Her Hometown Redemption

by Rachel Brimble

  He gripped his briefcase and strode through the gates, his chin high and his shoulders stiff with tension.

  In a bid to avoid Tanya tonight, he would do something to help Sasha. His usual control and care for procedure had vanished. He should get back to his office and throw himself into work. Keep the rush of adrenaline inside him centered on something safe. Yet the temptation rippling through him was too strong to resist. He entered the fairground and scanned the entire area. Someone, somewhere, knew of Davidson and where he was now.

  His gaze fell on the bearded, dirt-smudged face of a guy in his midforties manning one of the prize stalls. The guy looked around the age Davidson would be now...and was hunched over enough to convince Liam he’d worked the stall for a good twenty years or more. Lifting his nose to the air like a bloodhound scenting a trail, Liam kept going.

  As he neared, a group of teenage girls who seemed to have been trying their hardest to win a huge, fluffy panda at the ringtoss booth swarmed past him with one of them clutching her consolation-prize key chain, their mouths spewing as many “likes” in one sentence as any other words.

  Drawing in a long breath, Liam approached his mark. “How you doing?”

  The man straightened as much as possible, considering the hunch of his back, and crossed his arms. His suspicious gaze traveled the length of Liam’s chest up to his face. “I’m all right. You looking to win something for your missus?”

  “Not exactly.”

  The suspicion in the man’s eyes intensified. “What do you want then?” Another languid appraisal. “You don’t look like the type to hang around fairgrounds.”

  Liam glanced over his shoulder and back again. “I’m looking for someone.”

  The man sniffed. “Oh, yeah?”

  “Matt Davidson. You heard of him?”

  A flash of recognition swept through the man’s eyes before it was replaced with deeper suspicion. “Why?”

  A low hum of angry frustration seeped into Liam’s gut and spread through his body. He’d met this guy’s type both in and out of the courtroom. Sleazy, untrustworthy and out to take what he wanted from the world rather than earn it. Tactics and strategies turned in Liam’s mind as he stepped closer. One way or another, he needed to gain the stallholder’s trust and confidence. Liam raised an eyebrow and lowered his voice. “He was an associate of mine way back when. I need to speak to him about some business.”

  Interest sparked in the stallholder’s eyes and he dropped his arms, his posture indicating a semblance of burgeoning curiosity. “Business?”

  “Yeah, you know where he is?”

  “What sort of business?”

  Liam took a breath and nodded toward the group of teenage girls, battling the revulsion that coated his throat. “That sort of business.”

  The man followed Liam’s nod and the corners of his eyes wrinkled as his slow smile spread. He faced Liam and stared a moment longer, before stepping back and raising his finger, indicating for Liam to wait. Liam gave a curt nod, his blood pumping with adrenaline and the whiff of a possible lead. He curled one hand tighter around the handle of his briefcase and the other into a fist. The guy came out of his booth through a side door and directed his gaze toward the adjacent stall. “Hey, Mickie, keep an eye out for me, would ya?”

  Mickie lifted his hand in acknowledgment before turning back to his waiting customer. Liam’s person of interest turned to face him. “Follow me.”

  Battling his need to scowl, or better still, whack the guy, Liam did as he was asked and followed on amongst the various rides toward the far end of the fair. When the warehouse came into view, what had happened to Sasha inside rose, turning Liam’s vision red with anger. The guy stopped outside the padlocked doors and turned. “So, what is it you want from Matt?”

  The dropping of Davidson’s surname was all Liam needed to hear to know he’d found the right person to further his knowledge about Sasha’s abuser. Liam looked around and tilted his head toward the side of the warehouse. “Let’s talk over there. I don’t need anybody knowing my business.”

  The guy shrugged and traipsed ahead and around to the side of the converted barn. He drew to a stop and crossed his arms, indicating his returning suspicion. “Well?” His gray eyes glinted with malice. “What do you want with Matt?”

