DS Fight Club Box Set (Volumes 0-3)

by Josie Kerr

  The other woman recovered quickly, clawing at Bailey’s face and grabbing a handful of hair.

  “Okay, maybe I underestimated Bailey’s fury,” Mick admitted with a grimace.

  Junior rolled his eyes. “I vowed after my youngest sister’s last fight to never get in the middle when two girls are fighting about a man, but damn. I’ll grab Bailey.”

  “And I’ll get the other one,” Paddy said, but Johnny held him back.

  “No, I’ll get the impersonator,” he said, and they started to move toward the two fighting women, who were now rolling around on the ground.

  Bailey was on top of Andrea, getting ready to punch her again, when she felt four strong hands pulling her back. “Let me go! I need to deal with this bitch!” she ground out. “Let me go!”

  “Ducky, you need to calm down,” Mick’s soothing voice whispered in her ear. “Girlie, calm yourself.”

  She stopped struggling and looked from Mick to Paddy, and immediately burst into angry tears of frustration.

  “Oh, darlin’, it’s going to be okay,” Paddy murmured as he stroked her hair. “It’s okay.”

  The other officer led a screeching Andrea out of the hospital, the woman shrieking about pressing charges and suing everyone, and Johnny turned to Bailey and grimaced.

  “Bailey, honey, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to take you to the station. You assaulted her in a hospital.”

  Bailey sighed. “I know. At least tell me if Colin’s all right?” She looked from man to man.

  Mick nodded. “Yeah, he’s going to be fine.”

  Bailey blew out a breath. “Okay, that’s all that matters.” She nodded. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  “Johnny, I’ll be by shortly to bail her out,” Paddy said.

  “I wonder where the hell she learned to throw a punch like that,” Junior mused. “Damn. Maybe we should start a women’s team, you think?”

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Paddy shook his head and looked at Mick as the two men walked into the police station. “Of all of you lot, that little curly-haired bird is the last person that I expected to have to bail out.”

  Mick chuckled and blew out a breath. “That punch was a thing of beauty, wasn’t it, though? Her form was perfect.”

  Paddy nodded, but he kept his thoughts about Bailey to himself. The girl obviously had some boxing training.

  A female police officer slid the safety window open. “Can I help you gentlemen?”

  “We’re here to post bail for Bailey Jenkins,” Paddy said. “Johnny Richards called and said she was ready to be released.”

  The woman nodded. “Have a seat, gentlemen.”

  Paddy looked at Mick, who was hunched over with his elbows on his knees, wringing his hands.

  “Oi, boyo, you’re not the one that’s locked up this time.”

  Mick nodded. “I know. Doesn’t make me any more comfortable, though.” It had been close to thirty years since he’d been on the other side of a lock-up and he still got heart palpitations every time he had to go near a police station or a jail.

  Paddy knew this was the case, and Mick’s agitation was very apparent by the look of his hair. He had a habit of pulling on it when he got anxious, and his hair was standing on end right now.

  “I’m thinkin’ it might be time for a haircut, Mickeyboy,” Paddy said with a good-natured grin, hoping to ease the big man’s nervousness.

  Mick chuckled. “Em was getting on me about it this morning.” He tugged on his hair some more, then realized what he was doing and tucked his hands under his armpits.

  The door buzzed and a very bleary-eyed Bailey came out of the door. After collecting her few belongings, she turned to Mick and collapsed into his arms.

  “That sucked,” she mumbled into his chest. “Remind me of this night the next time I decide that someone needs a good pop in the mouth.” Mick petted her head and stroked her back as he chuckled. She heaved a big sigh and then looked up at Mick. “Is he okay?”

  “Yeah, he’s okay. He’ll be in the hospital for a few days still.”

  “Do you think…”

  “Yeah. You need to see him, whether he realizes it or not.”

  “Maude’s getting spoiled by Sheila, love,” Paddy added. “Go see Colin and bring the big eejit home so you can take care of him.”

  “Okay,” Bailey said with a shy smile. “Yeah, okay.”

  Bailey took a deep breath and then blew it out before she lightly knocked on the closed door.

