Beautifully Broken Heroes

Excerpt: 

A man who preyed on women when they were alone: that’s
who we were looking for. The women always sat at the bar, where he’d approach
them, manage to gain their trust, and then lead them elsewhere to turn from
Prince Charming into their worst nightmare.

Knowing that a man capable of such deplorable acts probably stood within a
couple dozen feet of me sent shivers up my spine even though I was far from
cold in that hot club with my leather jacket. Unlike Shai, who wore a dress
that displayed her sleeves of tattoos, I was covered up, especially for a club.
I wasn’t averse to dressing up, but it felt strange to wear a little black
dress my first day at a new job. And how did one fight in a dress? I was sure
Shai had it all down, but I preferred my jeans, white tank, and jacket, thank
you very much. In that ensemble I was certain I could hold my own . . . and
then some.

If there was one thing I knew, it was how to fight. My
first self-defense course started the summer I turned ten. It was a few months
after my cousin had been murdered by her ex-boyfriend. My mom, and especially
my aunt, thought it was imperative that I know how to protect myself in any
situation, even if someone came at me with a gun like the man who’d taken my
cousin from me.

So to that one summer of classes was added karate and
then jiu-jitsu. Soon I had a black belt in several different types of martial
arts, and then I turned my attention to boxing. Some have said we Andersons
have an unhealthy obsession with training and mastering fighting techniques.
But those people weren’t awakened one spring morning by their aunt’s screams of
terror upon finding out that her only daughter had been murdered just days
before her twenty-first birthday.

“We need to move,” Shai said in a low voice,
taking one of my leather-clad arms and leading me to the dance floor.

I stood awkwardly for a moment before I realized why we
were now on the dance floor. We were supposed to dance. So we did. Shai was
relaxed, just swaying side to side, but I couldn’t dance half-heartedly. The
song was one of my favorites so I had to vibe with it. My moves wouldn’t make
me TikTok famous or anything, but I wasn’t bad, if I did say so myself.

“Is Ella okay?” I asked, leaning down to yell
in Shai’s ear.

We made quite the pair. At five-nine, I was all lean
limbs. I’d inherited my height from my father along with my light mocha skin,
but what my sisters liked to call light brownde hair and green eyes were all my
mom.

And then there was Shai. Tiny, tattooed Shai with her
long brown hair pulled back in her signature ponytail, her dark eyes carefully
scanning everything around us even as my thoughts continued to wander.

Why was it so hard for me to focus? Probably because it
felt like nothing was happening. After years of training, I was ready for
action. I was sure it would become easy as soon as our target approached Ella,
but for now I really needed to get my head back in the game. Again.

“She’s fine,” Shai mouthed.

Thankfully I’d been looking at her so I didn’t miss her
message.

Aunt Susie had warned me that working with Shai would
mean needing to practically read her mind. Shai didn’t train people. She didn’t
have the time or patience for it. So if I wanted to work with Shai, I needed to
guide myself. Of course I’d already been through months of Aurora training, but
I’d have no training on the job. I figured that was a fair trade for working
with the best in the business.

There were dozens of other teams Aunt Susie could have
placed me on, but I thanked my lucky stars I was right where I was. I’d already
learned so much and I was only half an hour into my first job.

The dance floor was packed but Shai and I had carved out
a little space for ourselves, so I was taken aback to see a guy suddenly
encroaching on that space. He approached from behind Shai, his intent apparent
by the way his eyes bored into her butt. He looked back at his friends,
laughing and pretending to grope Shai’s bottom. I was about to warn her or tell
the guy off, but never got the chance.

Somehow sensing his approach, Shai spun toward the guy
and his eyes widened. From my position behind her I couldn’t see her face, but
the look she gave the coward sent him scurrying away immediately.

I
bit back a chuckle as Shai turned back to me and resumed her indifferent
pretense at dancing. I didn’t know her well yet, but doubted she would have
appreciated my laughter. And I definitely didn’t want to get whatever treatment
she’d just given Mr. Gropey.

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