“You ever been in love, Marie-Terese?” Jim asked softly.

“Hell of a question to ask a prostitute.”

“I haven’t. Been in love, that is. Just wondered if you had.” He touched the glass, and the old woman caught the gesture and clearly thought he’d waved at her. As she lifted her free hand, he wondered if maybe he had.

He smiled at her a little and she smiled back and then they resumed their separate ways.

“Why is that relevant,” Marie-Terese said.

He thought of Vin in that cold, beautiful duplex, surrounded by inanimate beautiful objects.

And then he thought of Vin, looking at Marie-Terese in the sunlight.

The guy’s soul had been fed at that moment. He had been transformed. He had been truly alive.

“It’s relevant because I’m beginning to think,” Jim murmured, “love might be everything.”

“I used to believe that,” Marie-Terese said hoarsely. “But then I married the man I did, and that whole fantasy stuff got blown out the window.”

“Maybe that wasn’t love.”

Her choked laugh told him he was on the right track with that one. “Yeah, maybe.”

They pulled into the parking lot of the diner and headed over to his Harley.

“Thanks again for the ride,” he said.

“I’m happy to help.”

He got out of the car, closed the door and watched her turn around. As she took off, he memorized her license plate.

When he was sure she was gone, he put on his helmet, started his bike, and took off. Considering his list of crimes, an unregistered Harley wasn’t even a blip on his radar.

Besides, the stiff wind on his chest and arms peeled off some of the stress and blew his brain more clear—although what was revealed made him ill. It was pretty obvious what he needed to do next, and though he hated it, sometimes you had to suck shit up: He had a woman he needed to keep alive, Vin’s vision of a gunshot, and two obnoxious college boys who were now dead, thanks to having been popped. What the situation required was information, and there was only one way he knew to get it.

He didn’t like whoring himself out, but you had to do what you had to do…and he was willing to bet that mantra was something Marie-Terese knew all about, too.

As soon as he pulled into his studio’s gravel drive, Dog came out from under the truck and limped with joy over to the bike, all wags as he escorted the way into the garage. After Jim took off his helmet, he leaned down for a proper hello and Dog’s tail got going so fast, it was a damn miracle the little guy could stay on his paws.

Odd to have someone to welcome him home.