Page 21 of The Doctor's Twins

Fuck! This wasn’t good. Peyton knew the truth, and she could destroy me if she told the wrong people. I had to find her, and fast.

Pedro called me back a few hours later with the news that my wife had somehow passed through the border into America. After shouting and screaming at him about how fucking incompetent his men were, I called a private investigator friend of mine and gave him Peyton’s and her parent’s details. He promised me he’d find her.

I cleaned up so I could go to the office.

“You’ve fucked with the wrong man, dearest Peyton. I’m going to make you sorry you ever met me, bitch,” I said when I entered the bedroom and saw the wedding band she’d left behind on the dresser.

7

BEN FORBES

“You’ve got him, Ben!”

Rowan’s voice boomed across the room. He was in the first row of seats closest to the arena where I was laser focused on taking down a man who moved like a gazelle. In all my years of competing in martial arts, I’d seldom come across anyone as quick as my current opponent. I watched his eyes closely for that telltale sign all fighters had when they were about to strike.

I waited and watched…waited…and there it was! The spark lasted a mere split second, but I had him. The fight was in the bag. My right heel connected with his chin—goodnight, Nancy. My opponent collapsed to the ground, while I remained standing, pretty damn pleased with myself. After some time he got up and stood on rickety legs. We faced each other and bowed before I left the arena. The victory was sweet.

“Well, you sure whooped his ass good,” Rowan chuckled when I joined him in the stands.

“I feel a bit like Ralph Macchio in The Karate Kid,” I grinned.

“Sure, if you were twenty years younger.”

“Careful, bud or you’ll be the next one to taste the business end of my foot.”

“You wouldn’t do that to a dear friend, would you?” he snorted.

“Absofuckinglutely,” I smirked and slapped him on the shoulder blade. “Come on. I need to eat.”

I left Rowan for a moment and went to the changing rooms to shower and change out of my karategi. Kicking ass was sweaty work, unlike my day job, which required more brains than brawn. Luckily for me, I got to enjoy both. Being a gynecologist was fascinating work, even if I were the butt of juvenile, lady parts jokes at parties.

The awards ceremony wasn’t until much later that day, so Rowan and I left the dojo and drove to a restaurant nearby.

A pretty waitress took our order as soon as we sat down. I ordered steak and vegetables and Rowan a burger and chips. I suspected that my best friend since high school had a tapeworm. The man ate incessantly without gaining an inch.

“You did well today, Ben. Proud of you, buddy.”

“Thanks, Ro.”

“I bet the guys in your old unit miss your chop suey moves.”

“Cute.”

“Do you miss army life?”

“Sometimes. You get attached to people when you spend so much time with them. I must say, though, I enjoy private practice more. Specifically, the freedom it gives me to pursue my fighting.”

“You’ve always been a good fighter, Ben. I don’t know if your opponents will survive if you have more time on your hands to practice.”

I wasn’t one to toot my own horn, but I was at the top level of my game. Martial Arts was my passion. All it had taken was one Bruce Lee film when I was a kid, and I was hooked.

“Listen, Bud. I gotta talk to you about something,” Rowan announced.

“Sounds serious. What’s up?”

“I’ve been offered a two-year contract in Europe. It’s the kind of opportunity that comes around once in a lifetime.”

“That’s fantastic, Ro.”

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