DS Fight Club Box Set (Volumes 0-3)

by Josie Kerr

  Mick winced. He didn’t care if it was the day before a big fight, he was going to have a little chat with Colin.

  Bailey set Maude down and she and Emily raced off to the little play kitchen.

  “Well, since you brought him up, how was the thing with the real scrodbag?”

  Bailey giggled at that, and she sighed. “It was okay, but I don’t think I can do it much longer. I have no interest in him at all and he...wants more.”

  “He pressuring you to get physical?” Mick frowned and clenched his fist.

  “Okay, Punchy, just hold your horses. He’s not gotten handsy or anything. He wanted to come in last night and he tried to kiss me, but that’s all.”

  Mick made a rude noise but let it go.

  “I think you’re probably right to stop seeing him,” Em said. “But I would feel better if you broke it off when one of us was around. I know you’ve said he’s changed and he’s a lot more mellow these days, but you know I can’t trust him.”

  Bailey sighed. “I truly don’t know how much he’s changed. Lately he’s been taking a lot of phone calls that he’s being sneaky about. He said it was about work, and since I work for a competitor, Tripp said he didn’t feel comfortable about taking a call in front of me. Which I get, kind of. But I’m getting a funny feeling about those calls.”

  “Trust your instincts, Bailey. I mean it.” Em looked Bailey, her face serious. Bailey nodded.

  Maude bumped into Bailey with a plastic grocery cart. “Hey, little girl! You doing my shopping for me? What do we have?” Bailey looked through the cart, which had a variety of play food, but also stuffed animals and hats and socks and a framed picture.

  “Oh, honey, this doesn’t need to be in here,” she said as she took the photograph out.

  “No, no, nonono!” Maude cried, jumping up down. “See. See!”

  “Honey, I see, but this doesn’t go in here.”

  “See! See!” Maude put her chubby hand on the photo and leaned down to put a wet open-mouthed baby kiss on the glass.

  “Maude, really, what’s gotten into...” And then she stopped. “Oh. It’s C-C.” Bailey blew out a breath. Colin grinned from the photo, his arm thrown around Duke.

  “Whodah?” Maude turned her gray eyes, so much like Bailey’s, to her mother.

  “That’s C-C’s daddy, Maude,” Bailey swallowed hard. “C-C’s daddy.”

  Mick rested his hand on the top of Bailey’s head and stroked her hair. “Ducky, it’ll all work out. It’s got to.”

  Colin put tossed a package of pre-cut vegetables in his grocery buggy and made his way to the butcher.

  Buggy. He grinned at the memory of Junior’s face the first time he called his grocery cart a buggy.

  “What the fuck? A buggy is something for a baby, not groceries,” Junior had said. Ten years later, and he still made fun of Colin for the term.

  Colin placed his order and let his mind wander as the butcher prepared his cuts of meat. He hoped that Bailey was using some of the meat he had in the freezer.

  Fuck, he missed her. He missed everything about her.

  He’d stopped by the duplex to get clothes and laundry detergent, but never when she was home. He was going to stop by last night, but when he turned the corner, he saw Tripp’s car in the driveway and he saw them on the porch, standing close together. What was worse, he saw Tripp angle his head to kiss Bailey. Colin became furious all over again, remembering.

  “Fucker!”

  The butcher scowled at Colin and shook his head. “Your order’s ready, sir.”

  Colin blew out a breath. “Sorry,” he mumbled, and grabbed the stacks of wrapped meat from the counter.

  He was in the personal care aisle when he felt someone move into his personal space.

  What the fuck? He stepped a pace over, ignoring the person that was crowding him. When they moved over, too, Colin turned his head and when he saw who it was, he groaned.

  “Andrea, what the fuck do you want?”

  “I was in the neighborhood and needed to pick up a few things at the store. I saw you and thought I’d say hello.”

  Colin scoffed. “What the hell, Andrea? You know that’s a lie.”

  She stuck her lip out. “I don’t know why you’re being so rude. I just wanted to say hi.”

