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She looked across the circle they’d all formed around the tag-team grappling drill they were currently running and found Mo frowning at her, a question on his face. She could almost hear his deep voice asking, “You okay, D?” She gave him a nod and a small smile and forced herself to get her head back into the game. Literally.
Jesse and Jud were in the ring, both of them trying to dominate the other. This drill focused entirely on groundwork, forcing each of them to use their wrestling and grappling skills to achieve submission. A fighter’s turn ended only if they had to tap out or if they got close enough to the edge to tag in a teammate.
Jesse and Jud were total opposites—Jesse was more reserved where Jud was always chatting someone up. Jesse possessed the kind of cool and calculating demeanor you’d expect from a guy who defused bombs for a living, while Jud had an infectious, playful, and gregarious personality. And Jesse had dark hair and eyes, where Jud was more fair with sandy blond hair and striking dark blue eyes. But they were pretty evenly matched in the ring, which was why they’d been at it for almost five minutes and neither had been able to achieve a submission. And right now, they were both shit-talking up a storm.
“Come on, old man, you gonna make a move?” Jesse taunted.
“You’re only two fucking years younger than me, asshole,” Jud said in a southern accent that made Dani picture the cowboy hat he sometimes wore. “Plus, I’m a lot fucking prettier.” Laughter, cheers, and jeers filled the room. Jesse didn’t still work on Jud’s and Tara’s commercial diving team, but the men’s friendship obviously remained strong despite Jesse’s jump over to the DCPD.
“Come on Jesse,” Tara cheered, laughing when Jud threw her an exaggerated wounded look at her lack of support. Everyone laughed.
Everyone except Jesse, who used Jud’s distractedness to get a hold around his chest. They struggled for a long moment, and then Jesse flipped him over and went for a rear-naked choke. He couldn’t quite get it though, and they ended up in a series of attacks that brought them closer to where Dani stood just outside the circle. Jesse reached out a hand—tagging Dani in.
“Go get him, Dani,” Jesse said, clapping her on the shoulder.
“Well, hi there, pretty lady,” Jud said, his tone well aware that his words would irritate her. Their love of teasing, innuendo, and sarcasm was probably one of the reasons that Sean and Jud had become good friends over the past few months.
“Are you here to talk or fight?” she shot back as she got into position.
Around them, the cheering, clapping, and shit-talking escalated as Jud and Dani attacked, resisted, and fought. He’d been in the ring for a good ten minutes now, so his sweat made getting a good hold hard. In a burst of effort, Jud pushed Dani flat on her stomach. He reached for one of her legs and went to straddle her, which told Dani that he was either going for an ankle lock or a stepover toehold facelock, neither of which she was letting him get. So she rolled into a ball and then, using the last of her energy, exploded open with her knees and elbows in a way that threw him off balance.
The room erupted.
Coach blew the whistle.
Jud held out his hands as he pushed to his knees. “Aw, come on Coach Mack, I gotta redeem myself here.”
Everyone laughed, including Coach. “Live to fight another day, Jud. But that was some damn good fighting.” Coach pointed at her. “Dani, you’re looking strong.”
She nodded but felt like such a fraud. And she was still feeling that way thirty minutes later when she and Tara hit the women’s locker room to get ready for dinner.
“What’s up with you tonight?” Tara asked, peering at her warily, as if Dani were a cornered animal that might lash out.
Dani supposed it wasn’t an unreasonable analogy since the question put her hackles up—not because Tara was out of line, but because Dani just didn’t want to deal. But clearly she needed to, so she forced her shoulders to relax as she tossed her gym bag on a bench. “Just a rough week.”
“Aw, I’m sorry. What’s been going on? Work?” Her friend’s expression was so earnest in wanting to be there for her that Dani dropped into a sitting position.
“No, things are good there. I mean, I had to tell my Department Director I wasn’t taking his promotion again, but I think it might’ve actually penetrated his skull this time.”
Tara sat beside her and tugged off her fingerless gloves. “That’s good at least. So if it’s not work, is it Sean? I mean, is he doing okay?”
Dani blew out a long breath, tired of keeping so much bottled up, but afraid to voice half of what was going on inside her. She’d been carrying all of her own emotional water for so long, she no longer knew how to set down the buckets. “I went to the eye doc with him yesterday and the prognosis is hopeful. I know he’s still worried, but all things considered, he’s really good.”
