Page 21 of Bad Ruck

Ramsey didn't seem bothered by the comment. If anything, he seemed to be holding back a laugh of his own.

"Dallas' car is back in the garage. The knife was dealt with. The scene was cleaned. It'll be ruled a tragic accident. Divina has agreed to the story I gave her. She wants to avoid scrutiny. To the best of my knowledge, the only other people who saw anything are sitting right here. No reason for anyone to know anything else."

Those were more words than I'd heard him say since we met. In typical Ramsey style, he was concise and to the point. He didn't waste a single word.

"Thank you," Dallas said. He sat in a chair nursing a bottle of beer. I hadn't seen him take more than a couple of sips, but he looked better than when we first found him.

Ramsey gave him a nod. "Yep."

"What about Otis Skinner?" Atlas stood with his shoulder leaning against the window. Jay sat in a chair beside him, arms crossed. They stayed close to each other since we got back up to the apartment.

"He's pissed," Ramsey said. "India was giving him information on customers of Flirts. And staff, including former staff." He slid me a glance and tipped his head forward slightly.

"That was how Dominic King knew I used to work there," I said softly.

"She might have been the one who told Bruce Fergus," Frost suggested.

"If that's the case, I'm glad she's dead," Storm said. "Good job, Tex." He reached over to thump Dallas' back.

"Thanks," Dallas said, his chin almost touching his chest. He didn't look as happy about it as Storm did.

"Divina would probably thank you too," I said. "Talking about customers like that was a huge breach of trust. Not to mention her NDA. She promises everyone complete discretion from the moment they walk through the door, to the moment they leave again. If any of them found out people knew they frequented the club, they'd never go there again. Without regular customers, the place would go out of business. India knew that."

"India was looking out for India," Storm said. "If she was being paid so well she could give up working there, she wouldn't care if she set the place on fire before she walked away."

"Exactly," Frost agreed. "If Dallas hadn't killed her, someone else would have, to keep her quiet."

"It sounds to me like it was too late for that," I said, exhaling heavily. "Who knows what information she shared and who she shared it with, other than Otis Skinner?"

"Or who he might have shared it to," Atlas said. "We know about Dominic King, but who else? This Nile Fox guy? Carlos Jones?"

"Wouldn't rule out any of them," Ramsey said. "Blackmail material, especially if they're powerful people in Dusk Bay." He lifted an eyebrow in my direction.

"Lots of them are," I said. "But you know I can't discuss it." I owed Divina that much.

"Give me a list," Ramsey said. "I need to know who's potentially being blackmailed. So we can stop it. And find who's doing the blackmailing."

I swiped my tongue over my lip. "Doing that would be a breach of their privacy."

"It'll stop King from becoming more powerful," Ramsey countered. "Carlos Jones too. I don't want to insist."

"By insist you mean threaten, right?" Storm took a few steps towards Ramsey, hands curled into fists.

Ramsey stood his ground. "It's important. Might even keep us alive."

Storm glared at him, but then glanced at me, uncertain as to whether he should beat the shit out of Ramsey or back off a bit. For once, he wasn't jumping in feet first, without looking. Whether that was because he liked Ramsey, or because he was uncertain of the situation, I wasn't sure. Possibly both. Either way, the hesitation spoke volumes.

I rubbed the heel of my hand over my forehead. "If you promise the list won't get past you or anyone who absolutely needs to know. And if you promise no one will know where it came from." I felt bad enough agreeing to it without Divina knowing I stabbed her through the heart. Figuratively, of course.

"Promise," Ramsey said. "It sucks, but it's necessary."

Storm and Frost exchanged glances before Frost said, "Storm and I could add to that list. I saw a few influential people when I was there."

"Me too," Dallas said reluctantly.

Ramsey nodded. "Whatever you've got."

"Can we be sure the Brantley family won't use that list to bribe those people instead?" Jay asked.

---