Elijah finds me immediately after lectures are over.

I wasn't able to think about anything except what he wanted to talk about. When the lecturer called on me to answer his question I just nodded. The question was 'what are increased plasma calcium levels known as?'—and I nodded.

"So . . ." Elijah takes my hand as we're walking out of the university. A bold move. "You have a bet to pay off."

I sigh dramatically. "Please don't ask me to have sex with you," I joke.

"No, you wouldn't be able to handle me." Excuse me? "I just wanted to ask you on an official date. One where I could maybe kiss you at the end of the night and not pretend like we're just friends."

"I don't—"

"Or you can have sex with me. Your choice."

"How kind of you to give me such wonderful options." I'm not sure which one of the two would have more of an emotional connection. I guess the date would be the best choice, because then I can still keep him at a distance even if he wants to kiss me at the end of the night. "Alright, I'll go on a date with you. Friday. I expect roses."

He bumps his shoulder against mine. "I was thinking chocolates, cause you don't even care about roses."

I glance up at him through my lashes. There's a small smile on my face. It's terrifying how much, yet how little, he knows about me.

"You're an angel."

"No, I'm just a boy, standing in front of a girl, asking—"

"Oh, shut up." I laugh.

We reach my car; my beautiful Mercedes. "Alright, I'm heading to gym. Do you wanna join?"

"No, I have to get to work. But I'll come over after, okay?"

"That's if my arms have enough strength to unlock my door once I'm done." I need to prepare to beat the shit out of Antonio. I am so going to enjoy that.

"Bye, beautiful."

"Shut up." I climb into my car and drive off.

It's as if he has stopped caring about our agreement to stay friends and he is simply taking control and doing whatever he wants.

Which is oddly attractive.

Stopping at a robot, a homeless person comes up to my car with an dirty, empty cup. I roll my windows down and give him the two hundred dollars that I had in my purse.

He grins, practically ready to start dancing with joy. His excitement is radiant. "God bless you! God bless you!"

I wonder if it is too late for that. If I could ever redeem myself after everything I have done. If I could reverse everything I have done with good—with giving, loving and treating people well.

That's what I'll do, as soon as Antonio is gone. I'll do better. Because at this point, that's all I can do.

Reaching the gym, I climb out of my car. The small space is filled with testosterone, sweat and muscles.

I haven't changed out of my gym clothes from this morning. Which is gross, but I don't have time to care. I sprayed myself with a tonne of deodorant and kept my focus on my goal to get rid of the man who ruined everything.

All of my pain, my guilt, was directed at one person. I came to Antonio searching for help, which is my fault. He was a bear trap in human form.

And I will kill him.

If I didn't have motive already, the idea that he could tell Elijah everything made me throw my punches at the bag harder than ever.

I need a plan more than I need the extra training. I'm not going to use the blue pill, the way I had planned with Elijah. Where was that pill?

I'm going to make sure Antonio suffers. But how? I first need a plan to get him into a vulnerable situation where I can trap him.

I'll call him, saying that I'm not killing Elijah. He'll come to threaten me. His anger is his vulnerability, and I plan to use it.

Then, once he's trapped, I can do whatever I want. Maybe I can kill him the way he plans to kill Elijah if I refuse to.

A hard kick manages to knock my punching bag right off its rusted chain. It causes more of the men in this testosterone-filled space to stare.

I could have bought my own gym easily, but I like having strangers around me sometimes. Maybe because it means Antonio is less likely to show up and make me do something I'll regret.

But this place is like a mating hotspot. Any man who isn't staring at me, has their eyes set on a different woman.

And one man seems to have a lot more aggression than usual in his eyes. After seeing—and killing—so many serial killers, criminals and evil people, I know the look.

Possibly even given the look.

And nothing good can come of it. People with that look never turn around and simply walk away.

I immediately walk over to the girl he is eyeing. "Anna! Hey!" I pull her into a hug. "Creepy guy eyeing you. Just go with it."

Her confused expression turns to a smile. "Oh, and you think I can't handle him?" Her eyes scan the area and find him. "Bring it."

I like her.

I chuckle. "You could get hurt."

"I'm a taekwondo instructor. I think I'll be alright. But thank you for bringing it to my attention."

"Yeah, no problem." I should try to do as much good as possible. There's no way to remove the things I've done but I can—and I will—change my future.

I go to pick up the punching bag in order to hang it back up.

"Hey," the girl comes up behind me. "Do you want to get coffee when you're done here?"

Possible friend? "Yes."

•<•>•

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