by Hadley Quinn
The Fighter’s Block
(Cole, Book Two)
Hadley Quinn
Cover Credits
Model: BT Urruela
Photographer: Randy Sewell of RLS Model Images
Copyright © 2015 by Hadley Quinn
The characters and events portrayed in this work are entirely fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or deceased, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
No parts of this work may be copied or reproduced, with exception of quoting excerpts of material for reviewing purposes.
CONTENT WARNING:
This book contains adult material, including sex and language. Not suitable for readers under the age of 18.
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”
–Mahatma Gandhi
Chapter One
Two days earlier…
Cole Nicholson maneuvered effortlessly between the bodies standing on the broken and barely-existing sidewalk. There were two-dozen insignificant people that had nothing better to do than loiter outside of a strip club late at night. This joint was in the part of town that made your skin crawl; where the stench of sin and misdeeds settle in your nostrils and evil cloaks you just by association.
It was the last place he wanted to be, and for the first time in his career, he hoped he was completely off-track with this investigation. This was where the last month of searching had led him.
This was where he’d find Leah Kemp.
“Hey, I got something for ya,” a raspy voice called to him from against the brick building.
Cole automatically assessed the man as he passed—five-nine, one-eighty, and obviously stoned.
The guy shrugged both eyebrows and added, “You lookin’ for some fun tonight? Got some girls that will give ya a real good time.” He smiled wide, showing teeth that belonged to a lifelong smoker. The man’s smile remained but he leaned forward to speak in a quieter tone. “For the right price, of course.”
“Oh, of course,” Cole replied dryly. He glanced up and down the sidewalk before he turned to walk away. Over his shoulder he added, “Not interested.”
He let the crowd swallow him up from the man’s view and casually made his way to the side of the building. The alley on this end was dark and smelled of piss and vomit, but he paused to reassess his thoughts.
With a sigh, Cole pulled out his phone as he walked to the next block. “Hey, you got me in the wrong section of town, fucker,” he said into the phone.
“Say what?” Gino chuckled a response.
“This isn’t what you described to me last night.”
“Well where the hell are you?”
Cole didn’t get halfway through his description before Gino was laughing his ass off.
“It looks like fucking whoreville, I know. But it’s in the back. Are you in the back? It looks like a fenced parking lot, but it’s got a private entrance to the basement. Total VIP setup, it’s brilliant. Throws off the feds. Go to the back.”
“Would have been nice if you’d told me that.”
“Sorry man, thought I did. You’re in the right spot, trust me.”
Cole hung up and looped around the block until he came to the backside of the building. Attached was a large parking lot that was fenced off, but he silently hopped over the six-foot enclosure in two seconds.
In the dark perimeter of the lot, he scoped the back stoop of the club. A six-foot-five hefty bouncer guarded the back entrance and was armed. Waiting was part of the game, but tonight Cole couldn’t be a patient observer. He needed to get inside in order to get this done.
He picked up an empty bottle of liquor by the neck and launched it to the opposite side of the lot. The moment it crashed against the pavement, the bouncer’s head jerked the same direction as his hand went straight for his gun. He cautiously left his post and wandered toward the glass disturbance.
The second the man’s back was turned Cole was close to the building, moving along it for the door. He was told it wouldn’t be locked, but he still had to assume the possibility. It wasn’t. He also assumed there could be someone else on the other side and he was prepared for it, but again the odds were in his favor.
He took a deep breath as his eyes adjusted to his dim surroundings inside. This was going to be the moment of unveiling if all went well. He’d tracked Leah Kemp all the way to Miami only to find her in a place like this.
Well, that was his motto anyway when it came to this shit. Expect the worst; hope for the best… Always expect the unexpected.
He made his way through a poorly lit hallway, listening for anything other than the raunchy music from the strip club. The only light was a tiny one on the wall up ahead, and when he met up with it, he slowly opened another door to his right.
It was a stairwell that only went down; the purple walls were lit with ambient lighting and the difference in mood could already be felt. At the bottom of the flight of stairs was another door, and as soon as he cracked it an inch, Cole could hear softer music. It was a different sound than what he had heard coming from the club.
He took his chances and slipped into a spacious room animated with several bodies, mostly female. Some were clothed in regular attire with their assets accentuated, and others were barely dressed. A few chairs and couches were occupied with bodies; some just in conversation, others engrossed in a little bit more. There was even a guy in the corner of the room getting a blowjob.
Cole had barely been standing there for five seconds before two—make that three—women already had their hands on him.
“Oh sugar, aren’t you delicious,” one smiled as she linked arms with him.
“Mmm, the answer is yes, I’ll take you,” another told him as she rubbed her hand over his chest. “Oh my God, I’m in love,” she added, now taking two hands to feel the muscles across his chest and shoulders.
“Where do they make men like you?” the third woman whispered in his ear from behind.
