Justice for the Damned Read Online Free PDF Page B

took on an edge of bitterness. ‘How many more men do you need to fuck to come up with that?’
    Staci shot him a sharp look. ‘I’ve told you before, Reece, if we’re going to be together you can’t be asking questions like that.’
    ‘I’m sorry, Staci. It’s just that it kills me to think of you with other men.’
    ‘I’m not with them.’ She touched her temple. ‘Not in there. I’m with you.’
    ‘I know, but—’
    ‘But nothing. I don’t have a choice. This is what I have to do. Either you get your head around it or this isn’t going to work.’
    ‘It’s not simply that I’m jealous. I worry about you.’
    ‘Well you don’t need to, I can take care of myself.’ Staci snuggled into Reece’s chest, pushing her fingers through its darkly curling hair. ‘Although I have to admit, it’s kind of nice to have someone worry about me.’ She jerked her head up suddenly, as if their conversation had reminded her of something she’d been meaning to say. Her mouth opened, but before she could speak Reece’s phone rang.
    He retrieved it from his jacket. The name ‘Doug Brody’ flashed up on its screen. He put it to his ear. ‘What’s up?’
    A deep, gravelly voice responded. ‘Where are you?’
    ‘With Staci.’
    Doug made a little snorting noise, as if to say, I should have known. ‘You need to go see Wayne. He’s dragging his feet about paying up.’
    The muscles of Reece’s forehead twitched. ‘I’m not sure I’m the best bloke for that job. You know how I feel about that arsehole. If he gives me any shit I might not be able to keep my hands off his throat.’
    ‘I don’t give a fuck how you feel about him. It’s because of you he’s pissing us about. So you’re going to sort this out and make things right. Knock him around a little if you really need to, but nothing too serious. OK?’
    ‘OK.’
    ‘And Reece, remember what I said, you’ve been doing a good job. Keep it that way and you might get in on the real money.’
    ‘I’ll call you as soon as I’ve spoken to him.’ A slight tightness in Reece’s voice hinted at some inner tension other than his dislike for Wayne.
    ‘Good lad.’
    Reece hung up. He stared at the phone for a few seconds as if he couldn’t make up his mind whether to pocket it or hurl it against the wall. He returned it to his pocket and started to pull on his trousers. ‘I’ve got to go. Work to do.’
    ‘Stay a bit longer,’ said Staci. ‘There’s something I need to talk to you about.’
    ‘It’ll have to wait.’
    ‘It can’t wait. It’s important.’
    There was a troubled note in Staci’s voice that caused Reece to pause and look at her as she went on, ‘You remember I said my friend Melinda had gone AWOL? Well, she’s still not turned up.’
    ‘Refresh my memory. When did you last see this Melinda?’
    ‘Nine days ago. I was the last person to talk to her before she went missing.’
    ‘We don’t know that she’s missing.’ Reece’s tone was soft, reassuring. ‘She could be anywhere. Is she a local girl?’
    ‘I don’t think so. I think she came from further north. Leeds or Bradford or somewhere around there.’
    ‘What about friends?’
    ‘She didn’t have any besides me. Not that I know of anyway.’
    ‘What’s her surname?’
    ‘I don’t know.’
    Reece spread his hands as if to illustrate a point. ‘You see, that’s the problem. Your friend lives off the radar. For all you know Melinda might not even be her real name. Whor—’ He stopped himself from saying the word. ‘Women in your line of work change their names and addresses like they change their lipstick. So when one goes AWOL, it’s almost impossible to say whether there’s something sinister behind it or they’ve simply moved on to some other place.’
    Staci waved away Reece’s words with an impatient flick of her wrist. ‘I know all that. Why do you think I haven’t reported her missing?’
    ‘So what do you want from me?’
    ‘I want you to do