Sacrifice (Book 2)

Chapter 20 - Blood, Sweat, and Tears

Mind numbing was the only way Cole could describe the monotony of the last five days. He was beginning to feel like a caged animal. Waking up in Ethan's home was the only plus. The house was decked out in the latest technology, had an in-home gym, and game room with leather recliners and an 80" 3D flat screen TV.

Rolling out of bed, Cole sat on the edge, his feet planted on the ground, and scrubbed the stubble on his chin. He shook his head. This was as bad as surveillance duty. Anyone that thought sitting in the back of a van, cooking in the August heat without air conditioning was glamorous--was out of their mind. Well, maybe this wasn't quite as bad; after all, he had use of a flushing toilet. Which was convenient at the moment.

Coming out of the en suite, Cole pulled on a pair of Under Armour basketball shorts and a tank, his socks and shoes. He grabbed a towel from the bathroom, his iPhone armband and earbuds, then took the stairs two at a time up to the gym.

The TV was on; Cole could hear a hockey game in progress. Damn. He and Ben had managed to stay clear of each other this week. They had nothing to say to one another. What would that conversation sound like anyway? Hey, why did you sleep with my girlfriend/potential fiancée? Cole might as well step on an IED. Not to mention both of them were irritated and going batshit crazy because they had been cooped up so long.

Cole glanced in the door. Ben was lying on his back on the weight bench, pumping 200 pounds over his head. He did ten reps without breaking a sweat. Shît, the guy was strong. He wasn't muscle bound, but clearly he was in shape.

Ben put the weights back on the bar holder and sat up. "Yeah!" he shouted, fist pumping the air.

Cole caught the color commentator quote a statistic on Braden Holtby after he blocked a goal shot. The hockey game was between the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning. Damn, he wanted to watch that game. He'd been a Capital fan since he was a teenager and watched the games with his dad in D.C. before they moved oversees.

Fück it. He wasn't going to be a pansy ass and miss the game just to avoid the guy.

Benjamin looked up as he walked in. Cole held eye contact and strutted over to the treadmill. Uh-huh, that's right, the girls all love the swagger. He increased the incline and speed. He wasn't about to be shown up by a 40-something-year-old.

Reclining, Benjamin pumped another ten reps. Cole ran on the treadmill. Mike Ribeiro won the faceoff against Nate Thompson. Both men yelled "Yeah!" at the same time. Okay, so what? They both liked the same team. He probably didn't know anything about the game.

"Hey, you see Holtby in game six of the Stanley Cup last year?" It was a test.

"Yeah," Ben laughed. "I was there. Great game."

Or, maybe he did know something about it. Cole didn't want to like the guy, but maybe he just moved up a notch or two in respect.

"You heard anything about when we can get out of here?" Ben asked.

"Ethan sent me a text an hour ago. He said he'd be home tonight. We'll find out what's going on then."

Ben nodded and went back to watching the game.

*

Cole opened the refrigerator and freezer together with one hand. He didn't know why he bothered though. The only thing in it was a couple packets of soy sauce, a plastic container of Parmesan cheese, three beers, and Tabasco sauce. Man, he was hungry, but the idea of eating anything out of a box or carton turned his gut. The freezer, on the other hand, was full. With bagged blood. Cole picked up one of the bags and turned it over in his hand, inspecting it. His stomach growled in appeal. A shiver ran down his back and he threw it back into the freezer as fast as he could. He couldn't believe he'd even considered it.