The Fighter's Block (38 page)

“How can you be positive?”

“
Because
,” he replied firmly.
“If either of them knew where Brian lived, they would have told me.”

“There is no reason why either of them would want to save you the
hassle?”

Van was going to reply no right away, but even he had to think about it. It just didn’t make sense
though
. There’s no way either of them would have done something like that without him knowing. “The one thing I’m damn sure of is that neither of them would let me take the fall for something I didn’t do. I won’t dispute their ability to do that to someone, but I know for sure my friends didn’t set me up to go to prison.
Now it’s time for you to answer
my
question, Jack.
Have you figured out who made that call?
”

Jack looked at Van for a long time but he wasn’t ready to give him an answer. This whole case was confusing. Too many things added up when they shouldn’t, and the things that needed to add up
just
didn’t.

“Damn it, Jack, I wanna know who says they saw me that night!”

“Van, there are too many things to sort out right now. That is not something I can just bring up lightly.”

“Then don’t bring it up lightly. Just tell me what the fuck is going on. Who was it, Jack?”

With a sigh he replied, “
It’s on record as an anonymous caller
. The person did not want to be involved.”

“Well no shit
because he’s lying his ass off. So are you saying you
still
don’t know who it is?”

“
I’m
s
aying
I’m worried
it was someone from your apartment building
.
”

Van could only stare at him. “
There’s someone in my building that’s framing me for murder?
Or already
killed
someone?
Dani is still living there! I don’t want her around people like that!”

“Van, calm down.” Jack took a deep breath because he was torn
, but he wanted Van to see the big picture. Maybe it would help
.
“In the courtroom this won’t mean anything. I’m not really worried about an ‘anonymous caller’ in a case where it’s obvious you’re being set up. We
’ll prove that
,
so don’t worry
. But there’s something else you seriously need to think about
when you’re released
.”

Van studied him closely. “I don’t like the look on your face, Jack. Do you know who the caller was?”

Jack shook his head. “No, but Van, I honestly believe that whoever is framing you for this crime… It’s someone from The Block.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Quiet had never seemed so quiet to Dani. Before, she never minded some time to herself, but now… She hated being home without Van. When he’d been at the firehouse for a few days at a time it was tolerable. She knew how he was doing because she could talk to him and see him.

And, he wasn’t be
ing accused of killing someone.

But Dani couldn’t rid herse
lf of the ache in her stomach—t
he stress
, the
pit of despair
that had taken up residence. She felt like it was never going to go away, and the more she tried to relax, the more stress she felt.

She glanced at her watch for
the
fifth time in twenty minutes. It was after eight and Van’s bail hearing was in two hours. Jack had called earlier to confirm, and even though she’d hoped and prayed all night that good news would come, Jack certainly didn’t have any.

She slipped on a pair of shoes and grabbed her keys. A short walk was necessary at
the moment
and she thought even just a trip to the coffee shop might help. Her plan was to see if Marnie was
awake
to go with her, but as soon as she stepped out of her door, an unfamiliar face came around the corner. It startled her for a moment because she wasn’t used to seeing people she didn’t know
on the fourth floor
. She waited for a few seconds for him to pass, ready to take the elevator if he took the stairs, or the stairs if he took the elevator. But he slowed when he saw her and smiled. Not a flirty
smile
like she was used to getting from good-looking guys, but kind of a passive one, like he was unsure of himself.

“Are you looking for someone?” Dani
decided to ask
him.

He stopped about six feet from her, like he knew it wasn’t cool to get
any
closer
than that
to a stranger, especially a female. He kind of shook his head, like he was embarrassed, and Dani tried to study him subtly. He had
light brown
hair, a light dusting of stubble across his face, and
blue
eyes that seemed gentle and kind. Dani thought he was very attractive, and
he
seemed just as fit as most of the guys she saw
on
a
regular basis around
the building
.

“Uh… No,” he finally replied with a soft chuckle. “I’m uh… Well, in my old place the stairs were to the left when I came out of
the
apartment. Here it’s the opposite. I guess I still follow that same routine now and then. I’m new here,” he said, motioning behin
d him with his head. “I’m i
n 4
G
.”

Dani nodded knowingly. “Ah I see,” she smiled. It was Quincy’s old apartment and she’d heard it finally had a new tenant. She also
knew that this guy must be the new fighter that Mickey had mentioned the night before, the one that was moving into The Block
. “Well I’m Dani,” she said, holding out her hand and taking a step toward him.

He stepped forward too and softly shook her hand. “I’m Cole. It’s nice to meet you. You’re actually the first person I’ve met here that isn’t a fighter. Or…are you?” he
eyed her
with a
teasing
smile. He stepped back in a joking manner, pretending to be cautious.

Dani smiled and said, “No, I’m definitely not.”

“But…you must live with one, right?” he inquired.

Dani wasn’t sure if he was just making a statement or trying to find out her relationship status, but she smiled again and replied, “Yes, I’m married to one.”

“Ah, and which one would that be? I met Cody this morning and…a guy named Pete? No, Paul,” he corrected. “And Scott? He helped me move in yesterday. Any of those guys dear to your heart?” he smiled.