She was almost his height, which caused him to quickly figure out the marketing attack by this trio. All three women were completely different—from hair color, hair lengths, height and shape, and even their attire. A quick glance around the room confirmed his findings.
Something for everyone.
“Well aren’t you a quiet one,” the first one said, her arm still linked with his. She was platinum blonde, average height, large busted, and dressed in a simple short dress that showed plenty of cleavage. “I like that,” she smiled. “You and I would get along just fine.”
“Oh, I think he’d be surprised by the noise I could get him to make,” the tall one said from behind. Her hand snaked around his waist and she whispered, “Wanna find out?”
“How many women do you lose in those eyes?” the ginger batted her eyelashes at him. She was still running her hands over his chest and down his arms. She leaned so close to his face he thought she was attempting to kiss him. But instead, she just gazed into his eyes and waited for an answer she didn’t get because the dark-haired female was already trying to lead him over to a couch.
“I’m looking for someone,” Cole finally said.
All three women stopped what they were doing before the redhead replied, “Well of course you are, baby. We’re here to help you with that—”
“No, I’m looking for someone in particular,” he cut in. “I haven’t seen her for a long time and I heard she works here. I wanna give her, you know, another spin if you know what I mean,” he lied.
The blonde pursed her lips and looked him over, but eventually asked, “What’s her name?”
“Leah.”
All three of them laughed.
>
“Not her real name,” the redhead winked at him. “I’m Ginger, that’s Diamond, and that’s Desire. What’s her ‘name’?”
Cole had no fucking clue, which caused him to wonder if he should have even mentioned a name to begin with. He glanced throughout the room again, taking in as many faces as he could in the few seconds he allowed himself to pause. He’d seen a few younger pictures of Leah, but in an environment of dolled-and-dressed-up, he wasn’t so sure he’d recognize her.
“Maybe I’ll just hang out for a while,” he finally said.
“Well it would be silly to do that alone,” the dark-haired woman said as she came around to the front of him. Her name was Desire? Seriously?
Fuck, he wasn’t even sure if she was a woman…
“Exactly,” Ginger agreed, taking his hand and pulling him forward. “We’ll keep you company.”
Cole allowed them to lead him to a couch, but he was still looking over every female in the room. A couple of them ended up staring back at him, even disengaging from whomever they were entertaining at the moment. He didn’t want to make eye contact with any of them, but he didn’t want to pass up anything that could point out Leah Kemp.
Not that she would know who he was anyway. He’d left New Jersey months ago to get a certain beautiful brunette out of his head. Dani and Van were already married when he’d met them during the murder investigation of Dani’s ex, but now the two of them had a little girl that was about to turn a year old. Cole had pretty much accepted the fact that they were a happy family and had no choice but to move on.
But Van had contacted him a month ago, asking for his help. He still hadn’t been able to track down his sister and offered to pay for Cole’s services. At the time it seemed like the right thing to do. It sure beat the other jobs he’d been offered lately, like catching cheating spouses and exposing corrupt business leaders—or in some cases, both at the same time—but so far this assignment had only gotten on his nerves with the dead leads and other wasteful inconveniences.
Like being in a fucking whorehouse…
“Sugar, maybe you need to just relax for a little bit,” a female voice brought his attention back. It was the blonde, Diamond, and she had her hand rubbing back and forth over his thigh. “I mean why not spend some time unwinding until you can find, um, whatever her name is. We are here to help you ‘relax’,” she added with a sultry smile.
What the hell else did that guy say about this place? Fifteen women worked the floor on the weekends. Most of them were strippers from upstairs and some worked for other clubs. Four women were special requests in another room—apparently you had to ask exactly the right way for them or you got your ass thrown out instantly. Besides the guard at the back door, there were four bouncers inside—two on the floor and two down the hall to serve the back rooms—and supposedly they enjoyed roughing up misbehaving customers.
“I’d like to dine with an angel on hell’s patio,” Cole finally stated.
All three women froze at first. The only thing that happened after that was the blonde stood, straightened her dress, and motioned for him to follow her. The other two immediately parted ways to look for other business.
Cole followed Diamond down the hall he’d been informed of. It led to bedrooms, bathrooms, and other various “playgrounds” for sexual play. They passed about six different doors before they turned down a hallway to the right. At the end of it contained double doors, as if to a fancy suite, but they also passed what looked like a salon or dressing room of some sort.
During Cole’s brief glance on his way by he saw racks of clothing, wigs, and just one of probably a few hair styling stations. But he also saw a woman hanging up a blow dryer. Her back was to him and he only saw her for a second, but she didn’t look dressed like the other working girls in the building.
“State your reference name first,” Diamond told him as she knocked on the double doors they’d approached. “They’ll want to know who sent you.”
She left him standing there by himself, and as he looked over his shoulder to watch her head down the hall, she waved into the salon on her way by before disappearing around the corner.
“Ahem,” a dainty voice announced to get his attention.
