Chapter 17
Kane
Our approach to Warford gave me a masterclass in Lovelyn’s expertise with data.
While I got us into the city and through the morning traffic, she was busy creating a hit list of places to try, using police data on reported brothels and saunas.
Ones that were tolerated and left alone, suggesting bribes that allowed them some permanence in the city.
She created a list then added it to the map on her phone, giving us a route to follow.
“If Dixie’s returning here, she’ll go to what’s familiar. If she’s following a friend, I’d hope this list might contain their workplace. It isn’t much, but it’s a start.”
All of this, yet she wouldn’t meet my eye.
At the first street on the list, we left the car in a shady-as-fuck side road.
I took in the multiple low-rise blocks of concrete flats. “Early for sex workers to be operating.”
Yet as I spoke, a white van turned up and a man jumped out. He glanced around him then scrammed to a door that opened on his approach, allowing him to disappear inside.
Lovelyn pursed her lips. “Or not. You stay here and I’ll go in.”
“Fuck that. Anyone could be in there. It makes more sense if ye stay locked in the car where you’ll be safe and I go inside. They’ll be expecting someone like me.”
“They won’t talk to you, though. Have you seen you? That scowl will scare away any hope of getting information.”
“Then we’ll go together, and I’ll try my best not to terrify people with my face.”
She relented, and we approached the door. It didn’t open for us, so I knocked then rested my hand on her shoulder.
Lovelyn turned her wide-eyed gaze on me, at last giving me a glimpse of her eyes. A man could get lost in those depths. I was solely checking she was functioning okay.
“What are you doing?”
“Unofficial boyfriend training. I want us to appear as a couple.”
She opened her mouth to say something else, but the door cracked open, revealing a middle-aged woman in a cropped top and leggings, her greasy blonde hair scraped back into a clip. “What do you want?”
“A chat with whoever’s in charge.”
“Sorry, no one’s home.” She went to slam the door.
My boot wedged in the gap. “Pity.”
I pushed the door open, keeping Lovelyn with me. From deeper inside the property, the sound of rhythmic thumping came, presumably the punter getting his rocks off.
The woman scrambled to the stairs and picked up a chipped coffee cup as if it were a weapon. “You cops?”
Lovelyn sighed and put her hands out in a calming fashion. “No, and we’re not here to cause trouble. We’re just trying to find a friend who’s missing. Sorry to barge in.” She took out her phone and found a picture of Dixie. “Have you seen this woman?”
The sex worker didn’t glance at the screen. “Never seen her before in my life.”
From my back pocket, I found my wallet and extracted a note. “Look again.”
She took it, folded the money, and stuffed it into her bra. At last, she squinted at the phone.
Lovelyn seemed to hold her breath, releasing it in disappointment when no recognition appeared in the woman’s expression.
“Don’t know her. I’m keeping the cash.”
I regarded her. “You can if you tell us where sex workers would start in this town if they came in from outside.”
“Young or old?”
“Mid-twenties. Knows her stuff.”
“Heaven takes new girls, cash in hand for stripping. No names until they prove themselves.”
I was pretty certain that was all we were getting but waited for Lovelyn to give me the sign. We left the place.
“That was a good question. Heaven is on my list for this evening when it opens at nine. You’ve made me feel more positive about it.”
An odd feeling took root in my chest, sparked by her praise. I shook it off and drove us onto the next location.
Two hours and six brothels on, we had nothing more.
No one knew Dixie’s name or admitted it.
Lovelyn suggested lunch, her arms tucked close around her as a cold wind blasted Warford’s streets.
Alone, I would’ve settled for a roadside burger van, but I took us into the city centre and let Lovelyn pick out a café.
While she went inside with my wallet and my order for whatever contained meat and a drink with caffeine, I watched her through the glass.
If I could avoid it, I didn’t enter busy shops or restaurants.
Clubs were mostly fine because of their size, the brothels had been tolerable as we weren’t lingering, but to sit down in a stuffy, enclosed environment was out of the question.
Lovelyn reached the till and chatted with the barista. Then she moved to the end of the counter and rested back on her elbows. Her gaze found mine through the glass.
I didn’t blink. Though she’d shut me down twice, I couldn’t forget the taste of her. The feel of her under my hands. She was fucking gorgeous, and one touch had been nowhere near enough. I didn’t hide the want in my stare.
Pink formed on her cheeks.
When the food was delivered, she brought it outside. I took the bag and coffee holder from her hands, and we returned to the car. Lovelyn put the radio on, dancing in her seat while she unpacked the meal, handing me a sandwich stacked with sliced beef.
“There’s horseradish and rocket in with the meat, hopefully healthy and tasty. You asked for coffee, so you’ve got that, but I also grabbed you one of these juice bottles for the vitamin C. They’re small with too much sugar, but that’s okay because we aren’t having dessert.”
Another strange feeling settled in me. I wasn’t familiar with someone taking the time to consider the nutritional value of what I ate. I took care of myself. I always had.
I couldn’t find the words to thank her.
Lovelyn peeked at me, and her shoulders went down. “I got it wrong, didn’t I? I’m sorry. We can trade.”
Far worse than the array of emotions I’d discovered this morning was the lurch in my gut. I’d upset her again.
“It’s fine. I…like it.”
The words were like chewing rocks, but it was worth it for her sunshine smile.
“You’re sure? Okay, good. Let’s eat.”
My misery dissolved, replaced by a deeper concern. For a month or so, I’d been aware of her, attraction building at each encounter, yet a week of actively seeking out her company, and I somehow cared about her emotional state. For more than just the need to get the job done.
I needed to immediately shut that shit down.