Page 21 of Stone's Promise

I grabbed a pair of pads from the rack, catching the looks from my teammates. They all knew exactly what was going down. Liam, never one to miss an opportunity for pettiness, strolled over with a grin and tossed me a pair of sweaty, old sparring gloves from the lost-and-found bin.

“Don’t know how long those have been in there,” he said, loud enough for a few others to hear, “but your student might need them.” A few of the guys snickered.

I grinned back. “Thanks for looking out.”

I turned back to Trey, who was eyeing Max like the dog had personally insulted him.

“Does that dog have all his shots?” he asked, nose wrinkled.

I didn’t even bother with a response. Instead, I tossed him the nasty old gloves. “Rule number one: focus on your opponent.” I hit the pads, motioning him forward. “Show me what you got.”

Trey stepped up and started throwing uppercuts, if they could be called that. Weak little taps, barely enough to make a sound, but he made all the faces like he was putting real power behind them.

Around us, more snickering broke out. I kept my own humor locked down.

“Not bad,” I said, because I was feeling generous. “Now this is how you actually throw an uppercut.”

I demonstrated, keeping my form sharp. He tried again. Still garbage.

“Practice on your own,” I said.

“No.” Trey shook out his arms like he was preparing for something big. “You spar with me.”

“You’re not ready.”

The blunt response didn’t sit well with him. His face tightened. Then, without warning, he rushed me, throwing sloppy punches like a drunk at last call.

I didn’t move at first, just let him tire himself out swinging at air. Then, when the moment was right, I dodged smoothly and countered with a quick left jab, stopping just short of his chin.

The prick flinched.

“You gotta learn to bob and weave,” I said evenly, lowering my hand. “It keeps you from catching one of these to the face.”

He straightened, ironing his expression back into a grown thirtysomething year-old guy. Still a prick. “Since you’ve been dodging me, this is a good time to tell you something.”

I stretched my shoulders. “I knew this really wasn’t about training you.”

He crossed his arms. “Be careful around Emily. I don’t know what you think you’re doing with her, but I don’t buy it.”

I met his gaze without flinching. “It’s not for you to understand.”

Trey scoffed. “She’d never get with a rough sort of guy like you if there wasn’t something else attached to it. You may not be as rich as me, but as a professional athlete, I’m sure you’ve got a couple pennies she’d like to rub together.”

That was it. I tossed the gear bag onto the floor with a loud thud. The whole gym went silent.

“Lesson over,” I said, my voice calm but firm.

Trey showed off his fake ass veneers to me in a twisted grin. “Oh, that got you to lose your cool.”

He talked shit about Emily. I wanted to punch him in the mouth to fund his dentist a vacation to the Maldives. If it weren’t for the respect I had for the woman he was too stupid to keep in his life, I would’ve said fuck it to optics and let him have it. Instead I took a step toward him, leveling him with a stare. “Another fighting rule. Don't taunt people above your class, especially Emily.”

His grin vanished. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”

“If you did, you wouldn’t be here.”

Trey’s eyes ping ponged as he saw other athletes listening in. He lowered his voice and huffed. It sounded more like a hiss. “Assoon as I figure out what prank you and Emily have going on, I’m going to let everyone know and embarrass you.”

I didn’t react. Just stood there, steady. He hated that more than anything. With a scowl, he turned and stomped off, shoving past a couple of the guys on his way out.

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