Gold Shimmer (29 page)

G
il tugs his golfer’s cap down over his curly salt-and-pepper hair, then gestures with his cane from his position on the stool against the cinder block wall. “Your turn, Zeke. Hop on the mat. Calder, get on there and show ‘em how it’s done, son.”

Gil’s lined face looks tired. I want to tell him to go home, that I’ll coach the guys, but he’s determined to get his mojo back, so I keep my mouth shut.

Zeke bounds over to the mat, pulling on fighter gloves. With a stock of thick, dirty-blond hair and dark, almost black eyes, he can’t be more than eighteen, but he’s lean and hungry. And fucking fast. I watched him kickboxing with the bag earlier. Still, he’s green and cocky as hell.

The poor kid doesn’t have a chance. I don’t even have to take him to the floor to best him. A few punches, some body locks and one good choke-hold shakes him up, before a powerful kick to his neck lands him to the mat and finishes him off.

I help him up and pat his shoulder. “Remember, always keep your guard up. If I’d put more force behind that hit, it would’ve knocked you completely out.”

Nodding, he mumbles, “I guess I should be training more. I’ll start coming in on Tuesdays and Thursdays too.”

Gil taps his cane on the floor in approval. “Who’s next?”

“I’ll challenge him,” a familiar voice calls through the guys crowding around to watch.

I jerk my head around as the boys part to let my cousin through, and lock gazes with Bash’s bright blue one. He’s standing there in slacks and a dress shirt, not a strand of his short cropped black hair out of place. The last time I saw him was over three months ago.
How the fuck did he find me?

I turn to Gil and say, “Can you give us five?”

“No problem. Come on boys, it’s nice out today. Laps for the lot of ya.”

Once the grumbling men leave, I walk over to the punching bag and start with a few jabs per every step, then a one-two combo. “What are you doing here, Bash?”

“What. The. Fuck. Calder!”

I throw an extra hard left that sends the heavy bag swinging before I turn and grab a pair of gloves from the box by the wall. “You want to talk, you’ll have to do it while I’m training,” I snap, throwing the gloves at his chest.

Bash instantly snags the set before they fall to the floor. Tucking them under his arm, he rolls back his sleeves, muttering, “If you want a good beat down, I’m happy to oblige.”

I flash a smile. “Bite me. We’ll see who gets wiped first.”

Bash takes off his shoes and socks, then pulls on the gloves as he meets me over on the mat.

We circle the mat, each looking for the other’s weak spot. Mine just left me high and dry early this morning. Guess that means I’m back to being invincible once more.

“Is this what you’re doing with your time? MMA fighting?” Bash snarls as he feigns left, then slams my shoulder with a hard right jab.

“Lucky shot,” I say, just before I hammer him with a round of punches and kicks so fast he only manages to fend off about half of them.

My last punch to his chest sends a loud
oouf
rushing past his lips. I step back and bounce on the balls of my feet, hoping to rile him. “I think you might need to brush up on your training.”

Bash narrows his gaze and moves like he’s swinging for my ribs, but at the last second whirls into a back punch that hits me square in the chest, knocking me back.

I growl my rage and rush at him. While we’ve got each other trapped in different holds—he’s got me in a choke-hold and I’m holding his hip and hammering at his ribs, he grates out, “This is bullshit, Cald. Why the fuck are you freezing your family out?”

I break his hold and shove him back. “
Family?
What a fucking joke.”

Bash hits me with a deadly glare right before he steps forward and crosses with a fast right, clipping my jaw.

Pain explodes in my head, matching the ache that’s been in my chest for four years now. His personal assault on my face sends me over the edge, and I go after him with all I’ve got.

I don’t even remember how it happened, but for the next minute or so we beat the living shit out of each other before we end up on the mat, each of us pinning the other in a painful hold. Gritting his teeth, Bash uses his extra couple inches in height to extend his arm bar on me to the very edge of my tolerance. It hurts like a motherfucker, so I finally tap out.

Rolling to my back, I wince at the pain in my shoulder and my screaming ribs and take several deep breaths.

Panting, Bash lifts up on his elbow and looks at me, sweat rolling down his temple. “You were way fucking out of line with that family crack, Cald. What the hell is wrong with you?”

I fold my arms behind my head and stare at the gym’s ceiling lights. “Do you know what I got when I finally came home after leaving the military? A letter from my mom’s lawyer, telling me I’m not Jack Blake’s son.”

“What? That has to be bullshit.”

I shrug away the defensive anger in his comment and continue to stare at the ceiling. It’s easier than seeing the denial change to grudging acknowledgement in his eyes. “In the letter my mom tells me that her lawyer was given specific instructions to only deliver the notice to me if Jack passed away. The Blake last name isn’t mine. That house isn’t mine. Jack isn’t my…father.” I pause and swallow the pain of saying that last statement out loud. “And the only person I truly belonged to was so unhappy, she took her own life.”

“Suicide? But you told me your mother died of a brain aneurism.”

