The Fighter's Block (52 page)

“I know, I know. She’s my strength
and
my weakness. How the hell does that work?”

Mickey grinned. “
Heh
heh
. It’s called love, son. Now let’s focus here…”

Cole entered the arena cautiously, his eyes open. If all went well, Brian Thompson’s murder investigation would be wrapped up, and Cole could be far away from this place by
Monday
.

He spotted Sam on the other side and they acknowledged one another with just their eyes. Cole made his way to a seat, glancing at the current match that was going on in the
octagon
. Two welterweights were going at it against the fence. He was about to grab a seat in the tenth row but caught sight of Dani waving him over. She was sitting in the second row with Paul and Cody. He wanted to pretend like he didn’t see her but it was too late. She even got up and started to come his way.

“
Marnie’s
home with the flu. Come have her seat.” She grabbed his arm and practically dragged him to her seats, quickly sitting down so they didn’t ruin anyone’s view. “I’m about to throw up, but other than that, life is great.”

He smiled at the joking yet serious tone she spoke with. “Sick from pregnancy? Or nerves.”

“Nerves. I hate this.”

“He’s ready. He’ll do fine.”

“Not without a few kicks and punches to his head. Do you know what it’s like to hear you husband’s head get hit like that?”

“Uh, no, I don’t. But I know what it feels like myself.”

She lightly laughed, just as the match in front of them was called with a
tap out
.

“So where’ve you been this week, Cole?
Again,
I’ve barely seen you.”

“Just working. Long hours.”

“Yeah, I guess. I mean twice this week I stopped by to see if you wanted to join some of us for a late dinner and you weren’t home. Do you really work on houses in the dark?”

He gave her side-glance. “Maybe. But I do have other things besides work.”

“True.
Your family.
How are they? How’s your mom doing? I bet it’s tough on her—your dad’s passing.”

Cole barely nodded. “Yeah, it’s hard.”

“Is there anything I can help with? Maybe I can make a few meals and—”

“It’s fine, Dani. You’ve got enough to worry about.”

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 and Cody next to her. They’d been less than thrilled that she’d dragged Cole over to sit with them
,
but
there wasn’t much they could do because
Van had told them to back off. Why he wasn’t worried about this guy around his wife didn’t make sense to them.

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
; someon
e 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?” Cody 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.”

Cody shrugged at Paul, 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 Cody heard her. Cody 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. “Whatever you tell me, I would understand, Cole,” she said. “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 but played 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 kind of 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. Cody gave her a reassuring squeeze during the middle of it. 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 he 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 p
roud 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 Cole 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 that Jack allowed to know.”

“
And you’re still working that way
.”

“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 eyein
g the two of them suspiciously
and it
was only a few seconds before he joined their conversation.
He
thought
Van was
un
aware 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,” he 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,” he told her, motioning to Van.

Dani smiled and said, “I wanted to take him home right after the match, bu
t 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 fi
x a problem. It’s almost done. And h
ow can you expect him to sit back and wait, especially when the guy who fucking framed him is in this very room?”

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

“I don’t need 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 real evidence, 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-One

“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!”

“You’re so sensitive today,” he smiled, snuggling closer to her in the sheets.