Guardians: Away Mission Book 2 of the Guardians Saga COMPLETED except for edits

Betrayal Ch. 1.3 Jabs Back and Forth

       
A/N I have now started Book 3 in its own book and cover! Thanks for reading and I hope you head over to the new book!
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The next evening in the brothers' carriage house apartment, Rile stood over Alex as she tied her sneakers. The shoulder length side of her hair was pulled into a ponytail, but the once shaved side was still too short to tie back. It covered her craniotomy scar and Alex was ambivalent about that. She thought the scar made her look like an easy victim for muggers, which pulled in her prey. Gabe sat on the couch, cleaning his sword. Cale sat next to him, reading an iPad.

"Where are you going?"  Rile asked when she continued to ignore him.

"The gym."

"What's that?"

"It's only a place where humans get sweaty," Alex said.

"Sounds interesting," Rile replied, intrigued by Alex's evasive answer.

"It is not interesting. It's just a gym. I exercise and take my kickboxing classes there," Alex protested.

"I'd love to see that," Rile replied.

"No, you wouldn't and you can't. You can't be adequately disguised there: people don't wear much clothing in gyms and they're close together. Personal contact, disguising ability doesn't hold up?" Alex straightened and put her hands on her hips.

"Even better."

"It is not better." Frustrated, Alex looked to Gabe for help, but he looked noncommittal.

"You've sided too many times with Rile against me. Now you can deal with him when he's being a biting flea," Gabe said.

"Yes, she has sided with me many times, and yes, she must deal with me," Rile said with triumph and earned a glare from Gabe. "I'll be adequately disguised. Let me show you," Rile said in a more conciliatory tone to Alex and disappeared into the bedroom.

"Can't you talk some sense into him?" Alex pleaded with Gabe.

"Have you ever seen me succeed?" Gabe pulled out his whetstone and sharpened the blade, ignoring Alex.

When Rile came back, he was dressed in sweats, hood pulled over his head, and Saints baseball cap on top. Alex closed her eyes and her chin fell forward onto her chest. "Rile, you look like a 'gangsta'. You've been planning this, haven't you?"

"I did a little research. Let's go. Your class is in half an hour," Rile said.

"Rile, no," Alex whined.

"I'll go without you."

"If you show up at my gym, at any gym, looking like that, they will call the police," Alex said.

"Then I better come as your guest."

With a last pleading look at Gabe that he ignored, Alex left with Rile.

***

At the gym, Alex spoke to her instructor and pointed at Rile. "That's my boyfriend's pest of a little brother. He wants to watch my class."

Rile leaned against the wall and caused anxiety in the Pilates class.

"Tell him to sit down. He's making people nervous," Alex's instructor replied.

She did and the Pilates class filed out to make room for kickboxing. Rile was doubly glad that he had come. The gym was fascinating and he was itching to try out all the equipment. What was better was watching Alex. For the first time, he appreciated that she was faster and stronger than most of her kind. Only the instructor was better at kickboxing than her, and it was just a matter of time before she surpassed him.