  Liam made a show of slowly dropping his briefcase and turning in a slow circle, his hand massaging the back of his neck. The guy’s uneasiness showed in the shift of his feet and the furtive glances he shot toward the fairground crowds. Once Liam was convinced the guy was suitably tense and wound up, he lunged forward and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, ramming him up against the side of the warehouse.

  “Where’s Davidson? I’m a lawyer used to dealing with blokes with a hell of a lot more menace than you’re trying to pull off. Now, you tell me where he is and I’ll pretend you don’t know him through association and involvement in a business that makes me sick to my stomach.”

  The guy tried to push and shove his way out of Liam’s hold, but with Liam’s size and the amount of rage burning through his veins, he barely moved. Liam gripped him tighter, shoving his fists up toward the guy’s neck. His face turned from pink to red to damn near purple. Spent and exhausted, he slumped in Liam’s fists and raised his hands in surrender.

  “All right, just take your hands off me, mate.” Sweat popped out on the guy’s forehead and upper lip. “All I can tell you is where Matt was the last time I heard anything said about him.”

  Liam shoved him again, his fists still embroiled in the filthy cotton of the guy’s shirt. “When was that?”

  “I don’t know. A couple of years ago.”

  It wasn’t perfect, but two years ago was a hell of a lot better than sixteen. “What’s the place?”

  “Matt’ll go mental if he or any of his lot find out I’ve ratted him out, mate. What are you going to do to him? Has he touched one of your girls or something?”

  Liam glared, his arms trembling with the fight it took not to snap the guy’s neck in two. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing his self-control forward to obliterate a red mist of rage he hadn’t known in years. Slowly, he opened his eyes. “You listen to me, you slimy piece of shit. You need to thank your lucky stars I don’t have a daughter because, so help me, I’d have beaten you half to death by now.” He shoved him again and the guy’s breath burst from his mouth. Liam grimaced. “Where. Is. Davidson?”

  “I could get into some serious shit—”

  “You are in serious shit.”

  “Whatcha gonna do? I ain’t done nothing.”

  “Where is he? This is your last chance before I show you just how much shit you’re in.”

  The guy’s wide-eyed stare darted over Liam’s face before he cursed again. “The last I heard he was working the fair in Latchford.”

  Anger burst hot and dangerous behind Liam’s chest. “He’s still working the fairs?”

  “As far as I know, yeah.”

  “Jesus.”

  Liam roughly shoved the guy to the side and released him. He stumbled backward. “What are you going do to him?”

  Liam’s heart pounded with suppressed anger. “I’d be more concerned about what the cops are going to do with you when I tell them just how eager you were to help me the second I suggested I might be interested in underage girls than what’s on the cards for Davidson.”

  The guy’s face bloomed red once more and his eyes bulged with panic. “I didn’t do nothing, mate. You ain’t got nothing on me.”

  Liam smirked. “I’m a lawyer, my friend. I’ll make it my mission to find something. Enjoy the rest of your evening. It might be one of your last as a free man.”

  Picking up his briefcase, Liam walked away. He strode through the fairground, oblivious to the sights and sounds around him. Over and over, Davidson’s name echoed
in his mind, along with the certainty that DI Garrett had to be involved sooner rather than later. Bloody hell, from what he’d just heard, there could quite possibly be a thriving underage-prostitution ring in Templeton’s favorite fairground. Maybe Sasha’s good work wasn’t as integrated into Funland as he’d hoped.

  He emerged through the gates and marched along the promenade toward his office, pulling his cell from his shirt pocket. He dialed Tanya’s number.

  She picked up on the fourth ring. “Hello?”

  Liam stopped and squeezed his eyes shut. She sounded happy, excited and no doubt thrilled about her grand opening tomorrow. He inhaled. “I need to see you.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  He turned and stared at Funland in the distance. “I have a lead on Davidson.”

  “What? I thought we weren’t going to do anything until I’d spoken to the police. Where are you?”

  “By the beach.”

