Stand of Redemption (6 page)

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 a
dministrator. 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 hal
fway 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 so 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 he
r. 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.

*  *  *

Ria met Nick at a popular pub not far from his gym at eight the next night. She wasn’t about to let him see where she lived.

She had pulled her hair up on her head, letting a few curly tendrils escape. Her black dress came to mid-thigh and seemed ultra-conservative among the other women there until she took off her sweater and the cutout on the back showed her bare flesh.

When Nick stood as she approached, Ria felt her stomach flutter at the appreciation she saw in his eyes.

“Hi.”

“Hi.” Nicholas smiled down at her as he pulled out one of the chairs for her to sit down. “You look beautiful tonight.”

Ria blushed at his compliment.
“Thank you.” She picked up the menu the hostess had handed her.

Nick waited until after they had placed their order to give her his attention.

“How’s the studying going?”

“Well, I think I’m almost ready.”

“Nervous?”

“A little,” she admitted. “I really want to pass.”

“I’m sure you will.”

As the waitress brought them their drinks and appetizers, Ria couldn’t help noticing her eyeing Nick. To give him credit, he ignored the woman, giving Ria his complete attention as they ate and talked. Several times through dinner, someone would come to the table and talk to Nick about his fights.

“Does that happen all the time?” Ria asked after one young man had left.

“Yes. Does it bother you?”

“No, but doesn’t it bother you?”

Nick grinned at her. “No, I’m a glory hound. I want to enjoy it while I can. In a few years, no one will even remember my name.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.”

“It is. I’m in my prime right now, but I could get injured at any time and my career would be over.”

“How’s your arm healing?” Ria probed.

“Very well. I was lucky Zane took it easy on me.”

She arched a brow. “Breaking your arm was taking it easy on you?”

“Yes, he gave me a clean break. Believe
me; he could have done far worse damage.”

Ria’s eyes softened on him. He might be wealthy, but his world wasn’t much different than hers. They each had to worry from one day to the next that someone could take what they had fought so hard for.

“Finished?”

“Yes.”

Nicholas rose from the table, pulling out her chair for her. Ria picked up her sweater.

Nicholas’s hand rested on her bare back as he guided her through the tables. Outside, when they reached her car, he opened the door for her.

“Thanks for taking a break from studying to keep me company.”

Ria gazed up into his handsome face, wishing the night wasn’t about to end.
“I had a good time.”

Nicholas bent down and brushed his firm lips over hers before stepping away.
“Goodnight, Ria.”

“Goodnight, Nicholas.”

Ria got in the door and Nicholas closed it before stepping away.

Ria self-consciously started her car, briefly waving as she pulled out of the parking lot. How had she misjudged him so badly? He hadn’t even pressured her to go home with him. She didn’t recall that ever happening after a date before. Then her smile turned to a frown. He hadn’t mentioned seeing her again or calling. Maybe it hadn’t gone as well as she had thought. He was used to more sophisticated women; therefore, maybe he wasn’t as attracted to her as she was to him.

Ria bit her lip. She had a feeling he was going to be on her mind during the next week as much as the test she was going to be taking. She would have to force herself to stay on track. The test held her and her mother’s future while Nicholas hadn’t even committed himself to another date.

Ria still couldn’t help looking at her phone before she went to bed that night to see if he had left a message, and was disappointed when she saw he hadn’t.

Turning off her bedside lamp, she couldn’t help wishing the night had ended differently.

Chapter
8

What the hell?

Ria was confused. She had been studying for this exam and didn’t think she could have been more prepared. But somehow, it was as if each question was something she hadn’t stu
died enough on.

Damn!
This had been her biggest fear—that even with all the studying, she wouldn’t have studied the right material. There had been several topics she didn’t focus enough on, thinking those questions probably wouldn’t be on the exam. She had been dead wrong.

She has halfway through and had been sweating for the past hour. Her head was pounding and her neck was aching. She wanted nothing more than to just walk away, but she was tired of worrying about money. She had to try.

She forced herself to get through the remaining questions. Fortunately, the material she did know, she was able to answer quickly and easily, giving her time to go back and review the questions she was unsure of.

