Seven of Spades2: Trick Roller

Dominique moves around the mat, staring at Levi a few feet away.Fortunately, Levy always has a well-equipped sports bag in the trunk of his car—he told Dominic that it is ready to do more Krav Krav training at any time, and he may be free at any time.After paying the non-member fee for the gym, he changed into a pair of loose sweatpants, a T-shirt with the logo of the Krav Krav training class, and free kickboxing gloves.At this moment, he was standing opposite Dominic, with his palms outstretched in a fighting posture—the same posture Dominic had seen him use when Levi singled out three gangsters in April.

Apart from gloves, they have no protective equipment on them, not even crotch pads, so it is unlikely that they will give it their all.Dominic is still looking forward to it.He had been imagining today's scene in his mind since he first saw Levi's amazing skill.

"You really won't regret it?" He taunted, jumped on tiptoe a few times, and then raised his hand in front of him. "I don't want to call in sick the best detective in the Vegas Police Department."

"Let the horses come here," Levi said.

Dominique feinted a few times when he punched, waiting to see Levi's reaction speed, but Levi didn't step forward, but just looked at him disapprovingly.When Dominique finally landed a real straight left, Levi parried it with his left forearm.Dominic immediately made up a straight right punch, but in this instant, Levi raised his elbow to block, stretched his arm with force, and made a smooth arc with his left fist, taking advantage of the opportunity to face Dominic. Hit away.Dominic parried several slaps that followed, but couldn't avoid Levi's barefoot kick in the stomach.

Levi withdrew and took a few steps back. "If this was true, I would have kicked your ass off a long time ago."

"If this was true, I would have beaten you to the ground." Dominic raised his eyebrows as he spoke.

"You can really blow." Levi said with a smile.

The next confrontation will be longer immediately.They came and went with each other several times, and both of them were able to block or avoid most of each other's punches. Although several punches barely passed each other's body, even if they tried their best, this kind of punch would not be too big. harm.

Then, while they're getting closer, Dominick throws a right uppercut.Levi quickly raised his left arm, cocked like a goalpost, to block, and countered with an uppercut—but Dominique, who had expected the move, dodged the attack, his fist firmly on Levi's. under the ribcage.

Levi gasped, barely adjusted the direction of his punch, and then kicked Dominic hard in the chest, causing him to stagger back several steps.They didn't move forward, but each adjusted their breathing, but they kept moving.

"You really like to kick people," Dominique said.

"The feet are the most powerful weapon of the human body." Levi raised an eyebrow contemptuously. "This is also the biggest problem with Western boxing—you've left half of your body aside."

They regrouped, and this time, Dominic was more aware of the difference in fighting styles between the two sides.This is not only a difference in form and function, but also a difference in the psychological characteristics it reflects.For example, while Dominic dabbled in a variety of martial arts in the military before, these trainings were deeply rooted in traditional boxing and wrestling.He never kicked, partly because he had never been trained to do so.

But in any matchup, Dominique is the biggest and strongest side, and he's used to it.He has a lot of capital, and he can defend without using his legs. For him, only the strength of his upper body is enough.Levi didn't have that advantage, so he made up for it by kicking frequently and keeping his opponent out of range.

There is another difference: Levy often uses a defensive move, followed by a series of extremely fast and ruthless counterattacks, and then retreats.But Dominique prefers not to evade, to stick to his place.When the two were in physical contact, Dominique's blows were more powerful, but Levi used moves he was not used to dealing with - Levi would attack with elbows and palms, and Dominic found it difficult to effectively counter these. Tricks.

In general, they are evenly matched, at least in a training environment where both movements are limited.After 10 minutes of intense competition, the two were already blushing and out of breath.They've all hit each other beautifully, but neither really has the upper hand.

Strength alone won't give Dominique the advantage he needs.He should change tactics.

There is almost no grappling or ground fighting element in Krav Maga training, and Levy is not good at ground fighting because he doesn't do much cross-training.Dominique was different. Throughout high school, he was a famous wrestler in the state list, and he never stopped training after graduation.

He waits until the next hand, he feints a straight left, then bends and punches Levi in ​​the midsection—his head pressed against Levi's chest so Levi doesn't decapitate him .Levi screamed and slashed Dominic's shoulders with both arms.Dominic felt the strength of the other party. If Dominic was smaller, he would have been blocked in minutes.He slammed it hard, broke through Levi's defense with overwhelming brute force, then grabbed Levi's back thigh, lifted him up, let him land backward, and fell to the mat after him.

