Fight (Velocity, #2) (Velocity Series)

by Molly McLain

  My shoulders sag in relief. “That would be wonderful. Thank you.”

  “Yeah, well, I just found out that my fiancé is having an online fling with an old girlfriend, so I completely sympathize.” She shoots me a small smile and an idea strikes.

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” I say. “Hey, the Wi-Fi works in the bar, right?”

  “Yep.”

  “You are, hands down, the best clerk ever.”

  The woman laughs. “Tell that to my boss.”

  “I will.” As soon as I finish watching ‘Colton’ and Bria one more time.

  - - -

  Colton

  Five minutes. I last five minutes in the hotel room without Taylor before it fully hits me that she’s walked out on me. In the middle of the night. In a city she’s never been to before.

  What’s worse…I let her go. What’s downright asinine? The fact that there are no flights to Minneapolis or Chicago until tomorrow morning and, right now, she’s somewhere in Phoenix with no place to go because of me.

  Changing out of my riding clothes, I pull on a pair of jeans and a clean T-shirt, then grab my wallet and phone. The elevator takes forever to arrive on the twelfth floor, but I rattle off a half dozen anxious texts while I wait.

  The first and second are to Tito. As humiliating as it is, I send him the video and ask him to take a look. The third and fourth are to Dante. Same song and dance. The more eyes I get on this thing, the better the odds are of figuring out who the hell Bria bribed to impersonate me. A hundred bucks says it’s McKinnon, but I want the proof before I confront the prick and put him in his damn place once and for all.

  The last two texts are to Taylor. I love you and I’m sorry. As simple as possible, so she doesn’t realize I’m coming for her. She may resent me right now and I may not understand how her trust in me could waver, but she’s still the woman I love, therefore she’s still mine to protect. Whether she likes it or not.

  I hurry into the lobby, ducking into the bar just in case she stopped there, but the only patrons are wearing wrinkled business suits and drinking cheap whiskey. The restaurant is equally quiet, leaving the wait staff to idly fill the sugar bowls and condiment containers for the next day.

  “Hey, there,” I greet the clerk at the registration desk. “Any chance you’ve seen a pretty brunette with a purple suitcase?”

  The young woman gives me a cold glance before returning her attention to her computer. “Nope. Sorry.”

  Wow. Obvious much? “You sure?”

  “Positive.”

  Uh huh. “Thanks.”

  “You bet.”

  Leave it to Taylor to make instant friends with just about anyone. Shaking my head, I start toward bathrooms just past the bar…when a light in the corner of the establishment catches my eye.

  Relief washes through me when I see the familiar auburn hair above the glowing laptop monitor. Tucked into the back corner, all by herself, I missed her at first glance. But now that I’ve found her, there’ll be no more walking away and no more hiding, because she and I have done enough of that.

  “Buy you a drink?” I ask, approaching her carefully. She doesn’t look up from the screen, rather rolls her eyes instead.

  “Go back to the room, Col.”

  “Not a chance.” I grab a chair from the other side of the table, drop it next to hers, and sit. “I thought you were leaving.”

  “I am, just as soon as I finish up here.”

  “Uh huh.” Glancing at her laptop, I frown. A dark image fills the screen. Something grainy. “What’s this?”

  “Not what I’d hoped it would be.” She gives a heavy sigh. “And I’m not talking to you right now, either, so hush.”

  God, I love this girl.

  “Okay, then,” I say, humoring her by sitting in silence with her for two whole minutes, both of us staring at the screen. I lean in to get a closer look, and she elbows me in the side.

  “You’re crowding my space.”

  “You’re my girlfriend. I’m allowed to do that.”

  Scoffing, she slides her chair a few inches in the opposite direction. I follow. “Come on, Colton. Seriously. Just go away.”

  “Not happening, Tee. It’s after midnight in a city you know nothing about. It’s either me or a serial killer.”

  “Tough choice.”

  I grin at her sarcasm. It sure as hell beats her tears.

