Page 43 of Tortured Tones

“Who is it?” Curiosity simmered through her intoxicated tone. “Is it a guy? Anyone famous and super-hot?”

Guy—yes. Famous—yeah. Hot—very. It wasn’t confidential who I was working for, but I protected my clients as much as possible. “Sorry. I can’t give out that information.”

“It’s got to be a good-looking guy. You’d spill otherwise. I bet you don’t mind being in a crowd, crushed up against someone with a smoking-hot body. There must be a perk in the job.”

“It’s not fun in those situations, trust me.” But Cole’s body was smoking hot. That wasn’t a lie.

Zoe laughed and waved her glass at me. “No matter what shit Luther says about you, I like you, Ava. Just watch your back, okay?”

“Thanks. I always do.” What did she mean by watch my back? I always did. “It’s my job to keep an eye on every angle.”

Josh tugged on my hand. “Mommy, let’s go.”

“Okay. Okay.” I waved at Zoe. “Bye.”

I jumped in my Range Rover with Josh and headed off. As we drove home, Josh spoke at one hundred miles an hour, filling me in on every minute detail about school, his friends, and the homework he had to do.

“What about soccer?” I asked, peering at him in the rearview mirror before turning onto Santa Monica Boulevard. “How was your game on Saturday?”

“Ergh,” he groaned, thudding his head against the safety seat. “I was late. Coach wasn’t happy.”

“Why were you late?”

“Dad had friends over again. Mostly girls. The party was really loud. He locked me in my room, so I stayed out of the way.”

“He what?” My mind spun. What was Luther doing?

“He bruised my arm too.” A chill ran down my spine as Josh lifted the sleeve of his T-shirt. He twisted his arm to one side. “See here?”

At the next red traffic light, I swiveled in my seat to take a closer look. Yellow marks in the shape of fingers discolored his inner bicep.

What the . . . ? “He hurt you?” Nausea flooded my gut.

“No. Not really.” Josh shrugged.

That was the first mark I’d seen on Josh. Luther wasn’t violent, but I’d have to photograph that for the court.

Josh lowered his sleeve. “Dad had a bad headache in the morning, so Zoe had to take me to the game. She wasn’t happy about it.”

I faced forward and tightened my hands around the steering wheel. Luther was supposed to take Josh to soccer, not Zoe. If he couldn’t take Josh, he was supposed to call me. Prick. I’d be having words with Luther about both things later. The parties seemed to happen every weekend. If Luther wanted to hold wild get-togethers and socialize with his posse of friends, I was more than happy to take care of Josh. I’d switch into my new role at work quicker than Luther could blink. Josh’s well-being and safety were my main concerns. I lightened my tone as we headed along the road. “I’m so sorry, J-bear. Your dad likes his parties. But how was the game?” I kept glancing in the rearview mirror to check on Josh.

His handsome face lit up. “I scored a goal.”

“You did? Awesome. High five.” I reached back with one hand, and he slapped his palm against mine. “You’re a super star.”

“You should’ve seen it, Mom.” He animated every word with his hands. “I ran so fast. So fast. And then I kicked the ball, and it went in.”

“Woohoo. That’s amazing. I’m super proud of you.”

“It was so cool. I was the only one who scored a point.” Josh loved soccer. His favorite team was LA Galaxy. Luther had promised to take him to a game, but never had. Probably never would. I’d tried to get tickets several times to take Josh myself, but games had always conflicted with my roster. Once I started my new role, I’d be able to take him.

“I’m hungry.” Josh flopped his head back against the seat. “Can you make chicken pasta tonight? It’s my favorite.”

“It’s already cooked.” I’d done the shopping and baking late last night, ready for Josh’s stay. I loved cooking with him, but tonight, I just wanted us time. He was worth it.

“You’re the best mom in the whole wide world.” His face shone with a heartfelt smile, filling my chest with warm flutters. In a few months the court had to agree with him, right?

I was a good mom.

---