‘Don’t push me on this, Nadine. You’re almost a friend.’
‘Hell. Let’s do this. If anything I’ve told you, or pass on later regarding this adds to your case, you pay back.’
‘I’ll feed you, Nadine, as soon as it’s cleared.’
‘I want a one-on-one with you, ten minutes before any info hits the media.’
Eve leaned over, opened Nadine’s door. ‘See you.’
‘Five minutes. Goddamn it, Dallas. Five lousy minutes.’
Which meant, Eve knew, hundreds of ratings points and thousands of dollars. ‘I can do five - if and when. I can’t promise you more.’
‘It’ll be when.’ Satisfied, Nadine got out, then leaned on the door. ‘You know, Dallas, you just don’t miss. It’ll be when. You’ve got a knack for the dead and the innocent.’
The dead and the innocent, Eve thought with a shudder as she drove away. She knew that too many of the dead were the guilty.
There was moonlight drizzling through the sky window over the bed when Roarke shifted away from Eve. It was a new experience for him, the nerves before, during, after love-making. There were dozens of reasons, or so he told himself as she curled against him, as was her habit. The house was full of people. Leonardo’s motley team had taken over an entire wing with their mania. He had several projects and deals at varying stages of development,
business he was determined to close before the wedding.
There was the wedding itself. Surely a man was entitled to be a bit distracted at such a time.
But he was, at least with himself, a brutally honest man. There was only one reason for the nerves. That was the image that continually leapt into his mind of Eve, battered and bloodied and broken.
And the terror that by touching her he might bring it all back, turn something beautiful into the beastly.
Beside him she stirred, then pushed herself up to look down at him. Her face was still flushed, her eyes dark. ‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to you.’
He trailed a finger along her jaw. ‘About?’
‘I’m not fragile. There’s no reason for you to treat me as if I’m wounded.’
His brows drew together, the annoyance self-directed. He hadn’t realized he was that transparent, even with her. And the sensation didn’t sit well. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’ He started to get up, with the idea of pouring a drink he didn’t want, but she took a firm grip on his arm.
‘Avoidance isn’t your usual style, Roarke.’ It worried her. ‘If your feelings have changed because of what I did, what I remembered—’
‘Don’t be insulting.’ He snapped it out, and the temper kindling in his eyes was a great relief to her.
‘What am I supposed to think? This is the first time you’ve touched me since that night. It was more like nursing than—’
‘You have a problem with tenderness?’
He was clever, she thought. Calm or aroused, he knew how to turn things to his own favor. She kept her hand on his arm, her eyes level with his. ‘Do you think I can’t tell you’re holding back? I don’t want you to hold back. I’m fine.’
‘I’m not.’ He jerked his arm free. ‘I’m not. Some of us are a little more human, need a little more time. Leave it alone.’
His words were a sharp slap on a naked cheek. She nodded once, slid down into bed, and turned away from him. ‘All right. But what happened to me when I was a child wasn’t sex. It was an obscenity.’ She closed her eyes tight and willed herself to sleep.
Chapter Sixteen
When her ’link beeped, it was barely dawn. Eyes still closed, Eve reached out. ‘Block video. Dallas.’
‘Dallas, Lieutenant Eve. Dispatch. Probable homicide, male, rear of 19 One hundred eighth Street. Proceed immediately. ’
Nerves churned in Eve’s stomach. She wasn’t on rotation, shouldn’t have been called. ’Cause of death?’
‘Apparent beating. Victim not yet identified due to facial injuries.’