The grass squished under my feet as I trudged across the dying yard to the sidewalk and then the front of the home. My heart beat hard against my chest, and I twisted my fingers together on the walk. The trench coat blew against my ankles in an annoying fashion. It was a horrible choice. What had I been thinking?

The whole day had been screwy. Letting Tony talk me into being a fake prostitute for him to get into a house and catch a jumper was just the cherry on the top of the crap cupcake.

But hey, I'd get to cuff someone. That was something.

If I stopped to think about it, I'd back out, and Vonnie Vines did not back out of anything. I'd never live it down if the bakery girls found out I gave up over a little prostitution.

The first porch step shook under my weight. "Sooo going to end up in the hospital."

How in the hell would I explain to Broadrick that Tony talked me into being a bogus prostitute, and I caved in a porch on the way to fake it? He'd never let me out of the house again.

The front door came up on me too quickly, and I had to make a choice-knock or go home.

I knocked.

No one answered.

Tony snuck to the side of the house, and I turned toward him, shaking my head and pointing at the door. He mimicked knocking against the air.

Ugh.

I smoothed out the fabric of the tan trench coat over my jeans and T-shirt and knocked again. "It's your beauty."

Tony scoffed.

What? Beauty sounded better than whore. Tony said I had to fake it, and I didn't expect prostitutes went around announcing their status to the world.

Someone pushed back a curtain from beside the front door. "What you got on under that?" came from inside the home.

I popped out my hip and forced a smile. "Nothing, big boy."

The front door creaked open but only a crack. "Show me what I'm paying for," said a rough voice.

I glanced behind me. Tony shook his head. The door wasn't open far enough. "Let's get inside first. You aren't paying to share me with the neighbors."

He hesitated for a minute and then the door opened further, and he waved me inside. "Fine, but catch the lock."

"Right," I said as I walked inside. "We don't want any unexpected visitors."

I closed the door and twisted the deadlock and then pushed it back into the unlocked position. Hopefully, all the lock noises covered up my misdeeds.

"Where you want to do this?" I asked as I walked further into the living room.

I glanced to the left and then the right. Wow! A beautiful cream-colored couch took up space against one wall of the room and a gigantic television filled the wall on the other side. Paintings hung on the wall. Real paintings. Good ones. The carpets were clean. No dirty dishes or anything was piled up on the end tables.

Definitely not what I expected. I almost felt bad for generalizing him and his home.

"Come here, hot stuff, and take off the jacket. I want to see what I've got to work with tonight."

Nope. All those guilty feelings vanished.

What a sleazeball.

I turned toward him and gave him a sly grin and my sexy gaze.

"What's wrong with your eye?" He squinted at me in the dark living room.

"It's dusty," I said and rubbed at the bottom lid. "It's a nice place you've got here."

I moved to the front window and jiggled the curtains, giving Tony the signal to hurry the fuck up and get in here.

The mark moved up behind me, and I tensed. "What are you doing?"

I opened the window more, these curtains a breeze lace rather than the cheap Mickey sheet from the back one. "I want you to see me in my best light."

"It's night."

"Oh." I laughed nervously and didn't have to fake any of it.

"It's okay. I didn't buy you for your brains. Do you smell moth balls?"

Buy me? Buy me!

My hands clenched into fists. Ugh. What an asshole.

I wanted to hit him. Tony needed to get his ass in here.

He inched closer, almost touching my back, and I didn't move. I held my breath.

"Let's see what I've paid for. I've got an appointment with Snowbird later that I can't miss."

"Snowbird?" I questioned and spun on him, putting us almost chest to chest. Snowbird? The man who broke the window in my office, threatened me, and was up to no good. That Snowbird?

The door swung open, and Tony barged through, yelling a bunch of words that rang in my ears.

The mark threw his hands in the air, and I did too. Stretching them toward the ceiling as high as possible.

Shit.

I dropped my hands.

I wasn't in trouble here. Not yet, at least.

Tony charged the guy and dropped him to the floor by kicking the back of his knees. "Put your hands behind you, motherfucker."

"I had them in the air," the sleazeball said.

"Shut up!" Tony yelled at him.

