Without her. That’s what Gabby heard. “Liam, please.”

“You don’t really get a vote tonight, Gabby.” He shot Kennedy a struggling half-smile. “Go wait for me in the car. We’ll figure out the school part tomorrow.”

Gabby waited until Kennedy headed for the front door to drop her voice and try one more time with Liam. “We need to talk about this and where we go next.”

“You had fourteen years to talk.” Liam started to leave but stopped. “Did Baines know the truth?”

“Eventually, yes.” There was so much more to it, but this secret was enough. Unloading the rest might be too much even for Liam’s strong shoulders.

Liam shook his head. “And you think Baines was the asshole in your relationship? Sounds to me like you were perfect for each other.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jessa

No time for lunch out. No time for a talk. No time to figure out what Retta was trying to say the other night. That’s exactly how Jessa thought of her day: as one big rush of nothing. But she needed contact with a nonlawyer to preserve her sanity. Someone rational, who didn’t think in terms of wins and losses all the time. So she begged Faith to come to the office and share a sandwich.

“I looked up Rob Greene after you told me about him stopping you.” Faith sat on the opposite side of Jessa’s desk, stabbing her fork into the container of potato salad. “Stay away from him.”

Jessa had seen the same articles and warnings, and she got it. “That’s the plan.”

“I’m serious. In addition to the dangerous and unstable part, which you should not ignore because damn, you don’t want to be seen with him and have his putrid reputation spill over and splash onto you.”

“What a lovely visual image.”

The door opened as someone knocked. Jessa’s assistant stuck her head in the room. “Excuse me.”

“I’m at lunch.” A fact Jessa thought should have been obvious.

The door opened wider, and Detective Melissa Schone walked in. “She’s warning you I’m here.”

Jessa dropped her sandwich. “And that kills my appetite.”

“I’ve heard worse.” The detective stared at the assistant until she backed out of the room and closed the door behind her. “Good afternoon.”

“Detective.” Jessa wiped her hands on her napkin. “This is my friend Faith, but you know that.”

“Yes, I’m aware,” the detective said.

Faith frowned. “Okay. That’s scary.”

“I have a call into your office to speak with you after I meet with Jessa.”

That sounded like a threat, and Jessa wasn’t in the mood, so she skipped over the introductory blather and went right to the main question. “What’s going on?”

“We need to find somewhere private to—”