Hell Bent by Becky McGraw

caught it with a bark of laughter before it hit him in the face. 
    Because of Cecelia Logan, Cade was losing his damned mind, regressing at least ten years.  He needed to hop into his big, badass pickup and haul ass out of here, that’s what he needed to do. But he was going to school this man, in front of his girlfriend, before he did that. 
    And too bad for him there weren’t any refs to call fouls.
    “Ready when you are, Flipper,” Cade growled, as the SEAL took his place at the sideline.  Bending at the waist, he stretched out his arms to balance his body then watched the man’s movements, which would telegraph his intentions.
    “Watch your nuts, Secret Squirrel,” the SEAL grumbled back under his breath with a cocky grin, as he slapped the ball and leaned over. 

 
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
    Secret Squirrel huh?   So the SEAL recognized that Cade was an operative—not an operator now.  Interesting.  What was more interesting was the trap he executed to breeze past Cade at the line and head straight for the goal.  Cade caught up and blocked him, but not before he put the ball up in a perfect layup and it exited the bottom of the net to bounce off of his head.
    The SEAL nudged him with an elbow.  “You might want to up your cardio a notch or two, or maybe get a tank of oxygen—you’re breathing awfully hard,” he said, low enough that only Cade heard.  When he added a wink, before he ran to get the ball which had rolled out into the yard, anger surged through Cade and he bit back a growl.
    Game on, Squid . 
    Cade caught the ball he threw back to him from the sideline…just as hard as he’d thrown it to him a minute ago.  So, that’s how this game would be played.  Walking out of bounds, the SEAL set up in front of him, and Cade noticed his shoes for the first time.  Those clunky motorcycle boots had to be like moving in cement shoes.  A smile stretched Cade’s face as their eyes met.  And you’re not watching me, are you, Frogboy?
    Moving inbounds, Cade feinted left and the man followed him.  When he was ready to make his move to the goal, he put his foot on the toe of the man’s left boot and put his shoulder into him.  The SEAL cursed as he fell hard on his ass, and Cade laughed as he sauntered to the goal to make a perfect layup.
    When Cade turned around, two sets of eyes threw daggers at him.  The other guys lining the court wore smug smiles, their arms crossed over their chests as they watched the show.  Hawk, Jaxson and Levi were enjoying this as much as he was evidently.  He bounce-passed the ball to the SEAL who was scowling at him from the sideline.
    “This ain’t high school, Skippy ,” Cade mumbled, and gave him an audacious wink as he took his position to guard him at the sideline. 
    That remark earned Cade a sharp jab to the jaw under the goal that rattled his teeth as Skippy powered up under the backboard to execute an impressive layup he didn’t anticipate.  They traded blows as the points continued to add up until they were tied at seven. 
    It was Cade’s turn to bring in the ball and before the Squid had time to set up to block him, he charged inbounds and sprinted toward the goal for a jump shot.  When he went up, the SEAL did too, in the perfect position for Cade’s elbow to connect hard with his nose drawing a loud grunt and first blood.  The SEAL staggered back from the goal and Cecelia glared at Cade as she ran onto the court with his white tank top in her hand to help him. 
    Take that pretty boy .  Not so badass now are you?   That shirt won’t help, Cade thought, with a nasty laugh.  That nose will need some packing, probably straightening too. Might want to get a tampon, Brat, since your boyfriend is such a pussy .  The bastard deserved what he got, because he’d certainly dished out enough hard blows of his own to Cade. 
    So why the fuck did he feel guilty all of a sudden standing there while Cecelia fought to stop the bleeding?  Why the hell did