  “Hi. Now, goodbye.” Colin shook his head as he hurried through the checkout line and out to the parking lot, praying that he could continue to avoid Andrea.

  “Bren! Bren! Wait up!”

  Oh, of course, I can’t avoid her. I don’t have that kind of luck.

  Andrea walked quickly through the parking lot. “Bren, I just wanted to say I’m sorry, and to thank you. I’m sorry that I cheated on you, but I want to thank you for giving me the courage to get rid of Pierce and not rely on a man for anything.”

  “You’re not with Pierce anymore?”

  She shook her head. “No. After we ran into you and Haley –”

  “Bailey. Her name is Bailey.”

  “Oh, sorry. Bailey. After we ran into you two that night, Pierce flew into a rage. He scared the crap out of me, and I knew that I had to get out. So I packed a bag and went to a hotel, and the next day I got an apartment.”

  “Did that fuck lay his hands on you?”

  “No, but I think it was only a matter of time. You know what a hair trigger temper he has. But I’m not with him anymore, all thanks to you. Thank you, C. Really.” She stood on her toes and placed a sweet kiss on his cheek. “Goodbye, Bren. And good luck with the fight with Pierce.”

  Tripp checked his telephone and huffed a breath.

  “Hey Pierce, do you mind pulling into this Publix? I need to pick up something for my mom’s dinner tonight.”

  “Sure, man. No problem.”

  “Don’t bother parking – I can just run in.” Tripp hopped out of the car and went in the sliding doors.

  Pierce moved up out of the fire lane and put the car in park, idling near the entrance. He turned the radio on and was drumming in time on the steering wheel when two familiar figures caught his eye in the rearview mirror.

  He sat up straighter and peered closer at the reflection, then turned around to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

  And he was. Colin and Andrea stood in the parking lot. Colin’s jaw was tense, and Pierce could see the other fighter’s fist clench and his face grow tight. Andrea put her hand on his chest, soothing him, and then she kissed him.

  Colin still seemed angry, and he stood and looked at Andrea’s retreating figure until she got in her car.

  “Hey, man. Sorry it took so long,” Tripp said as he got in the car. “Pierce, you okay?”

  Pierce shook his head and blew out a breath, but said. “Yeah, I’m fine. Did you get what you needed?”

  “Oh yeah. Everyone’s gonna be happy.”

  “Maude, we’re just gonna run in and grab some milk, and then we’ll go home and have a good dinner, okay?”

  “Da!”

  “Yep, that’s what we’ll do.”

  Bailey hated this particular Publix because of the terrible parking lot, but it was the closest grocery store so she put up with it.

  She drove slowly through the parking lot, hoping to find a close space so that she wouldn’t have to carry Maude very far. Ah, there’s one! She sped up a little, hoping to pull into the next lane and snag that parking space.

  She turned made a right turn, and then another right, and slipped into the parking spot.

  “Okay, babydoll, let’s go get us some milk,” Bailey said to Maude as she looked in the rearview mirror. “Oh, honey. Sheila Mam wore you out, huh?” The little girl was sound asleep in her car seat. It would make getting in and out of the store more of a hassle, but she really needed milk.

  Bailey put her keys in her purse and unhooked her seatbelt, and then she saw Colin standing behind his car, which was parked directly across from hers. And then she saw her, that woman
that had almost accosted them that night after dessert.

  “Fartknocker,” she whispered, but she was frozen in her seat, watching her big fighter and that…bitch. She watched That Bitch put her hand on Colin’s chest, and she watched her kiss him.

  Bailey clenched her jaw and sucked in a ragged breath, her hands gripping the steering wheel until they hurt. Her eyes and nose burned with unshed tears, and she thought she just might throw up. Was That Bitch the real reason he pulled away? Was Tripp just an easy excuse for him to stop seeing her? Oh, God.

  She sat paralyzed in her car until That Bitch walked away, hips swinging, and Colin got in his car and pulled out of the parking space.

  Bailey inhaled a shaky breath, and then grabbed her purse and her sweet baby and got out of the car.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  “So what’s the schedule?”

