Shrill beeping jerked me from my sleep. The first sleep I'd had outside the eye of the government in five years. 

I rolled onto my side and grabbed the phone that continued to go off, looking at the screen. the time read five-thirty, with the title of the alarm 'training at six' with an address following. 

Groaning, I tapped the dismiss button and sat up, every bone and muscle crying in pain at the movement. I really needed to get at least a bed. 

I stiffly stood up, bones cracking, and grabbed my duffel bag. In the darkness, I sifted through the clothes I had brought. Long yoga pants and long sleeve, moisture wicking shirt. I pulled them on in the dark before slipping on my socks and shoes. 

Plugging the address into the phone, it looked like my training facility was only a couple blocks over. Thank goodness since they decided I only needed a half hour to get ready. 

I pulled a brush through my hair, and tied it back with an elastic from my wrist before sliding my leather gloves on and heading out of the apartment, locking the door behind me. 

In the dim light of the hallway, I looked back down at my gloved hands, remembering them holding Alex's attention longer than I'd liked. The gloves definitely would not help me blend in with Nevada life, but I also couldn't risk exposing anyone to my touch. 

I looked down at the phone screen, pushing the glove problem off until later and followed the highlighted line to get to my training. I knew if I were late, they would bring the full wrath of the United States government down on me. I studied the route, just two turns. Putting the phone in my pocket, I began to jog to warm up. 

It wasn't long before I was sure I was near my destination, but the area looked completely run down. Brick buildings with shattered windows. Broken glass on the sidewalk, and trash littering the sides of the street. There wasn't a single soul around. I pulled out my phone to verify the address, but I was right where I was supposed to be. 

An old warehouse with boarded up windows and a broken padlock on the sliding double doors. How stereotypical of them. 

I gripped one of the handles, the metal warm in my gloved hand even for nearly six in the morning, and slowly slid the door open enough to see inside. Darkness. There were no lights on inside, and the sun hadn't quite yet risen to filter through the windows above. 

Perhaps I was the first one there. I was early, after all. Or perhaps this wasn't the right location despite the fact the phone had led me right here. The second option was most definitely the least likely. They were rarely incorrect with the information given, especially when it came to assignments. 

For an abandoned building with boarded windows, it looked surprisingly clean inside in the dim lighting. The smell of dust filled my nostrils as the dry breeze slipped inside behind me. 

I took a few steps inside, breathing in the stale air. It was likely those doors hadn't been opened in years other than junkies or teenagers breaking inside. 

The open door provided what little light there was, so I left it open as I took a few more steps forward. There were no signs that the building was set up for training, but it was likely that there wouldn't be any equipment to use. That would mean they would have to spend more money on me, which was unlikely. 

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and the air behind me shifted. I dropped to the ground, spinning on the balls of my feet, and looking up just as a man's arm swung where my head had been. 

He passed by me, and I jumped to my feet, turning back around. 

The man brushed his hair out of his face, exposing all of his striking features. 

"Good reflexes," the man said as he moved in again. 

I jumped with the shift in his lower body as he moved in to knock me off balance, but I'd done so too soon. 

His arm moved in again and it felt like a brick wall as he made contact with the base of my rib cage, knocking the wind out of me and landing me on my back on the cement ground. 

"But easy to adapt to," he finished, his face inches away from my own. The color in his ocean blue eyes seemed to dance. 

Something stirred inside me, but it was different from the usual hunger I felt when faced with potential prey. It was a similar desire, but it didn't cause my stomach to churn with dread. 

The air between us was alive and hard to fight, and what frightened me was that I didn't want to fight it. 

He pulled away quickly, and I was finally able to think. 

"Easy to adapt to? Who do you think you are?" I asked, getting to my feet and brushing away the dust. 

"I think I'm your trainer." He raised one brow and crossed his arms. 

His extremely large arms. 

By the time I was able to tear my eyes away from his perfectly toned body, there was a smirk waiting for me. 

"You can call me Jett."

I felt the heat flood my cheeks and hoped it was still dark enough to hide the blush creeping in. 

"Piper."

"I know who you are, Subject one three nine. I know what you are, and unfortunately they wouldn't let me take a different assignment."

I tried to hide the fact that his words made me flinch. It shouldn't have surprised me though, they all hated us. 

"Well, are we going to get to training, then?" I asked, walking past him to the center of the building. 

"You react too quickly. It will save you at first, like it did when I came at you from behind, but it will get you into trouble once your opponent sees it. If you have an observant opponent, you'll go down quickly."

I crossed my arms. "Great, but how often am I going to be going up against skilled fighters? I'm going to be working the high roller tables in a casino. They already have their own guards."

"Inside, yes. But as you stated, you'll be working the high roller tables. You're going to be tasked with tailing some high profile targets, ones who have money to buy secrets and the potential to destroy high-stake operations. They're going to have their own body guards as well, and once you leave the casino, you'll be on your own."

Jett's movements were quick and smooth as he reached out to grab at me. 

I managed to duck and roll to the side, exposing my back to him as I crouched. I kept my hands on the ground, listening and feeling the vibrations of his footsteps as he neared. 

When he was close enough, I spun on the ball of one foot, holding my other leg out. 

He stumbled slightly, but managed to stay on his feet. At least it was enough to give me a chance to get my bearings. 

Jett turned around, a blade in his hand. 

My eyes widened "Whoa now. I thought we were just training."

"We are. Do you think your opponents are going to be empty handed?" He lunged toward me, blade slashing at my abdomen. 

I moved back just in time to avoid the strike. 

He came back in and it was forearm to forearm, but his strength was too much for my own as his arm pushed mine down. 

I landed a kick straight into his gut, causing Jett to stagger backwards, but not before the blade of his knife sliced through the fabric of my sleeve and bit into my skin.

Jett moved back in again and my foot went up, connecting with his hand. The blade went flying, but he adjusted quickly. One arm wrapped around my stomach, effectively pinning my arms to my side as his other hand grabbed my ponytail and pulled my head back to expose my neck. 

"All's fair out there." His voice was low and gravelly, his breath coming and going evenly as it passed by my ear. His eyes looking down into mine. 

Every cell in my body flared with a feeling of electricity, adrenaline, and that same desire from earlier made it's way to my stomach before moving down further. It didn't make me recoil, it made me sink into it, into him. 

In that moment, I saw it. There was a slight blue glow in those ocean blue eyes as the colors shifted. I gasped. 

The sudden intake of breath caused Jett to release me, his eyes going back to normal. 

"You're an Incubus," I whispered. 

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And there is chapter 3. Let me know what you think below, and if you enjoyed it, please hit that star to let me know :)