Jack shook his head and said, "That won't happen; don't worry. If we are in danger, I will most certainly leave her behind and escape."
"We both know you are not going to do any of that, father! I know you very well! You will be a fool, and you will try to save her, even if you have to risk your life! For what? For a spoiled brat like her?"
Mia was about to complain, and Sophia put a finger over her nose and pushed her back while warning her, "Don't you even say anything, or I am going to break your neck and throw you out the window! You thought, what, that I would gladly accept that my only parent I have would become your bodyguard, and I wouldn't get angry? After all this time, you still think I am not dangerous enough for you to fear me? If anything, but I mean anything, happens to him, even if it is just a scratch, I am going to split your head open, I will take your still beating heart out of your chest, and I will make you swallow it! Then I will go after your father, and I will skin him alive!"
Mia gasped and slowly nodded, while Emma peacefully swallowed another batch of chocolate and said, "You better hear what she says, lady! Mia is kind of crazy, and she might do all that!"
"I told you I will be alright, Mia," said Craydon in a serious tone. "And you need to stop threatening her like that unless you want me to cook all your pets, eat them, and beat your sorry little ass with the dead snake's body! I am sure it will make for a fine whip!"
With a snort, Sophia leaned back in her seat and complained, "This is totally unfair, father. The deal was us against the world, remember? I never agreed for her to join our fight! Can she even fight for her life if needed? What if you are in danger? Can she at least protect you? Or will it be only you doing all the protection?"
With a gulp, Mia Mills said, "I can… fight… I have been training karate and doing yoga for several years now…"
With a slight frown, Mia asked, "What are those? Rich people's games? Because they don't sound like any sort of fighting style I have ever heard about!"
"Yoga is not for fighting; it is for relaxation, to improve body elasticity, and to keep it in shape. Karate is a very old martial art, and it focuses on defence, but it has many attack and counter-attack movements."
"Yeah, right… rich kids' hobbies, for sure. Try any of that with me, and I will rub the floor with your spoiled brat's face!"
Noticing how the young woman was staring at her, becoming red in anger and about to explode, Sophia smirked, "Yeah, try to look frightening as much as you can, lady; I am not afraid of you."
"Do you want to put those tiny fists of yours to use? I have no problem with teaching you a lesson!"
"Right, a lesson. I don't need to learn how to cry in anger, lady. I saw you doing that already when my father told you to clean our toilet, you crybaby!"
Mia clenched her fists, piercing her own palms with her fingernails, and said, "Jarvis, take us to my gym. I think there will be an empty room for us to use so that I can teach this brat how to speak to me!"
The driver nodded, and Jack sighed. "You better forget that idea, Mia. You are no match for her. While you have been training that karate and yoga of yours to keep in shape, Mia has been learning how to fight unarmed to protect her life since she learned how to walk. She used to be considered one of the best fighters in our home city."
Mia snorted and said, "Against kids, she might have done well, but not against a grownup."
"You didn't understand me. She was one of the best against kids her age and adults as well. You will end up in the hospital if you are not careful."
"We will see who ends up in a hospital! I am so going to enjoy this, you dumbass! I am going to make you pay for every time you insulted me, mocked me, or threatened me!"
With a smirk, Mia reached out for the compartment with the chocolates, and while unwrapping one, she answered, "It sure will be funny seeing you cry and begging me to stop hurting you! I am going to punch your titties so hard and so much that they will turn purple! Then I am going to pinch and twist your nipples, and you will think you are about to die. I will make you my slave, lady, and that will teach you never to forget you can't go against me!"
While the two were shouting threats against each other, Jack sighed, and Jarvis, the limousine driver, asked in a low voice, "Are they always like this? I never heard Miss Mia argue so much with anyone!"
"I thought they were starting to get along, but it seems I was wrong. Let's get over this so that I can go home and forget about this headache."
…
Mia Mills was stretching her arms, dressed in tight shorts and a top.
A few metres from her, Sophia was casually taking off her school jacket and then her shoes and socks.
While Mia was trying not to stare at her, Sophia began her usual stretching routine by putting her arms behind her back, stretching full-back, and then leaning forward until her head touched her knees.
With a slow movement, she made a circular movement with her arms and did a leg slip, rotating her upper body to the left and then to the right.
A quick jump sprang her up, and she did a fast set of air punches and high kicks, increasing her speed to an astonishing level.
Sophia continued doing kicks and punches while avoiding a ghost attacker, making Emma Pearson gasp and Mia shiver. She was starting to think it was a bad idea to challenge Sophia to a fight, but her pride was not going to make her back out of that fight.
Jack raised his hand and said, "Are you two ready? I want to go home and have a bath because my head is killing me from all that shouting in the car."
