Chapter 5
Tyler
I woke to broad daylight and a knife-wielding woman. Slowly, I pushed up on my elbows, my gaze never leaving Dixie. At the end of the sofa where I’d slept, she stood with her arms folded, my kitchen knife in her grip, a flash of steel in the late morning light.
“Did ye stand over me all night deciding how best to kill me?”
“Wi-Fi password. Now.”
I gave it to her, and she tapped it into her phone.
“Is Tyler your real name?”
“It is.”
“What’s your surname?”
“Cross.”
“How old are you, Tyler Cross?”
“Thirty-five.”
Dixie retreated to my bedroom, slamming the door behind her. I stared at the ceiling, then leapt up. I didn’t need much sleep, but by now, the Atherton brothers were on the hunt, and a glance at my phone showed both had sent messages. I needed to direct them, but to do that, I wanted Dixie’s help.
After a quick freshen-up, I headed into the kitchen to cook breakfast. A minute into me frying bacon, Dixie appeared in the doorway, her cautious gaze on the pan and the knife gone.
I gestured to the tall kitchen chairs. “Take a seat. Coffee and bacon sandwiches incoming.”
She did, her phone clutched in her fingers.
While I prepped the food, her gaze burned a hole in my back.
“The Wi-fi password was a test.”
“I’m aware.”
I handed her a mug. Dixie accepted it, wariness along with some haunted emotion in her eyes.
“If you really wanted complete control over me, you’d isolate me.”
I shrugged, getting back to my pan. “I don’t. I just want ye to be safe.”
She mulled over that. “I could have called anyone. A buncha huge guys could be on their way to rescue me.”
Over my shoulder, I said, “Do I need to put on more bacon?”
Dixie made a sound of annoyance. “It wouldn’t even bother you, would it? You’d have a plan made and a trap set without blinking.”
At this, I turned back, showing her my resolve. “I’m only doing the one thing ye need and the one thing ye won’t compromise yourself.”
“My safety.”
“Exactly.”
She stared at me for a long moment, judgement in her gaze.
“I just read a dozen articles about the Marchant family. There’s no way in the world I could’ve stayed hidden for long.
If you hadn’t grabbed me, someone else would’ve.
Or Mum could’ve seen pound signs and sold me out.
It’s just, I’ve been running on empty. No safe place to pause.
Even just a night in your cabin prison has been… Almost nice.”
My damn chest ached. I didn’t interrupt.
She blew on the coffee, took a sip, grimaced, then helped herself to the sugar and milk I’d set out.
“The last article mentioned a will reading that’s been lingering for months.
They quoted a source inside the family who said that the search for the missing heir had caused delays, and they were suffering because no salaries were being paid while the company was in limbo.
Might as well have stuck a neon sign over my head reading ‘CASH COW’, right? ”
“That whole family is fucked up, from what I can tell.”
Dixie gave a strangled laugh. “You have no idea.” She held up a hand with a finger raised.
“One, the person who tried to kill me already,” a second finger, “two, the Shithouse who chased me from Warford to Torlum,” a third, “anyone with a news platform,” the fourth, fifth, then her other hand, fingers wiggling, “every Marchant family member who has been living off the company and needs that vote to happen.”
I rested on the opposite side of the kitchen island and lifted an eyebrow. “All the fuckers trying to find ye.”
“Hot property.” She shook her head in stunned disbelief.
“I want to work through why each is on the list.”
“Yeah? I want to know why I’m here. The real reason.”
I flexed my jaw.
Dixie smiled. “You’re not ready, and neither am I.” She heaved a breath. “How is it that I’m safer with a kidnapper than anywhere else on the planet?”
“I told ye. Because of my rules.”
Her gaze returned to me, some of the anger fading into curiosity. “By my count, we’re up to two. You’ll do anything to protect me. And no one will ever touch me again unless I want it. Isn’t that right?”
I was wrong. It wasn’t curiosity. She was deadly serious, and this was another test.
Centring myself, I showed her she was correct. “I would die by those rules.”