  “Tomorrow, press conference at Raptor Pryde and then next week, events here at DS, then the following Friday, weigh in at the arena. Saturday, kick some ass.”

  “God, I hate press conferences and all that bullshit,” Colin said with a moan.

  “Well, we’re doing it. If anything, it’ll be good press for DS Fight Club. And I’ve been hearing things about Raptor Pryde. I think that there’s a lot of dissatisfaction with the way that they’re doing things over there, and I’ve been hearing things that are a hell of a lot more troubling than Jett Raptor’s arrogance.”

  “Oh, yeah? Like what?”

  Junior looked uncomfortable. “Like trainers betting against their own fighters, and rumors of fixed fights and some other things as well.”

  Colin whistled. Betting on your own fighters was frowned upon, but it happened. Betting against your own fighters, well, that was a whole different situation. “Huh. That’s interesting. Where you hearing this?”

  “Around,” Junior grinned. “You know the fighter grapevine.”

  Colin snorted. Having experienced being on the other end of gossip and rumors, Colin definitely knew that.

  “Buck up, buddy. It’ll be over soon.”

  Colin groaned. He hated the press junkets. Answering the same questions over and over and not sounding like a damn parrot. He cracked his neck. He was feeling mean today.

  He surveyed the Raptor Pryde training facility. He had to admit, it was impressive – brand-new, state of the art everything. He could see why fighters would this place. Colin’s eyes roamed over the crowd until he saw Pierce talking with some of the scantily clad women that gyms seemed to attract. Like Colin, he wore a t-shirt and khakis, but he also had a big, platinum watch, rings and several gold chains. Colin shook his head. He didn’t understand men who wore that much jewelry.

  “Fuck.” The word exploded out of Junior’s mouth, and it could only be for one reason. Colin followed Junior’s glare and saw Andrea, now with reddish, permed hair. Colin’s mouth dropped open.

  “Looks like Andrea has gone completely Single White Female,” Junior muttered. “Man, you have got to shut this down.”

  “Fuck. She said she had broken up with Pierce.”

  “What the fuck, Colin? When the hell did you talk to her?”

  “I ran into her at the grocery store. She said she had moved out and was starting over on her own.”

  “Uh-huh. What else did she say?”

  “She said that she was scared he was going to put his hands on her.”

  “That look on his face isn’t one of anger, Gordo.”

  Colin looked at Pierce, and sure enough, he didn’t look angry or jealous. He looked heartbroken.

  “You sure she was being straight with you, Gordo, and not just trying to fuck with that soft heart of yours?”

  “I…don’t know.” I don’t know anything anymore.

  Junior inhaled deeply. “We’re gonna get through this thing, and then you and I are going to have a big talk about exactly what she said. I want to know every fucking word that came of that crazy bitch’s mouth.”

  “Sure, Junior.”

  “Gordo. I mean it.”

  Colin nodded. “Yeah. God, I hope that there’s not something weird going on.”

  “Keep hoping, man.” Gordo is fucking delusional if he doesn’t realize how fucked up this situation is.

  The organizer signaled that it was time to start the conference. Junior and Colin sat on one side of the podium, Pierce and Jett Raptor on the other. Reporters fired questions at them, and Pierce talked some smack, as usual. Colin tried to steer the conversation to DS Fight Club, and he felt he did a pretty good job.

  Finally, it was time for pictures and autographs. Thank God. This part, Colin didn’t mind, especially when it was mostly true fans and kids and not the jackasses that were just selling stuff to make a buck, though he couldn’t necessarily fault them for that.

  He still didn’t talk much, but he liked interacting with the fans, especially the kids. He chuckled to himself, remembering the first time Duke took him to a fight and to meet the fighters before. One of the fighters was flashy and mouthy and it was really off-putting. The other was thoughtful and Colin asked about himself and made him feel very grown-up, like this was an adult, besides his dad, that wanted to hear what he had to say. That’s what Colin tried to do with these events, especially with the kids.

  A father and his daughter approached Colin with a rolled up poster and a picture for signing. As he unrolled the poster, Colin groaned. Man, he hated that particular shot. Way too slick for his taste. He had once remarked to Junior about the fact that he felt it made him look like an underwear model, and was horrified that Junior enthusiastically agreed.

