To Love, To Fight, To Win

Chapter 3

I bit back a groan of pain while I started the long walk back to my apartment building. My whole body ached and screamed because not only did Reif tell his dad about my late night activities, his dad made me work harder than I would have worked on a normal basis. My abilities were tested with different men, and sometimes he made me go through two men at once.

Sometimes he didn't let me take a break in between the fights because he wanted to make sure that I was tired and sore enough that I wouldn't go to any street fights tonight.

Reif's dad knew that going to street fights was one of the quickest ways that I got money for myself and what I needed. He knew that I would be able to protect myself, but he was still protective of me and was like a father that I needed in my life, more so than my own flesh and blood.

The man who had helped made me was a monster, a monster that hid in the streets, preying on young girls and boys with no families of their own and sometimes with ones that did have families but were made to feel like they thought they were useless to them. The man was dangerous, a predator in sheep's clothing, and he wore it well enough to even fool the angel that was taken from this world so young.

I shook my head and moved a hand through my hair, breaking me from my thoughts. I bit back a scowl and looked down a bit to notice spotless black shoes getting closer and closer to me with each step they took. I made sure to keep my whole body relaxed, even though all I wanted to do was tense because I knew that the wearer of those shoes wanted to talk to me and not pass me.

"Excuse me, Miss," the owner of the shoes said and reached out to touch me. The person stopped trying to reach for me when I sidestepped them. "Please," the owner, a male, said, "slow down. I would like to talk to you about something."

I didn't respond and picked my pace instead, earning a silent curse from the person behind me. I flicked my hood over my face and started to maneuver myself through a crowd of people that were on their way back to their offices.

I wove through the crowds, muttering an apology here and there when I accidentally ran into someone because there was no way that I could stop nor slow down. My whole body screamed for me to run, to move faster than I was, but I didn't, not yet at least.

I kept my eyes peeled for a way that I could use to get out of his sight, but a part of me knew that it was futile, for I was sure he would follow me anywhere.

So, when I saw a break into two buildings to an area that I was very familiar with, I took it without a second thought. I skirted through the small alleyway, making sure not to make that much noise before I found the small opening I had used multiple times before to get away from people that tried to follow me back to my place.

I pulled out my gun and slipped into the opening without much noise. My breathing was soft and barely loud enough for anyone to pick up on, and I waited for the person to make his appearance known.

The sound of quick footsteps filled my ears before the person stopped and looked around, not even noticing the small opening between two walls with me in one corner of it. "Damn it, girl," the male said with a slight growl in his voice. He moved a hand through his hair and huffed, annoyed.

He looked around and went further down the alleyway, which would end in a dead end and force him to go back this way. "I know that you are in here," he said, looking back the way he came just to make sure that I didn't try to dart away. "Where are you?"

I watched him turn back the way that he was going and walk the rest of the way towards the dead end. I slowly walked out of my hiding spot and looked towards the way before I looked in the direction he went.

A part of me wanted to leave and go back to the way that I came, but another part of me wanted to figure out why he was chasing me. The part that wanted to know why he was chasing after me won, so I silently walked the rest of the way to the dead end where I knew he would be standing.

I tucked the gun closer to my side and made sure to go slowly so that I didn't disturb anything to make my appearance known. I looked down and then up, choosing each step with such care and grace that I didn't kick any loose dirt nor have any crunch after I took a step.

The male was where I thought he would be, staring at the brick wall that blocked him from another alleyway. His shoulders hang lower with defeat, and I knew that he thought he had lost me. "Damn," he said with a sad sigh and moved a hand through his hair. "Stupid, stupid, stupid."

I stopped behind him and held out the gun until it was pointed at his chest if he turned around, the rustling of my movements so soft that he didn't hear them over his muttering of how stupid he was. I set myself into a defensive position and waited for him to turn around, not breaking the silence or his muttering.

The male ran a hand through his hair again before he turned around to go back the way that he came. His eyes grew wide with shock, and a flash of fear filled his eyes. He raised his hands in surrender and looked at the gun before he looked at me, staring at me with eyes that were so foreign and yet so familiar at the same time that I almost moved the gun away from him.

However, I didn't and held my position, my grip on my gun tight. I didn't make sure that the safety was off because I wasn't planning on shooting him. All I was planning was getting answers, and I knew that I could get some answers with a gun than without.

"Who are you?" I asked, breaking the silence between us. I narrowed my eyes and scowled. "And why the fuck are you following me?"