Jim cursed and then parked it on one of the bar stools at the counter. “Not so much mayo for me.”

“Cool. Now talk.”

“I don’t believe she is who she says, by the way.”

“Funny, me neither.”

“I mean, I did a background check on her.”

Vin glanced up in the process of getting the blue lid off the plastic jar. “You gonna tell me how you managed that?”

“Not on your life.”

“And the result was…?”

“She doesn’t exist, literally. And trust me, if the people I use can’t find her true identity, nobody can.”

Vin went light with the Hellman’s on Jim’s sourdough, heavier on his own rye, but it was a messy, imprecise job. Ambidextrous he was not.

God, it was so not a surprise about Devina….

“Still waiting for Thursday-night deets over here,” he said. “And do us both a favor and just talk. I don’t have the energy to be polite right now.”

“Fuck…” Jim rubbed his face. “Okay…she was at the Iron Mask. I was with…friends, I guess you could call them, although ‘sonsabitches’ would also cover it. Anyway, she followed me out into the parking lot when I left. It was cold. She seemed lost. She was…You sure about this?”

“Yup.” Vin picked up a tomato, put it on a cutting board, and started slicing with the grace of a five-year-old. Hacking was more like it. “Keep going.”

Jim shook his head. “She was upset about you. And she appeared to be really unsure of herself.”

Vin frowned. “How was she upset?”

“How…you mean what for? She didn’t go into specifics. I didn’t ask. I was just…like, I wanted her to be okay with herself.”

Now Vin was doing the head shaking. “Devina is always okay. That’s the thing. No matter her mood, down deep she’s tight. It was one of the things that attracted me to her…well, that and the fact that she’s one of the most physically confident women I’ve ever met. But that’s what you get when you’re built perfectly.”

“She said you wanted her to get breast implants.”

Vin’s eyes flicked up. “Are you kidding me? I’ve told her she was perfect since the night I met her, and I meant it. I never wanted her to change a thing.”

Abruptly, Jim’s brows drew in tight, a hard look coming onto his face.

“Looks like you were played, buddy.” Vin cracked apart the lettuce and went over to the sink with a couple of leaves to wash. “Let me guess, she poured her heart out to you, you saw a vulnerable woman tangled up with a mofo, you kissed her…maybe you didn’t even think you would take things that far.”

“I couldn’t believe where it ended up.”

“You felt bad for her, but you were also attracted.” Vin turned off the water and shook the romaine. “You wanted to give her something to make her feel good.”

Jim’s voice grew low. “That’s exactly how it was.”