Page 35 of Evidence of Secrets

Danny laughed. “Nah. I keep my ears open. Don’t forget how tight the girls are.”

Right. Hailey, Grace, and Sam were Laura’s best friends, as were Ben and Pete’s wives. If he remembered correctly, Anne, the kindergarten teacher, was the only one besides Laura who weren’t married. He knew the women got together regularly. However, Laura didn’t strike him as a kiss-and-tell woman.

“What’ve you heard?” Hoping to hear gossip? He was pathetic.

“Easy, big guy. I haven’t heard much. The girls had lunch with Laura the other day. Hailey mentioned talking about you, but I wasn’t listening.” Danny laughed. “Much.”

“What did Hailey say?”

“Just that Laura caught the pastry chef stealing from the bistro and that she would be filling in because she was losing too much money. Also, her loan at the bank was coming due.”

Damn. He and Laura were having too much fun being with each other, and Hank never asked her about the security camera. It was good that they caught the person stealing, but he hadn’t realized she was losing so much money. No wonder she was sleeping in her office. Now he was glad he offered her a safe environment for a little while. Hank wondered how much Laura had lost. Would she have to sell the bistro? That would devastate Laura, who worked hard to make it a success.

People who stole were just as bad as abusers in Hank’s book.

He’d worked hard for what he had. Yes, he had help in the form of a trust, and money had never been an issue for him, but whatever he had, he gave back to people who needed a hand up. Hank admired Laura, who offered women from the shelter work at the bistro, and she also helped support the fundraiser by offering a place to have it. Hank knew Sam had paid for the food. Now he wondered who paid the waiters’ salaries. They sure as heck weren’t working for free. No one could afford to do that these days. Laura must have paid for them herself. Damn.

“Do you think I could offer to loan her the money?” asked Hank. Danny was only one of a couple of guys who knew his history.

Danny smirked. “Do you want to live a long life?”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Hank leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands. “Laura is a proud woman. She would never accept help.” Hank shook his head. “There has to be something we can do to get her on the right track.”

Danny exhaled a long breath. “I don’t know, man. I can pass this by Hailey. Maybe she has some suggestions.”

“Fuck. Let’s wait a little while before you talk to Hailey. I’ve got to process this.”

“Oh, hey, I want to tell…”

Hank’s phone rang. Marcia was informing him that Sam was back and ready for him.

“Gotta go. Sam’s waiting.” Hank said goodbye to Danny and walked toward Sam’s office.

He couldn’t wait to see Laura again. Then Hank remembered he never told her that he owned the building and she hadn’t had to worry about paying rent in the apartment. Hank mentally slapped himself.

Laura had trust issues to begin with, and not being upfront with a person who had trust issues was a big no-no. Hank only hoped this omission wouldn’t come back to bite him in the ass.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

“Sam.” Hank walked into Sam’s office. Then noticed a man sitting in the corner. He turned to look at him.

“Holy shit. Logan.” Hank was surprised, to say the least. Logan’s blond hair was a little longer, and it looked like he’d gained a couple of pounds of muscle, but Hank couldn’t deny that Logan Reed, his Army pal, was sitting in Sam’s office looking pleased as hell.

Logan got up. “Damn, it’s good to see you.” They man-hugged and patted each other on the back.

“Does Danny know you’re here?” Funny that Danny hadn’t mentioned it when Hank came in. But then again, maybe he was trying to when Marcia called and Hank rushed into Sam’s office before Danny could say anything.

“Yeah. I saw Danny last night.”

“Okay, guys. If we’re done with the meet and greet,” said Sam as she sat back in her chair, “why don’t you both take a seat.”

What was going on?

Hank was pleased to see his old friend, although he hadn’t heard from Logan in a while.

The last thing he’d heard, Logan was working out west at a security agency and loving it. He never imagined Logan sitting at KnightGuard Security or even in Florida.

“Hank, Logan has joined KnightGuard Security.”

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