Page 35

Chapter Three

Jolie

The scenery passes by in a blur as Colt drives us to Olympia, the home of the G.O.D.S. He chats as we drive, telling me training starts today and that we have a lot of work ahead. I feel like Mr Z paired me with him because of my anger towards my team. This won’t last. Colt has his own team to train with, considering I have to go up against them in the trials. His team is actually pretty cool; I met them at lunch yesterday. It’s a super weird dynamic they have, seeing as how their sixth doesn’t seem to be dating any of them.

My knee bounces nervously as we’re let through the massive steel gates, and he drives us to the parking lot. He rambles on about this place, and I listen with rapt attention, taking it all in. This is the facility that everyone aspires to attend once they graduate high school, and the answers I seek are contained within these walls. So far, I’ve seen the main part of Olympia, where Mr Z’s office and the labs are, but this is all new.

Colt points out what each building is as we walk towards our destination. I try to take it all in, but the campus is so vast that I’ll have to figure it out over time. It honestly looks like any other school from the outside, though.

“This is one of the gyms,” he explains as we enter a nondescript building. “We will be training here today. There are nicer gyms, but they’re generally booked for those who have been here for a while. Since we don’t technically go here yet, we’re stuck with this place.”

Scanning the room, I have to admit this place kind of looks like a dump. The walls are a light beige colour, with no fancy logos or mirrors to check your form in, and I could be mistaken, but I think there is blood splattered in various spots. Mats—which have seen better days—line almost the entire floor, some with people already training on them.

Instead of commenting about how much of a shithole it is, I mutter, “This place looks nice.”

“It’s okay. Let’s get your clothes sorted first. Mr Z sent a box down for you,” he says, pointing to a container in the corner.

Colt walks over to collect it, then drops it on the floor in front of me, opening it wide. He pulls out a G.O.D.S polo that matches the one he is wearing. It also contains a pair of long pants, boots, a training bra, spandex shorts, and a few other articles of clothing, plus a duffle bag and a pair of sneakers.

“Every time you come here, you need to be dressed appropriately,” he explains. “Always wear the uniform in and out. You get changed into your workout gear once you’re here or wear it underneath.”

“Sounds easy enough.”

He hands me my workout gear and points to the women’s locker room on the other side of the gym. “Get changed, then we can go over some basic self-defence and see where you’re at. I watched your fight with Summer, and you have some street skills, but you need some work.”

“Thanks for telling me I’m shit... in a nice way,” I say sarcastically.

He winks at me, and I head into the changing rooms. There are a few girls in here also getting changed. They watch me curiously, but I don’t doubt that they already know who I am. I see Blayne, Colt’s sixth, standing in front of a locker. A bright smile takes over her face when she sees me, and she waves me over. It’s super weird how teams work. I know Summer and all of her guys are dating, but I’m not sure of the dynamic in Blayne’s team. Everything seems platonic between the six of them. It’s not my place to ask, but I can’t say I’m not curious.

“Jolie, did you come to get your ass kicked?” she asks with a laugh.

“If you class Colt knocking me to my ass so he can get on top of me, then yes.”

She cackles hysterically, and a snort escaping her nose makes her laugh even harder. I watch for her reaction, waiting to see if jealousy kicks in, but it doesn’t.

“That’s Colt for you. Just a tip, he is super ticklish, so get your hand under his pit and he will tap out every single time.”

“Good to know,” I say as I strip down and change into my workout gear. The sports bra and spandex shorts fit me like a glove. How the hell does Mr Z know what size I wear? Even the shoes are the correct size.

“I’ll see you out there,” she says as she slams her locker shut, then exits the room.

Finishing the laces on my shoes, I grab all my clothes from the bench and leave the locker room. Skirting around the outside of the room and the sparring partners to where my box of stuff is, I shove the wad of clothing into the duffle bag.

Scanning the mats, my eyes fall on Colt as he and Blayne circle each other. Colt taunts her and she lunges at him. She manages to get a few good hits in, but he does a damn good job of evading her oncoming attacks.

Seeing Blayne at school and now seeing her here at the gym—it’s almost like she’s two different people. The sports bra and shorts she’s wearing reveal ripped muscles that are hidden by our uniforms. Her dark hair is pulled tight in a ponytail on top of her head, and the brown of her eyes stand out more without the presence of makeup covering her face.

