“What about discussing this with Trevon?”
Hannah shook her head. “Our last conversation went so badly. We haven’t spoken in months.”
But Evangeline was all about asking questions, following clues and evidence. Reason would prevail, even if fueled by anger. Try another tactic.
“Are you working with an adoption agency?”
“Joey said he’ll help me. I trust him.”
Guilty until proven innocent was more her style. “How ‘bout this? Let’s see if we can meet some of the potential parents or read their bios first.”
“That would be good,” Hannah said, her expression brightening.
“Are you hanging with Joey tonight?”
Hannah lifted the coffee cup. At least she’d stopped trembling. “Charlene is having a dinner party and Joey will be there.” She offered a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry you weren’t invited.”
“I wouldn’t have gone anyway. You know I’m all about the chill on New Year’s Eve. You go, have fun, but don’t agree to anything. Promise?”
Hannah hugged her. “Promise. Thank you.”
A lump formed in Evangeline’s throat. “Always.”
“So, are you bored since you aren’t working?”
Evangeline thought of Sin. She was anything but bored. “I’m fine. No worries, ‘kay?”
“Thanks for listening. Can I buy you a cup of coffee for the road?”
“I’m good.” Evangeline’s attention was diverted when Charlene walked in. Ah, fuck. Her gaze turned icy when she spotted Evangeline.
“What’s she doing here?” Evangeline asked as Charlene approached their table.
“Charlene,” Hannah said. “I thought we were meeting at the salon.”
“Hello, dear.” Charlene refused to look at Evangeline. “I’m picking up a coffee. Ready for our mani-pedi?”
More bullshit bonding.
Hannah pushed her pregnant self up. “All set.”
Charlene continued to ignore Evangeline. “I’ll grab that coffee and meet you outside.”
When Evangeline rose, Hannah flung her arms around her. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Chin up. I have faith everything will work out.”
Strangely, that made Hannah laugh. “You definitely have an abundance of confidence, but faith? I’m not sure about that.”
“I have more faith than you might think.” Evangeline left the shop determined to get the skinny on Pastor Joey Thomason.
Sin suspected Uncle Charlie was behind his motorcycle accident. But he had to exhaust every possibility, so he spent the morning scouring his client list—A Who’s Who of D.C.—but no one stood out as a possible suspect. Not a single person.
Dammit.
His phone rang. He slapped his laptop shut and answered, “Hey, Rico.”
“Sin, my man. I finally got a hold of Eckert. You and your gal pal are all set.”
Silence.
“I need details, Rico.”
“Right. Place is called Kinky Times in Dewey Beach. That logo is definitely his. I got you on the VIP list. He said if you already got New Year’s Eve plans, show up any night this weekend. But just between us—”
Knock-knock. Erica popped her head in. “Evangeline’s here.”
The door widened and Evangeline slinked into his office, hijacking his attention. She’d worn tight blue jeans, a white blouse, black boots, and her hair tied back in a ponytail. Pausing, he scoped her out. Jesus, she’s hot.
“—so, I thought you’d want a heads up,” Rico continued.
“Say that again,” Sin said.
“Eckert’s runnin’ up against some legal shit. If I was you, man, I’d go tonight. Rumor is he’s gonna get shut down this weekend.”
With every step Evangeline took, his heart ticked faster. “Thanks for your help, Rico. Appreciate it,” Sin said and hung up.
As she knelt by his credenza and pulled out the laptop, he envisioned her unzipping his pants, pulling out his cock, and giving him the kind of hello he’d been fantasizing about for days.
“Hey,” she said, snapping him out of his sexual daze. “How are you feeling?”
“Pissed.”
She smiled. “Anger, the great motivator.” She stood and leaned her voluptuous ass against his desk. “What’s going on?”
“I got us on the list for the Dewey Beach kink club.”
Her penetrating gaze was doing a number on him. “Thanks for doing that.”
“We’ve got to go tonight.”
She sauntered over to the conference table, eased down, and opened the laptop. “Well, damn, there goes my New Year’s Eve.”
The thought of her with someone else soured his stomach. “Big plans?”
“A cheap bottle of vodka and a good book.”
That made him smile. “Then, you have nowhere to go but up.”
“That’s debatable,” she replied with a casual shrug.
He loved her snark. “I’ve got Jacoby hacking into the Easy Does It database. I spent the morning trying to figure out who would want me dead.”
“Long list, huh?” Her smarmy expression made him laugh.
“No list at all.”
“Then, it’s gotta be Uncle Charlie,” she said with conviction. “We’ll focus our attention on the truck rental. You want me to work with him?”
“He’s good.” Sin sat beside her. The knot between her eyebrows was deeper than usual. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
“I can read you, Evan. Tell me.”
“All of a sudden, my sister wants Joey to manage her son’s adoption. Before he inserted himself into her life, she was excited to become a mom. Now she’s a wreck over it.” She blew out a huff. “I saw him at Henninger’s open house yesterday toting a couple of gun cases. He didn’t sign in and he used the shooting range.”
“And you don’t think he wants to protect his church?”
“I’m not buying any of his crap. None of it. I have got to track this guy down and get some answers.” She unlocked the computer and grunted. “The database search I ran on him turned up nothing. I can’t believe a snake like that doesn’t have a record.”
Knock-knock.
“Come in.”
Erica entered and shut the door behind her. “Your appointment is here.”
Sin returned to his desk and checked his schedule. “Send her in.”
“Booty call,” Erica murmured. “I’ll be back in ten.”
Before Erica opened the door, Sin said, “Make it seven. You know I hate wasting time.”
“Please come in,” Erica said.
The prospective client entered his office. Despite the low-cut dress that barely covered her ass, Sin’s attention never strayed from her face. This wasn’t his first rodeo. Sometimes, women went to extreme measures for his attention.
“Hello, Mr. Develin.” Her upper lip curled into a snarl when she spotted Evangeline working at the conference table.
“This is my partner, Ms. Worthington.” Evangeline nodded an acknowledgment to the woman before returning to her laptop.