Outfoxed (The Fox Witch #1) - R.J. Blain Page 0,21
on edge and drove me to the brink of insanity in other places I’d sheltered during a bad blow. Even in the calmer spring months, I’d always slept light, waiting for Mother Nature to strike without warning.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d rested so well despite not having a real bed, blankets, or any of the creature comforts I’d grown up with when living in the East. According to my watch, I’d slept until eight in the morning, a miracle in my opinion. With two hours until I was scheduled to show up at work, I would have time to hit a gym and shower. The time at the gym would let me vent, get in some exercise, and practice my kicks and punches against a bag.
The boss of my second job would both approve and disapprove of my initiative to practice and learn from him despite not being one of his students. I’d watched so many of his martial arts lessons I could recite his speeches without thinking about them. I cared little about the names of the moves he taught and valued how practicing them left my body lean and limber.
Unlike most days, I looked forward to working at Rising Sun Martial Arts Center. With bounty hunters to dodge and taunt, I’d need everything I could glean from Batbayar. I’d also have to practice getting around Tulsa without anyone following me.
All the while, I would have to hope that the bounty hunters would follow the laws and keep their work out of professional establishments. I was fair game on the streets, but at the restaurant and martial arts center, I’d be safe enough—if they played by the rules.
Most would, as breaking the rules would end any hope of them gaining access to Asylum. With the amount of money my contract would win them, gaining entrance to the underground city would be a possibility for them. In any other quadrant, the money wouldn’t get them far, but I was a walking retirement fund in the Alley.
I needed to have a stern talk with Sandro if we ended up stuck together on neutral ground again. I would ask him why the hell he thought I was worth keeping when handing me over would pay his way for a damned long time as long as he wasn’t stupid with his money.
Then again, he wasn’t from the Alley; I wasn’t worth as much elsewhere. I’d just be a good boost rather than a holy grail for him in that case.
First, I needed to get to the gym without picking up a bounty hunter. After the gym, I needed to get to work. The odds of getting from the gym to work were generally in my favor, as they were only a block apart. Getting to the gym would pose a challenge. It would take at least forty minutes if I took the most direct path, and in reality, I couldn’t afford to take the most direct path—or establish a pattern. I’d have to switch up my route every day while keeping a close watch over my back and making certain I didn’t draw attention to myself.
I really needed to find time to poke around my new home as a fox to locate a bolt hole. I could afford thirty minutes; I wouldn’t have much time for exercising and practicing at the gym but having a bolt hole was worth even more than honing skills I’d absorbed through observation.
I wasn’t even sure if I did half of them right, but I tried when I could anyway.
Armed with my handy flashlight, I snooped around the cellar. I moved some of the heavier crates, which contained glass bottles filled with water or canned food. Behind the supplies along one drafty wall, I located a panel, roughly two feet wide and tall, which blew a steady stream of cool air into the room. I tested crates until I found a few containing cans I could stack together and make steps out of. To my relief, the panel was held in place with a set of clips and came out with a few tugs.
While two feet wasn’t a lot of space to work with as a human, it was plenty spacious for me as a fox as long as I controlled my size. After a good rest, I was even willing to bet I could handle extra transformations, although I might not need to depending on where the shaft led.