“Yes. I do.” Ego flashed in his eyes. “But in this case, I bought it simply because I could. It reminds me that I’ve come to a place where I don’t have to scrounge for coins in the ashtray of my car to buy food.

“My father was what you would consider a good man. If a man took a week off because his wife was ill, my father paid him anyway. He hired drunks just to give them a second chance. Even though he owned the company, if the crew was a man short, my father would climb on a roof and nail shingles. I have a distinct memory of him taking me along with him to visit one of his workers in the hospital. After he gave the guy’s wife some cash to help tide her over, he said to me, ‘Herb, we might not be rich with material things, but we are wealthy in our hearts.’ What a load of bullshit. He was giving money to other people while our family was living in a two-bedroom shack.”

“He sounds like a kind man who had his priorities straight.”

“Do you know what all that kindness got him? Nothing. He worked himself into an early grave.” Herb gestured with his drink. “After he died, I took that limping, pathetic excuse for a company and built an empire out of it.”

“So now you can have anything you want.” Hannah’s body was stiffer than the chrome sofa frame.

“Exactly.” Herb took another sip.

“So if you didn’t make the arrangements for teenage prostitutes, who did?” she asked.

He raised a shoulder.

Hannah let out a disgusted breath. “I thought you knew everything that happened in your club.”

“Of course I know, but I’m not ratting anyone out.” Herb finished his scotch.

“That’s some sense of misplaced loyalty, Herb.” Hannah rose. “Next time you need a lawyer, don’t call me.”

“Watch your back, Hannah.”

She headed for the door. One hand on the knob, she whirled. “Is that a threat?”

“You have nothing to fear from me. You don’t threaten me. But curiosity and integrity can be a dangerous combination, and you should be worried about what’s going on in your own house instead of mine.”

Brody was walking into the lobby as Hannah came off the elevator. Disappointment was etched on her face.

“Your time was up,” he said.

She gave him a tight nod and hurried out of the building. He wrapped an arm around her waist as they crossed the parking lot

“He says he didn’t participate, but he knew. Like that’s much better.” She swiped an angry tear from under her eye with her forefinger.

“How do you work with people like that?” He pressed the fob and unlocked the car.