17
Troy enjoyed watching the sisters interact with one another. Training these three ladies would indeed be a challenge. If it meant being around Savannah, he would be up for the challenge. While they cleaned up the kitchen after dinner, he made a few phone calls.
They were giggling but stopped when he reentered the kitchen. He knew from their expression that they had been talking about him. “We're all set. You ladies should meet me at my office at zero eight hundred.”
“Cool. I can't wait.” Asia was the first to speak.
“It's getting late and we have a full day ahead of us. I'll see you all in the morning,” Troy said before turning to walk out.
He heard Montana say, “Walk him out.”
He slowed his pace so Savannah could catch up with him. “You have to ignore my sisters,” she said as they reached the door.
Troy turned around to face her. “I look forward to sparring with you tomorrow.”
“You better go home and practice, because I have a few surprise moves I've been saving just for the occasion.”
He kissed her on the forehead and left. He waved at her as she watched him from the doorway.
The next morning Troy woke up a few hours early so he could get to the office before Savannah and her sisters. He briefed his staff on his new clients; he still did not give them details on their ties to The Agency. He called Savannah and informed her of the alias names they were to use when checking into the premises. He stressed the importance of them using the pseudonyms.
“Your code name is Diamond. Asia is Foxy and Montana is Red.”
When his assistant walked the three sisters in, he had to do a double take because each had changed her appearance. He could still tell they were the Blake sisters, but the slight change was enough to make him smile. These sisters meant business. They were dressed to train.
“You can thank Montana for this transformation,” Savannah said.
“If you need a job, I could always use your services,” Troy addressed Montana.
She ran her hand through her now auburn ponytail. “That's okay. I'll stick with my day job.”
They were all dressed in sweatpants and looked eager to get started.
“Follow me.” Troy led them to a building that appeared to be a warehouse from the outside, but on the inside had state-of-the-art tactical equipment. “Mike, take these two to the range. Start off light. By the end of the day I want to see them going through course five.”
“Course five. Sir, I don't think . . .” He looked at Montana and Asia and stopped in midsentence. If looks could kill, he would be mincemeat. “Are you sure?”
“You tell me. See you at the end of the day.” He addressed Montana and Asia. “If you need anything, call me. Otherwise, Mike will be your guide for the day.”
“What about her?” Montana asked.
“I got other plans for Ms. Lady.”
“I'm sure you do,” Asia said.
Troy laughed as he watched Mike take Asia and Montana away. He knew Mike had his hands full, and he didn't envy him at all. The expression on Savannah's face when he turned around made him want to switch places with Mike.
“You all have it bad, talking about me like I'm not there,” she snapped.
“Hold on to that attitude. You'll need it during our sparring session.”
Troy had fun teasing Savannah. “Put these on.” He handed her a pair of gloves where her fingers stuck out of the end. While she was putting her gloves on, Troy said, “Pretend I'm an attacker. How would you respond when I did this?” Before she could react, Troy was behind her and had her neck under his arm. “No kicking in the groin eitherâwell, unless absolutely necessary.”
Savannah tried her best to loosen herself from his grip but was unable to do so. He held on to her tighter than he probably should have, but he knew if she was in a real situation, the attacker wouldn't be easy on her.
“I know you already know this, but use your heel,” Troy said. “Remember, you can pretty much gauge the height of your attacker from how far his or her waist is on your back. Use your heel and kick the area of the leg with all your might. If hit, the attacker will loosen his grip.”
“Like this?” Savannah tried the move. Troy loosened his grip.
“Yeah, but did you have to hit so hard?” he teased.
“Just trying to keep it real,” she responded.
“Next move. Sit down at the table.”
Savannah followed his directions. She sat and pretended to be reading the magazine.
“Always be aware of your surroundings. If anyone is watching you, they're hoping to catch you off guard. They could care less if you're in a crowded place or if you're by yourself.” Troy picked up a few items and said, “I want you to use your peripheral vision and tell me what you see.”
He was impressed with how Savannah was able to name a few things. She missed a few, but that was to be expected. “How did I do?” she asked.
“Fine for a first timer,” he responded.
She turned around. “I think I did darn well. I got everything right except for those two.”
“We're going to do this exercise again until it's one hundred percent.”
Savannah rolled her eyes but turned around; they practiced until she was able to do it without an error.
“Satisfied,” she said, pulling away from the table.
He licked his lips. “Very.”
“You're a sexist.”
He batted his eyes. “My feelings are hurt.”
