Fighting Hard

by Marysol James

  Fighting Hard

  (Fighting For Love #1)

  By Marysol James

  © 2014 by Marysol James.

  All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, including information storage and retrieval systems, without prior written permission from the author, except in the case of a reviewer, who may quote brief passages embodied in critical articles or in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover design: www.doc2mobi.com

  Cover photo: © Artem Furman/Fotolia

  Dedication

  For L.

  Keep fighting the good fight.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Excerpt from ‘Fighting Strong’ (Fighting For Love #2)

  About the author

  By the same author

  Chapter One

  Nick Spencer sighed as he poured out what felt like the millionth Appletini this week. Why did all the hot girls go for this repulsive drink? He blamed ‘The Bachelor’. Damn reality television, making ditzy girls live vicariously through idiots pining for a rose.

  The group of supremely drunk women was looking him up and down now, and he pulled himself up to his full and impressive height. Their eyes struggled to focus on him so they could take him in: broad shoulders, chest muscles clearly visible through his staff t-shirt, huge arms and hands. The one woman with long red hair practically licked her lips when their eyes met.

  Nick knew exactly where his tips came from and he winked at her. Even from a few feet away, he saw her pupils dilate and he knew she was imagining him with his shirt off, approaching her full of bad intentions. Hell, he might even make the fantasy a reality later if she stuck around to closing time and played her cards right. He had nothing against redheads, though he did prefer blondes… not that that made him a gentleman.

  He gave them his charming smile as he set their drinks on the counter. “Here you go, ladies.”

  “Thanks,” said the redhead. “Our friend will be over to pay in a sec.”

  “Which friend?” he asked.

  She gestured vaguely at a woman sitting at a table. “Her.”

  Nick focused on the woman and fixed her in to his memory: light brown hair, unsexy-as-crap dress. OK. Got it.

  Another woman was trying to get his attention on the other side of the bar: she was leaning over far enough that her breasts were practically falling out of that silver halter top and on to the counter. That had happened more than once, and more than once on purpose. He’d taken some of the women up on the offer, too.

  He kept serving, keeping an eye on the brunette, making sure the group didn’t up and leave before she paid. Time passed, the music got louder and the crush of dancing bodies tighter.

  Nick’s body started to hum as the women’s eyes got hotter, more ravenous. They were getting drunker by the minute now, and he started looking back at them just as boldly, deciding which one of the leggy beauties with not too many clothes on he’d go home with tonight. Maybe that one over there, with the smoking body and long blonde hair and vacant eyes, with the barely-there skirt and generous side-boob. She’d be great to fuck, easy to get away from in the morning. She hardly looked like a chick seeking a boyfriend. That suited Nick just fine.

  He flashed her his sexiest smile, the one that women responded to every single time and saw her hungry interest. So far, the night was right on course to go the way his nights working at The Cave almost always did: great tips from hot women, his most devastating flirting and come-ons followed up by sex with no strings.

  He didn’t know it then, but his night tonight was going to be different. Tonight was going to change everything.

  **

  Mia Ferris sat and watched with resignation as her former co-workers debated ordering yet another round of Appletinis from the sexy bartender. She was tired and hot and bored, and all she wanted to do was go home. But Iris had insisted that her birthday party be tonight and here and Mia had promised to go. She saw the girls so rarely since she’d left Peregrine Consulting four years earlier to write full-time, so she kind of felt obligated.

  It was worse than she had envisioned, though. The girls were so drunk, it was kind of worrying. Mia didn’t drink much at the best of times, and seeing Iris and Sally and Vanessa lurching around, eye makeup smeared and blouses slowly slipping off their shoulders, freaked her out.

  Iris leaned over to her now, her long red hair a mess, her breath reeking of alcohol, her words slurred. “Hey, Mia? Can you go pay for the last round?”

  “What?”

  “The last round? Can you pay? You have all the cash, right?”

  “Oh. Oh, yeah. Did you order my juice?”

  “Umm…. nope. We forgot. Sorry.”

  “It’s OK. I’ll go now.”

  Mia got to her feet and carefully made her way through the dancers. She reached the bar and looked around for the bartender who had served her friends. She remembered that he had very short brown hair, but that was about it.

  As she stood there, she noticed the women surrounding her and she began to feel self-conscious. She had never much liked her body – her breasts were too small and her hips were too wide – and every insecurity she had reared its ugly head. These women were tall and slim with impossibly huge breasts; they had figured out eye makeup usage and were not the slightest bit shy about showing what they had. Mia glanced down at her long, loose dress and felt fat and ugly.

  Nick turned and saw the brunette standing there. She was pretty, he supposed, in an earthy way: not a lot of makeup that he could see, no nail polish, clothes that covered most of her body. Some kind of necklace that made him think of an ancient artefact from Thailand or India. Kind of refreshing to see this kind of woman here, and definitely unusual.

  He walked over and gave her the neutral smile that he reserved for average females. “Hey.”

