"Do you know what this means?" Emma's voice was bright and bubbly. "If this takes off, I might never have to work as a waitress again. I can work from home and be here for Michelle. She'll never have to go to a babysitter's in the summer or after school."

I had to admit; at least, with my shitty job at the Greymore Hotel, I'd had a steady schedule. Getting called in for a double shift once in a while was nothing compared to all of the odd hours I'd seen Emma working over the past couple weeks. It'd be awful, even without a kid. I couldn't imagine doing it with one.

Emma turned towards me, her expression sobering. "You're a part of this, too, Hanna. If you hadn't been here helping me get these rooms together, none of this would've ever happened. I would have procrastinated and never got this business off the ground."

Heat crept up my cheeks. "This is the best reward I could ever get, seeing you and Michelle making your dream come true. That means everything to me. I'm glad I was here to help." My words were sincere, but the knot in my gut reminded me of how much more I owed them. Emma had done so much for me, without even knowing it, but I couldn't thank her for that, not without rousing suspicions.

Emma came over and wrapped her arms around me, surprising me. After a second, I returned the hug. It had been a long time since someone had hugged me like this. Emma was too young to be my mother, and my mother-well, hugging her was just too emotional to want to remember. But Grandma gave good hugs, although she'd been so sick lately that her hugs weren't the same as they had been when I was younger. This is what I imagined hugging an older sister must feel like.

"Oh, no." The unmistakable smell of something burning accompanied Emma's words. "Your eggs."

I took a step back and turned towards the stove, quickly switching off the heat and stirring the eggs in an attempt to keep the scorching to a minimum.

"It's okay," I said. "I'll eat them anyway. It makes no different to me."

"You sit down," Emma said firmly. "I'll get them for you."

"Emma," I started to protest.

"Let me practice being the hostess," she said.

I couldn't argue with that. I sat at the small kitchen table and Emma brought over a plate of slightly burnt eggs.

"Perfect," I joked. "Just the way I like them."

Emma grinned at me, and I again thought that this must be what it would've been like if I'd had a sister. The gentle teasing. Being there for each other. Then reality faded back in, making my stomach twist. If she had been my sister, I wouldn't be steeping her with lies.

I pushed my guilt aside as I scooped up a forkful of eggs, and said, "I'm going into town today. Do you need anything from the store?"

Emma's eyes brightened. "Yes, now that I'll be having real guests not that you're not real," she quickly assured me.

I smiled to show her that I wasn't taking offense. It wasn't easy since I was trying to swallow eggs that were not only burned, but over-salted. Maybe I should suggest I take over some of the cooking. There was no way I could be worse than she was.

"Let's see." She started ticking items off on her fingers. "I need more eggs, orange juice, butter and creamer for the coffee. You know, the fancy kind, one with flavoring, like vanilla..."

"Hold on." I laughed. "I'm never going to remember all of that."

"Oh, and bacon. I need bacon, too." Emma didn't appear to have heard me. She went over to her purse and pulled out several folded bills. She put them on the table in front of me. "Here." She tapped her finger on her chin, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I'll make a list."

I walked down the sidewalk toward the 'downtown' section of Summerville where I'd find the family-owned grocery store where Emma bought all of her food. It made sense to support the other small businesses in town. If one thrived, it would put back money into the community and everyone would succeed. It was just another way that Summerville was nothing like back home.

I passed by a group of kids playing a game in the street, running off to the sidewalk whenever a car slowly approached, giving them all time to get to safety. Other kids rode their bikes up and down the sidewalks, yelling to each other as they went. The yards were lush and green, carefully mowed, and most of the houses had flowers and bushes lining their fronts. I couldn't imagine growing up in a place like this.

My old neighborhood had been dreary and gray. Kids didn't play outside, and certainly never this freely. If you wanted to go outside, you convinced an adult to walk you over a mile to get to the closest safe park. Gangs claimed the sidewalks, mostly teenagers who were on the bottom rungs, while the higher-ups lounged on the stoops and in the various businesses that served as fronts for whatever illegal activities they did.

Yes, Summerville was fast becoming the kind of place where I'd want to live after I finished my degree and was ready to settle down. It would be a safer place to raise a family than a big city and that's what I wanted.

As I continued down the oak-lined main street, an image of Luke flashed in my mind. I was right about at the place we had kissed one night under one of those trees. I pushed it away. Who was I kidding? I wasn't even finished with school yet and Luke was hundreds of miles away. I didn't need to be fantasizing about anything in the distant future, no matter how appealing it was.

School. I sighed, my good mood dampening as I thought about what I'd left behind. I'd left school just before final exams. It was my last semester and all I had to do was show up and take the tests. My grades had been good enough that I could've even failed my finals and still managed to graduate. Well, I guess getting out of town to save my life was a little more important at the time. But now that I thought about it, it bothered me. I'd worked so hard and had just thrown it all away in one stupid, impulsive move.

"Stop whining and do something about it, then," my Hanna-self muttered, directing the comment to the more serious Dani side of me.

