He didn’t know and he hated feeling this…stupid. He didn’t know what he wanted. He wanted to be different. He wanted the fucking world to be different. She’d worked hard to drag herself out of poverty. How could he drag her back into it?

How could he take her home with him where he was responsible for everyone? Seraphina would need someone to watch over her. Zep…god, he didn’t like to think about Zep. Zep needed round-the-clock watching. Hell, it wasn’t like his momma was a saint. She could get into some kooky situations. Lisa was used to her siblings being high-powered and helpful. Being the head of his family wasn’t an easy task, and then there was the fact that he knew damn well the minute he walked back into town, they would want him to take charge.

What could he do with a woman like Lisa by his side?

He shoved the thought away because he wasn’t taking her home with him. She would take one look at the wharf and run the other way.

He sucked down the last of his beer. What a fucking day. He’d spent the whole of it signing paperwork for his closing tomorrow. So much debt. So much hanging over his head and she wouldn’t even acknowledge she was in trouble. She sat there like it was no big deal.

What the hell was he going to do? The minute he signed the papers, Jean-Claude would hand over the keys and there would be no boss at the wharf. But he couldn’t leave Dallas until he was certain Lisa was safe.

He pulled his phone out and made a few quick notes. The only way out of this problem was to solve the case himself. Something was wrong with Vallon and the way the prosecutor’s office had handled his trial. He needed to talk to the cop who’d broken chain of custody and try to find out what happened that night. He could get the internal report from one of his buddies on DPD. That was where he needed to start.

And Vallon himself. He’d spent the last couple of days going over the thorough dossier Hutch had put together on Jimmy Vallon, including a lot of the reporting around the trial. One of the things that he’d been surprised by had been Vallon’s complete and utter calm. Even the arresting cops had talked about how cool the man had been. It ran counter to how he was in his normal life. He was known for being a bit paranoid, accusing close associates of coming after him.

And yet he’d been perfectly quiet those months he’d been held without bail. His only words when the case had been thrown out had been to thank the judge for his wisdom.