The Fighter's Block

by Hadley Quinn

  “You listen to me, Van. You were a stupid ass kid when your dad went to prison. You weren’t even there that night. She held a gun to his head, Van. She threatened to kill him—”

  “He deserved it; she didn’t! I don’t even want to hear it again! You understand that? He made my life a living hell! I want nothing to do with him!” He hung up the phone, and even though his first instinct was to throw it through a window, he just gripped it in his hand so tightly until he felt it crack.

  Dani left the couch and entered the kitchen. She knew that he never liked talking about his dad, so she didn’t ask. She only slid her arms around his waist to give him a hug and said, “I love you, Van. Just let it go, okay?”

  He took a deep breath and as he exhaled, imagined all of the negativity slip away. He held his wife for another minute and then said, “How do you feel about moving?”

  Dani pulled back to look at him and automatically asked, “What?”

  “He’s moving to Edison; I know he will.”

  “But I thought you said he’d probably be going back to Monroe. Your family moved up here when you were fifteen, right?”

  “Yeah, but he’ll be working here; eight blocks from here to be exact.”

  Dani considered that for a few seconds but it didn’t take long to come to a conclusion. It would make Van’s life a living hell. And that, combined with Brian, was going to be way too much to deal with.

  “I’ll do whatever you think is best,” she told him.

  “If we move, there are so many things to think about, though.”

  “I know, but it’s your choice, Van, and I’ll do whatever we need to make it work. As long as I’m with you, I don’t care where we live.”

  He exhaled, but it didn’t relax him one bit. His mind was running a million miles a second and he couldn’t pin down a solid thought.

  “Is it the only job he could get?” Dani eventually asked. “What if we could find him a different one? Somewhere else.”

  Van hadn’t considered that, but she could be on to something. He nodded and said, “Yeah, I’ll have to think about that. Maybe I could do some bargaining.”

  “What kind of bargaining?” she asked warily.

  “Well, all he wants is for me to be there when he’s released. If I do that, maybe he’ll do something for me. Maybe I could get him to return to Monroe with the rest of his shitty family.”

  Dani wasn’t sure seeing his father would be the best thing for Van. She felt it was something best left alone. “Can’t you just put the request in to his lawyer? Maybe he’ll take the chance to do something for you without expecting anything in return.”

  Van was doubtful, but she was right in thinking that’s how he should approach it first. But honestly, if it meant keeping him out of Edison, Van would see his father no matter how difficult it was.

  He spent the next two days juggling his workouts at the Divehouse, inquiring about new apartments in different cities, phone calls with Gus, and searching for Brian’s whereabouts. He especially stressed over the fact that he didn’t know what Brian’s next move was, and even though he’d destroyed the video that was sent, Van knew it wasn’t the only one. Brian could do some serious damage to Dani’s life if it ever went public, which is why they chose to keep the police out of it.

  “Donovan Kemp?” a female voice asked when he answered his phone. He was just about to head home from fueling up his truck.

  “Yeah, that’s me,” he replied as he got into the driver’s seat.

  “This is Ariel Mitchell. I’m returning your call from earlier about my apartment?”

  “Oh, yeah,” he said excitedly. She wouldn’t be calling him back if it was already rented out, and it was the only one that he really got a good feeling about when he researched it online.

  “Well I’m sorry, but I just found a new tenant last night,” she said. His heart dropped, but before he could question why she would call to tell him that, she added, “But how do you feel about houses?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I have a house that will be vacant in a few weeks; I was wondering if you’d be interested in that. It’s four hundred more, but you’ll have more room and it’s only a few blocks from where the apartment is.”

  Houses. He hadn’t thought of that. Growing up he’d never lived in a house, not once. He’d been a career apartment dweller. But the idea of a house with Dani… “Can you email me the link?” he asked.

  “I already did, but I figured I’d call you too.”

  “Thank you. Yeah, I’ll definitely check it out when I get home.”

  “Okay, just let me know as soon as you have a decision.”

  “Sure. And thanks again.”

  He hung up, feeling a little lighter than he’d felt earlier that day. At least something might be looking up.

  But Dani didn’t seem as enthused with the idea like he was. He tried not to judge her reaction right away, so he gave her some time to sort it out.

  “Scranton?” she finally asked.

  Van slightly shrugged and then said, “Well what city do you prefer? I asked and you said you didn’t care.”

  “Well… I mean I don’t really, but what about work?”

  “Work? I’ve got some good connections over there and I’ll have a gym. And you said leaving Flegal wasn’t a concern of yours.” She didn’t say anything at first, but she didn’t have to when Van got the picture. “Ah, you mean you’ll be further from New York and all the endless modeling jobs you have to choose from.”

  She felt slightly hurt that he made it sound so fickle, but she shrugged and said, “Well if you want us to have an income, I’ll need to be in New York at least two weekends a month. I mean that’s probably at least a two hour drive, so I guess I could make it work but—”

  “No, you’re right. That’s too far. I’ll keep looking, it’s no big deal.”

