Page 173 of Dark Love

“Your friend came over for a visit.” Dahlia grins as she turns towards Dyce. “We’ve been getting to know each other.”

There’s no way, by any stretch of the imagination, that Dyce Locke considers herself my friend. “Dyce.” I nod to her.

Dyce’s eyes widen barely a fraction of an inch. Otherwise, there’s no sign that she’s anything but my bestie.

“Vex. I was just telling Dahlia that we knew each other since we were kids.” She lifts a cup of tea to her lips and gives me a sly smirk.

She’s toying with me.

Maddox doesn’t know just how bad I can be. “We do.”

“I wish I could stay longer, but I just couldn’t wait any longer to meet you, Dahlia.” Dyce stands up.

“We need to get together again soon.” Dahlia walks over to her.

“Absolutely. Work keeps me busy.” Dyce's gaze moves to mine. “I don’t know how soon we’ll get to meet again.”

Never. The correct answer to that is never. But she’s clearly playing a game with me. “Let me walk you to the door.” And kick you out of it.

She stops right outside of earshot. “Don’t ever do that again.”

Excuse me? “You were the one that called me asking for help.”

“And instead of returning the respect, you went to Maddox. He put a tail on me and told me to quit whatever I was doing and drop the case.”

“So listen to him.”

“No, you listen to me. I am not a little woman that you have someone else deal with. This is my case, and Marlie is my friend. Regardless of what you or Maddox say, I’m not backing down. You know I’ve dealt with bad men before. Being threatened by a dirty cop doesn’t scare me. I’ll play it safe, but I’m not backing down.”

Stubborn, irritating woman! All it would take is one phone call to make her disappear for an indefinite amount of time. That would be one less hassle for me. “What you aren’t is stupid. Plant isn’t your garden variety human trafficker. The bigger picture is, he’s connected to something organized and well-funded. So what you’re going to do is back down because it’s the smart thing to do. You don’t play games with people that have bigger guns than you.”

“And you couldn’t have told me that in person?”

Yeah, I could have. “It seemed easier to kill two birds with one stone, ensure your safety and keep Willow Street safe.”

“All it would have taken is a simple message to show me the respect that I’ve earned.”

“Would you really have listened?”

She shrugs. “Yes. Because no matter how involved I am in this case, I wouldn’t do anything to endanger the people on Willow Street.”

No mention of herself though. Dyce takes risks. “Backdown. And get your client to back down and disappear.”

“That’s going to be harder. Plant put her through the wringer. She’s not going to just let it go because I ask her. Maybe if I explain—”

Explain. “Not a word of this can be spoken to anyone. Especially her.”

“I know that, but it might—”

“Not a word.”

Dyce shrugs. “I’ll try, but what if she doesn’t listen? Maddox can only do so much to keep her safe on Willow Street.”

“If she doesn’t listen, call me. I’ll take care of it.”

“You won’t—”

“I suggest you don’t finish that thought.”

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