“Wait!” Shiori shouted.

Everyone looked at her.

“We don’t have to cancel the women’s bout. I’ll fight in Fee’s place.”

The fuck that was happening. “I appreciate the offer, but this schedule tonight is good enough—”

“I want to fight her, Knox.”

“Not an option.”

“Why not?”

He lowered his voice. “Getting in the ring with her will be personal for you, and that is too goddamn dangerous at any time, say nothing of an hour before a fight. So the answer is no.”

“If I’d been scheduled to fight and got injured, would you put Fee in, in my place?”

“Yes, but it’s not the same thing.”

“Because we’re involved?”

Knox couldn’t say, No, because Fee is a more capable fighter than you, so he tried to be diplomatic. “That has nothing to do with it. You don’t know what Mia is capable of. There’s no fucking way I’m going to stand by and watch you get in the ring with her.”

Her eyes went flat and cold, and in that moment she looked just like her brother. “You don’t think I can win?”

“It’s not about winning. It’s about your safety.”

“The fuck it is, Knox. You’re the one who’s making it personal, not me. And that has no place in this discussion. We need a qualified fighter. I’m here. So I am fighting.”

“Like hell you are. Don’t forget that I’m Shihan. I said no, and that’s that. Do you understand?”

Maddox cleared his throat.

At some point they’d both forgotten they were in a roomful of people.

Fucking awesome.

“Actually, Knox, to be fair, that isn’t your decision to make,” Maddox said. “I’m the trainer. I’ve been working with Fee and Shiori as her fight partner. From what I can see, there’s no reason that Shiori can’t step in. She’s watched all of Mia’s fight tapes. There’s nobody better qualified. And Black Arts could use a win.”

“See? The voice of real reason, not personal reasons,” Shiori said. “I’m fighting, Godan, and that’s that. And there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”

Godan. Not Shihan.

His face burned. She’d openly defied him in front of everyone, calling his leadership into question.

Shiori had sworn she wouldn’t humiliate him, and she’d done just that with absolute defiance, daring him with her Domme voice to contradict him.

Knox dropped his gaze to the floor. It took every bit of his resolve to keep his expression neutral when he looked up. Everyone in the room still stared at him, some with fucking pity.

“As the fight promoter, it’s within my purview to move the bout to the last fight of the night, to give the replacement fighter time to prepare.”

Maddox said, “Thanks.”

He didn’t—couldn’t—look at Shiori. “Good luck, everyone. I’ll be seeing to the front-of-the-house duties tonight, so if you need anything, peg Maddox.” He turned and left the room.

A familiar hand clapped him on the shoulder after he’d made it halfway down the hall. “What?”

“You okay?” Deacon asked.

“I’m fine.”

Deacon stepped in front of him. “I suck at this kinda stuff, but I don’t blame you for sayin’ no and bein’ pissed that Shiori jumped in like that. You and I both know those fight tapes don’t tell the real story of what Mia is capable of. When she sees it’s Shiori in the ring . . .”

“Yeah, I fucking know, all right?”

“Do you want me to talk to her?”

“No. What’s done is done.” Knox looked Deacon in the eyes. “I can’t watch.”

“No one expects you to.”

“And by that . . . I mean I can’t be anywhere in here. I’ll take off right after your fight.”

“Blue will be okay with that?” Deacon asked.

“He’ll have to be. After all this, I’ll need a couple of days to get my head on straight.”

“You deserve the break. And yeah, I figured that this would fuck up things between you two.”

“Thanks, man. Good luck tonight.”

“Don’t need it when I’ve got these.” Deacon did some shadow-boxing moves as he backed up down the hallway.

Knox looked at the clock. Two hours. Then he was gone.

*   *   *

KNOX was pissed off at her.