They fought on the ground.Levy resisted resolutely, twisting his body like an eel, constantly changing the angle of his punches, and exerting pressure.In an actual combat situation, he should have a better way to win.He can attack Dominic in the crotch or eyes, pick up weapons anywhere, and even bite.Dominique could really feel Levi resisting his instinct to do so.

In the end, environmental factors and Dominique's rich ground combat experience declared his victory.He finally locks Levi from the back, one hand across his chest like a car seat belt, and the other firmly on Levi's raised hand to cover his throat.He wrapped his legs around Levi's crotch, but he knew very well that he should not hook his feet in this position, so that the ankle would be easily broken.

Levi froze suddenly.

If there's one thing Dominic knows about Levi, it's that he never gives in in a fight.Dominique was wary of Levy's next counterattack, and did not dare to let go.

Levy undulated under Dominic's grip, slowly rubbing Dominic's genitals with his buttocks.Dominic's breath was stagnant, and he gasped heavily.At first, he thought Levi was writhing like this to get away, but he was writhing so softly and rhythmically that it could only be on purpose.

"That's—that's cheating!" Dominique said.His cock came alive under the sliding of those two plump and firm muscles.

"Is there no cheating in Krav Maga?" Levi slowly turned his hips and gave Dominic a side-to-side body dance. "This is not competitive sports. This is a life-and-death contest. I will use whatever weapon I have."

Dominic closed his eyes involuntarily, his eyelids trembling slightly. "This is true, isn't your little butt a weapon." He growled in Levi's ear.

Levi smiled softly and lowly, and there it was: Levi's elbows and knees went into a whirlwind as soon as Dominique dropped his guard.Before Dominic could even react to what happened, he found himself lying on his back, his hands were grabbed by Levi's one and tied to his chest.Levi straddled his crotch and struck him in the face with the other hand, but stopped before hitting him, and only lightly tapped his nose.

Dominic looked up at him, fascinated by his flushed face and bright eyes, a sense of absurd pleasure rose in his heart. "you win."

"I'm nasty. It's really nasty." Levi sat back and focused more on Dominic's stiff body.

"Krav Maga does not distinguish between high and low, didn't you say that?" Dominique pulled off his boxing gloves, threw them aside, and said again: "Besides, I did the same. I know you can't do it in ground combat, so I use it this point."

"Well." Levi stroked Dominic's chest with his gloved hand, bit his lip, and looked at Dominic's body. "You can still convince me to fight again, but the situation will be slightly different."

"What's the difference?" Dominic put his hand on Levi's thigh.

Levi leaned down and murmured, "Friday night, if you catch me again, I won't escape."

Dominic groans, pulls Levi over for a kiss, and runs his fingers through his sweaty curls.Levi returned his enthusiasm, he straightened his body, and rubbed against Dominic——

A light cough sounded beside the two of them.Levi straightened up suddenly, Dominic turned his head and saw a small group of people gathered by the mat, even Rolando came.Some of the group of people stared wide-eyed in shock, while others smirked narrowly.

Levi blushed even more, and he jumped up.Dominique was much slower to get up, because he knew very well that his basketball shorts were half-filled with a tent, but he didn't care much.

"I'm sorry, brother," he said to Rolando, "I'm getting carried away."

"It's okay, you two," Rolando blinked, "Just don't bring in inappropriate content for children in the future, okay?"

The spectators had dispersed, leaving Dominic and Levi with some private space.Dominic looked at Levi, and was relieved to see that this embarrassing episode did not ruin his good mood.

"I can't believe that just happened." Levi winced, then looked up at Dominic through his eyelashes.On someone else, the gesture would suggest deliberate provocation, but on Levi, it's completely unconscious. "Sometimes you make me forget where I am."

Dominic grinned, relaxed and happy, all the earlier stress gone.He takes Levi's hand and pulls him closer.

"Are you free to take a shower?" he asked.

***

In addition to the Hensley murder, Levi and Martin had a bunch of murders to deal with.Working late that day, they had dinner together at La Comida, a specialty Mexican restaurant in the heart of the city with a rustic décor and more tequila behind the bar than there were tables .

"Tomorrow morning, Hensley's text messages and email records will be available for viewing." They just sat down to drink when Levi spoke. "I've made a plan to talk to Dr. Kapoor during the intermission between seminars—"

"Please, don't talk about work tonight," Martin said.She took a sip of the passion fruit margarita and sighed contentedly.

Levi looked carefully at Martin's face. "Okay..." Martin actually likes to talk about work-this is one of the many things they have in common.If she didn't want to talk about the case, there was something else she wanted to talk about--one he probably wouldn't like.

"You and Dominic seem to be in a serious relationship," she said.

bingo.

