the fuck are we pretending he has one now?”
“So I can explain the theory behind what you’re doing.”
Will turns his head, and glares so hard that I can almost feel the heat.
“Just do as you’re told! Fuck. Reach across his chest, press your forearm to his throat, because for as long as you control the head, he can’t do shit.” I reach across his body, and tap his right leg. “Now bring this across. It’s like…” I try to remember back to my kid classes, and the way our parents would explain things. “Consider his legs like an alligator’s mouth. Get caught between them, and he’s gonna crunch down and take you out. So first, close that alligator mouth with your right hand.” I slap Bry’s thigh. “Your hand here, close it up, then swing your leg over. Take mount, and—”
“He lost my head,” Bry murmurs.
Will’s eyes snap back to Bry’s. “What?”
“Your arm.” He smacks Will’s arm. “You were supposed to control my head, but you lost it.”
“I was concentrating on the fuckin’ alligator bullshit!”
“I have two arms, two legs, and a head. You gotta focus on them all at the same time, otherwise you’re gonna lose.”
“Or,” he snaps back. “I can slam my elbow against your jaw now, put you to sleep, and you lose. Simple.”
“Brute strength is fun.” I pull his shoulder back to give Bry space. “But a smart fighter is infinitely more lethal than a strong fighter. If you wanna compete this year, I wanna send you in smart, not jacked-up and angry.”
“Jacked-up and angry is a good combo for me.” He meets my eyes and sneers, “Wanna spar?”
“What’s up with you today?” The heat in this gym is oppressive, and I’m not even the one working out, so I drop back to my ass, and try to breathe past the humidity making its way into my lungs. “Yesterday, we were pals. Today, you’re a broody douchebag. What the fuck did I do to you?”
“Nothing.” He turns back to Bry. “Keep going. I’ll listen to you.”
“Burn,” Bry snickers. “Jamie lost a friend overnight.”
“What the fuck is your problem?” I yank Will’s shoulder back again. “I’m trying to help you.”
“You weren’t asleep when I got home last night, Kincaid. And just because I said I would choose you for her, doesn’t mean I wanna listen to that bullshit.”
“What—”
But then it hits me.
“Oh, damn.”
“What?” Bry asks. “Oh damn, what?”
“I’m about ready to run you down with my car,” Will growls. “So if you think today’s a good day for you and I to be in the same octagon, then step up, but I have a whole bunch of jacked-up rage waiting for you.”
“What did you do?” Bry asks. “Did you fuck his moth—” Then his eyes widen. “Oh. Damn. That’s unfortunate as hell.”
“I didn’t realize you and Quinn were together,” Will growls. “I was under the impression I was leaving my sister in your care so you could help her, keep her safe, keep her away from McGrady.”
“You did! I was. I kept her—”
“Not once did I say anything about you taking her to bed. I feel like we’ve discussed this in the past. Pretty sure I showed you my jacked-up rage back when I knocked you on your ass.”
“Will, it’s not—” I pause. Then sigh. “I’m in love with your sister, and she’s in love with me. In a perfect world, it would be that simple, and we’d be together. None of this is news to you. There has never been a moment in five years when we weren’t attracted to each other. The problems with our relationship have always been external.”
“External, being me?”
“Well…” I meet his eyes. “Yes. You are the reason she and I can’t have a smooth ride into forever. Her need to keep you safe, her need to prove your innocence. I found her again because I want her in my life, which means Soph helping you is actually Soph helping me.”
“Harsh,” Bry fake coughs, because he’s always enjoyed tossing gas on a fire.
“It’s the truth,” I admit on an exhale. “And there isn’t a person in this room who is only learning that now. I want Quinn. I want to marry her, I want to keep her for the rest of my life, and if keeping her means I have a permanent guest in my spare bedroom, then I’ll take it.”
“Just like that?” Will asks. “If she says we’re a package deal, you’re not gonna argue?”
“Not for a single second. I’ve already