Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chase pushed through the doors into Bailor Fitness. It was Sunday afternoon, and the place was packed.
He strode up to the front desk. A guy with spiky black hair nodded at him. “Hey, man. What can I do for you?”
Chase glanced at the people lifting weights on one side of the gym. On the other was a sparring area, where a teacher was instructing two guys on a grappling technique. The space was low key, not too fancy or flashy.
He was surprised to find this place so similar to his gym back in West Oaks. Even if the clientele had a different vibe from his fellow officers.
“Yeah, thanks. I was hoping for a temporary pass to try things out. I’m new to the area.”
“Good deal. I’m Tag. The owner.” He held out his hand.
So this was Mickey Waverley’s best friend. The guy Ruby had come to LA to see not long after her arrest.
She’d still insisted on driving Chase here, though they’d taken his truck.
Right now, Ruby was supposed to be grabbing drive-through coffee at a nearby Starbucks and staying out of sight.
Chase would’ve preferred that she stay in West Oaks, and he’d even double-checked her bail conditions to ensure she was allowed to leave the county.
But he also understood that she needed to feel involved.
They’d decided to have the Bennett Security car stay in West Oaks, guarding Megan’s townhome while she cared for Haley. They’d seen no sign of the man with the shaved head. Chase had to assume the guy had given up, or hadn’t been a threat at all.
Regardless, he hoped to learn more today to help with Ruby’s case.
“Are you military?” Tag asked.
Chase nodded. “Marine. Just got out. Ready for what’s next, but not sure what that is.” He’d given himself a fresh buzz on the sides, trying to look as military as possible.
“You interested in sparring?” Tag asked.
“Yeah. I heard this was a good place for it. I have experience with boxing, and I’ve taken some Krav Maga.” The style was popular with law enforcement, but with street fighters too. It didn’t necessarily peg him as a cop.
But he figured he should be honest, since he didn’t know what to expect here.
“Let’s grab you a waiver and get your info. What was your name?”
“Jeff Collins.” Chase had brought along his cousin’s old driver’s license from out of state. He and his cousin looked similar. But Tag didn’t ask for an ID.
Tag walked Chase to the locker room. He favored his right side so heavily the foot almost dragged.
“I run a clean business here. No growth hormones or steroid shit in my locker rooms. If I find out you’ve got that stuff, you’re not welcome.
” He shrugged. “There are plenty of other places to train if that’s your thing. ”
Chase adjusted the strap of his gym bag on his shoulder. “That won’t be a problem.”
“My other pet peeve is bothering our female members. Be a gentleman, keep your hands and eyes and comments to yourself. That’s basically it.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Tag left him in the locker room. Chase stowed his bag in a locker and got changed.
Then he went out to the gym floor to get a feel for things. He scanned the faces for Nora, Ruby’s friend. But none of the women seemed to match her description, and he didn’t want to stare. No point getting kicked out within his first few minutes for acting like a creeper.
Tag seemed like an okay guy, even if he’d been a close friend of Mickey’s. But Chase couldn’t visualize Ruby here.
He didn’t know the members of this gym and didn’t want to make assumptions. But at least some of these people were involved in the underground fighting ring, like Mickey. They’d be getting paid under the table. Risking arrest or the possibility that they’d cross the wrong person.
Ruby had deserved so much better than that. She deserved long-term stability. Chase knew she didn’t want that from him. They were friends, and she was keeping her heart for some future guy.
But Chase intended to make sure that guy treated her right. Even if it tore him up.
He sat down at a free bench press and warmed up. He was on his first heavy set when another man came up to him.
“Mind if I work in?”
Chase racked the weight and sat up. “No problem. I’m Jeff.” He wiped off the bench with his towel and gestured for the guy to go ahead.
“Marco. Could you spot me?”
“Sure thing.” Chase got into position, standing behind the rack. Marco had tattoos on his arms and upper chest. He was compact, built like a fighter.
“Are you new here?” Marco asked after his set.
“I am. You like this place?”
They chatted for a while. Chase waited until a natural break in the conversation. “Do you know Nora? I think she works here?”
Marco’s gaze seemed to sharpen. “Yeah, I know Nora. Why do you ask?”
Chase had a story ready. “My wife is a friend of hers from a few years back.” He held up his ring hand. “She’s interested in training.”
Marco relaxed. “Nora’s a great teacher, yeah. I haven’t seen her in a while. But she’s bound to show up at some point.”
They switched off for another set. Chase decided to press his luck. “Do a lot of women train here? To fight, I mean. That’s what my wife is into.”
