Chapter 23
C assie
Shade directed us out of the bunker and through the warehouse. In the confines of his car, he spoke again. “Cassie, summarise.”
I rubbed my hands together. “He folded like a cheap chair when pressed on Red’s disrespect. That plus a little pain will have him thinking up every piece of information he can bargain with.”
Riordan’s eyebrows dove together. “You were priming him?”
Shade nodded. “Each sentence was a test to see what he’d react to. It pissed him off that I killed his dealer, but he didn’t give a fuck about Red’s brothel. Then I implied to him that someone else has taken some big win to Red in order to get Bronson’s job. If he’s the killer, that’s going to eat at his pride. I took one finger for one fallen crew member. He’ll believe he can get away with losing another for Alisha. It’s an incentive to live and get revenge.”
“If he isn’t the murderer, he’ll spill whatever information he has on them as a bargaining chip,” I mused. Then I checked myself. “Sorry about Convict.”
Shade’s eyes flashed with stark pain. “I can’t think about that now.”
He got us on the road.
From my bag, I took a pack of baby wipes so Riordan could clean off the eye black.
Back at the warehouse, Shade left us with a murmur about seeing Arran. I wanted to ask to be included in round two, but the guy was on a mission.
Riordan tugged me against him. “Come hang out in the brothel to do your work? That way I can keep an eye on you.”
I loved that he needed me near. With a shy nod, I let him lead me upstairs. Outside the entrance, he glanced inside but stopped me.
“There’s something I’ve been thinking about. The last time we were here, Moniqua approached me.”
Ugh . I folded my arms.
“Nothing happened between us. I went to your room to tell you that.”
“Definitely looked like she was on her knees with her lips in an ‘O’ shape.”
“That was purposeful. The second you left, I stopped her.”
I should’ve been relieved, but the opposite was true. He’d allowed her to do it, or even ordered it, to put me off. Damn.
A lick of pain curled inside me, a strange sensation that sank my mood. For days, I’d been focused on keeping Riordan. Indulging in the feelings I had for him. Enjoying kissing and all that went with it, too. But did he actually like me in reverse?
I took a step back. Confusion mixed with a rush of trying to remember him ever saying so. He enjoyed sex with me. Was that it?
“No biggie,” I lied. “I need to get to work.”
“Wait.”
Hell, no. Particularly as I was shite at hiding emotion. Turning, I stormed into the brothel. In the centre of the floor, a client twisted his fingers into the bra strap of one of the sex workers like he was weighing her tits. Daria purred at him, her expression flickering at whatever she saw in my face. I skipped along quicker until I was behind the bar and in the office.
Riordan pursued me the whole way, storming after my flight. He braced himself against the office door so I couldn’t close it on him. Then he burst past, shut us in, and collected my hands in his.
“Stop and listen. I’m sorry for what I did.”
I scowled. Tried to loosen his grip. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Bullshit, it does. I hated it then, and it’s killing me now.”
This gave me pause. I stopped struggling. “Why?”
“I don’t know how you’ve got under my skin so fast, but it was already in play then and I was trying to deny it. I pushed you away. I regret it and beg for forgiveness.”
Damn. “If you’re begging, shouldn’t ye be on your knees?”
Riordan held my gaze then slowly, with heat replacing his worry, he knelt. He traced a finger up my leg to the hem of my shorts. “I’m sorry for hurting you. It was wrong.”
I draped against the wall. “Tell me what ye think about me.”
He kissed my knee. “I’m finding myself oddly crazy about you. Satisfactory enough?”
“Keep moving north and it will be.”
He trailed his lips up my thigh. Took my loose shorts with him. At the crease with my leg, he hovered, his hot breath warming my skin.
God. Please. Just two inches to the left.
“Tell me you forgive me.”
“Fine. I do.”
“Good girl. What did I tell you I’d do if you ran from me again?”
“Chase me?”
