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Burke absorbed Rissa’s question. She hadn’t asked what happened—hadn’t asked if he’d been fired. Instead, she’d assumed he quit, and she was concerned.

So, was he okay? Finally, he nodded. “Mostly.”

She patted his arm. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Did he?

She must have sensed his hesitation. “No problem. You know you can talk to any of your siblings, but if you ever need to vent, I’m a pretty good listener.”

He smiled at that. “That’s a huge understatement.” She’d always listened with her whole being, as if whatever he said was more important than anything around her. She’d done the same with his brothers and sisters, even when little Jolie wanted to tell her all the playground drama of the day.

Rissa turned to walk away, to let him off the hook. She wouldn’t ask any more questions unless he brought it up.

Words spilled out of his mouth, and she immediately turned back to him. Apparently, he did want to talk about it. To her, at least. “I won’t go into the gory details, but over a year ago, the FBI asked me to aid them in their investigation of one of my colleagues and related criminal activity.”

She gasped. “I’m so sorry. That must have been difficult and so much work.”

He nodded. “He was someone I’d mentored.”

Rissa reached forward and hugged him again. That was twice when she’d sensed he needed human contact. Despite how much of a jerk he’d been, she hadn’t hesitated to offer comfort.

He hugged her back and held on. “He was also the firm’s owner’s son. Smart kid, but he was always cocky. It turns out that as soon as he started working without me looking over his shoulder and checking his work, he figured out ways to skim from clients. Then he got into gambling. It became a vicious cycle of losing larger amounts, skimming from more clients, and finding more creative ways to hide his actions. Then the people he owed demanded a piece of the action.”

“You found the proof the FBI needed.”

Not a question, but a statement. He answered anyway. “I did.”

She leaned back to look up at him. “And you had to keep it all secret while you worked for months to uncover the proof.”

He nodded, and her eyes misted again. Rissa’s special brand of empathy in action.

Proving she was attuned to her human’s feelings, Frizzle barked as she bounced over to put her paws on Rissa’s legs. Rissa picked her up and hugged her close. “I’m okay, Frizzle. Thanks for checking on me.”

In a reversal of earlier events, the Yorkie jumped from Rissa to Burke. Thankfully, he caught her, making Rissa smile. “Good reaction time.”

The Yorkie pawed at Burke’s chest until he lifted her to eye level. “I’m good, Frizzle.”

Apparently, the dog wasn’t satisfied, because she licked his nose and then settled into a ball in his hands, keeping herself close enough to offer comfort.

Rissa patted the dog. “She’s an empathetic little one.”

“Like you.”

Rissa’s eyes widened, and her voice was soft when she spoke. “Thank you.”

After a moment, he spoke again. Apparently, seeing Rissa had loosened the tight grip he kept on his tongue. He could let out some of the ugliness that had been festering inside him for over a year. “The trial finished up last week, and the asshole’s behind bars for a couple of decades.”

“Even though he deserves it, that must be difficult for you.”

He nodded, glad she understood. “I taught him the ropes. I thought he was ready to fly solo, but I should have kept a closer eye on him.”

“No. That’s all on him. He was obviously capable of working on his own. Capable enough to steal from clients of his father’s company. His lack of morals isn’t on you.”

While he knew that intellectually, it was nice to hear it from someone else. “Thanks. That helps. His father is a mess. He’s such a good man, and this wrecked him.”

“I’m glad neither of you blames the other.”

“Me too. He offered me the company if I wanted it.” Hell, he hadn’t meant to tell anyone that.