Page 56 of Unmade

Damn, he was fast.

Zander didn’t stand a chance against Leighton on the mat, and it looked like even Shay was impressed.

Three pairs battled it out on the mat at the same time, with Shay signaling a short sound on his whistle when the recruits had to abruptly seek out a new opponent to fight. The goal was to cause disorganization and chaos, in which our recruits had to get comfortable with their shit sandwich.

Halfway through practice, Danny and Reese entered the dojo, and they came up next to me.

“You’re spending an awful lot of time at Hillcroft for having retired, my man,” I noted.

Reese scratched his eyebrow with his middle finger, and I laughed.

“Just when he thought he was out…” Danny trailed off with a smirk.

I clapped Reese on the shoulder. “We pulled you back in good and proper, huh?”

“You can fucking dream,” he said. “I’m just here to watch my boy.” He nodded toward Shay. “How’s it going?”

“Please give me good news,” Danny added.

Had he received bad news, then? “Miguel is understandably good. Leighton has cranked it up a fuck-ton. He’s incredibly fast. Gabriella’s good too. Tanner’s got plenty of potential, but he’s still prioritizing being a fucking clown, and Zander and Maxine are decent. The rest will get their next turn soon if you’re sticking around to watch.”

“Afraid I don’t have time,” Danny replied. “Coach and I are sitting down with Hernandez. He wants to drop out.”

Jesus Christ. “For what fucking reason?” What the hell was it with this year’s recruits?

Danny shook his head. “He takes issue with the fact that we have so much training that revolves around violence and not a single class about diplomacy.”

Excuse me?

Reese and I exchanged a look before we both turned to Danny.

“What the fuck does he think operators do here?” Reese asked.

“That,” I agreed. “Shit, when they send us in, diplomacy has already failed.”

Except, we did work with de-escalation. A whole fucking lot, I wanted to say. Problem was, we were often the client’s last resort, when all other options had crashed and burned.

“You’re preaching to the choir.” Danny looked out over the recruits. “I talked to Doc about Watts. I like that kid. He might actually make it.”

I looked over at Leighton too, just as he flew around Zander and grabbed him by the neck, then simulated a swift open-palm strike to his temple.

Shay blew the whistle, a longer signal that ended the sparring, and Leighton collapsed onto the mat, panting like a madman.

His beater clung to his body, soaked in sweat, and his chest heaved rapidly. His sweats were drawn up past his calves, revealing some scratches from his previous fight with Gabriella.

Leighton and Tanner were two of the few recruits who’d wholeheartedly accepted our doctrine to blend in. They worked out frequently, at least twice a day, but never with heavy weights. Riggs had warned the recruits during the deprogramming that body building was unsustainable. Not only did a jacked-up dude stand out in a crowd, he was often clumsy, and he required thousands of calories to maintain his physique. But that didn’t stop most of the other guys from putting on more muscle.

Zander was one of them. He was nowhere near as fast as Leighton and Tanner.

We obviously had operators who were larger by their nature. Emerson was what, six-four or six-five? I wasn’t short at six-three either, and I carried around some bulk. But it also showed I liked pizza…

Leighton was all…toned and…sleek muscles, abs, and…abs.

I swallowed and?—

I’m not bi.

Fuck you, Kat.

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