Hard Evidence

“Bingo.” Standish glanced over at the gnome looking guy hunched over the body. “Got any thoughts on how he died, doc?”

“My professional opinion is that he bled to death,” the coroner said dryly.

“No kidding, doc,” Standish said. “Can you get any more specific?”

The coroner pointed to a series of bruises on the dead lawyer’s jawline and upper chest. “They worked him over pretty good. And then they started in on him with the knife. Whoever was wielding the knife knew what he was doing. He made sure the guy didn’t exsanguinate too quickly.” The coroner straightened up, grunting slightly and placing a hand against his lower back.

“I’m getting too old for this,” he said. “Whoever did this wanted information. And he went about getting it in a slow and methodical manner. You want anything more specific than that, you’re going to have to wait until I’m done with the autopsy.”

He nodded his head and two of his staff wheeled a gurney with an open body bag on top into the room.

Standish jerked his head toward the living room. “Let’s get out of their way.”

We moved back out into the living room where a crew of CSI workers swarmed over the area, busy dusting everything for prints.

“You ready to go?”

I glanced up to see Jack standing next to me. He and Standish glanced at each other, but neither spoke. I had learned from Jack earlier at the hospital that he was actually on speaking terms with Standish, but their current coolness toward each other told me that their friendship was probably on the sly. No doubt Standish didn’t want any of his fellow officers knowing he associated with someone who had actually broken the blue wall.

“Yeah, I’m ready.” I turned to Standish. “You’ll call me as soon as you hear anything?”

Standish nodded and wandered off to talk to a few other officers congregated in the kitchen area.

Jack swung a small cat crate in my direction. “You’re going to have to put the beast in here. We’ll never get him across town otherwise.”

Sweetie Pie’s ears immediately went back and he hissed. I wasn’t sure if it was Jack’s presence or the appearance of the cat crate. Whichever it was, Sweetie Pie wasn’t happy. Jack was smart enough to know that he best not try to hustle Sweetie Pie into the crate. He left that job to me.

As we trooped back down the stairs, I asked, “Why would Pop hire a lawyer known for working for the dregs—drug dealers?”

Jack shrugged. “Guess we’ll have to ask him when he wakes up.”

A few minutes later, we were on his bike, the cat crate sitting snug between us as we headed across town. Sweetie Pie yowled his discontent the entire way.

THE ELEVATOR to Jack’s apartment was different from the one I remembered from nine years ago. Apparently, the loft had become a bit more upscale over the years. Gone was the freight elevator ambience, replaced with a sleek, metallic-looking interior filled with mirrors and recessed lighting.

“Impressive,” I said, shifting the cat crate to my other hand and glancing around.

Jack pressed the button for the fourth floor and then leaned one shoulder against the wall as the elevator started upward. “The place went co-op about five years ago. It was either move out or buy in. So, I bought in.” He grinned. “Kind of strange to be a home owner.”

“Don’t tell me you’re getting domesticated.”

He laughed. “Hardly. The place is made up mostly of singles. But we’ve made a lot of improvements to the building over the past couple of years. You haven’t seen the place in a while so it’ll look pretty different.”

Haven’t seen the place in a while? Who was he kidding. I hadn’t stepped foot in his apartment since the day I got word that he’d reported to work and ratted out Charlie.

That single thought sent a flash of guilt rumbling through me. What the hell was I doing here? Hadn’t I sworn this would never happen?

It was hard accepting the fact that I was even standing in the elevator next to him. The rest of the family would probably tar and feather me and ride me out of town on a rail if they knew where I was at this very moment.

The elevator slid to a smooth stop and the door opened.

Jack’s apartment was directly across the hall. He unlocked the heavy door, leaned in and flicked on a switch. Soft light flooded the interior. He stepped aside and motioned for me to go first.

My heart kicked up a few beats as I brushed past him. I was careful to keep my arms close to my sides. I didn’t think I could handle any contact between us after our forced intimacy on the back of his bike.

The feeling had been uncomfortable and incredibly awkward, like having to be the maid of honor to your usher of an ex-boyfriend during your best friend’s wedding. You can’t back out and you can’t let everyone know how stupid you feel.

I forced a bit of a swagger into my step. It was all an act, but what else was I supposed to do—except wonder what the hell I was doing casually walking into O’Brien’s apartment. Apparently, I’d lost connection with my last fully functioning brain cell.

Of course, Jack seemed oblivious. He moved about the cavernous room, turning on lights and talking as he went. “Make yourself at home. I’ll let you take the bed.”

He nodded toward one end of the room that had a large Japanese-style screen set up to partition off the bedroom area. “I’ve been sleeping on the couch lately, anyway.”

A glimmer of self-amusement touched one corner of those exquisite lips and my heart tumbled just a little. I pushed the feeling deeper and concentrated on what he was saying.

“I’m on call. I could get beeped at any time. It’s just easier this way.” He ran a restless hand through his thick black hair. “I haven’t been sleeping too well lately and will just end up keeping you awake. I’ve got a touch of insomnia.” He gazed at me, his eyes telling me he knew I’d understand.

