Obviously she’d want proof. I chewed over a reply. If I said too much, I’d be sharing information I didn’t want out there. If I said too little, Lovelyn wouldn’t be convinced.
“You know she was badly hurt a few months ago?”
“Of course.”
“Did she tell you how it happened?”
“She doesn’t remember. Someone abducted her then…” Lovelyn touched her throat and swallowed, presumably picturing Dixie’s slender neck being slit.
I saved her from having to say the words. “Pretty sure I’ve uncovered a conspiracy that she’s at the centre of.”
“A conspiracy by whom?”
“If she hasn’t told anyone so far, my instinct is to not break that trust for her. She can decide if she wants to share.”
Lovelyn narrowed her eyes. “You’re allergic to answering questions, aren’t you? Hard to believe you’re the noble type.”
“But you’ll help me anyway. I’m serious about there being a ticking clock. The longer we wait, the more chance she’s hurt again. Neither of us wants her to die. Together, we can prevent that.”
For a long moment, she watched me, no give in her pretty features. Despite the urgency in me, I couldn’t regret taking time to stare back. Lovelyn was fuckin’ gorgeous, all curves with thick thighs I’d happily wear as ear warmers. Each time I’d encountered her, she’d had something with flower print on her person. Daisies on her shoes, or roses in careful stitches on her lapels. That whimsy was at odds with what I knew of her sharp intellect. She had resources and connections, and I’d marked her down as an asset for use at a future point, such as today.
That wasn’t the only thing I’d imagined of her.
Her long hair, brunette with blonde highlights, was tied up today, but when she wore it loose, it fell like a waterfall downher back. More than once, I’d pictured it wrapped around my fist with her on her knees for me.
She pursed the lips I wanted around my dick. “I could try calling her on your behalf, if I had my phone.”
“Has she responded to any other call you’ve made or message you’ve sent?”
“Well, no.”
“Then that won’t be enough. What she needs is for you to come with me to find her. Starting with her place then anywhere else she might be hiding. I know you have her address. I also know you’re a skilled researcher.”
More, besides. Dixie would answer the door to Lovelyn but not me.
Lovelyn raised a shoulder. “Sure. I’ll do that for you. If you can go back in time and ask nicely rather than petrify me.”
Frustration tightened my muscles. “I said I wanted to talk when we were walking into the safe house.”
“This isn’t talking, Kane. It’s a criminal offence.”
“It was a necessary move. Your father is no doubt keeping an eye on you after we sprung Convict from his clutches. I masked up and stole you in the only way that frees us both up to head out on this hunt. Fast, anonymous, done. You’re a rational woman. I knew you wouldn’t panic.”
Her mix of emotions shifted to outrage. “Don’t you dare patronise me. You’re a selfish bastard. Next time, try words instead of brute force. What if someone reported my kidnapping? Are we going to be driving around Deadwater with every police officer on the lookout for me?”
Victory steeled my spine. I had her. She’d stopped arguing and was working out the edges of the problem.
From my back pocket, I extracted her phone. One with a floral case, just like her notebook and the handle of her bag which was in the front seat of the van.
I held out the device. “Call your da with an innocuous reason. If anyone’s made a report, which is unlikely as I picked my moment well and no sirens chased us here, he’ll dismiss it out of hand if he knows you’re safe.”
She glowered at me but closed her fingers around it.
I kept a tight hold, bringing her in. “Dixie needs ye. You can tell me to fuck all the way off when we’re done, but for your friend’s sake, get in my passenger seat, Lovelyn.”
I gestured to the car. The van belonged to the skeleton crew and would stay here.
Something flickered in her eyes when I said her name. Some reaction I couldn’t get a read on.