  “Yeah?” she heard Junior say. She took another breath and poked her head inside.

  “Colocha, you are sight for sore eyes. Get in here,” he said, pulling Bailey inside the room and giving her a hug that lifted her off her feet. “He’s still asleep – they’ve been making sure that he keeps ahead of the pain. Do you need to take a shower or anything? Want something to eat?”

  “Oh, Junior, I just want to see him,” Bailey said. She took a shaky breath that threatened to turn into a sob.

  Junior nodded but said nothing, and stepped aside to allow Bailey to approach a slumbering Colin.

  Junior touched her back. “Are you all right to stay here with him? I need to go to the gym to reassure the guys that C’s gonna be fine. You’ll be okay here?”

  Bailey nodded, and Junior squeezed her in another hug and slipped out of the room.

  Daylight filtered through the blinds, faintly illuminating Colin. Bailey sat gingerly on the edge of the bed and ran her eyes over his sleeping figure.

  “Oh, honey,” she whispered at the sight of his bruised and broken face. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and she could see his body was riddled with livid bruises. She bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead.

  “Bailey,” he murmured. “I want my Bailey.” My Bailey. Her name on his lips broke down the last barrier and Bailey put her head on his shoulder and sobbed.

  “Oh, God, Colin, I’d die if anything happened to you.”

  “Babydoll?”

  Bailey raised her head to meet Colin’s bleary eyes. She smiled at him. “Oh, honey. I’ve missed you so much.” She pressed another gentle kiss on him, this time on his neck. “God, I missed you.”

  “Is that you? Are you real, babydoll?”

  “I’m here, Colin, and I’m not letting you leave again. Okay?”

  Colin managed a very feeble smile. “Okay. Get in bed, babydoll.”

  “Okay, honey.” Bailey slipped into the bed and settled down next to her big fighter.

  “Where’s the little babydoll?” Colin murmured, his voice still thick with the sedatives.

  “She’s with Sheila and Paddy.”

  “Oh, okay. As long as she’s taken care of…” Colin’s voice trailed off as he fell asleep once again.

  Bailey heaved a big sigh. Oh, Colin. Even though she was exhausted from spending hours at the police station, she didn’t sleep. She just continued to look at him as the room grew lighter and lighter.

  Mick stopped by the hospital to check on his brother. After he took an initial survey of his brother’s health, he nodded toward the hallway.

  “What’s the plan?” he asked, with a long, hard look at Bailey.

  Bailey shrugged. “Between the two of us? I don’t know. He was really out of it when I got here this morning.” She sighed. “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

  “You need to make sure he doesn’t get any more foolish notions in his head about him standing in the way of Maude and Tripp having a relationship,” Mick insisted. “Bailey, what is it, ducky?”

  “I saw them in the parking lot a few days ago.”

  “Saw who?”

  “Colin and that psychotic bitch.”

  “What?”

  Bailey took a deep breath and told Mick what she saw.

  “That makes no sense, Bailey,” Mick said after she finished. “They’re not together and they haven’t been together for a long time.”

  “Still…
.”

  “Bailey, they are not together. Ask Junior when he gets back if you need reassurance. Colin’s been a wreck, and Junior would know if he had gotten back together with Andrea.”

  She blew out a breath. “I’m supposed to go back to the police station and file a restraining order.”

  “You need to do that A.S.A.P. Who knows what that crazy woman will do when she realizes that she’s not going to get Colin back?”

  Bailey nodded.

  They heard a groan from the room and both rushed back to Colin’s bedside.

  “Mick? What are you doing here?” Colin mumbled, a look of confusion on his face. “Bailey, what are you doing here? Where’s Junior?”

  Colin frowned and both Mick and Bailey could tell he still didn’t really know what was going on. His eyelids fluttered, and Bailey was sure he was going to sink back into sleep.

  “What’s going on?” Colin asked again.

  Mick and Bailey looked at each other, and then back at Colin. “I’m gonna let Bailey fill you in, b’y. I just wanted to check on you.” Mick wrapped his hand around Colin’s head and then surprised Bailey by pressing his lips to his younger brother’s forehead. He murmured something that Bailey couldn’t hear, and Colin nodded.

