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.We reached the long off-ramp in less than a minute and I turned my attention back to my phone.I called Martin. Eva, he answered cheerfully, clearly recognizing my number from his contact list. I m glad tohear from you. How are you? I m good.You? Hanging in there.We should get together sometime. I smiled at a cop who was artfully directingtraffic at the hugely complicated intersection on the Brooklyn side.She kept things moving with awhistle between her teeth and fluid hand gestures that had serious sass to them. We could grab adrink after work or double-date for dinner. I d like that.Are you seeing someone in particular? Gideon and I are working things out. Gideon Cross? Well, if anyone can hook him, it d be you.I laughed and wished I had my ring on.I didn t wear it around during the day the way Gideon worehis.He didn t care who knew he was taken or by whom, but I still had everyone in my life to tell. Thanks for the vote of confidence.What about you? You seeing anyone? Lacey and I are dabbling.I like her.She s a lot of fun. That s great.I m glad to hear it.Listen, if you talk to her today, can you ask her to let me knowhow Megumi s doing? She s out sick and I just want to make sure she s all right and doesn t needanything. Sure thing. The receiver filled with a sudden rush of noise, the unmistakable sound of himstepping outside. Lacey s out of town, but she s supposed to give me a call tonight. Thank you.I appreciate it.You re on the move, so I ll let you go.Let s plan on getting togethernext week and we ll work out the details in the next couple of days. Sounds good.I m glad you called.I smiled. Me, too.We hung up and because I felt like reaching out, I sent a text to Shawna and another to Brett.Justquick hellos with smiley faces.When I looked up, I caught Clancy looking at me in the rearview mirror. How s Mom? I asked. She ll be fine, he said, in his usual no-nonsense way.I nodded and looked out the window, catching sight of a gleaming steel bus stop shelter displayingCary s billboard. Family is so hard sometimes, you know. I know. You have any brothers or sisters, Clancy? One of each.What were they like? Were they tough as nails and deadly like Clancy? Or was he the black sheep? Are you close, if you don t mind my asking? We re tight.My sister lives out of state, so I don t see her much, but we talk on the phone once aweek at least.My brother s in New York, so we catch up more often. Cool. I tried to picture a relaxed Clancy tossing back beers with someone who resembled him,but couldn t pull it off. Does he work security, too? Not yet. His mouth did that little lip twitch, almost-smile thing. He s with the FBI for now. Is your sister in law enforcement? She s in the Marines. Whoa.Awesome. Yes, she is.I studied him and his military crew cut. You were in the service, too, weren t you? I was. He didn t volunteer any more than that.When I opened my mouth to pry further, we turned a corner and I realized we d reached the formerwarehouse where Parker had his studio.I grabbed my gym bag and got out before Clancy could open the door for me. See you in an hour! Knock  em out, Eva, he said, watching me until I got inside.The door had barely closed behind me when I saw a familiar brunette I would ve rather not seenagain.Ever.She stood to the side, just off the training mats, with her arms crossed.She was dressedin black workout pants with a bright blue stripe down the sides that matched her fitted long-sleeveshirt.Her brown curly hair was scraped back into an unforgiving ponytail.She turned.Cool blue eyes raked me from head to toe.Facing the inevitable, I took a deep breath and approached her. Detective Graves. Eva. She gave me a curt nod. Great tan. Thanks. Cross take you away for the weekend?Not exactly a casual question.My back went up. I had some time off.Her thin mouth quirked on one side. Still cautious.Good.What does your dad think of Cross? I believe my dad trusts my judgment.Graves nodded. I d keep thinking about Nathan Barker s bracelet if I were you.But then, looseends make me twitchy.A shiver of unease ran down my back.The whole thing made me twitchy, but who could I talk toabout it? No one but Gideon, and I knew him too well to doubt that he was doing everything in hisconsiderable power to solve that mystery. I need a sparring partner, the detective said suddenly. You re up. Uh, what? I blinked at her. Is that & ? Can we & ? The case has gone cold, Eva. She stalked onto the mat and began to stretch. Hurry up.I don thave all night.GRAVES kicked my ass.For such a rail-thin, wiry woman, she packed some strength.She was focused,precise, and ruthless.I actually learned a lot from her over the hour and a half we sparred, mostespecially never to let down my guard.She was lightning quick and swift to exploit any advantage.When I stumbled into my apartment a little after eight, I headed straight to the bathtub.I soaked invanilla-scented water, surrounded by candles, and hoped Gideon would show up before I pruned.He ended up coming in just as I was wrapping a towel around me, his damp hair and jeans tellingme he d showered after a visit with his trainer. Hi, ace. Hi, wife. He came up to me, tugged open my towel, and lowered his head to my breast.My breath left me when he sucked a nipple into his mouth, drawing rhythmically until it hardened.Straightening, he admired his handiwork. God, you re sexy.I lifted onto my tiptoes and kissed his chin. How d things go tonight?He looked at me with a wry curve to his lips. Dr.Petersen congratulated us, then went on abouthow important couples therapy would be. He thinks we got married too soon.Gideon laughed. He didn t even want us having sex, Eva.Wrinkling my nose, I resecured my towel and grabbed a comb for my wet hair. Let me, he said, taking the comb and leading me to the wide lip of the tub.He urged me to sit.As he combed my hair, I told him about seeing Detective Graves at my Krav Maga class. My lawyers tell me the case has been shelved, Gideon said. How do you feel about that? You re safe.That s all that matters [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]