  Straightening her spine, she tosses her hair over her shoulder and massages her fingers into her lower back with a grimace.

  “You okay?” Instinctively, I slide my hand against the small of her back and rub, too.

  Curling her lip, she shoots me a sidelong glance. “I’m mad at you, remember?”

  “Yep, and I’m just not sure why. I know you know it’s not me in that video.”

  Her quick intake of breath gives her away and, mentally, I pump a fist in the air. If she truly believed I’d slept with Bria again, she’d either be long gone or I’d be laid out on the floor, holding the meager remains of my balls.

  “Do you see what I see?” she asks, lifting her chin toward the screen while her pretty little mouth twists thoughtfully.

  “I see something, but I can’t say I know what it is.” On second glance, I can tell it’s an enlarged image, but that’s as much as I’ve got.

  “It’s a facial profile.” Using her fingertip, she points out the subtle outline of a jaw and forehead. “I thought maybe I could see better on a larger screen.”

  Well, well. From pissed to super sleuth. Imagine that.

  “I thought you were mad at me.”

  “I am.”

  “So why are you trying to figure this video out for me?”

  “Because even though you frustrate the hell out of me, I love you.” She finally meets my gaze and I see the silent question there.

  I lean in and press my forehead to hers. “I love you, too. I’m sorry I didn’t say it before.”

  “Don’t ever do that to me again,” she whispers, her lips trembling ever so slightly.

  “I won’t.” Tucking her hair behind her ear, I let my fingers linger against the silky skin on her neck. “I promise.”

  She bites that quivering bottom lip as her hand finds my free one. “Col?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I need to tell you something.”

  Six of a man’s least favorite words. “Sounds serious. Maybe we should go back upstairs.”

  She shakes her head and her fingers tighten around mine. “I have to do it now or I’ll chicken out.”

  I pull back just enough to see her face. “Everything okay?”

  “I should’ve told you a long time ago, but…” Her words come a little faster with every syllable. “But it didn’t seem like something you should hear over the phone, you know?”

  Not really, but I nod anyway.

  “Something happened when we were in Vegas. I’m not sure how, but—”

  Her phone lights up on the table at the same time mine vibrates in my pocket, beneath our tangled hands.

  “Really?” She reaches for her cell with a sigh. “Both of us at the same time?”

  Definitely weird, but not nearly as interesting as whatever it is she’s about to say. “It can wait. Keep talking.”

  She gives me a small smile. “It’s a sign.”

  “What is?”

  “The phones. Now isn’t the time to talk about this.”

  What the hell does that mean? “You’re going to leave me hanging?”

  “Just until we make sure Maribel isn’t going up in flames.” She swipes her phone open while I dig mine from my jeans. “Oh, my God.” Her groan echoes through the nearly empty bar and I frown.

  “What?”

  Her dark eyes connect with mine, pleading. “Colton, this has to stop.”

  Huh? I pulled up my messages and see something from an unfamiliar number.

  The video goes live tomorrow at noon along with the ugly truth about how you got Bria pregnant. Unless, of course,
you give me what I wanted all along—the $500,000 I would have banked had you become the superstar I groomed you to be. Involve the police or those pathetic PI friends of Dante’s and I’ll be sure the media gets personalized copies of you fucking your favorite bunny.

  Your accountant has my bank account information. Get the money there on time or I will ruin you just like I said I would.

  Oh, and Taylor? You must be a pretty good piece of ass for him to turn his back on everything we worked so hard for. Thanks for nothing, bitch.

  - - -

  Taylor

  My sympathy for Colton and this never-ending bullshit is quickly replaced by insufferable rage for the gold diggers so intent on exploited him. I push away from the table tucked at the back of the bar in such a huff that the room spins.

  “Whoa…” Colton grasps my arm as I sway on my feet and blindly reach for him. “Take it easy, babe.”

  “How can you be so calm?” I gasp, despite the dizziness. “She’s crazy, Colton, and she needs to be stopped!”

  “But we know it’s not me,” he says in a soft voice that’s probably supposed to reassure me, but it just fuels my frustration.

