Finn helps me lace my gloves. "Let's see if you remember how to fight."
"Hopefully he's not too out of shape," Killian adds.
"Shut up, you two," I mutter, not in the mood for their interrogation or side comments.
Killian leans over the ropes. "Sean, don't be nice. He's been MIA. Make him work for it." He dings the bell.
Sean's a controlled hurricane. He comes at me fast with a jab, a hook, then a body shot.
I block, dodge, and give it right back to him.
Finn shouts, "Move your feet, Brax! You're not a statue!"
Killian yells, "Sean, he's slow on his left! Crush him there!"
Sean catches my ribs.
I grunt and counter with a hit to his jaw.
He smirks like a bastard who enjoys the pain.
We fight hard. Sweat drips into my eyes. My lungs feel like fire. My fists sting. Sean presses harder. I swing faster. Finn and Killian argue like two coaches who hate each other.
"Break his stance!" Killian shouts.
"No! Break his face!" Finn orders.
The chaos is exactly what I need. Every punch I land sends a jolt through the skull branded on my hand. By the time they call the match, Sean and I are drenched and gasping. We retreat to our corners, grabbing water bottles.
Killian and Finn pounce toward me.
Finn wipes sweat off his forehead. "Where the hell have you been, Brax?"
Killian adds, "And don't give us some generic 'busy' crap. You vanished."
Sean snarls, "Jeez. You two act like Brax is a ten-year-old instead of a thirty-year-old man."
Killian snaps, "So you do know where he's been. Fill us in."
Sean grunts. "I don't know. But if I did, I'm not a rat."
Finn glares at Sean.
He holds his hands in the air. "I don't know anything, but let the guy have some privacy."
Killian tilts his head. He points between us. "You're both liars."
I take a long drink of water. "Look, you're worrying over?—"
"What the fuck is that?" Finn growls.
I freeze, bottle midair. A muscle in my jaw ticks as I glance at my hand. I immediately lower it.
Tension crackles between us.
Finn explodes first. "I asked you what the fuck that is."
I sniff hard, lifting my chest. "You know what it is so don't ask stupid questions."