“I don't have time to play with you. What's next?” she asked. Although Savannah pretended to be upset, Troy could tell she wasn't. He admired her eagerness.
“Show me some of those black-belt moves,” he said. He led her onto a huge black mat.
She stood at a stance. “I'll be happy to.”
Neither used full force when sparring with each other. “Not bad,” he said.
She knocked him off his feet. “Sorry.” She folded her arms and smiled.
He bounced back up. “Oh, you want to play dirty. Bring it on.”
For the next thirty minutes they continued to hit each other and pick each other up. He dusted himself off.
“I don't know about you, but I could use a break,” Savannah said.
“Giving up, are we?” he joked.
“Never.”
“Come on.” He handed her a towel. “You can freshen up in there and I'll meet you back out here in a few.”
Troy went to the small refrigerator in the corner and retrieved a couple of bottles of water and sports drinks. He removed two small bags of trail mix from the cabinet. He was drinking water when Savannah returned.
She sat next to him and gulped down the water.
“That was not ladylike,” he joked.
She threw up her middle finger. “Take that.”
“Only if you're willing to give it,” he responded.
They shared a quiet break, drinking and eating the snacks.
“You don't have to push yourself so hard, you know,” Troy said while waiting for her to finish her snack.
“I can't afford to be slack either,” she said in between bites. “I wonder how my sisters are doing.”
“We could actually see from my makeshift office over there.”
Savannah followed him as he turned on the monitor. Savannah commented, “Looks like they're doing pretty good to me. Let me check on something.”
Troy called Mike. “How's their score?” He paused. “Need to get it up to ninety and then move on to the next phase.” He hung up with Mike and said, “You ladies are better than what I thought. You are doing things that it takes some folks months to learn.”
“We're the Blake sisters. Come on now.” Savannah winked her right eye.
18
Savannah's entire body was hurting by the time she and her sisters made it back home. Each sister seemed to be deep in thought, because the ride home was quiet.
“I don't know about y'all, but I'm about to take me a long, hot bath,” Savannah said, rubbing her thighs.
“My arms are tired, but that's about it,” said Asia. She did a few arm exercises to ease the tension in her muscles.
“I don't know if I'm cut out for this,” Montana added.
“No backing out now,” Asia said.
“Montana, you have to. When I send you undercover, I need to feel confident that you can handle yourself, or else our plans won't work.”
Montana crossed her arms. “Maybe if you shared some details, it would encourage me to continue with this torture.”
“I'm still figuring it out in my head. But by the time we're through with the training, we will all sit down and map everything out,” Savannah responded.
She left Asia teasing Montana, and she was relieved to hear Montana say, “There's no way I'm letting you outdo me.”
Savannah said out loud, “Way to go, Asia.” She would have to thank Asia privately for engaging Montana in a competition. Now she felt better. She needed all three of them to be fit and capable. At least she could have that peace of mind.
The water felt soothing as she eased her body into the suds.
“Aweee.”
Savannah leaned her head back onto the towel she had on the back of the tub and closed her eyes. She allowed the hot water to soak her skin. As the temperature of the water dropped, Savannah washed and rubbed various body parts to ease the tension.
Refreshed, but still a little sore, she got out of the tub and toweled herself dry. Her mind went back to her sparring sessions with Troy. Under normal circumstances it would have been fun working up a sweat with him. He was patient with her, even when she knew her tough-girl exterior was a little over-the-top. She didn't want to admit it, but he did mean more to her than she would admit to him or her sisters. For now, she would keep her developing feelings for Troy a secret. She had one mission, and falling back in love with Troy wasn't it.
“I've worked up an appetite,” Savannah said after she dressed and strolled downstairs.
“Who is taking first shift tonight?” Asia asked.
“I got the whole night. You two sleep well. You're going to need your energy,” Savannah responded.
“That's not fair,” Montana said.
“I can still get some sleep. Besides, I sleep lighter than you two. I'll just camp out downstairs, and if anything happens, I'll yell.”
They shared the events of the day over a light dinner of soup and a sandwich. Instead of staying up late talking, like they had been doing, Montana and Asia retired upstairs early to get a head start on the next day. It didn't take Savannah long to fall asleep either.
The sun was beaming the next time Savannah's eyes opened. To her relief she had a peaceful night. No strange noises and no nightmares. She showered and got dressed. She wanted to surprise her sisters with a hearty breakfast, but the refrigerator was bare. Instead, she made a huge pot of oatmeal, something that would stick to the bones and be filling. She thought back to the times her mom would cook oatmeal in the mornings for her and Montana before they went to school. She wasn't sad at all. She smiled remembering better times.
