Page 146 of Play Dirty

Grayson didn’t hesitate.

“When we play them.”

“You mean when we destroy them,” Ares grumbled.

His words hung heavily in the stillness, between sets.

“Yeah.”

“Alright,” Sebastian chuckled. “Great. Love the murder energy. Let’s keep that going.”

They did keep it going — for another forty-five minutes, at least. The treadmill was kicking my ass. Especially since Sebastian and Grayson kept tag-teaming the incline button whenever I was distracted.

And I was distracted a lot.

Ares racked the squat bar one last time, drained his water bottle, and draped a towel over his neck. Against his massive shoulders, it looked like a washcloth.

“I’m done,” he grunted. “At least until later.”

“Me too,” Sebastian sighed. “What now?”

Grayson glanced toward me. I raised a brow.

“Don’t look at me.”

“You’re the one in charge today,” he said.

“I am not in charge.”

“You overruled Mercer.”

“Because you idiots wanted to watch Rocky Four instead of doing your jobs.”

“That still feels like the better option,” Sebastian said.

“It wasn’t,” I shot back.

“Debatable.”

Ares stepped closer. Too close. Always too close now.

“Then what is the better option?” he asked.

That look again. The one that didn’t ask a question.

It suggested something.

I pressed a button and the treadmill slowed to a stop. My heart was still beating a mile a minute, though. And not just from the run.

“Shower,” I said, decisively. “All of you.”

Sebastian blinked.

“… together?”

“No.”

A beat.