Page 127 of An Indecent Longing

What Dorrie didn’t know was if the mother had grabbed that frail little arm hard enough to fracture the bone or if she was covering for someone else.

It was the second abuse case she’d seen here today and her heart felt like it’d taken a beating.

She wanted to go home, turn the air conditioning down to icebox levels, and take a two-hour, scalding hot bath with a bottle of Zin.

Gens had been installed in her guest bedroom since she’d left Ben and Ian’s home Saturday but he’d been good about staying out of her way.

The problem was, she didn’t think her heart would stop hurting, and it wasn’t just because of the little boy sitting in front of her now and the married mother of two she’d seen an hour earlier.

Forcing her attention back to the problem at hand, she fake-smiled and asked the mother to sit tight while she arranged for someone to help her set the arm.

Which she was going to do. Right after she called Child Protective Services.

By the time she left an hour later, she only wanted a quick shower and to crawl into bed. And hopefully not dream about the two men who’d abandoned her.

Gens apparently picked up on her mood and remained quiet the entire ride back to her condo. She wasn’t sure she could’ve answered any questions without breaking into a crying jag so she was grateful for the quiet.

And when her phone buzzed to indicate a text from her sister just as she was about to crawl into bed around nine that night, she considered ignoring it. But she knew she couldn’t. Not with what was going on.

How was your day?

Sucked. Two abuse cases at the clinic tonight and a twenty-year-old soccer player with possible sarcoma in her leg this afternoon.

Yeah, that really sucks. Hugs. But some good news. Threat should be neutralized in hours.

Good.

Good? That’s all you have to say? How about if I told you the intel came from an interesting source. Your Bs. D suitably impressed and grateful.

Translation: Ben and Ian had found Tosto and given the information to her dad.

Surprise made her fingers freeze over her phone. She had no idea how to respond.

Hey, you still there?

Yeah. Just shocked. What does that mean?

Guess it means your guys aren’t as done with you as you thought. D will be in touch soon. House arrest almost over. Luv u. Night.

But what if she was done with them?

Dorrie’s intercom rang around eight-thirty Friday night, startling her out of a TV coma.

Or maybe she’d been asleep. Which made her the most boring person on earth.

She sat for a second, waiting for Gens to answer, then remembered that he’d been pulled out.

Her dad had indeed pulled Gens and reinstalled Blank, completely healed.

She was glad to have him back, even if she knew he’d complain about her six a.m. yoga class at the studio down the street and the fact that she was in her office by seven-thirty and didn’t leave until after seven at night.

She’d missed him, missed his hounding. Knew he did it only because he was worried about her.

Nice to know someone was.

Rolling her eyes at her pity party, she grabbed the remote for the intercom just as it began to ring again.

“Ms. Haverstick, Mr. Shaw and Mr. Keller are here to see you.”

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