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“Hey, man.” I approached him. “We’re going to toss our bags in the locker room, then I’ll be out.”
Jace eyed Zayne for a second, then nodded.
A few minutes later, I settled in near Jace and began to stretch. “How are you doing with Brynn’s news?” I asked, not tiptoeing around what was fucking with both of us.
“I’m having a hell of a time wrapping my head around it, honestly. A few weeks ago she was fine, and now …” His blue-gray eyes filled with grief. “We’ve got to get River back. The girls need each other. I know the doctors will help Brynn, but I think she’ll do better with River by her side.”
I laid down on the bench while Jace added weights and prepared to spot me. “Honestly, I’m not sure what the hell to do. I’ve never been so fucking lost before.” I sucked in a breath and started a set of bench presses.
“You’ve never been in love before. Now you have someone you would die for.” Jace stood at the top of the bench, watching me in case I began to fatigue. Once I’d performed a few more sets, we traded places.
“Are you in love with Brynn?” I asked. The bar started to wobble, and I prepared to catch the weights if Jace needed assistance. “Sorry, that was a bad time to ask,” I admitted.
“No shit.” Jace finished, then returned the weights to the bar. He sat up and looked at me. “Yeah, I love her but not the way Chance does. I don’t want to settle down with her, but I’ll fuck anyone over that doesn’t treat her right.”
I grinned. We all would. “Same. I love her but I’m not in love with her. River is the only one I want to be with.”
“I love all of you guys. We’ve been through hell and back before, and we’ll make it through all of this shit too.” Jace grabbed his navy hand towel and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
I strolled over to the heavy bag and gave it a solid jab. I really needed to hit something. Talking about River and Brynn wasn’t helping. It was actually making things worse.
“I agree.” I landed another hit and spotted Zayne across the room. He was cool about giving us some space, and I appreciated him not hovering.
Jace stood and headed to the leg press. He settled in, then began his sets. “How do you think River will feel about 4 Play being rebuilt? I mean, she was scoped out and kidnapped from there.”
My stomach plummeted to my toes. “I’ve wondered about that.”
Jace stared at me, waiting for me to continue.
“If she struggles with my decision, then I can always sell the club. I can find some other way to earn a living. She’s all that matters to me.”
“That’s huge, dude. Like, 4 Play has been your baby.” He stood and moved to another weight machine as he talked.
“It’s different now that she’s in my life. Plus, I have the ability to do anything I want, including not work, but I need to have something to do. River’s job was there as well. Honestly, I have no idea what life will look like hour-to-hour. I’m just desperate to think about something else.”
“Hell, I get that.”
I landed a few more hits to the bag, my knuckles burning. “I’m going to look at some lake property today. Do you want to come with me? Scope out an area to build a house?”
“Yeah? You’re not going to rebuild the penthouse?” Curiosity flashed in Jace’s eyes.
“I’ve thought a lot about it. I’d like to keep them separate. I’ll still have a room for us to sleep, cook, shower, but not a place to live long-term. I’m hoping it will help give us some separation.”
“I think that’s a solid idea. And yeah, it will be fun to see some properties. I’m always considering building, too. For now, I’m fine in the place I’m in. I remodeled it, and even if I were in a serious relationship, there’s plenty of space.”
“That’s right. I need to swing by and see the final updates.” I scratched my chin, my brain wandering back to Brynn. “I wonder what will happen between Brynn and Chance now that she’s … sick.” I slammed my fists as hard as I could into the heavy bag. My breathing grew jagged with the rapid-fire hits.
Zayne approached and tossed me a pair of boxing gloves. “Save your knuckles. Put them on and I’ll hold the bag so you can beat the shit out of it.”
Sweat trickled down the side of my face, but I ignored it. By the time I was finished, I’d be drenched. Slipping the boxing glove on, I allowed Zayne to help with the other one.
“Hit here and here.” Zayne began to show me quick combinations that could take an opponent down quickly. Tim’s ugly mug came to mind as I followed Zayne’s instructions and imagined I was beating the hell out of my asshole father. Take that, you sick fuck. Take that for hurting River, take that for burning down my club, and take that for not telling me who the hell has River.
A delicious burn traveled through my muscles as Zayne continued to teach me, and I began to release the pent-up hate for Tim. Shit. I should have been working out like this from the beginning. The overcrowded thoughts in my head started to clear, and I focused on the solution, not the problem.
I stepped back and held out my hands for Zayne to remove the gloves. Once they were off, Zayne tossed me a towel to mop up the sweat that was pouring down my cheeks.
I’d definitely have to shower before we left.
