Merciless (16 page)

Angie glanced back toward the bar and realized she’d lost sight of Eva. She searched the crowd but saw no sign of her. So what was she supposed to do now? Just wait and see if Eva came out? Call Garrison?

Angie shoved her hair away from her face. She’d go to the bar, buy herself a drink, and search for Eva. If she didn’t find her in five minutes, she was calling in the big guns.

* * *

Lulu woke to the sound of water and then to a stench that made her stomach topple. She was lightheaded, and for a moment she wondered what she’d done to herself. Shit. She’d used. She’d fucked up her chances to get David.

But as the recriminations pounded her brain, a sliver of reason cut through the din. She’d not used. She’d been tempted. So tempted. But in the end she’d walked away from her deal, shaky but determined.

So where the hell was she?

She pushed herself up into a sitting position and searched the basement room for anything that looked vaguely familiar. The floor was made of brick, as were the walls. A wooden staircase snaked up the far wall toward a closed door. Behind her there was a workbench and a tub.

Pressing her hand to her mouth and nose, she took small, even breaths, hoping to stave off the stench. “God, I’ve landed in an outhouse.”

But shit wouldn’t have been the right term for this place.

Not shit.

Death.

Rotting flesh.

She swung her legs over the side of a metal table, searching her memory for what had happened. She’d been in the alley. She’d said no. She’d been headed back to work. And then she’d felt the long fingers on her arm and the sharp prick of a needle. Her world had gone black.

Hugging her arms, her thoughts immediately went from her current situation to the courthouse. What time was it? Had her court date come and gone, or was it still tomorrow?

Her heart pounded hard and fast. “I need to get out of here. I need to go to court.”

The words echoed off the walls, and as they bounced back at her they sounded so tiny and pathetic.

“Hey, I mean it. I’ve got to get out of here. I have a child. A baby boy. I have a court date.”

Tears welled in her eyes as she pushed off the table, and her bare feet touched cold, wet stone. She had to get out of here. She had to find out what time it was and get to court.

Stumbling forward toward the stairs, she tripped on the uneven stone and fell hard on the floor. “Let me out of here! You don’t understand. I’ve turned my life around. I don’t do the nasty stuff no more.”

A soft chuckle rumbled from one of the darkened corners. A chill snaked down her spine, teasing cold fear to life.

“This is not funny! I have to get to court. I have a lawyer. I have a chance. I don’t do this kinky shit no more.”

“Maybe you could do it just one more time for me. For old time’s sake.”

Thursday, October 6, 11
P.M.

Malcolm had stood in the back of the bar watching the two Hispanic dudes fighting. One fellow had stumbled backwards and nearly knocked a table over. The crowd had roared with laughter. He hadn’t wanted to identify himself as police but would if pressed.

He’d come to the bar because it had been a favorite haunt of Dixon’s. Since Dixon had dodged his attempted-murder conviction, Malcolm had taken to keeping tabs on the doctor. He paid attention to where the doctor drank, when he cruised for a hooker, and when he was out of town at one of his conferences. For the last eighteen months the doctor had been a very good boy. Too good. He’d learned long ago that appearances could be so deceiving. And the cleaner the doctor appeared, the more convinced Malcolm was Dixon was hiding something.

The dudes yelled a few choice words in Spanish to each other. Malcolm knew enough Spanish to know one
wanted to cut the other for looking at his girl. And when he saw the glint of a knife, he knew he’d have to intervene if the bouncers didn’t. He pushed away from the bar just as a couple of bouncers raced toward the fight.

The bouncers were big burly guys, with big guns and tattoos on their arms and necks. It took a few well-placed shoves and holds to break up the fight.

Malcolm settled back against the bar when one of the guys broke free and stumbled back. He banged into a woman and this time sent her teetering. The slash of thick blond hair caught his gaze, which quickly slid down her slim body and then back up to her face.

He stopped short.
Angie Carlson?

Malcolm did a double take. The thought that the prim lawyer would come to a place like this did not make sense.

His gaze narrowed as he watched Angie right herself. Immediately her gaze searched the room for someone. He’d have bet a paycheck that The Barracuda wouldn’t come to a place like this, but there she stood.

Curious, he sipped his beer, amused that the attorney hid a darker side. The jeans and tight T-shirt she wore were far cries from the buttoned-up schoolteacher look. And the thick tumble of hair down her shoulders was a surprise as well. She kept the mane plastered so tightly in a bun he’d never thought of her as even having hair.

As he studied her face, he could see that her eyes didn’t possess the usual sheet of ice. In fact, they telegraphed worry. She chewed her bottom lip, and her hands slid in and out of her pockets as if she wasn’t sure what to do with them.

What the hell are you doing here?

Did she know something about Dixon? As Dixon’s
attorney, she’d have been privy to all kinds of information about him. Did she know this was where he liked to relax?

It didn’t surprise him that she hadn’t told him about this place. She always played her cards close to her vest.

