"Okay. It hurts," I whimpered and tapped his arm to let go. His strong, tight headlock was breathtaking in a bad sense.

          "C'mon, love. That was nothing. You need to harden up. I can't have you chickening out every day now," he huffed as he let go and crossed his arms across his chest. "That's why I'm teaching you how to fight. If I go easy on you then you'll never be strong enough. I need you to be strong and smart enough to take me down."

"Take you down?" My brows rose as I panted for air that his moves knocked out of my lungs.

"I'm very strong if you haven't noticed," he motioned to himself rather smugly which made me scoff in return. "And I need you to be strong enough to take down a man like me when they come after you again. You never know what you'll encounter, so you have to be prepared for anything. Understood?"

I nodded in acknowledgement and let out a puff of air. "Fine! Teach me. Harden me up. Do whatever it takes to do so. I'm putty in your hands. Mold me anyway you like."

"That's like a good girl." A mischievous grin formed on his prefect, smooth lips. He lightly grabbed me by my wrist and dragged me out of the sweaty, steamy room and into a huge shooting range studio that was accessed through the double doors in the corner.

From what I comprehended, this place was a massive playground for people to fight and shoot to perfect themselves in those fields. But I never encountered anyone here except for Leo and Mike in the past three days of my training. Leo supposedly told all of his men that he was handling some 'business'. I guess he was embarrassed to tell them that he was teaching a girl how to fight.

"Let's see if your hand can still get prefect shots," he said as we stood in a large booth.

          On my first day, I got perfect hits on the realistic looking dummies. Perfect damn headshots. I was extremely surprised at my supposed skill and so was Leo. I guess I can thank my papa for that maybe. When I was little, papa used to take me out to shoot soda cans in the backyard and I always hit them while Ashton struggled. He even cried out of failure once which made laugh every time I thought of it. Now they were all just precious memories. So, I guess that helped with these perfect headshots. To be honest, throwing paper balls in the trash cans in high school also helped to an extent.

Leo snaked his hands along my forearm to my hands that held the gun aiming at the dummy's head. His body was compressed against mine. I could feel the perfect ridges of his abs on my back through his black v-neck shirt. This sudden distraction wasn't good, but it felt good.

"How about we try the heart this time?" He whispered softly behind my ear forcing chills to run down my spine. Suddenly, my breath hitched in my throat unable to release itself from the constricting hold.

"O-Okay," I stuttered out.

"Does shooting the heart make you that nervous or is it because I'm too close?" I could sense the smug expression on his face that I've seen quite a few times in the previous training days.

"Shut up," I nudged him and aimed for the heart. Once I knew I had the right spot, I pulled the trigger.

"Perfect!" Leo declared as he pulled away from me with an expression of success on his chiseled features. "That's a perfect shot too. I didn't even have to teach you how to aim for the right spot. Guess you'll do good under pressure."

"Well, you did teach me how to hold a gun and how my body language should be. So, I have to give you a little credit."

"It's all you, love. All you. You do better than some of my lousy men. Are you sure you haven't had any training?" He smirked at me, staring into my eyes and then cleared his throat as he looked away from me pulling out his phone from his brown shorts.

"It's time for you to go. Derek is waiting outside to drop you off." He began to walk back into the 'wresting room'. I didn't know what to call it so wrestling room it was.

"Oh, okay." I placed the gun on the table that was aligned against the wall behind me. Striding towards the same room as Leo, I assembled my belongings and shoved them into my gym bag before walking towards the exit.

"Hey, wait!" Leo yelled from behind me. I stopped in my tracks and turned around to find him shirtless. My eyes wandered off to his body rather than his face. Slight old scars embellished his look with one on his right forearm that looked quite recent. His sharp v-line beautified him even more. I wondered where that happy trail of his led to. I scolded myself internally and tore my eyes away from his godly body.

"Yeah?"

"You don't have to come in tomorrow. I want you to rest before the big day. We'll pick up after that," he smiled at me and went back into the showers.

          I completely forgot about graduation. The last three days with Leo had been very distracting. He took my mind off the attack and all the terrible things. However, a sense of fear and security came over me every moment I spent with the man. Maybe it was because I knew what he did in the shadows. His mere stature intimidated me, shaking me to the core.

I sat in the backseat of the luxurious Rolls Royce while Derek stripped me away from downtown Manhattan and into Queens. Within a few minutes, I was outside my house. He was an incredibly fast, yet an amazing driver. "Thank you, Derek," I thanked the same dark, handsome man who picked me and Aunt Wendy up for the ball.

          "Of course, Ms. Noelle. Have a good day." He flashed his perfect pearly whites before I nodded in acknowledgment and returned his smile with my own. He drove off as I neared my door, opening it to hear constant shuffling of dishes taking place in the kitchen. A slight fear crossed my mind as I picked up the vase that sat beside the T.V. Slowly, I closed the distance between me and the kitchen.

          Standing against the wall before going into the kitchen, I gave myself a little pep talk. You got this. Leo has taught you some moves. You can handle this situation. I believe in you Arie. Let's go. I jumped around the corner raising the vase in the air ready to dismantle the intruder when I noticed a flustered little Burger factory staring at me in complete and utter shock with dishes scattered across the island in the middle.

          "What the hell are you doing?" She yelled at me.

          "I thought someone broke in." I set the vase down on the dining table behind me and let out a breath of relief. Thank God!

          "Someone would break in for dishes?" She held my gaze for a while in utter disappointment.