  “Chulo, why do you think it’s your most popular item?” he had said with a laugh and lecherous grin.

  “Excuse me, one item per person. We have to keep this moving along,” the table goon was saying, pulling Colin out of his memories.

  The father took the smaller photograph and slipped in line behind his daughter, but the goon shook his head and hitched his thumb to get out of the line. “You want another signature, you go to the back of the line.”

  Colin looked at the line that snaked around the gym floor. There was no way that he was going to get to everybody in the time allotted. If he had his way, he’d stay there until the last person got their picture taken with him and he had signed everything that he could.

  With a sigh, the girl put the poster on the table. She was probably about ten, skinny, with braces and a ponytail and a “Fight like a Girl” t-shirt on. Right on.

  “Hey, I like your shirt. You in training?” Colin held out his fist, looking to the dad to make sure it was okay. The dad beamed and nodded.

  The skinny girl bumped his fist. “Yes, I’m training here, but there’s not a lot of girls and Coach doesn’t let me grapple with the boys.” She rolled her eyes.

  “Man, that sucks.” And it did. Colin could tell when someone loved the fight, and this girl was all about it. “So who’m I gonna make this out to?” he said, unrolling the poster more.

  She thought about it a moment. “Make it to Jeremy,” she said.

  All these girls with boy names. “How do you spell that?”

  The girl’s eyes widened, realizing that Colin thought it was for her. “Just the regular way. It’s for my brother. He couldn’t come today. He had something else going on.”

  Well, damn. He wasn’t going to let her not get her stuff signed. He signed the poster, and then he motioned to the dad with his head and made a scribble mark in the air. The dad slipped the photo on the table and Colin asked, “What’s your name?”

  The girl beamed. “Eleanor, but I go by Ellie. E-L-L-I-E. Thanks, Mr. Carmichael.”

  “Any time at all. I’m happy to meet my fans, especially ones that are actually interested in the sport.”

  “Ellie, we’re holding up the line, sweetheart,” her dad said.

  Colin motioned the dad to stop. “Listen, we have a girl’s training class at DS Fight Club. I don’t know whe
re you guys live, but you should give it a try. Call the gym and ask for Junior. He coordinates everything.”

  Junior appeared out of nowhere.

  “I heard my name,” he said.

  Colin laughed. “Junior is my trainer...”

  Ellie gasped. “Whoa, Junior Maldonado. Jeremy’s going to be so pissed that he missed this.” At her dad’s frown, she corrected herself. “Jeremy’s going to be truly annoyed that he missed this.”

  “Okay, you obviously know Junior. He’ll tell you some details about the girls’ classes. Junior?”

  Junior led the two away, and Colin grinned to himself as he continued to sign t-shirts and posters.

  Colin shook the organizer’s hand when the event was finally over. The organizer looked at Colin with a bemused expression.

  “You’re different than I expected, Carmichael.”

  “How’s that?” Colin asked.

  “I expected an asshole, actually. The way you express yourself after the fights is not exactly friendly, you know. But you’re an okay guy. I saw the way you handled Ellie and her dad. Real classy.”

  “Oh, you know them?”

  “Yeah, they’re local. Jeremy, the one who couldn’t make it today, is back in the hospital with pneumonia. Kid’s had a rough time. He was in a car accident about six months back and lost a lung and had I don’t know what other injuries. Been in and out of the hospital since. Real nice family.”

  “That’s a shame.”

  “Well, we’ll see you next week, right on your home turf. I’m really interested in seeing how your facility compares to Raptor Pryde.”

  Colin laughed. “Oh, there’s no comparison, trust me. It all depends on what you’re looking for a training spot.”

  They shook hands and headed to the out of the building.

  “Oh crap. There’s a box of t-shirts that I need to grab. I’ll see you next week.” Colin jogged back to the signing tables and grabbed the box that was under the tables. He was checking his watch to make sure he’d be able to make it to visit Jeremy in the hospital when he heard his name called.