Massimo POV

Waking up to an empty bed has never been uncommon for me.

Not saying that I have never spent the night with a woman, just that they leave after we both are satisfied for the night.

But waking up to an empty bed after she had slept there last night sent me into a near panic mode.

Without even thinking, I shot out of bed, threw a shirt on, and went searching.

The sun was just rising so it had been around seven in the morning. Maybe she got up to eat some breakfast.

But the bed was cold beside me meaning she got up a while ago.

Racing down the stairs I nearly trample over someone at the bottom.

"Sorry, sir," Cielo says with a tired look on his face.

"Were you on patrol last night?" I ask with a stern tone. His back straightens immediately and his eyes snap open.

"Yes sir, I just got off."

"Did you see Serena?" I race out in a hurry as if the faster I asked the question the faster I would find her.

What if she ran?

She was good at hiding... I would never find her again.

My eyes burned down on Cielo as he looked at me. His face was pale from my gaze.

"The last I saw her was around four thirty this morning."

"Where?" I shoot out.

"She asked me to take her to the training room. She might still be in there," He says and before he could finish I was already speed-walking down the hallway.

Please be in there.

Please be in there.

Getting to the door and swinging it open, my eyes scan the room for her and quickly find her.

She was standing behind the bench press while Spencer was laid down ready to do another set. Her eyes were fixed on the bar as he moved it up and down, his arms shaking in the process.

A deep breath left my lips. She didn't leave.

Rather than going to them right away, I watched her with interest from across the room.

Her hair was tied back into a tight pony showing more of her beautiful face. Her forehead was glistening with sweat from a good workout.

Moving my eyes further down her, I felt my chest tighten.

She was wearing a pair of tight green leggings that showed off her hourglass figure and just a black sports bra that showed the tops of her breasts. Her body was on display for all in the room and I could feel my blood boiling.

Others were peaking glances over at her. Either because they were trying to get a look at the bringer of death or because she was just that stunning. Whatever the reason, it made my fists clench at my sides.

I slowly made my way over once Spencer stood from his set with a heavy grunt. He lifted his muscle shirt and wiped his face, showing Serena his toned abs.

A groan escaped my lips as Serena ignored him and started moving the weights off of the bar. Spencer's head snapped to me and he quickly dropped his shirt down.

"Morning," Spencer says quickly as I look past him to Serena when she bent down to set a plate on the ground. Her perfectly round ass was sticking up in the air causing tightness in my pants.

When Serena turned around and caught my gaze she froze for a moment as if she were in trouble. I quickly softened my gaze and arched an eyebrow at her.

"Good morning to you too," She says before walking away and going to another machine.

I followed her with my eyes as did all the men in the room.

"Where did she get those clothes?" I sheath out as Spencer stands beside me.

"Joyce lent them to her," Spencer says and turns to look at her. "I came in here around five and she was walking around the room. When I offered if she wanted to join me she said she didn't have clothes to change into so I asked Joyce."

I nodded my head but didn't look at him.

"Dude the girl is a beast," He says and now I look at him. "Joyce said she never worked out when they lived together. But if you ask me, she lifts as if she has never skipped the gym a day in her life. Girl out benched me." He says with a laugh as he shook his head.

I looked back over to where she was standing, taking a drink out of a water bottle as sweat dripped down her cheeks.

With her arm flexed up, you could see her muscles bulging under her tattoos. Spencer wasn't wrong. She could take out half the men in this room.

"Yo Serena!" A voice shouts and her head snaps over to Chester. She smiles at him before meeting him near the mats in the middle of the room.

"Might want to relax your gaze man," Spencer says nudging me. I look down at him and he smirks. "People might get the idea you love her or something."

"Shut up," I mutter as I walk away from him. I didn't know what I was doing until I was standing at the edge of the room watching over her.

Serena and Chester were standing on the mat before he quickly turned around and went by a group of people.

Her eyes locked on me before she crossed the room while taking a sip of her water.

"I can feel your eyes burning into me with every breath I take, do you mind?" She asks with a raised eyebrow as she sets the water on the ground by my feet.

Instead of answering her, I looked over at Chester as the group he was talking to started going toward the mat.

"What did Chester want?"

"Geez you're turning into a creep," She mutters under her breath. My head snaps to her and she rolls her eyes. "He asked if I wanted to spar with him for practice."

"And you said yes?" I ask cautiously. She expressed a few times that she didn't want to be involved with violence and death anymore. Although this would be a controlled fight, someone could still get hurt. By someone, I meant Chester.

Her eyes met mine finally and she scanned my face as her eyes softened.

"Just because I don't want to kill Ricardo's men doesn't mean that I won't fight alongside you. You can severely hurt someone without killing them," She says with a smirk. "Plus Chester made a smart comment. Someone has got to put that boy in his place so why not make a lesson out of it."

With that, she left my side and joined Chester on the mat where he was stretching his arms out.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I leaned against the wall and followed her with my eyes as she said something to Chester.

There was a small group surrounding them to watch her fight in real-time.

Spencer joined my side without saying anything.

"Ready?" Chester asks as they slowly circle each other.

"I should ask you that," She says with a smirk on her face. Her hands were loosely held close to her face.

Her body was loose and open with many areas open for an attack.

Chester saw this and moved first, his right foot went forward as he pulled his left hand back to jab her stomach.

In one swift move, she bent down, grabbed his left hand, and swept her foot under his legs while pulling his arm outwards. His body quickly slammed to the floor while she held his arm behind his back.

She had beat him within five seconds of the first move.

The room fell silent as everyone looked at them. Even I was shocked but a smirk appeared on my face as she looked up at me while continuing to pin him down.

"Okay I tap," Chester says as he taps his right hand down hard on the mat.

She swiftly gets off his back and takes a step back while he picked himself up and shook his arm out.

His eyes were wide as he turned to her.

"How... when... what?" He stutters while trying to comprehend what just happened. A smirk was played on her face as she stepped back up to him.

"Slowly come at me like you just did," She says with her arms at her side. He does this by moving his right foot forward and swinging his left arm back.

"You show your move before you have a chance to do it. You step forward with the opposite leg to generate more twist in your core. This allows a stronger punch. Your form is good but you step before you pull your arm back. You have to do it at the same time to hide your move," She explains and nudges her head for him to step back.

"Again," She says and steps back. This time he does both at the same time and she nods her head. "When you stepped up to me you saw my open body and took the chance. But you didn't take in my body posture."

"What do you mean?" He asks stepping back.

Instead of just talking to him, she raises her voice slightly and talks to all of them.

"When you think of a fight stance, you think tight body to keep everything close and protected. But by doing this you restrict your movement and precision. Your body should be loose. Your legs shoulder width apart but bent in case you need a quick move to the side. Your arms should be loosely over your face and neck.

"Most opponents will go for the face or abdomen first. So with this stance all you have to do is drop your arm to protect yourself," She says and demonstrates the stance. A few mirror her to get a feel for it.

She went around and gave corrections to stances as Spencer nudges me. I look down to see him watching me with a smile.

"She's built for this," he says and then looks back over at her. "With her help and this Tomas guy, there is no way we can lose."

And God I hope he is right.