The Fighter's Block (49 page)

Cole was starting to
accept it as the truth for some reason
. It had to be someone else from the
Divehouse
, and he believed he knew who it was…

“So how does Andy contact you?”

“Phone. It’s a blocked call.”

“And you paid him to destroy the video of Dani?”

“I paid him, but…”

“You
can’t be sure he kept his word,
”
Cole said knowingly.

Dominic shrugged. “How can I be? And is he going to keep
threatening me with the video and
asking for
more
money
?”

“Possibly. But it’s not going to get that far.
Don’t worry about the video; it’s been taken care of.
If he contacts you about it, you’re going to contact
me
, understand?”

After a pause he nodded his agreement.

“
Dani seems to think he’d be
a de
cent guy if it wasn’t for Brian,” Cole added.
“
Maybe he’s just testing his
freedom
for once, but trying to keep it in check.”

“He is more, uh, what’s the word… Polite, I guess. He’s more polite than Brian. I know that sounds odd since he’s blackmailing people, but Brian
turned
rude and vulgar. Andy isn’t like that.”

“He’s had a brother that’s taken advantage of him his whole life. Now that’s no longer a problem. Makes sense. He’s finding his own way, but maybe he’s desperate for money.
Is there anything else about Andy that you can tell me? Did he say anything about Brian’s murder?”

Dominic slowly shook his head. “We didn’t exactly chat it up. I only questioned him on how long this was going to go on. He actually said he didn’t want anything
else to do with me;
he just needed some money. I don’t want to sound hopeful, but I kind of believe him.”

Cole silently considered that. Based on Andy’s meek and battered personality, it sounded probable. The guy was a total loner, a computer hacker with a conscience. His brother had used him for whatever he could
. He was a
habitual
weed smoker,
and
other than a trip to work and back, he pretty much kept to himself
and his computer
.

Cole
stood and handed him a card with his number.
“If Andy
or anyone else
calls you let me know. Don’t let on that anyone knows about this, though. Go along with the phone conversation
and the demands,
but call me next.”

Dominic nodded.

“And as for the other people involved in this, you might want to get a different lawyer. I’ve investigated Clarence
Teagan
for other cases and he’s not exactly tooting the ethics horn.”

Dominic knew this but didn’t respond. He only nodded and watched Cole walk himself to the door. But one thought did occur to him and he stood.

“Will you be telling Danielle about all of this?”

Cole stopped and turned to face him. “She’s going to know one way or another. I suggest you find a way to do it yourself first.”

Dominic’s face looked grim, but it wasn’t Cole’s problem. The guy had gone too far and he wasn’t going to stand there and reassure him about
a single thing
.

He’d made his bed.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“This is bringing back some very happy memories,” Dani said, enjoying the feel of her husband’s arms holding her close. They were back on the pier in Atlantic City, reminiscing about their first trip together.

“All I can remember is that I was some weak ass sap that was babbling about being in love,” Van replied.

Dani laughed. “Aw, you are so cute.”

He smiled as he kissed her head. “But it was the best moment of my life because the girl said she loved me back.”

“Smart girl. I bet she would also tell you that you’re the most incredible man she’s ever met.”

“Oh?”

She nodded. “Yep. And that she loves you so much, sometimes it hurts. And that she looks forward to every up or down with you, no matter what.”

“I love up and down.”

She chuckled. “And she’d also tell you that
she needs you more than anyone
she’s ever needed in her life, and that she couldn’t make it through much without you.”

“She sounds desperate.”

With a laugh she lightly swatted his chest. “She sounds deeply and madly in love with you.”

“That’s sounds pretty cool, too. Does she look good naked?”

Dani laughed again and laid her face against him. “I don’t know, but I’m sure you wouldn’t mind if she didn’t look her best on occasion.”

“
Meh
, I’m easy to work with once I’ve been won over.”

“Oh? You mean you wouldn’t care if she gained, say, forty pounds in the next eight months?”

He lightly laughed. “
Is she planning to go into plus-sized modeling?”

Dani smiled and pulled back to face him. “No,” she replied seriously. “In fact, she plans to be done with modeling for good.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And why would she do that?”

She
softly
bit her lip and placed her hands against his neck, lovingly running her thumbs along his jaw line. “Because she’s going to have your baby.”

Van had been ready for a playful retort, but he pretty much froze as he stared at her. She waited for a reaction expectantly and wasn’t sure if he was too surprised to reply, or was devastated with the news.

“I’m pregnant, Van,” she added. “We’re going to have a baby.”

He finally swallowed. “Baby? Are you—are you—?”

“Am I sure?” she tried with a smile. “Yes, I’m sure.”

He swallowed again. His heart was pounding in his chest but he didn’t know what it meant.
He wasn’t scared anymore, was he?
A month ago hearing that news might have freaked him out, but now… Damn. Now he couldn’t
be happier.

“
Wow
, Dani. A baby.”

