FIGHT

Chapter 16

Glancing to my right, I see two men fighting in the ring. It takes me a minute before I realize that one of them is Josh.

It's strange to see him away from the punching bags and in an actual boxing ring. I wonder if that's how he trains Holden. How he trained Luke.

I walk noiselessly to the ring, carefully watching Josh. Some of his throws look incredibly similar to the way Holden punches and I decide to take note. Normally, I would bet on Holden in any fight, but Josh is the only one who knows all of Holden's tricks.

I've never seen the man Josh is fighting against, but he's decent. He plays on the defense more often than throwing his own punches; he's quick and that helps him dodge the punches and kicks Josh shoots his way.

The men continue their fight, paying no mind to me. I've watched Holden train and I've watched him in a real fight. Between those, I've seen all of the moves Holden uses.

Josh has more.

I watch as Josh bends low, balancing on his left leg. His right leg quickly swings out in a half-circle, catching his opponent by the ankle. The other man falls directly to the floor, dazed from the sudden impact. It's a strategic move; no boxer would be expecting anything like that.

I have a gut feeling that Josh has never shown Holden that move.

After helping his opponent up, Josh knocks gloves with him, finally noticing my presence. I put on a smile; for my plan to work, it can't seem like I have any aversion to Josh whatsoever.

"Hey, Stevens."

"Hey, Henderson."

I don't know why it started, but Josh and I have taken to using last names for each other. After all the information I've discovered about his involvement with Luke, calling him by his first name seems too friendly for my liking.

But today I have to be friendly.

"You ready?"

I nod, following Josh back to the punching bags. He waves off the man he was training before, stationing me at a bag I've never worked with before. Josh must notice the confused expression on my face, "I'm moving you up."

"Why?"

The bag is much bigger than the one I'm used to; I have no doubt that it will be ten times harder to move it.

"It'll come in handy if you ever have to fight someone bigger than you. Which, in your case, is the most probable if you're actually in any type of real fight."

My brother's face passes through my mind; I haven't seen him since I was eleven, but he was tall even when he was just eighteen. If he's grown anymore, I'll be fighting someone even bigger than Holden.

I nod, quickly stretching myself out before warming my body up beside the bag. It's intimidating, but I have to show commitment. If Josh is happy with my training session, he's much more likely to let information slip.

Which is exactly what I need to happen.

"I still haven't seen this perfect hook that Samuels always talks about."

My stomach tightens at his mention of Holden, but I fake a small laugh. I've got to play the part completely if this going to work. I roll my eyes, "Holden likes to brag. It's really not that good, Josh."

I know exactly how good it is, but downplaying it is likely to make Josh more impressed once he sees it. My feet bounce against the floor, shaking myself out as I get into position in front of the bag. I think back to the day I first met Holden; he wouldn't shut up about my elbow angle.