Stand of Redemption by Cathryn Williams Read Free Book Online

situation. “Thank you.”
    She turned back to Ty. “I don’t know where I would be if you hadn’t shown up when you did.” While she reached to give him a hug, she felt herself start to cry, thinking about how close she had been to being hurt.
    “Oh… um… Okay. It was no problem.”
    Ria squeezed him tightly as he awkwardly patted her on the back.
    She heard Lane snickering at Ty’s discomfort, but didn’t care.
    She heard the front door open as she held on to Ty for support.
    “Nick. Hey, man, you’re late,” Zane yelled as he walked toward the front door.
    Ria jerked around to look at the man walking in. It was Nicholas. Their eyes locked, and she saw the surprise in his. What she didn’t understand was the flash of anger she saw next. His attention seemed to redirect to Ty. She was still wrapped in his arms at the moment.
    “What’s she doing here?” Nicholas asked. The glimpse of anger she had witnessed had been replaced with a friendlier tone, though Ria could still see the steel in his eyes.
    She stepped out of Ty’s embrace and sensed him slightly relax. She wondered what that was about.
    “Do you know her?” Zane asked with a strained tone.
    “Yeah, she’s one of the EMTs that took me to the hospital after our fight,” Nicholas replied as he looked at her.
    Zane looked back at her, as if he was trying to recall something. She felt herself getting confused. It seemed like there was something going on that she didn’t know about.
    “Oh, I see.” Zane turned to her. “I thought you were a waitress?”
    “I am now. I got fired from my last job,” Ria replied.
    She bet she sounded like a real winner, stealing money from customers and getting fired from jobs. She wondered what these men thought of her now.
    She looked down at herself. She was still wearing her work clothes from last night. A short spandex black skirt and a sleeveless, gold, shimmery wrap-tank with a deep V-neck. She hated what she had become, and the image she portrayed to others.
    She looked at Nicholas and caught him staring at her.
    “You still haven’t told me what she’s doing here,” Nicholas repeated to Zane, but before Zane could answer, he asked, “How did you get fired?”
    Ria gaped at him. “My car wouldn’t start after work last night. When I was walking to the gas station for help, a man attacked me. Lucky for me, Ty saved me. He brought me back here to recover,” Ria said quickly. “I was waitressing at The Plaza since that’s the only place that would hire me after you complained to the administrator of the hospital about my attitude.”
    Nick turned to Zane. “Where’s the guy?”
    “We’ll get him,” Zane responded.
    Nick nodded then turned back to Ria. “They fucking fired you?”
    Ria didn’t know why he was surprised. He was a local celebrity, as the administrator had pointed out several times. Nicholas had donated time and money to the women’s wing of the hospital.
    Ria felt her shoulders slump. “No one wants to hire someone like me. My actions of that night got around. I’m studying to become a paramedic, though. I think I’ll be able to get a job in another city then.”
    Ria saw his look of anger. She liked that he seemed upset, yet couldn’t understand why. He had been the one to complain to the administrator.
    “I’m here to work with Ty this morning. Stay and watch, then I’ll take you to your car,” Nicholas told her.
    “Um… that’s okay. I can walk.”
    “We need to talk, but I don’t have the time right now. I’ll take you home when I finish.”
    Ria wanted to tell him to go to Hell, but she bit her response back. Maybe he felt bad enough about her firing that he would call the administrator and get her job back.
    She really didn’t want to stay. Never in a million years would she have thought she would watch cage fighters train. It went against every thought she had toward this sport. But she couldn’t turn down the chance of getting her job back. She’d been