“He needs you. Fuck, I think he loves you,” Rome said. “I want him to be happy and I know you can do that for him. Even if you don’t believe it yourself.”
Neil turned his gaze on his feet and didn’t say anything, so Rome walked up to him and got in his space, forcing the man to meet his eyes.
“He’s a stubborn bastard so you just have to be more stubborn than him,” Rome said.
“Easier said than done,” Neil mumbled.
A snort escaped Rome. “No kidding.”
Juno
He was sitting on one of the benches in the club’s gym, watching Skinner with a few of the outreach kids. The kids all seemed to really like him and, for some reason, they also tended to listen to him. It was quite nice to see.
After a while, he ended up just staring into space, his thoughts jumping from Rome to Serrano to Alvaro and back again. Alvaro had to know about the stolen shipment by now. Hell, he should’ve known for hours. So why hadn’t he made a move?
“What’s with you?” Scar asked as she sat down next to him.
Juno turned his head, meeting her narrowed eyes. “It’s too quiet. I don’t like it.”
Scar arched a brow at him. “I take it you mean with the cartel?”
Juno nodded and said, “Yeah. It’s been over a day with no contact of any kind.”
“You think they’re planning something,” Scar said. “Something bad.”
“How could it be anything but bad when a cartel is involved?”
Scar shrugged. She stood and crossed her arms as she looked down at him with a raised brow.
“You gonna sit on your ass all day or are we gonna spar?” Scar asked.
Juno’s answer to that was getting up and walking to the ring. He ducked under the rope. Most days he’d be training weights at that time but sparring with Scar sounded like a much better outlet. His fighting skills relied mostly on brute strength and he preferred to use his gun compared to his fists. Scar on the other hand was a veteran who’d been a high school wrestling champion before joining the military. He was gonna get his ass kicked but he’d give it his all.
Scar got into the ring, carrying helmets, mouthguards, and gloves. She threw Juno a helmet.
“Don’t want to mess up that pretty face of yours,” she said, a mocking smile on her lips.
“How thoughtful of you,” Juno drawled.
Scar shrugged. “I’m gonna wipe the floor with you, so I might as well be a bit considerate.”
Juno flipped her off, though they were both chuckling. They put on their gear and got in their corners.
“Ready when you are,” Scar said, her voice sounding garbled from the mouthguard.
Juno raised his fists in front of his face to let her know he was ready. Scar charged him, surprising the shit out of him. She was legit running straight at him as fast as she could in the small space. He was too stunned to even land a punch as she jumped at him. The next second, he was on the floor, Scar’s legs wrapped around him while she held him in a choke hold.
He tapped the floor and Scar let go with a chuckle. Juno laid on the ground for a few seconds before he managed to get himself into a seated position. He spat out his mouthguard and glared up at Scar.
“What the fuck was that?”
Scar’s lips twitched and there was amusement in her eyes as she looked down at him. “That was the great Juno taken down by a girl half his size.”
Before Juno could say anything to that, Wildcat walked up to the ring, glaring at them as she asked, “What the hell are you two idiots doing?”
“Nothing,” Juno and Scar yelled.
Wildcat looked at Juno with an expression that clearly stated she didn’t believe them.
“Well, stop it,” Wildcat said before walking away.
Juno snorted. As if.
He glanced up at Scar whose gaze was still on Wildcat.
“You still wanna hit that?” he asked.
Scar sighed before turning to him. “Maybe I do.”
“Really, Scar? She’s too dry for you.”
“She is not dry.”
“Booring.”
“Take that back. My Kitten is not boring.”
Scar ducked, somehow having spotted the boxing glove thrown at the back of her head. It hit the ring post and fell down.
“See?” Scar arched a brow at him. “Not boring.”
“Call me Kitten one more time,” Wildcat growled as she came walking back up to them.
Scar put a hand over her heart and gave Wildcat her best innocent look.
“I didn’t call you Kitten. I was talking about getting a kitten,” Scar said.
Wildcat didn’t look convinced but much like everyone else, she believed Scar to be sweet and timid and not at all as devilish as she really was, so she just sighed, took the glove back from Scar and shook her head before heading off again.
Scar turned a triumphant grin Juno’s way.
Juno pointed at her accusingly. “It’s only because you hide your crazy so well.”
“Maybe I should teach you,” Scar said, then pursed her lips in thought. “On the other hand. That won’t be as fun for me to watch.”
Juno moved in fast and swiped her off her feet. Unfortunately, she was a quick little firecracker and managed to take him down with her. Juno somehow landed on his back and a second later, all air left him when Scar landed on top of him. The second he managed to breathe again and met Scar’s gaze, they both burst into laughter.
Scar