  “We might know that, but you’ve already more or less owned up to being the father of Bria’s baby. Why would they believe it’s not you in that video?”

  His brow pinches tight. “I don’t care what they believe, Tee.”

  “Yes, you do!” I drive my fingers back into my hair, as anger rolls hot through my body. “This isn’t just a sex tape, Col. You think she’s someone else. You’ll look like a fool, not to mention a huge prick!”

  He shakes his head and gives a watery smile. “So be it, Taylor. You know the truth. That’s all that matters.”

  How can he be so naïve right now? This is so much bigger than the two of us.

  I pull in a careful breath, trying to control my racing heart. “What are we going to do?”

  His hand slides down my arm until his fingers circle my wrist. “This is blatant blackmail, Tee. I’m obviously going to turn her in.”

  But it’s not that easy, I plead in my head, as my eyes close against the lingering dizziness and suddenly spotty vision. “And if she finds out and contacts the media?”

  “Then we let my lawyer and Dante handle it while we lay low.”

  He can’t be serious. “You’re not going to fight her?”

  “Personally? No. I won’t do that to you.”

  “Me?” My eyes snap open again.

  “We make a big deal of this, then so will the media. If we don’t, it’ll pass.”

  “But it’s the principle!” Of all the times for him to shy away from the public eye, he chooses now. “I need to lay down.” Before I stroke out over his ridiculousness.

  “Okay.” Colton stands and closes up my laptop before reaching for my suitcase. I grab my purse and phone and follow after, step by careful step.

  But suddenly it feels like I’m on a tilt-a-whirl. The bar rocks like the helm of a boat, and the men on the stools before it move in the opposite direction like buoys.

  “Col…” I reach for him again, but he fades in the tunnel of darkness that closes in on me.

  One thought and one thought only remains clear in my mind as my knees go weak and the bar floor rises up to swallow me…

  My baby.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Colton

  “Sir, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to wait outside.” The nurse ushers me back toward the door of Taylor’s ER room as the paramedics transfer her from their stretcher to the hospital bed. She’s come to a handful of times in the past ten minutes only to pass out again, and it’s scaring the shit out of me.

  “Why won’t she wake up?” I ask, trying to see around the older, heavyset woman, who keeps bobbing and weaving in my line of vision as she pushes me backwards.

  “We’ll have answers for you soon, sir, but right now, I need you to step out so the doctor can do his job.”

  “But I’m her boyfriend.” Doesn’t she understand? Taylor just hit the floor of the hotel bar harder than I do on most of my wipeouts, and I have no idea why.

  In the hall, just outside the bank of glass doors that she quickly closes behind us, the nurse gives me a sympathetic smile. “Honey, I know you’re worried, and I promise that we’ll tell you what we know just as soon as we figure out what’s going on.”

  Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I nod. “Thank you.”

  She rubs my arm then points toward the waiting room just beyond another wall of glass. “Have a seat and don’t be surprised if the patient registration clerk asks you for some information about your girlfriend.”

  I drop into the first seat I find, set Taylor’s purse on the coffee table in front of me, and scrub my hands over my face.

  What in the ever loving fuck just happened?

  Why would a perfectly healthy twenty-three-year-old woman pass out like that and not be able to fully wake up?

  Why the fuck did I ever hire Liz Romig?

  I dig out my phone and send a screenshot of the message to Dante and to my lawyer, Richard. Family emergency. I can’t deal with this right now.

  On it, man, Dante replies thirty seconds later, and my shoulders sag in relief.

  Taylor thinks I’m taking the easy way out by not handling this myself, but she doesn’t know how hard I fight not to do just that. I could probably turn this whole thing around in a matter of hours and make Liz and Bria pay for the shit they’ve put me through, but I can’t. Rather, I won’t, because I’m not bringing one more ounce of shade to what’s so good between Taylor and me. Not when what’s already happened has taken such a toll on her.

  I saw the exhaustion in her eyes the second she opened that door in Madison last weekend. She’s had so much to deal with between her parents, school, the move, us…

  And now this.