  “Hi,” she said. “I’m here to pay for that last round. And can I also get a cranberry juice added to that bill?”

  “Sure,” Nick said. “You not an Appletini fan?”

  She looked up at him and smiled. He was taken aback at its sweetness – nothing lustful or greedy or horny about this smile. It was genuine and shining and somehow pure. He hadn’t seen too many smiles like that coming at him from the other side of the bar.

  “No,” she said. “Not much of an alcohol fan at all, actually. I haven’t had a single drink tonight, I’m afraid.”

  “Really?” he said. “Well, I’m glad more people don’t think like you. I’d be out of a job pretty quick.”

  She laughed and he watched as her face just lit up. “You could still pour out juice that’s marked up about three hundred percent.”

  “True,” he said. “Speaking of which, let me get your ridiculously overpriced juice and the bill, OK?”

  “Sure,” Mia said and sat down. She wasn’t in a huge rush to get back to the table.

  “Just juice?” said a deep voice next to her. “That’s no fun.”

  She turned and saw a guy about her age, maybe a bit older than her thirty-one years. He was OK-looking, bu
t definitely not her type.

  “Yeah, I’ve heard that before,” she said. “But it works for me.”

  “Really? How about your girlfriends? They look like they’re having fun.” He nodded over at the table where Vanessa was now doing body shots off some random guy and Iris and Sally were making out with various men on the dance floor. “I’m Trevor, by the way.”

  Mia didn’t really like the way that he was looking her up and down. In this bar full of women begging to be the center of attention, why did this guy go for her? Also, how did he know which women she was with? It was kind of odd.

  Nick came back with her juice and the bill. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks,” she said and reached in to her purse for some money. “That’ll cover it.”

  He nodded in gratitude at the tip and then noticed the man sitting there and looking at her. Something about this guy felt wrong, and after tending bar for ten-plus years, Nick trusted it when his gut told him someone was off. He went back to pouring drinks, but he kept an eye on the creep. He was trying to talk to the brunette and she was being stiffly polite, but definitely not encouraging.

  Mia was just about to make some excuses and exit gracefully when her phone rang. She saw that it was Katie and she said to the guy, “Sorry, I just want to take this, OK?”

  He nodded and she turned away from him slightly.

  “Hey, Katie. How’s the networking conference?”

  “Urgh. Waste of time, Mia. You were smart not to come.”

  “Ouch. Sorry to hear that.”

  “But… Joe is here.”

  “Joe? Maggie’s ex?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What’s he doing there? He’s a chef, not an artist or photographer.”

  “He’s opening a new restaurant and is looking for people to do some original artwork for it.” Katie snorted. “He asked Maggie to do a sculpture for the main entrance.”

  “Oh, boy. How did that go?”

  “About as well as you’d expect.”

  “She kicked his ass to the curb?”

  “At least twice.”

  Mia laughed. “What time do you guys get back on Sunday?”

  “Around eight in the evening.”

  “OK. Coffee on Monday morning? My place? You can give me the blow-by-blow then.”

  “Sure thing. Have fun at the club.”

  “Yeah, right. ‘Cause you know clubbing and drinking is totally my scene.”

  “Duck out early.”

  “I’m thinking about it. Bye, Katie.”

  Mia hung up and turned back to Trevor. “Well, it was nice talking to you. Have a nice evening.”

  “You too,” he said. “Maybe I’ll see you later.”

  “Um. Maybe.” Mia gave him a little smile and went back to the table. She sat and took a big gulp of her juice, then another. She looked around, wondering how much longer she’d have to stay before she could bail on the girls, and she saw the guy at the bar watching her closely. She blinked, thinking him really strange and turned her attention to her friends, watching their antics on the dance floor and feeling incredibly boring and old.

  After a few minutes, Iris came back to the table with her lipstick all over her chin. “Hey, Mia! You gonna dance?”

  “Maybe later,” Mia said. “I’ll just drink this first.”

  Iris nodded absently, looking over Mia’s shoulder at some new random guy. She shot off to the floor and started gyrating on him. His friends applauded.

  Oh, God. I think I’ll sneak out now. They’re not going to miss me at this point.

  Mia drained her glass of juice, took the rest of her friends’ money out of her purse and stood up. A wave of dizziness hit her and she staggered. Whoa. I guess I stood up too quickly. She spotted Vanessa and she walked over to her.

  “Hey, Vanessa? I’m off now. Here’s your money, OK?”

  Vanessa gave a vague wave and stuffed the cash in her purse. She turned her back and kept dancing.

  OK, well. I guess I was right – they won’t even notice I’m gone.

  Mia was walking to the door when her head started to spin. She stopped, totally disoriented. She couldn’t understand why she felt so drunk when she hadn’t had anything to drink. The flashing lights made her more confused and she lurched to one side, then the other. Someone crashed in to her and she spun off in yet another direction. She had no control over her body suddenly, and she felt her balance start to go. Feeling sick and dizzy, she reached out blindly, hoping to make contact with a wall, a table, something solid that she could hold on to until whatever this was passed.

