Forever Alexa Part 20

"I could teach you."

She smiled. "Okay. I like to learn new things. That's why I'm such a smart girl."

He chuckled. There was that modesty again. "Come on, Liv. Let's go fis.h.i.+ng." He took her hand and walked to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and grabbed a hunk of his mother's bleu cheese.

"Pew." She plugged her nose. "That's stinky."

He grinned. "Sure is. Fish love smelly cheese." He hoped. They would save worms for another day. He didn't know how Olivia would feel about watching him bait a hook with anything other than food. "Let's go get a pole."

"Can I hold it?"

"Sure, but I'll help. We have to be careful of the hook. It's sharp." They stopped off at the garage and grabbed one of the fis.h.i.+ng poles he and his brother had used when they were young boys. "Are you ready?"

"I want to catch lots and lots of fis.h.i.+es."

"Let's see what we can do." Dusk was settling in. If they could stay quiet enough, they would hopefully snag at least one. "We have to be nice and quiet or we'll scare all the fish away."

"Nice and quiet," she repeated in a whisper as they made their way to the end of the dock.

"Sit right next to me, Liv. The water's pretty deep."

She did as she was told.

"Now I'm going to put a hunk of this smelly stuff on the hook." He grabbed a chunk of the offensive bleu cheese and secured it in place. "You can help me cast off, and we'll see if we get anything." He settled Olivia on his lap. "Ready?"

"Yes." She grinned as she put her small hands on top of his on the pole, and he cast off. The hunk of cheese made a plop as the line sunk.

Livy rested her head on his chest and looked up. "Where's the fishy?"

He smiled. "It takes a few minutes. We have to be patient." He tweaked her nose with his free hand.

"I like Grampy's boat. He let me drive to the hotdog restaurant."

Jackson glanced at the cabin cruiser tied to the dock. He'd missed Olivia's first time out on the water. Instead of enjoying an afternoon with his family a couple days ago, he'd been stuck in Detective Canon's office trying to get to the bottom of Abby's disappearance. "Maybe we can take the boat out again soon."

"I want to drive some more."

"I think we can make that happen. Do you-" The pole jerked, and he gave a small yank, securing the fish on the line. "Liv, I think we got something. Help me bring it in." He wrapped her hand around the reel, helping her turn the crank against the weight of the fish.

Seconds later she gasped as they pulled a bluefish free from the water.

"Look! Look! A fishy! I caught a fishy!"

Jackson's heart filled to bursting at the excited pride in his little girl's voice. This was their moment, their memory. He'd missed so much, but this would always be theirs. "Yes, you did. You caught your very first fish, Liv."

They reeled the fish in further and he made a grab for it. The elongated body, the length of his hand, flapped back and forth, sprinkling them with small drops of water. "Stay right here, Liv. Let me get him off the hook."

"He moves a lot." She shrunk back against his chest.

He grabbed hold of the cool, wet body and removed the hook as gently as he could. "Do you want to touch him?"

Livy hesitated, then slid a finger over the fish's side. "Slimy."

"A little bit."

She moved to touch again.

"Stay away from his mouth, honey. He has pretty sharp teeth."

Livy yanked her hand back.

"You don't have to be afraid. Touch him once more then we'll let him go. He can't breathe unless he's in the water."

"But I want to keep him."

"He's too little. His mom will be looking for him."

"Like Nemo. But Nemo's daddy was looking for him."

He'd never seen Finding Nemo, but he agreed. "Yeah, like that."

Livy touched the blue-grayish scales once more. "Bye, Nemo. Go find your mommy."

Jackson threw the fish back. He looked down at Olivia as she glanced up. "Nice job."

"I'm a great fisher."

"You sure are." He winked at her as he set the fis.h.i.+ng pole on the dock.

Livy turned in his lap and wrapped her arms around him. "I love you, daddy."

He pulled her close and held her tight as he rested his cheek against her hair. His throat tightened as a wave of emotions flooded him while he held his daughter in the warm summer air. "I love you too, Liv. So much."

