Into the night, in the dark, he lay beside her, listening to her breathe. He knew the varied and sundry reasons a man would kill. But none were more fierce, none were more vital than to hold safe what he loved.
She woke to sunlight and the scent of coffee. The first thing she saw was Roarke, with a mug of coffee in his hand. "how much would you pay for this?" "Name your price." she sat up took it from him, drank gratefully. "this is one of my favorite parts of the marriage deal." She let the caffeine flow through her system. "I mean the sex is pretty good, but the coffee...the Cofee is amazing. And you're all-round handy yourself most of the time.. thanks." "Don't mention it.
I won't say I'm sorry." He lifted his hand, skimmed his fingers over her cheek. "I wouldn't mean it. But I will say I love you. I've never meant anything more."
He drew her into his arms. She pressed her face to his shoulder and held on. "I've been so messed up."
"So have I." He brushed his lips over her hair, felt his world balance again. "I've missed you, Eve."
"I won't let the job screw this up."
"It doesn't. We manage that on our own." He drew her back, touched his lips gently to hers. "But it keeps things lively, doesn't it?"
She sighed, stepped back. "It's gone."
"What is?"
"I've had this low-grade headache for a couple of days. It's gone. I guess you were my headache."
“Well.” Peabody slid her eyes over to Eve’s profile. “That was a nice way of saying neither one of you would let the other get away with holding back. Something’s going on with one of you, the other sniffs it out and hammers away until it’s all out there. You’re both nosy, and just mean enough not to let the other one slide by.
Gee, Vernon, now you're scaring me. Not the union rep." She gave a deliberate shudder. "You won't be so smart when you're hit with a lawsuit, and I start bleeding that rich husband you hooked." "My God, Peabody, a lawsuit. I feel faint." "Don't worry, Lieutenant, I'll catch you.
My office . . .” Eve checked her wrist unit, calculated time. “Ten-thirty, sharp.” She would finish with Feeney, zip down to Lewis’s hearing, and back to Central. “You get what I’ve got to give, before any scheduled press conference, in a one-on-one.” “And for this, I have to kill who?” “We won’t take it quite that far. I want a story planted . . . leaked, let’s say. From an unnamed police source. You scare easy, Nadine?” “Hey, I dated a dentist. Nothing scares me.” “Well, you’re going to want to cover your pretty ass anyway. The leak’s going to involve Max Ricker.” “Jesus Christ, Dallas. Let’s get married. What have you got on him? Is it confirmed? What’s that I smell? Hey, I think it’s an Emmy, or no, no, it’s a Pulitzer.” “Slow down. Ten-thirty, sharp, Nadine. And if I hear anything about this before then, deal’s off, and I fry your ass.” “My pretty ass,” Nadine reminded her. “I’ll be there.
You fit, you know, you and Dallas. Christ, the two of you fit.” They did, yes, Roarke thought when the door closed. But the fit wasn’t always comfortable.
