The Fighter’s Block: Cole, Book Two

by Hadley Quinn

  “After how long? How long had you been in Jersey before you came to see me?”

  Cole could tell Mickey was a bit miffed about that. He couldn’t blame him. The man took care of people like family. Staying connected was important to him.

  “I’m sorry, I just wasn’t ready for it. Being in this gym after everything I’d been through in California… I’d gone against your training for so long, I didn’t feel like I could tell you that. I guess I was meant to return, though. Jack assigned me to Van’s case. I suppose it was inevitable because of my MMA background.”

  “Inevitable,” Mickey repeated dourly. “Sure. I guess. But you still should’ve seen me. You could’ve talked to me, Cole.”

  “I know that now,” he nodded. “But really, maybe you don’t quite understand. I spent so many years not trusting a single person, not sure of who I could turn to. I shut myself off. Completely.”

  “And you’re still a bit shut off, but coming around.”

  “Yeah, maybe a little bit.” He didn’t really feel that way, though. He pretty much had to force himself to share these things with Mickey. He was also thinking of someone in particular; someone he hoped he could trust enough to open up to even more.

  Eventually.

  “Who are you thinking of?” Mickey chuckled. “I know that goo-goo ga-ga look.”

  Cole lightly laughed, even though he was bugged that he’d been so transparent. But before he could respond, Jack appeared in the doorway.

  “You don’t answer your damn phone?” he asked gruffly.

  Cole patted his sides, remembering he was just wearing a pair of shorts and his stuff was still in a locker. “Shit, sorry.” He stood. “What’s going on?”

  “Huge raid last night on three different ‘businesses’ over there in Miami. It’s a clusterfuck of people and immigration and…Jesus!”

  “Wow, and Jesus?”

  “No, surely not, smart ass.”

  “And what about Mills?”

  “Still can’t locate that fucker. And I tried to get information about that bitch that’s working for him/with him/on him… I don’t know what the hell is going on.”

  “Yeah, she pisses me off too,” Cole said. “Let me go grab my stuff.”

  He left the office without waiting for an answer, headed to the locker room, rinsed himself off in the shower, and threw his clothes on while he was still wet. Jack was waiting for him outside by this truck. It was a good thing to focus on as he left the gym because all eyes were looking him over. He’d completely forgotten about Gary but didn’t bother checking on him.

  That was going to be a fun interaction for the next time.

  Cole quickly scanned his phone. Five missed calls, three texts, two voicemails. He went through them while Jack was talking on his own phone to someone. There wasn’t anything too pressing, but one message caught his attention. It was from one of his contacts that had been checking on some facts for him.

  “Cole, it’s Maggie. We need to meet in person. A.S.A.P. You’re not going to believe what I found. Meet me at Dexter’s, I need a drink.”

  Cole shoved his phone into his pocket. “I gotta go,” he said to Jack. He didn’t explain any further; he never needed to.

  He made it to Maggie’s favorite bar in record time. It was almost eight at night and he was exhausted to the bone, but any break in a case was met with whatever energy he could muster up.

  Maggie was sitting in the back corner, her usual spot. Black hair that was graying, piercing teal eyes, mid-fifties… The former judge was now a brilliant consultant in her retired years, with a slew of connections.

  And amazing at research, which Cole was counting on.

  He sat across from her as she set a thin stack of miscellaneous sized papers in front of him.

  “I’ll just let you figure it out yourself,” she said, and then sipped on her martini.

  Cole gathered the information in front of him, placing each paper so it was visually appealing to him by size and shape. It was an O.C.D thing. It took a few minutes, but each piece was beginning to find a place in the puzzle.

  “Holy fucking shit,” he exhaled.

  “Uh huh,” Maggie nodded. “I’d say you’ve got a whole new ballgame, kid.”

  Cole took another deep breath and looked over the information again, just to let it sink in. He was not expecting this at all.