She gave him a kiss. "Will you read to me about the princesses?"

He stared at his little mirror image, filled to the brim with adoration. "Yeah, let's go read about your princesses. Then it's time for bed."

"Will you snuggle with me? Grammy and Grampy's house is very scary at night."

"I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather to be." He picked up the fis.h.i.+ng pole in one hand and held Livy in his other arm as they walked back to the house.

CHAPTER 13.

Tucker opened the door for Alexa, and they entered Lady Pink. The smoke choking the s.p.a.ce was just as bad as last night, and the bright neon lights highlighting the stage no less tacky. She hated being here knowing that Abby was stuck in this h.e.l.l hole, but that was going to change tomorrow.

Alexa scanned the area, keeping an eye out for her sister. Abby wasn't on stage dancing-thank G.o.d. As much as she wanted to see Abby, she wasn't sure she would be able to sit idly by while her sister was forced to exploit herself. There were only a handful of customers, unlike the last time, but her stomach still shuddered with disgust as two pretty young women-barely dressed-swung themselves around the poles while men sat by the stage, staring. "She must be back in one of those rooms," she said close to Tucker's ear, afraid her voice might carry even though loud pop music blared through the speakers.

"Let's find a seat." Tucker led them to a table with a decent view of the bar, stage, darkened hallway, and the two visible exits. Tucker plunked himself in a chair and slung his muscled arm over the back, appearing relaxed, as if this was just another ordinary night at a strip club. He almost blended well in his jeans, Baltimore Orioles t-s.h.i.+rt, and matching ball cap worn backwards, but his looks made it impossible for him to go unnoticed. Tucker Campbell was magnificent, maybe even beautiful, with his long eyelashes; slow, arresting grin; and buff, chiseled body. In the hour and a half they'd been together, Alexa noticed that people looked twice at Tucker Campbell-men and women alike.

All business, Alexa pulled her chair close to his. "So what should we be looking for?"

"We need a count-"

"What can I get you two?" A topless waitress dressed in a bold, yellow g-string stopped at their table. Alexa forced herself to look at the once pretty face gone hard, caked in makeup, instead of stare at the floor like she so desperately wanted to-not that the waitress was paying her any attention.

"Two Buds," Tucker answered with a friendly, inviting smile.

"You know, I give a h.e.l.l of a private dance, baby." The waitress winked and skimmed a finger down his well-toned arm. "You say the word and I'll be sure to add in a little something extra. Just tell Tony you want Blondie to show you a good time." She gestured to the bartender, who was pouring a scotch and water.

"If I wasn't here with my lady, I'd be game, honey." He looked Blondie up and down, devouring her with his appreciative, hungry gaze.

Blondie spared Alexa a glance, then strutted away.

Alexa stared at Jack's friend as Tucker transformed from 'sleaze' back in to the respectable former detective she'd walked in with. "Very smooth."

He shrugged. "Gotta play the game."

"You play it well."

"The criminal element can spot a cop a mile away. I've only been off the force nine months. I imagine I'm still wearing a few layers. Figured I should bring my A-game."

"Mmm." Alexa studied the man who would help Jack bring her sister home, still trying to figure him out. He was sweet to Livy, fun with Jack, and kind to her, but he always seemed... a step removed. Even when he smiled, his dark hazel eyes remained guarded.

Blondie came back with two beers. "Here you go, hot stuff." She smiled another invitation as she set his bottle down.

"Thanks." Tucker traced the pad of his finger over Blondie's knuckles. "You dancing tonight?"

"Later."

He nodded while he continued to seduce Blondie with his gaze. "My buddy was here the other night."

"Oh?" She purred. "Is he as good looking as you?"

He shrugged. "The ladies certainly don't run away. He's got a thing for long, black hair."

"What about you?"

He glanced at Alexa and dismissed her, then gave his full attention back to their waitress. "Red heads are okay, but I prefer blondes."