Montana entered the kitchen. “Ooh, my favorite.” She headed straight to the stove and lifted the top off the pot.
“I need to do some grocery shopping, so that's all I've got.” Savannah poured herself some apple juice.
“I'm serious. It's hard making a good batch of oatmeal. Yours reminds me of mom's.” Montana grabbed a bowl and filled it up with oatmeal.
She was eating before Asia entered. “I'll take a bowl of that.”
“Is this the Twilight Zone?” Savannah asked.
“What do you mean?” Asia asked.
“Both of you come in here all cheery-eyed and jolly. Pinch me, I must be dreaming.”
Montana stretched. “A good night's sleep will do it to you.”
After breakfast they headed to the training facilities. Troy wasn't there, but he had left detailed training instructions with his employees. Savannah went to the firing range, while her sisters did more of a physical training with Mike and a new guy.
During her course of firearms training, Savannah pictured the target as Uncle Raymond. In her mind, whether he pulled the trigger that killed her dad or not, Raymond could have stopped it from possibly happening. Did Raymond feel threatened by her father? Did he think her dad would turn him in, so he had one of his men take him out? There were so many questions, and no answers. At this point Raymond had no clue the Blake sisters were on to him. Savannah couldn't let her anger play her hand, until it was time. Instead, with each pull of the trigger, she released the anger she had. The love she once had for Uncle Raymond had turned to hate. She just hoped she could release the hate so it wouldn't eat at her like the pain of losing her dad had done. Now she'd lost two important men in her life.
“That's my girl,” Troy said as he clapped.
“Glad I could make you proud.” Savannah shot the last few rounds of her gun.
Troy pulled the target closer. “Bull's-eye every time.”
Savannah shaped her hand like a gun and blew on the tip of her finger. “Every time.”
“Sorry, I'm late, but I spent last night deciphering the rest of the letter.”
“I told you Asia could help you with that.”
“I got another assignment for Asia.”
Savannah followed Troy out of the range and into his office. He turned on his laptop and showed Savannah the rest of the information on the disc. She tapped her fingers on the desk out of habit. The more she read, the louder her taps got. Troy reached out and placed his hand over hers.
“Man, what have I gotten us into?” Savannah threw her hand over her face.
Troy moved her hands. “I like the fact that you're not trying to be a victim. You're taking control, and that's where your enemies will be at a disadvantage.” He paused. “That, and the fact you can kick butt.”
“What about the gear? I need some state-of-the-art stuff. Not that junk you get from the galleria, and it only works half the time.”
“Already on it. I'll wait until your sisters are ready and I'll show you all at the same time.”
“So what are your plans for me today?”
“I'll let you choose. What do you feel like you need to practice?”
Savannah felt a magnetic pull toward Troy. Not one to be bashful, she said, “I need this.” Before he could respond, Savannah leaned over and kissed him. She tried to remain in control, but Troy took over from there. Their tongues danced with one another. He pulled her onto his lap. Neither would surrender to the other; yet neither would stop kissing.
Troy's ringing phone broke them out of the trance. Savannah jumped up from his lap and wiped her mouth. “I shouldn't have.” She ran toward the door.
“Wait.”
“No, I need some space,” she responded. She didn't wait for him to reply. His assistant looked at her strangely. She didn't stop. She recalled passing a bathroom on the way up, so she headed toward it. Once there, she took some cold water and washed her face. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was just emotional right now. The combination of her emotions and adrenaline explained why she had kissed him. She paced back and forth in front of the mirror. How could she face him after that? She didn't want him to get the wrong idea. The past needed to stay in the past. Rekindling a love affair with Troy spelled disaster. She let out a few deep breaths. She stood up straight and walked back to his office. She closed the door and sat and waited patiently for him to get off the phone. She pretended to be reading a magazine.
She heard him say, “Get it to me by the end of the day tomorrow or you can cancel the rest of those orders.” Troy slammed the phone down.
“Problems?” She threw the magazine on the top of his desk.
“Nothing that I can't handle,” he responded. “We need to talk.”
“Save it for another time. We have more important things to discuss.”
Troy leaned back in his chair. They stared at each other for a few minutes. “Fine. Suit yourself. This isn't the last of this. In fact, we're just getting started.”
“Let's pretend like it didn't happen,” Savannah said.
“Do you really think we can do that?” Troy asked.
Fortunately, before Savannah had a chance to respond, they were interrupted by his assistant's knock on the door.