My already bruised heart sinks into my stomach. Oh God. No wonder he pushed me away. He has a girlfriend. Of course he has a girlfriend. He’s the hottest guy in Redemption. He must have women falling at his feet.

“Hey, Amanda!” Fuzzy jogs up to us, a smile on his evil face. “Good class today. I know it was your first time and you put in a great effort. You’ll be in that fight ring in no time.”

Totally disconcerted by his encouragement and warm smile, I mock a puzzled frown. “Sorry, do I know you? You look just like the evil drill sergeant from my Get Fit or Die class. Or maybe you are you but you have a split personality.”

Fuzzy snorts a laugh and then slaps Shayla on the back. “Shill. Thanks for helping out today.”

“No problem.” Her face brightens.

“Later, girls. Got another class to teach.”

Shayla’s face falls as he walks away. “He thinks I’m one of the guys,” she says morosely. “He treats me the same as he treats Blade Saw or Hammer Fist. A punch in the arm. A slap on the back. The occasional thumbs-up. Sandy suggested I wear this pink sports bra today, but it obviously didn’t work. I’ll bet if I showed up naked, he wouldn’t even notice.”

Pushing my own troubles aside, I give her a sympathetic smile. “Maybe he doesn’t know you’re interested. Guys can be shy about making a move if they don’t get any signals from you. No one wants to be shot down.”

She gives me a look of pure dejection. “It goes both ways.”

“Yeah. But sometimes if you want something bad enough, you have to take a risk.”

Chapter 7

I LIKE HOLES IN SWEATS

“Beer me, babe.”

Fuzzy holds up his hand and I toss a cold beer through the air. Instantly, a dozen hands go up.

“You’re supposed to be renovating,” I yell over the deafening sounds of AC/DC as the sea of hopeful Redemption fighters, spread out over the main floor of Jake’s Haight house, waggle their hands for a beer. “The party starts after.”

“Chill, ’manda. This is the party.” Rampage grabs the last beer from the cooler and downs it without taking a breath. I take a step back, awaiting the inevitable. Rampage courteously delivers the inevitable in Hammer Fist’s face. Hammer Fist slaps him on the head. Rampage grabs the paintbrush from Hammer Fist’s hand and paints a line across the floor. Blade Saw shouts encouragement as Hammer Fist makes a big show of stepping over the line and screaming abuse at Rampage. He delivers his signature blows to Rampage’s stomach. Rampage belches again, louder this time and in Hammer Fist’s ear. Fists fly. Paint cans spill. Fighters cheer.

Max steps into the room and lifts an eyebrow. Almost immediately, everything is back to normal. As Max’s second-in-command, Fuzzy keeps everyone on a tight leash, but he doesn’t wield even a fraction of Max’s power. The only fighter who comes close is Jake. Not for the first time do I envy my best friend.

But hey, this is definitely a party. Beers all around.

“Your new office is going to look great.” Makayla gives my shoulders a squeeze. “I can’t believe how much they’ve done in twelve hours or that thirty guys showed up. I wish Max and I weren’t going away tomorrow. I would have loved to help you shop for furniture and decorate.”

“Don’t remind me.” I swallow past the lump in my throat. “Who does Max think he is, dragging you on a month-long holiday across the world? Maybe you have better things to do than hang out on exotic beaches or in fancy hotels. What if there is a major accident and the city needs every paramedic to help out? Or what if Drake can’t cover your shifts at Redemption? He should be thinking about the people who need you instead of taking you away when they need you the most.”

“Awww, honey.” She hugs me so hard tears leak from my eyes. “It’s not like I won’t have my phone. We can still text, and you know you can call me anytime. I’m always here for you. I’ve helped you avoid Jake all day…”

“By agreeing with him that I should work alone in the kitchen?”

Makayla takes one end of the empty cooler and motions for me to take the other. “By keeping him away from the kitchen when he wanted to check up on you. You don’t even appreciate all I do for you.” We lug the cooler into the kitchen for a refill.

“I do appreciate you, which is why it’ll be so hard when you’re gone.”

Someone turns up the music and the house vibrates to the nu metal version of “Ice, Ice, Baby” as we load up the cooler and spend a few minutes chatting about her upcoming holiday.

Over the pounding bass of Disturbed, I hear the slam of the front door, greetings and cheers, and then Jake’s voice rises above the buzz of power tools. “Quitting time. Everyone out back for the barbecue.” Damn. He’s back from his supply run way too soon.

The door bursts open and fighters stampede through the kitchen, pausing long enough to pick up the refilled cooler and empty the fridge of barbecue fixings.

“You coming?” Makayla grabs a box of hamburger buns and heads for the door. “It’s supposed to be our bon voyage barbecue. I won’t be able to enjoy myself if I know you’re still working.”

“I think I’ll just finish up here and then go home.”

Her eyebrow lifts. “This is really about Jake, isn’t it? You’ve been avoiding him all day. Max said he hadn’t heard about a girlfriend, so why don’t you talk to him? Or are you planning to sabotage this relationship like you did last time, except you haven’t even given this one a chance?”