  With a sigh and a pat to his shoulder, Mick left the hospital room.

  “So, we have a lot to talk about, huh?” Bailey shifted her weight from foot to foot, suddenly very nervous.

  Colin patted the bed next to him.

  “Oh, Colin, honey, I don’t think…”

  Colin waved his splinted arm dismissively and reached out again and took Bailey’s hand. He touched his lips to her fingers.

  “Hey, babydoll,” he whispered. “I missed you so much.”

  “I missed you, too, Colin. We missed you so much.” Bailey laid her hand on his jaw, which made him wince. “Let me see you.”

  She peered at his face. He had a cut on his nose and bruising on his jaw, and various other bruises around his handsome face, though the swelling had gone down some. She ran her thumb over his bottom lip.

  “Honey, I am so sorry,” she whispered.

  “What’re you sorry for, Bailey? I’m the one who’s sorry.”

  “Colin, what’s… your mouth….” She peered at him in the low light.

  Colin chuckled and showed his teeth. “Jaw’s wired shut.”

  “Oh, honey,” Bailey said with a soft chuckle. “You’re a mess.”

  Colin squeezed her arm. “I am. I’m a royal fuck-up, Bailey.”

  “Shh. Colin. No.”

  “I am, Bailey. I pushed you away, made a decision for you that you should have been solely responsible for making. I basically abandoned you, and I wouldn’t blame you one bit if you never wanted to see me…”

  “Colin, stop. Stop.” Bailey put her hand in front of his mouth but didn’t touch it. “Just stop, you silly man.”

  “We can start over from the beginning, take it slow this time…”

  “Colin, I said ‘Stop’, honey.” She smiled at him and he smiled back at her. “So, do you feel like coming home?”

  Colin nodded.

  Bailey stroked his head and Colin exhaled and relaxed into her touch. The two of them sat on the bed, not talking, until the doctor came in to check on Colin.

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  June

  The next morning, Bailey watched Colin and Maude eat their breakfasts, her heart almost bursting with love and affection.

  Maude had grinned and clapped when Colin went to get her up and ready for the day, and she continued grinning all through breakfast, only stopping to examine Colin’s wired jaw and the remaining bruises on his face.

  “Owie C-C?” she said when she put her little hand on a bruise.

  “Owie, Maude,” Colin agreed, but bent down and kissed her head, which made her giggle even more as he grimaced in pain.

  “Man, I’ve missed that sound,” Colin said as he looked at the little girl. “I’ve missed that so much.”

  Bailey came around the table and looped her arm around his neck. “We’ve really missed you, Colin. She’s missed you so much, and I’ve missed listening to you talk to her in the mornings and the evenings.” Bailey cupped her hand gently under his chin and tugged it up so he was looking at her. “And I’ve missed talking with you in the mornings and the evenings, and I’ve missed your terrible singing, and the feel of your body next to mine in that monstrous bed.”

  Colin swallowed hard. “God, Bailey,” was all he could get out before she kissed him.

  “I wish I didn’t have to leave you at all today.”

  “You’re not, babydoll. I’m coming with you to get that restraining order, okay? It’s because of me that you’re going to have to get it, so…”

  Bailey laid her hand softly on Colin’s mouth. “You need to hush. It’s not your fault she’s delusional.

  “But…”

  “Am I going to have to kiss you to make you hush?”

  Colin stopped protesting and grinned. “Maybe.”

  “We’re here for Johnny Richards,” Bailey said. She blew out a breath. Police stations made her nervous. They always did, and they probably always would.

  “Honey, you’re looking as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockin’ chairs,” Colin said in a low mumble.

  His comment took Bailey by such surprise that she bleated a laugh.

  “Did the spirit of your daddy just take over your mouth?”

  Colin’s lip turned up in a half-grin and he shrugged.

  “And you need to stop trying to talk so much, sweetie. You’re going to wear yourself out. I still think you should have stayed at home.”

  Colin was just getting ready to protest when a voice boomed, “Colin Carmichael.”

