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Our standoff continues. My calves protest. My forearms feel like they’re being shredded to pieces.
"You going to give up?" he growls.
"You first," I snap.
We continue to hold each other’s gaze. My stomach muscles tighten. Bile threatens to boil up my throat, but fuck if I’m going to be the first to give up.
His breathing comes in choppy heaves, sweat drips from his chin onto the floor, the tendons of his arms pop, then he jerks his chin. "On the count of three, you wanker."
Finally, fuck. I nod in response. "One."
"Two," he joins in.
"Three."
Both of us collapse on the floor. My muscles scream in relief, blood rushing to the parts that I abused trying to hold myself up.
"Bloody fuck," Knight pants.
"Indeed."
For a few seconds, there’s only the sound of both of us panting and drawing in huge gasps of breath. Then, I push myself up to sitting. He follows.
"Fuck, that felt good." He shakes his hair and the sweat from his forehead hits me in the chin.
"Don’t want your fucking bodily fluids on me," I grunt.
He laughs. "You’re a fucking pussy."
"Just being hygienic, man."
"You stay locked up with five other men in a bunker for days while you wait for your orders to move, and you’ll know the true meaning of hygienic."
I wince. "You’re a fucking saint."
"Or a hedonistic sinner.” He tosses me another bottle of water. I uncap it, and chug it down, before wiping the back of my palm across my mouth.
"I dropped her off at her place and watched until she climbed up the tree to her room." I toss back the rest of the water, then arc the bottle into the waste bin.
She’ told me she was only fourteen, but the reality only sank in when I watched her sneak back into the house. She then stood at her window and angrily waved me off before turning and disappearing inside. I stood there, looking at her window for a few more minutes before I finally turned and left.
"So, what was she doing wandering around on the beach in the middle of the night? If you hadn’t been there..." His voice tapers off.
"No shit.” Truth is, I can’t bear to think of what would have happened if I hadn’t been there. "I didn’t have a chance to find out why she was wandering outside at that time." I snatch up my towel and mop my face. "But I intend to find out."
I rise to my feet and walk toward the doorway, when Knight calls out, "She’s part of the Camorra.”
I pause, “Camorra?” I frown at him over my shoulder.
“As in, the Mafia.”
“And you know that how?”
He lowers his arms between his knees, "We visited her family a few years ago. Her father’s dead now, but her brother is one vicious, deranged motherfucker who can’t be reasoned with."
It’s no secret Knight’s father is part of an organized crime syndicate. It’s one reason he signed up for the army—so he could make up for the sins of his father. It’s also why I have no reason to doubt the accuracy of his information.
I nod in his direction, "All the more reason for me to visit her and make sure she’s okay."
