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They glare at each other. There’s a silent conversation going on, but hell if I know what it is. They don’t even work on the same floor, so they don’t interact much. Did something happen here at the retreat? Al prides himself on getting people riled up. Is that what this is about?

The group seems to hold its breath as Al puffs up like an angry bird and Owen raises his right arm.

Canyon slides into view in front of them, like a pocket door between immovable walls.

He lifts his hands and my heart pounds out a warning.

Don’t touch them. Neither of them moves, not really, but the tension tips into dangerous territory.

My body aches from the effort it takes not to grab Canyon and pull him to safety.

Canyon drops his hands and my legs almost buckle in relief. “It’s one trust fall, guys. Ten seconds max. But I’m not rushing you,” he says, taking a step back. “We have all afternoon.”

The rest of the group groans, and I bite my lips to hide my smile. Everyone has plans for the afternoon, and they don’t include whatever this is between Al and Owen.

“Just stating for the record,” Al says, folding his arms across his chest, “I’m against this. I don’t trust this—Owen—to catch me.”

“Why do you make a big deal out of everything, Al?” Owen shakes his head and flexes his hand. “But whatever. I’ll be the bigger person,” he says and then smirks. “All you have to do is catch me.”

“Fine.”

But something in his tone sounds off. Like a pause or a promise. Fuck around and find out.

I need to stop this. “Canyon?—”

He dismisses my concern with a wave of his hand, his eyes on them.

Everyone watches, their bodies facing the pair like arrows pointing to the main event.

Owen turns around, placing his arms over his chest in an X pattern. Al drops his arms to his side.

“Ready?”

My eyes focus on the empty space between them. Holding my breath. Waiting.

“Go.”

Owen falls back and everything seems to slow down. Al lifts his hands. And drops them again. Takes a step back. And another.

Canyon surges forward with a shout, and I’m already halfway there. But I’m not close enough.

Owen panics and grabs at Canyon, and they both go down, hitting the ground with a sickening thud. Al snorts. What the fuck? But hurting him isn’t my top priority. Canyon isn’t moving.

As I reach Canyon, Owen jumps to his feet and barrels into Al, knocking them both to the ground.

Everyone’s shouting, but I focus on the man in front of me. “Canyon?” I drop to my knees.

“Fine. Just. Winded.” He waves a hand toward the grappling men. “Go.”

I get up just in time to stop Jet from getting involved. I'm not sure whose side he’s on, and the rest of the group seems to be torn. Which is weird.

Jared appears next to me. Thank fuck. Besides me, he’s the biggest person here. “Is Canyon okay?”

I nod.

“Good.” He sighs. “What the fuck? I’ll grab Al.”

After another moment, they break apart and scramble to their feet. Jared grabs Al and I step in front of Owen, putting my hand on his chest. “Stop.”

“Did you see what that asshole did?” He reaches around me to stab a finger at Al. “You’ve fucked up now.”

“You deserved it.”

I want to check on Canyon, but I can’t take my eyes off Owen.

“How do you want to handle this?” Jared asks.

“You’re the lawyer. What do you suggest?”

“Fire them both?” He hesitates for a second, giving time for the threat to land. “Call the police?”

“Hey,” Owen says, waving his arms. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Not at first?—”

Jared cuts in. “Al’s face tells a different story.”

I keep a hand on Owen’s arm and turn so I can see Al. Blood pours down his face. Head wounds bleed more but shit. Al’s going to have a black eye and a fat lip.

I swallow the bile and choke out the words I don’t want to say. “We could call Meredith.”

The gasp sounds like Ander, but I don’t check.

It does the trick. And while I hate myself for using her as a threat, I want to check on Canyon.

“Al, go with Ander to get some ice for your face. Then clean up in the Northeast cabin.” Jared sends Owen to our cabin.

Once that’s taken care of, I look around for Canyon. He’s gone. What if he went back to the cabin? I don’t trust Owen at all.

A hand touches my arm and I jerk in response. Ander. I glance at Jared, leading Al away with an icepack on his face. “If you’re looking for Canyon, he went to the bathrooms by the pool to clean up. We passed him on our way to get ice.”

I nod my head and glance around at the rest of my team. They’re all shuffling around with varying degrees of what-the- fuck expressions. I need to deal with them, but they aren’t my focus right now.

“Go on. I’ll take care of them. You check on Canyon.”

“Thank you.” I squeeze his shoulder. We don’t usually show affection, but it feels necessary.

“Come on, everyone. Let’s talk about what happened.”

I ignore the groans and head for the bathrooms. I just have to convince Canyon not to quit. And that none of this is his fault. My odds for either of those things aren’t great.