  The couple turned around and Colin grinned and stuck out his hand.

  “Johnny,” Colin mumbled.

  Johnny shook his head and cursed. “Man, that guy did a job on you, didn’t he? Shouldn’t you still be resting or something?”

  Colin rolled his eyes when Bailey cleared her throat and gave him a look.

  “Johnboy! Richards!” a loud female voice called through the bullpen.

  “Fuck. I don’t know how I’m going to deal with this new partner. Man, she is a pain in my ass all ready. Good God a’mighty.”

  “Some hysterical guy with bad Irish accent wants to talk to you about your sister!” the female voice continued.

  “Crap,” Johnny said and rushed to pick up the phone.

  “Rory?” Bailey looked at Colin.

  “Gotta be,” Colin said with a chuckle and a wince. Oh man. ‘Bad Irish accent’. That’s classic.

  Johnny hung up the phone, grabbed his jacket, and jogged by. “Come with me, you two. I’ll take you to the guy you need to be talking to. Darren and I gotta go. Ashley’s having the kiddoes now.”

  The three walked quickly down the hall to conference room two men stood at a table and looked at the contents of a manila folder.

  “Darren, we gotta book. Ashley’s having the babies.”

  “Oh, shit!” This came from a man who looked very similar to Johnny. “Vince, you got this?”

  “I got this. Go. Keep that Irishman sane while that sister of yours has those babies.” When the brothers left the room, Vince turned to Colin and Bailey and said, “Though if he’s crazy enough to get Ashley Richards pregnant, he’ll probably be fine. I’m Vince Scuito. You’re Bailey Jenkins, correct?”

  “Yes, sir.” Bailey was still nervous.

  “You don’t have to be nervous, Ms. Jenkins. You aren’t in trouble, and as a matter of fact, we’d like to thank you for locating Tamara Hoffman.”

  “Who?” Colin interrupted.

  “And who are you?” the detective asked.

  “I’m Colin Carmichael. Andrea was in my hospital room, impersonating Bailey when…”

  “Oh, okay. I see. You’re an ex-boyfriend, t
hen.”

  Colin cringed. “I wish you wouldn’t call me that. But yeah, we were…involved for a while.”

  Vince pulled a mugshot from the folder. “Is this your Andrea Michaels?”

  Colin snorted. Ow. I gotta remember that my nose is still broken. “She is not my anything, but yeah, that woman is Andrea.”

  “Well, she’s not. She’s Tamara Hoffman. She’s wanted for mail fraud, and larceny, and identity theft in three different states, and that’s just what we’ve uncovered in the past forty-eight hours. Who knows what all she’s been up to?”

  “Holy crap!” Bailey said, her eyes wide. “Colin…”

  Colin just shook his head in disbelief. “Babydoll, I had no idea.”

  “Well, she’s being extradited back to Wisconsin tomorrow. We’ll go ahead and get a restraining order, just in case, but most likely she’ll be tried on federal charges and she’ll be going away for a long, long time.”

  “Wow.”

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  “Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Tripp yelled at the top of his lungs. This whole endeavor has been a disaster!

  And to make matters worse, that conniving woman Andrea wasn’t answering her phone now. It was time to admit that he had bitten off more than he could chew with that one.

  His phone rang and he didn’t recognize the number. God, and I hate this friggin’ Bluetooth. His other car had a hands-free option, but this little piece of Japanese crap didn’t. The Bluetooth beeped again and he picked up.

  “Hello?”

  “Tripp.”

  Fuck. Ing. A.

  “Vince, I’ll have the money this afternoon. I’m going to get it now. Uh-huh. Right now. I can meet you at three. Okay. At the North Springs Marta station, again? Yes. I’ll be there.”

  Fuck. He had to get in that apartment and get that money, otherwise, he’d be in deep shit. Or rather, deeper shit.

  Tripp blew out a breath, and the inhaled deeply. “Be calm, Tripp. Just calm yourself.”

  Yeah, be calm. You owe some very bad people a lot of money because goddamn Damon Pierce actually fucking won that fight.