Chapter 6
Kane
In my passenger seat, at last, thank fuck, Lovelyn settled, her expression one I hadn’t seen before. Pulling out into the darkening afternoon, I was one hundred percent tuned in to the woman I’d finally caught. Satisfaction rose in me. Just like energy practically rippled off her.
‘Thank You for Hating Me’ by Citizen Soldier played on my radio.
I didn’t care if she did.
She knew where Dixie was. That had to be the reason for the change in her mood, and my plan to have her at the warehouse had worked perfectly to bring her into my hands. Strangely voluntarily.
Yet it didn’t explain the warming of my blood. The fact my dick was taking way too much interest in her. Her scent filled my senses, and for a beat, I was glad her car was parked so far away. I had an hour alone with her.
Shame it couldn’t be used for better purposes.
For a long while, Lovelyn didn’t speak, and at a junction, I took a moment to watch her while she stared out the window.
My gaze snagged low, and I forgot why we were on this road. She was dangerous in a way the city had never taught me, soft and stubborn, and I was into it. Hard to stick to a plan when every other thought was teeth and breath.
“Kane?”
I blinked up to find her attention on me, her cheeks pink.
“Eyes on the road, perv. You hit a sheep, and I’m walking home.”
Damn, I shouldn’t be getting so distracted. But I couldn’t regret the cause. Not when she blushed so prettily from the smallest attention. What would she be like if I told her exactly what was going through my head?
I was borderline ready to find out. I hadn’t been attracted to a woman in the ways I was to her in…ever.
Cutting the irrelevant thought off, I got us going again, unable to resist another glance at Lovelyn’s cleavage.
She muttered something about a swift kick to the balls that almost curved my lips into a smile. Almost. Happiness and all that went with it didn’t feature in my life. I had to focus in on my goal.
I had her. Locked in my car. Nowhere to go.
I let her stew in silence until we were out of Deadwater’s city limits. “So, ready to share?”
She poked her tongue into her cheek, challenge in her eyes. “Are you?”
“You’re the one holding all the knowledge.”
“Am I? Let me run through a little summary I’ve been considering.
Yesterday, you kidnapped me with a story about Dixie being in trouble and desperately needing my help.
Time was of the essence. Oh, so urgent. At her flat, you broke in, searched the place, and took her hairbrush. How am I doing so far?”
I drew my eyebrows together in wonder at where she was going with this.
“Then I had an interesting conversation with your sister about revelations from your family meeting.”
For fuck’s sake. It shouldn’t have surprised me that Mila spilled every detail, but it was just another way that the two of us were so different. I didn’t share anything, ever. Definitely not to friends, not that I had any of those. I exhaled hard.
Lovelyn exclaimed. “I’m right, aren’t I?
You’re on this wild and urgent hunt for Dixie, a woman who fled the warehouse not long after Mila arrived on the scene.
Which also could be interpreted as she’d heard the surname of Convict’s new girlfriend and ran.
You believe that Dixie is Darcy Marchant, don’t you? ”
I shook my head, annoyed at myself because of course she would’ve worked it out. Being on the back foot was not my style.
“How long have you known?” she pressed. At my lack of an answer, she tried again. “All right, then how did you work it out?”
I wasn’t giving that up either.
Lovelyn made a sound of frustration. “You have the communication skills of a rock. Dixie’s your sister, Mila’s sister.
” She gestured up and down me, getting heated in her movements.
“Mila, I can see. They’re both beautiful, and though I’ve no idea what Dixie’s real hair colour is, if I picture their faces, it’s easy to see them as related.
You, I can’t make a comparison at all. Then again, you didn’t look at Dixie and see similarities, did you?
But you wouldn’t be doing this if you weren’t reasonably sure, so that means you found evidence. ”
I drummed the steering wheel. She was far too fucking perceptive.
“At least answer this, why didn’t you tell Mila?”
“Did ye?” I shot back.
Some of the power went out of her. “No. She’d be hurt if it isn’t true. Family is important to her. Gaining a sister is a big deal.”
At least in this part, she had me wrong. I lied anyway. “Exactly. I need facts not guesses before putting her through more upheaval.”
She went quiet for another long while, the darkness outside the car complete now we were in deep countryside. “How long will it take to get a DNA match from the hairbrush?”
“Three days.” I’d struck lucky with them finding a hair with a usable follicle.
She tutted. “Shade can do it faster. Why not ask him?”
“One more person who would know unnecessarily.”
“Tell me again why secrecy is important? I understand not wanting to hurt Mila, but why not tell me? Or your crew?”
“I’m a temporary member of the skeleton crew. Like I said, I think she’s in danger because of that secret identity. One that, if I’m right, she’s kept hidden for years. The more people who know, the more who can blab to whoever wants to hurt her.”
