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Anything I said would only make me look worse so I shrugged. “Not really. They were wearing the same outfit and when that girl came out of the bathroom, I thought it was Rhymer.”
“All right.” She nodded slowly and I waited for the explosion I knew was coming. I’d seen it enough over the years to fear the wrath. “I’ve got her settled in one of the guest rooms for now.”
I had to clench my jaws to keep from frowning in confusion. Sadie didn’t seem mad, not even the lowkey kind of mad that exploded out of nowhere. She was almost calm. Scary calm. “I’ll call to see if Savannah’s still at the club.”
“Don’t bother. I’ve got men on it already.” I shouldn’t have been surprised that she’d handled it in the five minutes it had taken me to park the car and explain everything. But I was surprised that she wasn’t pissed.
“I’m sorry, Ma.”
“I know.” She held up a hand to stop my apology because she hated them, probably because our father, may he burn in hell, would fly into a rage if dinner wasn’t to his high standards and toss the food on the floor. He would grab Ma by the neck like a fucking dog and scream and hit her until she apologized for wrecking his dinner. “I know, and all that matters is that we handle this.”
I knew that was bullshit, but I let it go for now, unwilling to risk pissing her off anymore.
“Hey, Ma. Virgil. What’s up?” My baby brother Calvin strolled into the room looking like he just got back from a weekend in the woods in his ball cap, green and black plaid button up, jeans and work boots. He was the youngest of the bunch, soft spoken and too smart for his role in the family.
“Calvin, I have a job for you that has nothing to do with computers. Think you can handle it?”
He heard the challenge in Sadie’s voice and stood a little taller. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.”
“She’s upstairs in the green room. Make sure she stays in that room, and I want to be the first person to know when she wakes up.” Ma was using what we called her Sadie Rose tone which meant she wouldn’t forgive a mistake easily.
“I can watch her, Ma.” It didn’t make sense to rope Calvin into this situation and further my humiliation. I would never let on that I’d been eye fucking that chick all night, but there was another reason I wanted to do it, and we both knew it. “It should be me.”
She gave one sharp nod to indicate she heard me. “Calvin will do it. You need to find out who she is,” she said and nodded toward the sparkly little box purse with the chain strap.
“Right.” It was such a damn small purse, I wondered how in the hell a woman could get to anything when she needed it. I could barely fit three fingers in the damn thing, dropping a lip balm and a tube of lipstick three times before I turned the damn thing upside down and emptied the contents. She had three bills, all twenties tucked into a zippered area and on the sofa that wasn’t much. “A driver’s license. Maisie Nilsson. Opey, Texas. Fuck.”
“Fuck is right,” Ma sighed and motioned for Calvin to leave. “You kidnapped a fucking tourist. What a headache.” I could see the wheels spinning in Ma’s head, and I didn’t like what that could mean for the girl. Maisie.
Twenty one year old Maisie with the deep blue eyes. “Today is her twenty first birthday. Maybe she’s staying here in Glitz, or Vegas or Mayhem. Should be easy to find out.” All the nice hotels in the area would keep an eye out for guests like her because no one wanted their place to be where a pretty, young, female tourist was last seen alive.
“Give Calvin the license,” she sighed. “He’ll find out where she belongs and then you can take her there. Good enough?” I nodded and Ma did the same before motioning for me to take a seat. “I’m not happy with this Crusaders situation, Virgil.”
No shit. “Neither am I, Ma. Those fuckers have balls, thinking they can do business here without handing over a piece to the Ashbys.” It pissed me off to no end and now after the Savannah Rhymer fiasco, I felt the need to kick someone’s ass. Soon. “It ain’t right.”
“Calm down, Virgil. You can’t make the right decision under a cloud of emotion, son. Keep your head clear.” Her green eyes were clear and sober. Strong and fierce in a way they had never been when my old man was alive. Under his abusive hands, she learned a skill that had served her well in her rise to the top, she was a master at concealing her emotions.
