Page 95 of Riordan's Revenge
“But whoever pissed you off is going to get call after call asking them to find their pussy?” She snapped her hand to her mouth, cackling.
I giggled, too, scrolling into the next message.
Mick: Got the keys from Everly. We have thirty copies and wrote out the fobs with the address on it.
I typed a reply.
Cassie: Go forth and scatter.
Mick: Roger that.
“That’s part two underway.” I showed Dixie. “There’s also a couple of deliveries to the house later. The first is a glitter bomb,which has a duplicate being delivered to his office, and the second is a box of luxury baked goods.”
She tilted her head. “Poisoned ones?”
“Laxatives.”
Dixie gawked, then her shoulders shook as she creased up again.
I kicked my feet. “I’ve got a list of these to organise. This is just the start. Over the next week, he’s not going to be able to answer the phone without getting enraged, and he’ll sleep with one eye open because someone is going to break in. That’s just at home—he’ll get no rest at work either. I want all his colleagues judging him because of the calls and suspect deliveries he’ll be getting. Think a parcel with ‘Used Sex Toys’ printed on it and something rubbery bouncing around inside.”
From Everly, I knew the mayor was preparing for his next election campaign. He was considered a shoo-in, as somehow any opponents conveniently gave up their attempts, but still needed to promote his manifesto for Deadwater. He had speaking engagements. Business dinners. A conference to run.
“Remind me to never cross you. You’re a baddie.” Her amusement eased, her gaze distancing for a moment before it came back to me. “Is the person you’re tormenting really nasty?”
“Yep. A shite human being. Are ye feeling sorry for him? Don’t.”
“It isn’t that. I just don’t want you to be hurt. I’m getting used to having you around.” Her pretty gaze held mine, her thick tinted lashes making her eyes huge. “I’m not saying this to undermine you in any way, but powerful men have a habit of hurting girls like us. You’re more protected than I ever could be, but one slipup, one trip out where you’re alone and feeling confident.”
She left the rest unsaid. It spoke volumes.
With my phone forgotten, I regarded her fully, some warning sounding in my head. “This time off ye want, will ye tell me if it’s something like that? I can help. I have people. We don’t have to tell Arran or Shade if you’re worried about working here. I have Riordan and four brothers who’ll have my back.”
Her gaze gentled. “See? Protected. I love that for you. If you can help, I promise to let you know, but I think I need to do this thing alone. Now I need to get ready for work.”
“Aren’t ye going to Arran’s party tonight?”
“I will, but I need the cash so I’ll be up here before and after. You know the brothel never sleeps, even when the city is celebrating the murderer being caught. I for one am so relieved.” She gave a delicate shiver and brushed her fingers over her slender throat. Then she jumped up, catching my hand to take me with her. “I’ll do your makeup for you. It’ll be fun. Oh, and if you can skip away from the party, too, bring your boy up and we’ll get into that lesson we talked about. See if we can get him professing his undying devotion.”
My cheeks flushed hot, the image of driving Riordan wild with me calling the shots too hot to handle. Together, Dixie and I left the brothel and headed down the stairs to Divine’s much bigger dressing room which I knew she preferred.
“Does that happen to ye often? The undying love thing?”
“Not with anyone I’m interested in. I used to think that one day it might happen, but I couldn’t date a client or a crew member, so my chances of meeting anyone are non-existent. Imagine going on a date with someone nice then telling him what I do for a living. Any sane guy would go running.”
I growled. “Any man would be lucky to have ye.”
“Aw, how’s the weather in delulu land?”
We grinned at each other and exited the stairwell. At the ground floor central hallway, we passed Arran’s office. Tylerstood in the open doorway. The bear gave a short salute to me then a polite smile to the woman at my side.
It froze on his lips, his expression shifting to something much more interesting as he took in Dixie. She regarded him then dipped her gaze and scurried past.
Outside the dressing room, Manny approached, weaving through a small crowd of dancers, all off duty with Divine and Divide being closed, but buzzing with chatter about Bronson and the fuss in the city.
When he reached us, Manny dismissed the member of his team who’d shadowed us down from the brothel and informed me he’d be my guard until the party started.
I lifted my chin to the head of security. “Have ye any idea where Riordan is? I messaged him, but he hasn’t appeared. Is he on shift?”