Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Ruby drove down the freeway, tapping her fingers and singing along to the radio.
She’d decided to make the drive into LA instead of calling Tag.
Maybe he wouldn’t be at work today, and this trip would be wasted.
But it felt good to be out. To be doing something, even if it was just reconnecting with someone from her old life.
In the last week since her arrest, her apartment had started to feel claustrophobic. Haley brought her joy every single day, but Ruby needed a little time to herself, too. A drive, even through Los Angeles traffic, was a welcome change of scenery.
The sign for Bailor Fitness appeared, and with it a flood of memories.
She pulled into the parking garage. Tag’s place was in an office park, unassuming on the outside. But for a short, vivid period of her life, this place had been like home.
The parking spots on the main level were full, so she parked one floor below and took the stairs up.
When Ruby stepped through the glass doors, familiar smells assailed her. Sweat and leather, cleaning spray and coffee. Somewhere, a smoothie machine whirred. Metal plates clanked in the background as club members lifted weights.
She’d first come to Bailor Fitness with a friend. They’d known MMA fighters trained here. But Ruby hadn’t known that the kinds of fights they participated in were strictly private, invite only. She definitely hadn’t expected to fall in love with this world.
The irony had seemed so fitting before it all went wrong. The cop’s daughter, the cop’s sister, caught up in an underground fighting ring.
The funny thing was, Devon and Chase were members of a boxing gym now. A cop hangout. But they had no idea about Ruby’s ties to a very different group of fighters on the other side of the law.
“Oh hell, look who it is.” Tag Bailor looked good as always, tall, lean, spiky black hair. His beard was thicker and his tan was darker. Wrinkles appeared around his eyes as he smiled. He stood behind the front desk, along with a woman.
“Ruby. Hey.”
“Oh my gosh, Nora? I didn’t recognize you at first. How are you?”
“Not bad. Sorry for your troubles.”
“Thanks.”
Nora Rodgers had been a fighter for as long as Ruby had known her, but she’d put on even more muscle. Nora’s arms were cut, and she’d styled her hair into a faux hawk. Her pink lipstick and trendy workout clothes added a contrasting touch.
Tag came around the desk to give Ruby a hug. “Even prettier than I remembered. Especially given the shit that’s been stirred up lately. I can’t even believe…” He shook his head. “Come into my office so we can talk. Nora, handle the desk?”
“Sure thing, T.”
Tag moved slowly, limping as they went down the hall. In his office, he moved a box of protein powder from a chair and set it on the floor.
Ruby took the seat. “Your office is still a mess, I see.”
He laughed, leaning his weight against his desk. “Yeah, that hasn’t changed. But shit, so much else has.” His expression slid into a frown. “I’m really sorry, Ruby. About all that happened.”
“It’s been pretty messed up. Never been arrested before. Eye-opening experience.”
“Not just that. I know you couldn’t have done what they say. But I mean all that happened with Mickey when you got pregnant. I wish I could’ve done more for you.”
“You tried. I didn’t want anyone’s help, especially not anyone connected with Mickey.” Don’t talk about the case, Jane had said. But how could she sit here and not offer condolences? “This must be hard for you. I’m truly sorry for your loss. Mickey was your best friend.”
He nodded. “Mick wasn’t perfect, but I still loved him. He didn’t deserve what he got. But neither did you.”
“I was a different person back then.” She shrugged. “Was Mickey still on the circuit?” Ruby asked. Still fighting, she meant.
“I’d been telling Mick for a while that he should get out of it.”
“I told him the same after what happened to you.”
Ruby swallowed down bile as she thought of the night Tag had been injured. He’d gone down, but the ref hadn’t called the fight. His opponent, a brute named Conrad Decker, had kept kicking him. Hurting him. The audience had just roared, eager for blood.
Tag had ended up in the hospital, bones broken all over his body. Arms shattered, knee almost destroyed. Her stomach twisted as she pictured it.
Decker had gone way too far. Should’ve been arrested. But the fights Tag and Mickey had fought in? They weren’t the kinds to welcome police.
“But you know Mickey,” Tag said. “He wouldn’t listen. He loved the thrill of it too much.” Tag glanced around the office like he might somehow find his old friend here. “Lately, I thought he might be getting tired of it. But he was in deep. I was always afraid it would catch up with him.”
Ruby blinked, her mind turning over what he’d just said. “What do you mean?”
“The people who run things, they never cared about us. Just about the money.” Tag shrugged. “And you know how Mickey had a way of finding trouble.”
She sat forward in her chair. “Do you think the fights could be related to Mickey’s murder? That he pissed somebody off, and they went after him?”
“I don’t know anything for sure, Ruby. I left that shit behind, and so has most everyone else who trains here. Things have changed since you left LA. You should stay away from the circuit. That whole life. It’s bad news.”
Ruby scoffed. “I’ve been charged with Mickey’s murder. It’s not like I’m safe if I just crawl under a rock and hide away from the world.”
Tag screwed up his lips.
She cringed. “I don’t mean that’s what you’re doing.”
Ruby couldn’t blame Tag for avoiding the people responsible for nearly killing him. She didn’t know who ran the fighting ring, but she’d heard rumors. Chase and Devon would be scandalized if they ever knew what she’d really been into.
But she was a mother now. She wasn’t that reckless girl anymore.
