Caid stepped into the brick building and made his way to the front desk. The bust had gone somewhat as planned, and while they hadn’t gotten their hands on The Runner, they had put an end to one of his packaging warehouses in the area.

Jameson had thankfully gone his own way without bugging Caid once the raid was over, and that in itself was a small miracle. Still, he had some major steam to blow off before he went to the gym to meet a gorgeous blonde he wanted to hit the mats with.

Should he ask her to dinner? Maybe he could start small and just ask her to grab a drink?

“Hey, Agent King!” Andy, the manager, greeted him as Caid handed over his badge and ID.

“Hey, man, how’s it going?” Caid shook Andy’s hand and took his ID back.

“It’s going. Headed to Dallas this weekend for a gun expo. I’m pretty stoked about it.”

“I bet. That sounds like it’ll be fun.”

“I hope so. You’re on lane seven.”

“Perfect.”

“Have fun.”

“I always do.” Caid smiled, and after putting on his safety gear, walked to the lane. As he was walking, he couldn’t help but appreciate the woman in lane eight and the way she was handling the firearm. From where he was, it appeared to be a .45. He didn’t know many women who were comfortable holding that much steel in their hands.

As he got closer, the recognition was immediate. He had just been thinking about her, and now here she was. Maybe if he thought about them on a date, she wouldn’t say no when he asked. Because after seeing her hold a gun, he definitely needed to ask.

He watched her for a moment, and when she went to reload, he touched her shoulder gently.

She turned, and he saw the fleeting panic cross her face before it turned to surprise, and if he wasn’t mistaken, some mistrust.

“Hi!” he yelled so she could hear him with her ear phones on.

“Hi back!”

“It seems we keep running into each other!”

She smiled. “It definitely does seem that way, doesn’t it?”

“That a .45?”

She nodded. “A Springfield.”

“I’m impressed!”

She continued loading her magazine and then took her stance again. He lost himself in the way she focused on the target, and when every round she sent downrange met their destination, decided he was just going to have to marry her.

Caid spent nearly the entire hour he was there watching Jemma. He was too impressed to feel creepy about it, and every time she unloaded and reloaded, he would ask her a random question so she didn’t just think he was a weirdo.

When she began packing up, he grabbed his gun bag and followed her out to the lobby.

“That was impressive in there,” he commented as they walked to the parking lot.

“Thanks. I’m surprised to see you here.”

“Eh, it’s the closest one to my apartment, and I know the manager.”

“Andy? He seems nice.”

Jealousy flared momentarily in Caid’s mind until she turned and smiled at him.

“Will I see you at the gym later?” she asked as she searched the street for what Caid guessed was a cab.

“Yeah. I was actually about to grab a coffee. You interested?”

She hesitated, and for a moment, Caid was worried she would say no, but after a second she nodded. “I could go for a caffeine boost.”

“Awesome.” He all but beamed at her, and then headed down the street toward the nearest coffee shop.

They ordered their coffees, and Jemma led him to a seat at the back where they were near an emergency exit but away from any windows. He wondered if it had anything to do with why she had been in a panic yesterday.

“So, what do you do when you aren’t shooting paper targets or beating the crap out of unsuspecting men at the gym?” Caid asked as he took a drink.

Jemma smiled slightly, and Caid caught sight of a slight dimple in her cheek. “Not much. I read a lot.”

“What do you like to read?”

She blushed. “Romance mostly.”

“My sister is a big reader. She is even working on writing her first book.”

“Really? That’s awesome! I always wanted to write.”

“Did you ever?”

“No,” she answered sadly, “I never got the chance.”

“What do you do now? For work?”

Jemma swallowed hard. This was why she didn’t socialize. She didn’t have answers for the simplest questions. “I’m in between jobs right now. I had some money saved up, so I’ve been living on that until I decide what I want to do next. What about you? You said you have a sister?”

Caid laughed. “I do; she’s my only sibling.”

“Your parents?”

“They are currently living it up on a cruise somewhere in the Caribbean.”

“That’s nice.”

“They’re enjoying it. Crap, hang on.” Caid stood when his phone rang, stepping away from the table to answer it.

She watched him as he spoke, noting the subtle changes in his body movements. He wasn’t nearly as relaxed as he’d been only seconds before. A few minutes passed, and he returned to the table.

“I need to run back to my office. See you later?”

She nodded. “Looking forward to it.”

* * *

Caid got to the gym early so he could get a warm up in before his sparring session with Jemma. Coffee with her had been the highlight of his day. Well, that, and watching her shoot a gun with precision most of the agents in the office only wished they had.

He walked straight to the treadmill, and after putting his ear buds in, started a walk to heat his still sore muscles. He pushed the speed up and ran to the beat of the rock playing in his ear. Closing his eyes, he imagined he was running outside rather than in this crowded gym, and mentally went through the raid over again.

