Chapter Twenty-Two - Carl

The woman they sent to his quarters was unusual in that her face was wet with tears. Carl came close to hammering on the by now locked door and insisting on a replacement, but he was intrigued. No other female had ever presented as reluctant, and especially not after a victory. She must be new.

“Sit,” he ordered, simply, as he unwound the bindings around his trousers.

Some fighters preferred leather as it made a statement; he let his prowess do the talking.

“Where?” she asked.

He looked up in surprise. It was a strange question given that there was little other than a bed in the small room. Carl patted the opposite side to where he was perched and she moved forward reluctantly. She reminded him of a deer prepared to bolt at any moment.

“What’s your name?”

“My real one, or the one they told me to use?”

His head snapped up, concentration suspended for the time being.

“Whichever you prefer to disclose.”

“Ginny,” she said, perching herself on the mattress. She held herself stiffly, as if