Children of Evolution (The Gateway Series Book 2) (30 page)

Nikki wanted Ace to win her bet. She really did. But it just wasn't happening.

Coop was bigger and stronger, for one thing, both of which meant so much more to Nikki now than they ever had before. She couldn't get close to him without taking jarring jabs to the head that made it impossible for her to focus. With his freakishly long arms, he turned her every attempt to close the distance into an exercise in frustration.

The pads weren't helping. Yeah, they softened Coop's blows, and they actually made getting thrown to the mat kind of fun, but they were a serious mobility hindrance. Whoever had designed the suit had done so with a taller girl in mind. The straps adjusted, but that just made the pads bunch up, limiting Nikki's range of motion at the worst possible times.
 

Michael wasn't helping either. Well, he was trying to, but as usual his voice was more distraction than advantage.

High block,
Michael snapped, sending a matching image.

She ducked to the side instead, which would have worked fine—better, in her opinion—but she was half a second too slow choosing her way over his. Coop's down-swinging fist caught her shoulder and spun her off balance. He followed with a slow but powerful side kick that she should have avoided with ease, if she'd been of one mind about how. Her instinct was to duck under it and charge. Michael's was to twist and catch the leg. What she did was somewhere in between, and it earned her a heavy foot to the head.
 

When the little lights flashing in her brain cleared, she found herself flat on her back staring up at Elias. She caught the concern in his eyes before he masked it and gave her a nod.
 

"You OK?" he asked as he offered his hand.
 

She nodded as he helped her up, but that didn't wipe away the concern. She'd ended up on her back plenty since the sparring session started, but this was the first time she'd needed a hand getting up. She knew what was coming next.

"That's enough for now," Elias said. For her ear alone, he added, "You'll get him next time."

She was right; he was calling the fight. Her burning belly hated him for it. No, that wasn't fair. It hated her for failing so thoroughly. Coop had made her look more like an idiot than any goofy padded suit ever could. She caught Ace's eye as Elias turned toward Coop. She expected to see disappointment, but what she saw was worse. Ace nodded to her and smiled as if to say, "good try." The belly burn went into overdrive, and Nikki growled at herself.
 

I was wrong all these years,
she thought to Michael.
There
is
a hell. This is it, right here.

Don't be stupid, Nik,
he thought back.
You did your best, and you're making progress. That's all that matters.

She was going to be sick.
 

Don't beat yourself up,
he went on, apparently feeling how little good his words were doing and deciding more might make a difference. She had to give it to him—he didn't give up. If only she could say the same about herself.

"Why not?" she responded aloud. "Everybody else can now."

Elias turned toward her with a questioning look. He'd been on his way off the mat with Coop, who was pulling his head guard off to reveal a told-you-so grin he directed at Ace.

"Where do you think you're going, Disney?" Nikki said. "I didn't hear a bell."

Her words had an effect. They made her feel like her old self, if only a little. They made Coop look at her like she was crazy, and Elias look at her like…she wasn't sure. He looked almost proud for a second, but he wiped it away quickly. Across the room, Sam gave her a small smile and looked away. Ace just laughed.

"Put that stupid helmet back on," she said, feeling better with a little bravado to compete with her shame. Not much better, but a little was better than nothing. "I'm about to teach you how to hit like a girl. You'll need all the protection you can get."

Coop smiled and slid his head guard back into place as Elias stepped out of the way, and Nikki prepared to go on the offensive. Michael prepared as well, sending a series of images through Nikki's mind, images of joint locks and throws she could use to counter Coop's reach and size.
 

Nikki smiled and winked at Coop as she assumed the guard position they'd taught her. "You're the one going down this time, Disney."

Coop brought his hands up as well and started toward her, but a low, rumbling laugh stopped them both.
 

"This how you've been wasting your time?" Cole said. He was leaning against the door jamb, his thick arms crossed, his massive frame filling the opening.
 

Nikki wasn't sure whether he was talking to her or to everyone. His stare was on her at first, but he shared it around to the others after a second. She didn't really care who he was talking to. It felt like a jab at her regardless.

