A shiver of concern worked through Lia. “Then what?”
“They’ve decided to go old school barbarian and settle a dispute with their fists.”
“What?” Lia demanded. “Who? And what for?” None of that made any sense.
“Cam and Travis. And you are the what for.”
Zach came back carrying two plates with giant slices of blueberry pie.
Lia completely forgot that she was supposed to be afraid of him. “What do you know about this? Where are they fighting? Why are they fighting?”
Zach set the plates on the table. “You should probably just eat your pie, and pretend this little troublemaker didn’t say a damn word.” He looked hard at Ro. “You said you’d stay out of it, Ro. And just because you’re pregnant doesn’t mean I won’t find a creative way to make you pay for not keeping your word.”
“She deserves to know. This affects her more than anyone else.” Ro’s chin jutted playfully. “And maybe I want you to make me pay…”
“Jesus, babe. You’re determined to get us to—” Zach cut off his words with a shake of his head. “I’ll deal with you later.” He looked to Lia. “You need to stay put. There’s nothing to be gained by seeing this.”
Lia shoved her chair back from the table, ignoring the mouthwatering aroma of the pie. “I’m not letting this happen. No one is fighting over me.” A sick feeling settled in the pit of Lia’s stomach at the thought of Cam and Travis fighting … over her. Everything she wanted—the fantasy she’d constructed in her mind—crumbled to dust at the realization that they didn’t want it too. This is not how things are supposed to go.
Ro reached out and snagged her hand and squeezed. “Don’t freak out yet. If this is what it takes to get Cam off his ass and make a move, then it’s a good thing.”
Lia ignored her words. “Where are they?”
Zach slid his hand over Ro’s mouth as she opened it. “You’ve meddled enough, babe. Leave it be.”
“Fine. I’ll find them myself.” Lia spun and headed for the door. She made it two steps before she turned and grabbed the plate and took three huge bites of the pie. It was the last of Allison’s canned stash; it made no sense to let it go to waste.
Once she was in the main area of the compound, she spotted Erica rushing toward the wall. She slowed to a halt at the sight of Lia.
“You coming or what?”
Lia didn’t need an explanation. “Oh, I’m freaking coming.”
Travis circled the man he considered to be his closest friend. But the last several months had put a shit load of distance between them. Wanting the girl your best buddy had staked his claim on threw a wrench in the easy friendship they’d always had. He’d still take a bullet for Cam, but he wasn’t willing to let him keep sitting on the fence when it came to Lia. Travis had watched her slowly come out of her shell, and it had been so damn good to watch. Yeah, she still jumped around the other guys, but the way she was around him and Cam was completely different. Cam just needed a shove to get his head out of his ass. Regardless of the outcome of this fight, Travis wasn’t giving up his shot at Lia. No … he had a different plan in mind.
As Graham laid out the rules of the match, Travis smiled. Graham and Zach had shown him that their crazy arrangement could work. And Cam was his best friend … so why the fuck not? He’d seen the way Lia looked at them both … and the way she’d looked with longing at Ro, Graham, and Zach. He was willing to bet it all she wouldn’t be the difficult one to convince in this situation. No, that honor would undoubtedly go to Cam, the possessive motherfucker.
They bumped knuckles, and Travis had to laugh at the fact that Jamie had had two pairs of MMA gloves in his sea bag. He also looked fucking jealous that he wasn’t standing in the middle of their makeshift ring out in the field beyond the walls but within their fence line. Apparently they needed to add fight night to the list of entertainment activities. The guys on watch were expecting radio updates, so Jamie took the roll of commentator.
“You ready?” Graham looked from Travis to Cam.
Travis nodded. “Fuck yeah, I’m ready.”
“Ready to get your ass beat,” Cam growled.
They bumped gloves and stepped back.
Graham signaled for them to start and backed out of the ring.
Travis bounced on his feet, and they began to circle each other. He didn’t waste any time charging Cam, right fist swinging out with a haymaker. Might as well set the pace early.
Cam dodged and threw a low jab that caught Travis in the gut. But he barely felt it with his pumping adrenaline.
“That all you got?” he taunted.
“Fuck you, man.” Cam’s fist flashed, and Travis was still laughing when it landed on his jaw. His head snapped sideways, and he caught a glimpse of brown hair running toward them.
“Fuck,” he grunted.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Stop!” Lia yelled.