“Punish you.” Riordan pressed his lips to my underwear, right over my clit. Then he jumped up. “I have work to do.”
“You’re stopping?”
“Yep.”
“Ye can’t leave me like this,” I squeaked.
The arsehole tossed me a smile that told me he could do exactly that. I watched him walk away, hot and bothered but smiling.
A familiar figure trotted down the hall from the opposite direction. In a jaunty hat, gold bikini bottoms, and a short, dark-blue, cutaway jacket which barely covered her round boobs and played peek-a-boo with her nipples like some kind of seventies porno space cadet, Dixie grinned at me. “What’s got you grinning like that?”
“My boyfriend likes me.”
She snickered. “Lucky girl.”
I gave a dreamy sigh. “How the hell does one person take up so much space inside me?”
“He’s well hung, too? Put a ring on it. And yes, I mean his dick.”
I burst out with a laugh. “I meant in my heart or soul or whatever, but that, too. Hey, Dix, got a minute? I need you to tell me the days you want to work but I also need to ask something more interesting.”
“Anything for you, hun.”
I exhaled and set my mind to my task, the wobble over my increasingly precious connection to Riordan over. “Give me your best ideas for petty revenge. Oh, and after, your personal favourite sex position, with detailed instructions. I need to learn.”
Dixie’s smile sharpened. I knew her as a sweetheart. Since I’d come here, she’d befriended me and helped me out. She was the queen of gossip but had the appearance of someone who didn’t let shite bother her.
Apparently, I’d been wrong in that.
“Revenge is my favourite flavour, bestie. Grab a straw. I’m pouring.”
Dixie listed half a dozen suggestions without breaking a sweat, clearly having put thought to this for her own reasons.
Delighted, I made my notes.
After we were done, and for the next few hours, she helped me work my way through the sex workers in the brothel, taking the time between clients to track down staff and even call the ones who were at home, getting their approval for the rota and help with my other questions. Pretty quickly, I’d compiled two lists.
When I was done, I hugged her then moseyed out to the main receiving room. Riordan was nowhere in sight, but that was in my favour. I had something I needed to do.
My little secret.
A surprise for him for later.
Manny was at the guard station which had a mirrored wall that looked out on the brothel’s receiving room. He called another dude in to replace him then escorted me to the lift. We passed the hotel-style fourth floor, the cam girls on five, the storage area on six, then emerged into seven.
No one else came up here.
No one else’s pass worked for this floor, except for mine, Arran’s, and my family’s. A long time ago, Arran had brought us the design of the warehouse, his pet project. We’d invested in it, a way of tying him into our family—something that was important to Jamieson. The seventh floor on his plans had been left vacant.
Jamieson had made a suggestion. I was beyond grateful for that now, despite being pissed off with my brother.
The hallway mirrored the one on the floor above, with two doors either side. I unlocked one.
Manny followed me in. “I half forgot this was here.”
“It’s never been used.” I twirled around in the space. It was another apartment. Oak floors. Red-brick walls. Even a kitchen and bathroom, installed a few years ago but never touched.
“Until now?” Manny asked.
My belly tightened with anticipation. Here, Riordan and I could be locked away together. We could play house. Order food. Hide away from everything.
“I’m claiming it as my new home.”
I moved to the arched window that gave a view of the harbour walk outside. From the hall, there was access to the fire escape and the roof. Somewhere I liked to go for fresh air and to give myself headspace. It would be a home away from home.
The views over the city were to die for.
A shadow fell over me. In the reflection of the glass, Manny was right behind me, a hulking shape around my much smaller form.
My pulse skipped. Some instinct had me freezing up.
Manny wasn’t dangerous, was he?
I’d come up here alone with him, and no one else knew. No one would have a clue where I’d gone if I didn’t return. What was I thinking? The chief of Arran’s security team was a big man. Old enough to be my father, but stoic and strong. Quiet, but didn’t they say to watch out for those?