  “So whatcha gonna do?” Maggie asked, sipping her drink again. “These are friends of yours, yes?”

  He sighed. “Yeah, they’re friends. And…I don’t know how to proceed, I guess.”

  “Well, just think it over. You’ve got a set of smarts, fortunately. You’re a rare gem, honey. Hence the reason I would even spend my time on you. And if you ever tell my ex husband I’m helping him—somewhat—I’ll kill you.”

  Smiling, he looked at Maggie and said, “I won’t tell Jack, I promise. And I appreciate that you care. Somewhat.”

  He stood and leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek. “Thanks, Maggs. I owe you.”

  “You owe me nothing. Except…”

  He waited for her to finish, but she took the last gulp of her drink instead and winked at him.

  “Except what?” he asked carefully.

  “Hmm, you just let me know when you’re ready to forget everyone’s problems and let me set you up with my niece.”

  Cole declined by shaking his head. “I appreciate the offer but I don’t have time for anything like that.”

  “Doesn’t have to be that way.”

  He considered that for a moment as he slid the papers back to Maggie. “Yeah, for now it does.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Cole knew the information that had been uncovered was going to rock some worlds. He headed for his apartment dog-tired, needing to get a couple hours of sleep. He also needed time to figure out what his next move was. He didn’t have to worry about Leah. Sam was watching the house, and as of fifteen minutes ago, they finally had eyes on Alex Mills in Miami. It seemed like Cole had a little safe window of time so he could get some rest.

  When he walked into his apartment, something felt off. He could tell right away that someone had been there or…someone was in there right now. It was dark except for one light above the stove. He never left that on. He flipped on the closest lamp to light the room, remaining aware of his surroundings as he drew his gun. After a quick search of the front room, kitchen, and bathroom, he kept his eyes focused on the light under the bedroom door.

  He definitely didn’t leave that on, either.

  Coming to a stop, he listened for a few seconds. Nothing. Then he silently turned the knob and pushed the door open slightly, keeping his eye on the hinge side for shadows. It wasn’t until he was halfway through the door when a movement caught his eye across the room and he pointed his gun directly at it.

  She screamed.

  “What the fuck are you doing!?” Leah yelled at him, quickly covering up her entirely naked body with as much of her arms and hands as she could. “I’m getting dressed!”

  Cole lowered his weapon. “What the fuck am I doing?” he retorted. “This is my bedroom. What are you doing?”

  “Can you stop staring at me?!” she shouted, reaching for anything in the dresser drawer. She pulled out one of his t-shirts and covered herself as much as she could.

  Truth was, he hadn’t even thought to look. He was just stunned to see her in his apartment. “Oh please,” he scoffed. “Like I’ve never seen a naked woman before.”

  “Get out!” she screeched again.

  He stepped out of his room and slammed the door behind him. “Get out?” he asked himself. “Get out of my own fucking room. Jesus Christ,” he groaned.

  He stalked to the refrigerator and grabbed the last beer. He was positive he’d had more than that, and sure enough, there were two empty bottles sitting on the counter. He sighed and made his way to the couch, totally frustrated and confused about what the hell was going on.

  Leah came out two minutes
later, fully dressed with a scowl on her face. “Why the hell would you pull a gun on me?” she asked, hands on her hips. “I think I may have pissed on your floor!”

  He shook his head in disbelief. “Leah, you can’t just show up in my fucking apartment whenever you want!

  “Do you not read your texts anymore? Do you ever answer your phone?”

  His heart dropped a bit. After he’d received Maggie’s message, he hadn’t bothered to check the rest.

  Cole pulled out his phone and found her text.

  Van took Dani to the hospital, Sam is bringing me to your apartment.

  Then he saw one from Sam: Fam emergency for Kemps, Leah wanted your place, says she has a key. Call me.

  He looked directly at Leah. “Why do you have a key to my apartment?” he asked evenly.

  She slowly shrugged.

  “Leah, how did you get a key to my apartment?” he repeated more firmly.