  “The beach...did you go to the fair?”

  “Yes. I need to see you. Sooner rather than later.”

  “I’ll meet you at Sasha’s apartment in half an hour.”

  “Okay.” Liam ended the call and bounced the phone against his bottom lip. He’d just taken another step deeper into Tanya’s life.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  TANYA LOOKED AT her watch and then glanced toward her apartment door. Where was he? She’d told Liam to come by in half an hour, and forty minutes had already elapsed since his phone call.

  Filled with annoyance, almost to the point of anger, she stalked into the kitchen. Hadn’t she specifically asked him not to do anything with the investigation without her? Wasn’t it Liam who’d insisted on involving the police in the first place? Accused her motivations for finding Matt Davidson being steeped in selfishness?

  What if Liam had stormed ahead and ruined any chance they had of finding Davidson? She slid a bottle of red wine from the rack beneath Sasha’s kitchen counter.

  Through therapy, she knew she should concentrate on one thing at a time. The next twenty-four hours were supposed to be about the business and the business only. Whatever Liam had to tell her was bound to veer her mind in a whole different direction—a direction that would be entirely emotional rather than logical.

  Retrieving a glass from the cupboard beside her, she carried the bottle to the opposite counter.

  A sharp rap at the door stilled her grip on the bottle top. She slowly lowered her hands to the counter, closed her eyes and inhaled. She could not afford to lose her temper. Liam was beginning to trust her again. She would do whatever it took to keep it.

  She opened her eyes, walked to the door and looked through the peephole.

  Liam’s somber, ridiculously blue eyes stared back at her.

  Swallowing, Tanya pulled back, unbolted the door and opened it. “Hey.”

  “Can I come in?” He brushed past her into the apartment.

  She stumbled back, gripping the door. “Okay, so I guess whatever’s happened is enough for you to be pissed.”

  He whirled around. “Pissed? I don’t do pissed. Well, not for a long time anyway...and maybe I’ve never been as pissed as I am right now.”

  Dread knotted her stomach and Tanya pushed the door closed. “What’s happened? You said you had a lead on Davidson.”

  Looking about the living space, he dumped his briefcase on Sasha’s dining table and glanced toward the kitchen. His gaze settled on the unopened bottle of wine. “Can I have one of those?”

  “Sure. Take a seat.” Tanya threw him another glance as her unease grew. “Why did you go to the fair? I thought I asked you to leave things until after I’d opened the Party Place.”

  “There was a change of plan.”

  The gruff anger in his voice hitched her stretched nerves tighter. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed another glass from the cupboard. She picked up the bottle and both glasses before reentering the living room. Liam stood with his back to her, staring through the open patio doors. She sat down on the couch in front of a low coffee table and opened the wine. The tension in the room thickened with unasked questions and missing answers.

  She filled a half glass for herself and a full one for him, her hand ever so slightly trembling. Swallowing against the dryness in her throat, Tanya held out his glass. “Here. Come and sit down.”

  He turned and walked across the room, lowering himself next to her. He took the offered wine. “Thanks.”

  Tanya lifted her glass to her lips and watched him over its rim, an entirely inappropriate bolt of attraction twisting inside her chest. His brooding anger strengthened her pull toward him rather than lessened it. He looked stronger, more capable and protective than she’d seen him since her return. The tightened jaw, the raised tendons in his neck and his high, broad shoulders were entirely reminiscent of the man he used to be before he adopted the clear and purposefully calm demeanor that had brought him such success in the courtroom. This Liam evoked all the old love-to-hate tendencies that hadn’t done her any good the first time around.

  Shoving her desire for him into submission, Tanya dragged her gaze from his profile and slowly put her wine on the table. “So, what did you find out?”

  He ran his dark blue gaze over her face before meeting her eyes. “Davidson was in Latchford two years ago. For all we know, he could still be there.”

  Tanya widened her eyes, her mind scrambling. “Latchford?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh my God.”

