The Pet

Chapter 6

Atlas

Pinpointing the location of this new gang was proving to be damn near impossible.

Whatever message the Greers had intercepted was heavily encrypted. So much so that there was absolutely no way to figure out where the IP address was coming from. It "pings" along too many different locations within the city. One of them being our own compound.

None of that really made much fucking sense to me, but from what the techs tell me; there's no way we can find where they're hiding from that message alone.

Which really just ruined my day. I had plans to take a few of my Shadows to their compound and see if we could get some insight. Reno was pushing for it hard. But without a location, I was fucked.

Normally, I'd go piss and moan to Tyes but he was in the middle of training. Plus, his recent obsession with the newest woman on the compound was irritating to say the least.

I hadn't really seen Pet in a day or two, if you exclude breakfast. That was the only meal everyone really ate together for because we all woke up around the same time. Lunch and dinner usually lasted a few hours and the soldiers and shadows just went whenever they could.

From what Tyes had told me earlier, The Pet was still in training. Reno had Rhoades personally training her.

I wondered if they were actually training. Their flirting in the basement after we'd kidnapped Pet flashed in my mind and my body felt hot. Before I knew it, my feet had started carrying me in the direction of the gym.

Curiousity burned in my chest as I got closer. A grunt then two echoed down the hall. My heart raced. I was unsure about what I'd find on the other side of the door but I pictured Rhoades and Pet rolling around on the mat. Her tight thighs on either side of his hips. I grated my teeth as I attempted to slow my breathing.

They'll hear me if I continue panting like a dog.

The gym appears in my vision and I move to the far side of the door, hiding my body so I'm not in their direct line of sight. I peer around the door frame.

The Pet is sweating. But she's not straddling Rhoades as I imagined. She jumps up and down, barefoot on the mat, her tiny fists are wrapped as she holds them in front of her chest. Across the ring, Rhoades is spraying water into his mouth. He's sweating hard, and he's got several red welts across his chest, one on his shin and another that seems to cup his jaw.

Did she do that to him?

I look back at her and she's peppered with a few marks too. She only wears a sports bra and these tiny soccer shorts so it's easy to see the red welts across her toned skin. I couldn't believe she'd landed as many hits as she had on Rhoades. He was an incredible fighter. If he wasn't working with her, he'd be in with Tyes showing the new soldiers how it's done.

"Again." Rhoades says.

Pet bounds closer, light on her toes. Rhoades throws a punch and my stomach clenches but Pet weaves. She moves like liquid. She's impossibly quick. Rhoades throws another, it barely touches her stomach before she dances away and kicks. Her foot hits Rhoades in the lower back and he groans. A sly smile creeps up her cheeks and I hate how it makes my blood pump harder.

Rhoades and Pet continue to spar. Rhoades fights with muscle, with his weight and raw power. Whereas Pet moves like a ballet dancer, tiptoeing just out of reach as he throws his weight around. He punches. She weaves. And he continues to get more and more worn out.

"Talve!"

I jump at the sound of my name. I'd gotten so enwrapped in their spar that I hadn't even noticed Reno approach me.