Mia went for a fighting stance, with both legs spread, one forward and the other backward, knees a bit bent, one open palm forward, and one fist next to her waist.
On the other side, Sophia leaned her body on the floor on her fours like a cat, ready to jump. Jack sighed and mumbled, "Darn it, she is going all out right from the start." He then tried to warn the unaware young woman, "Mia, do your best to avoid her! Don't go head-on, or this fight will end in seconds!"
"Just give the order to start and let me worry about kicking this brat's butt!"
With one last sigh, Jack said, "Get ready… and… start!"
Mia could barely understand what was happening. In the previous second, Sophia was right in front of her at about four metres, then she ran at such a speed that Mia couldn't react and barely saw Sophia right in front of her face, with her feet on her chest, grabbing her head with both hands and hitting her with her forehead, making her fall back.
Then, the only thing that Mia could feel was pain all over her head and face, and when she tried to protect herself with both arms, the pain moved to her breasts, making her gasp for air.
Sophia had just hit her with two punches, straight into her boobs, and next, a knee on her stomach took her breath away.
Between the unbearable pain of getting her nipples twisted, she heard a mocking voice say, "Beg! Beg for me to stop, and I won't hurt you anymore!"
Gathering all her strength, Mia grabbed Sophia's arm, pushed her aside, and took that moment to get up while saying, "I would rather die before kneeling to you, dumbass! You just caught me by surprise!"
Sophia made a wicked grin and slowly approached her while saying, "Really? Well, we don't want you to use that excuse, do we?"
Step by step, Sophia got near Mia, who was again in the same defensive position, carefully watching her movements. Seeing the little girl already within reach and without any intention of attacking, Mia used that window of opportunity to go at her with everything she had.
A high kick straight into Sophia's head that she easily avoided, only to be almost kicked in her chest when Mia changed direction.
Taking that opening on Sophia's defence, Mia punched her straight in her left eye, and then another punch on Sophia's stomach that made her bend over, only to get a knee going to her face that Sophia deflected with both elbows, but still, she was sent stumbling backwards while trying to regain her balance.
"I see that you can do some nasty things, lady! This is getting interesting! It has been some time since I got so worked up!"
Mia frowned, staring at the little girl in front of her with one eye closed because of the punch, but still grinning, as if she was only getting started.
Over the next half hour, they exchanged threats, kicks, and punches, and finally, they both ended up lying on the floor, gasping for air.
Feeling her head spinning from the last kick she got on her face, Mia asked, "Do you… give up… you brat? I can do this… all day… if I have to!"
"Yeah… right… as if… you weren't as tired… as I am! Darn it, lady! My body… is hurting all over… I bet it will be… all bruised by tomorrow… but I won't… quit… Let me recover my breath… and I am going… to kill you!"
Jack Cross approached the two exhausted fighters and said, "If you two still want to fight, I might as well beat your brains out! This is getting ridiculous! You both are equally nuts and annoying! I want to go home!"
Sophia raised her head a bit and asked with a broad smile, "What do you say, Mia? Let's do this on another day? Without him around, that is!"
Mia used her left elbow to push her up and said, while seated on the floor and rubbing her chin, trying to ease the pain, "Let's. His voice is making my head hurt. We could do this once a week, maybe. I never had someone to go all out. My instructors and sparring partners are always careful not to hurt me. I was always wondering if I could put up a good fight or not and if I could resist being knocked out."
Sophia got up with a powerful push of both hands and said, after a couple of deep breaths, "Darn it, lady! My stomach hurts! You can give quite a punch! I still can't see properly with my left eye."
Mia approached the smiling young girl and said while looking at her face, "I think you will get a big, dark eye by tomorrow. Does it hurt?"
"Not much. And yours? I know I hit your eye a few times."
While trying to open her right eye and flinching from pain, Mia said, "Yeah, it hurts. I will need to put a lot of makeup and use dark sunglasses tomorrow! You are a nasty little girl! You were always aiming for my right eye!"
"Yeah, I kind of wanted to know if it would pop out if I hit it consecutively. I guess it is still glued to your face. Next time, I am going to aim at your nose!"
While poking the forehead of the daring young girl, Mia answered, "Do that, because I am going to aim at that big mouth of yours! Or I will try to take out your tongue, you rude brat!"
Seeing them both grinning at each other and promising new kinds of pain made Jack rub his face with both hands and feel exhausted, while Emma Pearson asked with a big smile, "Now, that was fun! They do get along nicely, don't they?"
"Yeah, sure… Let's get going before I squeeze their necks! Two crazy women in my life… I was starting to get used to this peaceful life, but no, things can never go the way I want!"