Page 2 of Silver Secrets

“Were you up late? Hot date?” Courtney teased. Sloane looked up at her friend. Where Mae was tall and slender, Courtney was tall and solid. She loved telling anyone who would listen how much she excelled on her college’s rugby team. Even with her extra muscle, Courtney and Mae were well matched, and it was fun when the two of them sparred during self-defense class. They were hands down the most competitive duo there.

Mae rolled her eyes. “Our girl was probably just up late reading the latest research paper on some new findings on depression and anxiety. Besides, I know Gage wasn’t with her last night, so who else would she be with?”

Sloane knew her face had turned cherry red, not only from the fact that her cheeks burned, but by the way her friends giggled. It was no secret that Sloane found their friend, a former Navy SEAL at that, attractive. Was she ever going to act on it? No. She couldn’t. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate his friendship, and the way he liked to wear shirts in a size that pulled tight across his chest and biceps…

“Earth to Sloane? Are you sure you’re not sick?”

“No, I promise, I’m fine.”

“Okay. You just look awfully flushed. Thought maybe you were running a fever.” Mae smirked.

Sloane rolled her eyes. “Enough about me looking terrible. Let’s get warmed up before the guys start yelling at us.”

* * *

“Ladies, ladies, ladies! Warm ups are over. Let’s bring it in so Hawk and Nash can walk you through the defensive moves we want to cover this week.” Gage Walker’s voice boomed across the gym at Montgomery Defense.

No one moved. The women of Silver Springs were laughing, enjoying catching up with each other as if they were at a brunch rather than a self-defense class taught by five former Navy SEALs. He tried to hold in his laughter as his buddies groaned beside him, all clearly coming to the same conclusion he did. They didn’t stand a chance against the power of a good Saturday morning gossip session.

“Alright, gossip girls, let’s get our shit together. Mae drove into Bell Ridge to bring us back breakfast from Sprinkles, but we only get to have it if we actually make it through our lesson sometime this morning. Chop chop.” Nash Caldwell clapped his hands and the women’s faces all snapped to his. All except one, who was keenly focused on Gage.

Self defense classes were held every other Saturday in the Montgomery Defense gym, and normally, he was happy to take a back seat, administrative role. But his team leader, Gunner, and his wife, Lily, had been sidelined with a sick baby. That left Gage to step in to help keep all the women of Silver Springs on task. He was happy to do it, especially when it meant he’d get a chance to see Sloane.

“Dolly, quit distracting Mae and Jessie,” Hawk barked.

“The only thing distracting these girls are you hunks.” Dolly laughed. If there was one thing you were guaranteed to get when you talked to Dolly, it was sass. She had it for miles and miles. But the sweetheart also made just about the best pies Gage had ever eaten, so he tried his hardest to stay on her good side. Free slices at Dolly’s Diner were a gift, not a right. “Stop trying to blame me that the only thing all the women in class want to talk about is those muscular arms you’ve got wrapped around that protective gear.”

“Alright, alright. Let’s get going before my brother’s head gets impossibly bigger and he tries to take his shirt off.” Mae made a fake gagging noise and the room burst into giggles.

“We’ve been at this now for three months, and all of you have shown significant improvement. Our goal here is to teach you all how to keep yourself safe in the event someone tries to hurt you. If you’re ever in that situation, what is your number one goal?”

Gage watched as Sloane’s eyes dropped to the mat. Courtney slapped Mae’s hand and laughed as she raised her own.

“Yeah, Courtney?” Hawk called on her.

“To get away.”

“Exactly. Your only goal should be to incapacitate your attacker so that you can get away.” Hawk smiled as he clapped his hands together. “We’re going to take all the skills you’ve learned up until this point and practice something very exciting today. Are you ready for the part we find most enjoyable?”

Hawk paused, clearly for dramatic effect and Gage had to stifle a groan as all eyes in the room remained locked on his friend. “It’s Take Down Day! So, partner up. Stone and Mae will be demonstrating the moves we want you and your partner to attempt. Whoever starts out as the attacker will swap into the take down role halfway through class today. We want everyone to get a chance to practice.”

Gage was already moving before Hawk stopped speaking. There was no way in hell anyone else was getting partnered with Sloane. He’d known almost right after meeting her that she struggled with physical contact, and his concern for her safety had gone off the charts when she asked him to install a tracking device in a pendant for her mere days after they opened Montgomery Defense right next door to her office. She swore it was just to protect her when she ran outside, saying she was nervous after hearing about a kidnapping that happened a few counties over the year before.

Something in his gut told him that wasn’t the whole story. But he tried not to push. And when she’d shown up for self defense lessons the first time they were offered, Gage made it his mission to make sure that she wasn’t put in a situation in class where she was uncomfortable.

Of course, their friend Lily was normally her partner. It was amazing to Gage how quickly both Lily and Mae had been able to get Sloane to trust them. Those two were the only people he’d ever seen hug Sloane.

“Need a partner?” Gage asked as he approached Sloane, looking like she’d rather be anywhere else at the moment.

“I think I do. I’m not sure if I would have come today if I’d known Lily wouldn’t be here.”

“You two are always attached at the hip. I’d say maybe it’s a good thing she isn’t here today. But that would mean I think it’s a good thing Sage is sick, and I definitely don’t think that.”

“I hope she’s okay.”

“Kids get sick,” he shrugged. He could remember the panic that coursed through his whole body the first time his wife had mentioned their son having a fever. It was physically painful to watch his baby be so uncomfortable. But the fever had only lasted one night, and the next day, Mikey had been right back to his babbling, bubbly self.

Fuck. He missed them so much. Gage reached up and rubbed his hand over his heart, trying to scrub away the phantom pain that lanced through his heart any time he thought about his family.

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