AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Can we talk? It’s about Kat.”
That was all I needed to say. He moved aside so I could step into the trailer, and I took a seat across from him, Trevor seated behind his desk, the surface covered with various blueprints and notes. I set the food down near him, but he didn’t take so much as a bite, too engrossed in what I had to say about his first love and what she’d gotten up to.
When I was done, he sat back to process what I’d just told him.
“So… she got mixed up with the freakingmob?”
“Not intentionally. She went to work at Pussycats and I guess, when you work there, the mob sort of comes with the territory.”
He winced at the mention of Pussycats.
“God, I can’t believe that she went to work there. I mean, I’m all about empowerment and whatever. If a woman wants to strip, then go for it. It’s just… there was no reason she couldn’t have gone off to college and pursued whatever career she wanted. Kat’s as smart as they come, you know? I realize it’s all in the past, but sometimes I can’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if she’d gone off to college with me, like we’d planned.” A tinge of sadness formed on his face, as if the possible future he and Kat could’ve had flashed before his eyes.
“I know. Some people just have a harder time leaving home, I guess. And we both know that, as smart as Kat is, she’s never been the school type.”
He chuckled. “No kidding. If I would’ve cut class with her every time she’d wanted me to, there’s no way I would’ve made it to college.” The warmth faded from his face.
I took a deep breath, preparing to get into the worst of it.
“What?” he asked. Trevor leaned forward, his brow knitted in concern.“Whatever it is, tell me.”
“She’s missing.”
Once more he listened with total focus and concern as I explained to him what had happened. I told him about how she’d been gone for days, and how I went to her apartment and learned that she’d likely heard something about the mob’s plans that she wasn’t supposed to.
Trevor gritted his teeth and took a deep, slow breath. There was no doubt in my mind that he was just as upset as I was, ready to rip apart anyone dumb enough to hurt Kat.
“What about the cops? You call in a missing person report?”
“Nope, no point. This is the mob we’re talking about. They’ve got cops on their payroll. We show up and file a missing person report and give the impression that we’re going to be poking around looking for Kat, it’ll get back to the people who have her. Not to mention that I’m a defense attorney. Cops aren’t exactly crazy about helping us out.”
Trevor nodded before looking away, as if processing something. Finally, he turned his eyes to me.
“I’ll help. Whatever it is you need, I’m here.”
I smiled, happy to hear it. “Good. Because I’ve got a plan.”
* * *
It was evening, the two of us seated in my car parked outside of Pussycats.
“You sure this place is it?” he asked.
I didn’t blame him for questioning it. From the outside, there was no indication that the building was a strip club. Only the small, pink, neon “P” in the corner of the front window let anyone know they were in the right place.
“Positive. Now, you good with our little story?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Not ‘I think so’. You have to know it up and down. If anyone asks and we give off the slightest impression that we’re up to something fishy, this is going to be a really short operation. That’s assuming they don’t take us out back and… you know.”
His eyes flashed with fear. However, as if he’d just remembered the importance of the mission, the fear faded, and determination appeared in its place.
“Alright,” he said. “Your name’s Maggie and mine’s Tyler. We’re a couple that’s been married for a few years, and things are starting to get a little stale in the bedroom. So, we thought we’d come to Pussycats to, you know, spice things up a little bit.”
I grinned. “You got it.”
I could sense two things; the first was that Trevor was serious about helping to find Kat. The second was that he didn’t have much enthusiasm for the strip club part of the process. Trevor, sweetheart that he was, had never been into those sorts of things.
