Page 48 of No Sweet Goodbyes

“You are beyond embarrassing, Avery.” Carter rubs a hand down his face but doesn’t look put out. “Can you ever just be happy that you’re a badass and a teacher?”

“No,” she chirps back.

When the door opens again, the levity of the situation breaks, and we all turn to see Eddie standing there with a grimace.

“Do we have to do this with an audience?” He scratches the side of his neck uncomfortably. “I don’t really know if people seeing this is a great idea.”

He looks down at me apologetically, and I shrug. “I tried to get out of it, too. But you know Linc when he sets his mind on something.”

Eddie knows what I’m capable of. He’d been my boyfriend during the years that Danny and Linc trained with me. He was one of my first sparring partners, strapped with pillows and duct tape in my backyard so that I didn’t hurt him. Or, technically, he’d been trying not to hurt me.

We’ve grown up since those days, and now we won’t have any type of protective gear to block the blows. At least, nothing to cover the good parts.

“I hope you brought a cup,” Linc says around a mouthful of chips. “Danny and I taught her to fight dirty.”

“I’m not going to hit him in the dick,” I snap at my brother. “And if you don’t shut up and stop distracting me, I’m going to kick you and the rest of the fan club out of here.”

“Yeah,” Avery shouts from the phone. “Don’t ruin this for me, Linc. I’m stuck home with the flu and I’m so bored. If you ruin it, I’m gonna send Lucas over to your house in the middle of the night to spork your yard.”

Unable to help it, I stare at Carter’s phone and ask, “Who’s Lucas?”

“He’s my son,” Carter offers. “He’s a badass, and Avery will drive him to do any of the mischief they cook up without feeling the slightest bit guilty about it.”

“Yeah, send him over.” Smiling at the phone like a crazy person, I clap my hands together and get up. “He can torture Linc, and we can drink and laugh while it happens.”

“Carter.” Avery snaps her fingers through the connection. “Get her info. Make it happen.”

“Come on already,” Linc whines pitifully. “We have to get back to work in like ten minutes. Lunch can only last for so long.”

I shake my head sadly at Eddie. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be.” He rolls his shoulders back. “I’ve gotten a lot better.”

“Yeah,” I tell him with another grimace. “So have I.” I did my best to try and get out of it, and I apologized. I’m not sure there’s much more I can do at this point.

The problem with being the little sister of two Marines, the daughter of a former Marine, and the world’s most competitive pain in the ass is that when I learn how to do something, I throw myself into it wholeheartedly and with a single-minded determination that makes my parents proud.

I don’t do something unless I can do it well, and if I don’t do it well, I practice until I get better. Really, I have to be the best. And yes, I know that it’s a character flaw, but I’ve done my best to make it one of my superpowers.

That’s why, when Eddie and I square up, I see the weakness in his stance. I see the way he puts too much weight on his front leg and how he drops his elbow just a hair. He doesn’t want to fight me, and he’s going to hold back so he doesn’t hurt me. Which only means that he is going to lose.

Because that’s the difference between us.

I may not want to hurt him, but I’m not about to hold back.

There’s a reason behind the need to spar.

I have to prove myself to these men.

The men who have to know that they can trust me with their lives.

Even Eddie.

When he steps forward, he doesn’t shift his weight, and I do what I know I can do. I drop to a crouch, then kick out and hit him in the meat of his thigh right behind his knee. Like a tree falling in the forest, Eddie goes down.

He rolls as he goes, but I’m faster.

I have to be faster.

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