Trent’s heel ground into the grit as he shifted to glance at me. His worry was clear in the bright glare of my headlamps. “Ms. Morgan can drive me to the kitchen entrance and you can park mine now.”

“Yes, sir,” Eustace said, a hand atop the open car door. “I’ll have the staff clear out as many people as they can, but it’s going to be difficult to get through unless you want pushers.”

“No,” Trent said quickly, and I thought I heard frustration in it.

Eustace bobbed his head, and Trent touched his shoulder in parting, surprising me. The large man’s motions were quick and efficient as he got in the car and drove away. Trent’s head was bowed and his steps slow. I moved my shoulder bag to the back when he got in, surprised and a little uncomfortable when he settled wearily into the leather seats to fill my car with the scent of a woodsy cologne and his shampoo.

“That way,” he prompted distantly, and I put the car in gear, jerking us.

Warming from the rough start, I let out the clutch and we started forward. My fingers twitched, and I wondered why I cared if he was honest with his feelings to everyone but me. He wouldn’t show me any true warmth or depth of emotion. But Eustace probably hadn’t put him in jail.

“Take that left,” he directed. “It will bring you up to the back.”

“I remember,” I said, seeing two men waiting for us outside the kitchen entrance.

Trent checked his watch. “The easiest way in is through the kitchen and the bar. If I’m detained, get to the top floor. It’s been cordoned off, so no one should be there. The staff is expecting you and will let you through.”

“Okay,” I said, feeling my hands start to sweat. I didn’t like this. I didn’t like this at all. I had been worried about Al trashing a bar. What if he showed up here amid Cincy’s finest citizens and its most helpless orphans? I’d be lynched.

“I’d appreciate you waiting for me in the common area upstairs before going in to see Quen,” he was saying as I pulled up beside the two guys and put the car into park.

“Sure,” I said, very uncomfortable. “Is he going to be okay?”

“No.”

The emotion in that single utterance was vast, a glimpse of his true emotions slipping through. He was scared, angry, frustrated…and blaming me.

The shadow of one of the waiting men fell over the car, and I jumped when he tapped expectantly at the window. The doors had automatically locked, and I fumbled for the button. The moment they disengaged, Trent’s door was opened by a second man whose suit and tie screamed security.