Into Her Fire (Fantasy Heights) Read Online Free Page A

a rocket. When I asked him who Steph wanted fired, he threw a stapler at the wall, then slammed his door shut.”
    “God,” Marla breathed. “This place is like hell stuffed into a pressure cooker lately. There’s another rumor going around that Josh and Steph aren’t speaking. Please tell me that’s not true.”
    “I wish I could. I know they had words, and you know how Josh gets all quiet and polite when he’s trying not to take someone’s head off? It’s bad. I know things get tense when all the brass comes to the resort, but this time, I think it’s a good thing. Once Jennifer sees the state this place is in, she’ll knock some heads.”
    Marla said, “Jennifer can’t fix the problem. Not when the problem owns fifty-two percent of the business.”
    Steph owned fifty-two percent of the business. What did Marla mean? And who was Jennifer?
    Amanda’s head ran every direction at once with the possibilities. She flew back to attention when everyone on the soundstage stopped what they were doing.
    Jerod Hughes had come in. So close on the heels of Eric’s news about the additional dismissal everyone, including Amanda, went completely still, afraid to stand out lest they be fired on the spot.
    Ben walked over to the weapons rack containing their practice versions with dull, unfinished edges. “Come on, kid. You can take it out on me. Unarmed, one-handed, or two-handed?”
    “Dual wield. Battle axe and short sword.”
    “Aha. Planning to challenge Thomas for the boss-battle spot this year?”
    “No. I just really need to beat the crap out of someone right now.”
    Every eyebrow in the room flew up and suddenly everyone looked away, ashamed of themselves for gossiping about dismissals. For them, another casualty was a distant disappointment. For the brand new chief of security, if he disagreed with Steph’s decision so strongly he had to throw office equipment at a wall, another dismissal was a brutal entry on his to-do list.
    Ben tossed Jerod his weapons, and then reclaimed his two-handed sword. Everyone else double-timed it away from them. Amanda understood why when Jerod swung the axe at Ben’s head. She even reared back in her chair, shocked at the force behind the blow.
    Ben had no time to block. He had to duck instead and, laughing as if he were overjoyed to face an opponent capable of kicking his ass, dropped back a few steps, leading Jerod onto the stage.
    Amanda had no idea what actual weapons combat looked like, but this was no graceful, choreographed performance. Both men struck hard to injure or block. Bone-jarring blows often made them stumble. The noise and the strength required was incredible.
    No way would she audition to fight in that group. With that sort of skill and power involved, her piddly two years of Tae Kwon Do and ballet training wouldn’t be much use.
    Ben didn’t taunt Jerod the way he’d teased the others. Any slight distraction or hesitation let Jerod get close to land unblockable blows. Likewise Jerod, who wasn’t as quick to recover as his opponent, took the flat of Ben’s sword to his left shoulder so many times he began to favor that arm.
    It was Marla who finally pulled the plug. “Enough. Stop before someone gets hurt.”
    The combatants listened to her, and backed off to opposite sides of the stage. Both men heaved air in and out of their lungs, staggering.
    Ben had no hard feelings. “Better?”
    “Much. Thank you.”
    The tension on the sound stage shot upward when Jerod quietly returned his weapons to the rack and walked out without another word.
    Derek whistled and shook his head. “Poor kid. I’d hate to be him right now.”
    The others must have felt similarly sympathetic because Jerod’s visit ended the gossip. Very little conversation interrupted the work as other performers came and went, running through various weapon sets and group configurations.
    Amanda watched for more than two hours. With half an hour to spare before her mystery client booking,