Free Broken: Round One (Broken #1) by Skyla Madi Page A

at the size of him and the aggression in his steps. He flexes his hand at his side, balling it up before relaxing it once more.
    “What are you doing?” he demands, his jaw clenching.
    I rub at my face with my shirt. “I was looking for you.”
    “You shouldn’t walk around here without me. You could get hurt.”
    I lower my shirt and scowl at him. I see plenty of women walk around here—some not even wearing clothes. If I want to walk around, I should have that right. I don’t need to be babysat by Jai. I’m a grown-ass woman.
    “You might call me Kitten, but I am not one. I can take care of myself.”
    He flicks his eyebrows, his mouth morphing into a smile of complete mockery. I hate it. I hate being treated like a child.
    “Okay, Miss Lioness, tell me, how were you going to handle that situation?”
    I cross my arms over my chest. “If you gave me a little more time, I would have done something.”
    He shakes his head. “When you’re in a situation like that, you don’t have time. The trick is avoiding the situation before it even has a chance to happen. He had you by your hair. You were as good as his if I hadn’t shown up when I did.”
    As good as his? Is he implying that I wouldn’t have been able to fight him off? I may be a smaller woman, but I am fucking fierce. I’d die long before I let anyone do something I didn’t want done to my body.
    “You asshole!” the man growls, pulling himself to his feet.
    Jai and I watch him as blood trickles from his mouth and down his chin.
    “You’re going to fucking regret th—”
    I shoot forward and cock my knee. While his attention is on Jai, I drive my foot forward with full force and I connect perfectly. Right in the baby-maker. He yells in my face and grips my shoulder. His breath smells horrid, like copper and rust, and his knees click together. I shrug out from underneath him and he drops to the floor. I don’t know if that kick is going to come back to haunt me, but for now, it felt nice to do. My heart-rate has elevated to dangerous levels, threatening to burst through my chest and I peer sideways at Jai, who smiles down at me. It’s reassuring.
    I smirk back at him. “Say it.”
    He angles his head. “Say what?”
    “You’re impressed. Admit it.”
    Jai smiles, a full-blown smile, one I haven’t seen before. It lights up his features and exposes his perfect white teeth. “How about I buy you a drink instead?”
    I raise my eyebrows, interested. “And when and where am I going to collect it?”
    He flicks his head towards the tunnel behind him, in the opposite direction of our nook. I haven’t ventured any further into the tunnels down here, but if there’s a place to ‘buy’ drinks, I’m sold.
    We pass lots of fighters on the way. Some drunk. Some sober. All scary. For the most part, I keep my head down and stick close to Jai. About a mile down one tunnel, we pop out at yet another large opening. Whoever designed this underground system was clever. Every mile or so there are large open tunnels in the floor, allowing any excess water the previous tunnel didn’t catch to filter down. Being as close to the river as this industrial site is, I’m assuming they’ve also taken into account any flooding from there, thus ensuring the spillage from the river doesn’t flood the lower areas.
    What amazes me most about this particular space are the naked people. Men. Women. Everyone. As naked as the day they were born. I notice the smell in here is different to the other tunnels. Various fruity aromas of pomegranate, peach, pineapple and apple, as well as manlier, earthier ones, flood into my nostrils. My attention rests on the steady stream of clean water that seeps from a small pipe above. It spits out the water, allowing at least twelve people below to wet their cloths and clean their bodies. Granted, it’s not the kind of shower that can efficiently wash away all of the day’s grime or relieve a back ache, but at least it’s