  “I found your spare,” she answered, narrowing her eyes on him. “Come on, don’t be mad. You kicked me out of here and sent me back to Van. What if I needed somewhere else to go? I don’t know what’s happening, what if I needed a safe house or something?”

  “God, Leah, if you needed a ‘safe house’, I would put you in one. You’re perfectly fine at your brother’s. I can’t believe Sam brought you here without my verbal consent first. He knows better.”

  Whatever was going on, Leah looked guilty as hell.

  “Leah? What the hell did you tell Sam?”

  “Oh Jesus, really? We’re all adults here!”

  “And what the fuck does that mean?”

  She stared at him for a very long time. He knew exactly what she told Sam but he wanted to hear her say it out loud.

  “I have a question for you,” she stated.

  “No, answer mine first. What’d you tell Sam to convince him to bring you here?”

  “Just drop it,” she huffed away for the kitchen and pulled the fridge open.

  “Sorry, the bar is closed,” Cole told her, feeling pissed that she was being so childish. “God,” he groaned out loud, standing from the couch. He drank the rest of his beer, slammed the empty bottle on the coffee table, and headed for the bedroom. “What the hell is going on?” he asked Sam the second he answered his phone.

  “Oh shit, she lied to me, didn’t she…” he sighed. “I’m sorry, man. I just thought… She told me you guys sleep together… I don’t know anything about your private life, Cole. So yeah, I was intrigued. I mean you finally found someone besides just work—”

  “Keeping my private life separate is what makes us work so well together, okay? I prefer it that way. If I’m happy, you get paid. Right now I’m not so happy.”

  “I’m really sorry, dude. She’s Van’s sister. I know you trust him, they’re becoming like family to me… I just—”

  “Hold up, what about Dani? Why’d she have to go to the hospital?” He’d just remembered Leah’s text and he felt like an asshole for not asking about it sooner.

  “Some kind of pain she was having,” Sam answered. “Van wasn’t specific.”

  Cole sighed again. He had no idea how many hours he’d been deprived of sleep at this point. “Look, man. I am extremely exhausted. I’ll be heading to bed, I just need a couple hours. Do I have to put a tracking device on her?”

  Sam chuckled. “No, you don’t. I got you, pal. Go to sleep. You know, the best way to keep tabs on her tonight would be—”

  Cole hung up on him.

  ***

  Ninety minutes of sleep was ninety minutes. Cole wished he could sleep longer but it just wasn’t meant to be. One of these days he would relax long enough to get a full night.

  He knew right away that Leah was in his bed when he woke. He wasn’t going to fight it, either. Somehow they’d fused a bit of a wall between them and that had never been his intention. He’d definitely been too close to this case, and deep down inside he knew why he’d been wracked with nerves.

  Personal cases didn’t belong anywhere near him.

  “Why are you awake?” Leah’s voice came softly.

  Cole slid his hands behind his neck and turned onto his back. “I don’t sleep much.”

  “I know that, but you’ve been awake for, like, two days. You can’t sleep more than an hour?”

  “It’s not that simple,” he answered.

  Glad he already had shorts on, he got up and left the bedroom. He couldn’t deal with her in his bed right now. It seemed so wrong, given the circumstances. This case just needed to be done. He needed a personal life, with real people, and that just wasn’t going to happen with it all mixed together.

  Business first.

  The light above the stove was still on, which threw him for a second. He wasn’t used to living around someone else in his own space.

  He switched it off. It didn’t look right.

  Sitting on the couch, he turned the lamp on and then the television. He pulled out the key from the drawer and unlocked the cabinet to remove a folder and a legal pad full of notes. He took a pen and crossed off two items with a tidy, straight line, and then added three more items.

  He studied those papers for almost an hour until something clicked. This wasn’t even about Leah—well yeah it was, but for an entirely different reason than he’d once suspected. He needed to look at this case from a different angle; one that he hadn’t even considered yet.