  “Exactly. If Davidson is still there, he’s barely fifty miles away. He could have been close by this whole time.”

  Tanya picked up her glass, her hand shaking. She took a sip. “Who told you this?”

  “A guy working at Funland now. One I want thrown into a cell as soon as possible.”

  “What? Why?”

  “He knew Davidson and assumed, because I was asking after him, that I wanted to do some business...”

  Tanya stared at him for a moment before comprehension coated her mouth in the bitter taste of revulsion. “He thought...”

  He nodded. “He thought I was interested in underage girls.” He took a slug of his wine. “We have to get Cat involved now. If there’s the slightest possibility of a child abuse ring going on in this town, Cat and everyone else in Templeton will go ballistic. We have to have her look into this before these pieces of crap can hurt any more girls.”

  Loss of control and panic rushed through Tanya and she put her glass on the table before she dropped it. “Not for one moment did I consider that something might still be going on at Funland. All I wanted was Davidson’s dick lopped off and thinly sliced.” She met his eyes, anger rising hot and heavy in her chest.

  “We tell Cat our suspicions and hope to God she arrests the people involved before they have the opportunity to hightail it out of town.”

  She shook her head. “How did a place Sasha loves so much become such a cesspit?”

  “God knows, but if it turns out the fair has been used as a cover for child abuse, I’ll be the first in line to put a torch to the bloody place.” He stood and shrugged out of his jacket before reaching into his inside breast pocket and pulling out his cell. He tossed the jacket over the back of the couch and sat, his gaze on the phone. “We need to get moving on this.”

  Tanya stiffened. “What are you doing?”

  He looked up. “Calling Cat.”

  “Now?”

  “Yes.”

  She dug her fingers into his forearm. “Wait. We need to think about this. For all we know, the guy at the fair could’ve contacted Davidson the moment you left. How do we know he isn’t fleeing Latchford as we speak?”

  “We don’t, but we have to do something. I can’t sit here—”

  “What if the police go to the fair and everything and eve
ryone connected to Davidson shuts down? Then what? Isn’t it more likely they’ll answer our questions rather than the police’s?”

  He stared at her before slumping his shoulders and tossing his phone onto the table. “We cannot take on a bunch of child molesters rather than let the cops do their job. This is serious, Tanya. We’ve got no idea what these assholes are capable of.”

  “I know, but I’m scared to death of getting it wrong again. I didn’t help Sasha when she needed me most. I have to get it right this time.” Tanya searched her mind for a plan—any plan—that wouldn’t send Davidson running into hiding before they got a chance to get to Latchford. She closed her eyes against the intensity of Liam’s study. “I need to think. I have to see Davidson. Have him look at me and know it was me who caught him.”

  She opened her eyes. “I want him to know he’ll pay for ever laying a single finger on my baby sister. What Matt Davidson did resulted in Sasha changing from loving the fair, to Funland becoming the singular thing that could have been her undoing if it hadn’t been for her fiancé.”

  “Calling Cat won’t stop any of that from happening. Sasha wouldn’t want you putting your life at risk for what happened to her.” Concern clouded his eyes. “This isn’t about what you want, Tanya. It’s about what Sasha wants.”

  His repeated implication was clear and tears burned. “God, I have been selfish with this whole thing, haven’t I?” Tanya pushed her fingers into her temples. “But I have to do something to make up for not being there, for living my entire life as though it was only my ambitions that mattered. I have to prove I’m better than that now, that I would lay my life on the line for Sasha.”

  “Hey.” Liam took her hand, his eyes soft. “The fact you’re acknowledging that is all Sasha needs to hear.” He swept the hair from her eyes. “It’s all I need to hear.”

  Her heart kicked to see tenderness in his eyes before he leaned closer and kissed her. Tanya held on to his hand, and when his tongue softly stole into her mouth, she met his passion with her own. Slowly, gently, they parted.

  He winked and released her hand to pick up his cell. “What if I go back to Funland right now and talk to the guy again?”