Tiger Mom (Killer Moms #4) - Eve Langlais Page 0,10
the weird circumstances that had brought them together. He’d thought her so hot in high school. She used to wear these tight jeans and had the sweetest ass in them. The serious girl, always studying and acing tests. So fucking smart. He really liked that about her.
She was so smart she’d turned him down the one time he’d gotten up the nerve to ask her out. Then she went off to university, whereas he’d enlisted, along with the other jocks who didn’t get a scholarship and had no interest in acquiring a huge student loan.
It boggled the mind the odds of her showing up in his studio, ten years later, looking just as serious as he recalled, and still very attractive. But to his surprise, she had kids. He’d have wagered that she was too driven to stop for motherhood. In any case, it didn’t appear to have softened her.
Her aloofness only increased her attractiveness. Should he ask her out? She was, after all, single. At the same time, he had no real interest in anything long-term, whereas she had kids to think of. She probably would not be interested in anything casual.
Or would she prefer someone who didn’t want any strings tying them down? Could be she might want something casual and carnal.
Wishful thinking that would have to wait. A wave of students arrived, snapping him back to the present. He spent the next few hours running the different levels through the motions. Teaching them not only the soothing nature of the movements, but the confidence they needed to be able to stand up for themselves.
Since he’d opened the dojo, he’d had a stream of people sign up for his classes. The ones he took the most pleasure in were the shy ones, the meek students who wanted to feel more confident but lacked the mindset to do so. He liked teaching them to control that fear. Showing them that they could be as strong as they chose.
About half an hour after the last student had left, the sensor for his door beeped, letting him know someone had entered. Could be a late-night signup. Or a druggie looking to score a few quick bucks.
Ted turned from his cleaning of the mats to see three men walk in. Two of them Asian in features, the third Caucasian, his skin pockmarked, head shaved on the sides.
They belonged to the Evening Swords, a gang that owned this section of town, promising protection if properly paid. Terrorizing those that didn’t.
It appeared they were collecting early this month.
Ted rose, barefoot and weaponless, unlike the trio. Their leader, who went by the name Taotie, wore a loose tracksuit that could hide any number of weapons. He was rather partial to knives. Ralph, whose Asian features contrasted sharply with his dirty blond, curly hair, had a bulge by his ribs—a gun, most likely. The third was new and wide-eyed eager. The worst kind.
“Hello, gentlemen. How can I help you this evening?” Ted asked politely, well aware of how things worked with the Evening Swords. Lots of bluster interspersed with threats, followed by extortion.
Taotie spread his hands. “It’s collection time.”
“It’s only the eleventh of the month. You usually come on the fifteenth.”
“I’m busy the fifteenth.” Taotie snapped his fingers. “Pay up.”
“I don’t have it.” The wrong answer.
A smirk tugged Taotie’s lips. “You’re the third person to tell me that tonight. Would you like to know what I told them?”
Judging by the bruised knuckles on Ralph and the new kid? Don’t expect any leniency.
Much as it stuck in his craw, Ted remained meek. He’d long ago learned that cutting off the head of the local snake only spawned a meaner one. “I can have it for you tomorrow. I never keep that kind of cash around.”
“I think he just implied we don’t give him proper protection,” the kid stated.
“Why, I do believe you’re right,” Taotie’s lips twisted into a sneer. “Perhaps karate man needs a lesson in how well we do our job.”
Sigh. So much for avoiding it. Ted didn’t tense at the first blow, he let it land, fully aware they had to feel as if they’d gotten their piece. They punched, and he just defended, absorbing the worst, and faking pain before falling to a knee when a blow to his lip split it. Barely a flesh wound, but all the blood tended to impress people. He spat a red wad on the mat by Taotie’s feet.
“Not so cocky now, are you?” Taotie taunted. “We’ll be