18. Beau
Beau
When in doubt,
fight it out.
T he first drops of daylight spill through the trees, a lazy, watery shine that steeps into the darkness, brightening it in slow drips. The apple tree stretches its limbs to an easy breeze, and Bristlebrook nestles into the gray cliff face, sleepy and shadowed in the early morning light.
Hooking my foot behind Jasper’s leg, I slam my shoulder into his chest and bring him down hard into the grass.
Again .
Today really isn’t his day.
Then again, today doesn’t seem to be anyone’s day, except maybe Lucky’s .
The five of us usually meet out on the lawn at oh-five-hundred for our daily workout, but this morning Jayk’s barn was silent and sullen, Dom had to drag Jasper out of the surveillance room when he didn’t turn up—by God Almighty , I don’t know why he was in there at that hour and not sleeping like a normal human—and Lucky strolled in out of the woods a full half hour late, grinning from ear to ear.
Of course, I may have also tried to bail on training this morning.
I had grand plans of stealing Eden away for a few hours, taking her for a stroll, picking wildflowers sparkling with morning dew, kissing her frosty fingers warm, and settling in on a thick picnic rug with a thermos of piping hot teato watch the sun rise.
.. except that when I went looking for her, she and Lucky were nowhere to be found.
But Dom was, and he dragged me outside like a wayward puppy right alongside Jasper , once again blowing to hell any chance I had of spending time alone with Eden .
Damn it, where did Lucky and Eden go? I know they were in the house at some point yesterday—it was impossible for any of us to miss the Twister extravaganza.
Lucky , little asshole that he is, set it up in the music room, and that damn room is designed for sound to travel.
Their giggles, squeals, and moans floated through every single room of the lodge.
And I can’t even be mad about it.
Those sounds are just about the most delightful thing I’ve heard in years, and I’m stupid happy that Eden had a good day, even if it wasn’t with me.
Wouldn’t have stopped me from hauling her out of Lucky’s arms the second I tracked her down, though.
Under me, Jasper makes a sour sound in the back of his throat, then taps out. I don’t let him up this time. His face is red and sweaty—it always is when we spar—but there are rough, tired rings around his eyes that I don’t like, and he’s been feral as a pissed-off badger all morning.
I frown down at him. “ Where’s your head today? That’s the fourth time I’ve pinned you.”
“ This is a waste of my time.” His eyes flash dangerously. “ I should be on surveillance. Do you know how difficult it will be to make up two hours of missed footage on thirty-seven cameras?”
I grimace. “ How close are they now?”
“ They stopped last night and set up camp,” he says in a clipped voice. “ Last I saw, they hadn’t yet moved.”
Easing my grip, I soothe, “ So it’s not an immediate concern. We can help you with the cameras later.” I hesitate, then add in an undertone, “ But are you sure that’s what this is about?”
His face takes on such an unholy light that I back up fast and watch him warily as he shoves to his feet. With a chilling curl of his lip, he yanks down his rumpled, grass-stained shirt.
Beside us, Dom breaks Lucky’s hold around his neck, then throws him flying over his shoulder and down hard into the dirt.
Lucky wheezes.
Jasper fires a vicious glare at Dom . “ Would you be careful? I was under the impression that we’re here to train, not to snap one another’s necks.”
He whips his towel off a low-hanging branch and swipes at his flushed forehead.
Dom catches me looking, then rolls his eyes skyward, and I cough to hide a laugh.
“ Pulling punches in training is a fast way to get people killed in action. We don’t do that here. You’d know that by now if you didn’t keep skipping out on us.” Rubbing his neck where Lucky half-strangled him, Dom adds wryly, “ And my neck is just fine, thanks for the concern.”
Jasper gives him a withering look.
Lucky groans good-naturedly as he sits up. “ You know, the rear naked choke always ends differently in my head.”
Ignoring that, Dom nods at him. “ It was good. You’re coming in faster. Much better than last week.”
Lucky shrugs one shoulder, but there’s a pleased glow to his smile as he grabs his bottle for a drink. Guy would roll over and show his belly for a compliment, I swear.
