The Fighter's Block

by Hadley Quinn

  She studied him for a second. He would barely look at her these days. “I wish you would just tell me why the hell you hate being around me, Cole. Did something happen?”

  She glanced at Paul next to her. He’d been less than thrilled that she’d dragged Cole over to sit with them, but there wasn’t much he could do because Van had told him to back off.

  Lowering her voice, she got close to Cole’s ear and asked, “We used to be able to talk and now we don’t. Did someone say something to you? You can tell me, Cole. Did one of the guys warn you again to stay away from me?”

  He could feel her breath on his cheek when she spoke, and the smell of her hair… Damn it to hell.

  “I don’t fucking have a family, Dani. I don’t have a brother, I don’t have a sister, I don’t have parents, and I don’t even build houses. I’m not who you think I am.”

  She didn’t know how to reply. Her heart started pounding in her chest and she leaned back slightly to look him over. Then who was this guy? Her first thought was that he was one of Mickey’s responsibilities; someone that he took under his wing because he needed help. He’d done that for Van, and he’d done it for other guys that needed to escape their current lives. She was pretty sure Scotty was one of those kids, too; someone that Mickey took in because his parents wanted nothing to do with him. Dani could sympathize because of what happened to her own brother.

  “Is he bothering you, Dani?” Paul asked from beside her. She wouldn’t answer, but the two of them—Cole and Dani—were in a strange, silent stare down. “Dani?” he nudged her.

  She broke her gaze and replied, “No, he’s not. We’re just talking.”

  Paul shrugged at Scotty, who was also staring at Cole with narrowed eyes.

  Dani was going to ask if Cole would clarify, but her husband’s match was announced and her heart began pounding for a different reason.

  Cole sat back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. He’d come for an entirely different reason, but here he was in this cycle with Dani again.

  Dani didn’t like the look of Van’s opponent. Mendez appeared to be ready to fight to the death. She swallowed down her fear and tried to take a calming breath, reminding herself that Van had the same look to him.

  “Mendez better watch out,” she muttered. “We’ve got diapers to buy.”

  Both Cole and Paul heard her. Paul laughed with agreement, and Cole—despite the shit he’d just unloaded on her—couldn’t help but smile.

  “Come on, baby! You can do this!” she cheered. When the match started, Dani decided to put Cole’s declaration behind her and she turned to him and said, “Whatever you tell me, I would understand, Cole. You’ve been a good friend to me; I can’t ignore that.”

  He slightly shook his head. “Dani, you need to learn that people can be deceptive. Just because someone has a friendly smile, or a good sense of humor, doesn’t mean they’re a good person.”

  She knew that to be true and had learned it the hard way, but decided to play a lighter note. “Well you have neither a friendly smile nor a good sense of humor, so I think we’re okay.”

  That made him smile and he shook his head again. She was feisty. He caught her side-glance and the smile she was trying to hold back but didn’t respond. There was a silent agreement between them as they turned their attention back to the octagon.

  Van’s match was a brutal one and Cole actually felt sorry for Dani. When Van took his turn as a punching bag, Paul gave her a reassuring squeeze until it was over. Cole had considered it because it was instinct, but his brain told him he knew better.

  The match went the entire three rounds and was judged by decision at the end.

  Van won.

  Dani cried. She was borderline sick again and wanted to throw up. Pregnancy was causing all sorts of unwelcome feelings in her stomach and watching her husband go through so much physical pain didn’t help.

  It’d been the final matchup of the night, and when it was over, the arena began to clear out. Van was still being looked over by Andre, so Dani waited outside the octagon until he was available. He’d been cleaned up a bit and the damage didn’t look as bad, but he was utterly exhausted.

  He held Dani for a moment, wishing he was home and could drop onto the bed and not move for a few days. He wondered if he was just getting too old for this kind of sport. He knew Mendez was the toughest there was, but maybe Van really was ready to retire.

