Page 78 of Playing For Keeps
“Hey there. My name is Genevieve, and I’ll be your server. Please come this way.”
Aiden and I share a glance. He bounces his brows up and down, showing he’s interested in her.
I would be, but I’m still dealing with losing Dorothy forgood and trying to control Isabella from behind bars. Women are a source of all my troubles right now, so I’m not ready to go there just yet.
I lift my glass. “Aiden, you first.”
He grabs his belongings off the bar and spins off, motioning to Genevieve. “I might follow you anywhere.”
She laughs in a flirtatious way. “Let’s try finding you a table first and go from there. You are handsome though.”
I slide off my stool with my drink in hand. She leads us to a section near the front, showing us to a booth. When we give her a reassuring gesture that the area she picked out for us is acceptable, she rushes away to get us menus.
Aiden sits across from me. “This is a long shot, but you wouldn’t have any need for a private investigator, would you?”
I get comfortable, moving the utensils to the side. “I might. What do you have in mind?”
“I want to take down anyone who was involved with the traffickers your mom was working with. Something happened to Dori while she was captive, and I want every one of them to rot in hell.”
My stomach opens up and swallows me. “What do you mean, something happened to her?”
“I went to see her this morning. She broke down and said someone touched her, and she couldn’t fight them off. I know you’re not directly related, but since you love my sister, I thought you would want me to find the people involved and make them pay.”
“Of course I want them to pay, but they have all the men involved behind bars.”
“They do.” Aiden’s head goes from side to side, and then his gaze comes to me. “I want to go after your mother’s connections. If she has ties to those kinds of resources, she’s getting them from someone connected to her. I’m talking about her and her mob ties.”
“Isn’t it best to let the FBI handle that?” I pull my phone out of my pocket with my nerves firing.
“Sure, but I need a job and can go in a different direction than them. I can be a little grayer in my tactics, if you know what I mean.” He points to my phone. “Why are you staring at that?”
I glance up and then back to my cell with my hands shaking. “I’m going to text Jamison and see what happened to Dorothy.”
Aiden shrugs while I type a message.
Me: Aiden just told me about Dorothy being assaulted while she was being held. Is she okay? Does she need anything that I can help with?
Jamison: She’s as good as can be expected. She’s scared and was violated, but it could’ve been a lot worse. He didn’t rape her, so there’s some good news. I have her talking with Mel and me, and she promises to work with her therapist around it, so she’s doing better.
Relief blankets me, and I suck in a breath.
Me: That’s good news. Please let me know if I can do anything.
Jamison: Thanks, but I can handle it from here. The authorities are doing everything to build an airtight case. The guy responsible won’t see another day of life as a free man.
Me: Good. Safe travels.
Jamison: You too.
I place my phone away. “Jamison said it wasn’t rape, and she’s getting help. He’s not sharing much, but I have no doubt he’ll do all he can to make sure she’s getting the support she needs. He assured me he’s taking care of it.”
Aiden growls. “Jami acts like he knows her better than I do.”
“He knows her in ways you don’t, so I’m inclined to believe he does.”
“How do you figure?”
I study Aiden, trying to figure out if it’s my place to tell him what I know. I decide telling him will give him some time to get used to it so he doesn’t fly off the handle on Dorothy.
