“What?” she shrieks.

The blood starts to boil under my skin. Chief’s is another gym closer to Newport. They’ve been shut down more than once because, unlike Vic’s, the crime doesn’t stop at illegal betting. I personally answered a call there a few years back, and I remember the bad feeling I got from the place. If Ezra learned to fight there, he did not learn to fight clean.

"We're not doing this," I say before Ezra can say another word.

He lets out a raucous laugh. "Oh no, you don’t. We made a deal, Nolan."

"I don't care. I'm not going to fight you, Ezra." Watching Shelby's face for any sign that she's relieved, she hardly reacts.

"No, this is bullshit. I've been looking forward to kicking your ass for years. Ten years to be exact." Ezra steps past Shelby to puff up his chest toward me.

"Is that what you want, Ezra? You want to hit me? So you’ve been spending your time at the seediest place in town, so you can rub elbows with the criminals and learn to fight dirty?"

"I want to do more than hit you," he snaps back.

"Because I saved your ass from getting killed that night. I knew how these things went down, Ezra, and I tried to talk you out of it. I begged you to wait for me, but you wouldn't, and you left me no fucking choice," I argue back, feeling myself getting hot with anger.

"You're so full of excuses, Rafe. Nothing is ever your fault."

"I'm not fighting with you like this, not in front of Shelby," I answer, but he doesn't slow down.

Just then, Vic appears at my shoulder. "I've got you on in fifteen."

I can't look at Shelby, but I feel her eyes on me. We may have been happy just a few days ago, but all of that feels fucked now. Still, I want to wrap my hands around her waist and pull her close. I want her to kiss me the way she did last time she watched me fight.

“I won’t watch this,” she mutters as she walks away.

“Stop,” I command, but for once, she doesn’t listen. Ezra doesn’t move to follow his sister, so I do. She’s heading quickly toward the parking lot, and I grab her arm before she can cross the street. “What do you want me to do?”

“Where do I start?” she says without looking at me.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Spinning on her heels, she faces me. “It means you want to fight your way out of everything, Rafe. Why can’t you just talk to him? Ezra is mad, yes, but he’s also impulsive and reactionary. We know this. But you...you won’t talk to him, you won’t talk to me. For ten years you let us hate you when you could have just explained why you did what you did. You could have apologized! Shown up for his hearings. You could have been there for me so I wasn’t so alone. And now...you want me to trust you, but I don’t even know you, Rafe. I don’t know you and somehow…”