• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Emotion wavered over Summerset’s face. Suddenly, even his bones felt weary. He lowered himself into her chair. “I’ll give you my full cooperation, Lieutenant. Shall I wait here while you arrange my transportation?”

“Here’s fine.”

“Lieutenant,” he said before she reached the door. Their eyes met. “It isn’t just pride. I can’t leave him. He’s . . . he’s mine.”

“I know it.” She let out a sigh. “I’ll get a couple of guys in soft clothes in an unmarked to take you home. That should take some of the sting out of it.” She opened the door, and turned back with a sneer to steady them both. “Next time he fires you, pal, I’m doing laps in champagne.”

chapter nineteen

Eve dealt with the transportation, assigned a couple of uniforms to head over to Madison and interview shopkeepers who might have seen Yost flee the scene. Though she didn’t put out much hope it would lead to anything, she ordered them to hunt up the maxibus driver for a statement.

Then she gathered up Peabody and went down to the garage.

“He’ll stay put? Summerset?”

“Yeah, he’ll stay put. If I doubted it, I’d lock him up. Right now, I’m more worried about . . . well, hmmm,” she finished when she saw the object of her concern leaning against the side of her vehicle. “I have a feeling I’m going to need a minute here, Peabody.”

“God, he looks so sexy when he’s pissed. Can I watch?”

“Stand a minimum of five parking slots away, back turned.” She took one step forward. “Record off,” she added and heard her aide mutter, “Party pooper.”

“You’re loitering, ace,” Eve said to Roarke. “Get moving or I’ll call garage security.”

“I want him out of the country.” His voice was a whip, slashing clean.

“Even you can’t always have what you want.”

“And you’re the last person I’d have expected to stand in my way on this.”

“Yeah, and I’m not real thrilled about it. Summerset is now a material witness. He stays in the city, in protective custody. End of story.”

“Fuck your protective custody. Your cops couldn’t manage to stay on him for six blocks. Do you think I’d trust them with him now?”

“Don’t you mean trust me?”

“Apparently it comes to the same.”

That slash hurt, cutting deep across the belly. “You’re right, it does, and I let you down. I’m sorry.”

Emotion, violent and hot, sprang into his eyes. She braced for them, prepared to let him blast at her until he’d cleared out the turmoil. Instead he turned away, rested his hands on the roof of her vehicle.

“God. Would you stand there and let me slap at you? Have I gone that far over?”

“You’ve done it for me plenty of times. Point is, I picked the men to trail him, and they lost him. So, it’s on me.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“No, that’s chain of command. Just like you figuring, because he’s yours, what almost happened to him is on you. Once we both swallow that, we move to the next stage. Roarke.”

She started to touch his shoulder, then stuck her hand in her pocket. “Don’t ask or expect him to do what you wouldn’t do yourself. I’m not happy about what happened this morning, but when it comes down to it, he handled himself. Let’s give him credit for it, and get back on track.”

“They would know he’s important to me. What the loss of him, in that way, would do. For the money and the thrill. Well, I’ve done my share of dirty deeds for the money and the thrill.”

She waited a moment. “Is that an Irish thing? Deciding maybe bad stuff happens because you’ve been bad?”

He gave a half-laugh, turned back to her. “More a Catholic one, I suppose. It springs up at the most unexpected moments, no matter how far you stray. No, I don’t think this is payment for my past. But I do think it’s crept in from it, and has to be dealt with.”

And deal with it he would, no matter how hurtful that might be.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“When I know for certain, I will tell you. Eve, you didn’t let me down. I had no right to make you think otherwise.”

“It’s all right. At least I got to be there when you fired Summerset. Maybe you could wait a couple of weeks, then do it again.