‘You don’t need to worry about me,’ she said.
When they got to the door Rushe opened it, and Flick went to his side, hooking her hand around him, into his back pocket.
‘I am worried,’ Liam said, though he bristled at Rushe’s proximity. Speaking those words while clearly so nervous was ballsy.
‘Rushe has got you covered on that,’ Flick said. ‘Take care.’
Rushe closed the door on the words that Liam was still trying to say, and on the click of the lock Flick shifted to go back to the couch, but she ricocheted when Rushe captured her wrist.
‘Other men,’ Rushe said. ‘Where’s your guard?’
Flick knew what Rushe meant, and she knew he wasn’t worried about her fidelity. He was worried for her safety, just as she’d told Liam he was.
‘I’m safe,’ Flick said. ‘I needed a bit of help, and Liam provided it.’
‘I don’t want you to be alone with any man for any reason, you hear me?’
‘I see Liam at the library regularly, you know that.’
‘That’s public,’ Rushe said. ‘This place isn’t. They’re watching the suite; I guarantee it. Now we have to explain what the dork was doing here.’
Flick should have considered that, but the news of Lisa’s death had crashed into her like the seventh wave.
‘They’re not going to ask.’
‘Not outright, but it’s suspicious if we don’t mention it.’
‘Lisa’s dead,’ Flick said, ripping off the Band-Aid.
‘What?’
‘She’s dead. They found her in an alley, drug overdose, on Thursday night. The night before Whyte came into my hotel room, and... she’s dead, Rushe.’
‘You’re happy with that?’ His lips didn’t move, but it wasn’t a show of intimidation, it was a knowing gesture. Flick shook her head and appreciated it when Rushe snatched the back of her neck to haul her body against his. ‘I knew you would get hurt. I knew this would happen.’
‘I’m ok,’ Flick said. ‘It was just a surprise. All this time I thought we were going to find her, I thought that everything would be ok.’
‘Not every story has a happy ending.’
‘I know that now,’ Flick said. ‘I have to be more like you. I have to toughen up. This is the first person I’ve... When those women died at the side of the road, I was shocked and sad, but I didn’t have time to think.’
‘That’s often the way it is.’
‘You were in trouble, I had to help you... when I thought about it at the time I believed they were better off, free of Victor and his gang. But after... I mean since then, it’s been easier not to think about it. I didn’t know any of them. I didn’t know their stories. But it’s not like that with Lisa, she’s a real person. Her brother came to me, you took this case because of me, and—‘
‘Hey,’ Rushe said, and taking hold of her arms to separate their bodies, he walked her backwards until she hit the wall. ‘Lisa would be dead whether we took this case or not.’
‘You don’t know that. No one has seen her since that night she was shouting at me. She was arguing with Joey because of something he said to me. I was the catalyst.’
‘Until we know what’s going on, we don’t know what the catalyst was. I was with Lisa that night too, after you were, maybe I was the catalyst.’
‘Joey was jealous that Lisa wanted to be intimate with you?’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Rushe said. ‘You didn’t pull the trigger, Flick, you didn’t kill her.’
Fabricated images of Lisa alone in that alley, dead after going through such an ordeal, flashed through Flick’s mind. ‘A drug overdose... do you think that’s painless?’
‘Depends on the drug,’ Rushe said, releasing his grip. ‘What do you want to do now?’
‘Davis’ woman, they pulled her out of a dumpster too. We have to find out about her connection, and how she died.’
‘I have her bio, and the police report,’ Rushe said. ‘She OD’d too, opiates in her system.’
‘What’s her name?’
‘Jeri something, I can’t remember.’
Flick knew Rushe liked to keep distance from the subjects, and she had a new appreciation for that. ‘If Jeri was a drug OD, and Lisa too, then... Nancy is missing still, isn’t she?’
‘Yeah, but it might be worth going through the Jane Doe’s,’ he said. ‘I’ll put Eric on it.’
‘But we can—‘
‘We don’t need to know them all intimately,’ Rushe said, most likely this was a further attempt on his part to insulate her emotionally.
