“I’m telling you now.” Elijah points at me. “Now fucking fight.”
“Not if you’re just going to stand there and let me beat you. Fight back.”
He grins. “I thought you’d never ask.”
This time, when I throw a punch, he blocks it and spins around, aiming for my kidneys—a serious shot. I manage to twist but take the impact to my stomach. I jump back to catch my breath, hands up in case he attacks. “I thought you were forcing her because you had her pinned to the ground. And because you called her a whore.”
“Kinky,” Josh says.
“Kinky is handcuffs and a safe word. Not what I saw.”
“You shouldn’t have seen anything.” Elijah throws a roundhouse kick, and I block it, but I’m less prepared for his followup sweep. I jump, and retaliate with a one-two punch that lands on his shoulder. He strikes with a backhand. “It was a private fucking moment.”
“Next time close a door, then. Don’t fuck out in the open if you want privacy.”
“The point is that you don’t have to assume the worst.”
I run a hand over my face, dropping my guard for a second. “I’m sorry.”
Elijah snarls. “I don’t want an apology. I want to know why you thought I was like our father. You think I slap her around, too? You think I throw her into a goddamn well and make her beg for fresh water? You think I laugh when she drinks the rotten sewage and then vomits?”
We only have a few rules to our sparring sessions. No grabbing, no biting. I slam myself into him, my shoulder to his stomach, and he grunts in pain. We tumble to the ground, and I pin him down with my weight alone. “You want to know the truth? I think you’re walking a fine fucking line. And I think you like it that way. Maybe you wanted me to see you in that orchard. Maybe you want me to put a gun to your head and pull the trigger.”
With a hard twist, Elijah flips back onto his feet and slams me down on my stomach. I spring up before he can pin me down. He has more strength, but I’m more agile. And both of us have stamina to make this a fight to the death.
Josh shoulders his way between us. Both of us back up. It’s never happened before. We practice daily to stay sharp. No one’s ever had to break up a fight.
I’m breathing hard. Elijah is, too. Only vaguely I’m aware of the ache on my shoulder and my side from where he nailed me. He coughs, probably because I blasted him in the stomach.
Josh points at Elijah. “You. If you want a bullet in the brain, then fucking do it. Don’t make Liam do your dirty work for you.” Then he points at me. “And you. The worst part wasn’t our father telling us we had the devil inside. The worst part is that you believed him.”
My throat feels tight, and I stalk away and stalk right back. “I don’t believe him.”
“Part of you does. The same part that made you fight your attraction to Samantha.”
I make a sound of possession. “I fought my attraction to Samantha because she was my ward. I was supposed to take care of her, not lust after her.”
Josh rolls his eyes, which makes me want to rush him, too. “We have more important things to do than fight each other. For example, what about the lieutenant colonel?”
Suspicion makes my eyes narrow. “What about him?”
“Apparently he’s in the country.”
Elijah sighs and grabs a towel. “Apparently there’s a bounty on Holly’s head.”
“Fuck.”
“I know.”
“There’s only so far we can go to protect her if he tries to use his position.”
Elijah narrows his eyes. “I’m not letting him take her.”
“I’m not suggesting we let him take her, either. I’m suggesting we tread carefully here. The last thing we need is an international incident.” The fact is fighting the lieutenant colonel is extremely uncertain territory. The wrong move could be an act of war. I’ve seen too much bad shit working in the shadow ops to have much country loyalty left, but that’s going far, even for me. My business is back in the States. The love of my life is back in the States.
“Tread carefully,” Elijah says, his voice flat.
I love my brother. I would sacrifice anything for him, including my own life.
But I won’t sacrifice Samantha Brooks—not her safety or financial security or even her ability to travel internationally to perform the violin.
I glance at Josh because I need his help with this. He’s a little bit closer to Elijah as the middle brother. And he’s a natural peacemaker, whereas I’m a controlling bastard.
“Tread carefully,” Josh says, his tone easy. “As in we cover our tracks.”
Elijah gives a curt nod. “I’ll confront him. And there won’t be any link back to you.”
I shake my head. “That’s not the point. You confront him, and you come back alive. Otherwise I’ll have to explain to Holly that you got beat by a middle-aged man with a fake tan.”
That makes him snort, which is a good thing. We’re back on neutral territory. “Got it.”
“And take Josh with you.”
Elijah raises an eyebrow. “You really think he’s going to best me?”
“I think the man is wily and untrustworthy and corrupt in the extreme. There’s no telling what lengths he’ll go to in order to get what he wants.”
“Have we actually discussed why he wants Holly?” Josh asks.
“Because she’s the key to controlling Elijah.”
“I don’t know why he thinks that,” Elijah mutters. “Or why he wants me so badly. I’m just a soldier. He has plenty of those.”
“You’re one of the best,” I admit. “In-fucking-valuable.”
Josh nods. “And anyone with eyes can see that you’re head over heels for Ms. Holland Frank. That makes her a target, while you’re busy getting kinky.”
“All right,” Elijah says, gesturing toward the clearing where we sparred. “Your turn.”
The thing about Josh is that he’s a trash talker. “Liam may be too pussy to beat your ass, but I’m not. Step up, little brother. Let’s get this party started.”
I settle back on the bench to watch the match.
Josh has a deceptively languid fighting style. It looks as if he’s only half paying attention, as if he’s barely even trying, but he can drop someone twice his weight that way.
Elijah has a more direct fighting style, but damn if it isn’t effective. The ache in my shoulder can attest to that. Not many men can get a direct hit in with me.
This lieutenant colonel is going to be a problem.
Elijah may not understand it, but I do. There are plenty of soldiers out there. It’s harder to find someone smart who can think on his feet. Someone strategic. Someone with the brains to back up the brawn. He had the best soldier in his arsenal, and he wants him back.
The question is how far he’ll go to get him.
Using Holly as a pawn is a risk.
That implies a certain level of desperation. And desperation is danger in a man like that. Elijah will confront the lieutenant colonel, but I doubt that will be the end of it. Josh will provide backup and make sure Elijah doesn’t strangle the man.