Page 21 of Murder & Mayhem

My next hit misses as he side-steps at the last second, swooping in on my left side, which I stupidly left unprotected.Dammit.I spot his smug grin seconds before he tackles me to the ground, and I land with a softoomph, glad that he had the foresight to put a padded mat on the floor of the swimming pool. I definitely don’t want my head cracking off those tiles, not to mention lying on top of the grimy layer of long-spilled blood. No, thanks.

A number of other Rejects were in the gym when we arrived, and I didn’t feel comfortable working out in front of them—well, letting them watch Jon get the best of me. I’m learning to trust Cain and Oliver—and, by default, the rest of the Rejects—but that doesn’t mean I want to emphasize my weak spots for them to target should our alliance turn sour at any future point.

“You left your side wide open,” he chastises, stating the obvious while I huff out a breath in frustration.

“I know,” I groan, shoving him off me and climbing to my feet. “Let’s go again.”

We go a few more rounds, and I finally get him pinned beneath me when a voice calls out from somewhere behind me, causing the victorious smirk to drop from my face.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” Cain drawls. The soles of his heavy boots echo off the tiles as he moves toward us. Refusing to acknowledge him, I lift off Jon and hold my hand out to help him up.

“I was just showing Red a few moves,” he explains.

I glance up at Cain from the corner of my eye, noticing his eyes firmly glued to me.

“Uh-huh. Marcus is looking for you, Bones.”

“Oh shit, I’m supposed to help him with dinner prep tonight.” Jon hurries across the swimming pool, quickly swiping a towel across his face and over his hair before hauling himself out and blurting out a goodbye as he rushes out the door.

As the door swings shut behind him, it feels like Cain’s presence—or maybe it’s the knowledge that we’re alone—steals all of the oxygen from the room. It’s the first time I’ve laid eyes on him since that night, and everything between us feels even more electrically charged than it did before—if that’s even possible.

Still refusing to acknowledge him—because I have no idea how to react or what to say to him anymore—I turn my back on him and move toward where I left my belongings. Before I can reach them, though, he drops into the basin of the pool, landing with a thud.

“What are you doing?” I ask, glancing back over my shoulder to find him prowling toward me, looking far too predatory for my liking.

He quirks a brow. “Thought I’d see for myself exactly what the big, bad Reaper is made of.” One side of his lips lifts in a callous smirk. “Besides, gotta make sure I’ve hired the right person for the job. Can’t have you fucking it up for all of us now, can I?”

I bristle at his caustic tone. Given my own self-doubt this past week, and the fact that I stupidly thought we’d made some progress the last time we talked, his words seriously irk me. His mood swings are giving me fucking whiplash. What was the point of taking me to get ice cream if he wasn’t trying to break down the barriers between us? They feel taller than ever now.

With my jaw clenched tight, letting him see the fire he’s just lit inside me, I turn around to face him head-on. My strengths don’t lie in being the best fighter, in successfully taking down two hundred pounds of pure muscle. I’m all about being subtle, sneaking under people’s defenses and catching them by surprise. The whole point is that my victim doesn’t see me coming. I stand back and watch from the shadows, tracking their every move with predatory eyes. I watch and wait; I bide my time… and when their guard is down, and they least expect it, I strike.

But being the arrogant jackwad that he is, Cain wants to test me. He wants to prove I’m not up to this task, purely because I’m 5’4” with tits and a vagina and not the six-foot almighty being with a swinging dick he was expecting. I might have been doubting myself recently, but I’m sure as fuck not going to stand forhimquestioning my capabilities.

Straightening my spine, I smirk up at him, accepting his challenge… because I fucking love it when people underestimate me. “What does the winner get?”

His lips purse as he thinks it over for a second. “If I win, you have to move in here.”

I frown, not liking that in the slightest, but I can’t back down now, so I agree, huffing out a breath. “Fine, but ifIwin, you drop the subject.”

He casually agrees, looking far too fucking smug, and I stalk back into the middle of the pit, ignoring the fatigue tugging at my muscles as I lower into a crouch opposite him. Except the asshole just continues to stand there, with his arms resting at his side, not looking the slightest bit ready to engage in an altercation.

“Ladies first,” he states snidely, his voice overflowing with self-confidence. Regardless, I’m not about to waste an advantage. Instead, I hone all the skills Jon has taught me, and make every hit count as I go head-to-head against him.

By the time he inevitably takes me to the mat, I’m panting heavily, a fresh round of sweat making my skin slick. He leans over me, his thighs pressing against my hips and a cocky grin igniting his face. “I win.” He states it so damn confidently that I don’t even feel bad as I let my own smug grin loose. “Are you sure about that?” I ask with a cocked brow as I press the tip of my blade more firmly against the rigid outline of his dick.Yup, the asshole is fucking hard.I’m not sure whether that’s because he won or because he has me pinned beneath him, and I refuse to think too hard about it. Instead, I just let myself enjoy my victory.

He jerks at the sharp sting, easily feeling the pointed tip through the thin fabric of his basketball shorts as he flicks his gaze down at where my hand is wedged between our bodies, holding a small pen knife to his junk. I’ve never been more grateful for workout leggings with pockets. Like seriously, this shit is life-changing. Hell, it could even be life-savingin the right circumstance.

“What the—” His words trail off as he looks back at me with wide eyes.

“You should probably check that your enemies are unarmed before declaring victory.” There’s no missing my satisfied tone, and he gapes at me for a long moment before a disbelieving chuckle escapes his lips.

The surprising sound catches me off guard. I’d half expected him to blow a fuse over my win. I narrow my eyes on him, still angry at his lack of trust in me. “I get that you want the best possible chance of success, but if you’re looking for a weak point, it’s not going to be me. I might not be what you were expecting, but I’m damn good at what I do, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make Black Creek a safer place for Luc to live. Next time you challenge me, I won’t stop at just pointing a blade at your dick.”

Damn, that speech even has me feeling more confident in my abilities.

I expect to see a lick of anger heat his gaze, but instead, his pupils dilate with lust. “Noted. I guess I should claim my prize then.” His teeth sink into his lower lip in an altogether delicious move that sends my brain on the fritz, meaning it takes longer than it should for his words to penetrate.

“You didn’t win,” I argue, my brows furrowed in confusion.

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