But I didn't want the guy to shut up. I needed him to keep talking.

I dropped to the ground beside him. "What about Snowbird? Where are you meeting him? Who is he?"

If he told me, I could show up in his place. I'd love to have a meeting with Snowbird. I'd consider it an early birthday present.

"Fuck you. I'm not saying shit until I get a lawyer," he spat at Tony.

The trench coat pulled on my neck as I stood. "Of course."

Tony hauled him to his feet. "I'm taking him in. Are you good?"

"Yeah," I said and waved my hand. He started for the door and I followed. "Just tell me where you were meeting Snowbird?" I tried again as we reached the porch.

"Screw you, whore."

Why did no one just do what I wanted them to do?

Tony waited by his truck for less than a minute before a Clearwater cop car pulled up behind him and he dragged his jumper toward them.

At least he got his man. Although, I lost the chance to put the cuffs on him.

I waved goodbye to the entire drama as I crossed the street and passed the liquor store before reaching my car.

**

The next morning, Broadrick sipped from his cup of coffee as soon as he pulled it from his Keurig. It didn't make iced coffee, so I had no interest in it.

His thick black leather planner, that he'd once used as a fake Bible, sat open on the kitchen counter. I leaned over and accidentally glanced at the open page.

Okay. Fine. I spied.

And I didn't feel bad about it at all.

My gaze caught on the writing. Right there, in the middle of the day's events, Broadrick had a meeting marked.

A meeting with Dalton.

"Another meeting with Dalton?" I asked and tapped the paper. I hadn't been sneaky about my spying.

Broadrick barely glanced up. "Hmmm?"

I twisted the planner toward him as he opened the fridge door and stuck his head inside. "Dalton. You. A meeting. You know, Dalton. The man trying to steal my boyfriend from me."

Not a chuckle. Not a moan. Not even a mumble.

"Oh yeah. At lunch." He pulled away from the fridge, holding a bag of full-sized carrots. "Did you buy these?"

"Yeah." How did he think they got in there? Did the bunny go shopping? Where was the bunny? Where was NB? Why wasn't he begging for breakfast?

He stared at the carrots. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah," I said again.

Broadrick stared at me. "Your idea of a healthy choice is getting a small iced coffee."

"Ha, ha," I deadpanned. "They're for Mr. Jasper."

I'd stopped at the store on the way home from Tony's jumper and grabbed them to give me time to lose the moth ball smell from the thrift store trench coat.

"What did you help Tony with last night?" Broadrick asked as he tossed the carrots into the fridge.

He'd find out anyway. "Prostitution."

"Wonderful." The condiments jiggled as he shut the door.

No yelling? No warning me about jail? Or the hospital?

Something was really up with Broadrick. He had to have something major on his mind. I wanted to pick his brain apart and find out what. He'd never tell me if I asked him outright. I had to be sneaky about it.

"Is everything okay with you?" I asked and closed the planner after flipping through a few empty pages.

"Yeah," he said, tapping the fridge door with his knuckle. "Just a busy day."

"With Dalton?" I couldn't help myself. Once I had a bone, I had to gnaw on it. And Dalton was a big bone.

"Yeah." He checked his watch with a flick of his wrist. "Actually, I need to go now."

"I thought it was a lunch meeting," I said, pushing the planner closed and standing straight. My fingers slid across the smooth surface of the counter.

"I'm meeting with Ridge before lunch." He stopped beside me and gave me a kiss on the temple.

My stomach twisted, but not in delight, like it normally did. Broadrick was up to something and I didn't like it. I hated not knowing stuff. Especially when it involved my boyfriend.

Broadrick was clearly up to something, but so was I. If he'd been paying attention, he would have noticed it immediately. I waited for his truck to back out of the driveway and gave NB a pet on the top of his head as he slept on the couch.

When the truck disappeared, I pulled my phone from my pocket, typing out a social media direct message to my long-lost friend Emma from high school. Since Tony's guy wasn't talking, she was my best connection to whatever my uncle was doing.

VONNIE: Hey girl. What's up?

The three dots of her response came quickly, and I sat on the couch beside NB.

EMMA: Long time no talk.