So I decided, when I got everything settled, I would do something and finish that last semester. Sure, it would suck having to take the classes over again, but the positive side of that was that I'd already know most of what we were covering, even if I had a different professor. I might not even have to re-take all of the classes, I realized. Some of my professors might be willing to give me a grade even without my final. It wouldn't be a good grade, but as long as I passed, I'd graduate. Grandma would be so proud. She'd always told me that with a college diploma, my future could be anything I wanted it to be.

This time, when the thought of Luke came into my head, I didn't try to ignore it. Before, when I'd thought about my future, a man had been at the fringes of those thoughts. I'd had my career at the forefront, wanting to be a success, help people, and make sure my grandma was taken care of. Now, though, I couldn't help but wonder if Luke would be a part of that future.

He couldn't be a fighter forever. That was the kind of career that was short-lived, based on being young and in good physical condition. And I wouldn't want him to keep doing it. I loved how strong he was and his amazing physique, but I wanted him safe more than anything else. With the money, I could open my own small practice as a marriage and family counselor, but that, plus paying off my student loans and paying for Grandma's treatments, even that much money wasn't going to last long. Luke would probably need to get a job, especially while I was establishing myself as a psychologist.

I wondered what kind of job he would want. Probably something that still held an element of danger. Maybe he wanted to be a trainer. Not the physical fitness kind, but one who taught fighters. Or maybe I was completely off base and he'd want to do something like be a hairdresser or a pastry chef. I snorted a laugh at that mental image, then sobered. The truth was, I realized, I didn't really know what he'd want to do. I realized we needed to be together, bonding with each other, not miles away without a word of communication.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how little I truly knew about the man I'd fallen so hard for. I knew he was a fighter and that he was good at it. I knew that he'd been wild as a teenager and had a daughter with some random ex. But everything else I knew was based on what I'd observed in the short time we'd had together, and I didn't know for certain how much of that was real.

I sighed as I entered the market. Maybe his being away was a good thing right now. I needed the time to sort out what was going on, and being around him made that impossible. But it didn't make me want him any less.

I pulled out Emma's list as I took a cart and started for the first aisle. I'd been in here once or twice since I'd arrived, but it had been just to dart in, ask where something was and go get it. I had no idea where most things on this list were. I'd just go up and down each aisle, I decided. It may take a bit longer, but it would also help me remember for next time.

"Fancy meeting you here."

My stomach dropped and my chest tightened as my heart began to pound.

"Where's that kung-fu boyfriend of yours?"

I swallowed hard to force down the bile that wanted to rise in my throat. I couldn't let him see the effect he had on me. Guys like him fed off of others' fear. I fixed my face into a hard mask and turned to face Brian.

"Stay away from me," I said firmly. "There's a restraining order that says you can't be within five hundred feet of me." When he didn't budge, I reached into my purse, praying that my hands wouldn't shake, and pulled out my phone. "There's a police car two minutes away from here. I make one call and they'll be here to haul your ass back to jail."

Brian laughed, a leering grin on his face, as he raked his eyes over my body. I resisted the urge to shudder with revulsion. I'd need to take a shower when I got back to Emma's.

"Call all you want," he said. "I'm allowed to go grocery shopping. A man can't live without eating, right? And the next closest one is all the way on the other side of town." He leaned against a display. "I'm not stalking you or in your...sorry, in Emma's house. This is public property."

My grip on my phone tightened. "You're not even supposed to talk to me."

He shrugged. "Too bad. I thought you might want to hear what I have to say."

What an asshole. This guy was always so arrogant, but I had to ask, "What are you talking about?" There was really only one thing I wanted to know from him. "By the way, how did you manage to post bail?"

The laugh he gave made my skin crawl.

"That's the whole reason I wanted to talk to you, sweetheart. Your boyfriend's boss paid my bail as a 'thank you' for the information I gave him." He scowled. "Of course, he also said that if I stiff him, I'd be dead, so I guess it's not really much of a thank you, but I'll take it. At least I'm not in jail."

My head was spinning and I was afraid I was either going to throw up or pass out, neither of which would be a good idea at the moment. Bruno had gotten Brian out of jail?

"There should be a law against that, you know. Locking up a dad just because he wanted to spend time with his daughter."

A flare of anger cut through what I was feeling and gave me strength. "You kidnapped Michelle, and you tried to kill me and Luke, you bastard."

He shrugged, a glint I didn't like in his eye. "It was none of your damn business what I was doing up there in that cabin. I was just taking her on a camping trip and you two crazies came bursting in through the window. For all I knew, you were the ones trying to kidnap Michelle. I was just protecting my daughter. Did you ever think of that?" He leered at me, taunting me with a nasty, sneering grin.

I was fuming. "Save that lie for the courtroom, because you and I know that's not what happened. You're an abusive asshole and we both know it." It was a struggle to keep from yelling. "I'm calling the cops right now, so if I were you, I'd get the hell out of here."

"So you don't want to hear what Bruno said he's going to do to your boyfriend?"

