Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
“Skip the fuckin’ finesse, Danny,” Sid ordered. “You can overpower him a lot quicker if you lay off the high kicks.”
“How about teachin’ me to overthrow him?” Reese growled, ducking a blow. “Motherfucking… Goddammit!” He swung around and delivered a swift kick to Danny’s side, and my boy toppled to the mat with a thud.
Hey, better Reese than me. I might beat Danny the majority of the time, but he recovered a lot faster than I did. Last time, I’d walked with a limp for a fucking week.
The victory wasn’t worth it.
Danny was back on his feet a second later, and he came at Reese so hard that I practically heard all the air get punched out of Reese’s lungs.
I tensed up and leaned forward, relieved when Reese glared murderously and retaliated quickly. Then I eyed River in the corner; he was observing the two fighters, further proving he and his brother would make an excellent team. Reese was undoubtedly a fantastic fighter already, but it was River’s observations that would take them to the next level in the field.
That said, River still needed to learn. He was a decent fighter, and that wasn’t enough for him to graduate.
“Sid,” I said.
He glanced over at me.
“I wanna see the boys take on Danny together.”
He nodded and blew his whistle. “You heard Payne. Take two, and then it’s the Tenleys against Rose.”
“Fuck,” Danny panted. He walked over to a corner, where he promptly collapsed on the red mat with his water bottle.
“I’m gonna go get the others in the gym,” Sid announced. “Get ready, Rose. You’ll face them all in pairs.”
Oh, this was gonna be painful for me too. But in the end, I wanted to see Danny take on as much as possible during training. Every time he impressed me, a brick of worry turned to dust in my chest.
“Thanks a lot.” Danny flipped Sid off behind his back.
I smiled and got comfortable again.
River and Reese huddled together in another corner, and it was River who spoke. Presumably, he was sharing his observations. Maybe weak spots of Danny’s. Whatever it was, Reese nodded and pinched his bottom lip, then responded with something that made River lift his eyebrows.
Watching the recruits evolve had become my favorite thing about working at Hillcroft. My hunger for challenges had shifted, in a way. I no longer craved the risks of being out in the field, even though I admittedly enjoyed that too. But this right here took the prize. It was something I could picture myself doing after I’d retired from the field.
I wasn’t getting any younger after all. I had maybe ten or fifteen years left. After that, I’d be a liability.
Sid’s booming voice down the hallway caught my attention, and I watched six recruits enter the studio, dressed similarly to Danny and the twins in sweatpants and beaters.
“You okay, kid?” I tossed Reese another roll of surgical tape and remained in the doorway. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, nursing his busted bottom lip and an eyebrow.
River shed the towel around his hips and stepped into a pair of boxer briefs.
“Yeah,” Reese muttered. “How the fuck is he so fast? I gotta work harder. I mean, we were two against him.”
“You gotta rest up and remember he has eight years on you,” I said pointedly. Not to mention Special Forces training. “That’s what you gotta do.”
I had no doubt Reese would get there one day. Not only did he attack swiftly and viciously, but he managed to spare his brother from most of the onslaught as well. River had gotten away with a few bruises and a twisted ankle.
“Hey,” River said quietly. He exchanged a look with Reese, and the tension between them was enough for me to stay put. They had something they wanted to talk about, right?
“Are you sure?” Reese replied just as quietly.
River nodded once. “I’ve done the math. It won’t work.”
What was going on?
Reese nodded too. “All right.” He shifted his stare to me and cleared his throat. “Do you have time? We need to discuss somethin’.”
I furrowed my brow and pushed away from the doorframe. “Shoot.” Danny was still in the shower—and even if he weren’t, I could sense this was important.
As always, Reese handled the talking. “We’re not gonna be able to graduate in November.”
I lifted my brows and folded my arms over my chest. “Did something happen?”
They looked at each other again, and River rubbed the back of his neck. “There aren’t enough hours in a day. With the extra fields Mr. Daniels wants me to study, I can’t make time for physical trainin’.”
What the fuck? What extra…
I drew a breath as everything snapped into place, every puzzle piece, every time Terrance asked for an update about the twins. He was inserting himself for a reason. He had plans for them that went beyond including them as next-generation operators.