Page 40 of Filled

“Heard she dropped Cruz on his ass in sparring,” Jonah teases.

“Eat shit, Carson.” Cruz flips him off.

“She did, though, right?” he asks.

“She caught me with a switch kick. Once. I’m letting her get comfortable,” Cruz replies.

“You’relettingher.” Dante’s voice is flat. “That’s what we’re going with.”

“That’s what we’re going with,” he replies.

Micah’s laughing into his beer. He’s quieter than usual tonight. He gets that way in crowds, but there’s a lightness to him I haven’t seen in a while. Ever since David, the ex whoknocked him sideways for months, dumped him. It’s good to see him surface again.

The door opens, and Finn and Kai come in together, peeling off coats. Finn’s got that loud-mouth Boston grin that fills any room he walks into, and Kai’s two steps behind him, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else and yet somehow can’t be more than a few feet from Finn’s side. The new guys. They’ve been at Oath for three weeks now, and they already feel like family.

“Look at these handsome bastards.” Finn drops into the booth and immediately steals my beer. “Tell me there are shots. Tell me Theo has shots.”

“Theo has shots,” I say. “Theo has whatever you want. Give me back my beer.”

“Finders keepers, man,” he states.

Kai slides in beside Finn, fingers brushing his knee under the table. Subtle. I catch Cruz’s eye and he gives me the slightest smirk.

“How’s the new gym treating you?” Dante asks.

“Like a fucking miracle.” Finn’s grin softens around the edges. “I keep waiting for someone to say something. Make a comment. Three weeks and nobody’s said shit.”

“Nobody’s gonna say shit,” Cruz says. “Victor would feed them their own teeth.”

“I noticed.” Kai’s voice is quiet, careful, but there’s warmth underneath. “Coach Marco actually pulled me aside on my second day and told me if anyone gave me trouble, to come straight to him.”

“He does that with everyone,” Micah says. “He did it with me when I first came out. Cornered me by the speed bags and basically said,anyone gives you shit, hermano, I’ll handle it.Then handed me an energy bar like it was nothing.”

“That tracks.” Finn laughs.

Across the lounge, Marco’s still trying to talk Eli down from whatever ledge he’s perched on. Eli hasn’t touched his drink in five minutes. He keeps glancing at the door.

Don’t, I tell myself. Don’t think about it.

My brain doesn’t listen. I think about Dakota’s body close to mine while we drilled clinch work yesterday. The way her hair smelled when she ducked under my arm. The way she looked at me, holding my gaze for one beat too long before she walked away.

I think about Cruz pinned to the cage wall with blood on his lip, laughing. About Eli’s hand fisted in his shirt. About Dakota gripping the cage from outside, watching it all like it was something she’d made happen.

I drink half my beer in one go.

“Easy, killer.” Jonah nudges my shoulder. “Long night ahead.”

The door opens again and Remy and Hunter come in together. Remy nods once at our booth, which is Remy’s version of a warm greeting. Hunter raises a hand. They make their way to the bar, where Remy stands with his back perfectly straight and orders a drink. Hunter is new here, only been at the gym for a few weeks. Remy is an original member; he’s been here since before the rebrand, apparently before even Cruz.

“How’s Hunter doing?” I ask.

“Slept three nights through. Said it’s the longest stretch he’s had in months.”

“That’s huge,” I reply.

Jonah nods. “Yeah, it is.”

We sit with that for a second. The thing about this group—it’s all the small stuff. Who slept. Who ate. Who’s struggling. Who’s not. We notice each other in ways my last gym never did. I came up at a place where the head coach didn’t know my middle nameafter two years. Here, Marco knows my coffee order, and Cruz knows when I’m pretending I’m fine and Eli knows…