Dani didn’t hold it against this guy for not knowing, so she slightly shook her head. “Those are friends of my husband, but I don’t think you’ve met him yet. His name is Van.”

“Van, huh. I think I heard his name around the Divehouse. He’s a pretty good fighter if I’ve heard correctly. He’s the guy to beat, huh?” he smiled.

Dani nodded modestly. “Yes, he’s pretty good at what he does.”

Cole glanced behind her at her apartment door. “Is he home? I’d like to meet him if you don’t mind.
I
f I remember right, he’s in my weight class. I
might
be
sparring with
him sometime soon, so I’d rather it be friendly instead of a matchup.”

She knew he was teasing, so she did smile. “You’re a part of the team here, so I’m sure you’d get along just fine. But, uh, he’s not here right now. Um…”

Cole waited for her to finish her sentence, to see if she would tell him or not, but she didn’t say anything further. Instead, he slightly nodded his head, like he figured it out, and said, “Oh, Van.
He must be
Donovan
Kemp? I, uh, I heard about that
. I’m sorry, that was totally stupid of me to ask that—”

“No, it’s okay, you didn’t know
,” she said quickly, feeling just as embarrassed as he seemed. He was actually the first person she’d come across that didn’t already know her or Van. She felt slightly defensive though, ready to stick up for her husband if she had to.

Cole could read her anxiety pretty easily, and he knew not to r
ush things too quickly.
“I’m sorry for what you must be going through. To have someone you love be accused of something like that is probably a nightmare. If there’s anything you need…anything I can do… Ju
st let me know, okay? I’m what—? F
our doors down?”

She studied him for a second, unsure of what to think of him.
But Mickey had said
some very nice things about him
so she was willing to take his word for it.
“Well thank you, I appreciate it.”

She paused, so Cole took the opportunity to ask, “Before you head out, could you point me the right direction? I was going to get som
ething to eat and I know there are
a few little places around here, but
I forget which direction they are.”

Dani nodded and replied, “Sure, I can do that. I was actually headed for a cup of coffee if you want to come with me. There’s a bakery next door if that sounds good to you.”

“That sounds great, thank you.”

She mo
tioned for him to walk with her
and he didn’t say anything when she took the stairs instead of the elevator. When they were halfway down she said, “So
I
have to admit that you’re a little older than what I was expecting. But I guess I should’ve known with Mickey. When he says ‘nice kid’ it just means anyone under fifty.”

That made Cole laugh and he nodded his head. “Yeah, I think he called me kid about a dozen times yesterday. But how old do you think I am?” he inquired. “I doubt I’m much older than you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And how old do you think I am?”

He put on a thinking face as he glanced at her. “Well I would guess you to be in your early twenties. Is that close enough?”

She chuckled with a slight nod and said, “Sure, I guess. I’ll be twenty-three tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, huh?” he asked, pretending to be surprised. “Well happy early birthday.”

“Thanks
. So what about you?”

“My age? Twenty-six. You don’t honestly think I’m in my thirties, do you?”

She laughed and shook her head. “No, I didn’t think you were. You do look your age, but like I said, just Mickey and his talk. I was expecting some eighteen-year-old to move in down the hall. Mickey has a way of making his fighters sound like they’re his
kids
.
He takes care of his family like that.
”

Cole nodded. “Yeah, I
feel that too. He’s a great guy
. I think I’m gonna like it here.”

“So
where are you from?”

“Oh, uh, California, actually.”

“Really? That’s a ways away. What brought you
to the east coast
?”

“Uh, well, I’m
originally
from here,
I guess
. I moved out to California a few years ago— Uh, chased a girl all the way there,” he smiled sheepishly. That made Dani smile, and Cole opened the door for her as they exited the stairwell on
to
the ground floor. “Anyways, it didn’t work out, but I ended up staying there, working and stuff and filling my free time with some MMA. My dad passed away a few months ago, so I came back for the funeral. I’ve just been helping my mom out since.”

“So have you been staying with her?”

“Uh, I’ve been staying with my sister, but I decided it was time to get out of her hair.”

Dani smiled and then asked, “Do you work?” as they stepped onto the sidewalk outside.
“I mean outside of the
cage
?”

“I always have,” he shrugged. “I grew up in the family business—construction—so that’s what I did in California too. My brother is running my dad’s company now, so we’re working together again.”

“How’s that going for you? Hopefully you guys get along.”

Cole chuckled. “Yeah, mostly. It’s not so bad, though.”

“What kind of construction? Roads, buildings…?”

“Yeah, residential. Houses.”

“What’s the name of the company? Maybe I’ll hire you guys to build my next mansion.”

Cole would have laughed, but to deter from answering the question he grabbed her arm and yanked her over to his side of the walkway. A bicyclist whizzed by, just barely missing Dani. It scared her because she didn’t even see it coming, but she was grateful that someone was paying attention.

“Thank you,” she said. “I could have lost an arm.”

With a smile Cole said, “Not on my watch.”