“Yeah. I didn’t do that, though, I swear—last I saw her was when I broke up with her that afternoon and let her walk out of my place with the ring I bought her—you’re welcome. But I’m more calling about the guy they found beaten in an alley downtown. He was with Marie-Terese last night. I saw him with her. Which would make it three men in twenty-four hours who’ve…Hello? Jim?” When there was an uh-huh, it was clear what the problem was. “Look, I didn’t do that shit to Devina, although I know you won’t believe me.” Another long silence. “Hello? Oh, for fuck’s sake, do you honestly think I could hurt a woman?”

“I thought you were calling because of me.”

Now it was his turn to pause. “Why?”

Another long silence. “She said she told you. About us.”

“Us? What ‘us’?”

“She said that was why you lost it and hit her.”

Vin tightened his hand on his glass. “Exactly what is there to tell about the two of you.”

The soft curse coming across the line was in the universal language for sex-that-shouldn’t-have-happened.

Vin’s muscles around his shoulders and down into his arms went rigid. “Are you kidding me. Are you fucking kidding me.”

“I’m sorry—”

The glass shattered in Vin’s palm, bourbon going everywhere, soaking his sleeve and cuff, splashing on the front of his shirt and his pants.

He ended the call by hurling the cell phone across the room.

While Jim hit the end key, he was willing to bet that wasn’t the way Vin had terminated the call.

No, he had a feeling that whatever phone had been up at Vin’s ear was now fodder for a dustpan.

Great. Just fucking wonderful.

After he rubbed his eyes, he refocused on the entrance of the inpatient building and let the first part of the conversation register: another beaten guy tied to Marie-Terese. And when Vin called, that had been the number one thing on his mind, even above the fact that, oh, yeah, he was up on felony assault for buzz-sawing his girlfriend with his knuckles.

That shit with Marie-Terese was as strong as ever for him. Which somehow didn’t feel like such a great thing.

Man, this particular mission was going to hell faster than a free fall.

Jim glanced down at his watch and then resumed staring at each person who went in and out of the doors. It was close to one, so Devina’s people would supposedly be coming any second, and then she would be leaving with them.

God, Devina was such a liar.