I almost laughed.
“You just told me you love another man.”
She looked away.
“Derek makes me feel alive.”
I picked up the overnight bag I’d already packed in my head without realizing it.
“Then go be alive.”
I walked upstairs.
I packed six shirts.
Three pairs of jeans.
My toiletries.
My laptop.
And the old photograph of my parents that Claire had never liked.
I left my wedding ring on the dresser.
I was halfway down the driveway when my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered through the truck’s Bluetooth.
“Cole?”
“Who’s this?”
“Derek.”
I sighed.
“What do you want?”
“You think you’re just going to walk away?”
“She asked for a divorce.”
“She called me crying.”
“That sounds like your problem.”
His voice hardened.
“You’re not taking half that house.”
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.
“That’s between me and Claire.”
“No. You’re going to come down to my gym.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m giving you a chance to prove you’re a man.”
I almost hung up.
Then he said something that made me stop.
“You fight me for five minutes Friday night. Five minutes. If you survive, I’ll personally buy your half of the house.”
I laughed quietly.
“You’re serious?”
“Dead serious.”
“And if I don’t?”
“You walk away with nothing.”
I looked at the highway ahead.
Then at my left knee.
The knee that had never been quite right since Fallujah.
“You really want to do this?”
“I want to see what Claire was married to all these years.”
I was silent.
Then I said:
“Friday.”
I hung up.
And for the first time in years, I felt something other than exhaustion.
I felt awake.
PART TWO — APEX PREDATOR
Apex Predator Martial Arts smelled like bleach, sweat, and old rubber.
Derek was exactly what I expected.
Twenty-eight.
Perfect teeth.
Perfect hair.
Perfect muscles.
The kind of man who seemed to believe mirrors were invented specifically for him.
He looked at my work boots.
Then at my faded flannel.
Then smiled.
“This is him?”
Several people laughed.
I didn’t.
Derek walked toward me.
“Claire told me you sold air conditioners.”
“HVAC systems.”
“Whatever.”
He looked around at his friends.
“She’s been supporting you all these years, hasn’t she?”
“No.”
“You sure?”
“I pay the mortgage.”
His smile disappeared.
“The house belongs to Claire.”
