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Maybe it was the loneliness in her gaze. The tension that never left her shoulders. Or her naïve, kind heart that stood out amid a sea of criminals, making him continuously resist the urge to shake her.

What he didn’t realize was that a fierce tenacity lived within that small frame. Despite the constant fights, hardships, and challenges she faced, Khalani conquered each one with a resilience that rivaled the most violent criminals.

When she asked him to train her, Takeshi’s muscles locked up, and he fought the urge to throw away the keys to her cell for even suggesting such a terrible idea.

For her. For him.

With the way his mind kept straying to her, he didn’t trust himself to be that close without steel bars separating them.

But a dangerous part of him longed to see just how far he could push her, yearning to find her breaking point.

So, he agreed.

With each training session, the pull toward her became harder to resist. The tight shorts hugging her legs were a test of focus. The exhilaration in her eyes when she conquered a task challenged his own resolve. He pushed Khalani like he pushed himself, to the ultimate limits.

Suddenly, Takeshi found a new purpose in prison.

Khalani Kanes was it.

He never told her this, but the trainings with her were the highlight of his day, his year. In a world so shrouded in darkness, she was a flicker of light that grew brighter with each passing day.

For the first time, he closed his eyes at night and looked forward to waking up.

But when he saw Khalani on the ground during Guard Barron’s attack, a rage like no other coursed through his quaking limbs.

Someone dared hurt her. The prisoner who brought him peace. The broken girl who had her entire world swept away but kept fighting to be a better version of herself.

Takeshi completely lost it and killed Guard Barron without a single ounce of regret.

When he lifted Khalani into his arms, she fit perfectly against his chest. Takeshi gazed down at her, and as certain as the oncoming night, an unspoken vow resonating deep within him.

No one would harm her and live.

He carried Khalani to his room, uncaring of the rules or consequences. All that mattered was laying in his bed. In pain.

Despite this, she was the one trying to calmhimdown, still thinking about others over herself. His lungs ached to scream at her, but his lips begged to brush against her smooth skin, to extinguish any traces of pain.

Takeshi’s control was at its most fragile point when she lay next to him in bed and his finger grazed hers. His hand twitched, wanting to thread itself into hers.

No, he wanted to do so much more.

But she fell asleep, exhaling softness, while he inhaled her peace.

When Takeshi woke, he stared into her lovely, sleeping face, and a strange sensation clutched his chest. It injected straight into his heart, compelling Takeshi to reach out.

To tell her the truth…but he pulled back.

Reality crashed into him, like a steel door slamming shut in his face.

Nothing would change their positions. She was still a prisoner, and he was the Captain who locked her bars shut. No reality existed where they could be together. Such fantasies were delusional.

So, he pushed her away.

And every day it clawed his skin from the inside out.

His mind kept screaming, urging him to reach out, to make everything right, to return to the way they used to be. By the slimmest thread of control, Takeshi kept his distance, reminding himself that it was for her benefit.

When she beat Dana in the pit, he didn’t merely feel proud—he was always proud of her—but when she finally realized her own strength, it was like the sun burst through the underground and shined down upon her.