“Listen to me carefully,” the man said. “There’s going to come a time, maybe sooner rather than later, that you’re going to have to trust her. You’re going to have to have faith that she’s who you know her to be and not what you fear. She did what she had to here, and maybe she’ll tell you the whys. But this kind of shit, it doesn’t get left behind in either of your minds for a long time…if ever. Let me assure you of what you already suspect, though. She’s not like some of the other girls here. If life hadn’t been what it was, she never would have been here, got it?”

Vin totally saw the guy’s point—except he wondered just how much the club owner knew. Given how he was looking at Vin, it was as if he saw…everything. “Yeah, okay.”

“Good. Because if you do a head job on her”—the guy put his mouth right next to Vin’s ear—“I’m going to make a meal out of the meat on your bones.”

As Trez straightened and flashed another one of his small smiles, Vin wasn’t fooled in the slightest as visions of hot-dog rolls, hamburger buns, and BBQ sauce swirled in his head.

“You know,” Vin murmured, “you’re okay, big man, you really are.”

Trez bowed a little. “Feel the same way about you.”

When Marie-Terese came out about ten minutes later, her face was free of makeup, she had on jeans and another fleece, and her duffel bag was nowhere in sight.

“I just threw out my stuff,” she said to Trez.

“Good.”

They all walked down to the exit, and when they got to the door, she hugged her boss again. “Trez, about the police—”

“If they show up here looking for you, I’ll let you know. But I don’t want you to worry about it, okay?”

She smiled up at him. “You take care of everything, don’t you.”

A dark shadow passed over the man’s face. “Almost everything. Now run along, you two. And don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope I never see you again.”

“Bye, Trez,” Marie-Terese whispered.

He reached out and brushed her cheek softly. “Goodbye, Marie-Terese.”

As the owner opened the back door, Vin put his arm around her waist and led her out into the night air.

“Can we go somewhere and talk?” he said as their footfalls echoed around in the stillness.

“The diner?”

“I was thinking…somewhere else. Actually, I have this place I want to take you to.”

“Okay. I can follow you?”

“How about I just drive us both?” As she glanced back at the club, he shook his head. “Actually, follow me, please. You’ll feel safer with your own car.”

There was a pause, as if she were testing her instincts. Then she shrugged.