“Yes. I would like to see what you can do, though, don’t you?”

I thought for a moment. I had always admired the abilities of the Ryels, but having my own never occurred to me. My damsel in distress days could be over, and I liked that.

“Do I get a shot at you if I beat Claire?”

Jared shrugged. “Sure, but—”

“Then yes.”

Jared pretended to be offended. “That wasn’t very nice, honey. Not nice at all.”

I hooked my arm around his and nuzzled against him as we walked to the Escalade. “A little exploratory domestic violence doesn’t mean I love you any less.”

The Escalade jostled with the uneven ground of the trail that led to our oak tree. Bex and Claire would be careful not to land a direct hit to my stomach, but my motherly instincts were kicking in, and so were my nerves. I kept telling myself I had already done this: Bex and I had sparred many times, and I got the best of him several times. At the time I thought he was taking it down a thousand notches so that I knew I was improving, but now I knew differently.

Ryan, sporting a standard-issue police T-shirt and a PPD ball cap, took position across from me.

“Until I figure out what I can do,” I told him, “try very, very hard not to go anywhere near Bean.”

Ryan frowned. “For the record, I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience, and the rational me is screaming to kidnap you away from this craziness before you get hurt.”

“We’ll just start slow, and see what happens.”

Ryan winced. “I’m about to fight a pregnant woman. This is wrong on so many levels.”

“C’mon you weenies!” Claire yelled. “We haven’t got all day!”

“I’m not a weenie,” Ryan said under his breath.

“You are if you’re afraid of a girl!”

Ryan glanced at her with annoyance, and I smiled. “You’ll learn whispering doesn’t help.”

“Okay, let’s do this before my girlfriend thinks worse of me.”

“Still not your girlfriend!” Claire yelled.

I bit my lip. “Let’s try this,” I said, shoving Ryan. I used enough strength to push him a few feet away, but instead he flew back, twisted in the air, and then fell, rolling across the ground.

He looked up at me in surprise. “That’s cheating!”

“I barely touched you.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Ryan pushed himself to his feet, and then jogged back to me, a bit shaken. “I can’t let two girls kick my ass in one twelve-hour period.”

“Bring it,” I said, crouched and ready.