Tag made his way behind his desk and sat down. “Look, there’s a reason I needed to talk to you, and it wasn’t just to commiserate. It’s Mickey’s family. I spoke to his brother and his mom. Did you ever meet them?”
“No. Never.” As far as Ruby was aware, they hadn’t known she or Haley even existed.
Tag exhaled. “So, they’re wrecked, as you can imagine. I tried to tell them the police are wrong about you, but they wouldn’t listen. They’re hiring a fancy lawyer from some big firm. They want Haley.”
She rocketed up from her seat. “No.”
It was bad enough to have CPS questioning her fitness as a mother. But now this?
How many lawyers was she going to need?
“I’m sorry,” Tag said. “I wanted to warn you so it wasn’t a total—”
The door to the office burst open, and a blond woman stormed inside.
“This is her? The bitch who killed Mickey?”
“Oh, shit,” Tag muttered.
The blond strode over, pulled back her arm, and slapped Ruby across the face. Ruby gasped, hand going to her stinging cheek. She was too shocked to respond.
Then Nora raced in. “Cami!”
“Get her out of here,” Tag said, pointing at the door.
Nora grabbed Cami around the middle. “I’m not going until that bitch confesses what she did!” Cami kicked her legs, screaming obscenities, but she clearly was no fighter. Nora hauled her out of the office.
Tag cursed. “She’s Mickey’s girlfriend. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I should go anyway.” Ruby’s eyes were watering. But that slap didn’t even rank with the other crap she’d had to deal with. “Thanks for the information.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’ll survive.” Just like she’d been doing, and just like she’d keep on doing. There was no other choice.
Ruby left the gym and ducked into a bathroom. She glanced around first, making sure no one else was inside. Anyone at the club would probably use the restrooms there.
Her cheek was bright red where Cami had slapped her. A few tears leaked from Ruby’s eyes, and she brushed them away.
So Mickey had a new girlfriend. It shouldn’t have been a surprise. Ruby wondered how long he and Cami had been together. Had he hooked up with Cami right after Ruby left LA?
Not like any of that mattered.
She splashed cold water over her face. Breathed deeply.
Earlier, driving out here had felt like an adventure, but now she just wanted to be home. Maybe Chase would come by again for dinner.
I could marry you.
Why was she even thinking about that? Chase was probably regretting that he’d asked because it was ridiculous. They couldn’t get married.
Right?
Unless…
No. She couldn’t be considering this.
Ruby had never thought about marrying Mickey until she’d taken that pregnancy test. She’d been infatuated with him, but love? She’d been stupid, but not stupid enough for that.
Ruby took the stairs down a level to where she’d parked and walked across the garage. The heels of her shoes echoed against all the concrete. This level was even quieter than it had been earlier, just a handful of cars parked here and there across the space.
Another car started, headlights flaring, and she jumped. Her nerves were on edge, but who could blame her after her week?
Ruby hugged her purse to her side, walking faster. She wished she’d parked closer to the stairs, but she hadn’t been thinking of that earlier.
Footsteps echoed somewhere behind her.
Ruby glanced back quickly. But there wasn’t anyone there.
She turned and screamed just as someone darted in front of her. The other person reared back, hands up, staring.
It was Nora.
“Whoa, Ruby! You okay?”
“Yeah, I…never mind. You startled me.”
“Can’t blame you. Sorry about what happened in there. I tried to head Cami off, but that girl’s quick. Like a sneaky little rodent.”
“I’ve dealt with worse. She’s lucky I didn’t slap her back.”
“No doubt.” Nora nodded her head to the side. “I was just heading home. Do you need a walk to your car?”
“That would be good. It’s right over there.”
They walked in silence for a moment.
“Hey,” Nora said, “I heard you were there the day it happened. You…found him.” She cleared her throat.
“I did. It was terrible.”
“Did he seem like, you know, like he was in pain?”
Ruby pushed away the images. She couldn’t deal with that right now. “Pain never bothered him. You know how he was.”
Nora laughed, though it seemed like she wanted to cry instead. “Yeah. That’s true.”
Ruby hadn’t realized Nora had been that close to Mickey. But they’d been on the circuit together, and violence was an awful way to lose anyone. “I didn’t get the chance to ask how you’ve been,” Ruby said.
“I’m all right. Not that much has changed for me since I last saw you.”
“Really? Tag made it sound like the gym has gone straight. Nobody there is on the circuit anymore.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“Wait, are you still fighting?” Ruby asked.
Nora bit her lip. “The money’s good. I love Tag, but he pays minimum wage. You know the cost of living in LA.”
“Tag thinks it’s dangerous. He thought Mickey could’ve been in trouble. Have you heard anything like that?”
Nora’s brows pinched together. “Trouble? Mickey?”
Ruby nodded. “Anything at all?”
She shrugged and averted her eyes. “No. I haven’t. Sorry.”
Nora was lying. Or at the very least, she was acting like someone with things to hide.
But anyone participating in those underground fights had plenty to hide.
“If you think of anything that might help my case, anything about Mickey, will you give me a call?”
Nora hesitated.
“Please?”
She sighed. “Yeah. Sure. Give me your number.” Nora took out her phone and typed in Ruby’s contact. “If I think of anything, I’ll give you a call.”
Ruby nodded and said goodbye. She got into her car and drove away, thinking about everything Tag had said.
She had to figure out what she was going to do to keep her daughter. And to save herself.