a hit!”
“Then teach him safely.”
“He’s weak!”
For an instant, my grip tightened.
Then I deliberately relaxed it.
“No,” I said.
I looked directly into his eyes.
“He trusted you.”
Those three words seemed to disturb him more than being taken down in front of the entire room.
Behind us, someone began clapping.
One slow clap.
Then another.
I glanced toward the bleachers.
The elderly veteran was standing in the aisle.
But he wasn’t applauding.
He was staring at me.
“Damon?”
I froze.
There was something about his voice.
Something distant and familiar.
The old man’s eyes widened.
“Damon Mercer?”
My stomach tightened.
Very few people in Cedar Falls knew the full story of my military service.
Even fewer would have recognized me without a uniform.
I slowly released Blake and stood.
Blake rolled away, coughing and holding his shoulder.
The veteran stepped closer.
And when he spoke again, I recognized his voice before I fully recognized his face.
“Chief?”
He gave a small, disbelieving laugh.
“Lord Almighty.”
I stared at the elderly man approaching the mat.
After twenty
years, the past I’d worked so hard to leave behind had finally caught up with me.
