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won’t spar with me, let’s go for a run.” Trevor glanced over his shoulder. “Shakes is going to wonder why we’re standing around.”
    His offer seemed to change the kid’s mind. “Maybe some fresh air would do you good,” Domenic said.
    Both men pulled off their gloves and proceeded to the door. As they exited the gym, Shakes caught up with them.
    â€œWhere are you two off to?” The old man glanced at his watch.
    â€œRunning. We decided to start things off with regular cardio and shake up the routine.” Trevor said. “It’s a nice day, and we wanted to get our running in before the weather turned too hot.”
    Not bad for an excuse on the fly.
    â€œYeah, I heard it might even rain,” Domenic chimed in. He even managed to make his words sound authentic.
    With a wave of his hand, Shakes let them go. Once outside, the warm Nevada air struck Trevor in the face, and his nausea resurfaced. Instead of running, he walked down the street. At least this way, if he vomited, no one at Stamina would know besides Domenic.
    He focused on his breathing, trying his hardest to even his breaths when an acidic knot barreled up his throat. Oh god. Like it or not, his stomach started to cramp. Trevor grabbed on to the nearest tree and vomited.
    â€œIt’s okay. It’s going to be okay,” Domenic said from somewhere behind him.
    He threw up again, and the shit was fucking disgusting. Not to mention embarrassing as hell. Once he stopped dry heaving, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Sorry about that.”
    â€œDude.” Domenic’s hand clapped down on Trevor’s shoulder. “You should really see a doctor.”
    â€œI saw one. There’s nothing she can do.” He wasn’t about to go into the details of his conversation with Chelsea. There was no way he was going to tell Domenic that she’d urged him to quit.
    â€œMaybe we should tell Daniella that you’re not feeling it today. You should go home and get some rest,” Domenic said
    â€œI appreciate your concern.” Trevor started walking with Domenic in tow, escaping the foul odor lingering in the air. Walking back toward Stamina his stomach calmed down. Puking wasn’t pretty, but maybe vomiting was what his body needed. “It’s nothing. Breakfast didn’t sit right. That’s all.”
    â€œI still think we should . . .”
    Trevor raised his hand, stopping his sparring partner mid-sentence. “I thought you were here to help me. I mean, isn’t that what a good sparring partner does?”
    Domenic averted his eyes to the ground. “I
am
trying to help you.”
    Trevor gave a shake of his head. “No, you’re not. If you really wanted to help me, I mean really wanted to see me succeed, you won’t bring this up again. I got sick. It’s over. That’s it. Now, if you really want to be one of us at Stamina you learn that loyalty lies with sticking by your brothers, no matter what. You got that?”
    He nodded.
    â€œGood.” Trevor’s pace sped up as he headed back toward the gym. “And I’m trusting you to keep your mouth shut about what happened, right?”
    Domenic bowed his head low like a child being scolded. “Yeah,” he said in a sheepish tone, “Your secret’s safe with me.”

Chapter Eleven
    Two days passed and Trevor kept the nausea at bay. He hadn’t vomited since the episode by the tree, and since he’d been able to keep his shit under control, Domenic’s concern for him had also cooled. His life was slowly getting back to his new normal. If he trained too hard, skipped a meal, or didn’t get a full eight hours of sleep, more issues arose during the day, like headaches, blurred vision, nausea, or finding himself off balance when he walked.
    It was hard not to get cynical, because even on the days he felt better, other things started to