Their sparing continues until he has her pinned on the mat. He looks over at me with a triumphant grin on his face. “Your turn, Cupcake.”

I walk over to the mat as Colt helps Blayne up and tells her to go spend some time on the treadmill. She nods, shooting me a knowing look and a wink. Bending down and swiping a hand towel off the floor, Blayne wipes the sweat from her face, then makes her way over to the gym equipment.

Colt walks over to where I’m standing on the edge of the mat and places a hand on my lower back. With a nudge, he says, “Let’s see what you’ve got. Try to get me down on the mat.”

For the next ten minutes, I try to catch Colt while he continuously sidesteps me, runs in circles, slaps my ass, and generally makes me laugh.

Checking the clock on the wall, I see I only have a few minutes left until I need to get changed and meet Mr Z. I messaged him before Colt and I left the school grounds, arranging for him to pick me up here. I figure afterwards he can have his driver drop me back off to Boston’s car, which I left at the school.

“Let’s give it one last shot,” he says with a smirk.

I take a step forward, simultaneously lifting my sports top, and his mouth falls open, so I strike quickly at his neck.

He gasps for air, and I use that to my advantage, jumping onto his back and wrapping one arm around his neck, the other snaking under his armpit.

He snorts out laughter and drops to the ground. “Fine,” he concedes, lying flat on his stomach with me still plastered on his back, ready to attack. “You win.”

As I ease my body weight off him, he instantly flips me onto my back, and his body hovers over mine. His hands pin mine to the ground and he smiles down at me. He locks eyes and starts to lean in, but I turn my head and he pulls back. The pain of my rejection flashes quickly across his face, but it’s gone as fast as it came. “Can’t blame a guy for trying after you showed him your perfect tits. Man, that wasn’t playing fair.”

“Get off her.” The malice dripping from that voice causes Colt to stiffen.

He is ripped off me and thrown backwards. Chester looms over the top of him, shirtless and with his tattoos on full display. His body is slick with sweat, the beads rolling down his chest, making me want to lick them off. No, damnit. Bad Jolie.

“Chester, what the fuck?”

He turns to face me, his chest heaving. I haven’t spent much time with Chester since being back, but his reaction seems odd.

“Leave Colt alone,” I bite out.

Chester doesn’t say anything, just continues to look right through me. “He...”

“He what? Was helping me train like he was told to?”

“That’s not it,” he says between clenched teeth.

“She doesn’t remember, dude,” Colt adds and laughs.

“Remember what?” I demand, looking between them both. When Chester doesn’t say anything, Colt continues for him.

“Dude, over here has... um, the best way to explain it would be like telepathy.”

“So, he can read minds?” I question.

“Kind of, when you were a kid, he could read yours. For the rest of us, it’s not as in tune, and he has this weird thing with auras.”

“You wanted to hurt her,” Chester snaps at Colt.

Colt holds his hands up in the air. “Not in the way you’re thinking—Jesus. In a sexual way, not in an ‘I want to kill her’ way.”

I snap my head at Colt. “I’m not sleeping with you.”

“We’ll see,” he winks and walks away.

I shake my head at his audacity and walk closer to Chester. “You can’t do that. We,” I say, pointing between the two of us, “are not friends. I don’t need your protection. Whatever we used to be, we are not that now.”

Seriously, why does he have to look like sex on legs? That damn six pack and the V that is so defined. His shorts are tight and the muscles in his legs bulge. I really need to get laid.

“Pick one of us, no one else, unless they have a death wish.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You want to get laid, right?”

I cough. There is no way he could know that. “I will not be fucking any of you.”

He shrugs. “It’s a means to an end, Jolie. Just know if you go out and sleep with someone outside of our team, the rule applies to all of us. Maybe we should have a meeting to update you on how our team works.”

“Screw you!” My voice cracks, and I stomp over towards my duffle bag and box of clothes. Shoving everything into the bag, I zip it up and call it good. That is, until I feel Chester standing behind me.

“I know what you’re thinking, always have when you’re close. I can feel the way your body reacts to my proximity. The thoughts swirling in your head as I run my fingers along your collarbone. You were created for us.”