  I may be a little green around the edges when it comes to real relationships, but I know my girl, and all of this shit is going to break her at one point or another.

  If it hasn’t already.

  “Sir?” A young woman in pale yellow scrubs approaches with a clipboard in hand. “Are you with Ms. Jansen?”

  I jump to my feet, my heart racing all over again. “Yes. Is she awake?”

  She smiles gently. “I’m sorry, I don’t know that. I just need to get some information entered into our computer system in order to register her. Are you able to answer some basic questions?”

  “Sure,” I sigh.

  “Follow me, please.”

  Grabbing Taylor’s purse, I follow her to a small room off to the side of the waiting room.

  “Okay,” she says, taking a seat at the computer. “I just need the correct spelling of her name, her date of birth, address, and insurance information.”

  I rattle off everything but her insurance info, which I’m clueless about. For that, I dig into her purse. Normally, I’d feel bad about poking around in her things, but somehow I don’t think Taylor will mind tonight.

  I pull out a small zippered bag, two brushes, a bottle of perfume, and a prescription bottle before I find her wallet buried at the bottom. “Sorry,” I tell the registration clerk, as my face goes hot. “I’ve never understood why she needs this much stuff at the ready.”

  The clerk laughs. “Mine’s bigger, so…”

  “Good Lord.” I chuckle, too, and it feels good considering all the crap that’s gone down in the past few hours. “Ah, here you go.”

  She takes the card as I slide it across the desk and start packing everything else back into the purse. “Is Ms. Jansen taking any medications the doctor should be aware of?”

  “Um…” I pause, with the prescription bottle in hand. “Maybe?” My eyes narrow on the label, scanning quickly for the name of the drug. Take one daily with food. If nausea occurs…blah blah blah. “Here.” I finally reach the name at the bottom. “It’s just vitamin with folic acid.”

  “A prenatal vitamin?” the clerk asks with a raised eye
brow, and I shrug.

  “I have no idea.”

  “Is your girlfriend pregnant?”

  Huh? “Ah, no, I’m pretty sure she’s not.”

  “Hmm.” She eyes the bottle suspiciously and I tuck it back into Taylor’s purse. This chick is a little too nosey for her own good.

  Movement in the doorway catches my eye and I turn to see the older nurse poking her head inside the office. “She’s awake, Mr. Wade.”

  “Thank God.” I jump to my feet and am halfway to the door before I remember that I’m supposed to be answering questions. “Are we done here?”

  The young woman waves me on, and I hurry past the glass doors once again.

  I can’t get to Taylor soon enough.

  - - -

  Taylor

  I wake up with the worst taste in my mouth. Something sour and grotesque. And what the heck is that smell?

  “Good morning, sunshine,” a sweet voice says, before a warm hand presses against my forehead. “How about you stay awake this time?”

  Er, what?

  Suddenly, it comes back to me. The argument with Col. The text from Liz. The bar floor. My eyes flutter open and I’m greeted by a woman who immediately reminds me of Kara, only in scrubs.

  “There she is.” She smiles brightly. “We were worried about you.”

  We being hospital staff, apparently. “How long have I been here?”

  “About a half hour.”

  Wow. “I’m not sure what happened,” I try to explain. “I just felt really dizzy and my eyes wouldn’t focus.”

  “For one, you’re dehydrated.” She messes with a machine next to the head of my bed, and I realize that I already have an IV in my hand. I’m in one of those awful wrap around gowns too. “We’ll know more when we get the rest of your labs back. Have you had any falls lately other than when you passed out tonight? Any bumps to the head?”

  “No. Nothing.” But about those labs…

  Just as I’m about to tell her what they’ll find, the door slides open and an older nurse ushers a pale-faced Colton inside.

  “Hey, beautiful.” He pulls up a chair and takes my hand into his. “You really freaked me out back there.”

  The pressure of another crying spell builds in my chest. This isn’t how I wanted to tell him and now what if I’ve waited too long?