circle her. Her mouth went dry, and her breath quickened. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out why he was really doing this. Concern? Or did he feel personally challenged somehow?
She sidestepped, keeping square with him.
He continued forward and tried to grab her, but Lilith let loose with a hand strike.
Gabe blocked with his arm and returned the same. One blow glanced off her shoulder hard, but she refused to cry out. She ducked the second.
Realizing Gabe was playing it for real, Lilith was in control of herself but pumped.
And so was the audience. She heard the excited whispers, as if they knew that this time, their volunteer wasn’t going to so easily let her get the upper hand.
Gabe grabbed Lilith. She tried snap-kicking his kneecap, but he avoided her foot and spun her off balance.
She flew to the ground. He was on her instantly.
The other women gasped.
“Stop!” Elena’s cry was joined by several other worried voices.
Gabe didn’t hear. Or he didn’t care to hear. He had Lilith down and got on top of her. She fought him as hard as she could, but she couldn’t budge him. He was too heavy. Lilith was getting the worst of the attack — Gabe was simulating a potential rape, and she couldn’t seem to do anything about it.
The instructor pushed her way to the mat. “The two of you can stop now. This has gone far enough.”
“No!” Lilith said. She might be frustrated, but she was determined to prove herself.
A sharp strike on the arm didn’t budge Gabe. He probably didn’t feel it through all that padding. She went for his head, but he ducked. She relaxed for a few seconds as if giving up, and then, truly desperate, used every ounce of strength in her body to send Gabe flying off her.
He sprawled back on the mat, and she used the heel of her foot to chop him in the face mask.
Audience response was loud and enthusiastic.
Flushed with victory, Lilith rose and offered Gabe a hand up.
To his credit, he took it. He removed the headgear, and she saw his smile before he quickly hid it.
“You don’t want to say it, do you?” she asked, feeling good about something for once. “That I can take care of myself.”
“Not bad.” And then he grinned. “But not good enough. I
“No, you didn’t.”
Gabe raised an eyebrow in challenge. “You’re sure about that?”
Lilith’s smile faded. She didn’t know whether or not to believe him.
With a wink, he backed off and left the room, now alive with women chattering.
“That was awesome,” Carmen said. “You’re awesome.”
“Thanks. I needed to know I could do that if necessary.”
“Not just awesome
“That’s wonderful!” Lilith hugged Carmen.
A small victory, perhaps, but an important one. Carmen now had hope for her future. Something Lilith hadn’t been able to give to her own sister.
“Will you practice with me?” the girl asked.
Usually Lilith practiced with Elena, but her friend said, “Go ahead. I’ll get another partner.”
So Lilith watched Carmen carefully as the instructor led them through lunges, kicks and hand strikes. She was a fast learner. A half hour passed quickly, and while she was sweating, the teenager looked happier than she had in days. Then they were asked to change partners, and another teenager asked Carmen to practice with her.
Time sped by. All the while she went through her routine, Lilith wondered if Gabe had really given her the victory. When the class finally came to an end, the room cleared out fast. Lilith and Elena followed behind the others as they headed down the hall to the locker room.
“Carmen is a quick study,” Elena said.
“She’s not only smart, she’s determined. I just hope her parents see that and do whatever they have to so that she succeeds in getting through college.”
“She’ll find a way. She reminds me of you.”
Smiling, Lilith was about to say something when she had the oddest sensation that raised the hair on her arms. Feeling as if she was being watched, she glanced over her shoulder, and for a second thought she saw movement in the shadows under the stairwell.
She stopped dead in her tracks.
“Hey, come on, or there won’t be any hot water left.”
Though Lilith gave the stairwell an intent look, she didn’t see anything. Deciding her imagination was playing tricks on her, she nodded. “Right.” Then followed Elena into the locker room.
The showers were already running and the women not in the showers were in various states of undress. Lilith and Elena got to their lockers and started to strip.
“God, Elena, that felt good tonight. Like I finally do have some control, at least.”
“I’m glad things are better for you. Here you might be able to keep control. But at the club?” Elena shook her head. “I still think you should leave the investigation to the police.”
“This is my chance, Elena. I’ve learned the theory. I’ve trained. But I’ve never had the opportunity to prove myself before.”
“I thought this was about finding Hannah.”
Wrapping her towel around her, Lilith started. “It is. I mean…”
She swallowed and fell silent. Headed for the shower.
Elena followed. “I fear this is about you, Lilith. It’s too dangerous. You could be hurt. Or worse.”
They took adjoining shower heads. Elena soaped up, but, hands on the wall, Lilith leaned into the water, let it beat down on the back of her neck.
“Truthfully,” Lilith said, “I didn’t expect to be so… so scared.”
“Scared makes you smart,” Elena said. “Careful. Do the police have any idea of what you’re doing at the club?”
“Gabe does.” She lowered her voice. “The guy who was my human punching bag tonight? He’s the undercover cop I told you about.”
They finished their showers in silence. It wasn’t until they were drying themselves that Elena asked, “What’s it like? Working at the club?”
“I hate being thought available for whatever in a roomful of strange men. How did Hannah do it, Elena? How?”
“Maybe without thinking about anything but getting by.”
“Just like Mama.” Lilith wrapped her towel around her body and headed for her locker.
“What exactly do you think you can do, Lilith? What happens if you actually are able to finger the guy?”
Lilith tightened her jaw but didn’t say anything.
Elena frowned. “You’re going to go for him, aren’t you? You want to do more than find him.”
Lilith couldn’t deny that she’d had such thoughts. “In my dreams, maybe. I really don’t know what I would do. I keep thinking, what if the system doesn’t work? I fear he’ll walk.”
“Do you really want to know what you’re capable of, Lilith? If you don’t let the police bring the killer to justice, are you any better than he is?”
Lilith hadn’t really thought beyond finding her sister before it was too late.
And yet… if she got her hands on the bastard, could she really just do nothing but make a phone call?
“I’m scared for you, Lilith.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
As she reached into her locker for her underwear on the shelf, something fluttered down in front of her face. Lilith picked up what appeared to be a torn scrap of paper and turned it over. She swore it hadn’t been there when they’d gone into the shower. Her eyes widened as she got a better look at it, and the gorge rose in her throat. Clasping the towel to her breasts, she pressed her back to the locker and looked around wildly.