‘Are they addicted before their deaths?’
‘It’s possible, getting involved with Davis and Galante, any of them; they have the financial means to provide any sort of pleasure.’
‘It’s mostly coke use I’ve seen in the Lounge, but there’s plenty goes on in there that I haven’t seen. Maybe if I get my job—‘
‘I don’t think so, Kitten,’ Rushe said. ‘I put my stamp on you, for every guy to see, to lower your risk. Women keep turning up dead, Flick.’
‘Is that what you’re worried about? Pulling my body out of a dumpster? I’m not going to use drugs. I’ve never used drugs in my life. I’ve never even smoked a cigarette.’ That was a story for another day, so Flick made a mental note for later.
‘We don’t know if it’s done by choice.’
‘Choice,’ Flick said, considering the alternative. If the women weren’t hooked on drugs and the overdoses weren’t, as they suspected, accidental then she would be at risk. ‘Ok, I’m sticking with you. So what do you want to do next?’
‘Dinner.’
Flick wasn’t used to two syllable responses, but Rushe headed toward the bedroom. ‘What?’
‘I’m taking you to dinner, and then there’s a party downstairs.’
‘Oh no, I’m not...’ Flick said. ‘I can’t be in the room with these guys. They’ll sit there with their cards, drinking their expensive liquor in—‘
‘I didn’t ask you a question. I told you what was happening. Get changed. Wear something...’
Flick witnessed a shudder go through his body when he paused, and then Rushe cringed, averting his attention from her, all very un-Rushe like. ‘What’s the matter?’
Flick got to his side and took hold of his jeans pocket. ‘Concealing,’ he said. ‘Wear something that covers...’ His open hands moved in front of her breasts.
‘My décolletage?’
‘Yeah, whatever, show as little skin as possible.’
‘That’s not what you were going to say,’ Flick smiled. ‘Is it?’
‘No,’ Rushe admitted. ‘But I can’t tell you to wear something showcasing my girls.’
‘You told me to put them on show once,’ she called after him when he disappeared into the bedroom.
‘Yeah, the dogs can pant from far away,’ Rushe called back.
Flick would also point out that he said that in the midst of sex talk, and before they’d declared their love, and realised that a real relationship between them was viable.
‘I could wear your clothes,’ Flick said, on wandering into the huge brown and bland bedroom. ‘They cover me up.’
‘No, makes me think of sex.’
‘Does anything make you not think of sex?’
Rushe scanned her figure. ‘No.’
‘Why were you going to tell me to dress skimpy?’
‘This is about sex.’
‘So you’re going to share me in a sex game?’ Rushe slammed a drawer and scowled at her. Flick held her palms up and out. ‘I didn’t mean really, I meant that was what you wanted to imply.’
‘Whyte likes to watch.’
‘Do you want to make him an offer?’ Flick asked. ‘I am technically his ex now.’
‘He’s had his share of hookers too.’
‘He has sex with hookers?’
‘He pays hookers to have sex with Joey,’ Rushe said. ‘Two and three at a time sometimes.’
‘I wonder what
makes the hookers different.’
‘We’ll find out.’
‘How?’
‘By going to dinner, and then to this party,’ Rushe said. ‘Hurry up, I made a reservation.’ Flick’s expression must have conveyed her surprise. ‘I saw a guy do it in a movie.’
As usual the crisp line was delivered without nuance, but Flick laughed. Rushe could be hilarious when he wanted to be.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Deciding, in the end, on a square neck midnight blue satin dress with wide straps that hugged her waist and then flared to her knee, Rushe had appreciated the view of her figure. But he wasn’t keen on sharing it.
His mood had soured further by the time they were finished with dinner. Rushe went to the extreme of ordering dessert that neither of them wanted, and then of ordering coffee, too. Usually, like over the last few days, when they came here to the restaurant Rushe wanted out as quickly as possible. But tonight he was stalling.
‘You’ve played poker with these guys before. What’s different tonight?’ Flick asked him.
‘It’s not a poker party.’
‘Then I don’t understand what... where is it?’
