The moment June stepped into the training ground, she knew she was going to love it.
Her eyes moved around the large space, taking everything in. There were men training in different corners, punching bags hanging from the ceiling, and different equipment she couldn’t even name.
A smile slowly appeared on her face.
This was exactly what she needed.
A few weeks here, and she wouldn’t need Rauf, Chris, Serena, or those annoying guards following her everywhere.
Maybe she could even learn how to use a gun.
June’s smile widened at the thought.
"What are you smiling about?"
She turned at the sound of Rauf’s voice.
He was standing a few feet away, watching her suspiciously.
"Nothing." June quickly wiped the smile off her face. "Where do we start?"
Rauf looked her up and down.
"By walking."
June blinked.
"What?"
"We’re going for a walk."
Her face fell.
She looked around the training ground again before turning back to him.
"I didn’t come here to walk."
Rauf raised a perfect brow at her. "Then what did you come here to learn?"
"How to survive?"
Rauf nodded as if they were saying the same thing. "Yeah. That’s what I’m about to teach you."
June looked around again, telling herself to be patient. It wasn’t the same day those guys started training that they got to the stage of defending themselves. She had to start from somewhere first.
So, she took her position next to Rauf.
"First, I’ll be teaching you the basics of protecting yourself. Something similar to what I taught you last night."
June tried to remember what he had taught her the previous night, but no matter how much she racked her brain, she couldn’t remember.
Rauf, oblivious to what was going on inside her head, continued.
"Today, we’re going to start with awareness."
June remained quiet, probably waiting for when the real lesson would begin.
"It’s very important that you’re aware of your environment."
Rauf stopped beside a wall, making her stop too.
They were some distance away from where the rest of the men were training, but June could still hear and see them.
"How many people did you come across while coming in?"
June looked around and shrugged. "I don’t know. I honestly didn’t count."
Rauf nodded. "And that’s the first lesson. Anytime you step into a place, the first thing you should notice is the people there. How many are there? And if there are too many to count, you can at least try to find out if there are any odd people among them."
June nodded. It seemed important.
"Then, after identifying them, what do I do?"
She changed her stance, ready for her first lesson on how to kick or punch the person.
But to her disappointment, Rauf continued like a boring teacher in class.
"Then you make sure you avoid the suspicious ones while focusing on whatever you went there to do."
June stared at him.
She was certain he hadn’t said the right thing.
"Again, what’s the guy in red doing right now?"
One of the guys training was wearing red clothes and running on the treadmill. June looked away from Rauf and focused her attention on the man.
"He’s running and trying to build his muscles."
Rauf chuckled. "Yeah, you got it. But what you’re supposed to learn from that is how to check people out without them knowing."
He picked up a bottle of water and passed it to her.
For some odd reason, June hadn’t noticed she was thirsty until the water was brought to her.
She took it and gulped down the water.
Rauf nodded. "Are you okay?"
His eyes trailed to her stomach.
"I’m fine."
Rauf nodded. "Like I said last night, you need to be..."
June could barely contain the frustration simmering inside her. She stopped Rauf before he could continue.
"Yeah, I get it. But when am I going to throw the first punch? Or kick?"
Rauf stared at her as though she were an alien.
"Is that what you planned to learn today?"
She nodded like it was obvious. "Isn’t that the basics?"
The more she spoke, the higher her voice became.
Rauf smirked. "No. Those things I’m teaching and explaining to you are the basics."
His gaze trailed over her clothes. She wore a fitted shirt that showed the bulge of her stomach and shorts that exposed her legs.
"Is that why you’re dressed like that?"
She swallowed. "Of course."
Rauf chuckled, earning a glare from her.
"Well, I’m sorry, but I really can’t teach you to fight. You’re pregnant."
She eyed him. "That’s not an excuse. I can still fight with this."
Rauf nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose.
How was he supposed to tell a woman looking at him with so much determination that learning how to fight wasn’t as easy as she thought?
"Fine. Let’s deal with the basics first. We’ll talk about the rest later."
That brought a small smile to her face.
"Great."
With renewed determination, she paid attention to Rauf.
"What’s Henson doing?"
Following the instructions he had given her, she tried not to make it obvious that she was looking for Henson.
Then she said, "Henson is guarding us or something."
Rauf nodded.
She was making progress, though she still needed a lot more practice.
"Great. I think you should rest now."
June stared at him. "But I can still do more."
"I know, but you’ve spent close to an hour here. You need to rest and do the other things you wanted to do today."
She glared at him.
She knew it was for her safety, but the sooner she learned those basics, the sooner she would be able to actually learn the techniques that would eventually help her.
Still, she nodded.
"Fine."
Leading her out of the training room, Rauf threw one last question at her.
"How many people did we just pass?"
June was ready for that.
"Seven men."
Rauf nodded.
"Great."