Chapter Thirty

CHAPTER THIRTY

Lucas stops in his tracks and watches them and I hear a warning rumble leave his throat. The soldiers stop at a distance. One of them is Ted.

“Uh, listen, man, a bunch of us were wondering if you want to help train the new recruits,” Ted scratches the back of his head.

“I’m busy,” Lucas says, abruptly, and I kick him in the shin, making him growl at me.

“He’ll do it,” I get to my feet, exhausted. “As long as you're not kicking my ass, I’ll happily sign you up for anything at this point.”

A few of the soldiers grin at my comment and one of them throws in, “He wiped the floor with your ass.”

“Like you can do any better,” I retort, without thinking.

The soldier, Mathew shrugs, “I can take Lucas. Want to bet on it?”

This is the camaraderie that I was missing ever since I was kicked out. My chest throbs almost painfully is difficult to maintain my smile, "Sure. Why don't you kick his ass first, Lucas?”

“If you say so,” Lucas shrugs, unbothered.