‘The X-Lounge,’ he said, and just like that Flick understood his hesitation.
‘They’re all going down there? Are you supposed to bring a date?’
‘That’s what they said.’
Flick couldn’t imagine Eleanor down there with the topless dancers. ‘A date for just tonight, or your wife and long term partner kind of date?’
‘I don’t know,’ Rushe said. ‘But I singled you out.’
‘You think they’re curious as to why you did that?’
‘I think if I show up with another woman, they’ll question my motivation for wanting you.’
‘Maybe you just wanted to strike out at Whyte?’ she asked. ‘Challenge him for dominance?’
‘We’re not in the Serengeti.’
‘Sometimes the way you men behave, it feels like it.’
‘Am I the same as them?’ Rushe asked.
‘No. You’re right, I’m sorry. Ok, well let’s go to the party.’
‘Rules,’ Rushe said, before Flick had a chance to leave the table. ‘No man touches you, I don’t care if he so much as hands you a napkin, you are not to be touched.’
‘I know that,’ Flick said, unsure if this was about them, or about the cover.
‘You stay beside me at all times... I’ll watch you piss if I have to.’ It wouldn’t be the first time, but Flick nodded again. ‘Do not drink anything, not a thing. I don’t care how thirsty you get, and I don’t care how many times they offer.’
‘Ok,’ she said. ‘You think they might try to spike my drink?’
‘I don’t know,’ Rushe said.
‘Which is what makes you uneasy.’ Flick was getting better at reading his mind, and from the way his jaw worked at grinding his teeth, she knew there was something else bothering him. ‘What?’
With a nasal inhale, Rushe leaned forward. ‘If I have to touch you...’ he growled without moving his lips.
‘It’s ok,’ Flick said, reaching over to slip her hand under his. ‘I trust you, Rushe. You have my consent.’
‘In front of those guys, I won’t—‘
‘I know you won’t,’ Flick said, letting her smile spread. ‘I trust you. Your boundaries are my boundaries. I don’t want to have sex in front of them, but I know you don’t either, so we’re fine. I trust you. If you’ve got to grab my ass, or touch my boob, who cares? You would do that anyway. You touch me up all the time in public. You made me come in the movie theatre... twice.’
‘That’s not the same fucking thing.’
‘I know it’s not, because it’s still private, and in its own way, it’s a secret,’ Flick said. ‘You’re reluctant because you don’t want these men to think I’m only a sex object to you. But it’s our cover, Rushe. They have to think you want me sexually, and not want me sexually like you’ve already been there a thousand times. We’re going to be the only two people in the place who know that you have.’
‘You are my woman,’ he snarled, as rage built up behind that façade, and Flick was touched by the sentiment. His turmoil romanced her in a way only Rushe could manage.
‘We’re going to go down there together, we’ll watch a few half-naked women shake their asses, you make a few chauvinist comments, and then we’ll go upstairs to bed.’
‘I will not share you. You’re not to dance for them.’
‘I couldn’t even if I wanted to,’ Flick said. ‘But you’ve made your views on that clear, Rosa told me. I’ll do what I’m told, Rushe, because it fits with our cover, and because I trust you. I don’t want to be out of your eye line. I’m not interested in chatting it up at the bar, or getting drunk. If things get tough, use me as your out.’ Rushe’s head tilted. ‘Tell them I’m jealous of other women, or insecure about my lack of sexual expertise, or hungry for your cock. You’ve used that one before.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Has the added benefit of being true.’
‘You sure you want to do this?’ Rushe asked her, and Flick nodded. ‘I can tell them you ran off, get Eric to come and pick you up.’
‘Are you going to try and scare me off every time a job gets tough?’
‘Probably.’
‘Ok,’ Flick smiled at his honesty. ‘Come on.’
Flick said the words, but it was Rushe who took her from the table. Without losing hold of her hand, Rushe tucked the one closest to him into his back pocket. Then he took her other one across her body to hold it in his. His arms were long so their joined digits hung in front of her frame. The double connection was unusual, but Rushe disliked walking into unknown situations alone. Now that she was here, he would hate it even more.