"You teach fish how to fly too?" Cole asked, his hard green eyes shifting to Elias.

"Nikki learns too fast to waste anybody's time," Sam responded, drawing Cole's glare his way.
 

A staring contest between those two might have been comical due to their size difference, if they'd been anyone else. There was nothing comical about a wolf and bear staring each other down. Nikki was just glad she wasn't standing between them.
 

"She's a natural fighter," Sam said evenly.

"On that we agree, little man," Cole replied. “Why are you trying to change that?”

"We're helping her gain control," Elias said, his tone hard. There was no love lost between Elias and Cole. That much was obvious from the way they looked at each other. "Nikki needs these skills."

"The hell she does," Cole said, uncoiling from the door and stalking into the room, his stare shifting to Nikki. "I've seen your like before, little slip. Control is the last thing you need.”

“Yeah?” Nikki said. “And what is it I need, hillbilly?”
 

“To remember what you are." He stopped in front of her, towering over her. His voice was hard, but it was nothing compared to his eyes.
 

"That's enough," Elias said, moving closer to Nikki like he was about to step between her and Cole. "We have this under control, Cole. We don't need your help."

This time Cole's laugh was more of a growl. "If you say so, soldier boy, but you're a fool if you think this is what the slip needs. Know that."

"Opinion noted," Elias said, stepping up beside Nikki. He left it at that, but his posture said how little that opinion mattered.

They eyed each other in silence until Cole broke it with an ugly laugh. "How many?"

"Excuse me?"

"How many, soldier boy?" Cole growled at Elias. "How many have you fought? Real fights, not hiding behind the ass end of a gun."
 

The look in his eyes almost made Nikki take a step back. "How many men have you broken with your bare hands?"

Elias didn't waver like Nikki wanted to. "It doesn't matter."

The only thing more unsettling than Cole's stare was his growling laugh. "I don't know that number."

"Any is too many," Elias said evenly. "Once she has control—"

"Waste of time, like I said," Cole rumbled over him. "That's why you can't teach her, soldier boy. You don't understand her. You don't know her kind."

"And you do?" Elias asked like he didn't think so for a second.

"Better than you ever will," Cole replied in a low voice. He stepped closer and looked down at Elias over Nikki's head. "You can't teach her to fight with her head. Not her style."

"Hey," Nikki snapped.

Cole looked down at her and smiled, or at least bared his teeth. "You want to see what she can do? I'll show you," he said to Elias.

"Not going to happen, Cole." Elias said flatly.

Looking up at Elias, watching him look up at Cole as he tried to protect her, even when she didn't need it, Nikki felt something stir. Whether it came from her or Michael, she couldn't tell, but either way, the feeling was as hard to ignore as it was easy to identify.
 

Stop it,
Nikki thought.
 

Stop what?
Michael said, even though the ruse was pointless. She didn't feel any confusion or doubt from him. He knew exactly what she meant.

Nikki rolled her eyes.

How do you know that's not your feeling?
he asked.

Because,
she replied.

He waited.

I don't feel that way about anybody,
she said at last.
Not anymore.

The standoff between Elias and Cole looked to be at an impasse—or a prelude to a beatdown, more like—until another party stepped in.

"He will help," Gideon's even voice said from the doorway. He walked into the room, the hood up on his old overcoat, his alien eye glowing faintly from the shadow. "She needs him to help. Let Magnus try, Elias. Please."

Nikki was no expert on chain of command and orders, but that didn't sound like any kind of order she'd ever heard. Something was going on there.

Elias watched Gideon for a second before he nodded. "Your show, Cole," he said, fixing Cole with a stare that was more than a match for the bigger man's worst. "For now."

Elias stepped back. Nikki didn't know when Sam had moved in so close, but there he was, right beside her. He gave her a smile and punched her lightly on the arm pad. Then he too moved away, leaving her alone with the bear.

"Lose the pads," Cole said.
 

