“What the fuck, Con,” Danny said, throwing the towel into the ring. Kieran and I had been trading punches for an hour. He might as well have been trading fists with Danny for all the fucking good it was doing. The wall that I usually hit around four had struck me the minute I left Em this morning. She was facing Frank without me. The hustle and bustle of the gym, that felt so much like home, was gone because everyone else was either at work or with my girl. Until this trial was over and Frank was behind bars, my Sunshine was gone. Without Em by my side, nothing made sense. Not even in the ring.

“Jesus Christ, Cormac. In weeks, you’re fighting the goddamn world champion, and you’re not ready. You’re nowhere near ready because you can’t get your head on straight.”

“And you can?” I shouted at him. Kieran walked away and left us to it. I never raised my voice at Danny, no one did. But he needed to hear this. “I know this fight is important, and I know it’s what Em wants. Shit, it’s what I want too. But I feel like we’re throwing her to the fucking wolves not being there.”

“I understand that. I really do. But you get a once-in-a-lifetime chance. It may never come around again, and if it does, who’s to say if it’s gonna be any good for you. In three or four years, you could be injured, maybe even retired. You’re in peak physical condition now, and if you don’t take this opportunity, there are plenty more who will. Men with fire in their heart and hunger in their gut who’d kill just for the opportunity to get toe to toe with Temple. Men who’d sacrifice anything to get that one chance that you’re pissing away.”

“Then maybe I ain’t meant to be world champion. Because it doesn’t mean the whole fucking world to me. I want that title so bad I can taste it, but what fucking good is it to me? What kind of man am I to be chasing my dream instead of protecting my wife? What kind of man has titles but can’t protect his own family?” All of a sudden, the fight just seemed to leave Danny. He sat down on the old wooden stool by the side of the ring, and I slumped down on the floor next to him.

“You know, son, sometimes there ain’t no right and wrong choice to make. Life ain’t black and white. Sometimes there’s just shitty choices, and you have to make the best of them.”

“Danny, I ain’t never had anything except shitty choices until Em came along. She went through worse shit than I ever did, and she came out of it pure and loving and kind. But now she can’t see any of that. It doesn’t matter what she says to my face. I know she’s in a bad fucking place right now, and I can’t help feeling that this choice is the worse one.”

“So you tell me, kid, what d’you wanna do?”

“Keep her here with me so she never has to see that fucker again, win the world title, then accidentally bump into Frank in a dark alley where I can introduce all of his vital organs to my fist.”

“Shit, you really do have a big Christmas list, don’t you?” said Danny as he lit up a cigarette.

“I may be able to help with the keeping Em here part,” added Kieran as he jogged over.

“What do you mean?” I asked him.

“Liam just called. Something big went down in court today. They cleared out the jury and then adjourned because some kind of mini evidence trial is going on tomorrow and needed to be settled. The lawyers were arguing about whether or not stuff was admissible. The Crown Prosecution Service barrister told Em she wouldn’t be needed tomorrow but she has to be back the day after. Liam’s gonna go there anyway and find out what’s happening.”

“We bring her here tomorrow then. If she’s not in court, I want her with me all day.”

Danny nodded. “I agree. I don’t want her on her own but I need a full day’s training from you tomorrow. This trial shit’s like a fucking circus. You need to get focused.”

“No problem, Danny. I understand,” I told him. With Em here, tomorrow everything would be better. But I didn’t like the sound of what was going down in court. Those black clouds were definitely rolling in.

Two hours later, Liam walked in through the door, and I looked straight past him.

“Well, hello to you too!” he said to me.

“Where’s Em? I thought you were taking care of her today?” I barked at him. I didn’t mean to get shitty. It’d been a rough day all around.

“She’s fine. Her mum was waiting outside the courtroom for her. They’ve gone for a coffee.”

“You let that bitch get near her?” I said. “You know what she’s capable of.”

“Con, this woman is fucking tiny. There’s no way she could hurt her if she tried.”

“It’s not the physical abuse I’m worried about. This woman was the reason Em endured abuse for six years without telling anyone. I don’t even want to know what kind of shit she’s filling Em’s head with.”

“Shit, I’m so sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry. Looking after her is my job. You’re helping me out. I shouldn’t get up in your face about it.”

“Looking after her isn’t a job. She’s like our sister, and there ain’t nothing we wouldn’t do for her. Keeping her safe ain’t solely on you. Con. It never has been.” I acknowledged him with a nod. He and the guys all felt the same way, and I knew that. It still didn’t stop me feeling the way I did though.

“Come on,” he told me.

“You can spar with me for an hour until she gets here. That should keep your mind off things for a bit.” I snorted at him. In good form, I could put Liam down inside of two rounds. Like this, he’d probably put me on my arse in one. Still, good as his word, he changed quickly and climbed into the ring.

“Danny says you’re fighting like shit. He’s wrong is he?” he taunted me.

“Fuck you. You’d be the same if it was your girl.” He looked at me funny until I got it.

“Fine. If it was your guy.” I looked around as we bounced about the canvas but no one was listening to us.

“You told anyone else yet?” I asked.

“No,” he replied.

“The guy I’m seeing hasn’t really come to terms with everything yet. I mean it’s pretty new for both of us. We’re both gonna face a boatload of grief when people do find out. Guess we just want to see where this is going before we have to face that.”