Battle It Out

by Reese Knightley

  Isaac’s grin popped. “As soon as Doc signs off, but I think -.”

  The rest of the words were lost in the noisy conversation. Damn it, when was Isaac coming back? Was the delay because of his injury? But that had been months ago. If not that, what could be the hold up? He wracked his brain, but nothing came up.

  What about the safe house? Nah, it couldn’t be the safe house.

  They’d been doing so good, joking around, eating fast food, spending days and nights watching movies and talking about almost everything under the sun. When he’d woken up a few days later, Isaac had left. There’d been a short note pinned to the refrigerator. See you around. See you fucking around? Even now he had to clench his teeth at the callousness of that damned note. To top it all off, Isaac had avoided him ever since.

  All in all, though, that shit didn’t really matter. All that mattered now was getting Isaac back in the saddle again. The unit doc couldn’t sign off quick enough for him, he missed his partner. He wanted things to get back to the way they were. Do you? He shut that niggling voice down fucking quick and turned his attention to the beer and its destroyed label in his hands.

  “So, how’s the addition going?” Pia asked.

  Pia picked the one thing that could snap him out of his funk, and by the smug look on her face, she knew it.

  He huffed out a laugh and rolled the bottle between his hands.

  “It’s going pretty good, when I can get my ass back up there.”

  He turned sideways toward Pia. “Oregon’s under heavy rain right now.” Now that it was January, the state might be looking at some snow.

  “Tell me anyway.”

  Stretching his arm along the back of the couch, he launched into the setback he’d gone through with the design for the kitchen in his home. An avid restoration dabbler herself, Pia laughed, understanding his challenges.

  Casually glancing toward the sectional, he found Isaac staring daggers at him.

  Well, shit.

  What have I done now?

  Isaac

  After the backhanded swipe to his mouth, white frosting from the cake still clung to the very edge of Zane’s mustache.

  At least the slug to Royce’s arm seemed to do the trick to keep Royce from ogling, but Isaac couldn’t take his eyes from Zane cozied up to Pia on the old, cracked leather couch.

  That was his damned spot, he sighed. It wasn’t Pia’s fault she sat squished up against Zane. She was just being nice by scooting over, he reasoned. Thankfully, Pia had warded off Zane’s ex-girlfriend. That had at least made him feel better and the leg drape had been funny as hell.

  Zane and Pia shared a laugh.

  The wet nose nuzzling his hand kept him from popping wood and making a fool of himself. Damnit, all he’d wanted was a nice quiet day with no pressure.

  He curled fingers into the furry neck of Bear, his ten-year-old Chow mix. Other than the gray on his ears and muzzle, a person couldn’t really tell he was getting up there in age. Of course, Bear’s steps had slowed through the years, but his zest for life still ran deep.

  “Ugh,” Royce groaned next to him.

  “Go on, Bear. Go lay down,” he said gently and pointed to the foam bed near the cracked leather couch.

  “Sorry.” Royce pinched his nose. “You know I have allergies.”

  Bear obeyed and wandered toward the other couch where his bed was located. Before settling down, the dog placed his head in Zane’s lap. The soldier bent forward and whispered sweet words—if the wagging of Bear’s tail was any indication. Zane’s strong fingers carefully caressed Bear’s head, neck, and back. It was hard not to imagine how those large hands would feel.

  That’s it! He did what any sane person would do and ran for it.

  “Don’t worry about it,” he told Royce and quickly stood. The guy was on his way out anyway. There was no spark left between them. When had there ever been?

  “Anybody need another drink?” he called out, heading toward the back door.

  A chorus of noise followed him into the kitchen. When he reached the sink, he gripped the edge of the counter. How the fuck was he going to endure this?

  “You’ve done it for years with no problem,” he muttered beneath his breath and reminded himself that he’d never do anything to jeopardize their partnership and that he really did respect the fact that Zane was straight.

  “What are you thinking about so deeply?” Lacy asked.

  He tossed the rag into the sink, plastered on a smile, and slanted her a look.

