He glanced through the glass front doors into the lobby as Kate stepped out of the elevator, breathed a sigh of relief that she wasn’t wearing her hooker garb. Instead, she wore a scoop-neck pale blue top, and black jeans tucked into low-heeled, knee-high black leather boots.
He almost smiled. Maybe she figured the boots would be easier to run in if she needed to make another quick getaway.
Kate’s long blond hair, woven into a single thick braid, swung across her shoulders as she opened the SUV door and slid into the passenger seat. He itched to wrap a hand around that sexy braid and drag her across the seat into his lap. Damn, the woman turned him on.
Reminding himself to behave, Jase started the engine and pulled out onto the road to Old East Dallas. He glanced over at Kate. She looked tired. But then, bar fights with an army of drunks had a tendency to wear you out.
“Rough day?” he asked.
Kate sighed. “Andrew came by to see me.”
Jase tensed. He didn’t like Andrew Bradley. He liked him hound-dogging Kate even less. “What’d he want?” As if he didn’t know.
“He asked me to go to the Dallas Symphony on Saturday night. Mozart’s Piano Concerto.”
He cocked a dark eyebrow. “You into that kind of thing?”
“I enjoy classical music.” She grinned. “I’d rather go country-western dancing.”
Jase smiled, told himself he didn’t feel a sweep of relief. “Good to know.” His gaze slid back to the road. “So, you going out with him?”
“Hell no. Been there done that. Not interested in doing it again.”
Even better.
“What about you?” Kate asked. “Make any progress on the case?”
He hit his turn signal and passed a beater Toyota loping along the road in front of him. “Tabby called. Came up with three names, guys arrested for assaulting prostitutes.” He told her how he’d already tracked the location of one the men and planned to see him tomorrow.
“I want to go with you,” Kate said. “I want to be there when you talk to him.”
She’d told him from the start she wanted to be involved. Talking to a suspect shouldn’t be as dangerous as going to Mean Jack’s or even as risky as what they were doing tonight.Shouldn’tbeing the key word. You never knew what could happen when you were dealing with scum like these guys. On the other hand, a deal was a deal.
“I figured. I’ll pick you up at ten. That’ll give us both time to check in at work.”
It wasn’t long before he was cruising the same street they had been on last night. Mean Jack’s was up ahead, the lot more than half full. Next to it sat the Sunshine Station, gas and convenience store, a run-down, glass-fronted structure with a wide awning out front that extended over a pair of outdated gas pumps. The Sunshine Motel sat behind it.
Tall lampposts in the parking lot cast light on a pair of rough-looking men who leaned against the gas station wall smoking cigarettes or maybe joints. At the moment, there were no women around.
Jase pulled up to one of the gas pumps and turned off the engine. “I don’t see anyone in the store except the guy behind the counter. I’ll gas up while you go see what you can find out.”
She looked surprised he would let her go in by herself, but he’d rather be outside where he could keep an eye on things. He used his credit card to start the pump, jammed the nozzle into the tank and began filling up.
He glanced over at the men. He didn’t like the looks of the big dark male, clearly not a customer, who appeared to be waiting for someone. He didn’t like the tall, skinny dude beside him any better.
But then pimps were never his favorite people.
Kate made her way to the convenience store. The Texas night was warm and damp, a moist wind drifting over the landscape. Beyond the glass door, the air smelled like lube oil and cloying perfume.
Kate walked over to the Coke machine, filled a cup with ice and Diet Coke, then went up to the counter to pay for it. Her eyes widened at the sight of a fishbowl filled with foil-wrapped condoms. A handwritten sign on one side read $.50 CENTS. Her gaze flashed to the man behind the counter, narrow-faced, with fine brown hair and a bald spot at the back of his head.
He just shrugged. “They’re big sellers here.”
Her stomach tightened but she managed to smile. “I’m looking for a woman named Lollie. I hear she works in the neighborhood.”
His filmy blue eyes slid over her like cold grease. “I wouldn’t have picked you for the type.”
It took a moment to realize he thought she wanted a sexual encounter with a female. Kate raised her chin. “I didn’t see any women outside. Do you think she’ll be here tonight?”