Tequila isn't to Levi's taste, so he orders a glass of white wine.He raised his glass now, but didn't drink. "Come on, we've only been dating for a few months. Technically, it's not even a definite relationship, at least not one-on-one."

"You spent the night with him last night, but you didn't have sex. That's a big problem."

Someday he'd learn not to be surprised that Martin knew him so well. "It's not..." He stopped in the middle of the sentence.Martin doesn't know that Dominic suffers from compulsive gambling addiction, and he can't explain that last night was the one that the other party had to accompany, and it wasn't the warm and romantic hug night she imagined. "It's not what you think."

"No?" She squeezed the juice from a lemon slice into the margarita, set the lemon slice aside, and wiped her finger with a paper towel. "Just out of curiosity, how long did it take you and Stanton to get to the 'sleep over the night' phase?

He put down the wine without taking a sip, and stretched out his hand for the boiled water instead. "Six months, I guess."

In fact, he didn't remember exactly, but he was sure it was at least that long.He loved Stanton--really loved--but Stanton had to coax him to go.First understand each other, then trust, and then love, they gradually established a relationship step by step.As for Levy, he tried his best to let go of his guard and let Stanton walk in.

It's totally different with Dominic.It's more like jumping from a waterfall to a height, enjoying every moment of free fall.

Martin tilted her head across the table. "It ended with Stanton in this way, you don't feel guilty now, do you?"

"I...yeah, kind of. I'm out of love with Stanton, long before I started with Dominic, we're going to break up anyway, but..." His words faded away as The waiter came over with the dishes, Levi thanked her, and waited for her to leave before continuing: "I just hope that these two relationships can be separated as much as possible."

Martin hummed, expressing his understanding.That breakup was a complete nightmare, and Martin supported him through it.He and Stanton had lived together for two years, and their lives had become too intertwined to untangle, and Stanton had always refused to accept the whole breakup, begging him to reconsider.Add in the fact that Stanton was a public figure—the Barclays controlled the multi-billion-dollar hotel business—and the whole process was torture from start to finish.

The two calmed down and enjoyed a few mouthfuls of dishes.Martin had the smoked pork shoulder and Levy had the sea bass sizzling—very tasty, as always the food here.

"I know what you mean," Martin went on, "but you can't plan things like this. Life changes all the time. You haven't done anything wrong."

"I kissed Dominic before I broke up with Stanton," he reminded.

"Okay, so there's one thing you've done wrong. But let's be honest, Levi, everything couldn't be better. You know I like Stanton, but you and Dominic just hit it off. You two have so much in common."

"I agree, but I'm still troubled. And," seeing Martin open his mouth, he emphasized, "it's not your turn to say anything about this. You've lived for so long, but you've never experienced a breakup."

Martyn's love affair is nothing short of a fairy tale. She and her husband, Antoine, were childhood sweethearts and grew up together in Flatbush, a block away from the two families.They started dating in junior high school and got married while they were in college.Of course, there have been lows in the relationship, but they've never been apart, not even a little goodbye.

"I understand," she said as she swallowed a mouthful of food, "Aren't we just #花式秀恩爱#."

Levi was drinking wine, and burst into laughter when he heard this, but the wine got a little into his nasal cavity.He coughed, grabbed a tissue and wiped his mouth. "Did you hear that word from Michaela?"

"It's Simon." Her smile faded. "Mikaela isn't even talking to me or her dad right now."

"Is it still difficult to communicate?"

"Things..." Martin poked at the meat with a fork, "it's terrible. I don't need to try to downplay it. The thing is, I'm not even angry. It's not like I don't remember what it was like when I was a teenager - self-identification one a day So, her head is a mess like a runaway horse, and she sees everything as a matter of life and death. I just have to tell myself from time to time: she will change, and after this period, she will become that sensible and empathetic person again people."

"You should have asked me to take her and Simon to practice krav ravage," Levi said, and the two argued over the subject many times. "There's nothing like breaking a heavy beanbag to help teens vent their emotions. Plus, it helps them protect themselves."

He remembered what he had promised Adriana before, and secretly made a note to ask Natasha about her status tomorrow.

"I would like to, but they don't have time. Homework, training, clubs, the schedule is full. It's crazy for kids these days to do so much to get into a good university. When I was studying, as long as the grades were good, Do well on the SATs and have some extracurricular experience. Now they literally expect all the kids to be child prodigies...”

She opened up and complained about the subject, and Levi was happy to be a listener.He preferred to talk about Martin's than about his own life.

