Chapter 29
C assie
At the woman approaching me, I dropped my jaw in comic appraisal then wolf whistled loudly. “Babe, ye are a fox. Check ye out in street clothes. Stu-nning. Ate and left no crumbs.”
Dixie snickered a laugh and dropped into the seat opposite me in the brothel’s office. Often, the dancers and sex workers who came and went from the warehouse did so with a significantly toned-down appearance. Alisha out of her wig and makeup had been barely recognisable.
That wasn’t the case with Dixie. Even in a hoodie and tight jeans, her platinum hair up in a ponytail, she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Her heels gave her a few extra inches of height, but the lass was a shortie, just like me. A pocket rocket.
That wasn’t why I loved her, though. She was made of salacious gossip and fun. A force of nature and my secret favourite of all the people who worked here. Way more than the skeleton-masked boys, Riordan aside.
She folded her hands in her lap. “Sorry to message like I did then take so long over getting here.”
“Don’t be daft. Is something wrong?”
Dixie’s expression altered, her gaze uncertain. “Yes. Or maybe no. I might need a few days off.”
I collected the tablet from the desk and opened the rota. “Seeing family?”
“I don’t have any. I just need some time away.”
“I’ll schedule it in. Ye don’t actually need permission, though. Ye know that, right?”
The sex workers were all self-employed. Arran’s method of keeping the brothel semi-legal while ensuring the women the layers of protection they needed.
Dixie examined her nails. “It’s not that that’s bothering me. It’s the thing I might do.”
I lowered the device. “Are ye in some sort of trouble?”
“Not me. But someone else will be, if I can help it.”
“I’m sorry, ye can’t say something like that and not immediately follow with details. Spill it. I have never been more intrigued.”
Her gaze leapt to mine, something dancing in her eyes that boosted my intrigue to sky-high proportions. She wasn’t upset, as I’d started to worry she might be. She was angry. Or maybe even vengeful.
“I can’t. Not yet.” Quickly, she added, “And not because I don’t trust you, but this is something so vital to me, I don’t know how to handle it. Let alone talk to someone else about it.”
On the desk, my phone vibrated once, and then a second time.
Dixie eyed it. “Do you need to get that?”
I peered at the screen and rubbed my hands together. “It’s just people checking in with a few tasks I asked them to do. Take a look.”
I opened it on my message screen.
Daria: My boyfriend stuck fly posters all over town. This good?
She’d included a picture of a poster stuck to a wall in a rougher area of Deadwater. It had a picture of a generic black cat and MISSING – REWARD across the top. A hefty reward was offered and two phone numbers included. Beneath, with the words: PLEASE USE THE KEYWORDS ‘FIND MY PUSSY’ WHEN YOU CALL.
Dixie blinked. “Whose cat is missing? Oh, wait, is this to do with the revenge list you asked me about? Ohmigod, the pet isn’t real, is it?”
I grinned. “Nope.”
“But whoever pissed you off is going to get call after call asking them to find their pussy?” She snapped her hand to her mouth, cackling.
I giggled, too, scrolling into the next message.
Mick: Got the keys from Everly. We have thirty copies and wrote out the fobs with the address on it.
I typed a reply.
Cassie: Go forth and scatter.
Mick: Roger that.
“That’s part two underway.” I showed Dixie. “There’s also a couple of deliveries to the house later. The first is a glitter bomb, which has a duplicate being delivered to his office, and the second is a box of luxury baked goods.”
She tilted her head. “Poisoned ones?”
“Laxatives.”
Dixie gawked, then her shoulders shook as she creased up again.
I kicked my feet. “I’ve got a list of these to organise. This is just the start. Over the next week, he’s not going to be able to answer the phone without getting enraged, and he’ll sleep with one eye open because someone is going to break in. That’s just at home—he’ll get no rest at work either. I want all his colleagues judging him because of the calls and suspect deliveries he’ll be getting. Think a parcel with ‘Used Sex Toys’ printed on it and something rubbery bouncing around inside.”
