Her Black Belt Ex Tried to Humiliate Me at the Dojo — He Didn’t Know Who I Was
Chapter 9
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"Thank you," she said. Her voice was steady, much steadier than it had been in the parking lot; the shadow Brandon cast over her was gone. I had dragged it into the light and shown her it was just smoke.Brandon didn't reply. He just stood there cradling his injured shoulder, a broken king in a cheap castle."Let's go," I said.We turned and walked back down the hallway. When we emerged into the main gym, nobody moved: the students parted like the Red Sea, clearing a wide path for us to the front doors. The silence was deafening. I grabbed my shoes from the edge of the mat, not bothering to put them on, just carrying them in one hand while I walked barefoot across the cold concrete floor of the reception area.We pushed through the double doors, and the cool, damp Seattle evening air hit us. It felt incredible. I walked to the car, unlocked it, and tossed my shoes into the back seat. I leaned against the driver's side door, suddenly acutely aware of my bare chest and the jagged scars on my ribs; the adrenaline was entirely gone, replaced by a deep, hollow fatigue. I pulled my T-shirt out of Sarah's hands and slipped it over my head.Sarah hadn't spoken since we left the office. She was standing by the passenger door, just staring at me across the roof of the car. Fear: that was what I expected to see. I had kept the violent, calculated side of myself locked away because I knew how civilians reacted to it—they look at you like you're a monster, like you're an unexploded bomb sitting in their living room."I'm sorry," I said quietly, looking down at the wet pavement. "I told you I'd just carry the box. I didn't want to make a scene."Sarah walked around the front of the car. She didn't stop until she was standing inches from me. She looked up, searching my face. "Where did you learn to do that?" she asked. Her voice wasn't trembling; it was quiet, curious."I spent a long time in the military," I said carefully. "A specific branch. We learned a lot of things.""You said you were in logistics.""I was. I arranged the delivery of very specific things to very hostile places—mostly myself and my team." I let out a slow breath. "Sarah, I'm sorry if I scared you."She reached out and placed her hand flat against my chest, right over my heart. Her palm was warm. "You didn't scare me, Cole," she said softly.I looked at her, surprised. "I just broke a man's arm in front of 40 people.""You didn't break it," she corrected. "You stopped him. And you did it without losing your temper. You did it to protect me." She traced the fabric of my shirt, her eyes soft. "For three years, I thought Brandon was the most dangerous thing in the world. He made sure I believed it; he made everyone believe it. You just turned him off like a light switch."She leaned in and wrapped her arms tightly around my waist, pressing her face against my chest. I hesitated for a fraction of a second before wrapping my arms around her shoulders, burying my face in her hair. She smelled like vanilla and rain.