Page 6

Chapter Six

Atlas

The whole way down, Storm and I stayed on opposite sides of the elevator.

He stood with his arms crossed, head tilted back, eyes toward the ceiling.

I leaned against the wall, hands by my sides, looking half at him, half at the panel beside him.

Slowly, the numbers counted down to the ground floor, then the gym below that.

The elevator pinged cheerfully before the doors slid open.

We exchanged glances, both waiting for the other to get out first.

When the doors started to close again, I reached out to stop them.

Hand between them, I gestured for him to step out in front of me.

He looked like he might object, but finally pushed past me and out of the carriage.

"Gym's that way." He jerked his head to the left.

"No shit," I said. Right in front of us was a large sign that pointed the way. To the right was the indoor pool for the apartment building.

He glared at me for a moment before shrugging and stomping off to the left.

"Are you going to get your head out of your ass at some point?" I said to his back.

"My head isn't in my ass," he said without slowing.

"Could have fooled me," I muttered.

"Wouldn't be hard," he muttered back.

"What is your fucking problem?" I growled.

He stopped so suddenly I almost ran into him. He turned around slowly and glared at me. "My problem is that you've had an attitude since you joined the team. Every chance you get to take a dig, you take it."

"You too," I pointed out.

"You never wanted Jay and I on the team in the first place."

"I didn't give a shit." He dropped his hands to his sides. "I wanted good players who wanted to be Smashers. Because I give a shit about the team. Always have. It was the first fucking thing I thought about when I woke up and the last fucking thing I thought about when I went to bed. Then you and Jay rocked up with chips on your shoulders the size of Tasmania, like you were too good for us. Like all you fucking wanted was to go back to Sydney and be a Devil again."

"You know why we transferred," I said.

"Yeah, I do. You admitted that even with a mission to do, you didn't want to be here." His gaze bore into me.

"Now that's changed." I glared back at him. "I want to be here. I want to be a part of the team and this family. I want to be with Chelsea."

"Maybe it's too little too late for that," he said.

"I don't believe in ‘too late’," I said. "Maybe we didn't have the best attitude when we arrived in Dusk Bay?—"

"No ‘maybe’ about it," he snapped.

"You had shitty attitudes. You made it a them versus us thing. You stalked around like a caged animal. As if you couldn't walk away if you wanted to."

"I couldn't," I argued.

"I had commitments and a contract. Same as you do. You couldn't have walked away either."

"I didn't want to walk away," he snarled.

"If I was on a different team this season, I'd give them everything. Because that's what I fucking do. I put everything I have into…everything. Footy, Chelsea, all of this mobster shit. If I'm in, I'm all the way in."

"Not everyone can be like you," I pointed out.

"Not all of us are single-minded." Some of us had other priorities, whether we liked it or not.

"It's not hard to make a commitment." His own tone evened out slightly. "You just make it and stick to it. That's all. It's not rocket science."

"I have made a commitment," I said. "I'm committed to the same things you are. I'm all in too. How do you think Chelsea feels being stuck between us? Having to mediate our bullshit? Or Frost? He doesn't like it either. I've seen it on his face." And a lot of other things, including lust. "It upsets Jay too."

Storm exhaled long and slow. He placed his palm on the wall beside him and braced himself. "You think I'm just going to, what? Be your best friend from now on?"

"Why not?" I said jokingly.

"I'm pretty fucking awesome."

I deserved the snort he gave in response to my sarcasm. "Can we try to be civil to each other? That doesn't seem like too much to ask, for the good of everyone."

His brow crinkled and he looked down at the worn carpet on the floor.

"I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask," I said.

Okay, I wanted him to try, not just think about it, but it was a start.

He looked up at me. "You have to stop being a smartass. If you're one of us, you need to act like it. We were lucky the first couple of games, but if we don't start playing like a real team, we're going to get smashed. On and off the field."

He didn't need to explain what he meant. If we didn't have each other's backs, we'd end up like India. I wished I could have spared Chelsea from having to see her friend like that. Doctor or no doctor, she was still disturbed by it. Still heartbroken. I knew she blamed herself, even though none of it was her fault. There was nothing she or any of us could have done. We got there too late. Next time, we'd be quicker.

"Yeah," I said.

