The Woman Who Refused to Spar “No.” Lena Cross said it without looking away from Cody Banks. Cody grinned. “Come on. Garrett won’t hurt you.” “That’s good to know.” “Then what’s the...
The Woman Who Knew When to Stop No public brand. No seminars. No championship photographs on the walls of her clinic. Alana had stopped competing because she enjoyed treating injured athletes more...
The Champion in Gray “You’re distracting me.” Mara Lewis stopped moving the mop. For several seconds, she looked at Valeria Stone’s reflection in the enormous mirror. Then she glanced at the clock....
The Woman Who Never Lost The youth scholarship program was the reason Ruth Bell had accepted the cleaning job. It wasn’t the salary. The center paid barely enough to cover her rent,...
The Quiet Man at Breakwater Wren Calder had never wanted to become a professional fighter. She wanted to become the kind of instructor who could help frightened children feel safe. Her younger...
The Champion’s Forgotten Lesson Dr. Leona Vale stood so abruptly that her chair scraped against the polished floor. “Gabriel?” The old janitor turned. For a moment, neither spoke. Then Gabriel smiled. “Hello,...
The Champion’s Last Warning “Let her go.” The voice came again, this time from a woman standing near the front row. Nolan Creed glanced toward her without loosening his grip. “Stay out...
The Sisters Who Wouldn’t Back Down Martha Bellamy was the reason Nia and Naomi Rowland walked into Patriot Tiger Dojo two weeks later. Not because she wanted them to fight anyone. Quite...
Eight Seconds of Silence The music stopped. Evelyn Shaw looked at the referee. “Call an ambulance.” Grant Voss laughed. “She’s fine. She just got scared.” Evelyn didn’t look at him. “Tessa, can...
The Ten-Thousand-Dollar Pitch Cole Barrett pointed his bat toward the pitching mound. “One pitch, kid. That’s all you get.” I tightened my grip around my old glove. “That’s all I need.” The...