Page 25 of Twice the Rivalry

She stopped and looked over her shoulder at him, narrowing her eyes. “I’m assuming there’s meaning behind that. How about instead of trying to be clever, you spit it out.”

He turned and looked at her, completely unaffected by her words. “Oh, nothing,” he said casually. “If you’re heading to get food, bring something back for me, will you?” Then he went back to his computer and left her glaring at him. Instead of arguing, she stalked out and headed for the kitchen. The man was an idiot if he thought she was going to do anything of the sort.

When she got into the kitchen, she grinned when she saw Rogue with Wren and Win, the girls looking ticked at whatever he was saying. All three of them looked at her in surprise, and she said, “Don’t mind me. Just checking on something.” She made her way to the oven where she had taped a giant note that no one was to open the door. When she turned on the oven light, she saw that it was all looking just fine. Glad to see that her directions had been followed, she turned and tuned back into the conversation.

“You’re not going to that damn place again,” Rogue told the twins firmly, arms crossed over his chest and a dark scowl on his face.

“Our knife skills are lacking and you know it,” Wren complained. “How the hell are we supposed to be able to protect ourselves if we don’t stay on top of our training?”

“That wasn’t goddamn training,” Rogue snapped. “That was some amateur playing with cutlery in the middle of a dangerous neighborhood late at night. Now that we’ve dealt with your threat, you don’t need to keep on top of your knife skills. The club and I will protect you.”

Both girls scoffed in derision. “Yeah, because you’re always going to be close enough to fly in and save the day when some guy decides he doesn’t want to take no for an answer,” Win sneered.

Rogue’s face flushed with fury. “Who the fuck didn’t take no for an answer?” he demanded.

“No one!” Wren yelled, glaring at him. “But that’s the point. It could happen, and if we have to protect ourselves because we can’t easily get away, a weapon would be handy to have. Don’t you think it’s important to know how to use them properly so we don’t accidentally hurt ourselves? Or murder the guy? I mean, I don’t look good in orange.”

“If you have to kill someone, there would be a reason, and you wouldn’t go to jail,” Rogue snapped. “I’d make sure of that. But you’re not going back to that dump.”

“You don’t need to go to that dump when you have a master with knives right here,” Glitch interjected excitedly. “Between Karissa and I, we can help you hone your skills.”

Wren and Win looked at each other and grinned. “Sweet!” Win said excitedly.

“Hold it,” Rogue barked. He turned to glare at Glitch. “I don’t know anything about you,” he said gruffly.

She shrugged. “I had a knife to your hacker’s throat not even twenty four hours ago. I’d say that’s all you need to know,” she told him calmly. “What, you think I’m going to coerce them into doing something they shouldn’t?”

“He’s probably worried you’re going to teach us ways to use them on him,” Win snickered, earning a narrowed-eyed glare from Rogue.

“Or worse, teach Scarlett how to,” Wren added with a laugh of her own.

“The first rule of knife club is that you can’t use your skills unless you’re practicing with me or Karissa, or your lives are in actual danger,” Glitch warned them sternly. “So no matter how much this guy pisses you off, you can’t go after him.”

“Says the one who just told them she had a knife to my brother’s throat a second ago,” Rogue huffed.

Glitch gave him a cool look. “My life is in danger because of him, that’s why I’m here. And it never hurts to remind you all that you might think you’re the deadliest ones around, but in reality, that’s far from the truth.”

“Well, I think our problem is solved. We don’t have to go to some dirty basement, we have two badass women to teach us a few things without even having to leave the grounds,” Wren announced cheerfully.

Rogue still looked like he wanted to argue, but instead, he pinned Glitch with a warning glare. “If either of them get hurt, I’ll hang your ass out to dry. Got it?”

Glitch decided she wouldn’t take any offense to his overprotectiveness. She looked into the twins and their history, and she knew this man cared far more about these girls and their guardian than he ever had for anyone else. So she nodded and said “Got it. But, let me make something clear.” She stepped forward, and even though she had to look up at him, she made sure he saw the danger in her eyes as she added, “You don’t get to threaten me, ever. I can kill you before you know it’s coming, so how about a little bit of respect, huh?” Then she stepped back and smiled at the girls. “We’ll get started later. I have a few things to finish up, and a workout to get in.”

“We do too. Can we join you for the workout?” Win asked hopefully.

“Yeah, that sparring you did with Karissa in the ring last time was awesome,” Wren agreed, rubbing her hands together excitedly.

Rogue grumbled something under his breath and then stalked out, clearly done with the conversation. Glitch waited until he was out of the room before she said to both of the girls, “I’ll gladly help you. And Karissa will probably be happy to, as well.”

“We’ve actually been working out with her,” Win told her. “So we’ve been improving, but I really want to move on to the advanced stuff.”

“Not before you’re ready,” Glitch cautioned her. “No running before you can walk, babes. Men make that mistake all the time and get themselves in trouble, or even killed. And, as women are far smarter, we do it the right way so there’s no mistaking just how much better you are.”

Both of them nodded. “Got it,” they chimed in unison.

“Good,” Glitch grinned.

The sound of a baby crying pulled them out of their conversation, and they watched as a harried-looking Harlow arrived with a screaming Harley. “Someone, please help me get him to stop crying,” Harlow begged. “I don’t know what’s wrong, and I’ve tried everything. I can’t find Esme or Royal either.”

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