Robbo retreated and turned to hasten down the sidewalk. ‘Should I…?’ Serg asked, moving forward, but Dax lifted a hand to prevent him.

‘No, just leave him.’

Winlow hadn’t told the truth and Dax had been dumb enough to believe the bastard and then tell him to split town. He just had to hope that his advice hadn’t been taken, but something told him that his luck was wearing thin.

They’d stopped at Winlow’s place, but it had been cleared out. There was no sign of him or the pretty brunette. It was too late in the night now to try and hunt the bastard down, so Dax went back to the apartment and showered before he iced his hands.

It hadn’t occurred to him to check his phone for a while. When he kicked his jeans aside to get into bed his foot made contact with the device, so he leaned off the bed to pick it up. Ivy had sent him a text.

Win big for me, tough guy? Miss you.

Dax had never bothered texting other women, but he liked that Ivy had thought of him, so he responded.

Always, babygirl. Send me a pic.

The message that she had sent was timestamped more than two hours ago, so he doubted that she would still be awake to respond. He pulled the sheet over himself and closed his eyes; less than thirty seconds later the phone began to ring. Fumbling on the nightstand for the handset, he pressed receive and brought it to his ear.

‘Yeah?’

‘I’m not sending you naked pictures,’ she said, and the smile in her voice made him smile.

‘I’ll have to take some myself next time you’re asleep beside me.’

‘Don’t even think about it. If you want what I’ve got to offer, then you get your ass here and take it.’

‘Don’t goad me tonight, Minx,’ he said, moving onto his back with a groan.

He might just drag himself out of here and take her up on that. Except he had to be up early in the morning to chase down Winlow and if that didn’t work out, he’d go after Benny. The rats were scurrying for cover, word was out that he was hunting down the threat, and his reputation was such that no one wanted to face him when he was in any kind of rage.

‘You sound tired,’ she said. ‘Tough fight?’

‘No, it was over in a flash. But I found out that the guy I chased down today bullshitted me, and that pisses me off.’

‘How?’

‘I believed him when he was lying.’

‘What did he lie about?’ she asked.

‘That there were only three of them at a poker game when there were more players.’

‘Oh,’ she said. ‘I would think that was good news.’

His eyes opened though all he could see was darkness. ‘How could that be good news? He lied to me and I bought it.’

‘Except he lied for a reason. So maybe the other person at the poker table is the one who put out the bounty. You’re closer than you thought, tough guy. All you have to do is push that button one more time and you’ve got your answer.’

She did have a way of looking at things that made him feel better. ‘But the guy has split. I don’t know where he is.’

‘You’ll find him, or one of the other guys from the game, I have faith. You win every fight because you don’t give up, you’re smart and play your opponents by staying several moves ahead. You can do this, Dax, don’t feel sorry for yourself now. You’re close to the prize.’

‘And what’s the prize?’ he asked.

‘Me and my freedom, I’ll be a very grateful woman if you can swing that.’

‘Naked picture grateful?’

‘Maybe,’ she laughed. ‘Go to sleep. You need to rest. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.’

‘Ok.’

‘Love you.’

‘I love you too, Minx. Be good.’

Hanging up with her after such a short call, Dax rested the cell phone on his chest under his hands. Ivy had managed to turn around his thinking, and suddenly he was optimistic about the day ahead. He would get this guy, he was closer than ever.

Chapter Eighteen

Ivy hadn’t heard from Dax all day. Their middle of the night conversation had sent her into a blissful sleep, but she’d waited all day for word from him or for a visit and neither had happened. She had just washed the last of the dinner dishes and was considering going for another swim when the sound of spike heels on tile drew her around.

Rosie was staggering around the kitchen isle with her hands held high above her head. She spun around then gestured to her outfit. The short green dress was strapless and clung to Rosie’s curves, leaving nothing to the imagination.

‘What are you doing?’ Ivy asked, drying her hands.

‘I thought we could go out, you know, hit a few clubs.’

‘Why would we want to do that?’

‘It’s boring here, we’ve done everything that we can do and no offense but I want the kind of fun that you and Carina just can’t give me, you know?’

Carina had said she was going for a bath before Ivy started on the dishes. Rosie must have used that time to glam herself up, using every makeup brush in the pack from the looks of the layer of spackle on her face.

‘You want to get laid,’ Ivy exhaled. ‘I suppose that means you don’t have a fella?’

‘I have a few,’ Rosie laughed. ‘But as it happens, I’ve got a guy in LA, and he wants to see me tonight. I can’t pass that up, can I? Get changed and you can come out with us.’

‘I don’t want to go out,’ Ivy said, she still hadn’t told the other women about why she was here or what Dax was doing in the city that kept him away from their supposed vacation. ‘I want to stay here.’

‘Is Dax coming back tonight?’ Rosie asked, strutting over to the fridge.

She pulled out a bottle of wine and proceeded to pour herself a full tumbler of the liquid, she didn’t even look for the wine glasses that Ivy knew were there. But when you came from a background of having nothing, you drank out of whatever presented itself.

‘I don’t know, maybe.’

‘Call him, he can meet us at the club. I bet he’s a guy who likes to have a good time.’

Rosie gulped down the liquid then poured another glass, so Ivy went over to take the bottle away and put it back in the fridge. The only Dax she had seen in a club was one working security, he wasn’t the type to dance surrounded by others, or the type to get drunk out of his wits. She imagined that from his experiences with Trystan he was used to finding a suitable observation post and watching everyone else go wild rather than going wild himself.

‘Don’t get drunk,’ Ivy said to Rosie but they’d already had wine at dinner, so Rosie was on her way to tipsy.

‘Why not? Come on, it’s cheaper to drink here than the fortune they charge you in the clubs.’

Rosie tried to move Ivy aside, but she kept herself in front of the refrigerator. ‘I thought you said you had a guy, he’ll be paying for your drinks, won’t he?’

‘I guess,’ Rosie snorted. ‘He can afford it, he’s stinking rich.’

A guy with that amount of money would probably want his woman to conduct herself with a bit of class. A woman that he was serious about anyway. If he was just looking for a good time then Rosie was top of the bill, she could make a party come to life anywhere.

‘I don’t think that it’s a good idea to go into the city,’ she said, glancing at the clock. ‘It’s already almost ten, if the guy has to come and pick you up and then drive back out there then it will be after midnight by the time you get there. How much fun can you have at that time?’

‘Uh, loads!’ Rosie declared. ‘Anyway, he’s already on his way…’

‘What?’ she asked, snatching her sister’s slender wrist. ‘You invited a random guy out here to the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night?’

She wasn’t sure if she should be more concerned about how Dax would react to that news or about this random man’s safety. If he drove up here expecting to pick up a date and was descended upon by Stark security he might not get out in one piece.

‘You’ve gotta test how eager they are,’ Rosie grinned. ‘If he’s willing to drive all the way out here to pick me up then he’s definitely interested.’