father's leg, his small hands gripping the frayed

fabric of Darius's hoodie. Darius felt the young boy's

genuine fear, and a cold, intensely familiar calm

washed over him.

It was a feeling he hadn't allowed himself to

embrace since his discharge from the military.

"Look, guys," Darius said, his voice lowering an

octave, gaining a subtle, dangerous edge that the

twins were far too arrogant to notice. "We don't

want any trouble. We're just here to train quietly.

Let's just go our separate ways and leave it at that."

But the crowd had formed a tight semicircle around

them now. There was no backing down for the

twins.

ael fed off the audience's energy.

He stepped even closer, puffing out his broad chest.

"You don't want any trouble? That's too bad. In this

gym, you have to earn your right to step on the mat.

You don't just walk in here looking like a bum and

expect us to share our sacred space with you."

Thorne pointed a taped finger directly at Leo.

"And what are you going to teach the kid, anyway?

How to be a professional punching bag? If you can't

even stand up for yourself like a real man, you've got

no business pretending to be a role model for him."

That was the line. The absolute, uncrossable line.