Page 53 of The Story of Danny Rose

After grabbing a cup of coffee, I took the elevator down to the basement.

Pool and shooting range to the right. I veered left and walked through the break room, past the changing rooms and the gym, and then I reached the martial arts studio.

It was a good thing official trainers had taken over the boys’ sparring sessions, because I had nothing left to teach them. While my experience still scored high, their young age, speed, and strength made sure my win wasn’t guaranteed. Danny, in particular, was difficult to defeat.

I sat down in one of the cushy chairs that lined the studio, and I sipped my coffee while Danny and Reese went to town on each other. The walls and floor were padded, and the boys were allowed to tape their knuckles and wear cups, but that was about it. Sid’s goal with his classes was not just for the fighters to learn how to fight, but to learn how to swallow the pain.

“Skip the fuckin’ finesse, Danny,” Sid ordered. “You can overpower him a lot quicker if you lay off the high kicks.”

“How about teachin’meto overthrowhim?” Reese growled, ducking a blow. “Motherfucking… Goddammit!” He swung around and delivered a swift kick to Danny’s side, and my boy toppled to the mat with a thud.

Hey, better Reese than me. I might beat Danny the majority of the time, but he recovered a lot faster than I did. Last time, I’d walked with a limp for a fucking week.

The victory wasn’t worth it.

Danny was back on his feet a second later, and he came at Reese so hard that I practically heard all the air get punched out of Reese’s lungs.

I tensed up and leaned forward, relieved when Reese glared murderously and retaliated quickly. Then I eyed River in the corner; he was observing the two fighters, further proving he and his brother would make an excellent team. Reese was undoubtedly a fantastic fighter already, but it was River’s observations that would take them to the next level in the field.

That said, River still needed to learn. He was a decent fighter, and that wasn’t enough for him to graduate.

“Sid,” I said.

He glanced over at me.

“I wanna see the boys take on Danny together.”

He nodded and blew his whistle. “You heard Payne. Take two, and then it’s the Tenleys against Rose.”

“Fuck,” Danny panted. He walked over to a corner, where he promptly collapsed on the red mat with his water bottle.

“I’m gonna go get the others in the gym,” Sid announced. “Get ready, Rose. You’ll face them all in pairs.”

Oh, this was gonna be painful for me too. But in the end, I wanted to see Danny take on as much as possible duringtraining. Every time he impressed me, a brick of worry turned to dust in my chest.

“Thanks a lot.” Danny flipped Sid off behind his back.

I smiled and got comfortable again.

River and Reese huddled together in another corner, and it was River who spoke. Presumably, he was sharing his observations. Maybe weak spots of Danny’s. Whatever it was, Reese nodded and pinched his bottom lip, then responded with something that made River lift his eyebrows.

Watching the recruits evolve had become my favorite thing about working at Hillcroft. My hunger for challenges had shifted, in a way. I no longer craved the risks of being out in the field, even though I admittedly enjoyed that too. But this right here took the prize. It was something I could picture myself doing after I’d retired from the field.

I wasn’t getting any younger after all. I had maybe ten or fifteen years left. After that, I’d be a liability.

Sid’s booming voice down the hallway caught my attention, and I watched six recruits enter the studio, dressed similarly to Danny and the twins in sweatpants and beaters.

“You okay, kid?” I tossed Reese another roll of surgical tape and remained in the doorway. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, nursing his busted bottom lip and an eyebrow.

River shed the towel around his hips and stepped into a pair of boxer briefs.

“Yeah,” Reese muttered. “How the fuck is he sofast? I gotta work harder. I mean, we weretwoagainst him.”

“You gotta rest up and remember he has eight years on you,” I said pointedly. Not to mention Special Forces training. “That’s what you gotta do.”

I had no doubt Reese would get there one day. Not only did he attack swiftly and viciously, but he managed to spare his brother from most of the onslaught as well. River had gotten away with a few bruises and a twisted ankle.

“Hey,” River said quietly. He exchanged a look with Reese, and the tension between them was enough for me to stay put. They had something they wanted to talk about, right?

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