Changing into a pair of sweatpants and a compression shirt, Chad shoved his gym bag and clothes into an empty locker and headed out to join the hand-to-hand combat class. Aiden fell into step next to him, looking very out of place in his dark suit and shiny shoes.
“So this is a downgrade,” Aiden said, looking around with a less than impressed expression. Chad bristled. With most of the mercenary division spun off and sold to Topgrunder it didn’t make sense for Tank Security to maintain the old training facilities, and Aiden was right that the new location was shabby in comparison.
“I’ll pass that along,” Chad said, shooting Aiden a tight smile.
Aiden rolled his eyes, but he didn’t say anything further as they walked into the classroom. The room was on the small side, and Chad counted seven alphas standing around warming up, stretching and talking to each other. He recognized Mick and the two guys he was talking to, but the four alphas in the corner were strangers.
“Mark, long time no see,” Aiden called, abandoning Chad and walking toward the group of four alphas in the corner. The tallest of them turned to Aiden with a confused expression.
“Halsted, what are you doing here?” he said, shaking Aiden’s hand. He didn’t look particularly happy to see Aiden standing there.
“I’m babysitting this guy for the boss,” Aiden said, nodding back at Chad. The words had everyone’s attention shifting Chad’s way, and Chad couldn’t help the flush that crept up his neck.
In the end Mick rescued him. He walked over to Chad, giving him a nod and holding up his fist for a fist-bump.
“Hey, man. How’s it going?”
Chad bumped his fist into Mick’s shrugging. “Things are good. You?”
The last time Chad had seen Mick was on the Desert Energy job right after he’d refused to shoot an unarmed beta in the back. Though Chad was glad he’d stuck to his principles, the memory of how humiliated he’d been afterward when he’d been sent home still stung.
“Can’t complain.” The two alphas Mick had been talking to walked over, and Mick introduced them. “Hey guys, this is Chad Brand. Chad, this is Rick and Newt.”
“Nice to meet you,” Chad shook their hands. The two men were about his height and similarly built, with short buzzed hair and tattoos covering their arms and hands. He wondered what they’d heard about him and how he compared to their preconceived notions.
“You too,” Rick said, looking over at Aiden with a curious expression. “So you’re mated to Peter Tank, huh? That must be intense.”
Chad barked out a laugh. That was one way to describe it.
“It can be interesting,” he said.
“So is he really here for you?” Newt asked, looking over at Aiden. Chad followed his gaze, seeing that while Aiden was still talking to the tall alpha he was keeping a careful eye on Chad.
“Peter hired him,” Chad said, not hiding the irritation in his voice. “Someone tried to kidnap me on my way home from my last tour out and he’s paranoid that they’re going to try again.”
“Someone tried to kidnap you?” Mick asked, his voice loud enough to halt the conversation of the alphas Aiden was talking to. Aiden nodded at Mark and sauntered over to Chad, throwing an arm over his shoulder and grinning at Mick.
“They did. Lured him right into their car and drove off with him. Peter was furious.”
“They pretended to be the driver sent to pick me up at the airport,” Chad explained, not liking the way Aiden made it sound like he’d been tricked into the back of a van with a bar of candy.
“That’s crazy,” Newt said, shaking his head. “You’re mated to Peter Tank. What were they thinking?”
Chad shrugged. He was saved from answering by Mark clapping his hands together and calling for everyone to gather in a circle. After giving a quick rundown on what they’d be doing for the day, he told everyone to find a mat and pair up.
“I’ll be demonstrating the moves we’re working on, and then we’ll see how fast you guys pick it up. Sound good?” Everyone nodded, and Mark turned to Aiden. “You want to help me show these guys how it’s done?”
“I’d be happy to,” Aiden grinned, stripping off his suit jacket and rolling up his sleeves.
What followed had everyone wincing, except for Mark and Aiden who looked like they were having the time of their lives. Aiden ended up putting Mark on his stomach with his neck locked in a headlock, though it was a close thing.
“Everyone catch that?” Mark asked, standing up and brushing himself off. No one said anything and he turned to Aiden with a grin. “Let’s show them again, this time in slow motion.”
Chad paid attention to how Mark and Aiden moved their bodies, recognizing the moves and holds but knowing he wouldn’t be able to execute them as effortlessly as the two experts.
“Everyone got it?” Mark asked, getting nods all around. “Great. Now we’ve got an uneven number, so I’m going to need three of you to form a group and take turns—"
“That’s all right,” Aiden interrupted. “I can work with Chad.”