I slap his hand away. “I wasn’t made for you. I was made for them, and you know it.”

“Were you? Because if that were true, they would be here.”

Turning to face him, my palm connects with his face before I can stop it. “You’re an asshole,” I snap, grabbing my bag and walking away.

Throwing the door to the gym open, I storm off towards the car park. Where is Colt? He has my bag with my change of clothes for dinner with Mr Z.

A sleek black car pulls up beside me and a man gets out. “Mr Z sent me to pick you up.”

“I have to find my friend—he has my clothes.”

“No need, miss. There is a new outfit in the back for you to get changed into. I’ll wait out here until you are done.”

I nod, knowing there is no point arguing with a man who is just doing his job. Since Colt has vanished, I have no other options besides the ones in my duffle bag, which are not appropriate dinner outfits.

The driver takes my duffle and throws it in the boot of the sedan, then pulls out two boxes and hands them to me.

I turn on my heel and head back inside the gym, crossing my fingers that I don’t come across Chester again. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see he has moved on to a boxing bag with his back to me. Crossing the space quickly, I scurry into the changing rooms and am relieved to find them empty.

As I strip down to my underwear, I realise I’m going to have to go bra free, at least until I get back to the car and retrieve mine. I open the first box and pull out a dress; it’s a beautiful forest green that will fall just above my knee. Shimmying my way into it, I tie the belt off at the side. There’s no need for a bra in this dress, and I’m relieved that I don’t have to ask the driver for my bag back. How awkward would that have been? Excuse me, sir, I need my bra. Cringe!

I open the shoe box next and slip on the nude heels inside. I have to give it to Mr Z—this is a nice outfit. Though I’m sure his receptionist picked it out. The question remains... why go through all of this for me?

Once I finish washing my face and using the hand dryer to dry the sweat from my hair, I’m ready to go. Critics wouldn’t say I’m Australia’s next top model without my makeup—which is also in Colt’s car—but I’ll do for the night.

Heading back outside, I find the driver still waiting beside the car, so I hand him the boxes and he places them into the boot. Holding the door for me, he waits until I take a seat, then shuts me inside. He rounds to the driver’s side, and once we are both buckled, he takes off smoothly down the road. As we head into the city, I watch as the scenery blurs, and after about thirty minutes, we pull up to the curb of a restaurant.

The driver—whose name I forgot to get—slides out and comes around to open my door.

With a nod of thanks, I head up the walkway, taking in the building. It has a beautiful red-and-brown brick outside, framed by green foliage and white flowers which contrast the brick nicely. The front is lit up by a neon sign announcing the name of the restaurant : Matinii’s

This place seems super fancy. Definitely not somewhere I would eat by myself.

I’m greeted at the door by the ma?tre d’. “Welcome to Matinii’s.”

“Thank you, I’m meeting my um... Mr Z.”

“Yes, right this way, Miss Jolie.”

I follow the impeccably dressed man through the room to a two-seat table in the back. Mr Z stands upon our arrival and smiles. The ma?tre d’ leaves us immediately, going back to greeting other guests.

Mr Z comes around the table and pulls out my chair. “This place is nice,” I say as I take a seat.

“It is,” he agrees, fixing his suit jacket, then returning to his own seat across from me.

Before we can continue our conversation, a server comes to take our order. I pick up the menu and find the chicken selections, because let’s face it, you can never go wrong with a chicken dish.

Mr Z tells the server his order, and then he turns to me. “And for you, miss?”

“I’ll have the roasted chicken with asiago polenta and truffled mushrooms.”

“And to drink?”

“Just a Sprite for me, please.”

He nods and heads away from our table. I’m not exactly sure what polenta is, but I like chicken and mushrooms, so my choice should be safe and hopefully delicious.

I take a minute to look over at Mr Z. His dark-brown hair is cut short on the sides and a little longer on top. Perfectly styled, as it always seems to be. His blue-green eyes—exactly like mine—are cold, like the man has no happiness in his life. The suit he’s wearing is most likely the best money can buy, and by how it fits him, I can hazard a guess that it was tailor made. Looking at him now, I don’t see how I missed us looking so much alike, especially now that my hair is dark. I’m definitely his daughter.

