Man, he liked the way she looked with her hair back in a ponytail and just a red turtleneck and blue jeans on. Without all the makeup, she was truly beautiful, and as he leaned in, he smelled not perfume, but dryer sheets, the kind that were like sunshine in the nose.

Vin breathed deeply and felt his shoulders ease up for the first time since…yeah, right, like he could remember when.

“Did they call you, too?” she asked, staring up at him.

He shook himself back to attention. “The police? Not yet. You going to talk to them now?”

She nodded. “Trez called me about a half hour ago. I was lucky I could get a sitter.”

Sitter? His eyes flipped to the steering wheel where her hands were. No wedding ring, but maybe she had a boyfriend…although what kind of man would let his woman do what she did every night? Vin would whore himself out first if she were his.

Crap…how was she going to get around the inevitable question about what she did at the club?

“Listen, if you need a lawyer, I know some good ones.” Well, wasn’t this the day for throwing attorney cards around. “Maybe you should get one first before you talk to the police, given what you—”

“I’ll be okay. Trez isn’t worried, and I’m not going to be until he is.”

As her eyes bounced around, he realized she already had an exit strategy, and it didn’t take an Einstein to figure out what it might be. Clearly, she was just going to disappear if things got too hot, and for some reason that freaked him right out.

“I have to head in,” she said, nodding at his car. “You’re blocking the way to the parking lot.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure.” He hesitated.

The question he needed to ask her jammed in his throat, blocked by a conviction of not-here-not-now, and propelled by a whole lot of but-when.

“I have to go,” she said.

“What did I say to you last night? In the locker room. When I, you know…” As she blanched, he wanted to hit himself. “I mean—”

“I’m sorry, but I really have to go.”

Shit, he shouldn’t have brought it up.

With a silent curse, he bounced his fist once on the roof as a good-bye and headed for his car. Back in the M6, he put the engine in first, released the clutch, and eased out of her way, turning around slowly as she parked nose-first to the club and got out of her Camry.