Page 419 of Dark Love

Max and I stare each other down for a long moment before he says, “Interesting. This is going to be very interesting. Well now that we’ve gotten that taken care of, I’ll be on my way. Hope said we’re going to do something fun this afternoon. The last time she said that she tried to talk me into taking her race car driving. That girl is going to turn me prematurely gray.”

“This little discussion wasn’t the reason I invited you over.”

Max pauses as he starts to stand up. “It isn’t?”

“No.” How do I explain this? “There’s a woman—”

“Another one?” Max raises an eyebrow as a smirk spreads across his face.

I ignore his antics. “She’s in need of therapy.”

“Then get her a therapist. What does that have to do with me?”

“It’s a special case. Barb can’t figure out who to send her to.”

The smile fades away. “How special?”

“Dahlia could have been this woman if she had been anywhere but my club.” Too many women were taken before the dead man stupidly made his way to my club.

Understanding spreads across Max’s face. “What do you need?”

“To figure out how to help this woman…quietly. We were hoping your mother might know someone.”

“Mom is retired. Dad won’t like her working. He worked so hard to get her to step back from working and spend more time with us.”

That isn’t an acceptable answer. “She doesn’t need to work with this woman. I just need a name. Someone to step in and help her. Otherwise, I’m afraid she’ll end up institutionalized.”

“It’s that bad?”

“She screams and throws a fit if the lights even get dim. Payne can’t walk away from her. She’s been by his side since we found her in the pit.”

“The pit,” Max whispers. “Mom will be by this afternoon.”

“Thank you. I owe you.” Everyone knows I pay my debts.

“No, you don’t. This isn’t a favor for you. No woman should ever have to go through that. Did she have any other friends?”

“None living.”

“How many holes were there?”

“Dozens.” Each one was worse than the last. We stopped counting.

“Are the cops aware of the situation?”

They wouldn’t have been, if it had only been the one, but there were too many bodies not to give the families peace. “It turns out a hiker stumbled upon them the next day and called the police.”

“The hiker can be trusted not to involve Prue or your other guest?”

First, he tries to steal Dahlia, then he insults me. The repercussions of killing him might not be too bad. Axe is on my payroll and from Willow Street. “He’s solid.”

“Good. If you need anything else, let me know.”

We both know I won’t be doing that. This was more than I’m comfortable with.

He stands up and starts to walk away. “Oh, don’t be surprised if Hope butts into your relationship. She views Prue as family.”

I need another person making this harder like I need a hole in the head.

---