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Chapter Three
Thorn
I follow Raven and Ace down to the basement to the workout area. She’s keen to get going but Ace insists she warms up properly with stretches and a run on the treadmill first. She grumbles about the treadmill but I can see a flush of excitement on her face. She’s back and she’s ready to fight.
Good.
Upstairs, Baxter, Jax and Rebel made it all sound too simple. Too easy. I know that we can win this fight and get Phoenix back with us, but that is only stage one. A battle. We’re going to have to get dirty to win the war. Baxter has resigned himself to being the one that gets left behind. If we end up having to do some illegal shit – and I’m sure we will – he’s preparing his end game. He’s already given us strict instructions to safeguard Phoenix and Raven’s futures. He gave us the ‘talking to’ on day one. The door was there if we wanted out; but if we decided to stay, from this point on, we’re in it for life and there’s no turning back.
I didn’t hesitate.
I love them both and would walk through fire – again – for them. But I will do my absolute damndest to make sure that Baxter is beside us for the happily ever after at the end too. Losing him would destroy them both and I don’t want that on my conscience.
“It’s time,” Ace’s voice cuts through my thoughts and I see Raven punching the emergency stop on the treadmill and climbing off with a massive grin on her face. It’s been a long time since I saw her this...light and free. She’s happy, but it’s spurred on by a determination to succeed. She’s focused. Driven.
Sexy as hell.
I never got to watch her train when we were at school. Obviously, there was the day we met when she speared me to the spot with a knife, but after that, training and sparring was very much hers and Ace’s thing. Luckily, neither of them seem to have noticed my presence yet.
Raven begins to spar with Ace. She’s fast. Fit, despite being undernourished still – though I can see Ace is working to rectify that with his outrageous breakfast spread – she’s a little stiff, but all the moves are flooding back to her. They say muscle memory is a powerful thing, but I didn’t really believe it until now. Raven’s body is responding to Ace’s advances before her mind can even process what to do. Her shock every time she dodges him is amusing to watch.
“Again,” Ace grunts, making her take the attack position to repeat a pattern of flurrying jabs and punches.
“Faster.”
It’s interesting to see this side of him. Dominant, commanding, teacher. I’m so used to him being the quiet, easygoing, keep-the-peace member of our group, that I sometimes forget he has the training to be a lethal killing machine. All of us can hold our own in a fight, of course, but Ace’s training surpasses ours by miles. The only person I’d be interested to see him fight would be Baxter. That guy’s got a past murkier than the Thames. He’s definitely got Training with a capital T. I should ask Rebel about him. He’s always been pretty tight-lipped about his friendship with Baxter, but I reckon if I pushed him, he’d crumble and tell me. He’s not great at keeping secrets.
“Again. Concentrate.”
Raven grunts and repeats the move – some sort of kicks this time – repeatedly striking Ace’s thigh. She’s focused, yes, but I can see it in her face, she’s thinking and trying too hard.
“Wanted to ask…” she puffs. “What this means.” She flicks a small piece of paper at Ace and he catches it effortlessly.
He unfolds the piece of paper, reads it and smiles.
“Well?” She demands.
“Kri moje ljubezni je moje življenje,” he repeats from memory without having to look at the paper.
“Yes, but what does it mean?” she pushes. His grin widens.
“You win...I translate.”
“Ugh,” she grunts again, and goes back to punching with fervour. I smile, liking Ace’s method to get her to focus.
“Grabež!” he barks, and they instantly come together to grapple and wrestle with one another. He trips her and she lands softly on her back. “Osredotocenost!”
I’ve been on the receiving end of that command enough times to know that he’s telling her to focus.
He helps her to her feet and they go again. This time, Raven lasts much longer before she’s sailing backward and landing on her ass.
“Oaredotociti! You think too much!”
It seems counter intuitive to me, to tell her to concentrate and then berate her for thinking too much in the same breath, but what do I know?
I watch as she once again gets to her feet and comes at him with a fierce determination that makes my dick twitch. I can’t help it. She’s one hot, sexy chick. Maybe even more so than when we were at school together. Damn, I don’t know how Ace managed to have her trapped under him, wriggling and writhing every day for months on end. I would’ve been permanently buried inside her back then. Hell, I’m supposed to be an adult now, and I don’t have much more control than when I was a horny teenager.
I remain a while longer, watching them fight. I think Raven’s amazing, but Ace continually barks and pushes her. He obviously sees something that I don’t, because I’m pretty sure she could kick my ass, but it’s been a while so maybe she’s out of touch. Better hide the knives, just in case.
