Conflict

He’s damaged. She’s scarred. If they ever manage to face the truth, they might find the second chance they both deserve. Amy Parker-Nguyen. As a twenty-eight-year-old widow with one son, she’s determined to stay emotionally unavailable. Love is great until it ends; leaving you forever bereaved, and your outlook on life bleak and barren. After patching up her heart, she’s happy to be known as the hard-assed, single mum and occasional good time, party girl. Nate Harvie. Being a twenty-two-year-old, MMA fighter has its perks. His days are filled with never-ending rotation of free booze, good drugs, and easy girls. Life is good—well, it was until the night he broke his cardinal rule and let Amy get too close. Now, he wants things he shouldn’t—things he can’t have unless he tells the truth. What should be a brief encounter that scratches a mutual itch grows into so much more before either of them realises. Amy becomes worried about Nate’s worsening behaviour and, before she knows it, she’s facing a choice. Will she stick around and help him or return to the safety of the lonely life she was previously sinking under? The Black Hearts MMA series is a gritty sports series set in an Australian mixed martial arts gym. A dark tale of salvation and found family, this story is set in a world where getting knocked down leaves you with no choice but to push back to your feet. Some readers may find events in this story confronting so reader discretion is advised. PLEASE NOTE: this story was originally published in 2018 under the same title. It has been revised, re-edited, and republished in 2022, although the main gist of the story remains the same. sports, mixed martial arts, age gap, second chance dark, gripping, dangerous, fast-paced, family suspense, dark romance, MMA, fight romance, contemporary, alpha, antihero, Australian drama, opposites attract, widower, mafia, MC siblings, divorce, forced proximity, suicidal hero outlaw, strong heroine, love triangle, trauma