Dom reaches out a hand to help Lucky up, but instead of taking it, Lucky launches forward into a somersault, somehow ending up on his feet. He bounces on his toes with the same buoyant energy he’s had all morning, as if he’s burning extra bright today to make up for Jasper’s gloom.
“ Don’t get too cocky.” Dom frowns. “ Your offense is strong, but you leave yourself too exposed. If you don’t fix up your evasive maneuvers, you’re going to catch bullets sooner or later.”
Lucky re-ties his loosening hair, then waves his hand dismissively. “ Don’t you know? Tragic hero is my aesthetic.” His dimple flashes. “ Just like bossy jerk is yours, grumpy Hulk is Jayk’s , self-righteous sweetheart is Beau’s , and sexy nerd is Eden’s .”
I choke on my water. “ I am not self-righteous!” I scoff. “ I’m a doctor. I help people!”
Lucky inclines his head at Dom . “ See ?”
“ Idiot .” I twist up my towel and whip it so it cracks against his ass. He yelps, cackling as he spins to face me, and Dom snorts.
“ What does that make mine, then?”
Silky . Indolent . The words slice through the levity in a single, neat cut. Despite his still-pink cheeks, Jasper’s glittering eyes warn of poisoned waters and blackened, roiling skies.
Lucky straightens, and I don’t know why it strikes me now, but I realize for the first time how much older he is than when I first met him. There’s a seriousness and a hardness in him that seems suddenly obvious now he’s stopped smiling.
He looks Jasper over. “ That makes you the one getting saved, I guess.” He shrugs and picks up his bottle again. “ Especially if you’re letting yourself get pinned four times in one morning.”
Oh , shit.
I freeze, glancing between the two of them. Watching Jasper’s face is like watching an avalanche descend, wintry and ruinous. Lucky casually sips from his water bottle.
For the four years we’ve been at Bristlebrook —and years before that, even—the two of them have circled around each other with gravitational force. Now , within just a few days, they’re on a collision course.
Maybe Dom is right. Not about all of it, of course, but there’s no pretending that Eden isn’t stirring up a whole pot of emotions here.
“ Did I or did I not see you writhing on the ground yourself just moments ago?” Jasper snipes.
Lucky tilts his head as if puzzled. “ Which time? I’ve been rolling around all night.”
Dom and I exchange a loaded married-couple look.
I raise my brows, and glance at them without moving my head. Should we do something?
Dom lowers his chin, then tilts it in a negative. Not our business.
“ Don’t test me, Lucien .” Jasper takes a sharp step forward, and I ease up onto the balls of my feet anyway in case I need to intervene. “ You forget, I’ve been watching the cameras. What were you and Eden doing out in the woods? I saw the two of you leave together.”
Lucky smiles, maliciously innocent. “ I didn’t forget.” He pauses, sliding a sidelong look at Dom that’s about three shades too casual. “ Hey , did you spend much time in your room this morning?”
That catches the boss’s attention, and Dom narrows his eyes. “ No .” When Lucky’s lips roll in like he’s trying to hide a grin, Dom demands, “ Why ? ”
Lucky’s eyes widen, and he shrugs. “ No reason.”
I groan.
The man can be reckless to the point of stupid for a good adventure.
One time he begged me to race him on a climb up the cliffside—only to realize it’s a lot fucking harder to climb down fifty feet without gear than it is to go up.
We waited on a tiny little ledge, arms aching, for two hours before Dom and Jasper came searching for us, and another hour on top of that while they worked out how to get belay equipment up to us.
And the idiot laughed the whole time. Of course, he wasn’t smiling overmuch after a livid Jasper got him back to Bristlebrook .
Point is, Lucky is not to be trusted.
“ Lucky ,” I warn, narrowing my eyes on him too. “ Why were you in the woods?”
Mischief dances over his lean features. “ Sorry , Doc , that’s need to know.”
I jump to my feet. “ Where is Eden ?” I demand anxiously... and immediately cringe. I sound like my ma after she learned a burlesque club was moving into town.