  Then hands were on her upper arms, supporting her. Gasping, she raised her head, tried to focus. A man was holding her up. She opened her mouth to thank him just before she pitched forward, insensible.

  Trevor looked down at Mia. She was limp and her eyes were half-open.

  “I’ve got you,” he said.

  **

  Nick glanced up from the till just in time to see the creep from the bar practically carrying the brunette out the door. She looked really out of it, like her feet weren’t even under her anymore. He frowned. From just looking at the two of them and if he didn’t know better, he’d say that the guy was supporting his wasted girlfriend. The problem was that he knew for a fact that the woman wasn’t wasted. She also wasn’t this creep’s girlfriend.

  So what’s she doing leaving with him? And why can’t she walk on her own?

  The truth hit him like a truck and he launched himself over the bar in one strong movement. Nick barreled through the dancing crowd, losing precious seconds, using his massive upper body to roughly force people out of his way. He reached the door, ducked outside in to the cool early-autumn night. He looked both directions, back and forth; no sign of them.

  “Adam!”

  His friend turned. “Yeah?”

  “A guy and girl just came out of here – she looked totally wasted. Which way did they go?”

  “I don’t know. I was dealing with this dickhead.” Adam gestured at the guy standing there with his wallet out. “Trying to buy his way in, if you can believe it.”

  “Look, man, this is serious.” Nick felt panic rising in him. “We need to find that girl, OK?”

  Adam cocked his dark head at Nick. “How come?”

  “Because that asshole she’s with drugged her.”

  Adam stared at Nick for a second and then shouted to the bouncer on the other door. “Hey, Davis!”

  “Yeah?”

  “Take the main door. Now!” He turned back to Nick. “You go that way, I’ll go this way.”

  Nick shot off down the street, looking in to the small alleys as he passed them. Come on, come on. You can’t have gone far. He ran past a side street, something caught his eye, he backed up. There.

  The guy was shoving the woman in to the back seat of a car; she looked unconscious now. Nick approached quietly while the guy had his back to him.

  “Hey,” Nick said.

  Startled, the man spun around and Nick punched him – Careful now, not as hard as you can, even if this asshole deserves it – right in the chin. With a grunt, the guy slammed head-first in to the door. His legs buckled, he slid down the side of the car and slumped over. He was out cold.

  Nick reached in to the car and gingerly pulled the woman towards him. Her head lolled, her body was boneless. As her face became visible under the streetlight, Nick saw a raised welt on her left cheek and a big cut on her right temple.

  The fucker hit her. Maybe she tried to fight back?

  He took off his t-shirt and carefully put it under her head. She didn’t even move; she barely seemed to be breathing. He knelt down beside her and touched her uninjured cheek. She was cold.

  “Damn,” he muttered.

  There was nothing for it, he knew. He climbed in to the car and gathered the woman in his arms. He pulled her gently on to his lap and then tucked her head under his chin and held her, trying to warm her up with his own body heat.

  Ada
m came around the corner and saw Nick sitting in the car. He ran over, scarcely giving the unconscious guy at his feet a second glance.

  “Is she OK?”

  “I don’t think so. She’s totally out, man, and freezing cold. You’ve got to call an ambulance.”

  “My phone is back at the club. I’ll call and come right back. Give me two minutes.”

  “You want to do something about this bastard before you go?” Nick pointed his chin at the creep.

  “Yeah. Sure thing.”

  Adam popped the trunk and picked up the guy like his dead weight was nothing. Without ceremony, Adam tossed him in to the trunk and slammed it closed.

  “He’ll only be in there for ten minutes or so,” Adam said. “Just until the ambulance comes. Then I’ll haul him out and wait for the cops.”

  Nick shrugged. “I really don’t give a crap. You can leave him in there all night, as far as I’m concerned.”

  “It’s tempting. OK, I’ll be right back. Hold on.”

  After Adam had gone, Nick turned his attention back to the woman. He brushed her hair back off her face and examined her injuries more closely. She’d have a bad bruise on her cheek, no doubt about it, and it looked like she’d need stitches for that gash. Gently, he pressed his t-shirt down on her temple, trying to stop the bleeding.

  Mia felt a horrible pain shoot through her head and she groaned. She tried to lift her hand to touch her forehead but she wasn’t able to move.

  “Hey,” a deep voice rumbled under her ear. “Hey, are you OK?”

  Mia fought to open her eyes but the lids felt impossibly heavy.

  “Can you hear me?” Somebody was lightly touching her face now. “You’re going to be OK. You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”

  For a few seconds, Mia was able to hear and feel everything: she was pressed up against a naked chest that was rising and falling steadily. She felt the man’s heartbeat against her cheek, and his warmth spread over her whole body. She heard his voice and felt his arms around her. His hands were gentle as they stroked her hair.