  The guys all gave him congratulatory pats on the back or fist bumps, and plenty of praise. Mickey said he was proud as hell. Dani was too, but equally she was glad it was over.

  The entire group of them went out for drinks that night. Dani even invited Cole and she was surprised that he actually accepted. What she didn’t know was that he had an ulterior motive. There was one person in particular that he wanted to keep an eye on, and as soon as he got the results he was waiting for, Van was never going to believe it.

  After food and drinks, as everyone was getting ready to part for the night, Van took Cole aside and said, “You know something, don’t you?”

  “I know a lot of things.”

  Van scoffed with amusement. “Come on, man. You know what I mean. You’re here for someone in particular, aren’t you?”

  “You know, I’ve never been ‘undercover,’” he said, using air quotes, “with someone up my ass so much.”

  Van smiled. “You’re an investigator. The undercover aspect of it only lasted so long.”

  “It’s lasting just fine, Van. You’re the only one allowed to know. I wouldn’t have gotten as much information as I did if everyone knew I was looking into them.”

  Van knew that but he just liked giving him a hard time. “So what can I help with?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” Cole replied. “I’m waiting for some information.”

  “What kind of information?”

  Cole gave him a look that expressed his agitation. “I’ll let you know when I have something solid.”

  Van hated this. He’d been through hell and back—so had Dani—and it killed him that there was going to be something more to suffer through. He had no idea who could have set him up, but he did know that finding out was going to hurt.

  Mickey was eyeing the two men suspiciously and it was only a few seconds before he joined their conversation. He thought Van was unaware of Cole’s occupation, but there was something about the way those two conversed that was suggesting otherwise.

  “You should get those weary bones home to bed,” Mickey told Van.

  “I know, I’m heading there. I’m still buzzing on adrenaline right now, but I’m gonna be dead in the morning.”

  “Rest and ibuprofen. You know the drill. And water. Drink and replenish.” He actually motioned Dani over and she left her conversation with a small group of people. “Take this useless lump home,” Mickey told her, motioning to Van.

  Dani smiled and said, “I wanted to take him home right after the match, but no, he had media people on him and then I get dragged here to drink ginger ale.”

  Mickey grinned. “The both of ya… Get out of here.”

  “No argument here,” Van said. He waited for Dani’s agreement when she nodded, and after he announced his departure—and more congratulatory cheers ensued—he slid his arm around his wife and they left.

  Mickey waited for them to leave before he turned to Cole and said, “He seems to like you. That’s odd since the guy can’t even trust his fight family anymore. Why would he trust the new guy?”

  Cole could read him loud and clear. “He already figured it out. I didn’t tell him.”

  “Then I sure hope to hell that you’re not letting him stick his nose in your business. I can’t afford it, Cole. Van is like a son to me and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna sit back and watch him detonate. His life has been fucked up enough. He don’t need more trouble.”

  “You brought me in to fix a problem. It’s almost done. And how can you expect him to sit back and wait, especially when the guy who fuc
king framed him is in this very room?”

  Mickey took a breath to keep himself calm. “I wanna hear none of that ‘til you have more proof.”

  “I don’t need more proof. Call it a gut feeling. Call it whatever you want. You didn’t want to believe me from the beginning, but how can you not?”

  “When I have more evidence that what you’ve told me, then I’ll believe it. I saw Van go through hell for something he didn’t do. Whose to say this guy just got a raw piece of the deal, too?”

  “I guess we’ll find out, won’t we…”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  “Makes it kind of difficult when you won’t open your legs,” Van teased. He slid his hand behind Dani’s thigh but she giggled again.

  “Then stop tickling me!” she squealed, trying to shove him away.

  But for Van, fending her off was a piece of cake. “You’re so sensitive today,” he smiled, snuggling closer to her in the sheets.

  “And you’re quite nimble the morning after a huge fight. I kind of thought I’d be cutting your food into tiny pieces.”

