"What move?"
Minka increases her speed, running now. "He hasn't said. I assume he knows someone who can find out where the money is coming from. Those banks won't share with the authorities, but they'll share with scary people. Just depends on how scary Troy can be."
"So do you think anyone is in Houston now?"
"Locke thinks Saskia's guy is doing the job, so he'll likely wait. We can't be sure, though. I wouldn't be surprised if he has people in Houston, keeping an eye out and feeding him info."
"Should I worry?"
"No. That's my job. You just get stronger."
Nodding, I take a five-pound weight and lift it slowly. "I hate working out."
"I know, but it doesn't have to be boring. I can teach you to throw a punch and protect yourself. Nothing fancy, just the basics."
Smiling at Minka, I switch hands. "Thank you."
"I gotta have the talk with you. It's not personal. You seem very nice, and I like you, but it's my job."
"What talk?" I ask, nervous now.
"Troy is my friend. He and I are tight like I've never been tight with anyone else. I have his back, and I know he has mine. That's why I need you to promise not to break his heart. You need to be straight with him and treat him right. If things don't work out, that's life. Just don't do him wrong on purpose."
"I won't hurt Troy."
"He's falling for you. I've never seen him do that before, and I'm scared for him. He keeps people at a distance, so they can't hurt him. Even his family is only blood. He just doesn't connect with anyone, but he's connecting with you. If you hurt him, you'll hurt him bad."
"I've never connected with a man before, so I can't promise I won't make mistakes. I can promise I won't hurt Troy on purpose."
"Sounds fair," Minka says, running faster on the treadmill.
"Have you ever been in love?"
"No. I keep waiting for a guy to sweep me off my feet, but it hasn't happened."
"You're beautiful," I say softly. "Confident too."
"You don't like looking in the mirror. Is that a new thing or have you always been that way?"
"New."
Minka jumps off the treadmill and stands next to me. Her nimble fingers swipe my hair from my shoulders before turning me towards the mirror.
"Don't let a sick man make you fear your own image."
Unable to look into the mirror for more than a few seconds, I turn away.
"He put me on display at his little parties. I thought I could handle it since I'd done modeling with people staring at me. I was wrong. He made me feel like an object. Even now, when people look at me, I feel like a piece of trash."
"You need to try aversion therapy. It's how I got over my fear of heights."
"Force myself to look at myself?"
"No, force yourself to let others look at you. That's the real problem, isn't it?"
When I say nothing and set down the weight, Minka steps closer.
"Want me to teach you to punch before I return to the treadmill?"
Grudgingly, I nod. She makes sure I know how to make a proper fist and then tells me to take a shot. With her palms out, she waits for me to punch one of her hands. I throw a lame punch, but she only smiles and says to try again. I aim for her left hand and punch again. This one makes a little smacking noise, and I frown.
"Too hard?"
Minka stares at me with her dark eyes, and I suspect she wants to laugh. Grumpy about her being so attractive and already knowing a million things about Troy that I'll never know, I throw another punch and then another. Minka bounces around to make the targets harder to hit. I keep up at first but get tired easily.
"I take a lot of meds," I say as an excuse for being exhausted.
"I know a guy who was tortured with electricity. He can't remember what he ate for dinner the night before and suffers from occasional seizures. Really fucked him up, so no worries. It's not your job to beat up people."
Nodding, I feel uneasy about my fatigue especially next to a powerful, healthy woman like Minka.
"Did you know Saskia was in love when she was young? She said he died."
"That sounds like a lie."
"She told me he was a student in Germany."
"I once asked Saskia if she loved her mother. Her mom is an evil bitch, so I was curious if they did normal mom and daughter things. Anyway, Saskia told me the only person she'd ever loved in the entire world was the hot redhead in the mirror."
"So she lied to you or me?"
"Likely you."
Frowning, I wrap my hair behind my ears. Minka laughs at my expression.
"You should take it as a compliment. Did she tell you the story to make you feel better?"
"I think I was supposed to give Troy a chance and not wait for things to settle down."
"Aww, that's sweet. Saskia is never sweet to me. In fact, she steals random things from my desk at the office. No reason except to mess with me. Huh, I guess she likes you and not so much me."
"Sorry," I say, smiling behind my hand. "Likely she just pities me."