Chapter 21 - THE SENTENCERoman's case took months.
Cole learned patience badly.
Maya reminded him courtrooms weren't boxing rings.
"There is no bell."
"There should be."
"There is no knockout."
"That's inefficient."
"There are motions."
"That's worse."
She laughed.
Their relationship rebuilt in small pieces.
Coffee.
Dinner.
An overnight trip to Lake Mead where nobody talked about boxing for six hours.
One evening Cole kissed her outside her apartment.
Not dramatically.
Not because they had nearly died.
Because he wanted to.
She kissed him back.
Then stopped.
"Slow."
Cole nodded.
"Slow."
It meant more than any passionate reunion could have.
Roman eventually pleaded guilty to multiple financial and intimidation-related charges as part of a broader case, while other investigations continued.
He did not confess to causing Ethan's death.
Cole no longer needed him to.
At sentencing, Roman saw Cole in the courtroom.
For several seconds they stared at each other.
Roman had lost weight.
The tattoos remained.
The expensive confidence didn't.
Afterward, as officers led him away, Roman said, "You think you're free?"
Cole stepped closer to the barrier.
Roman smiled.
"You'll always fight because men like me make people care."
Cole looked at him.
"No."
Roman waited.
Cole said, "I fight because I love fighting."
Then he walked away first.
Outside, reporters surrounded him.
Cole gave no statement.
Elaine waited in Maya's car.
"How do you feel?" she asked.
Cole considered.
"Normal."
Elaine smiled.
"That's probably good."
He looked out at the courthouse.
For years he'd imagined justice as something loud.
A confession.
Handcuffs.
A villain begging.
It wasn't.
Justice was incomplete.
Complicated.
Sometimes unsatisfying.
May you like
But Roman Drake would no longer decide who reached the ring.
That was enough for today.
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