  “I don’t plan on getting into that scene, Van. It was just an option if we need money. I’ll do whatever is best for us. I don’t want a career, baby, I just don’t want you to worry about finances. I know how that feels. It’s just an idea. Maybe once a month would be perfect and that won’t be a big deal to travel for.”

  He slightly nodded. “Okay. So…you think it might be okay?”

  “Anything with you will be okay,” she smiled.

  He returned the smile, feeling relieved. Damn, this marriage stuff and decisions and shit were tough. It was going to be hard for him to change his life from the only things he knew, but he realized it was because of him they had to be in the position they were in. Had he moved away from Edison long ago, he wouldn’t have had to face the possible return of his father. But even though he’d considered it at the time, he had Mickey and the boys at the Divehouse. His dad was gone, locked up out of his sight, so he took Mickey’s invitation to stay and hadn’t regretted it.

  Until now. But who’s to say it didn’t work out that way for a reason? He’d met Dani, but would they have crossed paths anyway? She’d ended up in Edison because of her sister and the job she got, and had she not been on the outs with her parents, Dani would have been living in New York instead.

  Finally Van said, “What if we just take it a week at a time? Why don’t we go look at a few places next week, after your birthday weekend, and we’ll go from there. If we have a good feeling about it, we’ll keep pursuing it. If we don’t, we won’t make any decisions.”

  “But what about your dad?”

  “He’d better stay far away because I don’t have the tolerance for him.”

  “And Brian?”

  “He’d better stay far the fuck away so I don’t kill him.”

  “Van.”

  “I’m just saying…”

  “But what happens if he does something else? I mean who knows what he has planned. I really hope that he’s disappeared for good and all this is in the past, but what if he tries something else?”

  He looked at her for a few seconds and slowly shook his head. “He’d be
tter pray that he doesn’t.”

  She sighed, still burdened with the fact that she’d brought a lot into their marriage because of her past choices. She didn’t care why people thought mistakes were meant to learn from—why you wouldn’t change your past if you could. Some people believed that those mistakes shaped them for the better.

  Not Dani. She wished that she’d never met Brian.

  ***

  Thursday was a day that Van was looking forward to. He was going to put in half a day at the Divehouse, and then he and Dani were heading out for Philadelphia. Dani was so excited, and Van couldn’t wait to spend four days out of town with his wife.

  He avoided calls from Gus, even though he knew the calls were about his father. Donny Kemp was going to be released sometime that morning, according to the first (and only) message that Van had listened to at six a.m. Any calls after that were ignored. Van had only one request, and Gus wouldn’t make it happen.

  Van felt they could both kiss his ass.

  Twelve o’clock found him back at the apartment. He knew Dani was down the hall at Marnie’s so he first helped Scotty move a couch into an apartment downstairs that needed it. Then he grabbed a quick shower and began packing his things for the weekend. His wife had been completely astonished that he hadn’t packed for their trip yet; she’d been packed since Sunday.

  Dani already had her matching travel bags waiting by the front door, so Van dropped his duffel bag next to them. She almost nailed his head with the door when she entered the apartment at the same time.

  “Whoa, I don’t want to go out that way,” he joked, stopping the door with his hands.

  It scared Dani for a second and then she laughed. “No death by door?”

  “Never. When I go it will be in the cage.”

  “Don’t even say that,” she scowled, truly bothered by the statement. She knew he was joking, but it hit too close to home.

  “I’m kidding,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her close. He leaned his head against hers for a few seconds and then softly kissed her lips. “I’m sorry. First we’ll live a long and happy life together, and then when it’s time for me to croak, I’m gonna find me the closest octagon and let it happen.”

  That made her chuckle, just thinking of an old man on his choice of deathbed. “So is that after I croak, or will I still need to croak?”

  It was his turn to laugh but he honestly answered, “I don’t know, but hopefully we won’t be too far apart. For selfish reasons, I hope I croak before you. Or the same time. I couldn’t survive long without you.”

  Dani felt the same way, and she wrapped her arms around him tightly. “Me neither.”

  She liked the way he smelled, and while she breathed him in as he held her close, she tilted her face to his and let him kiss her. She was anxious to get to Philly, but at the moment, her husband—and the desire she had for him—was more important.

  She savored the heat from his mouth and tongue against hers, and she let him strip her naked and have her right there on the living room floor. The way he kissed her and moved inside of her, the amount of love she could see in his eyes, sent an electrical current through every ounce of her. She loved the feel of his body as she wrapped him up in her limbs, and she treasured every word he spoke to her.

  They left an hour later, Van carrying all three bags and Dani carrying her purse and a few things for the car. Just as the bags had been set in the back seat of the Honda, two police cars pulled up to them on the street, one a patrol car and the other an unmarked. They watched a plain clothed detective approach Van and ask, “Donovan Tyler Kemp?”

  Van eyed him for a moment, as well as the three other cops, but nodded his head and replied, “Yes. What’s going on?”

  In about ten seconds Dani went from being the happiest girl in the world to the most devastated when the detective said, “Donovan Kemp, you are under arrest for the murder of Brian Thompson.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “I want to see my husband,” Dani growled for the tenth time. “Let me see him.”

  “Mrs. Kemp, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this. He’s in booking right now. You can’t see him.”

