Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 52887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
"A sexy outfit?" Over my dead body, and I'm a tough motherfucker to kill.
"Right, I don't have anything sexy."
"You are sexy," I mutter. I don't need her trying to be sexier, if it's even possible.
"Aww, you're so sweet." I wasn't trying to be.
"We're going to a fight."
"A fight?" Her nose scrunches. "As in—" She holds her fists up and pretends to shadowbox terribly. I'm going to have to train her to punch better. She’s going to break her wrist or a finger if she ever throws a real punch like that.
"Yes, it's illegal and underground."
"Oh my God, are we really going underground? Is it like Fight Club? Wait, don’t answer that. The rule and all.” I stare at her, having no idea what she’s talking about. When I fight, there are no rules. You do what you need to. “Oh, come on, you don’t know the first rule of fight club?”
“When I do have to use my hands, it’s not typically a full-on fight, Zolotse. So I don’t know this rule you speak of." I try not to use a hands-on approach. I tend to take out my targets before they know what’s hit them, but that's not always an option. This week with my Zolotse, I've been using a hands-on method a lot more.
“Oh, well, the first rule of fight club is you don’t talk about fight club. Just in case you need that little tidbit at any point.” She looks so proud of herself for passing on this knowledge to me. “Okay, but is there like a secret code we need to get underground? A handshake!”
"No." I fight a chuckle but lose. "It's not really underground. It's a term."
"But fighting is legal, right? I've seen those ads before."
"Not this kind, and there is gambling."
"Can we bet on one? That would be so fun. It's not even on my list of things to do." I stand there debating this.
"How about you change into jeans and a sweater? No jewelry at all." I don't care if no one would believe her crown is not real. I'm not taking any risks, and I want to draw as little attention as possible. She already attracts enough just being herself without any accessories.
"On it." She spins back around to go get ready. I follow her, doing the same, switching to jeans, a plain black shirt, and boots before arming myself with a few weapons. This is the first time I feel uneasy going into a pickup. Usually, I wouldn’t second-guess anything.
“I’m ready.” Teddy does a spin in front of me. I take her in, my eyes eating up every inch of her. She’s in a black sweater with a cat that looks oddly similar to Minnie, but is wearing a pink bow, and a pair of jeans that hug every one of her damn curves. I shake my head when I get to her bright pink sneakers with embellished butterfly wings on them. “You don’t like my shoes.”
“Zolotse, I love your shoes, but we are trying to blend in.”
“Fine. I’ll wear the black ones with the gold diamond crowns on them instead. I just wanted a little pop of color since I have to dress so boring. I mean not the sweater with Minnie on it, obvs. It's custom, one of a kind made especially for me.” She turns to get changed. I have no other choice but to smile, realizing that whatever she has packed is going to be over the top.
“You couldn’t be boring if you tried.”
She turns, giving me one of those smiles she reserves for only me over her shoulder.
"I will take that from you if I have to.” I glance over to Teddy. We’re almost to our location.
“You’re going to upset Max."
“Who?”
“Max Dillon.” She holds up her taser, the one she is now fiddling with. “You know, Electro, from the Marvel Universe." Based on the name, I would assume that he has the ability to control electricity.
"The comic books?"
"Yeah, you know those?" I don't understand a lot of her references, but this one I slightly do.
"I read a few comics when I was younger. I don't recall that one, though."
"Yeah, there are so many," she says, smiling and tilting her head up, and I know she's now thinking about comics.
"Teddy." I snag her attention back. "Be careful with that."
"Right, I got it," she reassures me as it goes off, making her scream. "I'm okay, just a misfire." A string of Russian leaves me before I can stop myself. "It's hot when you do that."
"Your compliments will not stop me from taking it from you."
"Fine, I'll put it back in my pocket, and I'm going to click the button so it doesn't shock me while it's there." One thing is for sure: My soon-to-be wife will keep me alert.
Teddy waits for me to open her door to get out. "Fancy cars."