Bennett marched into the great room. Gus and Cathleen were sitting on one sofa reading some magazines while Finn, Fallon, and Kenna relaxed on others, playing on their phones. “Cath, where are the boys?”

Cathleen looked up from her magazine. “Aiden is upstairs taking a nap, and Liam is with him. He’s playing on his tablet. Why?”

“Because we need the room,” Bennett said, shoving one sofa out of the way with her foot. “Just stand off to the side. This won’t take long.”

Everyone exchanged confused looks, and getting to their feet, they did as Bennett asked. Lisa came into the room a moment later, followed by Angelique, Ruby, Max, and his sentries, and their expressions matched those of Gus and the others.

“Bennett, what’s this all about?” Max said. “Daylight is burning.”

“Well, it can burn for a little while longer.” Bennett snatched two rapiers from Max’s collection on the wall, and spinning around, Bennett tossed one to Lisa. There was a collective gasp as the saber flew across the room, and as quickly as they’d inhaled, everyone exhaled when Lisa caught the weapon effortlessly.

Lisa studied the rapier for a moment. Her training had covered all types of swords, and while the rapier was one of the lightest, it was even lighter now. Lisa looked over at Bennett. “Okay. Um…thanks for the sword, but I’m not sure a rapier is the best choice for tonight.”

“It’s not for tonight. It’s for right now,” Bennett said, raising the rapier she held. “You knock this out of my hand, and you go with us tonight. I knock that one out of yours, and you stay here.”

“You…um…you want us to fight?”

“Yes.”

“I could hurt you.”

Bennett snorted. “Doubtful, but if you’re as skilled as you believe you are, then you should be able to disarm me without so much as causing a scratch.”

Lisa was head over heels in love with Bennett. That didn’t mean, however, she was immune to being annoyed, and Bennett’s hubris was annoying the hell out of her. Usually, the woman’s swagger warmed Lisa’s heart. After all, having lived for over four hundred years, Bennett had a right to be confident. Still, there’s a very thin line between being confident and cocky, and right now, Bennett was way past cocky. She was assuming she’d win easily based on her own skill, dismissing any possibility Lisa could have skills of her own. Big mistake.

Lisa took off her glasses and handed them to Max. “Could you hold those for me?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks.” Lisa turned back to Bennett as she adjusted the sword in her hand. “All right, honey,” she said, moving a step closer to Bennett. “Then bring it on.”