My finger was over the "one," but I didn't press down. "When did you talk to Bruno?" I asked carefully. I didn't want to give anything away.

"He posted my bail, duh. That's when I talked to him."

My free hand curled into a fist and my nails dug into my palm.

"He said Luke agreed to do another fight for him...thank you very much ...and now he can settle the score with your boy."

God, this guy was such an incredible asshole. He knew exactly how to push my buttons. "What do you mean, settle the score?"

"This fight, it's gonna be Luke's last."

I had to put out a hand to steady myself. "I don't believe you."

"It's the truth, sweetheart. Win or lose, doesn't matter. Luke's not getting out of that ring alive. Your boy double-crossed Bruno, and no one does that and lives." Brian stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Bruno set a trap for Luke and dumb-ass walked right into it."

"Bullshit." The word didn't come out as strong as I'd intended. "If any of that were true, why would you tell me about it? You hate me, and you hate Luke."

Brian shrugged again. "You did me a solid. You didn't narc on me to the cops about the night I attacked you and Luke on the street. I might be an asshole, but I always pay back what I owe. Now we're square."

He walked away as I stared after him, cell phone in one hand, grocery list in the other. Black spots danced across my vision as I tried to get enough air into my lungs to keep from passing out.

He was lying. He had to be, and I had to believe that because to believe any different meant a future that I didn't want to imagine.

Chapter Nine.

Luke I hadn't seen Brad Jackson in years, but I would've recognized him anywhere. Sure, his hair was a bit thinner now, but he'd already been losing it by senior year in high school, and he was starting to get that spare tire guys got when they'd once been muscular and then let themselves go.

"Luke!" Brad grabbed me in a bear hug. "Great to see you again!"

We sat at one of the outside tables, me with my back to the wall so that I could keep an eye out if any of Bruno's thugs had been following and decided to pay a visit. I didn't think they would, but I wasn't taking any chances, especially since my meeting with Brad was about taking away Bruno's leverage.

"So you've got a custody issue?" Brad waited until we were halfway through our meal and through all of the required small talk before he brought up the reason I'd asked him to meet me for lunch.

I nodded, my appetite disappearing. I ate anyway. I needed to keep up my strength. "I need to get my daughter away from my ex."

"Cindy, right? Did you two ever get married?" Brad was suddenly all business. That was good.

I shook my head. "Cindy's not the marrying type...or the staying faithful type."

"You do have proof that you're the father though."

I nodded. "I made her take a paternity test. Lacey's mine."

"What about child support?"

"I've paid what I could when I could, but I don't even know if my name's on the birth certificate."

Brad's mouth tightened at that and I knew that was bad. He gave me a hard look. "I'm not going to lie to you and say this is going to be anything close to easy. Joint custody, maybe, but taking full custody from a mother and giving it to the father, especially if he's not on the birth certificate, that's beyond tough. New York doesn't take away a mother's rights unless there's direct danger to a child."

"Would her mother shacking up with a notorious underground fight promoter and gambler with a reputation for busting heads be considered enough danger?" I tried to keep my tone mild. I wasn't angry at Brad, just at the unfairness of a system that would give preference to Cindy over me unless I could prove that my daughter was in danger.

Brad nodded. "That'd do it, maybe. You have proof?"

"The promoter she's hooking up with...he's my promoter. Bruno Costello."

Something flashed across Brad's face, but it was gone before I could really register it.

"I've heard some things about him recently," Brad said cryptically. "I'll have to ask around for more information, but you might have a case."

I tried not to let my hopes get up. "Thank you." I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Now the part of the conversation that was going to get awkward. "I don't know how I can repay you. I'm a little strapped for cash at the moment."

Brad waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. You can pay me later when you have the money." He looked at a watch that cost more than my motorcycle and everything in my apartment put together. "I have to get going. I'm late for my tee time."

I laughed. "Golf." I shook my head. "You used to be the second-toughest guy on the football team. You actually made that defensive end from New Jersey wet himself, remember? And your new 'sport' is golf?"

He laughed along with me. "Hey, I'm not doing it to stay in shape. It's business. More deals get made on the golf course than in the office."

He started to reach for his wallet.

"No," I said. "I'm paying. I insist. It's the least I can do for all the help you're giving me."

Brad nodded and stood. He gave me another hug. "I'll be in touch as soon as I hear something. You be safe."

I nodded. "Enjoy your game." I didn't tell him that his caution to be safe was more necessary than he realized.

I'd walked to the cafe from my apartment and now I was glad I had. I needed the walk back to clear my head and refocus. I had an insane match coming up and I was seriously out of shape. To the lay person, I still looked good, but I could feel my timing being off, my body not working the way it had before. I had to get it together if I were to stand a chance in hell of winning this match.

There was only one person I knew of who could perform miracles when it came to getting someone in shape in record time. Coach Joe Alessi.

I hadn't talked to him in at least a year, but I was sure he'd take my call. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts. As I pressed connect, I prayed the old man would be sober.

Chapter Ten.