“How weird that I almost believe you.” Dixie pointed a manicured finger to indicate behind me. “Bacon’s burning, hun.”
I swore and twisted back to kill the heat and serve the food.
We ate, Dixie taking small bites, and me wolfing back mine.
Yesterday, she’d been scared and meek. This morning, she was coming back into her power.
It reminded me of the way I used to see her managing people in the brothel.
Directing maintenance crews, fixing problems, or getting between two girls in a fight.
She’d do it half-naked, unbothered by gawking and confident in her skin.
I liked the fight in her. The pushback she was giving me. It settled something tight in my chest that said she’d never trust anyone again. Made me happy that I’d given her the pause point she’d needed.
Had to take the wins where I could. Fuck knew I was on thin ice.
Dixie chewed, contemplating me. “Like I said, even if some people dismiss me as just a showgirl, or worse, I’m not stupid. I’m here because you want me, enough to lie to your crew. You’re using this situation to your advantage, so I get to do that, too. And you’re going to let me.”
I shrugged, not denying it. “What is it ye need?”
“My things from Mum’s house. Call Lovelyn, and if she’s still there, ask her to fetch them so she can take them back to Deadwater.”
“She’s still on the island. I’ll make it happen. And if ye need anything right now, borrow from me.”
“You have one bottle of shampoo that’s also body wash. I’m not that desperate.”
I hid a laugh and wrote out a message to Kane, a thought occurring as I did.
Something that had been turning over in my mind since she’d last mentioned it.
“In your list of people chasing ye, there was one ye called the shithouse. This the guy?” From his profile, I brought up a picture of Kane and held it out.
Dixie peered at it then paled. “Oh my God. That’s him. Who is he?”
“Ye really don’t know?”
“Why would I ask if I did?”
“His name is Kane Ryan.”
Recognition registered in her pretty eyes. “He’s…?”
“Your brother. Also, as of more recently, Lovelyn’s boyfriend.”
Dixie’s jaw dropped. “Shut the front door. Lovelyn’s dating him? He is not the guy I’d pick for her.”
“They were in the game together. They’re pretty committed.”
“Holy shit. How long have I been away?” Her shoulders sank an inch. “I thought he was someone trying to hurt me.”
“Kane works for me. He’s a member of my crew. Even if he wasn’t your relative, he wouldn’t harm ye.”
She shook her head as if trying to dislodge a headache. “Then you sent him.”
“No. That was all Lovelyn.”
That gaze sharpened again, suspicion giving way to wherever her thoughts had gone. “You can tell him what to do. I don’t want to be found, but someone might have seen us yesterday. You brought me here in your car.”
Done with my sandwich, I exhaled a degree of frustration. “If I’d had more time to plan, I’d have switched vehicles. I was improvising, not auditioning for genius. The best I could do was my plates.”
“I noticed you’d switched them. But that doesn’t mean any hunters won’t follow a trace. When you say you’ve been tasked with finding me, what exactly is happening?”
I described how Kane and Lovelyn were waiting on my orders and the Atherton brothers were out on a search.
Dixie listened then nodded. “What happens if your own people identify your car? Who knows you live here?”
“Only Arran.”
“Just him? If they suspect you, they could go straight to him. He’s a good boss, for a gangster, but I’ve seen him sack crew members over how they’ve treated a woman.
He puts the girls first, which is startling but the main reason why so many of us work there.
I don’t know if he’d prioritise me over you, but he’d ask questions.
” She twisted her lips, switching her gaze to the window and the view out onto thick trees that bordered my home.
Then that focus came back to me. “We need to lead them on a wild goose chase. Give them a false sighting. Fake them out.”
I blinked. “With the objective of them losing that potential trace?”
“To give me a few days. If you’re as good as your word, I just need…”
“Breathing space.”
“Exactly.” She levelled her gaze on me.
I stared right back. Here was my opportunity to apologise for what I’d done. For the actions that had scared her, even if she was making the best of it. I owed her that.
Except I couldn’t. Because I didn’t regret a thing.