“Well, it hasn’t killed me yet.” Abruptly, he thought of his vision of the gun and the sound of the shot, and it took all he had not to sound as desperate as he felt. “Listen, I don’t know what’s doing in your background….” As her face tightened up, he knew better than to take that one any further. “I realize the owner of that club is making you feel protected, but that’s only at the Iron Mask. What if someone follows you home?”

“If you saw my house, you’d understand why I’m not worried.”

Vin frowned, thinking that at least she seemed prepared. “I promise I’m not going to pry, but if you know who might come after you, go to the police. And if you can’t go to them, have your manager take care of it privately.”

“Ah…thanks for the advice.”

Man, he hated this. If only he knew what he’d said to her in the trances, except…well, shit, the gun told him enough, didn’t it.

“Where do you live?” he said softly.

As she opened her mouth, he thought for a moment that she was going to answer him. But then she caught herself. “Where exactly is the Commodore? In case I get separated from you guys.”

He gave her directions. “I’m on the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth floors.”

“Both?”

“Both.”

“I’m not surprised.” Shit, he could feel her closing herself off from him, unplugging the connection. “I’ll follow you guys over there.”

As she turned away, he touched her elbow. “What’s your cell number?”

There was a long pause. “I’m sorry…I just can’t.”

“All right. I understand. But you have all mine. Call me, please. Anytime.” He leaned to the side and cranked her door even wider so she could get in, and he waited to shut it until she had the seat belt drawn across her chest. After a couple of tries, her car wheezed into a semblance of an idle, and she glanced up like she was waiting for him to get a move on.

The sound of one of the M6’s windows going down made him want to curse. And so did Jim’s voice: “Textbook way of getting a ride home is you sit in the car. Unless you want to jump on the front bumper?”

Vin stalked around the BMW, got in and parked it in the passenger seat. “Don’t lose her.”

“I won’t.”

And he didn’t. Jim handled the M6 perfectly. He was fast, nimble…but not so quick that Marie-Terese couldn’t keep up.

Against the backdrop of classic rock, Vin didn’t feel the need to explain why he and Marie-Terese had been at the diner alone. Not in the slightest.

At all.

“Just answer me one thing,” Jim said, as if he read minds.