He pulled her close to him and kissed her head. These last few months had been a whirlwind for him and he was still trying to keep up. He thought of the incredible relationship he shared with his wife and adding a kid just seemed to fit. He didn’t know what kind of parent he would be, but Dani was
amazing
—she made him a better person—and he knew how hard he would try.

Dani wrapped her arms around his neck and studied his face. “I’m guessing you’re okay with this but I can’t read you very well right now, Van. I know it’s a total surprise but—”

“Okay with this?” he repeated with a smile. “Dani, I’m— Well, I’m surprised, yeah, but baby, this is… I’m more than okay with this. Having a family with you… I don’t know how good I’ll be but I’ll try. I’ll give you everything I have, babe. I know nothing about babies or pregnancy or…any of that shit.”

She lightly laughed.

“But I want this with you, Dani. I swear to God.”

He leaned down and kissed her, savoring the taste of her lips and her tongue, and the idea that she was carrying his
child
. What a shocking thin
g for him to be so excited over!

“I’m due in March,” she told him, looking into his eyes.

“Have you been to a doctor?” he asked. “I want you to have the best care,
sweetheart
. Whatever you need—”

“I’ve seen a doctor.” She smiled at his protective nature. “I’m only about six weeks along; I have another appointment in two weeks if you want to come with me.”

“Fuck yeah—I mean, yeah, I do. I’ll go with you to anything. Everything.”

“They’ll be scheduling an ultrasound for the beginning of September. We’ll be able to find out what we’re having if you want to know.”

“You mean if it’s a boy or girl?”

She nodded.

He thought about it for a second. “What do you think? Do you want to know? I’m not sure
if I care either way but…”

“It doesn’t matter to me if we’re having a boy or girl, but I think it’d be fun to know. I don’t think I want to wait until March to find out.”

He smiled when she did and nodded his head. “Yeah, that’s how I feel. I mean damn… A baby.” He ran a hand through his hair and exhaled. “Let’s go celebrate. We’ll grab everyone back at the casino and have a party.”

He
took
her hand and pulled him along with her. She was laughing as he scooped her up in a cradle and kissed her as he walked.

Their friends really were in Atlantic City with them that weekend. It was
Dani’s
idea that they all get together to celebrate life and the fact that Van had been released. She secretly felt
reason to
celebrate because
Brian was now out of her life, but she kept that to herself.

They spotted Cody first. Van could barely wait until his hand of blackjack was over before he made him come along with them. Cody found Paul, and
Marnie
was with Jaime at the slots. Without knowing what was going on, they all gathered at the restaurant, waiting to find out why Van had the biggest grin on his face. The guys thought maybe he had just won a shitload of money, which would explain why he was willing to buy them all lunch.

Van put his arm around Dani and
proudly announced
, “This beautiful woman is carrying my baby.” He put his hand on her stomach for effect and there was an array of reactions at the table.

“Oh my God!” Jaime squealed.

“Dude, that’s awesome,” Cody offered.

“Congrats, man,”
Paul
said.

“A baby? Holy shit!”

That, of course, was
Marnie
.

“When are you due?” Jaime asked.

“March.”

“It better be a boy,” Cody
joked
.
“We need those fighting genes to be passed along.”

“It’ll be a girl with those same fighting genes,” Paul said.

Everyone laughed.

“God, I hope not,” Van scoffed with a chuckle.

“You get what you get when it comes to kids,”
Marnie
said matter-of-factly. “But either way, it’ll be a good looking kid.”

“Yes, I agree,” said Jaime. “You two are going to have beautiful children. And
they’ll have great parents
,
I have no doubt
. You guys will do a wonderful job.”

Dani liked hearing her sister’s assurance and smiled. “Thank
s
, Jaime.”

“So what does this mean for your career?” Cody asked. “Nothing’s
gonna
change, right? You still
gonna
fight, still
gonna
live at The Block, right?”

The table went silent. Van and Dani glanced at each other but Van shrugged. “Haven’t discussed it yet.
Family first, bro.
We’ll go from there.”

There were nods of agreement, even though the group figured he would still continue to fight. It was in his blood to compete and nothing was going to take him away from it.

There was only one person that disagreed with that notion, and that was Van himself.

Monday began the familiar regiment of getting ready for a fight. Van was still scheduled to compete in the upcoming cash tournament and
he hoped
that his stint in jail h
adn’t set him back physically.

H
e hit the gym hard from the start.

Dani had finished the advertisements for the event and they looked incredible. Mickey decided on two different styles, both showing pictures of the top fighters that would be competing in the event. Van was one of them
,
and Dani loved the picture of him so much that
she enlarged the image just
to hang in their apartment. Van thought it was
odd
, but these days he did anything he could to make her happy.

She was at home on Friday when Van was at the gym. It was strange that she hadn’t seen Cole for such a long time. She’d only seen him once since Van had been released and it was because she’d knocked on his door to talk to him. He’d been just about to leave for the day and said he didn’t have time to talk. She thanked him for the advice he’d given her about Quincy and apologized once again for involving him in her messy life. He’d barely smiled and said, “Don’t worry about it.”