Nyght's Eve by Laurie Roma

apart Evie’s life, all because of
drugs. He slowly put his phone down on one of the shelves inside the locker,
but didn’t move from his seat. The sound of the door opening had Dare turning,
and he saw as Hammer turned the corner. He paused, then moved to Dare’s side,
sitting down next to him on the bench.
    “I just spoke to Kali. She’s at home cooking
up a storm.”
    “Great.”
    “Is there some reason you’re sitting here
looking so morose?”
    “I did something. I asked a contact of mine
at the agency to pull up some background information about Evie.”
      “Damn,
Nyght. Why’d you do that? You could have just asked me whatever you wanted to
know.”
    “She said some cryptic things about her past
that I needed to know. I didn’t want to involve anyone.”
    Hammer shook his head. “Brother, you should
know better. You don’t go digging into a woman’s past without a court order,
and even then she’s damn well gonna make you pay for it. So, you know about
what happened to her parents now?”
    “Yeah. Jesus, Hammer.”
    “I know. It’s why she works so hard to rehab
those dogs and is part of the search and rescue team. My cousin is a strong
woman, Dare. It was rough on her, but she survived.”
    Dare glanced over. “Aren’t you gonna warn me
away from your cousin?”
    “Why? You’re one of the best men I know. Why
wouldn’t I want my cousin with you?”
    Dare let out a half laugh. “Christ, Hammer.
How can you say that? You don’t even know what I’ve been doing these last few
years.”
    Hammer studied his friend, taking his time to
figure out exactly what he wanted to say. He turned so he was facing Dare on
the bench. Damn, it broke his heart the way Dare seemed to be bracing himself
as if for a blow. He looked so fucking lost, so alone, but he wasn’t. Hammer
may not know exactly what Dare had been through, but he knew enough to guess.
And if it was even close to what he’d imagined, then his friend wouldn’t be
left to pick up the pieces unaided.
    “I know you, Dare. You’re not just my friend,
you’re like a brother to me. You may have gone through some tough shit, and
still may be going through the hard right now, but that doesn’t change the fact
that I know you’re a good man.” He held up his hand to stall whatever Dare would
have said. “You know, when I got back stateside and started fighting, I thought
I had found the perfect way to channel all the emotions I felt about what I had
been through.”
    Dare nodded. “You were good at fighting.
Still are, Hammer. Actually, you’re a damn good trainer, too. I noticed that
today.”
    “Thanks, that means a lot coming from you.”
And Hammer was shocked at just how much that was true. When he’d left the Army,
Hammer had been just as lost as Dare now seemed. But Hammer had been lucky to
find people who had helped and supported him when he’d started fighting with
the Cage Fighting League. Civilians didn’t understand just how much time in the
military could change a man...or how painful it was to come back and have
everyone expect something that wasn’t possible.  
    Hammer had faced that disappointment from
people when they’d realized he wasn’t the same man he used to be. He was
harder, more severe, and much more jaded. Growing up with a fucked up childhood
like he had, it was saying a lot when people barely recognized him upon his
return.
    Then came the fame, but few people knew the
truth.
    “What I’ve never told anyone is that after
every fight I had, I got sick. I mean throw my fucking guts up sick. I was so
fucking terrified I would really hurt someone, that I wouldn’t hear them ring
that bell. That I wouldn’t stop. Jesus, Dare. There were times I simply
switched off. As soon as the other guy came at me, I went into survival mode,
and just reacted. When the fight was over, that’s what I celebrated. Not the
win, but that I didn’t kill anyone. It made me sick to realize that, until I
finally understood it.