They had busted in to find seven men packaging a shit-ton of cocaine. They scattered, and shots were fired. Caid had taken down two men who had trained their Glocks on him, and he even took down one who would have killed Jameson. Fucker should feel grateful, he thought to himself.

There had been no one else in the building, and the others had laid their weapons down and surrendered. No one had talked yet, but he was hoping after they sweated it out a bit, things might change.

They had to catch a break on this guy. Dude was a ghost and managed to stay out of their line of sight every single time. It didn’t even matter that they had taken down one of his op locations; two more would sprout up right behind it, and they would be even further away from catching him. What they needed was someone with some inside information.

Caid opened his eyes just as Jemma stepped into the gym. Their eyes met, and he slowed the treadmill for his cool down. Damn, he thought, she sure is something.

She wore skin-tight shorts and a zip-up sweatshirt. Her gym bag was slung over her shoulder, and her blonde hair had been pulled back into a braid. He stopped the treadmill, and had to catch himself when he tripped. Thankfully, she had been distracted by the manager -- what was her name? Mikel, maybe? -- and hadn’t seen.

He wiped the sweat from his face and headed down the steps toward where they stood talking.

“Hey, Jemma,” Caid said with a grin. “Good to see you.”

“You too.” She smiled.

“You two have fun.” Mikel nudged Jemma, and Caid smiled. Someone was trying to play matchmaker. “I blocked it off for the afternoon, so the room is yours!” she called, heading back to the counter.

“Good day?” he asked her as they walked into the training room.

“The same as it was when you last saw me. Yours?” She bent over, and he got a sinfully arousing look at her ass in tight shorts. It should be illegal to wear those in public. He should know, he was a cop after all.

“Same.” He tried to look innocent when she stood and faced him. But, dammit, if she didn’t unzip that sweatshirt and reveal nothing but a black sports bra underneath. Fuck, he was in trouble. “Do you need to warm up?” he asked, trying desperately to keep his eyes on her face.

“A little, if you don’t mind?” She stepped onto the mats and started stretching.

Jemma dropped to the mats to stretch out her back and legs, and then stood. “You really don’t mind sparring with me?” she asked as she put her fingerless gloves onto her hands.

“Not at all. You don’t mind sparring with me? I know I’m no Mikel.”

Jemma laughed slightly. “You’re damn good, Caid, and you’re larger than me, which makes things more interesting and forces me to fight harder.”

“I meant to ask you earlier, how are things? Better than yesterday?”

Jemma nodded, but Caid didn’t miss the way her features darkened. Whatever had been bothering her was still lurking.

“I told you how my sister gets panic attacks. I know you don’t know me, but if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m all ears.”

“Thanks.” She smiled softly, but didn’t elaborate.

“And if you don’t want to talk, that’s fine with me too. I’m all about sweating out your problems.”

“That why you’re so fit?” she asked sarcastically as she stepped back toward the mats.

“My ex-fiancé married my ex-best friend, whom I still have to see daily, so yeah that’s probably why I’m so fit.”

“Ouch.”

He laughed, but there was little humor in it. “Yeah, but everything happens for a reason I suppose.”

They tapped gloves, and the match began.

* * *

“Wanna grab a coffee?” Caid asked as they stepped out onto the street.

“Again? It’s seven at night.”

He shrugged. “I like coffee.”

Jemma studied the sky. It would be getting dark soon, and she had no interest in being out when it did. “Maybe another time. I’ve got some things I need to do.” She smiled and headed toward her apartment.

“Same time tomorrow?” he called out, and she offered him a wave without looking back.

What had she been thinking? Jemma scolded herself as she walked quickly back home. Her sparring sessions with Mikel had never lasted that long. She knew why, of course. Being around Caid was resurrecting a part of herself she had thought died a long time ago.

It was dangerous, though. She was getting careless with her routine. Get in, sweat out the anxiety, get home, and all before dark. She looked up. Only one more block to go, and she would be home.

She thought back on Caid, and a small smile played at her lips. Exercising with him was a fun challenge, and it forced her to step a little outside of her comfort zone. Perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing.

She reached the steps of her apartment building and stared up at the stars just starting to shine. When was the last time she looked up at the stars? Watched the city lights as they blurred past her?

She caught movement out of the corner of her eye, and she looked over to see Maria walking toward her.

“Hey, what are you doing out here?” Maria asked with a smile.

“Just getting back from the gym. It’s a nice night, so I thought I’d take a minute and look at the stars.” Jemma smiled. Maybe she should have taken Maria up on that night out.

“It is a nice night, isn’t it?” Maria returned her smile and reached into her purse.

Jemma didn’t get a chance to fight back as the rag was placed over her nose and mouth. She simply fell backwards as the world turned to black.