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I put my hand back on the wheel, gripping it until my knuckles are leached of color, and push harder on the gas. Now is not the time to get into an argument; I trust Calla, but there’s not a chance in hell I trust that friend of hers. She is loyal to her own blood.
As loyal as you are to yours?an infuriating voice croons in the back of my mind.
I let out a harsh breath, clenching my jaw so tight my teeth hurt. A curse flies from my lips as I almost miss the turn, slamming on the breaks and whipping the wheel around to take it at the last second.
Calla gasps sharply, grabbing the handle above her door, while Lex whistles under his breath from the seat behind her.
“You good?” Kade asks, and I shoot him a dark glare through the rearview mirror.
A few minutes later, we pull into the lot of Marcel’s boxing club. Calla gets out the second I shift into park, slamming her door and stalking toward the building as if she’s been here before. Lex and Kade follow after her and Gabriel lets out a sigh. Before he can say anything, I grumble, “I don’t want to hear it, Gabe.”
“Okay,” he says in a level tone, getting out of the vehicle and walking toward the entrance with the others.
The inside of Marcel’s club is industrial in appearance, with concrete floors, black brick walls, and an exposed ceiling with large metal pipes. Fluorescent bar lighting hangs from several of them, but the lack of windows doesn’t offer any natural light. One wall is lined with punching bags attached by chains to a thick metal beam above our heads, and the middle of the space is occupied by a large boxing ring. A few people are using the bags and others are lifting weights in front of a wall-sized mirror at the far end of the room.
Gabriel is already chatting with Marcel, while Kade and Lex start sparring in the ring, because of course they are.
My gaze falls on Calla, who is wandering around the room taking the space in. She trails her fingers along a few of the punching bags as she passes them, and ends up leaning against the ropes of the boxing ring, watching the guys throw punches at each other. They move at inhuman speed, and while I can see them clearly, they’re likely blurs of movement to her, and yet, she watches in awe.
As she watches them, I watch her. I can’t help it. The woman infuriates me as much as she intrigues me, and there are very few people—none human, save for her—who can do that.
Lex manages to get the upper hand and knocks Kade on his ass with a loud crash against the floor of the ring.
Calla grins at them, shaking her head as she watches with amusement as Lex helps Kade up, smacking him on the back.
“Thanks, fucker,” Kade grumbles, punching Lex’s shoulder.
Lex shoots him a wink. “Anytime.”
Calla ducks under the rope and jumps on Lex’s back, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. “My turn.”
Lex laughs, grabbing under her knees to steady her. “Yeah?”
Kade jumps the ropes and grabs a can of beer from the mini-fridge against the ring, cracking it open as he leans against the padded corner.
I walk closer to the ring, listening vaguely as Gabriel talks to Marcel about the attacks. He’s sending us a report of the most recent stats, which we’ll discuss before heading for Chicago.
Jumping into the ring, I catch Calla’s gaze, and she slides off Lex’s back.
“Oh shit,” he says with a laugh. “I’m out of here.” A second later, Calla and I are the only ones in the ring, and she’s glowering at me.
“Go ahead,” I offer in a level voice, steadying my stance.
She crosses her arms over her chest, arching a brow at me. “What exactly are you giving me permission to do?”
“You’re pissed at me, so let’s get it out of your system.”
“Right, and you think inviting me to fight you is going to make me feel better?”
I cock my head to the side, holding her gaze. “We won’t know until we try, now will we?”
She drops her arms to her sides, blowing out an agitated breath. “I don’t think so. We both know how it’s going to end, which isn’t going to improve the situation.”
With a brief twist of my lips, I move too fast for her eyes to register, stopping close enough I can feel her breath against my skin.
Calla sucks in a breath and moves to take a step away from me, but I catch her wrist, holding her in place. “Atlas—”
“We’re doing this,” I cut her off. “Now, focus and fight me.”