She did her best, racking her brain for everything she had studied and had learned in her training.

Finished, she sat back and took a deep breath. She tried not to cry, but she didn’t think she’d passed. It was going to be miserable waiting for her results over the next few weeks.

She rushed to sign out with the test proctors, gathered her things out of the provided loc
kers, and then hurried to her car and slid in.

“Damn it!” she screamed at herself. She was tired of her crappy life and all the stupid dec
isions she had made.

She banged her head on the back of the seat in frustration then yelped as the pain shot through her head and neck.

Done with her pity-party, she turned the car on and drove home. She had promised her mother she would be home in time for a late lunch.

It was a
thirty minute drive to their house, giving Ria time to calm down. She didn’t want anyone to know that she might have failed; both her mother and Lacey would be so upset. Her mother was already disappointed that she had dropped out of college. Ria felt like a failure to her mother. Lacey would accuse her of not studying enough.

They were out of money, and her mother wasn’t improving. She was not only screwing up her own life, but she was afraid her mom would slip away if she couldn’t get her into a better rehab center. The only bright side to their situation was there wasn’t enough money for her mother to purchase the drugs that would put the final nail in her coffin.

Ria pulled into the parking lot and checked her face before getting out of the car, deciding she looked normal enough.

As
she walked in the door, she could smell the aroma from the meal her mother had prepared for her. She couldn’t help smiling; nothing beat her mother’s cooking. Ria couldn’t remember the last time she had cooked, though.

“Hi, Mom,” she called over the running water in the sink.

Her mother turned and smiled. “There’s my baby! It took much too long.” Her mother quickly turned the water off and dried her hands, rushing to give Ria a hug.

Ria hugged her tightly back and forced herself not to cry at the love she felt from her.

“How was the exam?” her mother asked.

“Fine, I should get the results in about a month,” Ria lied. No reason to upset her mother until she had confirmed her failure.

“Here, sit.” Her mother pulled out a chair.

Ria sat down as her mother busied herself getting Ria’s plate together. She used to love babying Ria every chance she could until the situation had become reversed and Ria had b
ecome the caretaker of her mother.

She was her mother’s youngest. She’d had two half-brothers from her mother’s previous marriage;
however, one had died as a teenager and the other one had died recently. Ria knew their deaths added a burden to her mother’s soul that she would never recover from. Although they had been her half-brothers and both had terrified her when they had been alive, she felt her mother’s pain and wished every night for her to find solace.

“What did you cook?” Ria asked.

“Your favorite, of course.” She opened the oven, pulling out her chili rellenos casserole.

Surprised, tears came to Ria’s eyes. Her mother hadn’t made her favorite dish since she was a little girl.
She stared down at the casserole, fighting back the waves of emotions.

“It looks delicious.”

Her mother patted her on the back. “Eat. Tell me if it is as good as I used to make.” Her mother sat down across from her, watching as she filled a plate.

“You’re not eating?”

“I’m not hungry. I’ll eat some later.”

“Mama, you need to eat more. You’ve lost so much weight.”

“I will. I promise.” Her mother twisted her hands together. Ria dropped the subject, not wanting to upset her.

“Mom, is something wrong?” Ria asked. Something didn’t seem right.

“No, honey. Enjoy your lunch,” her mom deflected.

Ria began to eat slowly, furtively studying her mother. Her mind was racing. She knew something had to be wrong. It was obvious her mother was having a hard time today—she was antsy and couldn’t sit still.

She finished the food and told her mom how delicious it was. She saw the sparkle in her mother’s eyes as she complimented the food. Ria watched the smile spread across her mother’s face. Her mother deserved a better daughter, one that could get her the help she needed.

“Okay, Mama, now tell me what’s really going on.”

“Ria, I don’t want to burden you; you already do so much for me.” Her mom sighed.

Ria felt her stomach clench; she was afraid of what she was going to hear next.

“Mitchell came by last night while you were at work.” Ria’s blood ran cold. Mitchell was her cousin’s subordinate in the cartel.

“Mom, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to worry you before your exam. Emiliano wants to see you.”

“No!” Ria was unable to hold back her horrified response.