From Everly, I knew the mayor was preparing for his next election campaign. He was considered a shoo-in, as somehow any opponents conveniently gave up their attempts, but still needed to promote his manifesto for Deadwater. He had speaking engagements. Business dinners. A conference to run.
“Remind me to never cross you. You’re a baddie.” Her amusement eased, her gaze distancing for a moment before it came back to me. “Is the person you’re tormenting really nasty?”
“Yep. A shite human being. Are ye feeling sorry for him? Don’t.”
“It isn’t that. I just don’t want you to be hurt. I’m getting used to having you around.” Her pretty gaze held mine, her thick tinted lashes making her eyes huge. “I’m not saying this to undermine you in any way, but powerful men have a habit of hurting girls like us. You’re more protected than I ever could be, but one slipup, one trip out where you’re alone and feeling confident.”
She left the rest unsaid. It spoke volumes.
With my phone forgotten, I regarded her fully, some warning sounding in my head. “This time off ye want, will ye tell me if it’s something like that? I can help. I have people. We don’t have to tell Arran or Shade if you’re worried about working here. I have Riordan and four brothers who’ll have my back.”
Her gaze gentled. “See? Protected. I love that for you. If you can help, I promise to let you know, but I think I need to do this thing alone. Now I need to get ready for work.”
“Aren’t ye going to Arran’s party tonight?”
“I will, but I need the cash so I’ll be up here before and after. You know the brothel never sleeps, even when the city is celebrating the murderer being caught. I for one am so relieved.” She gave a delicate shiver and brushed her fingers over her slender throat. Then she jumped up, catching my hand to take me with her. “I’ll do your makeup for you. It’ll be fun. Oh, and if you can skip away from the party, too, bring your boy up and we’ll get into that lesson we talked about. See if we can get him professing his undying devotion.”
My cheeks flushed hot, the image of driving Riordan wild with me calling the shots too hot to handle. Together, Dixie and I left the brothel and headed down the stairs to Divine’s much bigger dressing room which I knew she preferred.
“Does that happen to ye often? The undying love thing?”
“Not with anyone I’m interested in. I used to think that one day it might happen, but I couldn’t date a client or a crew member, so my chances of meeting anyone are non-existent. Imagine going on a date with someone nice then telling him what I do for a living. Any sane guy would go running.”
I growled. “Any man would be lucky to have ye.”
“Aw, how’s the weather in delulu land?”
We grinned at each other and exited the stairwell. At the ground floor central hallway, we passed Arran’s office. Tyler stood in the open doorway. The bear gave a short salute to me then a polite smile to the woman at my side.
It froze on his lips, his expression shifting to something much more interesting as he took in Dixie. She regarded him then dipped her gaze and scurried past.
Outside the dressing room, Manny approached, weaving through a small crowd of dancers, all off duty with Divine and Divide being closed, but buzzing with chatter about Bronson and the fuss in the city.
When he reached us, Manny dismissed the member of his team who’d shadowed us down from the brothel and informed me he’d be my guard until the party started.
I lifted my chin to the head of security. “Have ye any idea where Riordan is? I messaged him, but he hasn’t appeared. Is he on shift?”
He twisted his lips and looked away.
My intuition spiked for a second time today. “Manny, what’s going on?”
“On Shade’s orders, I can’t tell you, and you’re not to leave the building.” He indicated to the end of the hall where one of his burly bouncers stood with his arms folded. At the other end of the corridor, Mick leaned on the wall, his arms folded and one casual boot kicked back, but his intention plain. I wasn’t getting past any of them.
My blood ran hot. “I swear to God, if they do anything to Riordan.”
“He’ll be back in one piece in time for the party. That’s all I can tell you, other than it’s for his own good.”
I exchanged a furious look with a sympathetic Dixie and snatched up my phone, angry-typing a message to Shade.
Cassie: Hurt a single hair on his head and I’ll slit your throat in your sleep.