That being said, when they pulled up outside an apartment block about an hour after leaving the beach house, Serg spoke with authority.
‘Winlow’s in there, top floor,’ Serg said, leaning forward to peer out of the top of the windshield. ‘Least that’s what we’ve been told.’
‘Told?’
‘He’s wanted by the law,’ Serg said, sitting back. ‘No one’s seen him in the flesh for a while. But you know Winlow, if there’s a memo going around the ganglands, his name will be at the top.’
‘What do the cops want him for?’
‘Knocked up some bitch then beat the kid out of her, that’s what I’ve been told anyway. Her body was found in the park a few blocks down, she was fucked up.’
So he’d killed his girlfriend and the baby she carried. Too many men in his acquaintance were pricks to the women in their lives and it made Dax sick. Then again, he could go and find himself a fight if Ivy was getting on his nerves, maybe that was an outlet that he took for granted.
‘Let’s sit for a minute, see if anyone goes in or out,’ Dax said.
Winlow’s associates were recognisable, if they were going in or out then Dax would have confirmation that Winlow was present. Taking his time, he wanted to be sure there weren’t a dozen guys up there ready to ambush him. Although Serg carried a weapon and Dax was one, he didn’t feel like working up a sweat on his first meeting of the day, and he planned for this to be the first of many.
He’d talk to all the scumbags that he had to in order to find out who had Ivy in their sights. The sooner they could eradicate the danger, the better.
‘How is Ivy doing?’ Serg asked. ‘Is she dealing or are you stuck on the couch?’
‘The couch? My female doesn’t pull that shit.’
Ivy had never kicked him out of their bed, she would call him out on whatever issue she had with him before she would sulk and refuse to share her body or her bed with him.
‘Lucky guy, I know a lot of women who would punish their guy for getting them into a mess like this.’
Dax didn’t need the reminder that this was his fault. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure it was because of their relationship that Ivy was in the crosshairs. She had no associations of her own in this part of the country, so that left it on his shoulders. If he didn’t figure this out, he could lose her, and he’d have no one to blame but himself.
‘Come on,’ Dax said, unclicking his seatbelt. ‘Let’s just get this over with.’
Dwelling on how they’d gotten here didn’t solve anything, and he was more in the mood for a fight now. Striding toward the apartment entrance, Dax walked inside and ran up the stairs taking them two at a time. Usually, he saved this kind of zeal for when he was being paid. But the payment he wanted today, his wife’s safety, was far more valuable than any green.
Serg wasn’t as quick up the stairs, so Dax had to wait because he didn’t know which of the craphole apartments belonged to Winlow. Last he’d heard Winlow had made it big, he’d taken his poker addiction to professional levels. But the broken doors and graffiti covered internal walls didn’t suggest he was still languishing in the dough. Either the girlfriend had spent it, or Winlow had developed another vice that sapped his winnings. At these kinds of extremes, Dax would guess drugs were that vice, which might explain why Winlow had wigged out and killed his girlfriend.
Serg pointed at a door, and Dax didn’t bother to knock and ask politely for Winlow. He marched forth and lifted a foot to kick the door in with one swift blow. Modern open-plan layouts made it easy to make an entrance. One window was boarded up but the others were uncovered so there was plenty of light for Dax to pick out Winlow’s stocky figure seated on the brown leather couch next to a skinny brunette who was wearing too much makeup for this time of day.
She squealed and leapt to her feet, but Dax held out a hand. ‘You just sit down, sweetheart, no one’s gonna touch you.’ He managed enough of a smile to bend the brunette’s knees and she fell back down to the couch. When she was resting easy, Dax switched on his glare and fixed it on Winlow. ‘You’re the one who we want squealing.’
With two paces, Dax grabbed a handful of Winlow’s shirt, right under his throat. Twisting his wrist and flexing his bicep, he lifted Winlow out of the seat and turned to throw him against the wall behind a perpendicular armchair.
The brunette squeaked and in his periphery Dax saw her rise from the couch. ‘Keep an eye on her,’ Dax said to Serg, he didn’t want some crazy woman trying to beat on him while he was having a conversation.
‘You got it,’ Serg said.
Winlow squawked when Dax bent down to lift him up off the floor with two hands. ‘I think you know why we’re here,’ he said to Winlow.
‘I… No… I…’
This kind of response was normal. It took people a minute or two to reorient themselves from calmly watching the television to having their head kicked in. If the bubbles of heat spinning and erupting beneath his skin were anything to go by, Dax was in need of a little action this morning, so he would take his time.
‘I’ve been told different,’ Dax said.
Winlow was in his thirties. His thinning hair and weathered face were a manifestation of the wrong choices he’d made and the struggles he’d had throughout his life, but they weren’t Dax’s concern. Things were going to get much worse for Winlow in a hurry if he thought about stonewalling.
Dax let go of his prey, which made him stagger. Balling his fist, Dax smacked the guy across the chops and sent him to the floor again. Winlow gagged and coughed, spraying blood over the back of his chair. But Dax crouched, propping his elbows on his knees, ignoring the crimson droplets.
‘You got a thing for brunettes?’ Dax asked.
‘Don’t fucking touch her!’ Winlow exclaimed, spitting out more blood.
‘Protective sonofabitch, are you? I can identify with that. See, I’ve got a pretty brunette of my own and word is that she’s not in a position of security and that concerns me… I’m sure that you can understand.’
As Winlow flopped back against the wall under the boarded up window, he wiped the back of his hand over his chin to mop up the trail of blood that had slunk out of his lips. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Oh, you don’t, huh?’ Dax asked, cracking his knuckles. ‘I heard you did. I heard you knew exactly who was trying to harm my girl… I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy, I think it’s up to a man to protect his woman, but I guess that’s a concept that’s lost on you. I’m gonna be fair on you though, Winlow, and I’m gonna give you a choice, how does that sound?’ Winlow nodded and clutched at his jaw. ‘Either, I can believe that you do know more than you’re telling me now and keep beating you until you tell me what I want to know—‘
‘Don’t hurt him!’ the brunette wept, but Dax didn’t bother to rise and look over the chair to see her, he just stayed right here, crouched by Winlow’s sagging form.
‘Or I can believe that you’re telling me the truth and that you don’t know anything.’
‘I don’t!’ Winlow mumbled, the swelling in his mouth slurred his words.
‘Ok,’ Dax nodded and rose to his feet, pulling the cell phone from his pocket. ‘What’s the address here, Serg?’
‘What are you doing?’ Winlow asked.
‘You’re a wanted man, Winlow. What kind of citizen of this fair city would I be if I didn’t let the law know I’d found a fugitive? You’re FTA, aren’t you? That’s serious shit not to show up to court when you’re wanted for murder.’
‘No,’ Winlow said, using the chair and the wall to steady himself, he clambered up to his feet. ‘Don’t call the police, I… I’ll tell you, ok? I… I don’t know much of anything.’
‘Why don’t you start with what you want to tell me and then we’ll move onto the details,’ Dax said, sticking his phone back into his pocket.
‘Yeah, ok, I heard I… we had a card game, I was at a card game and… I heard it from a… I heard five hundred grand for her head, that’s all I know.’