Chapter 30
Callahan is enjoying this entire situation far too much.
"Again," I tell Chloe calmly.
She exhales hard through her nose.
"You both enjoy bullying me."
"Yes," Callahan answers immediately from across the mat.
Traitor.
Chloe rolls her eyes, but resets her stance anyway, Ava balanced against her hip while she watches me carefully.
I step forward again and lightly grab her wrist.
"Break the grip."
This time, she twists properly on the first try and slips free cleanly.
I nod once.
"Good."
The immediate little spark of pride on her face hits harder than it should.
Because she's starting to trust herself.
Not just me.
Herself.
Callahan notices too.
"Well, shit," he says. "She's actually learning."
"I hate that you sound surprised," Chloe mutters.
"You looked ready to faint twenty minutes ago."
"I still might."
I fight a grin.
Cute.
Very cute.
Chloe adjusts Ava slightly higher against her chest while looking back at me expectantly.
There's a faint flush still sitting across her cheeks from earlier.
Especially after—
"Focus, baby," I say automatically.
Silence.
Complete silence.
Chloe freezes.
Callahan's jaw drops.
I even pause for half a second.
Well.
Not taking that back.
Slowly, Chloe looks up at me.
Her face immediately turns bright pink.
Callahan clutches his chest dramatically.
"Oh, that's insane."
I ignore him.
My eyes stay on Chloe.
"You okay?" I ask quietly.
She swallows hard.
"Yep."
Absolute lie.
Her pulse is fluttering wildly in her throat.
Callahan points between us like he's witnessing a public crime.
"You called her baby like you've done it your whole life."
"She responded to it."
"I watched her short-circuit in real time."
Chloe hides part of her face briefly against Ava's head.
I finally grin properly.
Poor thing.
"Alright," Callahan says suddenly. "Enough flirting disguised as combat training."
"We're not flirting," Chloe says too quickly.
Both of us look at her.
She immediately looks horrified with herself.
Callahan bursts out laughing.
"Oh, my God."
I enjoy watching her get flustered way too much.
Callahan claps his hands together once.
"New lesson. She needs to see actual sparring."
Chloe blinks.
"What?"
"You learn timing by watching movement," he explains. "Plus, I wanna humble Romeo over here."
"That's not happening," I tell him flatly.
Callahan grins.
"Scared?"
"No. I don't want Chloe learning bad technique from you."
He points at me immediately.
"See? Flirting."
Chloe laughs softly despite herself.
The sound automatically draws my attention to her.
And yeah.
Callahan catches that, too.
"You are down catastrophically," he informs me.
I flip him off.
Then look back at Chloe.
"You alright if we spar?"
Her eyes widen slightly.
"You mean... actually?"
"Controlled," I reassure immediately.
Callahan cracks his neck dramatically.
"Mostly."
"Mason," Chloe says carefully, "please don't let him die."
"I'm standing right here," Callahan complains.
I smirk despite myself.
"Come sit over there," I tell Chloe, nodding toward the benches along the wall.
She settles down with Ava in her lap, tiny fingers immediately grabbing at Chloe's hoodie strings while she watches us nervously.
The second I step onto the center mat across from Callahan, the atmosphere shifts.
Not hostile.
Focused.
Familiar.
Callahan grins at me.
"Try not to embarrass yourself in front of your girl."
"My girl?" Chloe echoes immediately from the bench.
Callahan points at her without looking away from me.
"See? He didn't deny it."
I don't.
That seems to affect Chloe more than it should.
Interesting.
Then Callahan comes at me fast.
Not holding back.
Good.
I block automatically and drive him backward hard enough that his shoes squeal against the mat.
Chloe startles audibly.
"Relax, baby," I say without looking away from him. "We're fine."
Callahan groans dramatically.
"You literally cannot stop."
Then he swings again.
Faster this time.
I duck, drive my shoulder into his ribs, and send him crashing onto the mat hard enough to shake it.
Chloe gasps.
Callahan rolls immediately and sweeps for my legs.
I barely avoid it.
"Okay," Chloe says faintly. "That looked illegal."
"It was beautiful," Callahan argues while getting back up.
We circle again.
Then go at it properly.
Fast strikes.
Blocks.
Counters.
Years of training kicking in automatically.
Callahan gets one good hit into my shoulder.
I return the favor by throwing him hard enough that he lands flat on his back again with a loud grunt.
Chloe laughs this time.
Actually laughs.
Bright and surprised.
The sound hits me right in the chest.
Callahan notices immediately from the floor.
"Oh, he liked that."
"Get up."
"You looked at her after throwing me!"
"I was checking she wasn't scared."
"Sure you were."
I haul him upright by the shirt and shove him back.
He comes at me again, grinning like an idiot.
Across the room, Chloe watches us with Ava tucked safely against her chest, smiling openly now.
Relaxed.
Happy.
And somewhere in the middle of nearly getting punched in the face by my best friend—
I realize I'd fight a hell of a lot harder than this to protect that look on her face.