Vigilant by Angel Lawson Read Free Book Online

his last roommate, a guy who took baths daily with his girlfriend and read Dr. Seuss aloud.
    “They read this in the bathtub? Together?” Ari asked, almost spitting out her beer.
    “Daily,” he confirmed, fake shuddering at the thought.
    “You deserve an award for that. I do have to live with the constant string of women in Nick’s life, including the occasional nut-job long-term girlfriend.”
    “Are they always that bad?”
    “Always,” Ari replied. “He has the worst taste in women. There was the one who liked to fight before having sex. I’d come home to broken china and a trail of clothing through the house. Which for him was great. For me? There’s nothing more awkward than finding someone’s panties hanging from the lampshade.”
    “How did you end up living together in the first place?”
    “Oliver and I have lived together since college. Our roommates dated and moved out together. At the time, it was the easiest and only option. Luckily it worked.” Ari realized they were slipping into first-date territory. Drinks and dinner, sharing background and personal stories. She wasn’t sure if this was a first date or not, but it sure seemed like it.
    Ari didn’t know how she felt about that.
    “Tell me what you know about the Glory Youth Center,” she said, diverting attention off her personal life and back to work. She was happy to pretend for the moment that Mr. Davis was only work related. Nothing personal.
    “I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never been there.”
    “I went today. Judge Hatcher placed one of my clients there. It’s pretty nice but it’s like…some kind of referral-only place. We’ve never had another client placed there as far as I can tell,” Ari explained. “I have no idea how Curtis landed on the list.”
    Nick rubbed his chin and Ari could see the five o’clock shadow growing in. He had one of those faces that grew more attractive with a little scruff. “I guess the judges may have some pull in that area. Juvenile judges are appointed which means they have a lot of political connections and attend fundraisers and other events. Maybe that’s how she found it.”
    “Maybe so. Seems like they have a really high success rate. Mr. Davis was more together than any other program director I’ve met.”
    “Davis? I’ve met him before. Tall and kind of bald, right?”
    Handsome, amazing kisser and apparently my dirty little secret, Ari wanted to add. She felt her cheeks flush. “Yes, that’s him.”
    Nick tipped his beer and finished it off. “Yeah, I’ve met him. Kind of aloof. Seems like he plays by his own rules.”
    “Is that a bad thing?”
    “Not necessarily, but you and I both know societal rules are there for a reason.”
    “True,” Ari said. The waitress walked up and laid two checks on the table. Ari reached for hers but Nick swiped both before she reacted.
    “Dinner’s on me.” He tucked a card in the black padded envelope and handed it back to the waitress as she passed by.
    Ari scrunched her nose. “You sure?”
    “You did me a favor. I was going to sit at home all night reading case files. This is so much better.”
    “Better than me sitting home watching the late-night news to see if any of my clients got arrested,” she said, shaking her head.
    The waitress returned and they gathered their coats and squeezed through the tight restaurant to the front door. Ari walked toward her car and Nick followed. Like that, everything went from casual to date-night awkward.
    “Oh, by the way,” Nick said, as Ari pulled her keys from her bag, “I did a little digging on Hope’s situation.”
    “Really? What did you find out?”
    “I talked to a couple of the officers at the courthouse and pulled some records. I thought the details sounded familiar when you told me. Girl kidnapped for prostitution. There have been a couple of girls arrested on Stewart Street with this same story. My gut tells me this is some kind of urban legend they have created in an effort