Page 35 of Finn (Dirty Misfits MC 6)
And as I landed on my bed for the night, the thought grew louder until I could no longer ignore it.
As much a Sloane infuriated me, part of me what falling for her.
Fourteen
Sloane
“Hello there, sexy!”
“Man, oh man, you must be new.”
“You know, it’s customary for the new girls to give discounts to all of the frequent fliers.”
I looked up from my phone at that comment and smiled as kindly as I could. “It’s a good thing I get to choose my clients, then, huh?”
The man’s face fell. “Stupid bitch.”
I watched him crawl back into his rust bucket of a car before he sped off while giving me the finger. A few girls watched me while they shook their heads and others cupped their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing out loud. Baron Street really did live up to the hype: there were five blocks on both sides of the road consisting of nothing but rundown motels, shoddy fast food joints, and prostitutes as far as the eye could see.
It was a one-stop-shop for everything someone needed to have a skeevy, STD-riddled evening.
I gazed back down at my phone and sighed. I had a picture of Beth Carter on my phone, but I hadn’t come across her yet. As I walked up and down the sidewalk in my thigh-high boots and leather get-up, I tried looking around without seeming too conspicuous.
But, tonight’s investigation hinged on being able to find her.
“Lookin-for-a-goo-time?”
I heard the drunken man’s voice and closed my eyes. “I don’t do business with drunks.”
I felt his hand on my shoulder. “Turn-aroun-and-lemme-see-ya.”
I shrugged off his touch and kept walking. “Some other time.”
The force with which the man yanked me back shocked me, and my phone almost clattered to the ground. And while I wanted to whip around so I could jam my knee into his groin, I kept my cool. Girls in every shape, style, color, and walk of life watched at the scene unfolded, and the first thing any cop will tell you is that for an undercover investigation to go smoothly, one has to keep their head down and not draw attention to themselves.
And this man wanted nothing but attention.
“I-asked-for-a-service-girl.”
I smelled the booze on him and almost gagged. “And I refused, which I have the right to do since I’m a private business owner.”
He blinked. “You-a-wha?”
I caught him off-guard long enough to jam my heel into his toe, and he released me. He howled in pain as he hobbled into the road with cars honking while he stumbled around. I shook off his touch and went to lean against the brick facade of one of the motels to try and bury my face in my phone.
I wondered how long I’d have to wait before people stopped staring at me.
I mean, it already took a lot of effort not to arrest these assholes on the spot. I knew better than to blow the only cover I had for this operation, but everything inside of me wanted to bum-rush this entire street and scoop up everyone I could. What were these people thinking, anyway? Some of these girls looked no older than nineteen or twenty years old.
Where the hell were their parents?
“You knew around here?”
I didn’t look up from my phone as I flipped over and started playing a game of solitaire. “I guess you could say that.”
The woman leaned against the wall with me. “You know, you’ll eventually figure out that the drunks will make you the most cash. You can usually rob ’em blind and they’ll let you do it. It’s the weirdest shit I’ve ever seen.”
I snickered as I looked up at her. “Well, I can’t say that booze breath… is my… thing.”
When the girl looked at me, I recognized her instantly. I hadn’t found Beth, but she sure as hell had found me.
“Coral Reef,” she said.
I blinked. “Sorry, what?”
She giggled. “Everyone’s been asking about the color of my lipstick this evening. It’s called ‘Coral Reef.’”
I nodded along. “I wasn’t sure if it was rude to ask or not.”
She grinned. “My mother would’ve said it’s more rude to stare than to ask.”
“Would that same mother have approved of something like this?”
Her grin grew into a smile. “Never. It’s why I love it so much.”
I barked with laughter. “That makes two of us, except replace my mother with my father.”
“Ah, the good ol’ Daddy issues. You bring that up, you’re likely to double your rate with some of these men. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure to take good care of you. It’s common for the first couple of customers for new girls to be vetted by the cavalry.”
I nodded. “I appreciate that. Thank you.”
She pushed away from the wall. “And speaking of Johns, I see one of my regulars rubbernecking on the other side of the road. Why don’t ya watch and see how it’s done here in Cali?”
