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He looked around at the barren road. “Not really.”

“You see that hill over there? It probably hasn’t been glared at in a while.”

“You’re still mad,” he pointed out, cocking his head.

“Wow. Great observational skills.”

“If you refuse to rest, why don’t you do something about your anger then?”

“If it’s something that will make you disappear, I’m all ears.” She squared her body to face him, crossing her arms and mirroring his stance.

“Fight me, and I won’t speak to you the rest of the way to Hermes.” His deep voice carried with the wind, sending chills down her spine.

She swallowed, feeling like she was stepping into a carefully laid trap.

“Why? In our last conversation, you agreed that everything was over between us.”

“That was before you punched me.”

“You deserved it!”

“And your aim was terrible,” Takeshi added, ignoring her comment. “The force was there, but your technique was mediocre at best. You’ve already forgotten everything I taught you.”

She gnashed her teeth together. “I know what you’re doing.”

“Do you?” He inclined his head.

“You’re goading me to fight because, for some sick reason, you enjoy seeing me suffer. News flash. It’s not going to work this time.” She straightened, lifting her chin so their faces were mere inches apart.

His gaze drifted down, studying every subtle shift in her expression.

Anddisappointmentflashed in his eyes.

“Interesting. I never thought you’d be the one to back down from a challenge.”

He abruptly turned, leaving her behind like an inconsequential afterthought. A fire started from her toes, wiggling up to her ankles, shredding past her legs, warming her stomach, and injecting straight into her heart.

“Now that you mention it.” She walked toward him, and Takeshi paused, glancing over his shoulder. “Punching you again sounds like afantasticidea.”

Takeshi’s upper lip twitched, an indecipherable emotion coiling in his eyes before his expression swiftly hardened, and he continued marching away. Wordlessly, she followed.

Her brows furrowed when he stopped just a few feet away from the others.

Winnie, Serene, Derek, and Adan sat on a soft patch of sand next to the deserted highway. Brock perched on the hood of a nearby black car, one foot bent and planted beside him, the other sprawled straight out as he checked the ammo in his pistol.

“You ready, Kanes?” Takeshi asked. “You look distracted.”

“We’re doing this here? In front of everyone?” Khalani’s pulse quickened as she felt all eyes center on them.

“If you can’t practice with an audience, you won’t be able to fight in real life.”

Khalani wanted to yell as she faced him head-on, but maybe this was good. She had a barrel-load of pent-up energy, and quite frankly, a better punching bag didn’t exist.

“Are you guys about to have angry sex or something?” Serene asked in a bored voice.

“NO!” she exclaimed a little too strongly. “I’d sooner impale myself on a spiked stick.

A bark of laughter sounded from her left. “Looks like you’re losing the fight, Captain. Better watch your step before someone else races past you,” Brock interjected.