Chapter 1

"Kenneth, didn't Cass say this gym belonged to our family? Who's this young man?"

At that moment, my sixty-year-old father-in-law, Charlie Moore, rose awkwardly from the couch, his face a mix of confusion and worry.

His calloused hands fidgeted with the hem of his jacket. The flush that had colored his cheeks moments earlier, from the excitement of watching the match, had drained to a sickly white now that this stranger had insulted him.

Charlie was a die-hard boxing fan. In his younger days, he'd even trained with the state team, before a string of injuries forced him into early retirement so he could support my wife, Cassidy Moore, through school.

We'd been married five years, and in that time Charlie had come to treat me like his own son. My own family ties had always been thin, and it was Charlie's steady presence over the years that had filled the gap my father never had. That was exactly why I'd believed Cassidy would make a good wife too, and why I'd said yes when she proposed to me.

Three years ago, after I bought this top-tier boxing gym, I'd handed Cassidy full nominal control of it, just to give her something to do.

Today was Charlie's sixtieth birthday, but Cassidy had begged off, claiming her company had a deal worth tens of millions to close and no time to spare for her own father. So I'd cleared every meeting on my calendar myself and rented out the box with the best view in the house, hoping to give the old man a good day.

I never imagined that three years of trust and letting go of the reins would turn my own property into someone else's playground for throwing their weight around.

I took a breath, pulled Charlie behind me to shield him, and kept my voice low and steady.

"Charlie, don't worry. I'm here. This world's got its share of mad dogs who've lost their minds. We don't need to lower ourselves to his level."

At that, the man's temper flared instantly, his sharp features twisting into something needlessly cruel.

"Hey, punk! Who are you calling a mad dog?!

"I think you two are the ones who've lost it, hoping for a payout! Family property, is that what you call it?

"This old relic's dressed like he crawled out of a dumpster. He thinks a place like this is for people like him?

"Not satisfied showing off his own poverty, he had to drag some half-dead old man along to keep up the act!

"What, are you two the family of the janitor who scrubs this gym's toilets, sneaking in on a stolen key?!"

He paused, looking me up and down like I was a piece of merchandise, contempt dripping from every glance.

"Not bad looking, for a beggar. Too bad you're broke. Vermin like you are only fit to wallow in the mud for the rest of your miserable lives!"

Charlie was so furious he could barely catch his breath. He jabbed a finger at the man. "You... how dare you talk like that!"

I'd had enough. I stepped forward and fixed him with a cold stare.

"You keep calling us broke. What exactly do you think you are?

"The real controlling owner of this gym is a man named Kenneth Cutler. Look it up in the corporate registry if you don't believe me.

"You keep going on about this being your territory. I'd say you're in the late stages of some delusion.

"This is your last warning. Take your people and get out. Push me any further, and not even whatever woman's backing you will be able to save you."

Maybe it was the authority I'd carried for years as someone used to being in charge, but the man flinched under my stare and, for a moment, couldn't find his words.

He recovered quickly, though, and shouted toward the gym manager who'd been hovering just outside the door, peeking in.

"Dennis! Get security in here and throw these two lunatics out, now!"

Dennis Owen came scurrying in immediately, bowing and scraping at the man.

"Mr. Reese, please, calm yourself. I'll handle this right away. You mustn't let it upset you."

The moment he turned to face me, his ingratiating smile vanished, replaced by something vicious.

"Listen here, I'd advise you not to push your luck. Mr. Reese here is the man our CEO, Ms. Moore, holds closest to her heart. Tonight's whole event was cleared out specifically by Ms. Moore, just to put a smile on Mr. Reese's face.

"Go ask around Kensford's boxing circles what the name Cassidy Moore actually means. She only has to lift a finger, and neither of you will ever work in this city again!"

The two of them stood there, preening like dogs riding on someone else's power, noses practically pointed at the ceiling.

But hearing Cassidy's name hit me like a lightning bolt.

'Cassidy? My wife? The woman who straightens my tie every morning before I leave for work, who'd sworn to be good to me for the rest of her life, is out here keeping a kept man on the side?'

I stared at the man they'd called Tyson Reese, unable to believe it, searching his smug face for some sign this was all a mistake.

But the pride and self-satisfaction in his eyes were real, unmistakably real.

He was basking in Dennis's flattery, and the way he carried himself, like the true man of the house, wasn't something he could have faked.

My heart felt like it had been dropped into a freezer, the cold spreading through me limb by limb.

That was when my eyes, without my permission, landed on Tyson's thick wrist.