Page 48 of The Twins

“There’s a few of us, we got sick of seeing how these young women were considered expendable. They’re so vulnerable on the street, nobody even cares if they get beaten up or murdered, so we decided to do what we could and give them a safe space to work and a chance to get a new career if that’s what they wanted.”

“It sounds very commendable.”

I could sense the questions piling up in her sharp mind.

“You’ll understand more when you see it, it’s a happy place.”

“It’s…it’s a brothel, Cillian. You live in a brothel.” She rubbed her temple.

“Above one, technically. We have the top floor, the attic rooms.” I shrugged trying to show her it was no big deal. “You’ll understand, I promise, and Mitch will be there, you’ve met him already.”

“Mitch?”

“The cop who came to your rescue last night, he’s one of our best mates.”

Lucky for us, the sun was shining, and Andrew and Chelsea had a barbeque going at the end of the long tree-lined garden at Rose Cottage.

Trixie had a blanket spread out, and her young son, Romeo, was playing with his brightly colored toys. She’d picked herself up enough to be allowed contact with him every Saturday afternoon which was great to see.

“Hey,” Finn said, plonking down a bag full of sausages, steaks, corn, and beer. “You beat us to it, we were going to light up, too.”

Andrew turned, tongs in one hand, beer in the other. “Want some? Kebabs are ready.” He looked from me to Finn and then Rebecca who was applying sun cream to her arms over at a table. “I’m sure there’s enough but I’ll cook up more.”

“Great.” It smelled amazing, and I was hungry.

“You brought your woman?” Andrew raised his eyebrows. “The lawyer?”

“Yeah, Rebecca. And we’re not letting her out of our sight, what with her having a stalker and all that.”

“Don’t blame you.” Andrew’s attention slid to Chelsea who was putting olives into a bowl. “I don’t like her being out of my sight either.”

I popped the lid on a bottle of beer.

“Any more information on the stalker?” Andrew asked.

“No, but we haven’t done our own research yet. We’ve got a couple of names, or rather Rebecca has. Possible suspects, you know.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“We’ll see what the cops come back with, but we’re not going to give them long to act,” Finn said.

“I wouldn’t have thought you’d wait this long.” Andrew flipped a steak.

“Guess we’ve been busy.” I let my gaze drift down Rebecca’s sexy body. Her jeans hugged her ass to perfection, showing off its roundness, and her bright pink t-shirt hugged her tits which I knew needed no padded bra to be that awesome.

Andrew chuckled. “I can imagine. Very busy.”

Finn was introducing Rebecca to Chelsea, and I could see the instant warmness between them.

Rebecca was a smart cookie, so was Chelsea, they would have lots to talk about.

The wine and beer flowed. Phil appeared and dug straight into a steak, and then Jamie showed with a new security camera to replace a broken one in the back corridor. He also tucked into the meat on offer.

It was a happy group, easy conversation, good food, and surrounded by tall old trees and singing birds.

I sat on a picnic chair, between Finn and Rebecca, and enjoyed a sense of contentment. It wouldn’t last long. It never did. Soon I’d be ruminating about the stalker, or some injustice, or an unsolved case, but I took moments of peace when I could get them.

“Who is that?” Rebecca asked, her eyes widening as she stared past me, her corn halfway to her mouth.