Chapter 20 - DARIUS WITHOUT ROMANDarius came to Cole's gym six weeks later.
No cameras.
No entourage.
Cole was working the heavy bag.
He stopped.
"You lost?"
Darius smiled.
"Still obnoxious."
"Still undefeated?"
Darius's smile disappeared.
"Technically, no one knows."
The commission was reviewing several results.
Cole removed his gloves.
"How's your mother?"
"Remission."
"Good."
Darius looked at the championship belts on the wall.
"That one should've been mine."
Cole laughed.
"Get in line."
Darius became serious.
"I want a rematch."
"Eventually."
"When?"
"When neither of us has federal investigators calling every morning."
Darius nodded.
Then looked at the heavy bag.
"You ever wonder who you would've been if Roman never touched our careers?"
"Every day."
"Me too."
Cole leaned against the ring apron.
"You know what I figured out?"
"What?"
"Doesn't matter."
Darius frowned.
"Easy for the guy holding the belt."
"No."
Cole looked at him.
"It matters what we do after we know."
Darius absorbed that.
He had lost endorsements.
Money.
Status.
But something about him seemed lighter.
"Roman used to call every Sunday."
"For what?"
"Nothing."
Cole frowned.
"Literally nothing. He'd ask about training. My mom. Food."
"Control."
Darius nodded.
"If he didn't call, I'd get nervous."
Cole understood.
Chains didn't always look like chains.
Darius stared at the ring.
"Can I work?"
Cole tossed him gloves.
"You're paying gym fees."
Darius laughed.
For the next hour they trained.
No cameras.
No deals.
Just two fighters.
When Darius left, Ray stood beside Cole.
"You're going to fight him again."
"Probably."
"He's dangerous."
"That's the point."
Ray smiled.
Cole looked at him.
Their relationship was healing slowly.
Not because Cole forgot.
Because Ray stopped asking him to.
One afternoon Ray simply said, "I failed Ethan."
Cole answered, "Yes."
Ray nodded.
May you like
No excuses.
That honesty accomplished more than eight years of silence.
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