couldn’t afford to focus on anything but the fight that was coming.
Gretchen looked at Lisbeth, her eyes locking on the subtle marks and bruises that peeked up above the neckline of Lisbeth’s dress. I sat back, silently daring her to say a word about it.
But like the professional she was, Gretchen merely squared her shoulders and cleared her throat.
“Are you finished with your breakfast, Lisbeth? We should get going.”
Lisbeth pushed to her feet, her eyes seeking mine. And while I could feel the way she looked at me, I didn’t acknowledge her effort by looking back.
Nothing could change.
Not after last night.
Never.
To say her disappointment was palpable was an understatement. I’d worn it like a shroud as she walked away and I finished my coffee, had carried it with me to the gym where Jacob was waiting, had clutched it in greedy fingers as I walked up to stare at his knowing smirk, and had wrapped my fist around it while punching him in the face.
“Fuck!”
Blood burst from his nose and his hand flew up to staunch the flow. Crimson dripped through his fingers, but I hadn’t hit him hard enough to break bone.
“What the hell was that for?”
Stepping over the towel rack, I grabbed a fresh one and tossed it his way. He caught it with one hand, his eyes narrowing on me over the space between us.
“Lucky punch,” I grinned. “I wanted to make sure you didn’t go running to Franklin again to rat on me for not paying attention.”
Jacob held the towel to his nose.
“Lucky punch, my ass. You’re just being a dick.”
Pointing a finger in his face, I growled, “Stay the fuck out of my business if you’re going to go running to anybody who will listen to you complain.”
He pulled the towel away, crimson red staining the white terry cloth, but his nose had already stopped bleeding.
“You’re right, I complained. Your life is on the line tomorrow. They need to know your head’s not in the game. I won’t let you die out there because of some petty bullshit with a woman who isn’t worth your time. It’s not going to fucking happen, Callan. And I won’t apologize for it. I don’t care how many times you beat my ass.”
Our eyes met, and I saw only determination and loyalty in his green stare. For that, I couldn’t fault Jacob. If our roles had been reversed, I’d do the same. He meant the world to me. He was the only friend I knew I could trust, the only person who had my back no matter what.
This man would gladly die for me, and I for him. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t a bad influence, his typical nonchalant attitude about everything always getting us cornered in bad situations.
Like last night.
“Get in the ring, I’m planning to beat your ass all of today to get even.”
We didn’t need to say you’re forgiven. It was always a given when it came to us.
He grinned and bounced from one foot to the other.
“Have some frustration to work off, huh? Let me guess, you couldn’t go through with it. She’s still got your balls wrapped in her pretty little fingers.”
Ignoring him, I turned to tug off my shirt and drop it on a bench. Laughter burst out behind me.
“Or maybe not. Holy shit. Either you fucked her for hours or you got into a fight with a cat and lost. Between the old scars and those new scratches, we could play Checkers on your back.”
Twisting to glance at him, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to sucker punch him again right now, or wait to beat his ass in the ring.
“Yeah, thanks for that. She’s not out of my system. If anything, she’s now more of a problem than before.”
His eyes rounded. “No fucking way. I didn’t think I’d see the day that magic snatch would make Callan Rose fall.”
I sat on the bench to tape my hands.
“I haven’t fallen for anything. This situation is more complicated than that.”
Jacob moved to lean a shoulder on the wall next to me.
“Keep telling yourself that. I said the same thing the first couple of times with Haley. Now look at me. Speaking of which, I asked her to marry me last night. She said yes.”
My eyes flicked up to him. “She’s still a slave.”
He grinned. “For now. But I’ll convince you to give her up eventually. I also snuck her up to my room. You should have seen Franklin’s face when he caught