          "You never know," I hugged in frustration as I placed my bag down on the ground. "What are you doing anyways?"

          "Debating on what to make for dinner." With that she went back to shuffling through for the right pan or whatever she was looking for.

          "It's barely two pm. Why so early?"

          "Because Ashton is coming," she smiled.

          "It isn't the first time he's coming home, Aunt Wendy," I scoffed at her excitement and chugged water down.

          "With a girl," she added, her grin growing wider.

          "What?" I choked on my water, spilling it over myself and the floor.

          "I know right," she laughed. "For the first time ever. So, you can't blame me for being excited."

          I was conflicted with so many question. Who was she? Where was she from? How did he meet her? Was it the British girl that he told me about a few weeks back?

          "When did he tell you about her?" I wiped away the water from my face and straightened out my wet tank top.

          "He texted me last night and told me about her so I just asked him to invite her for dinner today. I hope that's okay with you." She lifted her eyes towards me and waited for my approval.

          "Of course it is, Aunt Wendy. You don't have to ask me. You're so much more excited than me. You sound like a mother," I chuckled.

          "Well, I'm your mom even though I am not biologically and don't look like one, but you guys are my little kiddies and will always be my little kiddies."

          "Okay mother," I scoffed. "When will they be here?"

          "At seven."

          "That's five hours away. Jesus! Settle down. I'll help you prepare dinner around five. Not right now. So, calm down and think about what you want to feed the poor girl."

          "I'm nervous to meet her. What if she doesn't like us. What if she doesn't like me and breaks up with him because of me," She spoke too fast in agitated.

          "Oh God, Aunt Wendy. Quit being paranoid. Nothing is going to happen. I'm going to be by your side the entire night. She's the one who should be this flustered and anxious, not you. So take a chill pill, burger factory. You're going to be fine," I reassured her before taking her towards the living room and settling her down onto the couch.

          "You're right. It's just that I've never done this before and I don't know what to do."

          "It's just dinner, Aunt Wendy. Just dinner. Should be fun," I squeezed her hand gently.

          She smiled at me and asked, "how's that scar of yours anyways?"

          "It doesn't hurt. It's just a small one," I brushed it off quickly. "Well, I'm going to go freshen up." I hurriedly skipped up the stairs before she could say anything else.

          I lied to her about the scar just like everything else. I had been lying so much lately, I might as well be Pinocchio. I told her that I got this scar by hitting my head on the bar table when I was 'out' with Leo the other day so that's why I stayed the night at his place. She didn't doubt a thing I said because she never expected me to lie, but here I was with my disgusting lies.

***

          I sat at the dining table munching on some gum while Aunt Wendy finished up setting the table before the door bell rang.

          "I'll get it," I yelled in excitement and jumped up from my seat. Straightening out my white floral dress, I walked towards the door and wiped my sweaty hands on the hem of my dress. Letting out a nervous breath, I opened up the door to find Ashton standing next to a beautiful brunette woman wearing a navy blue dress who stood almost as tall as him with blue matching stilettos that she was adorned in. Her blue eyes stared at me contently and a sweet little smile graced her face. She looked so familiar, but I couldn't seem to place her.

          "Hello!" She greeted with her prominent British accent.

          "Hi!" I smiled at her and opened the door wide, welcoming them.

          "No hi for me?" Ashton pouted like a child. I laughed and pulled him in for a hug. "That's more like it."

          "It's nice to finally meet you," she said while handing me a bottle of Chardonnay.

          "I wish I could say the same, but this idiot," I nudged his arm, "hasn't told me much about you."

          "Well, I wanted you to get to know her yourself, not through what I tell you about her," he said while taking her hand into his and kissing it lovingly.

          "Wow! How considerate of you," I laughed and motioned towards the kitchen. "Let's go meet Aunt Wendy."

          I walked towards the dining area with them behind me. Aunt Wendy came out while wiping her hands on a small towel and tossing it back on the counter. 

          "Hi!" Her eyes twinkled before she hugged Ashton tightly and then moved on to hugging the girl whose name I was yet to find out. "It's lovely to meet you!"

          "Likewise," said the tall girl who didn't look a day older than twenty-five.

          "C'mon, let's eat," Aunt Wendy ushered us all to take our seats around the table. Ashton slowly pulled out the chair for the girl like a real gentleman and pushed it back in as she sat. I was shocked by his sudden mannerism and chivalry that I had never seen before. But the other thing was that I had never seen him with a girl before either. If this was how he treated his women then I bet this girl was very happy with my brother. He might be an ass to me sometimes when we mess around, but I knew that he has always treated women with utmost respect. Aunt Wendy had instilled good etiquettes in him.

          "Here," I handed Aunt Wendy the bottle of Chardonnay before sitting down. "I guess you three are the only ones who are going to be tasting this because I don't drink."

          "Thank you," Aunt Wendy smiled at the girl. "Who doesn't love a glass of Chardonnay!" Apparently me.

          "You're most welcome," she smiled back cheekily. We all sat around the table that had pasta salad, lasagna, steak with a side of mashed potatoes, and Aunt Wendy's famous spaghetti and meatballs. It was like Thanksgiving and we were going to have leftovers for days. But that wasn't going to stop me from diving in. I could bet that I'd gain five pounds tonight.

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Another chapter for you loves ❤️
Please share, comment, and vote. Every read is highly appreciated.

Who do you guys think is the girl Ashton brought home?

Much love ❤️
~Reet