Dom snorts, and the derisive sound pricks at me like a thousand needles. It’s not enough to crap all over my chance at happiness, he has to mock me for it too?
“ Eden’s inside. She came in through the caves ’cause she was afraid of—” Lucky stops, eyes sparkling with fiendish innocence. “ You know what, never mind. She’s freshening up.”
Thank God she’s safe at least.
My eyes drift back to Dom , who seems to have lost interest in the conversation.
“ Have you talked to her at all since we got back?” I ask him abruptly, apparently just as unable as Lucky and Jasper to keep my mess contained today.
He tenses but slings his towel around his neck like he’s unbothered. “ I’ve been busy.”
“ So make time.”
There’s too much testiness in my tone, but my temper is growing shorter and shorter with him.
He’s not even trying—he barely spoke to her at dinner, and he’s still interrupting every potential moment for me to be alone with her.
I’m starting to wonder if I’m wishing on a star here.
Maybe it was a pipe dream, this idea of us staying close and making a family together with the right girl.
Something born of teenage hormones and a friendship that hadn’t really been tested yet.
Dom doesn’t respond, leaning down to pick up his shirt. He sniffs it, then grimaces and sighs.
“ Why don’t I have any clean clothes?” he asks the group instead, changing the subject.
I narrow my eyes. “ Because Eden took over the washing and Jayk still hasn’t fixed the machine. And because there are six of us in the house now and somebody keeps chasing her off, making it so she wants to hide in her room instead of being around us.”
“ I’ll tell Jayk to make the washing machine a priority,” he says, ignoring the rest.
“ I hope you plan to apologize first, for your assumptions the other day,” Jasper cuts in sharply.
Cocking a brow, Dom asks, “ Have you ?”
“ I have.” Jasper grimaces. “ It didn’t go well.”
“ Were you nice, though?” Lucky mutters.
I run a hand over my hair, frustrated by them, by Dom , by Jayk and all of it, when I see the curtains in Eden’s room twitch. A small, pale face peeks between them.
And just like that, sweet heat slides like syrup through my veins.
“ We should do one more set,” I blurt.
Beside me, Lucky frowns, then follows my glance. He sneaks me a grin where the others can’t see, then wipes the smile and turns. “ I agree. One more to finish.”
Dom and Jasper stare at us.
“ I’m going to shower,” Dom finally says, forehead crinkling. “ But knock yourselves out.”
Jasper shakes his head, then follows him as he heads inside.
“ Bet I can embarrass you in front of our girl,” Lucky teases.
Our girl.
After Dom’s rejection, the phrase is like cool water on a livid burn. Our girl. Not just mine and Dom’s . Mine and Lucky’s . Jayk’s . Jasper’s .
I never pictured the three of them when I thought of The Plan ... but I could be okay with some modifications.
If that’s what Eden wants.
If they treat her right.
“ Eden’s going to be embarrassed for you once I show her what I can do.” I step back and whip off my shirt. “ I’ve got moves you can only dream of.”
“ I’ll let you know, since your moves usually put me to sleep,” Lucky quips, tearing his own shirt off.
We’re both damp with sweat, and daylight has finally soaked in through the forest enough that it gleams off our skin.
Lucky darts forward quickly, feinting up, then sweeping low in the next instant to try to take my legs out.
I’m familiar enough with his fighting style to anticipate the tricky move, and I swerve to the side so he slides past me.
I aim a quick kick to his ribs while he’s low, but he’s already spinning away from me, coming up with a right hook that I block and follow with an uppercut.
Back and forth we fight, pushing and pulling, straining and slamming into one another until we’re sweat-slick and showing off and snorting with laughter.
Finally , Lucky makes the mistake of glancing over at the distant face still peeking down at us through the curtains, and I manage to kick out the back of his knees and knock him, face first, into the earth.
“ Fuck ,” he groans.
I crouch beside him. “ It’s just like Dom said,” I tell him smugly. “ Got to work on those evasive maneuvers.”
Brushing my hands on my pants, I step on Lucky’s bare back and saunter over to say hello to the pretty girl I’ve been missing since we met.