After dinner, they parted tiredly and contentedly.It's not a long drive home from here. A few minutes after Levi drove on the road, his cell phone rang.The phone automatically paired with the car's Bluetooth, so all he had to do was press a button on the dashboard and say, "Hi, Mom."

"Levy, I'm mom."

He rolled his eyes tenderly. "Is there a problem?"

"Aren't you still off work?" Nancy asked.

"Off work. I just finished eating with Martin and I'm on my way home now."

"Oh, Martin is such a sweetheart. When you mentioned it, I thought I'd email her a recipe for a slow cooker chicken casserole I found online. As for you," Nancy said in a sip. The gentle North Jersey tone suddenly became cold and hard, which made Levi shrink back instinctively, "Explain to me why Lori Schneider told me that you have not responded to Matthew's invitation to the Barbara [1]."

Depend on. "Uh..." Levi racked his brains for excuses, but lying to his mother was never his strong suit, "Did I forget?"

"You forgot," she said coldly, "it was due three days ago. Is that what your dad and I taught you?"

"I'm sorry. I'll call Mrs. Schneider as soon as I get up in the morning. But I can't make it anyway."

"Why can't you go?"

"I've got to work, Mom," he said, "and I'm not going to fly across America to see a kid I barely know stumbles on Haftarah[2] verses."

"you--"

There was a little squabbling on the other end, and then his father said, "Hi, Levi, I'm Dad."

"Hi--"

"I told your mother that you can't come. You have important work to do, and it's impossible for you to fly over every time someone else's house holds an event."

"Lori Schneider is my best friend!" Nancy said angrily, her voice so loud that every word seemed to be speaking into a microphone.

"When did you become good friends again?" Saul said. "Besides, her child has now grown into a brat that even a dog would hate."

"Okay, you—"

While listening to their intimate bickering, Levi drove into the garage under the apartment building.Such arguing sounds have a unique ironing feeling-like an old sweater.

When Nancy snatched the phone back from Saul, she said, "I was wondering if you could just take a vacation and go home to see. When was the last time you came back?"

He parked the car in his space, turned off the ignition, and the bluetooth connection was lost.He picked up his phone and said, "I still can't."

Mother didn't answer right away because she knew why Levi hated going back to New Jersey.This brings back memories that the family is desperately trying to forget.Also, he didn't want to be with his sister; while Abby never explicitly said he had brought the attack on herself, she strongly hinted at it for months after it happened.This caused irreparable damage to their sibling relationship.

"You can come over with Dad," he said, a little guilty.He really misses them. "I mean, wait until the festivals are over. How about the High Holy Day?"

"That's great." She sounded excited. "That way we can still meet that young fellow you're dating. I bet he's the one who keeps you so absent-minded."

"My God." Levy said, why didn't he expect this invitation to have such consequences?

"Okay, I'll hang up first - know you're tired. We love you, bubbeleh. Stay safe."

"Love you too." Levi hung up the phone, stuffed the phone into his pocket, and grabbed his backpack.

In the apartment, he washes off the stress of the day before changing into home pants and a T-shirt.He didn't get much sleep last night, he's very tired now, and he knows it's going to be another long day tomorrow.But he still didn't go to bed, and found himself walking involuntarily to the dining room, to the closet where Seven of Spades' work materials were secretly kept.

He opened the double doors, remembering the moment when he saw Dominic standing here with horror on his face, his stomach churned.In that moment, Levi saw himself in his eyes—morbidly obsessed with serial killers who were presumed dead—and cringed at the very image of himself.He was pretty sure Dominique would be disgusted by then; he was frozen inside and out, ready to deny Dominique outright if it had to.

But Dominic only gave him understanding and support.He expressed concern, yes, but also offered help.Levi can abandon this kindness like a shoestring, stay up half the night, and satisfy his morbid hobby; or, he can accept this kindness, treat himself better, and sleep well all night.

"Not tonight, Satan," Levi said to the closet.He closed the double doors, shutting the bloody pictures and scrawled notes inside.

[1] ?barmitzvah refers to the coming-of-age ceremony for Jewish boys. In Judaism, men become adults at the age of 13. After they become adults, they need to take responsibility and fulfill their religious obligations.The girl's coming-of-age ceremony is called batmitzvah.

[2] ?haftarah, in the Jewish tradition, refers to the scriptures in the prophetic book that are used to recite on the Sabbath, festivals or religious holidays.

[3] High Holy Days, HighHolyDays, is an important festival for Judaism.In a narrow sense, it refers to the Jewish New Year (RoshHashanah, which is dated the first day of Tishri month in July of the Jewish calendar) and Yom Kippur (yomkippur, the tenth day of Tishri month).The festival falls around September and October in the Gregorian calendar.