  “Nothing really.”

  “Just got lost in the abyss?” she teased. Lacy had been a godsend over the past few months and when he’d needed someone to talk to, she’d been there.

  “That’s my brain.” He gave her a quirky smile.

  “I kind of like your brain.” She ruffled his hair.

  “So?” She flipped her long, dark hair over one shoulder. “Are we liking Zane today or no?”

  He rolled his eyes. “He’s actually behaving himself.”

  “No snide comments?”

  “You heard him make fun of Royce’s name.” He shrugged. Zane’s comments could cut deep, so what he’d said to Royce hadn’t been all that bad.

  Lacy laughed and took off the lid to a big bowl of sour cream dip and snagged up a massive bag of potato chips.

  “That’s nothing new.” She jerked her head to the den and the loud noise going on. “You want these in there? Or on the back porch with me?”

  “Take them to the back porch. I’ll be right there.”

  She kissed his cheek before disappearing out the door.

  “Hell yeah,” his brother said. “Lacy, you can put those right here by me.”

  The rest of the porch broke out in laughter, but the only sound he zeroed in on was Zane’s deep chuckle. He strained to hear if the man said anything.

  “Isaac?” A hand touched his shoulder.

  “Shit!” He whirled around and glowered.

  “Sorry,” Bart apologized, backing up quickly.

  “It’s okay, you just startled me.” He laughed, releasing a force of air.

  Bart shuffled his feet and gazed at him through the long, black bangs that fell into his charcoal rimmed eyes.

  “I don’t want to wear out our welcome,” Bart said, darting a quick look at the open back door.

  “You’re not.”

  “You sure? I seem to invite myself all the time,” Bart said, looking sheepish.

  “Hey, if I didn’t want you here, I would tell you to leave. Trust me.” He clamped a gentle hand on the younger man’s shoulder.

  “Thanks, Isaac.” Bart flashed him a quick smile and strode back into the den.

  Turning back to the sink, he lifted the dishrag and ran it over the nozzle and dried the counter where water had gathered.

  His phone buzzed with a reminder. Tomorrow would be his last appointment with the doc. He’d been working through the aftermath of the knife attack and the shit that came with it. When CPS agent Mayer had grabbed him and put a gun to his head, he’d disarmed the big sweaty man of the gun. It was his own fault he’d completely missed the knife, and then Zane had saved him.

  He shivered, even now feeling those strong arms sweeping him up from the pavement as if he weighed nothing. Those same arms clutching him tight as Zane whispered against his temple not to die on him.

  One thing became very clear during his time spent in that safe house with Zane. He really knew nothing about the guy. Only that Zane was a soldier, rock solid, fierce, and loyal, but he also had secrets. Everyone has secrets.

  Yeah, but he wanted to know Zane’s.

  Zane

  After Isaac jumped up and disappeared into the house, Zane waited a minute and then casually leaned over to caress Bear’s soft fur before slowly shifting closer to the edge of the couch.

  Pia’s legs suddenly draped over his lap, keeping him firmly in his seat.

  He shot her a questioning look.

  “Whatcha gonna do?”
She quirked one eyebrow at him.

  What was he going to do? He had no fucking clue what he was going to do. All he wanted was Isaac back in his life.

  “Use the head, got a problem with it?” he squinted at her.

  Her eyes crinkled at the corners. “Try pulling my other leg.”

  When Lacy followed Isaac into the house, he gnashed his teeth. He’d missed his window for that moment alone.

  An elbow in the side drew his attention with a grunt. “Ouch, what?”

  “I overheard the colonel talking about pairing you with Blade,” she whispered.

  “Fuck,” he muttered. “Does Blade know?” He slid a glance to Blade. The soldier was Pia’s in-the-field partner.

  “Not yet.”

  What would drive Liam to pair him with Blade? Not that she wasn’t a hell of a soldier, but their jobs were very different. Blade and Pia were scalers, their climbing skills and ability to reach heights at a speed unseen gave the unit a tactical advantage. He, on the other hand, couldn’t climb worth a shit. His skills were better suited on the ground.

