Page 77 of Mountain Target

“Let me take you home,” he finally said.

“You don’t need to do that. We can walk. It’s not far.”

“Please,” he insisted, and his voice was strained. As if he’d been kicked in a soft place. She hated that she’d done that to him. “Let me take you home.”

24

Beau

“You’re in a particularly foul mood this morning, Commandant,” Ry wheezed, his voice rising through the thumping of the treadmills.

“Shut up and keep running,” Beau snarled. “We’re not stopping until you’ve all finished sweating out the alcohol from last night.”

Until I’m so tired I can’t think of last night anymore.

Beau increased the speed on his machine, pounding out the miles until he was fairly dripping with sweat and his leg muscles burned. Burning was good. It stopped him from thinking of other things.

“Hell, man,” Hugo panted, “can we just stop this torture and start sparring?”

“You always want to spar. Fuck that. I’m going to need a nap when this is over,” Alex moaned.

Only Lorenz seemed to be in his element, but then, the man could run for longer than most people could stay awake, and had several ironman awards to prove it. Without saying a word, he’d kept up with Beau’s brutal pace, lengthening his stride to stay comfortable.

For a while, their ragged breaths were the only sound in the otherwise empty gym.

Eventually, however, Beau had to admit defeat. His legs were about to give out from under him, and he was nowhere close to forgetting what an ass he’d been the night before.

It was time to admit running wasn’t going to help.

Ten minutes later, they moved to the black and blue sparring mat.

“Thank God,” Ry said, wiping the sweat from his brow. “That was uncalled for, Commandant.”

Alex poured half of his water bottle over his head. “I need a day off.”

“Come on, Hugo,” Beau said. “Show me what you’ve got.”

Running didn’t help.

Maybe this will.

Hugo smiled, showing off his very white teeth, and cracked his knuckles. “You’re on, Commandant.”

They taped their hands in silence. Beau flexed his fingers to make sure the tape was tight enough, but not so tight that it would cut off his circulation. When he deemed it just right, he put on his mouth guard and gloves, then sat down to wait for Hugo.

Sparring with Hugo was like sparring with a bull. Considered a gentle giant by all who knew him, he turned into a beast as soon as you put him in a ring.

Nothing gentle about him at all.

It didn’t take Beau long to notice that the run, that had turned his muscles to jelly, had apparently served to energize his opponent. Hugo’s fists moved faster than Beau could follow, and soon it was all Beau could do to simply stay out of the younger man’s reach.

Fuck.

What were you expecting?

They danced around the mat for a long time and with every step Beau’s knee became tighter until the pain was making him lightheaded.

And even then, he couldn’t stop thinking about Valentina.