I sighed and threw another knife, making sure not to hit the centre of the target this time. I couldn't be too good. That would raise questions that I couldn't be bothered to lie about.
"Right, come with me," Jasper said and led me over to one of the sparring mats.
"I'm not touching you," I said immediately.
"Daisy, I'm not going to do anything. We're just going to spar."
"No."
"Daisy," Jasper said softly. "I wouldn't do anything you're uncomfortable with."
"But you'll happily fight me?"
"I wouldn't hurt you," Jasper said seriously. "Okay, maybe a little, but you can't spar without getting a bit hurt."
"We've already done this remember?" I said. "When you kidnapped me."
"Adrenaline was high, you didn't know what was going on," Jasper said dismissively. "I want to see how well you fight in real circumstances."
"The same," I said and kicked off my shoes with a sigh. Jasper did the same. For some reason I trusted him. I knew he would hurt me when we fought, but he wouldn't seriously harm me.
"You're very confident, Daisy."
I shrugged. "Fight me and you'll see why."
"I know you can fight, I've seen you. But what we do here is slightly different. I'll start easy," Jasper said as we faced each other on the mat.
"Don't worry about holding back," I said. "I think you'll be surprised."
Jasper rolled his eyes. "And they say I'm cocky."
"Just fight me," I said and Jasper chuckled, making the first move.
He was slow, purposely, so I took my time stepping to the side and dodging me. Jasper moved quicker next, reaching for me again and I slowly stepped to the side, allowing him to catch my arm. In seconds he had me pinned to his chest and I smirked.
"That all you got?" I asked and threw my elbows back, hitting him painfully in the ribs. I didn't even feel any discomfort at his touch. I easily twisted out of his hold and grabbed his wrist, twisting it up at an angle and smashing my knee into the back of his leg, pushing him to his knees.
"Alright," Jasper said, shocked by my sudden moves. "I won't go easy."
I gasped as my world span and Jasper hauled me over his shoulder and I landed in the floor with a thud. I rolled over immediately and jumped up, ducking quickly to avoid Jaspers foot flying towards my face.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to hurt you," I said and Jasper smirked.
"Do your worst."
He anticipated my next move, catching my wrist before it hit his face, so he didn't realise my elbow before it was too late. Blood exploded from his nose and I swept my feet under his legs, sending him crashing towards the floor. I glared at Jasper when he grabbed my ankle and yanked me down next to him before I could kick him off.
"Oh that's childish," I scoffed and spun round so my leg was across his throat, pinning him down.
"No fight is fair," he grunted and I gasped when he grabbed my already injured fingers and twisted.
"You little bitch!" I snapped and Jasper managed to shove me away from him and somehow I ended up pinned to the ground with him above me.
"Tap out," he said and held his arm to my throat.
"In your dreams," I scoffed and lifted my knees up, catching Jasper in the stomach and pushing him away from me.
It went back and forth for a while, neither of us getting an edge on the other.
Until I tripped.
I fucking tripped.
"Shit!" I cursed and Jasper painfully hit the back of my legs and I fell to the ground. I grunted and looked up at Jasper just as he held a knife to my throat.
"I win," he said a little breathlessly.
"Are you sure about that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I looked to his side and Jasper followed my gaze to the knife I had pressed into his waist.
"Well shit, we both lose," Jasper said. "You stole the knife."
"Borrowed," I corrected and he smirked as he stood up. He held his hand out for me and I pursed my lips, waiting a few seconds before grabbing his hand and letting him pull me up.
"Well done, Daisy," he said. "That's impressive."
"It's nothing," I shrugged and glanced around and saw many eyes on us.
"No ones ever beaten me," Jasper murmured into my ear. "Or come close to."
"Told you I was good," I smirked and twirled the knife around my fingers before passing it back to Jasper. "Now when can I go home?"
"Soon, I think I've seen enough here. Let's go."
Jasper led me to the top floor of the Agency and I guessed I was going to Richard's office.
"Daisy, come in, sit," Richard greeted when Jasper and I walked in. "How did it go, son?"
"She's good," Jasper nodded and leaned against the wall as I sat down.
"I wouldn't have expected anything less," Richard said with a small smile and I frowned.
"Why?"
Richard's eyes flickered from me and Jasper. "You'll find out soon enough."
"Whatever," I sighed. "When can I go home?"
"You can go home for now, but soon we'd like you to move into Agency owned accommodation," Richard said.
"What?" I asked. "No, why?"
"We can provide much better accommodation for you. More freedom, more room, less people-"
"I don't care, I'm not moving."
"I was led to believe you weren't keen on your current situation."
"Yeah, but I'm not too keen on this one either," I said.
"Why don't you want to leave that scruffy orphanage you currently live in?"
"I..." I faltered. "Because I don't."
"Because of Eli," Jasper said under his breath and I snapped my head round and glared at him.
"What the fuck do you know about Eli?" I demanded.
"That he's the only guy you trust," Jasper said. "And he's a dick."
"You can talk," I scoffed. "And he's not the only guy I trust!"
"He's the only guy you touch."
I narrowed my eyes. "So?"
Jasper clenched his hands into fists and glared at me. "So you shouldn't rely on just him."
"You have no right to comment on my life!" I gasped. "You ass."
"Are you two finished? Richard interrupted. "You remind me of me and my brother arguing."
"I don't think we're that bad," Jasper muttered.
"Daisy, I want you to move into our accommodation, but if it makes you uncomfortable then we can wait," Richard said fairly. "But we will need you to stick to a strict schedule. After school classes, training, fitness, the list goes on."
"Classes?"
"Lessons," Richard nodded. "Not all of our agents attend school. The ones that are there are there purely for recruitment purposes. All of our agents get their academic achievements through us. Jasper here has technically already graduated with numerous high grade A Levels."
I nodded and frowned to myself. It all seemed so similar to our Agency.
"Right, is there anything else I should know?"
"Yes, actually," Richard nodded. "There is."
"Yeah?"
"Did you know you were adopted, Daisy Kellerman?"