Marco grinned knowingly. “And you’re not sure if you like it?”
“I like that she’s strong.” Ruby wasn’t the type of fighter Marco assumed, but Chase loved how fierce she was. Especially when it came to Haley.
“No, strong women are hot,” Marco said. “But other guys staring? I’m not as much a fan of that.”
Chase shrugged. “If the money’s good, it can be worth it.”
“I like how you think.” Marco laughed and clapped Chase on the shoulder. “The money isn’t bad. Especially for the pretty ones.”
He definitely knew about the fighting ring. Maybe Marco was a fighter on the circuit himself. He could’ve known Mickey.
But before Chase could ask another question, Marco got up. “Catch you later, Jeff. Good to meet you.”
He walked away. Damn.
Chase was starting to think this undercover mission would last longer than one day. But if he got to know Marco, he might learn something important about the circuit.
Maybe Marco knew the guy with the shaved head.
Chase went over to a cable machine. But when he looked up, Marco was back.
“Hey, Jeff. There’s another female fighter here. She works with Nora. I thought you might want to chat with her? For your wife?”
“Um, sure.” This seemed promising. Chase grabbed his stuff and followed.
Marco turned down a hallway, then stepped aside. “Right in there.” Chase went through the door.
But the room had no one inside.
Suddenly, Marco grabbed him from behind and threw him up against the wall.
“What the hell?” Chase cried. He spun, arms raising to defend himself. Marco had his fists clenched, his mouth a frown. He started to advance.
Chase lunged forward and slammed Marco into a filing cabinet. “What is your problem?”
Then Tag stepped through the doorway and closed the door behind him. “Is Jeff really your name?”
Chase pushed back from Marco, who was scowling. “Let me out of here,” Chase said. “Now.”
Tag leaned back against the door. He was in no shape to fight, but he clearly wasn’t intimidated. “Not until you tell me who you really are and why you’re here.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You asked Marco about Nora.”
“So?”
“Do you know where she is?”
Where she is? That question surprised him.
“How would I know that? I’ve never even met her.”
“But you said your wife knows her.”
Marco leaned toward Tag. “He probably made that shit up. Probably doesn’t even have a wife. Anybody could put on a wedding ring.”
Chase looked from one man to the other. He thought he could hold his own in a fight against Marco, but he wasn’t in the mood to get anything bruised up or broken if it wasn’t necessary. And he didn’t think it was necessary.
When he was on duty, he had to assess people’s intentions on the street on a daily basis. Whether they needed help, whether they meant harm.
And Tag seemed like a guy who was putting on bravado, but underneath he was worried. Even scared. Scared people could be dangerous, but often, they just wanted someone to relieve their fear.
Chase held up his hands, taking a step away from them. “My name is Chase. Ruby Whitestone is my wife. She’s the reason I’m here.”
Tag barked a laugh. “Ruby? You’re her husband? You shitting me?”
“If I can reach into my pocket for my phone, I’ll show you a picture of our wedding day.
” He’d asked Megan to send the photo to him, the only one they took that day.
Chase sometimes looked at it while he was at work.
Ruby and Haley both with flowers in their hair.
The three of them together, posing like a family.
Tag studied the photo. “This is Ruby and Mickey’s daughter?”
“Haley. Yeah.”
“Pretty as her mom.”
Chase took his phone back. “You can see I’m telling the truth.”
“I believe you. But Ruby didn’t say anything about being married when I saw her.”
“It was a recent development. I’m here because you and Nora both refused to talk to Ruby’s lawyer. Ruby thought you weren’t going to cave, but I hoped I could convince Nora.”
Tag put a hand over his chin. “I would’ve helped Ruby if I could. But the situation is complex. It could turn dangerous if the wrong people find out. I’m already afraid something bad happened to Nora. She hasn’t been to work for over a week. Isn’t answering her phone or her door.”
No wonder the guy was worried. “Who are the wrong people? Is Adrian Peele one of them?”
“If you’re still asking, then you don’t care about Ruby as much as you seem to.”
“What about a big guy with a shaved head?”
“That could be any number of people. Several of whom I want nothing to do with, and neither should you.”
Chase was tired of talking to this guy. Tag acted tough and defiant, but the gym owner was terrified of stepping out of line. “I’m going to keep looking for Nora. I’ll just have to do it somewhere else. Can I leave now?”
Tag screwed up his mouth like he was thinking.
“Sorry for pushing you,” Marco muttered. “Nothing personal.”
