“Someone’s gotta stay loyal to the family,” he said mildly.
I wiped sweat from my face with my forearm to hide my rolling eyes. Ravaric, he was a dramatic mother fucker. “You’re not getting any gold stars for staying, you know. You could have left just as easily.”
Toru had been the one who’d told my dad about my growing friendship with Ivan, a burning need for praise from my dad that had driven him to betray me, his supposed friend.
For a long time, I’d thought about killing him in retaliation, but that desire had slowly morphed into apathy. My dad would have found out about my friendship with Ivan someday, and I couldn’t exactly be mad if Toru had wanted to gain something out of it, considering the world we lived in.
He smiled, thin and unpleasant. “Easy thing to say when all of your accomplishments were handed to you on a silver platter. I, however, worked for everything I have. I’m not throwing that away.”
A few heads turned our way, doing a poor job of pretending not to listen. Nosy fucks.
I picked up my water bottle, taking a slow drink. “What do you want, Toru?” I asked, not bothering to hide my annoyance.
He pushed off the rack and walked closer, eyes flicking briefly to the watching men. “Just surprised, is all. Ten years gone and you come back like nothing’s changed.”
“Everything’s changed,” I replied with a shrug. “For me, at least. Looks like you’re the one still hung up on the past.”
“Yeah?” His gaze dipped, then rose again. “Funny. Looks like you still think your shit don’t stink.”
I really didn’t miss this. The constant pissing matches, the need to establish hierarchies and pecking orders. Being my father’s son and the heir to the Oniguro family had kept me immune from some of this posturing. But for the highly ambitious types, it made me a bigger target.
The air tightened between us, and Toru gestured toward the ring. “Spar with me.”
I glanced around the gym, taking careful note of all the watching eyes. If I said no, the whispers would start before I finished my workout.
With a slow exhale, I weighed my chances of winning. Sure, I was a little out of practice. But all I had to do was imagine that he was one of my bounties, and that my soul was on the line. “Gloves.”
The ring ropes creaked as we climbed in. I bounced a little on my toes until someone rang the bell, eager for the match to start.
Toru came out fast, just like he always had.
A sharp jab caught me across the cheekbone, and then another clipped my shoulder. He moved like he’d been waiting for this moment for years, old grudges powering his attacks.
“You’re slower,” he remarked with a satisfied smile, ducking my counter.
I really was.
“That’s what happens when you get older,” I shot back, absorbing a hit to the ribs.
He laughed, breathless. “Not for me.”
For a while, he did have the upper hand. His footwork was clean and his timing precise. I blocked, dodged, and conserved as best as I could, but he’d obviously been practicing, and I considered for a moment if I should just let him have this one.
Because whether I won this fight or not, I was still going to be the boss. And if the guys here couldn’t respect me for one loss, I’d just get rid of them and hire new ones.
Grunts were a runic a dozen in a city-state like Ignareth.
Then he leaned in close during a clinch and whispered, “This really all you got? No wonder your mate traded you in for something better.”
Something inside me snapped clean in half.
I shoved him back, fire surging hot and violent through my veins. The next punch landed square across his jaw, snapping his head to the side. Jeers rippled through the gym.
Toru staggered, blinking. “Touchy,” he chuckled with a sniff, trying to play it off.
I didn’t answer, and went straight on the offensive, my anger relentless. Every strike was fueled by her name, her fear, and the promise I’d made in the steam of my shower.
I got him with a hook to the ribs that stole the air from his lungs, and he finally went down.