I nodded noncommitedly, not wanting to let on that I knew exactly what he meant. But there was no denying that I knew. Hard, fast memories flooded my brain with the force of a dam breaking. Memories of sleeping next to Jack, my butt pressed tight against his hard belly, his strong arm wrapped securely around my chest, resting directly below my breasts.

He’d always been a light sleeper, a person who prowled the apartment at all hours of the night. When we’d slept together, I used to hear him get up and leave the bed, and sometimes I’d go in search of him, finding him slouched in a chair or standing in front of one of the huge windows overlooking the dark street below. The soft light filtering in from the street lamps would caress the hard, muscular lines of his body, and the beauty of him would always take my breath away, leaving me with a painful ache of need deep inside me.

Just the thought of those times made the ache creep into my belly, catching me off guard. I blinked, trying to regain my equilibrium, but the memories continued to wash over me.

Jack would always chalk his restlessness up to work, thoughts about a case pressing in on him. I used to lean up against him and gently massage his shoulders, molding my body to his and soaking in his warmth and strength.

It never seemed to do much in the way of getting him to relax, but it always seemed to have a nice effect on our love life. At times, his insomnia had meant marathon sessions of wild and wickedly delicious tumbles in the twisted sheets.

Startled, I shook myself. Memories like that were going to have to be off-limits if I planned on staying even one night under the same roof as Jack. They were too dangerous. I needed to stay focused on the here and now—no more trips down memory lane.

“I’m not taking the bed, Jack.” I moved over to the couch and swung my duffel bag and Sweetie Pie’s crate up onto the cushion. “I’ll be fine on the couch.”

“Same old Killian, huh? Incapable of ever doing what someone asks of her?”

I stiffened. Bullheadedness had always been my badge of honor. But it was the one thing that kept me whole and sane in a crazy world that changed at a moment’s notice. Leftover stuff from my early life.

“Apparently not,” I said, leaning down to open my backpack and rummage through the contents. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, I just knew I couldn’t look at him right then.

“There’s no privacy out here in the living room. At least the bedroom is partitioned off.”

He paused for a moment and then added quietly, “I’m asking for my benefit, Killian, not yours. It would just be better if you had some privacy.”

The soft tones, rich and husky, filtered across the space between us and lifted the hair on the nape of my neck as if I’d been touched on the tenderest part of my skin by the calloused tips of his long fingers.

I lifted my head and met his gaze across the length of the room. Those dark blue eyes burned with an intensity capable of opening a hole right through the middle of my chest and stabbing the center of my heart.

I struggled to breathe as he waited.

Finally, I shrugged and swallowed hard against the sudden dryness in the back of my throat. “Fine. You win. I’ll take the bed.”

He smiled that slow, easy smile of his and the intensity of his gaze softened a bit, as if he knew even before I spoke that he’d won. I tightened my fists and pulled my duffel bag closed with a fierce tug.

Damn it, he’d done it to me again, manipulated the hell out of me and he hadn’t even broken a sweat.

I, on the other hand, had a fat bead of sweat rolling merrily down the valley between my breasts, making its way toward my belly button.

I ignored it. No way was I touching any part of my anatomy with Jack O’Brien’s smoldering eyes sparking like heat lightning across the length of the loft.

I knew without him saying anything that he was more than a little aware of my current predicament. Damn his psychic hide. I had thought the little thread of connection between us had died a long time ago. Apparently I was wrong.

I reached down and opened Sweetie Pie’s crate. He slinked out gingerly. I’m sure he wasn’t used to the degree of cleanliness that permeated Jack’s apartment. Charlie appeared to be a bit less of a fastidious housekeeper in his older years.

“He’s going to need a litter box.”

“I’ll take care of it,” he said.

I yanked my bag off the couch and slung it over my shoulder, wincing slightly.

“Shoulder still hurting?”

“I’m fine.”

“Doesn’t appear that you’re fine. You took a pretty bad fall. Better let me take a look at it. If you need to have it X-rayed, we’re going to have to head back over to the hospital.”

“What, you’re a doctor now?”

“No, but in case you’ve forgotten, I’m a paramedic.”

“I’m fine. A hot shower will take care of it. You don’t mind if I use your shower, right?”

“Help yourself. Towels are in the cabinet behind the door. Shampoo and soap are on the shelf in the stall. I’ll check the shoulder after you shower.”

The slight smugness touching one corner of those perfect lips made me clench my back teeth. He turned away, his attention on the expensive-looking stereo equipment lining one side of the wall.

As I entered the bathroom and slammed the door shut with a quick kick of one foot, the smooth, soothing tones of Norah Jones slipped from the speakers and filled the loft.

I groaned aloud and leaned my head against the door of the bathroom, closing my eyes in frustration. Oh, God, was he doing this on purpose? Was he looking to ignite me into a single roaring flame of sexual desire?

I bent over the tub and turned on the cold tap. Forget the hot shower. I was going to need to freeze out the scorching heat coursing through my bloodstream if I intended to go back into the same room as Jack O’Brien and converse like a rational, coherent human being.

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