  He laughed with feigned arrogance. “Me? Whatever.”

  “Oh, so you’re perfectly fine to take on any sort of lovin’ I have in mind?”

  He lifted a brow. “What do you have in mind? Last night was pretty damn awesome. I didn’t even have to milk it one bit and you treated me like a god.”

  “Because you’re spoiled.”

  “I am definitely spoiled.”

  “And because you’re—”

  There was a loud pounding on the door to their apartment. It sounded angry and impatient, and they heard a voice yell, “Answer the fucking door, Van!”

  Van wasn’t sure what was going on as he moved to throw some clothes on.

  “Don’t answer it,” Dani told him. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

  The pounding continued and Van shook his head. “Well it better be important or someone’s gonna get their ass kicked for disrespecting my privacy.”

  When he had some shorts on he left the bedroom as Dani scurried to put something on, as well.

  “I’m not fucking kidding, Van!” the pounding continued. “Open this goddamn—”

  Van flung the door open, ready to beat the shit out of Cody. “What the fuck is your problem!?”

  Cody pushed past him and entered the room. Van was going to throw his ass out the door for barging in like that until Cody yelled, “I didn’t take your fucking shoes out of your locker!”

  Van stared at him for a second as Dani peeked into the living room from the hall. Cody looked pissed as hell, but he also looked scared. She didn’t like how close the two had looked to going at it right from the start.

  Van was cautious as he narrowed his eyes at him. “I never accused you of taking my shoes,” he replied evenly. “Why would you say that?”

  “Because that’s what everyone’s saying at the gym! That you said it was me!”

  “I never said that to anyone, Cody,” Van replied suspiciously. “Who did you hear that from?”

  “I don’t even fucking know. Paulie told me that’s what was going around the Divehouse. He said he heard it from someone who heard it from someone else.”

  “Well I never said that, man. If I thought it was you I would have confronted you myself.”

  Cody swallowed, trying to keep himself from shaking. He’d never felt so scared in his life, having Van think he framed him for murder. “So it’s not true? You didn’t say that to anyone, not even joking?”

  “Never. You’re like a brother to me, Code. I trust you.”

  Cody exhaled. That was a relief. But if Van had never uttered such a thought, it meant only one thing…

  “There’s something going on there, Van. Something fucked up. We’re all at each other’s throats, everyone suspects everyone else. Whoever did that to you is still out there. If it wasn’t Q, then it’s someone else from the Divehouse. I don’t like this, Van. There’s another fucked up brother among us.”

  By then Paul had entered the apartment through the open door, having easily heard the commotion from his place. He was only in a pair of sweats and looked like he’d just woken up. Marnie was right behind him, looking just as sleep deprived. Scotty came from next door, and then Gary, and then Cole from a few doors down.

  They all stood in Van’s apartment, looking around at each other.

  Having heard Cody’s last comment, Paul said, “I don’t know about you guys, but I feel like it’s up to us to end this shit once and for all. I’m sick of looking over my shoulder. We got how many fighters in the club? –Thirty-some? Twelve of us live on this block, and twelve of us have been suspects because we live here.”

  They all looked at each other again, not a single one of them comfortable with the tension.

  Finally Van shook his head. “I don’t want to worry about this anymore. For whatever reason someone decided to make a deal with the devil, it’ll come out sooner or later. Until then, I have a wife and a kid on the way. I can’t risk their happiness and I won’t. I was close to losing everything, and now I need to just hold on to what I have and be grateful. I’m in no position to figure this out right now.”

  “Maybe you are,” Cole said.

  Everyone turned to look at him since he was still standing in the open doorway, leaning against the frame.

  Van tilted his head with inquiry. “Meaning?”

  Cole stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. It raised a couple of eyebrows, and Paul even felt a bit defensive being stuck in a room with this guy. They all watched him walk toward Dani of all people. Cole reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope and held it out to her.

