The next evening, Ian met up with Hector in the gym for a sparring session. He hadn’t trained with Hector in a while. And the other man countered his moves expertly, forcing Ian to think quicker, move faster. Soon, both were panting and out of breath. Finally, they took a time out, retreating to opposite corners of the mat to cool off.
“Will you need us?” Hector asked, out of the blue.
Ian glanced up, forehead wrinkled. “What was that?”
Hector trotted over to join him. “Brookes. Will you need us?”
Ian shrugged, surprised by the question. Hector and Kalifa asked little of him. A request such as this was unusual.
“No, it doesn’t appear so. Why?”
Ian caught a flicker of worry in Hector’s dark eyes. “Kalifa could use the rest.”
Immediately, Ian wanted to ask why but reconsidered. As clo
