Chapter 9 #2
Zenko drove his thumb into the pressure point in Noble’s wrist and held it there until the arm around his neck loosened enough for him to wrench himself free.
Noble released him with a curse and shook out his hand. Zenko’s attention followed the movement for a second, and he realized his mistake a fraction too late when Noble balled his other fist and drove it into his stomach. The impact folded him forward and dragged a grunt from his throat.
“That hurt, dammit.” He straightened and sucked in a breath, already bringing his hands back up.
“Good.” Noble smiled in satisfaction as he reset his stance. “I’ve been going fucking easy on you.”
“Yeah? Maybe you should stop.” Zenko shifted his weight, watching Noble’s shoulders for the next strike.
Noble answered with a sharp jab that caught him across the jaw, then opened his eyebrow with a left hook before he managed to land one of his own across Noble’s nose.
Blood immediately ran over Noble’s mouth, and he wiped it away with the back of his hand, leaving streaks of red across the white tape covering his knuckles.
“I warned you.” Noble raised his hands again and came forward. “Easy is fucking over.”
Breathing heavily, Zenko met Noble in the center of the ring, taking a hard punch to the ribs before driving one of his own into Noble’s stomach. Neither of them backed off, and the noise from the assholes gathered around the ring covered the conversation happening between them.
“You will follow orders, Zenko,” Noble grunted when Zenko landed another solid hit against his ribs.
“Not at Shaun’s expense.” he kept his voice low enough that the words wouldn’t carry beyond the ropes. Noble could order him around all fucking day, but he wasn’t going to stand back and let Shaun become collateral damage while they tried to cover their own asses.
“Jesus.” Noble smacked the side of Zenko’s head with his taped hand before stepping back. “Is that what you fucking think I want you to do?”
Zenko’s fist stopped halfway toward Noble’s jaw. “It’s not?”
He lowered his hands, breathing hard as he stared at the man he had trusted with his life for more than a decade. “Then what the hell is it you do want, Noble? Because all I’m hearing is what you can’t do and what you can’t find.”
“Dumbass.” Noble reached for the towel he’d dropped when he entered the ring and wiped the blood from beneath his nose.
“These things take time. Just because we can’t find it now doesn’t mean we won’t.
” He tossed the other towel at Zenko. “You’ve claimed him.
That makes him a member of our family. If I gave you a different impression, that wasn’t my intention. ”
“Fuck.” He caught the towel and dragged it across his face, some of the fight going out of him with Noble’s words.
He hadn’t realized until that moment how badly he’d needed to hear them.
Shaun wasn’t a problem Red Squadron was trying to solve before sending him on his way.
Noble had already put him inside the circle they protected.
“We rely heavily on technology because we have Max, and there’s nobody better at getting that shit to talk.
” Noble ducked through the ropes before holding them apart for Zenko.
“We give him time to do his thing. If that gets us nowhere, we send someone to Baghdad and start asking questions in person. Someone saw something, Zenko. We’ll find them. ”
The grumbling behind them made Zenko glance toward the idiots who probably had been expecting an actual winner.
Even after all the times they’d watched him and Noble spar, they still hadn’t figured out that neither of them was going to expend more energy than necessary once the reason for throwing punches was gone.
Noble had answered the question Zenko actually needed answered, and it was too damn hot to keep beating the crap out of each other for the entertainment of the assholes standing around the ring.
“Shower?” Noble hooked the towel around his neck and lifted an eyebrow.
Zenko shook his head and headed toward the door. “I’ll shower in my room.”
Zenko caught Noble watching him as he turned to leave, the asshole wearing a smirk that immediately put his back up.
“What?” He wiped the towel across the sweat at the back of his neck and waited.
“Nothing.” Noble’s attempt at innocence lasted about as long as Zenko expected it to.
“Bullshit. What?” He knew that fucking look. Noble had been wearing versions of it since BUD/S, and whatever came next was guaranteed to piss him off.
Noble’s smirk widened. “Who would’ve thought Zenko Marks would fall for some guy this fucking hard?”
“Fuck off.” Zenko started walking before Noble could see how close the bastard had come to landing that particular shot.
“Oh, I don’t think so.” Noble tossed the towel over one shoulder and fell into step beside him. “You don’t even give a shit who knows anymore, do you?”
Zenko thought about denying it for approximately half a second before deciding there was no fucking point. A week ago, he probably would have. Now the idea of the team knowing Shaun mattered to him didn’t bother him nearly as much as it probably fucking should.
“Nope.”
“Jesus Christ.” Noble laughed and shook his head. “I’m ordering popcorn and jellybeans from the PX.”
Zenko stopped walking and stared at him. Noble had clearly lost whatever remained of his fucking mind. “What the fuck for?”
“For when the rest of these idiots figure it out.” Noble jerked his thumb toward the men still grumbling around the sparring ring. “The heckling and teasing are going to be fucking epic, and I want snacks.”
“You’re an asshole.” Zenko flipped him off and started walking again.
“Yeah, but I’m an asshole who’s right.” Noble fell into step beside him, still looking far too fucking pleased with himself.
They had made it only a couple of feet when Noble swore beside him, the amusement disappearing from his voice so quickly that Zenko stopped and turned back.
“Shit, Zenko, hold up.” Noble pulled out his pager, and whatever he read wiped the smirk from his face. He motioned toward the command center. “Command center. Now.”
The sudden change was enough to put Zenko straight back on alert. Five seconds ago, Noble had been giving him shit about Shaun. Now his expression had gone completely serious, and Zenko had known him far too long to mistake what that meant.
“What happened?”
“Don’t know yet.” Noble was already moving.
“Fuck.” Zenko turned with him and headed back toward the command center, whatever amusement he’d managed to find during the walk disappearing with every step.