CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

I wasted no time in pulling my chair out from under me. Not for one minute did I think James would go easy on me, though I hoped he would probably stop short of killing me.

At the moment, he had a point to prove, and several other advantages to boot. He was bigger, heavier, had a longer reach, and by the ripped state of his abs, he most certainly worked out.

Assuming he was in the same line of work I was, and that wasn’t certain, I figured he’d have some martial arts training under his belt. Depending on which ones he’d studied, I might have an easy day or an unpleasant one.

There was no doubt I’d come out of this experience with bruises, and I didn’t expect to win against him every time we fought, but I figured the law of averages would at least give me a shot at crossing a few of the more unpleasant things off that list without actually having to experience them first-hand.

The other side of the coin was that it would give me exercise, and a way to burn off the unpleasant nervous