eyes locked, and she saw the surprise in his. What she didn’t understand was the flash of anger she saw next. His attention seemed to redirect to Ty. She was still wrapped in his arms at the moment.

“What’s she doing here?” Nicholas asked.
The glimpse of anger she had witnessed had been replaced with a friendlier tone, though Ria could still see the steel in his eyes.

She stepped out of Ty’s embrace and sensed him slightly relax. She wondered what that was about.

“Do you know her?” Zane asked with a strained tone.

“Yeah, she’s one of the EMTs that took me to the hospital after our fight,” Nicholas replied as he looked at her.

Zane looked back at her, as if he was trying to recall something. She felt herself getting confused. It seemed like there was something going on that she didn’t know about.

“Oh, I see.” Zane turned to her. “I thought you were a waitress?”

“I am now. I got fired from my last job,” Ria replied.

She bet she sounded like a real winner, stealing money from customers and getting fired from jobs. She wondered what these men thought of her now.

She looked down at herself. She was still wearing her work clothes from last night. A short spandex black skirt and a sleeveless, gold, shimmery wrap-tank with a deep V-neck. She hated what she had become, and the image she portrayed to others.

She looked at Nicholas and caught him staring at her.

“You still haven’t told me what she’s doing here,” Nicholas repeated to Zane, but before Zane could answer, he asked, “How did you get fired?”

Ria gaped at him.
“My car wouldn’t start after work last night. When I was walking to the gas station for help, a man attacked me. Lucky for me, Ty saved me. He brought me back here to recover,” Ria said quickly. “I was waitressing at The Plaza since that’s the only place that would hire me after you complained to the administrator of the hospital about my attitude.”

Nick turned to Zane. “Where’s the guy?”

“We’ll get him,” Zane responded.

Nick nodded then turned back to Ria.
“They fucking fired you?”

Ria didn’t know why he was surprised. He was a local celebrity, as the administrator had pointed out several times. Nicholas had donated time and money to the
women’s wing of the hospital.

Ria felt her shoulders slump. “No one wants to hire someone like me. My actions
of that night got around. I’m studying to become a paramedic, though. I think I’ll be able to get a job in another city then.”

Ria saw his look of anger. She liked that he seemed upset, yet couldn’t understand why. He had been the one to complain to the administrator.

“I’m here to work with Ty this morning. Stay and watch, then I’ll take you to your car,” Nicholas told her.

“Um… that’s okay. I can walk.”

“We need to talk, but I don’t have the time right now. I’ll take you home when I finish.”

Ria wanted to tell him to go to Hell, but she bit her response back. Maybe he felt bad enough about her firing that he would call the administrator and get her job back.

She really didn’t want to stay. Never in a million years would she have thought she would watch cage fighters train. It went against every thought she had toward this sport. But she couldn’t turn down the chance of getting her job back. She’d been resistant to the idea before; however, after last night, she was starting to rethink things.

“Nick, I can take—” Zane started to say, but Nicholas cut him off.

“I got it.”

Zane gave him a questioning look, but then simply nodded and walked to one of the rings.

After Nicholas went toward another of the rings, Ty walked on one side of Ria, showing her the observation area.

“How’s your head?” he asked.

She reached up to feel it and winced when she pressed down too hard. “It’s okay, just sore. It’s just a goose egg now.” Ria grimaced as she recalled how close she had come to being raped. “It could have been a lot worse if you hadn’t shown up when you did.” Ria looked at Ty gratefully.

“Ty, get in the ring and warm up,” Nicholas yelled from across the room.

Ria came to appreciate the dedication of the men as she watched them work out. It was grueling and physical. She’d had no idea it required skill until she saw the blood from Ty’s busted lip and Lane’s nose. She had somehow thought it was all fake.

After they finished, the men disappeared behind one of the doors. Nicholas was the first to reappear.

Ria couldn’t take her eyes off him. She thought he was spoiled and believed himself entitled; however, there was no denying his good looks.

He knelt down in front of where she was sitting. Ria tried to control her breathing; she didn’t want him to see the effect his proximity was having on her. When he reached up to feel the back of her head, she waited for the pain from his touch, but he was gentle; she could bar
ely feel his fingers lightly grazing over the lump.

She looked up at him and stared into his blue eyes. He brought his hand around and tucked some of her hair behind her ear then slid his hand under her chin and lifted it up. Now she couldn’t hide the heavy breathing. She felt goose bumps cover her body at the softness of his touch.

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked with so much concern Ria felt herself tear up at his sincerity.

She swallowed and nodded her head. “Yes,” she whispered.

He ran his hand down the side of her arm and squeezed her hand. “Good. I’ll give you a ride home as soon as I finish; we were just taking a break. Then I’ll see that your car is taken care of.”

Ria nodded, wondering why he was taking the time to take her home himself when he could have easily had someone else do it. Although they were still strangers, she couldn’t help hoping she had been wrong about him. Maybe they both had gotten the wrong impression of each other.

He had to feel the same way, or why else would he want to talk? Or, at least, she hoped he did. She wanted her old job back.

Chapter 6

“Now go for the sweep,” Nick yelled at Ty.

Nick was wrapping up the training session. He was rushing the session, not wanting to keep Ria waiting too long. With his arm still in the sling, Nick couldn’t spar with Ty, so one of the other guys had volunteered to stand in. Zane was good about giving the volunteers some free training when they helped out; therefore, it benefited all parties.

Nick watched Ty do as he was told. He was able to get his partner on the ground and quic
kly shift into a submission hold. Nick was impressed with his progress and knew he was ready for his first real fight.

“That’s good for today. Nice work, Ty. I’ll talk to Zane
about setting you up for a fight.”

He saw Ty’s face light up, but then watched him try to play it cool. God, had he ever been that young?

“Thanks, Nick,” he said stiffly.

“No problem. You deserve your chance.”

Ty nodded in response. “I’m ready.”

Nick turned to step out of the ring and looked for Ria. She was at the water fountain, taking a drink, giving him a clear
view of her tight ass in that short skirt. He took a moment to appreciate the view then quickly looked around. He growled to himself. He wasn’t the only one noticing the view.

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 wi
ndow.

“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 ask
ed 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.