She seemed to grow restless. Finally, she pulled her hands from her pockets and pushed through the crowd toward the bar. She was still searching. When the bartender asked for her order she seemed flustered but recovered and ordered a beer, which she made no move to drink. In fact, when the bartender looked away she set the icy mug down untouched.

He followed her line of sight and spotted Eva talking to another bartender.

Angie and Eva. Eva’s presence explained Angie’s make-under. Eva would know how to dress and move through a place like this.

Thelma and Louise. What the hell were they up to?

Angie spotted Eva talking to a tall woman with short black hair. The woman frowned down at Eva, shaking her head no. She tried to turn away from Eva, but her sister grabbed the woman’s arm. Eva’s gaze matched the taller woman’s intensity. Finally, the woman pulled her arm free and moved away.

Eva shoved long, shaky hands through her hair. Angie wasn’t a lip reader but easily picked up on the few choice words Eva now muttered.

Angie cut through the crowd and came up beside Eva. “Did you learn anything?”

Eva glanced at her. “I thought you were going to stay by the door.”

“I did until a couple of guys got into it, someone
pulled a blade, and then I lost sight of you. Eva, this is not a safe place.”

Eva’s jaw set into a grim line. “No, it is not. And I didn’t make us any friends.”

“What happened?”

“The bartender did not appreciate my questions.”

“I thought you guys were buddies or something.”

“No one is ever your friend in prison, Angie. There are alliances, but they end as soon as they are no longer beneficial.”

She glanced around the room, sweeping the space for new threats. “So the bartender has no reason to help.”

“No, she doesn’t. And toss in the fact that I’m dating a cop means she really wants nothing to do with me.”

“Did she say anything about Lulu?”

“She said she showed up for work last night. She took a break and never came back. One of the waitresses went looking for her but only found her shoe in the alley.”

“What time?”

“About ten.”

“What about her purse? She carried a purse yesterday.”

“If she left it behind it’s long gone.”

Angie glanced toward the bar. “I’ve got some strong interview skills. Let me talk to her.”

“No. This is not your world, Angie.”

“No kidding. But I can still handle myself.” Angie glanced toward the bar and saw that Eva’s friend was now chatting with the guy who’d served Angie the beer she hadn’t touched. When they glanced over and saw her staring at them, their dark expressions turned murderous.

“We should get out of here,” Angie said.

Eva’s line of site trailed her sister’s in time to see the
female bartender pull a bat from behind the bar. Angie and Eva turned and shoved through the crowd.

The music grew louder as her heart kicked up a notch. She glanced over her shoulder, hoping the bartenders remained in place. She spotted the woman coming after them. Adrenaline shot through her limbs. What the hell can of worms had they opened?

The crowd thickened and surged. Though the front door was twenty feet away, it seemed miles away.

This woman was going to beat the crap out of them.

Malcolm realized quickly what was happening. He shoved away from the bar on an intercept course for the bartender. He managed to get a step ahead of her and block her path.

She glared at him, ready to fight when he shook his head. “Let her go.”

“You’re blocking my path, asshole.”

“She’s mine. Let her go.”

“She’s an undercover cop.”

That made him laugh. “Not on her best day.”

Angie and Eva pushed through the front door of ZZ’s. It slammed behind them, cutting off the rock music, the loud hum of conversation, and the thick stale air that smelled of smoke and sweat.

They hustled down the street and didn’t stop until they reached her car. Angie’s hands trembled as she fished the key from her pocket and shoved it in the lock. The click of locks releasing had them sliding into their seats. Angie fired up the engine and drove.

Three blocks away from the bar she released a breath. “Shit. What the hell happened in there?”

“Margo didn’t like my questions.” Eva shook her head. “She never did like questions.”

“All you did was ask about Lulu.”

“That appeared to be enough.”

“Why?”

“Because of Garrison. Margo thought he sent me in to ask questions.”

“That’s one hell of a place to work. How did Lulu land there?”

“I got her the job. I knew Margo and knew she needed a waitress.”

“That’s not the best place.”

“It beats the streets. Lulu got a steady paycheck, and she didn’t have to turn tricks.”

“Yeah, but that place is one of the worst.”

Eva looked at Angie as if she were a child. “It’s hard to get a job when you’ve got a record. I was real lucky that King was looking out for me. If he hadn’t I’d have been in a place like that.”

“You weren’t guilty.”

“Does the general population care? I lived in a prison with bad people. That makes me tainted.”

“You’re not tainted, Eva.”

“Don’t be a Pollyanna, Angie. A decade in prison changed me and like it or not will always shadow my future. There is no changing that, no matter how many times I try to pretend otherwise.”

Angie glanced at Eva, surprised by the bitterness that edged her voice. “What’s this all about?You never worry about the past.”

“I worry about it a lot.” Eva settled back into her seat and folded her arms over her chest. Angie wasn’t sure
what caught her eyes first: Eva’s fuller cheeks, the new ruddiness in her complexion, or the sudden fullness of her breasts.