I hated to admit it, but he was right. He'd been a dickhead, but so had I. I had exactly the chip on my shoulder he'd accused me of having. And then some, if I was honest. I was ripped out of a place I loved and thrown here. I resented the Smashers, and the Brantley family. It was easier to hide in a corner with Jay and pretend we were better than everyone else. I’d even harboured a fantasy that we dealt with Dominic King and anyone working with him, before going back to the Sydney Devils.

Now I knew that was a stupid fantasy. My life was here, in Dusk Bay with my team, my woman and Jay. Frost as well. I couldn't imagine going back to Sydney. I wouldn't go back. If they tried to send me, I'd have more than a chip on my shoulder.

"We should keep looking for Tex." Storm shoved himself off the wall and started off towards the gym.

I followed, keeping an eye on the direction we’d come. It would suck if an attacker came up behind us while we were focused on what was ahead. Nothing we couldn't handle, of course, but it would be a distraction we didn't need.

Storm pulled a card out of his pocket and waved it in front of the lock on the door to open it. A light flashed green and the lock clicked before Storm pushed the door open and leaned his upper body inside.

After a moment, he stepped the rest of the way in, holding the door so I could do the same.

The gym was amazing. All of the equipment was state-of-the-art and well-maintained. A couple of treadmills stood on one side of the room and several stationary bikes on the other. A rack full of weights took up space in the back corner, beside a basket of yoga mats. Along one wall was a large screen TV, with the sound on, the screen running an infomercial for a food slicer. Apparently if I bought now, I'd get a free set of steak knives. I made a note to check out the slicer later, it looked useful.

The room was empty.

"There's a bathroom in the back," Storm said.

We exchanged glances. I suspected we both had the same thought. We wouldn't find Dallas in there, but we might as well look.

This time, I led the way across the gym and through the door to the bathroom at the back of the space.

"Dallas?" I called out.

No answer. I hadn't expected one. The place was too quiet for anyone to be in here and alive.

I turned and shook my head. "He's not here either."

"Let's try the pool." Storm headed back across the gym with me at his heels. We stepped out the door, careful to close it behind us, and started back down the corridor and past the elevator.

"This building has nice facilities," I remarked.

"The best," he agreed. "That's why I live here. That and the view."

"Can't beat that." I noticed the view when I was in his apartment a few minutes ago. "I'm starting to think Dusk Bay might be nicer than Sydney."

He snorted. "Of course it fucking is. I'd rather be here than anywhere else." He stopped in front of a pair of wide glass doors that looked straight into the pool area.

"I might have to buy myself an apartment here." I pressed my face so close to the glass, it fogged up. I pulled back, wiped it clear, and peered again. "It doesn't look like there's anyone in there."

"Just in case." Storm pulled out his card and unlocked this door before pushing it open and stepping into the steamy space.

The smell of chlorinated water hit like a wave that made me wrinkle my nose. I preferred an outdoor pool without chlorine, but this would be perfect in winter. Fortunately, my hair was dark enough that it didn't turn green after swimming. Not like my sisters' hair. I briefly wondered if Frost's hair turned green in chlorine too.

"There's no one floating in there," I said gratefully. No football player face down and lifeless. No innocent women either. I wouldn't have minded finding Dominic King floating here, but I wasn't that lucky today. Give it time, he might end up that way at some point.

"Not today," Storm agreed. "An apartment two floors down from mine is for sale." He said it with reluctance, but the fact he volunteered the information at all was a minor miracle.

We both knew I could have done a search on my phone and found it, so for him to mention it was a big deal. One I decided not to call too much attention to, other than an appreciative dip of my head.

"I'll look into it. This is a great place to work out." I stepped closer to the pool, peering into the clear blue water. It lapped softly against the side of the pool, almost hypnotic. I would have loved nothing more than to strip down to my underwear and dive in for a few laps.

"Don't fall in." He'd find it hilarious if I did.

I glanced over at him and rolled my eyes, but for once there was no animosity in it. This was almost friendly banter between teammates. Something we’d never achieved before. That was progress. I'd mark it on my calendar if I had one.

"I'm guessing there's a change room here." In a building like this, they wouldn't want residents walking around, dripping pool water on the carpet.

"Yep." Storm waved toward matching doors on the side of the pool area. "I'll check the men's change room." He almost seemed to be issuing a challenge.

"I have no problem checking the women's." I grinned. The way our voices echoed, we were the only ones in here anyway.

"Not surprised." He smirked like he won somehow and headed into the male change room.

I tapped on the door before pushing it open and stepping into the other.

"Shit."