Page 21 of Last Resort

“Hey, Maci. There’s an issue at the office. We need to get you back.”

They both looked over at him, and Chance’s arms loosened just enough that she collapsed hard to the ground then wrenched herself away.

The alarm went off, but she’d already won.

They stared at each other for a long moment before she turned and rushed toward the locker room.

“Everything okay?” Brax asked, glancing between Chance and the door she’d disappeared behind. “You look like you need to actually spar rather than work on training basics.”

There was no doubt about that. Chance’s arms were nearly quivering with the need to hit something. “Let’s go.”

Within a few minutes they were geared up and circling each other in the sparring ring.

“What was the emergency at the office?” Chance asked, keeping a close eye on his brother. Bastard was fast.

“There wasn’t one. You two were so involved in your conversation, you didn’t hear me come in the first time.”

Chance stopped. “How much did you hear?”

“Just the end. The bet if she couldn’t break out in two minutes or less, she would tell you why she’s been keeping away from you.”

That wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, but it was bad enough. “Brax...”

“What’s going on with Maci?” Brax jumped forward and threw out a cross and jab with his gloved fists.

Chance dodged the first, but took the second on his geared chin. “Nothing’s going on.”

Brax snorted. “Never pegged you for a liar. Are you sleeping with her?”

Chance’s glove sailed toward Brax’s nose, only to miss when his brother skipped out of the way. “Things between Maci and I are complicated, but no, we are not currently involved with each other.”

“Currently.” Brax threw another swing. “That implies that you were involved. Is that why you threw such a fit about her going undercover?”

“She doesn’t know what she’s doing.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t a real answer either.

“Her risk is minimal, given the circumstances and us being glued to her every second.”

“Still a risk. How would you feel if it was Tessa?”

At hearing his wife’s name, Brax stopped messing around. His blows became quicker. So did Chance’s. They both dodged what punches they could and took the ones they couldn’t.

Eventually Chance began to withdraw. This could go on for a long time. He and Brax were too evenly matched and knew each other too well. Brax slowed down too.

“This isn’t a good use of our time,” Chance said. He dropped his hands. He knew his brother could get a dirty swing in if he wanted, but also knew Brax wouldn’t do that.

“Agreed. We need to be firing on all cylinders tomorrow. I’m glad Maci went home. She looks like she needs some rest.”

Chance just grunted as he used his teeth to loosen his sparring gloves. He was well aware at how pale and tired she’d looked.

“You going to tell me what’s going on between you two?”

“There’s nothing—”

“Don’t lie. We’ve all seen the way you look at her. I just wasn’t aware that it had progressed.”

Chance ripped off his sparring helmet and ran a hand through his hair. “Progressed then completely stalled.”

Brax shot him a boyish grin. “Maybe you should look for a girl somewhere else, man. Maci doesn’t seem interested.”

---