Very late.

To distract myself, I pick up my phone and call my best friend. Who better to commiserate with, right?

Maddy answers on the second ring.

"Hey girl," she chirps cheerfully. "What's up?"

I scowl. "Don't pretend you don't know," I tell her grumpily. "I know that Gabe told you everything. I suck. It's common knowledge."

Maddy pauses. "You sometimes suck," she agrees. "But not most of the time. You messed up. Big deal. You're fixing it now."

"You've got that right," I agree, staring around Joe's cluttered office. "I'm at the gym waiting to start my community service. It's disgusting here. And those boys out there. Oh my god. They're so intimidating. They look like they might shiv someone in the shower."

Maddy chuckles. "You're not intimidated by anyone. That's one of the things I love about you. Suck it up and do your time, Jace. Then you can get your ass out here for a visit. I miss you."

"I miss you too," I reply. "And I've got to come out while you're still pregnant. It'll be the only time that I get to see you fat."

Maddy laughs at that, and I laugh too, because I'm sure that even now, my best friend isn't fat. She's gorgeous, like always. But before we can say more, Joe lumbers back into the office, having only been gone for ten minutes.

"Gotta go, Mad," I mutter quickly. "I'll call you later."

I hang up quickly and stare at my new boss. He's a huge man, gray hair, gray whiskers, square jaw, wide shoulders. He actually looks like he could be found on a fisherman's wharf or something. He's maybe sixty or so and he has no tact. As in, none.

"Who the hell does that kid think he is?" he grumbles to me. Or maybe to himself, because he doesn't even look up at me as he drops heavily into his office chair. "I don't give a flying rat's ass if he's famous. I'm only going through your orientation one time. If he's not here in five minutes, we'll start without him and he can just go someplace else to do his time."

Joe looks at me sternly now, his steely blue eyes firm. "I don't put up with laziness or tardiness, Ms. Vincent. You should know that right now."

"Yes, sir," I stammer. For some reason, he just seems like a person I should address as sir. He smiles though, for the first time since I met him. It crinkles the corners of his eyes and spreads to the rest of his face, lighting up his wrinkles.

"Sir. Ha! That's a good one. Sir was my father. Or my drill sergeant back when I was in the Army. I'm just Joe, young lady."

Finally. Something to break the ice with him. Relief washes over me.

"You were in the Army?" I grab at that straw quickly, before he changes the subject and the topic gets away from me. I don't want to go back to staring at the clock, waiting for Dominic in uncomfortable silence. "My brother was, too. He was a Ranger. He just got a Medal of Honor, as a matter of fact."

Joe stares at me now, sufficiently impressed and curious.

"You don't say? That's impressive. It takes a lot to get one of those. What did he do?"

"His Humvee got bombed in Afghanistan, and according to the president, he acted with extreme valor in the face of peril, above and beyond the call of duty. Basically, he risked his own ass to save someone else's."

"You don't get more salt of the earth than that, missy," Joe drawls sincerely, nodding. "You should take some pointers from your brother. What does he think about you being here?"

My shoulders slump at the mere thought of what Gabe thinks about it, and Joe laughs.

"That bad, huh?"

I smile and he smiles back. Thank god. The ice has definitely been broken.

"Don't worry," he tells me, his tone softening just a bit. "My bark is worse than my bite, as long as you stay on the straight and narrow and do your job. These kids here..."

He pauses, staring out the window of his door at the teenagers punching at bags out in the sweaty gym.

"They don't have much, see? If they don't come here, they would get into trouble on the streets. And I don't want that. It's our job to keep them on the straight and narrow. To do that, you've got to be there, too. Capisce?"

I nod quickly. "Joe, seriously, this is the first time I've ever been in trouble. That pot wasn't even mine..." But Joe holds up his hand.

"That's not my business," he tells me. "My business is just making sure that you don't get into trouble again. You hear?"

He's stern again, and I know I'm back at an arm's length with him. He's going to be a tough nut to crack, and I'm going to have to earn his respect, but I just get the feeling that deep down he's a good guy. A nice guy. I saw a glimpse of warmth in those eyes a minute ago. Plus, he dedicates his life to helping troubled teens. That's got to mean something.

"I'm sorry I'm late."

The voice comes from behind me, freezing me in my chair.

Dominic.

I would know that voice anywhere now. Husky and low. Arrogant and dark. I don't know why I think a voice can be dark, all I know is his just is. His voice hints at dark things.

I turn in my chair to find him lingering in the door, looking like he just stepped from the big screen into this tiny office. He's bigger than life, even here. He doesn't look at me; instead his gaze is fixed on Joe.

He's got an arrogant, sexy attitude that completely fills up whatever room he's in. And even though he's saying he's sorry, he doesn't look one bit apologetic. He doesn't offer even one tiny explanation for his tardiness, either.

Joe stares at him.

"The next time you're late, don't bother coming in at all," Joes tells him gruffly. "Have as much respect for me and my boys here as you do for yourself and we'll all get along nicely. If you can't do that, get the hell out the same way you came in."

Dominic looks at him calmly. "Noted."

Joe stares at him, his blue eyes meeting Dominic's green. Neither looks away for a minute, until Joe breaks the gaze and looks at me.

"This one's got balls," he tells me, nodding. "Just wait til I break 'em."

I giggle and Dominic stares at me in disdain.

His gaze doesn't stray to my cheek where I have a bruise, and it doesn't meet my eyes. He also doesn't bother himself to comment. That's one thing that's clear about Dominic Kinkaide. He isn't going to go out of his way for much.