That was easier said than done. Nikki fumbled with the straps for a second before Sam and Ace stepped up to give her a hand. From the other side of the mat, Coop didn't seem to need any help. He had half the straps on one arm open already.

"Not you, pretty boy," Cole said with a glance at Coop. "You'll need those."

Sam and Ace made quick work of stripping the pads, but when they got down to the vest covering Nikki's chest and stomach, Gideon stopped them.
 

"Leave that one," he said. He had slowly circled the mat and positioned himself beside Elias. They shared a glance that could have held whole conversations before Elias nodded to Sam, who tightened the straps on the back and patted Nikki on the shoulder once he was done.
 

"In that case, little man," Cole said with a harsh smile, "you're in too." He motioned Sam onto the mat.

"Wait, you want me to fight both of them?" Nikki asked, suppressing a sudden urge to laugh. She was afraid it might come out more hysterical than her pride could handle.

"No," Cole grated. "All three of us."

Nikki did laugh then. "Right. And what's that going to prove? I can't even beat one of these guys."

"Why is that, slip?" Cole stalked toward her, his eyes like chips of green glass. "Who says you can't?"

"I do, hillbilly," she snapped, taking a couple of steps back.

"That's your problem," Cole growled. His hand shot out too fast for her to avoid. He grabbed the front of her padded vest and yanked Nikki off her feet. Then he tossed her aside.
 

Nikki remembered to tuck her shoulder at the last second. She hit the mat awkwardly but rolled the way they'd showed her. It worked as advertised. She got back to her feet with only a slight stumble.

Cole rounded on her, his eyes flashing, but his words were for Sam and Coop. "Flank her."

They looked at Elias. Mouth set in a firm line, he nodded his assent.

Nikki mentally peed on those fuzzy feelings Michael had tried to push through about Elias. The traitor.

Nikki backed up slowly as Coop and Sam circled in opposite directions.
 

"You're outnumbered, slip," Cole rumbled. "What are you waiting for?"
 

Nikki knew how Sam fought—she'd worked with him too many times over the past week not to. He masked his attacks with feints and sudden direction changes and relied on speed and subtlety to get the job done. Coop, on the other hand, liked to charge in and go for broke with his attacks. His were easier to spot, if not stop. He favored power over finesse. Nikki sidestepped away from Sam toward Coop, counting on the fact that she'd see the taller man's attacks coming in time.

Nikki, don't—

Cole lunged low toward her.
 

She tried to hop back, but he was too fast. He caught her foot in one hand and slung her across the mat again. This time she landed hard and tumbled before she could push back to her feet.

Don't what?
she thought to Michael.

Don't forget about Cole,
Michael said, but not in the I-told-you-so way she deserved. Like Nikki, he wasn't happy about this situation. Their shared anger was compounding as it flowed back and forth between them in a swelling wave.

"Great advice," she said to Michael out loud. "Thanks."

"I don't tell you how to fight, slip. Nobody does," Cole rumbled, apparently thinking her words were for him. "That's your job. Do it.

"Flank her," he snapped at Sam and Coop again.

They complied without looking to Elias this time, but Sam didn't look happy about it.
 

"What are you waiting for, slip?" Cole barked as Nikki raised her guard and stepped back to keep all three of them in view. Cole was hanging back again, watching to see how she handled the other two, or maybe waiting for a chance to surprise her again. Either way, Nikki wasn't going to make the mistake of taking her eyes off him.

Sam struck first, moving in fast from the right.

Nikki saw the movement from the corner of her eye and reacted. This time she and Michael were in sync. He flashed up an image of a low, sweeping block, and she executed instantly, turning Sam's kick aside. She was proud of herself, right up until Coop's arm wrapped around her neck.
 

He forced her to her knees in a hold she couldn't budge. Her vision started going black as she struggled to break the hold. Then, suddenly, she was free. Yanked free, that is, and lifted up in the air by the front of her vest. Her vision cleared with a cold, tingly rush, and she looked down into Cole's disapproving eyes.