Deep trauma still clung to the edges of Joe's mind, a lingering ghost of the day Dud had invaded his gym and systematically dismantled his life. Truth be told, Joe had replayed that sequence of events a thousand times. In the immediate aftermath, as he lay recovering from injuries that should have been fatal, he had genuinely felt that this life, the life of the underworld and the Bloodline, wasn't for him.
He had wanted to quit. He had wanted to pack whatever belongings he had and run as far away from the city as possible. The only reason he had stayed, the only reason he had forced his broken body back into the ring, was a heavy sense of responsibility. He was the protector of the gym. If he hadn't stood his ground against Dud that day, what would have happened to the students? What would have happened to the people who looked up to him?