Blondie touched her tongue to her top lip. "Well, aren't you in luck."

"My buddy's getting himself hitched." He shook his head mournfully. "Who the f.u.c.k knows why, but I wanted to do it up right for him. He couldn't stop talking about Fawn. Is she dancing too?"

Blondie's flirty smile vanished. "I don't worry 'bout n.o.body but myself." She tried to tug her hand free.

Tucker kept hold of her fingers even as one of the enormous bouncers started making his way to their table. "That's too bad. Cause I was thinking about you and me and my buddy and Fawn."

Alexa struggled not to squirm as the bouncer came closer. They were going to get kicked out. They couldn't help Abby if they had to leave.

"Fawn's not here."

Alexa no longer focused on the bald man with the ring in his nose when Blondie's words sunk in. "What-"

"When is she working again?" Tucker interrupted smoothly.

Blondie gave a jerky shrug. "Like I said, I don't worry 'bout n.o.body but me."

The hulking man stopped at the table. "Don't touch the lady," he said to Tucker.

Tucker let go of Blondie's hand. "We're just talking."

"You don't talk with your hands. Get back to work," the bouncer said to Blondie.

Abby isn't here? She has to be. I saw her just hours ago. Alexa stared at her bottle of beer as her eyes filled. She struggled to keep her breathing steady as wave after wave of despair threatened to drown her.

"You keep your hands to yourself, pal, or you're outta here." The bouncer walked back to his post by the bar.

Alexa clenched her hands in her lap, trying to ward off the trembling. "What are we-what are we going to do?"

"Wait here for a while."

Alexa met Tucker's unreadable eyes. "But Abby's gone."

"I don't believe everything I hear." He touched her arm. "Hang in there, Alexa. We know she was here. Right now we need an idea of how many bouncers they keep on the floor and how many disappear down the hall. How long do the dancers dance before they switch off? Even if she's gone now doesn't mean she won't be back tomorrow night or the next. It's not uncommon for the rings to rotate the women-keeps the cops off their tail. Tonight's a perfect example. Jackson tipped off the taskforce about Abby, less than twenty-four hours later and she's gone. It's hard to raid a place if a suspected victim isn't in the same spot night after night, right?"

Alexa nodded despite her hopelessness. Tucker made complete sense, but how many times had she heard something like this? They should've taken her last night. They should've called the cops immediately instead of waiting for a positive ID. Someone could've come to help before the men took Abby away. What if Abby didn't come back tomorrow or the night after? Sighing, Alexa stared down the darkened hallway, willing her sister to appear as she had only hours before.

One hour ticked into three, and Alexa sat in her spot, methodically counting bouncers and dancers and keeping track of the women coming and going from the hallway-none of whom were Abby. Blondie had been telling the truth; her sister wasn't here.

"I'm pretty confident I have their pattern. It hasn't varied. Ten bouncers-including the two that stay in the hall, three dancers, six waitresses, and two girls that handle the rooms," Tucker said before he took a sip from his second bottle of Bud. "We should go."

"But what if she shows up? It's still early."

"That's highly unlikely, and we can't stay 'til last call, especially if we have to keep coming back. The last thing we want is to start drawing attention. Despite your outfit, you don't blend in here. Jackson and I will come back tomorrow."

Everything Tucker said was right; in her heart she knew that, but it was a struggle for Alexa to push her chair away from the table and stand. Even though Abby wasn't here, Alexa felt as if she was abandoning her sister again.

Tucker slung a supportive arm around her shoulders, and they headed for the door. Her gaze darted about the room as she desperately hoped Abby would appear like she did before. She and Tucker moved by the bouncer they'd pa.s.sed to enter, and her heart broke as she was forced to turn and step through the exit. Where was Abby? Her breath caught in her throat as she struggled to keep the helplessness at bay.

"Excuse me," she murmured as she b.u.mped into a man among the crowd hanging out around Lady Pink's entrance.