My skin crawled. I couldn’t see his expression in the reflection, but I could dive left and be on his weak side.
He moved in closer, leaning right over my shoulder.
I tensed, ready to make a break for it. I had one chance, and that meant taking him by surprise so I could reach the exit.
But the man chuckled. “Still a queue down there. I like to see it but I wonder if these people have work in the morning.”
I released a breath.
Manny stepped back. “Sorry, there’s me being a space invader. My wife tells me off for that. So, this place is yours?”
Fucking hell. I willed my heart to stop thumping.
“I need furniture,” I told him, my voice tight. “But until it arrives, can I please bring up the bed I’ve been using on floor five?”
“I’ll get everything sent up. Nice for Arran to have family nearby. He needs that.”
Ashamed of myself, I left the flat and dove into the lift, Manny happily moving with me.
I grabbed my phone. “Speaking of Arran, I need to tell him what I’m doing.”
I dialled him. He didn’t pick up. Neither did Shade.
“No one’s answering. Where are they?” I asked.
Manny gave an easy shrug. “Crew business.”
“I don’t suppose you’ll tell me anything more.”
“Correct. Need-to-know basis.” He tapped his nose.
We exited the lift on the ground floor. Manny saw me into the strip club’s dressing room then left me with the security guards there. Being back in a busy room should’ve helped me, but I was still rattled.
I forced my attention to the present. Manny wasn’t wrong. Arran had been devastated by the loss of Alisha. He’d cared about her. He’d be cut up about Convict, too. I’d find him later for a chat.
Another hour of shift management with the staff who only stripped for their living and I had a set rota. One we’d repeat over and over, swapping individual shifts where needed and arranging overtime for the fun events Everly had planned. Manny had showed me the system where they managed the staff, and with a sense of achievement, I uploaded it, perched at a mirrored table with striptease music in the background.
A small burst of sadness accompanied my work. The previous staff rota was Alisha’s, complete with her notes, often in pink type. Overwriting it felt all kinds of wrong.
For all my efforts and my meandering thoughts, the sense of disquiet didn’t lift.
My skin still crawled. Manny wasn’t the culprit, so then who?
I knew the names of all the dancers around me and was in the eyeline of the security guard, but something still felt off.
A hand landed on my shoulder.
I squeaked and spun in my chair to find Arran looming over me. With my hand to my heart, I exhaled. “You scared the life out of me. Having trouble answering your phone?”
The skeleton crew leader twisted his lips in a smirk. “I’ve been busy. I still am, but I just wanted to say welcome back.” His gaze ticked over the busy room then came back to me. “You asked me once if you could dance here. I like you managing the staff a lot more. Fuck knows I don’t have the headspace to pick it up.”
A darkness hung in his eyes. Arran’s building of the warehouse and his mission to protect women abused by men like his father had formed a constant backdrop of my teenage years. I knew him well enough to tell when he was hurting.
“Cassie. Someone’s looking for you.”
I turned to find Lara nearing. In her black-and-pink club uniform, and with sparkly strands in her hair, she was a friend of Genevieve’s, but not someone I’d talked much to. Clem managed her shifts as front-of-house staff.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“Oops. I didn’t get a name. She said you’d want to see her.”
Well, that didn’t help. “Thanks.”
I came back to address Arran, but he’d gone.
Frowning, I returned to Lara. “Wait, while you’re here, I’m doing the rota and wanted to check something.”
Her smile lessened. “Clem manages my hours.”
“I know, but I’ve been going around to all the dancers and other staff tonight so I might as well check your details are correct.” I read out her address from the notes.
“Actually, it’s wrong. I moved. I’m living in Harbour Point now.” She recited the new address. An apartment on the waterfront not far up from the warehouse.
I whistled. “Nice. Did ye go in with roommates?”
