The Fighter's Block by Hadley Quinn Read Free Book Online

when Van came into the picture… It just seemed like the same scenario. He was there to help her with something she couldn’t handle on her own and Dani didn’t want to get mixed up over it. She had a compensation complex: she always had to ma ke sure she paid someone back. She really liked Van, and she appreciated how selfless and considerate he was, but she wished they hadn’t met under the circumstances that they had. Dani already worried that he felt sorry for her, or he was only interested in her because it had been convenient that way.
    She wasn’t quite sure what to think just yet…
     
     
                                                                         
     
    Brian threw the phone against the wall. He’d left her several messages and she refused to call him back. But if she wanted to make things harder for herself, then he could be patient. She’d need his help again in no time and then this little fight would be long forgotten.
    But it had been eight days and she hadn’t so much as picked up the phone to answer his call. It wasn’t like Dani to be so egotistical . She owed Brian and she knew it. There was no way that she’d just cut off all ties with him just because she was mad at him. Plus her stuff was still in his apartment. She’d never just leave it there. No, she was coming back.
    He happened to glance at the calendar: March 1 5 th . He suddenly remembered that she would be at Jaime’s house, watching the kids while Jaime and Steve went to some kind of charity event.
    He got up from the couch and grabbed his keys, glancing at his watch. He was pretty sure she’d still be there, so he headed downstairs to jump in the car. He got excited that he was finally going to see her, and as he came down Griffin Street, he felt confident that he’d say the right things to get her back.
    But the disappointment set in when he saw her car back out of Jaime’s driveway ahead , and then she turned onto the next street .
    He decided to follow her. She hadn’t stayed at Jaime’s the last two times he’d been by her house, and if Dani wasn’t staying there, he had no idea where she would be. He’d already tried M ia’s house and Jillian’s apartment; he’d even watched Casey’s house for a night and she hadn’t shown up there , either. He wasn’t sure what to think since those were the only friends Dani would consider staying with , and he knew that the rest of her family was out of the question .
    As he followed her this time, he wasn’t sure where she could be headed. She ended up par king on Willet Street, and then she entered an apartment building that Brian was unfamiliar with. He couldn’t recall any friends that lived in this particular neighborhood , but he was aware of the fact that Dani had a new job and could possibly be there for other reasons.
    He convinced himself it wasn’t where she was staying .
    He sat in his car for almost two hours and she still hadn’t come out. He even called her again but her phone went right to voicemail, which meant it was turned off. He was tempted to just go inside the building to see what he could f ind out. F inally he did enter the lobby to see if there was a list of names and apartment numbers he could look over, and even though there was a wall of mailboxes with last names only , nothing was familiar to him .
    A kid came off the elevator—he looked to be about fifteen or so—and Brian stopped him with a friendly smile.
    “Excuse me. I was supposed to meet my girlfriend here, but I forgot the name of the friend she’s visiting. My girlfriend’s about this tall, ” he motioned with his hand to his neck , “ has dark brown hair that’s long, big blue eyes… She’s beautiful , a model . P robably can’t miss her. Have you seen her here?”
    The kid thought for a second and then nodded his head. “Yeah, I think so. She was rushing out of here this morning pretty fast. It might