"Listen up," Joe tells us, snapping me out of thinking about Dominic. "I don't have much to say, other than what happens here with the kids stays here. These kids have rough home lives, and they don't need you spreading talk about them outside of this gym. You're here to help them in any way you can. Be a mentor. Show them that there is life outside of trouble. Think you can do that?"

I nod.

"It's pretty simple here. Don't be late. Don't mess up. Don't make their lives harder than they already are. Do some good. What you put out into the world, it comes back to you. Got it?"

I nod again, but Dominic sits silent and still.

Joe turns to him. "All right, since you were late, your job today will be to empty all the spit cans from around the boxing rings. Take them into the locker room, dump them out, rinse the cans, and put them back."

Dominic stares at him. "You can't be serious."

Oh, but he's serious. There's not a hint of a smile on Joe's face now.

"Yeah, I'm fucking serious. Don't be late again, or-"

"Or don't bother showing up," Dominic interrupts, as he heads for the door. "Yeah, I got it." He walks out without another word and Joe looks at me.

"Your friend might not last long here."

I stare after Dominic, at his wide shoulders striding away from us. He's tall and lean, drop-dead gorgeous and proud as hell. "He's not my friend," I finally answer softly. "I barely know him."

But I have the feeling that's about to change. What I don't know... is how I feel about that.

Chapter Seven.

Dominic

After I dump the disgusting cans of old spit down the even more disgusting bathroom sinks, I take them back out to the gym, pausing for a minute as I stare at Jacey. As much as I hate to give her attention, it's hard not to notice her here, especially when she's thrust herself in the middle of a group of at-risk kids and her face is pressed into a punching bag as one of the boys punches at it.

Especially when I walk past her and she smells like apples, crisp and clean.

She's as out of place in this dirty sweatbox as anyone I've ever seen.

She's got that girl-next-door quality that is so underrated among women. They all want to be glamorous bombshells, overly made-up and too sexed out. But even though Jacey is wearing makeup and short workout shorts, she's the classic girl next door, even if that's not her goal.

I bend and replace a spit can next to one of her toned legs, and she glances down at me, her eyes warm and sparkling.

For a minute, there's something in her expression, something mischievous, but she doesn't say anything. Instead, she just braces for another punch from the gigantic kid pummeling the bag she's holding. It's taking all of her weight to hold it still, but she's doing it. I can't help but be impressed.

Mainly because not only is she holding it, but she's not intimidated by him, either. She's half his size, but she just marched right out here and jumped in, just like she jumped in between Cris and me. Completely unafraid.

The kid she's with looks like he could eat her for breakfast, and every time he punches, it practically knocks her into the wall. But she still holds on.

She's stubborn, I'll give her that much. And fearless.

Why I'm thinking about her at all, though, I don't fucking know. Annoyed with myself, I turn around and head to the other side of the room.

That's when I hear the commotion.

Snapping around, I turn just in time to see the kid grab at Jacey's chest, his tape-wrapped fingers twisting her T-shirt and yanking her toward him. For a split second, my heart hammers as I watch the juvenile delinquent manhandling her. The kid is giant, and Jacey is extremely small.

But there's no time for me or anyone else to react before Jacey spins out of his grasp in one deft move, swinging her leg around in a surprisingly powerful roundhouse kick to his chest, knocking him onto his back.

I'm utterly stunned and so is she. I can see it on her face as she stands over him, her hands clenched and shaking at her sides as she balances one tennis shoe lightly on his neck.

"Don't touch me like that again!" she snaps at him. "I'm here to help you, but that doesn't give you the right to grope me."

By now, activity in the gym has halted, and every eye is on Jacey and the kid on the floor. You can hear a pin drop in this place.

The kid is still and silent as he looks up at her, and unconsciously I start to move toward Jacey. Even though I don't want to be involved with her or anything else, I can't leave her there by herself. I'm not completely heartless.

But then the kid smiles, even though Jacey's foot is still on his neck.

"If you let me up, I'll behave," he promises. Jacey stares down at him uncertainly, but after a second, she lifts her foot. The kid climbs to his feet, holding his hand out to Jacey.

She eyes him hesitantly.

"I'm sorry," the kid tells her, smiling again. "My name's Jake. There's no hard feelings, right? I was just messin' with you."

Jacey stares at him and I stop a few steps away.

"I guess not," she finally answers. "No hard feelings. Just don't do that again. I can take care of myself."

"Fuck, yeah, you can," the kid agrees. "Where did you learn to do that?"

Jacey shrugs, relaxing slightly even though she still keeps an eye on the boy.

"My brother's an Army Ranger. He taught me a lot of things. One of those things is how to shoot, and I have a 9mm in my bed stand. It might be pink, but it shoots just as straight as a regular one."

I can't help but chuckle now, at both the thought of this tiny chick with a pink gun by her bed and at the look on Jake's face.

"No worries," he tells her quickly. "I don't have any plans to break into your house. No need to threaten me with your pink gun."

I hear chuckling around me from the kids, and Jacey relaxes.

"Good. I just thought I'd let you know."

"Jake!" Joe's voice booms through the gym, and I glance over to find him standing in his office doorway, a pissed look on his face. "Get in here."

Jake turns slowly and Joe looks at Jacey.

"You okay?" he calls to her.

She nods and so does he. "Good. And nice rotation on that kick, young lady."

Jacey smiles now, a real smile that spreads to her eyes. "Thanks."

Jake disappears reluctantly into Joe's office, his shoulders slumped, and the door closes behind them. Jacey stands limply for a minute, probably trying to decide what to do now... now that she's shown the entire gym that she's an unlikely badass. Noise resumes around us as everyone goes back to their business.