Broken Wings (The Broken Series Book 3) by K.S. Ruff Read Free Book Online

silverware, new wine, and two plates holding
small steaks. Again, every action was synchronized.
    Rafael’s
eyes met mine as he cut into his steak. “We make quite the pair, you and me…
both haunted by violence and still trying to save the world.”
    I
laughed softly. “That sounds about right, although you make it sound like the
back story for a couple of superheroes.” I cut into the steak. My eyes widened
when I realized I didn’t need a knife. The steak tasted like it had been drenched
in an herbed butter. A soft moan slid from my lips as the steak melted in my
mouth.
    Rafael
looked thoughtful as he watched me take another bite. “I’d like to propose
something, and I don’t want you to take it the wrong way.”
    I
took a couple sips of wine before nodding. “Go ahead,” I encouraged warily.
    “If
you take this peace-building job, I’d like to train you in self-defense. Shoot,
I should probably train you in self-defense even if you don’t take the job. You
seem to be a magnet for trouble.”
    I
swallowed hard, so the wine wouldn’t spray out of my nose. “You want to teach
me how to protect myself?”
    A
determined look settled over his face. “Yes. I can’t protect you all of the
time. Well, I could, but it would drive you crazy if I followed you everywhere
you went. I’d feel better if you knew how to defend yourself.”
    I
set my wine glass down and ate another piece of steak while I considered the
merits of his proposal. “You know, Rafael, I think that sounds like a very good
idea. Can you teach me Russian too?”
    His
smile faltered. “Russian? Why?”
    I
popped the last piece of steak into my mouth. “If I get this job, my first
assignment will be in Ukraine.”
    A
cloud fell over Rafael’s face. “No amount of training is going to protect you against
the Russian mafia or the underground KGB.”
    I
smiled. “I’m not planning any parties with either group.”
    Rafael
just shook his head.
    The
waiters stopped by to clear our silverware, glasses, and plates again. Two
other waiters arrived with fresh silverware, wine, and plates containing a
breaded meat.
    Rafael
reached for his fork. “I’ll be tied up with an assignment over the next three
days. Can we start Saturday morning?”
    I
eyed the meat skeptically. I wasn’t terribly fond of breaded mystery meat. “Sure.
Do I need to buy any special equipment for this?”
    Rafael
shook his head. “I should have everything you need. I converted one of the
rooms in my house into a gym. We can train there.” He paused as he took a bite
of the breaded meat. “Would you be willing to consider lifting weights? It
would really help with the self-defense training.”
    I
nodded as I cut into my own piece of mystery meat. “I used to lift weights in
Montana and when I worked on the Hill. I wouldn’t mind picking it back up
again.”
    “Good.
I’ll give you the key to my house and the security code. You can go over there
any time you want to work out.”
    “So
we’re trading keys now?” I teased. I sampled the meat and breathed a small sigh
of relief. The breaded meat was Chicken Kiev, which was totally doable.
    “I
already have a key to your place,” he reminded me, “and the code.”
    My
eyebrows furrowed. “Yeah. About that. How did you figure out the code?”
    He
shrugged. “It wasn’t difficult once I saw your friend Kadyn over there.
Besides, I can bypass most security systems. That was part of my training in
special ops.”
    “Speaking
of Kadyn…” I began nervously. “I should probably let you know that he’s coming
over tomorrow night.”
    Rafael
raised an eyebrow questioningly.
    The
waiters returned, this time with sea urchin, which was artfully presented
inside its prickly shell. Like the previous courses, the sea urchin had its own
pairing of wine.
    My
eyes met Rafael’s as the waiters walked away. “Rafael, we’re just friends. When
I came back from Paris, Kadyn made it clear we could only be friends. He
couldn’t