Page 13 of Unmasking Her Shadow

“Thanks, Ki-oni. I love your name. Do I have to call you Ki?”

“You can call me whatever you want, Red.”

I turn back around to finish my now not so secret project. If they all end up hating it, so be it. But at least I tried to make their day a little brighter.

“Thanks for sticking me with all the paperwork, asshole,” Kioni gripes to Ryker, punching him in the arm, and I chuckle. He deserved that for ratting me out.

I step back to admire my work and grab a mat, spreading it out in front of the sun. Might as well use my free time wisely. When I transition from a headstand to a forward fold, the muted headspace I was in shatters when Ryker drops his water bottle, and it clangs against the concrete. He clears his throat when I’m back on my feet and give him a pointed look.

“Can you do that?” he asks his partner, clearing his throat again, and she rolls her eyes.

“If that impresses you, wait until my fingers send you to heaven,” I joke, giving him jazz hands. He looks at his partner, wondering if he isn’t privy to an inside joke. “I’m a massage therapist,” I explain. His mouth forms an O, and he nods.

“You should make us appointments,” he jokes when I turn back around.

When officers begin piling into the gym, my two new friends spread their mats out next to mine. I whip my gaze back and forth between them. “What are you doing?” I question with suspicion.

“Relax, Red. If we’re doing this, we are going to be the best out of all these fuckers. We do nothing half-assed,” Ki assures.

“We’re even,” I scold Ryker, who is on my left.

“You started it,” he counters, lying down and putting his hands behind his head. He is one man I will admit doesn’t need a mask to make him attractive. Why is that? That covering a man’s face instantly makes him score higher?

Ki steps out of her sweats, deciding to wear her shorts this time. I can, without a doubt, say she could go toe to toe with any man in here. I’m definitely the oddball out of the three of us sitting up front. Ryker has his tattoos on full display with this dangerous energy radiating from him. Kioni is a muscle mommy goddess with the most gorgeous caramel skin, and screams confidence. And then there’s me in the middle, light skin, red hair, and cries every time she runs over a damn squirrel she tries so hard to miss.

We placed our mats too close together, and my fingertips kept brushing against Kioni’s. I didn’t mind it though. Each time our fingers touched, our eyes would collide, and a rush of…something…zipped through me, causing a small grin to appear. It added a sprinkle of mischief and fun to the night, making it feel more like a game than work. Laughter and chatter mingled with the soft melody from the speaker I had brought, and I found myself enjoying the blend of calm and chaos. And if I had a dollar for every time Ryker said, “I feel ridiculous” during our session, I’d look like I worked at a strip club.

I’m glad I took Pike up on his offer because I think this is what my life needed. It’s a Wednesday night and I’m walking into a bar for wings with a bunch of off-duty police officers, detectives, and whatever other departments they are all from. I switched back into the outfit I wore to the spa today, a long mustard-colored maxi skirt and an off-the-shoulder knit white crop top, and put my hair half-up into two fun buns while the rest flowed down in leftover curls.

Tables are being pushed together to make one large one. I stand awkwardly off to the side, waiting for the squeaking of table and chair legs across the dirty floor to come to a halt. “Sail” by AWOLNATION booms in the background, and when I’m about to figure out where I’m going to sit, Kioni grabs my hand and tugs me towards the empty seat between her and Ryker.

“Water, please,” I tell the waitress when she places two bottles of beer in front of them and looks to me. They must be regulars here.

“What’s your type, Red?” Ki asks as I smooth my skirt down the back before taking my seat.

“Um, I’m not really sure. Nobody has managed to hold my attention for more than a few months, so I’d say I haven’t figured it out yet.”

Ryker turns in his seat to look at me, and Ki chuckles into her beer. “I was talking about the wings.”

“Oh,” I whisper, and heat creeps over my cheeks. My mind has been scrambled since my world got rocked. “I guess I don’t know that either.”

“She’ll take one of each,” Ki tells someone over my shoulder, and I turn to spot the waitress that was walking toward us turn back around.

“How many flavors are there?”

She shrugs.

It doesn’t take long for baskets piled high with wings to be placed around the table. My jaw drops at the sight before me.

“Kioni,” I laugh. “This is a little excessive.”

“You never know what you’ll end up liking unless you try it.” She winks and shoves a boneless wing dripping with ranch into her mouth. That was definitely a poke at my earlier accidental confession.

I can’t help but dance in my seat after each bite. Each flavor is delicious in its own unique way. Ryker decides he’s going to stab his fork into one and steal it. That could be the best one yet, and I would never know! I wrap my hand around his wrist, and when our eyes collide, a challenge ignites. We move at the same time, but I’m just a tad quicker than him. My lips wrap around his fork first. I look up at him with sauce dripping down my chin. “Gotta be quicker than that,” I joke with my mouth full, but I can’t seem to care. I also don’t think they care either. His eyes dart to my basket, and I snatch it off the table and turn towards Kioni. “Switch me seats,” I demand.

“Leave little miss sunshine alone,” she tells him, and he takes a swig of his beer, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

“Sam?” I hear my name being called behind me and turn to see Xander standing next to Emily.