“I know you have questions.” Mr Z says, breaking the silence.

Looking up at him, I smile. “I do, though I’m fairly sure you know what’s at the top of my list. Why are Zeus now my teachers, and why were Summer and Colt’s teams forced to change schools this late in their senior year?”

“A lot of investors now know that you’re back and would like to take pre-emptive measures. Your new team is there to protect you; it’s their job. Plus, considering they’re older and refused to pose as students, it was a last-minute idea after the funeral. As for the other teams, they are just a back-up precaution.”

“That many people in one place to protect me seems like overkill. There has to be more going on,” I counter immediately.

“Smart girl, just like your mother. It’s no secret that I’ve had some issues with my brother. I don’t trust him to not make a move against me or the company. I’ve suspected it for a few years, and now, with the evidence that Team Hades was in contact with him, it makes sense to be prepared. You’re my most valuable asset, so your protection is key.”

He is full of shit. Team Hades was not working with his brother—it was Team Zeus. My question is, how did they manage to throw him off? Unless he’s just telling me what he wants me to hear? And his asset, really? Good to know that’s how he views me. It’ll make taking him out easier and much more satisfying.

“So, what you’re saying is I have to suck it up because they’re staying.”

“Yes, they’re staying. It wasn’t easy to get them into teaching positions and as for the other teams, they don’t care about their education. Colt and Summer requested to be moved. School for them is just a means to an end, plus it’s a requirement that they have a somewhat normal teen experience. They’re all staying together, close to the Myers.”

I snort. I can imagine Summer’s guys are not so fond of Colt. “That’s going to end badly.”

“They have separate wings, so I’m sure they can make do. Kai tells me you’ve spent a lot of time in bed.”

It’s obvious he is fishing for information. While he doesn’t know I have all of my memories back, he does realise I have been piecing things together. That I have been told some things by Summer’s team. Hell, he informed them to tell me.

“Yeah, it took me a bit to get my head around what happened. I felt like I’d just started finding out who I was. The more I got to know them, the more I could feel a connection between us and then that was ripped away. I didn’t have enough time with them to figure everything out and I hate not knowing. But I’m fine now. Ready to put my big girl panties on and do what needs to be done, even if I do hate my new team.”

“That’s good to hear. Over time, I promise you will know everything, but for now, we need to get you ready to pass to the next stage. It’s only a few months away.”

“I have been practising with Colt.”

“But I would prefer that you utilise your team’s strengths. They’re the best we have, so use them for their knowledge if nothing else.”

The server comes back and places our drinks on the table.

“I know. I just feel slightly blindsided because I don’t really know anything about them,” I mutter, picking up my drink and taking a sip.

“You could ask them.”

“I could, but that would require me to be nice.” I don’t add that I would rather kill them than be nice to them ever again.

Mr Z laughs before taking a sip of his whiskey. “You’re a lot like me, but the best way to deal with those you don’t like is to be one step ahead of them at all times. Prey on their weaknesses.”

“Apparently I’m their weakness, so how do I use that?”

“You’re a smart girl, you’ll figure it out. I need you and your team at the top of your game. Investors want to see where their money is going.”

“Okay, but only because I want to trust you, or at the very least get to know you.”

He smiles at me, and I force a smile back. I have no intentions of getting to know him on a personal level or trusting him. What I am willing to do is make him believe that’s what I want. Do I trust my team? Hell no, but I would take my chances with them over Mr Z any day. I just have a few anger issues to work through. Preferably using my fists.

The server brings our food and places it on the table. Mr Z waits for him to leave before he continues talking.

“I would like that too. While I know this is a lot to take in, and I’m sorry for the way I went about choosing a team for you, they needed to know that I was serious about what happens when they work against me. Hopefully, they have learned a valuable lesson.”

“Only time will tell.” With an aloof shrug, I pick up my fork, digging into my meal.

“I guess you’re right.”

Silence descends as we both eat. The chicken was definitely the right choice; it’s delicious.

After we finish our meal, I steer the conversation towards his dead wife: my mother. I won’t lie—I am curious about her. She seems like she was an innocent in all of this, her only crime being that she loved two brothers.