Chapter 36

Whenever Marcus started wrapping his hands with boxing tape, it was a sure sign that he was about to take off his shirt and work up a sweat in front of the punching bag in his bedroom. After every session, he would stand by the window and unwrap the tape with practiced ease.

It was a casual motion that Caleb couldn't take his eyes off of.

What he used to see only through binoculars was now happening right before his eyes—an ordinary action that somehow felt more thrilling than a striptease.

"Do you want to learn, Officer Johnson?" Marcus asked, noticing Caleb's dazed expression.

"What?" Caleb snapped out of his trance. "No."

"I can teach you."

Without waiting for a response, Marcus reached between Caleb's parted legs with his left hand, grabbing the edge of the rolling chair and pulling him forward without any warning. The sudden acceleration caused Caleb to lean back, and when the chair came to an abrupt halt, he lurched forward from the momentum, nearly bumping his nose against