Page 80 of Ramshackle
Reid nods, completely unfazed by her excitable energy, and teleports them both inside the tub. She squeezes him in a hug and lets go. Reid reappears in front of us.
Kellan growls, “Aiden’s going to kill you if you waste your gift and can’t get us back.”
Reid’s blue eyes slash to Kellan. “I know my limits,” he states indifferently. His stare lands on me next, holding my gaze long enough that I’m positive he’s going to say something, and then breaks away at the last second to Evie. “Ready?”
“Yes. Let’s get them back.” Evie shrinks the tub full of children and Tinsley, lifting them in one arm and holding Reid with the other.
Reid faces me. “We’ll be right back.” Then they disappear.
“The fuck was that all about?” Kellan mutters. “Jack, call Aiden. If they’re all done, they should meet us here before they get back so we can get out of here.”
The lobby doors fly open. I jump and call on my gift, then diffuse it when I see who it is. Silas’s arm is draped over Aiden for support as they come through first. The food guy, who is covered in blood, hobbles inside, then drops to his hands and knees once he’s far enough in. Dane comes in after him, with Harvey on his back, eyes closed.
Kellan rushes over to Aiden. “Is everyone alright? Reid and Evie just left with the kids and should be back soon.”
“They’ll need Cassandra when we get back, but they’ll live. We’ll talk training after we’re back,” Aiden answers. He lifts his head to scan the room, finding only Jack and I after Kellan, before he reassesses his own group. He looks as if he’s about to say something else, but Reid and Evie pop back to the center of the room, and it’s time for the rest of us to get back to the bunker.
Chapter twenty-four
Raegan
Kellan roars, the soundechoing through the training room like thunder. His fists fly at a punching bag in the corner of the room, pummeling it at an angry pace. He yells again and pulls one fist back, throwing his back into the next punch, and the bag snaps off its hanger and slams into the wall.
He stays like that, his exposed and tattooed chest rising and falling as he catches his breath. There’s the faintest sheen of sweat glossing over his bronze skin, catching the overhead lights so every muscle is highlighted and shadowed in greater definition.
It reminds me of the times on the island when I’d caught him working out before, how I couldn’t take my eyes off him. It’s the same, if not worse, now.
But I’m here for a purpose, and this seems like my chance to interrupt.
I push the door open to the training room. I’d been watching him through the window in the door when I first arrived. Tooscared to try entering again at first, and then all those thoughts fell away when I heard him.
Kellan’s head snaps up when he hears me enter, his focus melting into a shit-eating grin. “There you are. Ready to train again?” His eyes drop to the brace that Aiden gave me, but he doesn’t change his mind and turn me away at the reminder of my bum knee.
My steps clomp across the lacquered floor, and the normally quiet sound now makes me feel like I’m wearing wooden shoes on a stage. My heart beats faster with every step as I move further into the room. Bad memories are clawing at the edges of my mind, trying to slip through the preparation I’d put in place to keep them out.
Ready or not, I’m here.
“Yeah. Put me to work.”
Kell grabs a small towel from the bench along the back wall, patting the sweat from his skin and throwing his head back to guzzle water. His throat works, drawing my attention there and then trailing down his chest.
“See something you like? We could do another sort of exercise to warm up if you want, beautiful,” he drawls thickly.
Focus.I’ve been awake for over a week, and it’s time to get off my ass and keep preparing for the fight with GE. “Nope, just looking for your weak spots,” I shoot back with a saccharine smile.
He laughs and tosses bandages at me. “Wrap up, then. We both know you won’t find any, but I dare you to try.”
I start weaving the fabric around the first hand, and my smile increases another notch. “Oh, I think you’ll find I’m a bit different from the last time we trained.”
“Oh?” Kellan slaps a mat down on the floor, then pauses with his hands on his hips to look at me from head to toe. “And how’s that?”
“You’ll see,” I answer cryptically.
He shrugs, unbothered, and waits patiently for me to finish getting ready. “Start on the mat. We’ll try to keep our fighting there to warm up. Then feel free to use the rest of the room.”
Considering the training room is the size of a football stadium, that’s a lot of room for two people. But would it be any different fighting on an island? If someone is chasing me or I’m chasing them, I need to figure out how to close the distance as quickly as possible to use my gift.
I scan the rest of the room to see what we’ll be working with, taking a long breath to settle the nerves still lurking beneath the surface.
