“And you were married to Gil’s sister?” Shiori said.

“To say they’re nothing alike is putting it mildly.” Then Maddox went on to explain his dissatisfaction with the company he worked for. The change in philosophy that affected the attitudes of the fighters. MMA had become big business, but at the same time he was training less because even the biggest fighters were lucky to get one bout in a year. “So the bottom line is, they wanted me to train a fighter at a time. They didn’t believe that a strong training program with diversity builds strong fighters.”

“You’ll essentially be starting from scratch here. We’ve retained two fighters for you to gauge.”

Maddox’s gaze zoomed to Deacon. “You one of the two?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Tell me your weak spot.”

“Takedowns. Being a former wrestler and a third-degree black belt in jujitsu hasn’t benefited my fighting style, and it’s frustrating. That weak spot is keeping me from advancing like I should.”

Knox withheld his surprise that Deacon had analyzed the situation with such precision.

Maddox looked at Knox. “I’m keeping him on the roster.”

“Without testing him?” Shiori said.

“I just did. A fighter who’s honest about his weak points is a better bet than a fighter who doesn’t think he has any weak points or makes excuses for them.”

Deacon grinned. “Now I could really use that shot of Jäeger.”

Knox said, “We weren’t sure if you had dinner plans. We could order food in and just relax here.”

“I appreciate the invite and I’ll take a rain check, if you don’t mind. It’s been a long haul, and I’m ready to call it a day.”

“Not a problem.”

They all stood.

Shiori asked, “Where are you staying?”

“With Gil just for tonight. I’ll need tomorrow to get my bearings, so I’ll keep in touch about when we can get things going this week. Will that work?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Deacon said, “I’ll walk you out since I’m headed home.”

Knox didn’t breathe again until he heard the elevator doors close.

Shiori wrapped her arms around him.

He loved that she was so attuned to what he needed without him even having to ask.

After a bit he said, “That went better than I expected.”

“I was glad to see he wasn’t an asshole prima donna. Guys like him with that much raw masculine energy can have serious ego problems.”

“Raw masculine energy?” he repeated. “Should I be jealous?”

“No, because you have it too. Maybe it just comes with the territory with big, good-looking guys.”

Knox had a momentary flare of jealousy. “Now you’re saying he’s good-looking too?”

“Yes. He’d be at the top of my list of if I were attracted to tall, dark, and handsome. But tall, blond, and gorgeous is my type.”

He snorted.

“What?”

“I thought you’d say tall, blond, and submissive.”

“Well, that goes without saying.” Shiori pulled him in closer to her. “So now that we’re alone . . .”

“Got some plans for me, Mistress?”

“Let’s grapple. Or spar. Or break out the katanas.”

“Seriously? Why?”

“I’m feeling out of sorts. I can’t put my finger on why.”

Knox brushed his mouth over hers. “Have you talked to your mother?”

She shook her head.

He had a feeling that was part of it. Shiori missed her mom. He suspected she also missed her grandfather. Maybe even Ronin. Since he couldn’t commandeer the Okada jet to whisk them off to Tokyo so she could visit her family, he’d do the next best thing. “How about we work out for an hour, and then we’ll clean up and drive to Golden. You can meet my mom and her husband, Rick. We’ll see what the wonder brats are up to on a Sunday night. I’ll even spring for sushi since I know Vivie and Zara love it as much as you do.”

The smile she beamed at him made him feel like a fucking king.

“I’d love that. Really love that.” She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. “You’re so good to me. Thank you.”

*   *   *

THE closer they got to Golden, the more nervous Shiori acted. Unlike her brother, she didn’t fidget from nerves. She became unnaturally still.

Knox picked up her hand and kissed her palm. “Relax. My mom is gonna love you. Vivie and Zara have been singing your praises to her for weeks.”