“So what? She’s his daughter?”
“Yes,” Thomas said.
“And that means she can fight?”
Maya sighed.
Thomas did not answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at Maya.
“Are you really going to spar them?”
Maya considered the question.
“I wasn’t planning to.”
Ryan smiled.
“But now?”
Maya looked at him.
“Now I’m considering it.”
Thomas folded his arms.
“I trained with you.”
“I know.”
“For years.”
“I know.”
“You disappeared.”
“I had a life.”
“You were nineteen when you beat three of us at the state seminar.”
Maya looked annoyed.
“Thomas.”
“What?”
“Stop talking.”
Ryan’s smile vanished.
Derek slowly turned toward her.
Caleb’s eyes narrowed.
“You trained with Thomas?” Derek asked.
“Yes.”
“Before he owned this place?”
“Yes.”
Thomas shook his head.
“She was better than me.”
Maya closed her eyes.
“Thomas.”
“What? You were.”
Ryan looked at her again.
This time, he did not see the quiet woman with the cardboard box.
He saw a question.
And Ryan Cole hated unanswered questions.
Ninety Seconds
Thomas made his decision reluctantly.
“Technical rounds only.”
Ryan immediately stepped forward.
“Fine by me.”
Thomas pointed at him.
“You will not try to knock her out.”
Ryan laughed.
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“You will not try to prove anything.”
Ryan’s eyes moved toward Maya.
That instruction was already too late.
Thomas continued.
“Ninety seconds.”
“Stop when I say stop.”
“No cheap shots.”
“No excuses.”
Derek muttered, “That last one was for Ryan.”
Caleb nodded.
Ryan ignored both of them.
Maya stepped onto the mat barefoot.
The gray T-shirt hung loosely around her shoulders.
There was nothing theatrical about the way she moved.
No stretching routine.
No dramatic stance.
No audience acknowledgment.
She simply stood across from Ryan.
Ryan bounced lightly on his feet.
“You ready?”
“Yes.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
The timer beeped.
Ryan moved first.
A fast jab.
Maya shifted half a step.
The punch touched nothing.
Ryan threw another.
Then a low kick.
Maya checked it.
Ryan immediately tried a combination.
Jab.
Cross.
Hook.
Low kick.
Maya moved through all of it with almost no wasted motion.
The crowd grew quiet.
Ryan increased his speed.
He was good.
Very good.
His punches were sharp, his footwork clean.
But Maya was not retreating the way he expected.
She was reading him.
Thirty seconds passed.
Ryan stepped in aggressively.
Maya slipped outside his jab.
Tapped his lead shoulder.
Swept his supporting foot.
Ryan hit the mat.
Not hard.
Not dramatically.
But cleanly.
The room exploded with noise.
Ryan stood immediately.
“That was lucky.”
Maya said nothing.
The timer continued.
Ryan attacked again.
This time he threw a high kick.
Maya moved inside it.
Her palm touched his chest.
Her other hand caught his arm.
Ryan suddenly found himself off balance.
Maya stopped before completing the throw.
Ryan stumbled backward.
The buzzer sounded.
Ninety seconds.
Ryan stood breathing harder than he wanted anyone to notice.
Maya barely seemed winded.
Thomas looked at them.
“Technical round.”
Ryan wiped his mouth.
“Again.”
Thomas shook his head.
“Next.”
Ryan looked furious.
Maya stepped aside.
Derek moved onto the mat.
Unlike Ryan, he did not smile.
The Wrestler
Derek bowed his head slightly.
“I apologize for him.”
Maya smiled.
“You don’t need to.”
“I know.”
Derek rolled his shoulders.
“But I wanted to.”
That made her smile again.
The timer started.
Derek did not strike first.
He circled.
Maya circled with him.
He knew better than Ryan.
Speed and combinations were not going to surprise her.
So Derek changed levels.
His first shot was fast.
Maya sprawled.
Derek drove forward.
She angled away.
For several seconds, the two struggled for position.
Then Derek changed direction and caught one of her legs.
The room reacted.
Maya hopped backward.
Derek tried to finish the takedown.
Maya dropped her weight.
Turned.
And suddenly Derek was no longer attacking.
He was defending.
Maya had threaded an arm around his shoulder and controlled his balance.
Derek twisted free.