Lovelyn recoiled. “And you included me in that?”
The hurt in her voice stirred something inside me that made me regret my words. But why? I didn’t care about this woman. It was probably because having her onside was more useful than not.
I also sensed that she didn’t fully believe me. I couldn’t find an easy way around that. I was still lying to her, and she’d already picked up on other mistruths.
One thing was for sure, I needed to take control of the conversation. “What did you find in the tech you stole from Dixie’s house?”
She coloured pink again, visible even in the low light of the car. “You know about that?”
“Apparently we’re both good at secrets. What did you find?”
“That you’re exhausting?”
“Seriously.”
Lovelyn blew out a breath. “I didn’t find anything on it.”
“Another lie?”
“Fuck you, Kane.”
I choked on humour and the dirty joke that wanted out of my mouth. Right now. In a field by the side of the road. From behind with her bent over a fence and my dick driving into her so hard both of us yelled.
My damn heart pounded, sending blood south.
Her words came out tight-lipped. “I’m serious. I didn’t discover anything on the tablet.”
“Then you’ll give it to me?”
That shut her up.
Not for long, though. Lovelyn’s phone rang in her bag. She pulled it out and answered it, turning away from me. The faint voice of her caller met my ears anyway.
It was a woman. Her words hesitant. “You help women with boyfriend problems, right?”
What the hell was this, an agony aunt hotline?
Lovelyn confirmed that she did, and the woman continued.
“I started seeing someone new. He’s wonderful. He treats me so well. He spoils me and he’s so caring.”
As she listened, Lovelyn brought out a laptop from her bag, a flower pattern on the decal. She unlocked it and opened an app. “He sounds perfect. What’s the catch?”
The woman made an unhappy sound. “I have a two-year-old son. He’s the sweetest, happiest, most trusting boy. My little blond angel who everybody loves. I protect him fiercely.”
Lovelyn sighed. “And your wonderful boyfriend who’s oddly estranged from his family with no close female friends has volunteered to take the burden of motherhood off your hands?
Maybe do bath and bedtimes or sleepovers so you can get some rest?
Or did he randomly buy a car seat to take your baby out so you can get your hair done? ”
Silence held on the other end of the line.
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
I had no idea what they were talking about.
Lovelyn tapped the screen of what appeared to be an official database. “All I need is a name, my lovely.”
“I snuck a look in his wallet. It’s a different name to the one he uses.”
“Well done. That’s exactly what I need.”
She typed it in and ran a search. My curiosity was only growing, but I tried to keep my focus on the road. We were closing in on Leith, the journey having passed far quicker than I’d expected.
Lovelyn clucked her tongue and began to read. “Sentenced as a minor for child abuse. Fairly typical of serial abusers to have been victims themselves. His second conviction was at twenty-three. He was released a year ago from a third.”
“I… I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. If it helps, your instincts were on the money. You’re a good mother and you’ve protected your baby. Now, I need the name the man is living under and where he’s staying.”
Her caller gave over the information then disconnected. Lovelyn stowed the laptop then wrote out a text.
“What is that, a public-service hobby?” I asked.
She darted her gaze at me but didn’t answer.
I tried again. “How did the woman know to call you? How do you publicise that service without risking your neck?”
Finally, her eyes met mine. An electric touch that raised the fucking hair on my arms.
“Risking my neck is all I seem to do.”
I had to drag my focus back to the road. We’d reached central Leith, and to add to the busy traffic, roadworks on Salamander Street held up the queues.
I’d got stuck on her hotline. What a fucking stupid thing to do. What an insanely admirable service to offer. If any one of those predatory boyfriends found out, they’d come after her. If one of the women betrayed her, she’d be in danger.
It made sense why she had been so jumpy earlier today. She’d been scared of a stranger in the street, and with good reason.
“The guy you were hiding from near your home, is he one of them?” Anger played out in my voice.
Lovelyn stiffened. We’d stopped again at traffic lights.
Our route had taken us into the busiest part of town, just a couple of streets from where I’d grabbed her barely twenty-four hours ago, and outside the car, a group of men entered a pub, the supermarket opposite busy with people food shopping after work.
I wasn’t sure where she’d parked, but I also wasn’t ready for the conversation to finish.
“Oh my God.” Lovelyn pointed across the car to my side, her eyes wide in fear.
I twisted to scan the faces, searching for what had scared her. I had a knack for finding danger. For taking action.
But on this occasion, I was way too slow.
The click of a seat belt came a second before the door popped open and Lovelyn dived out. In the heartbeat it took me to turn back, she’d slipped into the crowd and was out of sight.
She’d purposefully distracted me.
Adrenaline rushed through me at the prospect of a hunt.
Fuck was I letting her get away. I’d told her that if she ran, I’d chase her. Looked like that claim was about to be tested.