“I told Mitchell that is what you would say. He said he expected to hear from you by tonight.”

Their
terrified eyes clung together.

“I won’t see him
. He has no power over us.” Her false bravado didn’t reassure either one of them. Emiliano was a dangerous man who had assumed her brother Alejandro’s powerful position in the cartel when he had been found murdered.

“Mama, everything will be all right. I promise.”

Her mother nodded her head. “I’m going to go lay down.”

“Go ahead. I’ll do the dishes.” Ria kept her expression composed until her mother left the room. She put the leftovers away then cleaned the kitchen to take her mind off Emiliano’s r
equest.

He was someone to be frightened of. Alejandro had never hurt her because of their mot
her, but Emiliano wouldn’t feel the same restraint.

She racked her brain, trying to come up with a solution. Her mother had lost two of her children after having been used as a pawn
by the cartel since she was fourteen. She had been made to marry her first husband, Antonio, having Alejandro then Matthew. When Antonio had been killed, she had then been forced to marry his second in command, Angel, who had given her drugs to take away her resistance to their marriage.

Ria couldn’t remember much about her father. He had kept them hidden away from those he commanded, turning her brothers away from their mother by giving them jobs he expected carried out. Both had become cruel members of the cartel.

When her father had been murdered, Alejandro had taken over, releasing her and their mother to live away from the danger. Her brothers had both been kind and protective of her. Now that Alejandro was dead, his protection was gone, and Ria didn’t know what to do.

She remembered the night Alejandro had been murdered. A car with two of her brother’s subordinates had picked her up after work, driving her to an isolated house. She had been wo
rried, but not frightened. Her mother had been in the rehab center, so she had known she was safe, and these were men that she knew were loyal to Alejandro; they wouldn’t hurt her.

The next day, when they had released her, they’d told her of her brother’s death. She had realized they had hidden her to keep her safe.

She had thought, with Alejandro’s death, the cartel would forget about her mother, but her family still maintained a strong position in the cartel and would use them as pawns.

Emiliano wouldn’t accept her refusal gracefully.

She shivered, picturing his dark eyes. He was a handsome man, but the cruelty he was capable of had her fearful for her mother. She needed to get her mother where she would be untouchable by the cartel.

She was going to have to accept
Lacey’s help because she couldn’t stand on pride and see her mother hurt. She would borrow just enough money to place her mother in Suncoast. Then, she would pay her back as soon as she could.

Ria was surprised
Lacey hadn’t already tried to call to see how the test had gone. Coming to a decision, she placed a call to Lacey. When she didn’t answer, she left a message for her to call as soon as possible.
She must be on rounds
.

When the phone rang minutes later, she answered without looking at the display, expec
ting Lacey; instead, it was Nicholas on the other end.

“How did the test go?”

She found herself telling him the truth. “I’m worried whether I passed.”

“I’m sure you did. How about going out to dinner with me tonight to take your mind off it?”

She had waited for him to call her the last week and hadn’t heard anything from him. Now she realized he had given her the time to study without interfering. He had remembered the exact date of her test. She felt warmed by his concern.

“I’d like that. Where do you want me to meet you?”

“Tell me where you live, and I’ll pick you up.”

Ria almost refused, not wanting him to see where she lived, but if they developed
a relationship, he would eventually see. She gave him the address.

“I’ll pick you up at seven.” From his slight pause, she knew he had recognized the seedy part of town she lived in.

“I’ll see you then.” She disconnected the call, already regretting agreeing to see him. She had too much on her plate to deal with without the added pressure of beginning a new relationship.

She could at least have dinner with him. Then she would tell him that her mother was sick, and she wouldn’t be able to see him for a while. She knew a man like Nicholas wasn’t one to
wait around on a woman and this would eliminate any chance with him. But to be realistic with herself, she knew she was probably nothing more than a challenge to him, anyway. A man like that was used to women throwing themselves at him, and he was probably simply enjoying the chase. Yet, what if he wasn’t? What if he was genuinely interested in her?

She told herself it was better this way. Her life was too complicated right now. She would take tonight and enjoy it.

She could keep it light and fun, and keep her attraction for him under control. Couldn’t she?