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“Again.”

The nigga lying flat on his back looked up at me like I’d just told him to go run headfirst into a brick wall.

“Boss, come on, man.”

I tilted my head. “You planning on asking the nigga trying to kill your client to take it easy on you too?”

A few laughs sounded behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder. Every motherfucker in the room got quiet. Except Kendric, of course.

That nigga stood against the wall with his arms folded across his chest, grinning like he wasn’t technically supposed to be helping me train these fools.

“You know he ain’t getting back up if you put his ass down again,” Kendric said.

“Then he’ll learn to stop letting me put his ass down.”

The trainee released a breath before pushing himself to his feet. And I almost smiled. At least the nigga wasn’t a quitter.

I stepped back and motioned him forward. “Protect your client.”

He widened his stance. Better.

His eyes dropped to my hands. This nigga was still fucking up.

I didn't warn him again. The second I saw an opening, I moved, caught him off guard, and put his ass right back on the mat.

A frustrated groan left him as he stared up at the ceiling.

I shook my head.

“Alright, y’all. Take ten.”

Everybody started clearing the mat while I walked over to the wall and grabbed my water bottle. I twisted the cap off and took a long pull before dropping down onto the bench.

I expected better.

These were grown-ass men training to protect people’s lives, yet half of them came in here moving like they thought somebody in the real world was going to give them time to think about their next move. The kids in the combat classes I taught caught on quicker than some of their asses, and that said a lot.

Kendric walked over and stopped in front of me.

“Nigga, don’t you think you being a little too damn harsh on them?”

I slowly lowered the bottle from my mouth and looked up at him. This nigga couldn’t be serious.

“Bruh, what the fuck did you just ask me?”

“You heard me.” He laughed. “You being a little harsh.”

“No, the fuck I’m not.” I leaned forward, resting my forearms against my thighs. “You know how shit is out here. Ain’t nobody giving them a second chance when shit goes left. They gotta be ready for anything.”

“Yeah, but some of these niggas just don’t have it in them.”

“Then they don’t need to be here.”

His brow lifted.

I shrugged. “The fuck you want me to say?”

Kendric shook his head, laughing under his breath. At Jefferson Security & Risk Management, I didn’t do excuses. If your job was to protect somebody, that was exactly what the fuck I expected you to do. I wasn’t sending anybody out in the field who froze under pressure or couldn’t think on their feet.