Standing in the Shadows (McClouds & Friends #2)(87)

"Look, Erin, don't give me a hard time, OK?"

Connor pushed the speakerphone button, and Cindy's anxious voice filled the room, high-pitched and fuzzy and distorted by the tiny speaker. "I've got enough problems without one of your lectures."

Erin suppressed a sharp reply. She couldn't afford for Cindy to hang up in a huff. "I won't give you a hard time," she said. "I just care about you. You scared me the last time you called, that's all."

Cindy sniffed. "Sorry. Um, what's up with Mom? I called her, and the phone was disconnected. And she's been so weird lately. Like, what is up with that?"

"I don't know yet," Erin said. "I'm trying to figure that out myself, and I could really use your help."

"Um, yeah. I guess. Look. Don't tell Mom about me and Billy and me being in the city, OK? She might wig out even more, you know?"

Connor shoved a piece of paper in front of her face with ADDRESS? scribbled on it.

"Where are you, Cin?" she asked.

"Um… I'm not really sure. I've never been here before last night. It's a big, fancy house with nice furniture and stuff, but all I can see outside the window are bushes. I don't know what neighborhood I'm in."

"You didn't notice when you arrived?"

"I was kind of out of it when we got here last night," Cindy admitted.

Erin struggled to stay calm. "Well, how about you look around for a magazine, or a piece of mail that might have an address on it?"

"I'm in the bedroom now. Billy's downstairs with Tasha. He'd be mad if he knew I was calling you."

Panic fluttered. "What's going on, Cindy? Are you scared of him?"

Cindy hesitated. "Um, I don't know," she said in a tiny voice. "It's weird. He's… he's different today."

"Different how?"

"Oh, I don't know. Cold, like he's impatient with me. He wasn't like that before. He made me feel stupid, because I didn't want to go out on another job tonight. He says I'm being a baby, and I guess I kind of am, but… I don't know. It's just so different today."

Erin's knees gave out like Jell-O. She slid down against the wall, her bottom connecting with the floor with a painful thump. "What job?"

Connor sank down into a crouch in front of her, listening intently. He laid his warm hand on her knee.

"Promise me you won't flip, because I swear it's no big deal, OK?"

Erin tried to swallow, but her throat was dry. "I promise."

"Well, I've been, urn, dancing. Like exotic dancing, but not really, because I—"

"Oh, God, Cin."

"You promised, Erin. I only stripped to my thong. And it was for private parties, not at a club, and Billy's always with me, so I never—"

"Parties? Plural?"

"Yeah. We did three bachelor parties, me and another girl. We made six hundred dollars apiece. It's like, incredible money, and Billy said it was OK if I kept on my thong, since Tasha doesn't mind dancing totally nude, so… urn, and Billy said he'll beat the shit out of anyone who touches us, so it's really no big deal. You know?"

Erin's voice had tightened to a squeaky thread. "Sweetie. Just tell me. Are you OK?"

Cindy paused. "I don't know," she whispered. "It's weird. Yesterday I was fine. Maybe I was just drunk. We did shots of Southern Comfort with Billy first, and it really loosened me up. I felt great when I was dancing, like a total goddess. I felt like the whole world loved me. But today… I have this monster headache, and it's all so different. Billy's different, I'm different. It's wild."

"And can't you just say you want to go home?" Erin demanded. "Just walk out the door?"

"I did," Cindy admitted. "I tried. But Billy said it was too late. He's already got the gigs lined up and he says I can't be a prima donna bitch baby and bail out on him now, because he's, like, a professional, so I have to be, too, and…" Cindy's voice degenerated into tears.

"Cin," Erin said desperately. "You've got to find out the address so I can come and get you."

"Wait. Oh, God. That's Billy on the stairs. I gotta go."

The connection broke. Cindy was gone.

Erin looked up at Connor, wild-eyed. "What is going on? I don't know what fire to put out first! What am I supposed to do?"

Connor's eyes were grim. He held out his hand. "Give me back that cell phone. Let's see what Sean's got for us."

He dialed. "Hey. So?" He listened intently for a moment. "Yeah. We just got a call from her. It's a bad scene. She's in a house she's never seen, doesn't know the address, and Fuckhead won't let her leave." He listened for a moment. "OK, fine. Jacey's Diner. We'll be there in twenty minutes."



* * *





Chapter Sixteen





Connor surveyed the poorly lit, dirty stairwell with growing dislike. The place wasn't good enough for Erin. She wasn't safe here.

She'd be better off in his house.

The idea appeared fully formed in his mind, and stole his breath. He'd been living purely in the moment This was the first time he'd dared, even for a moment, to project this thing he had with her into the future. He pushed open the front door, sweeping the block with suspicious eyes and taking note of everyone and everything he saw.