Cole turned around to face the doors that had now been opened. The woman staring at him was not like any of the others that had been out on the floor. She was actually a natural beauty, with long auburn hair and an average amount of makeup. She had long, sexy legs in a short skirt and heels that brought her up to about five-foot-ten.
Behind her was the ugliest man he had ever seen in his life, dressed all in black with a gun at his hip and a snarly expression that eyed him up and down.
“Damien Glenn,” Cole stated.
The female’s eyebrow lifted subtly, but Cole saw it before she tried to hide her surprise. Her large blue eyes bore into his for a moment before quickly glancing down his body and back up to his face.
She opened the door further and stepped aside to allow him in as the bodyguard first gave him a very rough pat down and then exited the room to take up a position outside.
“I’m Scarlett,” she stated. Motioning into the room to the sitting area, she introduced three other women. “Mercedes, Sateen, and Helena.”
Each of them stood and looked him over. Cole was pretty good at reading people and he could easily tell they noticed he was not the type that typically entered this room for business. It was most likely old, ugly, or fat guys—or all three—that only had their money to get them somewhere.
Even his contact that got him to this place was an old, fat dude that was rolling in money. The guy frequented joints like this on a weekly basis.
Well…to each their own.
“Do you have a preference or are you still deciding?” Scarlett finally asked him.
She shut the door behind them and faced Cole again, waiting for an answer. He didn’t have one right away, but he knew for a fact not a single one of these women was Leah Kemp. Two of them were too tall, one was Asian, and the other was African-American.
It was another dead end.
“We kind of need to know what you want, sweetie,” Scarlett smiled at him. But even through the smile, he could tell it was fake. No, Cole knew he wasn’t like the other guys that came through here, and even though the other women seemed pleased by that, Scarlett didn’t seem to care.
Well that was a fucking blow to his ego.
“I actually don’t see anything that I like,” he replied smugly, eyeing Scarlett for her reaction. He’d shocked her, he could tell, but he could also see that she was trying to hide a smile that wanted to deliver a nasty response.
“Is that so?” she asked evenly. “Were you misinformed by what you had to choose from?”
Oh, she was a sassy one, but Cole bit back a playful retort. She would probably be a fun one to mess around with, but this entire whore shop wasn’t classy in the least bit and he couldn’t understand how she fit here. She didn’t seem to belong with any of the other girls, even the ones in the same room.
“Yeah, I think I was,” he winked at her, turning for the door.
Now he had to deal with Lurch on the other side, but if push came to shove, Cole was pretty sure he could make it past him for the other exit that led to the strip club upstairs. It was a gamble, but he didn’t want to waste any more time here.
“If you’re a cop, you’d better just stick around for a little bit,” Scarlett said quietly from behind him.
Cole stopped with his hand on the door.
“If you leave now, Gordon will know something is up and he’ll beat the shit out of you,” she whispered. “He’ll call Damien, and Damien will have you killed. Do you understand me?”
He turned around and faced her again, instantly sensing she was legitimately concerned. He could also tell the other women hadn’t heard a word she’d said because they were busy giggling and fondling each other.
“I’m not a cop,” Cole admitted honestly. “This just
isn’t my thing.” More truth.
Scarlett studied him for a moment, like she was trying to believe him but couldn’t. She looked hopeful for a second but then her eyes only relayed her disappointment.
“Look,” Cole spoke quietly. “Is there something you wanna tell me? Are you here against your will?”
She pushed him up against the wall and started kissing him—like full-on lip-lock with a lot of tongue—and her body was pressed into his groin with obvious intent. The other three women apparently got the message because they disappeared through another door instantly.
As soon as the suite contained only the two of them, Scarlett shoved herself from Cole just as quickly. She turned away from him, took a deep breath, and then faced him again.
“Yeah, you obviously don’t belong here,” she said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he challenged her, his pride taking immediate offense.
“Just tell me why you’re here,” she told him, placing her hands on her hips. “I mean…I know Damien didn’t send you. Normally that would get your ass booted out of here instantly, but I guess I was a little curious.”
“Curious?” Cole scoffed. “Or intrigued,” he more than cockily stated.
“Oh yes, I’ve never seen a gorgeous man,” she retorted sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
Despite the compliment, Cole laughed just as bitterly. “Well excuse me for asking if anything was wrong here. How dare I be such an inconsiderate prick.”
She stared at him for several seconds, a mix of anger and resentment apparent, but when her face fell and her eyes closed in defeat, he was taken by surprise.
“Just leave,” she shook her head. “I mean you’ve been here for what, eight minutes? I can convince Gordon of anything and he’ll let you leave. Just…go.”
“Okay, now I’m not leaving,” Cole folded his arms across his chest. “Tell me what the fuck is going on here. The women I’ve seen so far appear to like being here. You on the other hand, not so much. And here you are, pretty much locked in an elite…whatever the fuck it is…and you don’t seem to like the ‘special’ treatment.”