Chapter 30

Alex didn’t get out of work the next day. The jewelry store’s equipment, which had been on back-order, had arrived, and he needed to finish the installation.

While he’d been off, two more stores on the block had called. He was going to walk through them and assess what they needed. Today, Grace was his adult supervision to put the customers at ease.

Alex was in the attic running wiring for the system while Grace stood on the ladder to hand him stuff as needed.

“I fired Rusty yesterday,” Grace said.

“Good.”

“Don’t you want to know why?”

Alex finished shoving a wire through a hole in the ceiling where a camera would be installed before looking up.

“Okay, I’ll play along. Why?”

“You really don’t care, do you?”

Alex shrugged.

“Not really. His being a cop would have been enough for me. That he was bent and a condescending ass would have sealed the deal.”

“All good points,” Grace admitted. “I heard through the grapevine that he was making his own deals with shop owners. He and a few of his cop buddies would monitor things for a monthly fee. That would mean they wouldn’t need our services.”

“It’s funny how off-duty cops can get away with that. If I offered protection, you would rat me out, and I’d be in jail,” Alex said with a straight face.

“You’re a known gangster.”

They both smiled.

“When will Sheriff Conly finally clean out all the bad actors? Haven’t Mandy and Lyric uncovered most of them by now?” Alex asked.

“He has to prove they’re all involved. Just because you live beyond your means doesn’t necessarily mean something illegal.”

“It’s too bad he won’t let us gather the evidence. I would’ve had this wrapped up weeks ago.”

“He has to do things by the book,” Grace said, making Alex’s nose scrunch.

He’d heard that excuse a few too many times.

“You could just tell him where Steve is holing up,” Grace said.

A full-on scowl greeted that suggestion.

“Just saying,” Grace said.

“Whatev.”

“How did your meeting with Melissa go?” Grace asked, changing the subject.

“Good, but I’ve been thinking it won’t work.”

“I hate to ask...”

“If I had girls chained to a bed, would I let them go to a church and get a physical? That would be too much of a risk,” Alex said. “I’m sure Melissa will only let her regular girls take advantage of the free healthcare and donated clothes. She would only trust the girls willing to work there in public.”

“Wouldn’t there be the same risk if they put a coerced girl in one of the trailers to service johns?” Grace asked.

“Not really, because that’s a controlled setting. All you would have to do is plant a new girl who worked for you in their mix. Show them a video of her in one of the trailers trying to pass on information to one of your people they haven’t met. Then that girl disappears. Their imaginations will connect the dots, and they’ll assume the worst,” Alex explained.

“Dear God, we are in trouble if you ever go back to the dark side.”

Alex waved her off.

“I would never be involved in human trafficking. If you treat women right, there are too many willing who will make you more money in the long run. How enthusiastic is Lyric when she doesn’t want to do something? It would be the same for someone forced to ... you know.”

“So, you’re saying you could find women willing to work in a brothel? You can’t even get yourself a girlfriend,” Grace said.

“Ha! I actually have one of those,” Alex said, then winced.

“Really?!” Grace asked. “How much are you paying her?”

“Funny,” Alex said with his best poker face. “And before you say anything else derogatory, she’s age-appropriate.”

“Thank goodness. I was afraid it was Mandy.”

“She wishes,” Alex said of the sheriff’s deputy.

That made them both smile.

“Don’t leave me in suspense. Who’s the lucky girl ... I mean ... it is a girl, right?”

Alex rolled his eyes because he could just hang out at the pool with his friends if he wanted this level of abuse.

“Just for that, I’m not telling.”

Grace got out her phone and typed out a message.

“No fair asking Lyric,” Alex said.

Grace gave him a look that sent a chill down his back.

“I sent it to Janice. She’ll activate the ‘mom network’ and have it figured out by the time she gets home tonight.”

Alex groaned because that was the drawback of a small town: everybody knew everybody else’s business. He was surprised Grace hadn’t already heard.

Grace’s phone pinged. She looked down and smiled.

Alex knew Janice had just told her who he was dating. The network worked even faster than he imagined. He remembered Decker had told him once that bad news always beat you home in Conclave.

Alex received a message saying Zac was back in town and wanted to meet the guys at Juan in a Million for lunch. At noon, Alex walked across the town square and entered the restaurant. He spotted Zac toward the back, sitting with Decker and Ethan.

“I ordered you a burrito,” Decker said as Alex sat down.

Ethan wore a big grin, which told Alex they were aware that he and Maddie were now dating.

“So...” Zac drawled. “Anything new?”

“Not really,” Alex said.

Their server showed up with their food and smiled at Alex.

“I hear you’re dating Maddie Aldrich. I always liked her,” the girl said as she put burritos as big as their heads on that table.

One was enough to feed a family of four, but Alex had no doubt they would each finish theirs.