“It’s okay, Bethany,” Senator Applegate said. “You can tell her.”
“Ten thousand if I could provide papers that my baby was healthy.”
A low growl erupted from Sin. She looked over at him and his jaw muscles were flexing.
“Let’s talk about Uncle Charlie,” she said to Bethany. “Did you meet him, too?”
“No, but I talked to him on the phone, like, once.” She scrolled through her handset. “No, wait, twice.”
“Is there anything that stood out from either of your conversations with him? A gruff voice or maybe an accent, or you could tell that he was smoking.”
Bethany paused, then shook her head. “He sounded like a nice guy. He had a regular voice, no accent or anything.”
“What about background noises or other voices?”
“Sorry. I don’t remember.”
“What did Uncle Charlie tell you?”
“He told me I was doing the right thing and assured me that Mia would be placed in a loving home.”
“Can I get those phone numbers from you?” Evangeline held her breath. Bethany was under no obligation to turn them over.
“I’ll text them to you.”
She gave Bethany her number and her phone binged with the incoming text.
“The first number is Uncle Charlie,” said Bethany. “The second is Pete.”
Evangeline glanced at the numbers. Both had Maryland area codes. Though grateful Bethany had been willing to talk to her, she’d hoped to learn something new. “Thanks for your time and for the phone numbers. How’s your baby doing?”
“She’s good. Being a mom is hard work, but my mom and dad are super supportive. I’m going back to college part-time next semester.”
Evangeline rose. “I wish you all the best.”
She and Sin showed themselves out. Evangeline stopped in front of her car. “Thanks.”
He stepped close and her body hummed with excitement. “You didn’t get much.”
“I got two numbers,” she said, peering into his eyes.
“Where’s your coat?” he asked.
“Long gone in the fire. I keep forgetting to borrow one from Hannah.”
“Have a drink with me.”
She needed to put some space between them. “Sure.”Dammit. She had no self-control when it came to this man. None whatsoever. She held his gaze for an extra beat. “Where to?”
“My place. Purely for the vodka.”
Her pulse kicked up and she arched her eyebrow.I won’t be able to keep my hands off him. “Nice try. We’ll go to a bar.”
“I make a mean vodka tonic.” He pulled on his helmet and she fought the urge to tug him close.
“Uh, no.”
“Okay, then. Sullivan’s in Georgetown. Follow me.” He flashed her a smile before swaggering toward his bike, parked at the curb. He slipped his leather overpants over his dress pants, then shrugged into his leather jacket.