  “Then tell me what makes you think he had anything to do with killing someone.”

  “Why don’t you start answering my questions?” Detective Pearce replied.

  “You’ve asked me real questions? I’m sorry, I thought you were just being a stupid ass. My husband didn’t kill anyone!”

  Detective Pearce only smiled, willing to be tolerant of this scared but feisty beauty queen in denial. He sat down across from her in the interrogation room. “If he’s innocent, then we can clear this up right now. Just answer my questions so we can get to the bottom of this.”

  Dani wasn’t stupid, and she knew it didn’t matter if she told the truth or not. They could manipulate anything she said into something they could use. “I already told you that I was with him all night. If you need to question me further, then you should allow my lawyer to be present.”

  “Are you requesting a lawyer, Mrs. Kemp?”

  “I guess so, since you won’t allow me to talk to my husband. I’m not answering anything else because it’s not even relevant, so if I have to sit here and wait it out until I’m legally allowed to leave, then I guess that’s what I’ll do.”

  Detective Pearce gave her an indifferent shrug and motioned for her to make the call. She retrieved her phone from her purse to call Clarence, but for some reason she paused. She wasn’t as familiar with him as her father was, but at least he was familiar with the things going on in her life, right?

  She considered calling her dad first, and that was the choice she made.

  He was upset. Not only was he furious that Van had been arrested, but he was afraid of what the media was going to do once they got a hold of the story.

  “They didn’t question him first? They just arrested him with the charge?”

  “Yes,” she replied quietly. “Dad, get him out of here. They won’t even let me talk to him; they won’t let me see him—”

  “Danielle, your husband has been arrested for murder. This is going to ruin you, the family. For now you need to stay away from him. Until Clarence gets down there, I want you to just sit tight.”

  “What?” she scoffed. “Are you kidding me? I am not going to stay away from him.” She tried to say it quietly, even though Detective Pearce had left the room. “Is this you doubting his innocence? Can you honestly tell me that you think he did this?”

  Dominic was quiet for several seconds and it made Dani angry. She wanted to reach through the phone and choke him. But he finally said, “Sweetie, I didn’t say that. Just wait a little longer, Clarence is now on his way. Just wait until he talks to you, okay? Follow his advice, Danielle. I’m on my way, too. I’ll see you in about an hour.”

  “Send Clarence to Van first. He needs him more than I do.”

  Dominic paused again. He wasn’t about to tell his daughter that he had no interest in setting up representation for her husband. He only cared about Danielle’s wellbeing and the family name that was going to be tarnished.

  Instead he told her everything was going to be okay.

  ***

  Van’s only phone call had been to Mickey. He refused to talk to anyone at all, and sat for three hours in an empty cell. He knew Dani was probably freaking out by then. The look on her face had almost destroyed him as she cried and tried to come to him, but the police wouldn’t let her. They’d cuffed him and then stuffed him into a squad car, and Dani was left standing there in utter disbelief as they drove away.

  “Fuck,” he sighed to himself. He sat against the cold, cement wall with his eyes closed. For sure they believed they were making him suffer, but it wasn’t going to happen. He’d survived worse. His dad used to beat the shit out of him and then lock him in his room for the night without any dinner. Sometimes he was even forgotten if his mom was at work. Breakfast was usually missed, and then he was lucky if
he walked Darren and Leah to school on time. Van tried to make it to school even if every part of him ached because of his father. His dad rarely ever gave him injuries that other people could see. Donny Kemp avoided hitting his wife and kids in the face. Because of this, the abuse carried on until someone finally died from it.

  Van stood and walked two steps to the iron bars in front of him. Two officers were near the far wall by the hall entry, talking with one another. They stiffened and eyed him carefully, like Van was going to stretch open the bars right then and there and make a break for it. “Hey,” Van called gently to the other officer at the desk. She barely looked up when he asked, “Why can’t I see my wife?”

  She finished entering something into a computer and answered, “Because you’re in timeout.”

  He measured her up for a second, making the assumption that she didn’t know what was going on. “When do I get to talk to my lawyer?” he asked anyway.

  “When he gets here.”

  “I already know he’s here.”

  She slowly narrowed her eyes at him but didn’t respond.

  He sighed and said, “Look, I know he’s here, okay? Can we stop wasting time? I have a right to talk to my lawyer and you’re taking away that right.”

  “No one is interrogating you right now, Mr. Kemp. And your lawyer isn’t ready for you yet.”

  “What does that mean?”

  She shrugged and said, “It means he’s not ready for you yet.”

  He could tell she wasn’t going to talk to him anymore, so he paced back to the wall and dropped onto the hard bench. He waited another hour before the buzzer sounded and three more men entered from the hallway. Two were police officers, and the last one…

  Van offered a sigh of relief. “Jack,” he said softly as he stood and returned to the front of the cell.

  Jackson Tate stood eye level to Van and placed his hands on his shoulders through the bars. He didn’t say any words, but Van felt his support. Jack motioned for the cell to be opened, and then Van was cuffed and led to a private room down the hall. The windowless room wasn’t much of an improvement from where he’d been, but at least Mickey’s brother was with him.