“Yeah, it’s fine. But my wife is waiting for me, so…” Chase gestured at the door, which Tag was still blocking.
“If you can track down Nora,” Tag said, “I’ll think about talking to Ruby’s lawyer.”
“You’ll think about it?”
“That’s the best I can promise. But I can point you in the right direction. The next fight on the circuit is scheduled for tomorrow.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I make myself aware of things. There’s a phone number. You send a text, you get a response with the time and place.”
“Not exactly high security.”
“And why do you think that is? The people who run these fights have money, power, connections.”
“They can get away with murder?” Chase asked.
“I wouldn’t put it past them.”
Chase looked at the other man in the room. “What about Marco? Why can’t he go to the fight to find Nora?”
Marco shook his head. “Hell, no. I got out of that shit. I’m not any more welcome there than Tag would be.”
“The members at my club know how I feel about the circuit,” Tag said. “Nora’s one of the last few who’s still in that world.”
“What about Mickey’s girlfriend? The one who went after Ruby?”
“That’s Cami. She hasn’t been here lately, either, and I don’t care what she does.
But Nora’s a friend. After seeing what happened to Ruby because of Mickey’s messes, I told Nora she was a fool for not getting out.
I don’t want to see anybody else hurt because of the circuit.
But Nora got upset with me. Stormed off.
Now, she’s missing. If you see her at the fight tomorrow, tell her I’m sorry.
And if she needs help, she can come to me. ”
“Is she in the same kind of trouble Mickey was in?”
“I sure as shit hope she’s not. But there’s another wrinkle, and it’s been bugging me. I’m not sure if it’s even important.”
“What is it?”
Tag paused, and Chase could see the man considering how much to say. “Mickey hadn’t been seeing Cami long. Before that, he’d been hooking up with Nora. It’s possible that, whatever Mickey really had going on, he dragged Nora into it.”
“Nora’s missing?” Ruby said.
They were battling LA traffic on the way back to West Oaks. Chase hadn’t bothered to change out of his workout clothes. He’d taken down the info Tag had given him and called for Ruby to pick him up.
“Missing might be a strong word. She hasn’t shown up to work. Tag said she seemed upset the last time they spoke.”
Ruby tapped her fingers against the steering wheel. “What if it has to do with me? She seemed like she might know something, and I asked her to get in touch if she was willing to talk. She programmed my number in her phone. Someone could’ve found out.”
“It’s possible. But I think this is something bigger. Tag seemed to think Nora was in the same kind of trouble Mickey was in. Nora and Mickey had been seeing each other before he dated Cami.”
“Mickey and Nora? Are you sure?”
“That’s what he said.”
“It would explain why Nora seemed so upset about Mickey’s death. But it hardly matters. All the more reason to find Nora and ask what’s really going on.”
“When I get the time and location of the fight, I’ll see if Bennett Security can send along some backup.”
If Chase ran into that huge guy with the shaved head? An extra bodyguard or two seemed like a wise choice.
“That’s a good idea,” Ruby said. “Tomorrow night, you can keep an eye out while I talk to Nora. I just hope she’s there. I wonder if Sylvie Trousseau could track down Nora’s home address. I know Tag said she hasn’t answered her door, but maybe we could check there, too.”
Chase’s mind backed up a few sentences. “Wait a sec, you’re not going to the fight tomorrow. Anybody could recognize you.”
“I’ll wear a wig and change my makeup. With contouring, I can look like a completely different person. That wasn’t an option for the gym with all the bright lights, but the fight venue will be dark.”
“No. There’s no way you’re going. It could be dangerous. And it would probably violate your bail conditions.” They were talking about an illegal fight club. Even if the guy with the shaved head wasn’t there, Chase didn’t want Ruby anywhere near.
Her knuckles had turned white on the steering wheel. “But you would let your friend Shelby come with you, right? If she asked?”
“Shelby is a cop. She has training.”
“And I have specific knowledge. I’ve been to dozens of these fights.
The locations change, but the way they do things doesn’t.
It’s possible something is different after a couple of years, but the fundamentals will be the same.
The way people behave, the feel of it. I’ll know how to act.
And I’m a woman. It’ll be much easier for me to approach a female fighter like Nora. ”
Chase still didn’t like it. But what she’d said made sense. “Okay, we’ll go together. If we don’t see Nora, we leave. No unnecessary risks.”
She smirked. “If you don’t take any, then I won’t.”
Chase really hoped this wasn’t a mistake.