The elevator journey was short, and by the time they got to the X-Lounge door Rushe had his game face on. Flick wouldn’t distract him, and she knew her role here. She wanted information from the men about what went on with the now dead women. But shouting about it wouldn’t get them any answers. Her role was to be Rushe’s woman.
Finding her feet with the investigation work had been ok at the paper end of things. But when she had been working the Lounge alone, or with Whyte, she always felt apprehensive. Now that Rushe had her arm, her confidence soared.
The noise level and setup were the same as when Flick had been in with Whyte. The number of men was higher, and maybe the number of dancers too. What was rapidly obvious was that the men they expected to see were not here.
Flick didn’t know where they were, and Rushe remained in place so she assumed he didn’t know where they were either. Clandestine conversations were unfeasible with the noise level, so Flick just waited, ready to follow Rushe’s lead.
Part of her hoped that they would just give up and walk out; they could play ignorant with the others if their absence was notable. Except at the same time Flick knew they had to do this. Avoiding it now was only putting off the inevitable.
‘Hey!’
Rosa came from the other side of the bar and greeted her with a warm hug. For the time being, it seemed, now that she was on Rushe’s arm Flick was part of the club.
‘They’re in the private room,’ Rosa said without further explanation.
The hostess directed them to a narrow corridor in the corner behind a sheer curtain that Flick had assumed was for show. A few feet later, there was a door, and Rosa produced a small fob from her cleavage, which she then used to scan the reader. It beeped, and she popped the door open a couple of inches.
‘Enjoy,’ Rosa said
Flick didn’t sense genuine amity from Rosa, but she disappeared, leaving Rushe holding the door. But he didn’t look at her, and Flick knew he didn’t want to lose his mask. He also didn’t hold the door for her to enter first as would be traditional. Rushe went in, tucking Flick’s hand into his back pocket as he went.
The functional room was small. In the corner, there was a podium with a single pol
e; in the centre of the room was a table with another pole in the middle. Currently, neither of the two poles was occupied.
Joey sat on one of the couches arranged around the centre pole; he had the same little redhead they’d met before at his side, Laurie. The redhead smiled, her dress had been pulled down, exposing both breasts, yet Laurie seemed unaware of the fact. Maybe she had no inhibitions, maybe she’d done this before, or perhaps it was more likely that she was on drugs.
Still, knowing now how the women had died, Flick acknowledged the possibility that she only saw what she wanted to. The power of suggestion could be in effect, but it was difficult not to jump to conclusions.
‘Hey!’ Joey said, in his usual jovial tone. ‘The others will be along soon. Take a seat, make yourselves at home.’
Rushe’s arm came around Flick as Joey picked up his drink and downed the rest of its contents. When it was empty of liquid, Joey brushed the condensation from the heavy-based tumbler across one of Laurie’s nipples. She giggled away, and as Joey ducked to remove the fluid with his mouth, he moved the glass to the other breast.
Flick’s emerging confidence flagged. Rushe took her to another of the couches and sat down, pulling her into his lap. Joey had moved on to the ice cubes from the glass. He covered Laurie’s breast with the quickly melting water, and then his hand changed aim and still with the ice cube in his grasp, Joey’s hand went under Laurie’s skirt.
Joey was too interested in watching Laurie’s face when he slipped the ice cube inside her to care about spectators. Flick was sure that was the only thing he could have done, because Laurie gasped and Joey laughed, while pulling her legs apart with his now empty hand.
‘This what you call a private party?’ Rushe bellowed, far louder than he had to, though the bass from the X-Lounge did thump through the walls. ‘You need an audience, Joey?’
‘No!’ Joey laughed and abandoned Laurie, though his arm remained around her back. ‘Unless you want me to do your girl, switch it up, whatever you want. There’s rubbers under the table, get busy.’
‘Thanks,’ Rushe said, tightening his grip on Flick, and drawing her body in close against his until no atom of space existed between them. ‘But you said it yourself, this one’s mine.’
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