  “I believe these are yours,” he said.

  When he opened the envelope to reveal its contents, she gasped and put her hands to her mouth. “Oh my God! Where did you find them!?”

  She held her hands out and he gently slid the sparkling jewelry out of the paper and into her palms. “It’s all there.”

  “Oh my God,” she repeated, this time in a whisper. “Thank you, Cole.” She looked at him with confusion. “But I don’t understand. How did you get them?”

  By this time the room was filled with a mix of emotions. There was curiosity, intrigue and bewilderment, but most importantly, there was one person present who was ready to flee the scene.

  “I think there’s someone else in the room that can answer that better than me,” Cole replied.

  Instantly every pair of eyes began darting from one person to another. The amount of unease thickened in the room as Cole walked across the apartment again. It became a sick game of duck-duck-goose as he moved amongst the bodies standing about.

  Finally he stopped. He could practically hear the heartbeat crashing in the man’s chest. He looked at Scotty and said, “I think you owe Van an explanation.”

  There was a synchronization of movement, each fighter’s body filling with a violent need to attack or defend.

  With a scoff Scotty said, “Who the fuck do you think you are? Are you the asshole spreading the rumors at the gym?”

  With a smile Cole replied, “Actually, yes I am. And it was quite productive. See, it gave you a little bit of breathing room. And you used it, which was stupid. You thought you were in the clear because the police weren’t able to tie the evidence to anyone after Van was released. There was no knowledge of where the gun came from, how it got in Van’s truck, how his shoes ended up at the crime scene… It was only proved that Van had nothing to do with any of that. An obvious set up. And well done, if I do say so myself.”

  “You are out of your fucking mind!” Scotty yelled. He looked at everyone in the room. “Do you see what he’s doing? We’ve all been accused of this shit!”

  “But you’re the only one that actually did it,” Cole stated evenly.

  The room was deathly still. Everyone was staring at Scott with anger and confusion, waiting for an explanation.

  Finally he scoffed. “I don’t have to
listen to this garbage. If you guys want to believe this asshole over me, then whatever. Who is he anyways? I’ve known you for six years, Van! I don’t even know who the hell he is!”

  He turned to leave but Cole said, “The police are downstairs waiting to talk to you, Scotty. It’s over. We’ve got what we need to put you away, man. I suggest you just come clean. You owe Van at least that much.”

  Scotty froze at the door. His heart was raging in his chest. He was torn between punching a fist through something and daring anyone to stop him if he just walked away.

  “You broke your hand weeks ago, didn’t you?” Cole continued. “Most likely when you bashed Brian Thompson’s face in with it. I’m sure a few of the guys at the gym will say that you’ve been favoring it this entire time. You’ve held back on your workouts until you finally had it looked at and casted.”

  It made sense to Gary and he said, “That’s true. You’ve just been taping it up, doing lower body workouts or non-contact with upper body.”

  “And you told me you wanted to just work your left side,” Cody added.

  “So what if I didn’t know I broke my hand! That proves I killed someone?”

  “No, but you’ve been in this apartment dozens of times,” Cole said. “You made a copy of Van’s truck key, you broke into his locker and took his shoes, and you wiped the gun clean and planted it in his truck.”

  “I thought the gun was Quincy’s?” Paul asked.

  Cole shook his head. “Nope. Same make and model, different weapon. Quincy’s gun has been with him this entire time and it’s never fired a shot.”

  The eyes in the room shifted to one another and then settled on Scotty again.

  “Why would you do this?” Van finally asked. “Why would you frame me for something that would put me in prison for the rest of my life?”

  Scotty’s stone façade almost faltered but he couldn’t let it. “This is all bullshit, Van. I didn’t do any of that. Who the fuck is this guy, accusing us of this shit! You’ve got a lot of nerve working your way into our family,” he said to Cole. “Mickey needs his fucking head examined! You’re an outsider,” he growled.