  “She’s going to be pissed,” he muttered.

  “That’s an understatement.” Pia chewed on her thumb nail. “He’ll probably pair me with Ethan and Oliver.”

  “Or Holden,” he said.

  “Nah, I think he wants Holden with Dillon.”

  “Holden should be with me. I’m the odd man out right now.”

  “True.” She kept her voice just as low as his to avoid being overheard.

  “You didn’t hear anymore?”

  “No, I only caught the tail end of that conversation before he slammed his door,” she admitted.

  “We’re uneven without Isaac.”

  “Sucks without him,” she agreed.

  “Fury can pick up some slack,” he murmured.

  With a nod of agreement, Pia’s gaze swept over Eagle and Link at the food table.

  Lacy came back out of the house with her arms filled with chips and dip and Royce jumped up to help her.

  “Hell yeah,” Dillon said. “Lacy, you can put those right here by me.”

  He laughed along with the others, trying like hell to keep his eyes from the empty doorway.

  “Do me a favor, ask Eagle if he’s into women,” Pia whispered beneath the sudden noise.

  “What?” he blinked and then scowled.

  “You heard me,” she hissed.

  “No,” he snapped.

  She snickered. “Chicken.”

  “You want him, then make a fucking pass.” He lifted her legs from his lap.

  “Spoil sport.”

  “I’m not your fucking matchmaker,” he managed through his irritation.

  She barked with laughter and shoved off the couch after pinching his side.

  He jerked and rubbed at the offended skin with a low chuckle. He could never stay mad at her for long.

  Pia waggled her brows at him, and then made her way over to where Link and Eagle were hovering around the food table. The two men were huge, like him, so the amount of food on their plates wasn’t a surprise.

  Pia snatched up an empty plate and pointed to the rolls on the table. Both Eagle and Link gave her room, but when she pointed to the potato salad, Link beamed and hefted up a spoonful and plopped that on her plate. She smiled flirtatiously at Eagle and said something that Zane couldn’t hear, but the two men broke out in laughter. He had to hand it to her, when she wanted something, she went after it.

  Which reminded him that he had some repairing to do himself.

  Oliver yanked open the back patio screen and momentarily took his attention from his goal.

  “Hey guys.” Oliver waved toward the couch area and Ethan gave him an up nod.

  Zane waggled fingers at the two, Dillon jerked his chin, and Holden grunted.

  They were a lively bunch, not. But he wouldn’t trade them for anything on the face of the earth.

  “Better hurry, Eagle and Link are hoovering the food,” he told Oliver.

  He chuckled when Oliver took off across the patio to elbow in and belly up to the table. For such a slender man, Oliver had a voracious appetite.

  Seizing the opportunity, he stood and threaded his way through people to the back door. Stopping in the back doorway of the brightly lit kitchen, he found Isaac with Bart at the sink.

  Zane clenched his teeth so hard his jaw ached when Isaac assured Bart he was welcome.

  Didn’t Isaac see the way the boy hero-worshiped him? The desire in the gothic’s dark eyes? The fucker batted his lashes at Isaac and then disappeared into the den.

  Locking his eyes back on Isaac, his jeans must have shrunk in the wash with the way they clung to his ass. Dragging his eyes upward, his attention was caught when the light from the window threaded through Isaac’s bright blond hair. Hands curling around the counter sent the muscles of Isaac’s forearms rippling.

  It was hard not to notice, and he suddenly craved Isaac’s attention. He needed those cool blue eyes locked on him and not anyone else. He wanted that smart mouth teasing him again. He needed to repair whatever the fuck had happened to turn Isaac away from him.

  With his gut rising in his throat, he stepped farther into the room and spoke, but what came out of his mouth was not what he intended.

  Isaac

  “Going to hide out in the kitchen at your own party?”

  He let go of his death grip on the counter and made sure his scowl was firmly in place before he turned around. This he could do. Zane wanted to trade nasty insults, well, so be it.

