Wham!

Daisy June Holden slammed her fist into a stomach so dense it nearly broke her knuckles. Her victim jerked, but that was all. D.J. danced back, whirled and shot a roundhouse kick to his head.

Take that.

He never flinched.

Feet shuffling expertly, she ducked out of the way of a retaliatory punch and narrowed angry eyes at her assailant. You're goin' down.

His smirk pissed the hell out of her. She dove at him, throwing two unforgiving shots to his rib cage, an uppercut to the jaw and the final blow — a cruel, cruel strike to his groin.

Panting from exertion, D.J. hopped back, assessed her opponent's condition and allowed herself a brief victorious smile. You lose, pal. Crime never pays.

Wiping the sweat from her brow with a bare forearm, she used her teeth to tug the boxing glove off her right hand and flexed her fingers.

"Sheesh, D.J., have a heart, would ya?" Angelo Fantozzi, owner-manager of Angelo's Gym Downtown, looked mournfully at the man-shaped punching bag he provided for his clients. Helping D.J. off with her remaining glove, he tucked them both under his arm and massaged her sore fingers. "You keep whaling like that on my equipment, I'm going to have to get all new stock. What's the matter? You get up on the wrong side of the bed or something?"

Immediately, D.J.'s stomach began to churn. Angelo was the best, a king-size teddy bear, but she had never discussed her problems with him. She'd come to the gym this morning so she could work out some of the tension that was turning her into an antacid junkie. When it came to conversation, however, she disliked turning herself inside out so other people could see he