"Did I?" He'd been totally unaware of it, and wasn't sure how that sat with him. "Odd."
"I liked it." The hands she held to his face slid around to link behind his neck. Her body bumped his. "It was…sexy."
"Was it, now?" His hands roamed down, cupped her bottom. "Well, Eve, me darling, if you're after—" His gaze flicked over her shoulder, and the amusement in them deepened. "Good morning, Peabody." Eve jerked, then swore when Roarke held her firmly in place. "Lovely day."
"Yes, it… I beg your pardon. Sir," she added lamely when Eve scorched her with a look. "You said eight sharp, and there was nobody downstairs so I just came up and…here I am. And, ah, McNab is—"
"Right behind her." Leading with a grin, McNab stepped into view. "Reporting for duty, Lieutenant, and may I say that your house is… Holy Mother of God."
His eyes went so huge, so bright, that Eve reached instinctively for her weapon as he rushed in.
"Would you look at this setup? Talk about sexy. You must be Roarke." He grabbed Roarke's hand and pumped it enthusiastically. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I work on one of your 2000MTSs in EDD. What a honey. We're crying for the 5000, but the budget, well, it sucks. I'm rebuilding an old multimedia unit at home—the Platinum 50? That baby rocks. Is that a Galactic MTS?"
"I believe it is," Roarke murmured, cocking a brow at Eve as McNab rushed over to drool on the communication system.
"McNab, get a grip on yourself," Eve ordered.
"Yes, sir, but this is ice." His voice quivered. "This is a goddamn glacier. How many simultaneous tasks will it perform?''
"It's capable of three hundred simultaneous functions." Roarke wandered over, more to prevent McNab from playing with his equipment than to give a tour. "I've had it up to nearly that without any glitches."
"What a time to be alive. Your R and D division must be paradise."
"You can put in an application," Eve said dryly. "Since if you don't get your ass in there and deal with my unit, you won't have one in EDD."
"I'm going. You really ought to talk her into upgrading her home unit," he told Roarke. "And that thing she works on at Central. It's a supreme junker."
"I'll see what I can do." He smiled as McNab sauntered out. "Interesting associates you have, Lieutenant."
"If Feeney doesn't get back soon, I'm going to shoot myself. I'm going to keep an eye on him."
"Peabody," Roarke said quietly before she could follow Eve out. "A moment." He stepped closer, satisfied when he heard Eve arguing with McNab in the adjoining room. "I'm in your debt."
She looked him straight in the eye. "I don't know what you're talking about. The lieutenant, and the department, is grateful for your assistance in our investigation."
Touched, Roarke took her hand, brought it to his lips. "Peabody, you are a jewel."
She flushed, and her stomach fluttered pleasantly. "Yeah, well, ah…you were an only child, right?"
"Yes."
"Figures. I'd better go keep Dallas from pounding on McNab. Doesn't look good on interdepartmental memos."
She'd barely turned when Eve's 'link beeped—one long, two short.
• • •
"Okay." McNab began to toy with controls on a small, portable trace unit. "That's coming into your downtown office—bypassing main control. It's him, yeah, it's him. She's jammed solid."
"Unjam it," Eve snapped. "Fast." She reached for the 'link. "Block video," she ordered. "Homicide. Dallas."
"You were quick." The voice flowed out, a hint of charm, a wealth of amusement. "Dear old Shawn wasn't even cold when you found him. I'm so impressed."
"I'll be quicker next time."
"If God wills it. I'm enjoying the competition, Lieutenant. And I'm coming to admire your strength of purpose. So much so that I've already begun the next stage. Are you up for the challenge?"
"Why don't you play with me directly. Take me on, asshole, and let's see who wins."