She gave a short laugh but didn’t answer. Something in that snagged in my brain. That address was a prime location, and the apartments shiny and new. I’d already noticed that she’d reduced to part time in the past few weeks. It didn’t add up.
Equally, it wasn’t my business. I returned to why she’d sought me out. “On the visitor, got a description?”
“About twenty, black hair, pretty.”
My stomach tightened. There was one person I knew who fit that to a T. Moniqua. “Could you please bring her to me?”
Lara hesitated. “You don’t want to go somewhere private?”
Why would she ask that? “No.”
A minute later, and Moniqua followed Lara back in. Lara spoke in her ear, then Moniqua found me and approached.
“Cassie, right? Can we talk?”
My mind summoned a series of pictures starting with her on her knees in front of Riordan and ending with my hands around her scrawny throat. I produced a tight smile and gestured for her to take a seat. At the top of the room, there was enough space to speak without being heard, though I took care to make sure the guard noticed my visitor. With an elbow to the bright workstation, I leaned in. No fucking way was I waiting on her to start.
“Did ye give my name as a target to the Four Milers?”
She widened her eyes. “What? No!”
I waited. Liars had tells. The longer you gave them, the more they revealed.
“I never would. I didn’t even know your name until we spoke on the phone. Plus I have nothing to do with them now my cousin’s gone. When would I even have done it?”
“When Red came to your flat.”
She dropped her gaze. “He wanted to recruit me as a sex worker. I’m a girls’ girl. The last thing I’d do is try to get them to pick on someone else.”
“Has he been back?”
“No. I think he assumed I was alone and would come running, and I am, but in the opposite direction. I swear I’m telling the truth.” She shuddered. “I actually came here to ask if I could take you up on your job offer. I didn’t want to call Riordan to do it. It didn’t feel right if you two are together. I’ll delete his number.”
For fuck’s sake. Her words rang true, which made it much more difficult to hate her.
Though not impossible.
I chewed on that for a moment, trying to make sense of what I knew. Bronson mentioned me at the bunker, though his rape threat felt more like him trying to get a rise out of Shade because he’d failed to do so with Everly.
If Moniqua hadn’t fed him my name, then who?
Maybe I was just one of a long list of potential murder candidates.
Either way, I had to make a decision about the slumped-shouldered woman in front of me. It would be better to keep her close.
“Ye can work the bars down here,” I decided. “Between Divine and Divide, we have shifts every night. Clem runs them. This side, the uniform’s like Lara’s, in Divide, it’s a skeleton crew t-shirt and black shorts. Ye can wear a bandanna if ye like the vibe, though most of the staff don’t bother. We protect our own here.”
Moniqua’s gaze flew to mine. “Thank you. I’m so grateful. I can’t even explain.”
“Then don’t, and don’t make me regret my decision. Go to Divine’s bar now. I’ll text Clem to meet ye.”
She left me.
With my notepad open, I ran over the revenge ideas my colleagues had given me. Everything from minor irritations to rage-inducing acts.
Perhaps I’d save one or two for Riordan’s sort-of-ex, if she crossed me.
I turned to my next list. The sex positions training the girls had given me. Several had offered demos which I fully intended to take them up on. I pulled my phone from my pocket to take a picture for Riordan.
Instead, there were missed calls from him along with several texts. With bated breath, I read through them. I’d switched my phone onto silent when talking to the staff and had forgotten to check it for a while.
Riordan: I’m taking a break for a couple of hours. Meet me in your room if you can.
Riordan: I guess you’re busy. I ran into Everly and had a quick chat.
Riordan: Don’t freak out, but I’m heading out for a little while. There’s something I need to do.
My breathing stopped. What the hell? I scanned the final message.
Riordan: I know you can track me. Watch my location if you want, but don’t you dare leave the warehouse. Let me do this thing.
Another heartbeat, and the tracker I’d glued to his bike loaded on my screen. Holy fuck. I burst from my seat and ran for the corridor as if his words had lit me on fire.