Angie recognized the signs because she’d read about them and obsessed over the fact she’d never experience them. “You’re pregnant.”

Eva hurled a sharp glare at her. “I am not.”

Angie may have been out of her element in the bar, but she was back on solid ground now. “Did you know you still furrow your brows when you lie? It’s just like when you were a kid, and you got into my makeup and lied about it.”

Eva closed her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

“If you’re holding back to spare my feelings, don’t. My lack of childbearing ability shouldn’t enter into this.” When Eva didn’t answer, Angie pressed on, unwilling to let the subject drop. “Have you told Garrison?”

A long heavy silence followed. “No.”

The simple word confirmed the pregnancy, and as it did a torrent of emotions assailed Angie: happiness for her sister and then quickly on its heels bitter sadness. For a moment she drove down the streets, winding in and out of traffic. And only when she thought her emotions had been duly subdued did she speak. “Why haven’t you told him? He’s crazy about you.”

“A baby wasn’t exactly in the plan.”

“All the more reason to talk to him.”

“Yeah.” She muttered an oath as she picked at a stray thread on her cuff. “He told me he didn’t want kids. He watched his sister die of CF, and he doesn’t want to pass the disease on to his own kid.”

“A hypothetical baby and a real one are very different.”

She pressed her palms together. “Yeah, well, what if the baby is sick, and I don’t have what it takes to take
care of the kid. Both my parents abandoned their child. Mom left you. Dad left me.”

Angie cleared her throat. “Mom saw me as much as my father would allow. And she told me she wanted to take me with her.”

“But in the end she chose to leave you and be with Blue. And then Blue chose to leave me.”

Angie cut through the bitterness that rose inside her. “You are different from Mom and Blue. You won’t leave this baby, sick or not.”

Eva laid her palms on her still very flat stomach. “I am afraid I could really screw this up. I’ve only just figured out myself. And now toss in a baby, a husband, and a potential medical problem. It could all get messed up so easily.”

“Eyes forward, Eva. That’s what you always say. What our parents did has no bearing on us. And I know you. You are very loving. You would never leave your kid, no matter how bad things go.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

She thought about the secret investigation she’d launched into Blue’s past. “Have you ever heard from Blue? I mean all the publicity last year. It had to have caught his attention.”

She stiffened. “I never heard a word from him.”

She kept her tone even. “Did he contact you when Mom was still alive?”

“Once a postcard from Colorado.
Happy Birthday, kiddo.
That was all he said. I was seven.”

Angie knew the bare stats on Blue Rayburn. He’d been hired by Angie’s father to work in the museum as the head of security.Angie’s father had been the museum’s director. They’d worked together for a few months without incident, and then Blue and her mother had begun
their affair. Soon after Frank had discovered his wife’s deception, the marriage had collapsed.

She’d asked her dad once about her mother’s leaving, but he’d refused to say more than, “Life changes people.”

What had happened almost thirty years ago to change her parents so much? She doubted she’d ever know.

“Have you seen a doctor?” Angie asked.

“Yes. Last week. She confirmed it. The baby is due in seven months.”

Spring. Intuition whispered the baby was going to be a girl. Easter bonnets, lace dresses, and tiny, tiny booties flashed in her head. Eva would be holding a baby in her arms by spring. Angie’s insides tightened. “And all is well?”

“Healthy as a horse.”

“That’s perfect.”

Eva faced her. “I’m sorry.”

“Why would you be sorry?”

“Because you want kids. And you can’t have them.”

“Hey, my life is super full. And this isn’t about me. It’s about you and your baby. You’ve got to tell Garrison.”

Eva let her head fall back against the plush leather of the BMW’s seats. She seemed lost in thought. Her phone vibrated, she sat forward and pulled it from her pocket. “It’s Garrison.”

“Talk to him.”

She held the phone until it stopped ringing. “When I see him face to face.”

“Once Garrison stops freaking, he is going to go nuts,” Angie said. “He’s going to spoil this kid rotten.” She lightened her tone as much as she could. “And he’ll have to get in line. I’m going to be one bitching aunt.”

Eva’s expression remained serious. “Don’t tell him I was at the bar. Knowing we had to run for it won’t sit well on a good day. But toss in pregnant and he’d have a kitten.”

Angie laughed. “That I’d like to see.”

“You won’t tell?”

“My lips are sealed.”

Malcolm found his partner at King’s, nursing a cup of coffee and checking his watch.

He sat on the seat beside Garrison. “Where is Eva?”

“King said she had an errand. I’ve been waiting a half hour.”

“And she’s not answering her cell?”

“No.” No missing the worry. “How did it go at ZZ’s?”

“Enlightening.” Malcolm snagged a handful of nuts from the jar in front of him.

“How so?”

“I spotted two familiar faces.” He waited a beat. “Angie Carlson and Eva.”

Garrison cocked his head. “Say that again?”

“Eva and Angie were at ZZ’s. And I’ll bet they come busting through the front door of King’s any minute.”