“Fuck you.”
Jase ratcheted back the slide on the pistol and returned it to the side of Marvin’s head. A few feet away, Reese casually aimed his gun at the man in the chair. “Where are they?”
“Go ahead and shoot me. I ain’t talking.”
“You’ve got three seconds. Three... Two...” The gun pressed more solidly into flesh and bone.
“Okay, okay, take it easy. It’s just business, you know? They got a couple more parlors like this one. Men got needs, and everybody’s gotta make a living.”
“Give me the names.”
Marvin ground his jaw. “I don’t know. They keep everything separate. I just work here, do what they tell me and collect my pay.”
“What about the trucks?”
He seemed surprised Jase knew. “A couple of times a week, they load the women into the back of a big rig and haul them out to service their customers. Older women, druggies, girls what don’t behave. Got it divided into cribs in the back. Everybody wins.”
Not everybody, Kate thought. Not girls like Chrissy or the dead girl in San Antonio. She prayed Callie Spencer wasn’t a victim.
“Who runs the operation?”
“How the hell would I know? You think they’d tell me? I just keep the women in line.”
“What about Burke? Who’s his boss?”
When he didn’t answer, Jase cuffed the back of his head with the pistol.
“All I know is Burke makes a cash run to Dallas every Tuesday. That’s it.” He tipped up his chin. “You can go ahead and pull the trigger—but if you do, you’re as dead as I am.”
For an instant, Jase’s fingers tightened around the pistol grip, then he stepped away.
“What about calling the police?” Kate asked.
Jase looked at Marvin. “What do you think, Marv? Maybe we can make a deal. We let you go, you tell them I got away and keep your mouth shut about what you told me. That way your employers don’t kill you, and we don’t have to deal with the cops.”
Marvin warily lifted his head, pondering the notion.
“It’s your choice,” Jase said. “But odds are you’re dead if they find out you talked.”
Recognizing the truth in his words, Marvin slowly nodded.
To make it look good, Reese holstered his gun and pulled out a pair of zip ties like the ones Marvin had used on Jase. He pulled the guy’s hands behind the chair and used the zip ties to keep him there, also bound his ankles. Kate stuffed a washrag into his mouth and tied it with a strip torn off a terry-cloth hand towel.
“Let’s go,” Jase said. He checked the door to be sure no one was in the hall, and they moved quickly out of the room toward the back stairs, then outside to the vehicles.
“She’s with me,” Jase said to Reese when they reached the Yukon. As if Kate would have let him drive away without her. The man had been stunned, beaten and suffered a head injury. She had no idea how badly he was hurt.
Reese nodded. “I’ll see you back at the apartment.” He strode off toward the Rover.
When Jase reached the driver’s side, Kate moved in front of him. “Not happening, big guy. I’m driving.”
She thought he would argue, but instead, he went around and slowly climbed into the passenger seat. Kate slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Her tension didn’t ease till they were home.
Kate returned from the bathroom with a cool cloth for Jase’s head. He sat on the sofa in the living room, his head resting against the back. Reese had come by to make sure he was okay, then left for his apartment at the other end of the hall.
“How are you feeling?” Kate asked as she gently placed the cloth on his forehead.
His eyes cracked open. “I’ll be damned glad when those ibuprofens kick in. Other than that, I’m okay.”
