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“Let her in,” I say, pushing up off Darragh. He stands, and I raise a brow at him.
“I’m coming,” he says.
We walk out of my office and down the corridor, finding her standing in the foyer. Bells has already buzzed her in. It’s the same lady who questioned me.
“What can I do for you, officer?” I ask.
Just like most women, as she turns, she gives me a once-over, but I don’t let it affect me. Showing weakness is not my style. I chose this job and I’m not ashamed of my profession or my business.
“Come for the job offer?” I quip.
She smiles. “No, actually, I came to see my daughter.”
My mouth falls open. How is this woman old enough to have a daughter who works here?
“Isla,” she says after I don’t reply.
Darragh leans in and whispers in my ear. “If Isla is her daughter, that means she is Connor’s ex-wife. Tread carefully with what you say to her.”
I nod at Darragh’s comment. “Bells, get Isla for us, please, and bring her to my office.” Bells nods and steps around her desk and heads upstairs. “Darragh, wait here.”
He goes to argue, but I shake my head, and he scowls back at me.
“Follow me,” I say to the officer, and she nods.
I turn and walk unhurriedly toward my office. Once we are both inside, I motion for her to sit in one of the chairs opposite my desk and I take my seat. The irony of this setup compared to our previous meeting is not lost on me.
“Why are you here?” I ask, and she looks up at me.
“Mostly, I wanted to make sure she is okay. I worry about her.”
Now that I can understand—the worry a mother has for her daughter working the streets—but here she is safe. “She is safe at The Range. We have monitored cameras throughout the building, silent alarms in each room, and security on staff every shift.”
“No offense, but with Darragh Ahearn in your foyer, she is anything but safe.”
I laugh. Of course I forget he is a member of the O’Brien Mafia as I now refer to them because Mob sounds so . . . not the men I have gotten to know. Not that I actually know what they really do all day.
“None taken. I can assure you, though, she is safer here with us than she ever was on the streets, and I think you know that fact. She is not associated with those men at all, and never will be. Darragh is here for my safety. Apparently, they have trust issues after I was assaulted.”
I don’t mention my kidnapping because that slippery slope leads to dead bodies and other things I can’t talk myself out of.
“Did you report it?” she asks, and I laugh—maybe a little too hard.
“Really? Would a whore from Huntersville really be taken seriously? I have heard it all before—I’m a whore, so I was asking for it, or my skirt was too short, or my outfit was too revealing. Basically, that I have fucked hundreds of men, so why does one more matter?”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
There is a knock on my door, and it pushes open. Isla, or inside these walls, Cherry, opens the door and steps in with her silk robe pulled tight around her curvy body.
“Sit,” I tell her, and she nods. She warily looks at her mom.
“Are you here to arrest me again?” Isla snaps, and her mom shakes her head.
“No, I wanted to come and tell you myself that Connor is missing. I know you used to be close to him.”
“Okay,” she whispers. Tears form in Isla’s eyes, and she wraps her arms tighter around her middle.
“And you’re really doing okay? You can tell me if you’re not.”