  Opening his mouth to blast Zane, nothing came out.

  Screw this. The nearby hallway seemed to be a good place for a quick retreat and he stalked into it. A hard grip around his wrist stopped him from going too far.

  “What?” he snapped, spinning around.

  “Quit running.”

  He wasn’t running from jack shit. “I have to use the fucking bathroom, do you mind?” He yanked against the hand holding his wrist.

  Zane crowded closer instead of giving him his space, and Isaac lost it. He yanked Zane forward and used that momentum to slam him into the opposite wall. A satisfying grunt echoed in the hallway. Of course, the bastard had to one up him and he winced when his own back hit the wall.

  Spun around before he could counter the move, he found his face pressed to the eggshell colored paint. Zane’s big body caged him in from behind with his crotch pressed snug into his ass. He got a faint whiff of beer and a hint of aftershave when Zane’s hot, ragged breath brushed against his ear.

  “What the fuck?” he managed from between his teeth. Was Zane as hard as him? Testing that theory, he sent his ass into the man’s groin, but Zane quickly stepped away.

  Isaac whirled around and pushed Zane again, his ears grew hot, and he dug his short nails into his palms.

  “What do you want?” he hissed.

  Zane shoved him back again and crowded closer, staring at his mouth. The man’s pupils were blown. Stupefied, Isaac froze in place while the air crackled around them.

  His breath rushed out; Zane’s lips parted. He fisted the front of Zane’s shirt and locked his eyes on the man’s mouth. Their chests pressed tighter together. A few inches would close the distance between their lips. His gaze flew upward and his mouth grew dry.

  Their gazes locked like magnets, but it lasted only seconds before Zane jerked back abruptly, turning away and breaking the spell.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” he charged to cover his own freak out.

  “You used to tease me all the time. What the hell happened to us?” Zane’s harsh breathing filled the narrow hallway.

  “That was teasing?”

  “I just wanted to talk to you.” Zane raked his fingers through his dark hair, leaving strands sticking up.

  Isaac licked at his lips. “That didn’t feel like talk. It looked like you were going to kiss me.”

  “No, I wasn’t.” Zane’s face closed up like a goddamned iceberg, a cold, impenetrable monu
ment of frost.

  “Liar. Fuck you,” he gritted out, trying to get a reaction, anything to break through the ice.

  “Nice,” Zane returned roughly, hurt flashing in his eyes.

  Damn it! That wasn’t the reaction he wanted. He curled his hands into fists. What the hell was happening? Where was his usual wit and banter? His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.

  “Happy Birthday, Isaac,” Zane said with so many emotions swirling in the dark depth of his eyes that Isaac couldn’t get a read on any one of them. He didn’t get a chance to say another word before Zane disappeared out of the hallway and through the living room as if a fire had lit beneath his ass.

  “Shit!” he hissed when the front door opened and closed.

  Running after Zane, his mind raced. He was supposed to make things right, not screw it up. But making things right had all gone to shit and he didn’t know if he could ever get them back on even ground. Not with the strange tension between them. And what the ever-living fuck was that back in the hallway?

  With shaking hands, he yanked open the door. The front porch stood empty. Zane was already halfway down the block.

  “What’s going on?” Jo asked from behind him.

  “Nothing.” He let out a sharp sigh.

  She poked her head out the door, then turned on him.

  “What did you say to him?” Jo spat, pushing past him. She took off down the block, easily catching up to Zane, and when she did, she linked her arm through his.

  Zane didn’t push her away.

  Fuck. He fisted his hair.

  Bear bumped his leg with a whine and Isaac curled his fingers around his collar to keep the dog from going out the front door. While Bear loved everyone, Zane was his favorite.

  “He’ll be back,” he whispered to Bear.

  “Where’s Zane?” Lacy bounced up beside him.

  He gave her a grimace and pointed.

  She glanced out the door.

  “Uh oh.”

  “I don’t know what happened.” His mind reeled.

  “All friends have spats. Want me to go and bring him back?”