  Cole grabbed his phone and made a call to Sam. “Hey man, you can go home to sleep. I got this from here.”

  Pause. “You sure?”

  “Positive. I’m gonna fax you some information, okay? Head home for it and discuss it with Jack.”

  “Roger that.”

  Cole gathered up what he needed and took it to where he considered his “office” to be. It was just a corner where he kept his laptop and fax machine—not much to it.

  After he faxed his information to Sam, he stepped into the hallway to call Jack, not wanting Leah to hear. Didn’t matter that it was the middle of the night, Jack always insisted he call if he had something to share. After Cole gave him a brief account of what he’d figured out, the lawyer let out a breath of air.

  “Wow. Holy shit.”

  “Yeah, right?” Cole shook his head. “I mean that should be enough to help your case too?”

  “Yeah, yeah, don’t you worry about that. You know Mills was brought in for questioning, right? You got my text?”

  “Yeah, I got it. Anything yet?”

  “Nah, that son-of-a-bitch won’t say a word according to my contact. He wants to see Leah, though.”

  Cole laughed sarcastically. “Do we have the little girl yet?”

  “Nope.”

  “Then he can fuck himself.”

  “My words exactly.”

  “Where’s he at? Still in Miami?”

  “Yeah, he was picked up. He hasn’t been officially charged with anything yet.”

  “What the fuck?” Cole let out a very frustrated sigh. He knew how things worked, but he hated the procedural waiting game. “I’m heading back to Miami. Arrange for me to be able to question him.”

  “Cole—”

  “No, we’re gonna end this for good. This is personal now.”

  “You wanna fill me in, jackass?”

  “Sam will fill you in, okay? I need to get going.”

  “You’d better keep me posted.”

  “I will.” He hung up and returned to his apartment. When he entered, Leah was sitting on the couch looking over his files. She particularly had his legal pad in her hand; the one that he’d just written a very specific life-changing piece of information on.

  Fuck.

  She stared at him for a very long time until she asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Leah, I—”

  “You could have just told me!” she shouted as she stood.

  “I didn’t know how. And I just found out, okay? I just wanted to sleep on it a bit and address it in the morning.”

  “O
h, address it? Is that how you tell someone news like that!? Oh my God,” she moaned as she dropped onto the couch. “This is just… This is… so…fucking bizzarro but…” She sighed heavily and dropped her face into her hands. “It makes sense now,” she added quietly.

  “Does it?”

  “Yeah, it does,” she hardly whispered.

  She sat in silence for a minute while Cole gathered his file and locked it back in the end table cabinet.

  “Are you sure?” she asked. “You’re absolutely, positively, one-hundred-percent sure?”

  Sighing, he nodded his head. “Yeah, I’m sure. Go pack a bag—if you have stuff here. You’re coming to Miami with me. Miami again,” he groaned softly, shaking his head. He really needed to stop traveling.

  Leah didn’t even ask questions. She headed to the bedroom and came out a few minutes later with a little backpack. “It’s all I have and I don’t care. Let’s go.”

  Chapter Thirty

  “And we have ‘trapped in the flying dome of death, part three,” Leah said, glancing at Cole. “Even being up here in first class bothers you?”

  The plane hadn’t taken off yet but Cole was trying to focus on business at the moment, just to distract himself. And even though he could appreciate first class when it was on Jack’s dime, it still didn’t alleviate the stress that flying gave him.

  “I’m more comfortable in the seat, but yes, I still hate flying,” he answered honestly.

  “Is it for any particular reason? Have you always felt that way?”

  He had absolutely no idea when the aversion started. The first time he ever got on a plane was when he was nineteen years old. He thought he was going to have a fucking panic attack. In fact, he was pretty sure he did. Since then he still felt the same way any time he had to get on a plane, but he’d found ways to control himself. Same with elevators.

  “I don’t know,” he answered. “I just don’t like being confined somewhere.”