Fighting Back (Harrow #2) by Scarlett Finn Page B

about that,’ Dax said. ‘You should have come to me with this before coming here by yourself. What was the next part of your plan? Were you going to speak to Carlos alone?’
    ‘If I had to, yes.’
    ‘Men like that don’t talk to women; he wouldn’t have answered your questions.’
    ‘Do you know Carlos?’
    ‘No. I don’t have to know the specific guy to know what they’re like. Pimps like to exert power over women and are caught up in their own importance. Even if you did beg he still wouldn’t give you the information that you wanted. Who is Darryl?’
    ‘Darryl Kay is the guy who owned the house that I worked in, at least I thought he was, he’s the one that I worked for.’
    ‘That’s a good start. I can call Mauri and—‘
    ‘I don’t want us to owe them anything,’ she said, stepping back and dropping her hands. ‘If we ask them for help then they’ll expect us to do what they tell us to. I also don’t want them to know that this is important to me, it’s personal, and if they ask me to reveal… I don’t want them to have ammunition that they can use against me.’
    ‘I’ll deal with it,’ he said, reaching for her hand. ‘Your name doesn’t have to come up in conversation.’
    ‘So how will you get Mauri to—‘
    ‘To give up the man who tricked my future wife? Mauri teaches his kin young that disrespect is the greatest enemy. If I tell him that I want a face to face with the guy, Mauri will set it up. If he wants me to take over then he’s going to have to give me everything I ask for.’
    ‘Are you still considering taking over?’ she asked, hooking his belt loop to pull him back to the couch. ‘How did things go with Serg?’
    ‘It was… like old times.’
    ‘Is that a good thing or a bad thing?’
    ‘It felt good being out there again, I guess, you know, doing something. But once I knew you were here in Vegas, my mind wasn’t on the job.’
    ‘I told Bri I would call her and let her know that we arrived safely,’ she said. Though they had arrived in California days ago, Ivy’s newest friend had plenty going on in her own life, so she shouldn’t have spent too much time worrying. But Ivy did feel bad that she hadn’t phoned sooner.
    ‘Ok, you phone her. I’ll order room service then call Mauri.’
    ‘Can that wait?’ Ivy asked, climbing over him to straddle his lap. ‘I want you to myself for a night. Since Brad showed up, we’ve either been fighting or avoiding each other, least that’s how it feels.’
    Her husband made no secret about the fact that he was on guard and distracted tonight. He hadn’t been in Vegas for long, and there had been plenty of drama already. She had to find a way to take his mind off the turmoil going on around them. Focusing entirely on each other might lead to a sleepless night, but it would be worth it.
     
     
    Breakfast at the hotel was exquisite and far more extravagant than anything she’d had before. Waking Dax up had taken quite a while, but she was determined that they would share this meal together and then get to work. The food was delicious and the service impeccable, Ivy was disappointed to leave the table now that they’d finished.
    ‘Can we afford this?’ she asked when Dax handed her a takeout cup of juice that he’d had the breakfast staff bring them before they left the restaurant.
    ‘Sure we can,’ he said, raising the cup that she held up to his lips so that he could drink it while it remained in her grasp.
    ‘It seems so unnecessary, to waste this kind of money, we might need it someday.’
    ‘You’re the one who called this excursion our honeymoon,’ he said, throwing an arm around her. He dragged her body into his and slid his shades over his eyes when they walked out into the desert heat.
    ‘Is that why you bought the suite? Or are you overcompensating?’
    He stopped, still under the hotel awning, and faced her. ‘You got a problem with the equipment you’ve been playing with?’
    ‘No,’ she