Page 110 of Without a Trace
I scratched at my forearm again. The burn didn’t fade.
Scarlett
Istepped out of the circle, pulled the glove off one hand with my teeth, and let it fall to the sand.
I shrugged. “Well. Congratulations, boys. Your science experiment didn’t break.”
“Next time,” I added, “just say you wanted to watch me sweat.”
Kane coughed. Rhett half-laughed. Zeke didn’t move. Alden’s eyes trailed down my arms, studying me, as if he was deciding whether to be impressed or pissed.
Trace? He met my stare and said, “You think I didn’t?”
The heat between us spiked.
I grabbed a water bottle and took a long drink, then turned to go. “Well. Hope the show was worth it.”
“It was,” Trace murmured. “Every second.”
I turned and walked—slow, unhurried—back toward the trees, the path winding from the makeshift sparring ring to the edge of the villas. My legs ached, but I didn’t let it show. Every step was deliberate. Controlled.
The kind of control that says: I’m done bleeding for you.
Sand clung to the backs of my thighs, and the sun was already scorching the boards beneath my feet by the time I hit the wooden steps. I didn’t look back. Not even when I felt them watching.
Not even when I knew they were still standing there, stuck in place.
Let them stay stuck.
They wanted to test me.
They’d gotten their answer.
I wiped a streak of blood from my lip with the back of my hand and kicked my door open. Slammed it shut behind me.
Inside, everything was still. Quiet. Cool.
I leaned against the wall for a second. Let the stillness wrap around me. Let my breathing slow. My fists drop. My armor settled back into place.
Then I peeled off the gloves. Let them fall to the floor.
Trace’s idea.
Of course it was.
And part of me hated him for it.
But the other part?
The one that felt alive in that ring, felt power in her bones again?
She didn’t hate it at all.
I stripped off my clothes and tossed them in the corner. Turned the water on so hot it nearly burned. And stepped into the shower like I hadn’t just flipped their whole world sideways.
Like I wasn’t already wrecking the rules just by breathing.
The water hit me, steam curling up my neck, and I stood still for a long time.
