Page 25 of Broken Daddy

Well, yeah. But not for the reasons that the other man likely thought.

Hayes:I’m talking to Doris about Stein’s clients whose cases he didn’t win. You didn’t tell me what a prick he is.

Donovan:As bored as I am, I’d rather guard Sondra anytime. Glad to swap permanently.

Hayes:No.

Shit.He’d said that without thought. This was his opportunity to get away from Devi. Although if he spent too much time with Stein, he likely would kill him.

Hayes:I’m gonna murder this guy if I spend too much time with him.

Donovan:Bad look, murdering the client. Got to go. Sondra is awake.

Hayes hadto bite back the urge to ask him how Devi was. If she’d been tired this morning. She had to be tired after working a second job last night.

“Sorry, dear, took me a moment to find the list,” Doris interrupted his thoughts. “Now, I can’t give you any details about the cases. It’s confidential and all. But in the last five years, these are the names of the people whose cases he’s lost. I’ve put a star next to the clients who were particularly nasty. I mean, none of them are upstanding citizens if I’m honest. I think all of them except for one had a record.”

“And what about what each one was charged with?” he asked, scanning the names.

Kent and Liam were already going through old cases. And they had access to more information than he did. They would have looked at these guys. However, maybe Doris could provide some more insight into them and the case.

“Oh yes. Let me think. Murder. Attempted murder. Assault with a deadly weapon. Rape and assault.”

Dear God.

If these people were all guilty they definitely deserved to be locked away.

“I also thought I’d mark which ones were in known gangs, dear. I don’t know if that would help. I might need to look up a couple of files. But I know these three definitely were. Nasty pieces of work, these two.”

“What about this one?” he asked, pointing at the name of the third guy she’d said was in a gang.

“Now, that one was an interesting case. That boy, he was so nice. But his lordship couldn’t get him off. See, the boy had the victim’s blood on him, and he was found in the vicinity of the body. I can’t imagine a nice boy like that making threats. I don’t know how any of them could, unless they’ve got a friend or relative on the outside who is doing it.”

“That’s another angle to look at. Thanks for this.”

Doris smiled at him. “Glad I could help. Are you going to be guarding Mr. Stein from now on?”

He grimaced. “God, no. Donovan will be back tomorrow.”

“Charming young man, that one. So nice to look at. Ahh, not that you aren’t dear,” she added hastily.

He tried to smile at her. He really did, seeing how horrified she looked at her words.

But he knew he’d failed.

It had been a long time since Hayes had smiled and he wasn’t sure that his mouth remembered how to do it.

Taking the list, he sat down where he could watch Stein through the glass and decided to send it to Kent with an explanation before doing a bit of research himself.

5

Devi was exhausted.

She dragged herself into the trailer. She was too tired to even care whether her father was home or not. Right now, all she wanted was to have a drink of water and go to bed and sleep for a hundred years.

Two more days and she had a whole two days off. Sundays and Mondays were her favorite days. She could spend the entire time in her pottery studio creating beautiful vases and bowls. She almost had enough for the gallery showing she had coming up.

That was her ticket out of here.