I slide my gaze his way. “It was easier on the family for that to be the official ruling.” When his brow puckers, I shift my attention to the ceiling once more and start to count the stains.
Do I even fucking want to know what caused those marks up there?

“Why did you mother tell you after all this time?”

I snort. “That’s the kicker. She wanted me to know for medical reasons. So if I needed a kidney or bone marrow down the road, I could go tap dear-old-mother-fucking Dad on the shoulder and ask him for help.”

Bash sits up and pulls off the gloves. Hooking his elbow on his bent knee, he stares down at me. “So did she cheat on Jack?”

I sigh and sit up too. Pulling off my gloves, I toss them down and start to unwind the tape from around my hand. “All she said was, she didn’t tell my father—Jack—about ‘the incident’ because it would’ve killed him. Apparently, in the end the guilt is what killed her.” I yank at the tape, tearing it off my hand with a vengeance, then tear at the tape on my other hand. “When I was a kid, I was so angry at my mom for leaving me. I saw her suicide as a betrayal of her love. She promised she’d always be there for me and she fucking took her own life, Bash. That was hard enough, but this…” I shred the rest of the damn tape and toss it down, gritting out. “It’s like Jack died
twice
.”

When he rests a hand on my shoulder, I finally meet his gaze. “Do you know what the most ironic thing is? I spent all our youth together making sure
you
were treated like a legitimate part of the family—because in my mind you were—when I was the one who didn’t have an
ounce
of Blake blood in me. Not one fucking drop, Sebastian!”

Bash grips the back of my neck hard, his tone menacing. “If you say you’re not a Blake one more fucking time, I’m going to kick your ass again. You and Jack are the ones who taught me that parents and blood don’t matter, only the relationship does. Don’t turn your back on your family, on
me
, fucking ever again, Cald. I love you like a brother, and it pains me to see you so tortured over such bullshit. Of all people, I know this better than anyone.”

My mouth twitches with a smirk even as deep emotion rolls through my chest, lifting a bit of the heavy weight. “You’ve never said that before.”

He claps the back of my neck hard, flashing a brilliant smile. “Talia taught me not to hold back. And now I’m telling you. Be the man your father raised you to be, the brother I know you are, who puts family above all others.”

When I exhale a deep breath and say, “I’ll try to remember that,” he nods and leans back on his hands. “Now tell me why you’re really mucking around with this MMA stuff.”

“I really do enjoy it.”

When his gaze narrows, I throw my hands up. “It’s definitely a passion, but I’m here trying to help Gil.” Once I finish telling him my plans, Bash punches me hard in the arm. I grab my biceps and scowl. “What the hell was that for?”

“For you trying to do this on your own when you have a whole goddamn team of SEALs ready and willing to back you up.”

I rake my fingers through my damp hair. “This is supposed to be under the radar. I need to work low key on this, Bash.”

“Fine, work your angles, but you’re doing it as a shadow member of BLACK Security, where you’ll have the resources to make your job efficient and safe. When is this next fight happening?”

I shrug. “It has to be rescheduled.”

Hooking his arm around his bent knee, Bash says, “Talia asked me to check on Cass. To make sure she’s doing okay.”

My brows pull together as realization dawns. “
That’s
how you found me.”

Sebastian grins. “Yeah, so I had a little help, but could you have Cass call Talia?”

“I see Talia’s got you whipped already.” This time I punch him in the arm. “That’s for getting married without me as your best man.”

He frowns and rubs his muscle. “Stop being an ass and disappearing on your family and maybe next time you’ll be included. But seriously, Talia’s concerned about Cass. She thought Cass would touch base last night but she didn’t. And now she’s not answering her apartment phone or replying to texts or calls to her cell.”

My chest tightens. “I don’t think she went home. She left in the middle of the night. I don’t know the full story as to why she’s staying at the Carver estate, but I know she planned to go back.”

Sebastian pulls out his phone and sends Talia a text telling her that Cass is at the Carvers.

He starts to say something when his phone rings. “Hey Talia…what’s wrong?”

Cutting his gaze to me, he says, “Talia’s officially worried for Cass. Mina just told her that rumors are flying around about the police being at the Carver’s home late last night. Something about Celeste’s ID and some blood found in an abandoned car.”

With my heart jerking, I jump up and head for the door, calling over my shoulder, “Make my shadow role at BLACK Security official. I might need that access to your team a lot sooner.”

“Done, but Cald…” Bash grabs my arm and pulls me to a stop. “Once this EUC group is taken down, I want you on my BLACK Security team as my full partner.”

His insistence makes me feel divided between loyalty to a true brother and the loner status I’ve existed in for a while now. I hold his gaze, knowing there’s stuff I haven’t told him. “We’ll discuss it later,” I say with a grunt.

Sebastian doesn’t like my answer, but nods his agreement and releases me. “I’ll use my police resources to find out what they know about the blood they found. What are you planning to do?”

“Find Cass and keep her safe.”