They stepped in, the doors closing behind them. Dan glanced up at the ceiling.
“No camera in this elevator?” he asked, grasping her by both arms.
“No.”
“Good. Because I can’t keep my hands off you.”
He pinned her against the side of the elevator and kissed her hard. Her insides melted all over again. She wrapped her arms around his massive shoulders, savoring the feel of his back muscles straining against his leather jacket. Dan’s body was insane. He pulled away to work the buttons of her coat, but his fingers were shaking so much that he made little progress. Impatient, she undid them for him, and he stripped the coat roughly from her shoulders, revealing her chest in the red halter top.
“Jesus. You’re so goddamn beautiful I can hardly stand to look at you,” he said.
Slowly, breathing hard, he ran his hands over her face and throat and down her bare arms. His touch spread fire through her. He cupped her breasts, kneading them through the filmy fabric of the halter top as they stared at each other. She moaned, her head falling limply back, her hips thrusting forward to meet his. He pressed her hard into the wall, lifting her off her feet with one powerful thigh wedged between her legs.
“Ah, yeah, don’t stop, keep going,” Melanie said, the words ripped from her mouth almost involuntarily. Panting, she pulled up his shirt to get at his warm skin, her fingers brushing against his holstered gun. She drank in his tongue, forgetting everything else in the world. They’d better reach her floor soon, because in a second they’d be doing it standing up in the elevator.
“You are so hot,” he whispered, his mouth against her hair. “I don’t know if I can handle you.”
She smiled dizzily, her eyes closing. “Oh, yes, you can.”
The doors opened on her floor. Her knees were weak as she led Dan by the hand down the hall to her apartment. She shrugged her coat back into place and tried to get her breathing under control as she fumbled in her bag for her keys. She was a grown woman. Maya would be sleeping, and her mother would just have to deal with getting unceremoniously kicked out. Because Melanie had to have this man. Now. Her fingers found the keys, but then Dan, pressing against her from behind, started kissing her neck, and she dropped them on the floor.
“Let me open the door,” she said. “You’ll get me evicted from this building.”
“Then you’ll have to come live with me.”
She had trouble getting the key into the lock. The noise must’ve roused her mother, because the door started to swing inward.
“Hands off now,” she whispered to Dan, pulling away, trying to compose herself enough to introduce him.
But it wasn’t her mother standing there. It was Steve, and he was holding two glasses of champagne.
31
LULU LET HERSELF into the darkened basement apartment with her key, relieved that the lights were out. Thank God that Papi was sleeping. She was nervous that if she saw Papi, she’d break down. She’d tell. She couldn’t let herself. She had to keep her mouth shut, for Carmen’s sake. Like he said tonight, when he came and found her at the skating rink. He’d scared the shit out of her just by showing up and sitting there. And as if that weren’t enough, he’d explained exactly what he’d do if she told anybody.
Lulu reached into her coat pocket and fingered that lady’s business card. She’d been thinking about calling the number and telling everything she knew, but now she definitely wouldn’t. In fact, he told her she’d better call up that lady and lie. Throw suspicion onto somebody else. He’d even carefully given Lulu the name. She didn’t want to do it, but what choice did she have? That man would kill Carmen without a second thought.
Lulu was getting choked up thinking about how much she wanted to call that lady. It would be such a relief to let an adult take this mess off her hands. But no, she was being weak. Babyish. For years now, Lulu had positively longed to have a grown-up take care of her. But she was determined to outgrow that nonsense. Grown-ups couldn’t be trusted. Mami had gone and died on them. Papi was helpless and lost, like a child himself, needing them to take care of him. The teachers at school were evil, full of double talk, slaves to the rich girls. Carmen was the only one Lulu relied on, and now look at what she’d gone and done! Lulu told her to mind her own business. But no, Miss Smarty-Pants thought she knew everything. Had to be such a Goody-Two-Shoes and go tattle. So now this mess. He’d explained to Lulu very carefully tonight what she needed to do, what would happen to Carmen-and Lulu herself-if she didn’t. Lulu had every intention of living a long, happy life, getting rich and famous and having tons of clothes and boyfriends, so she planned to follow instructions. But what if…what if she made the wrong choice? What if he killed Carmen anyway and she could’ve stopped it? How would Lulu live with that?
She ran to her room, snapped on the light, and fell to her knees beside her bed, still wearing her parka, staring at the picture of the Virgin hanging above the nightstand. Lulu folded her hands together and prayed with all her might.
“Hail Mary, Mother of God, look. I’m gonna cut to the chase. I know you’re mad at me about the stuff with boys. But I wouldn’t let Tyler Cole go to third base at the mixer Saturday night, like you told me, even though he’da let me wear his St. David’s swim jacket if I did. And that jacket is fly, okay? So I don’t think I deserve this. I know it was really bad about going to second with Jake Cooper, but I repented a lot, and besides, you already punished me when he forwarded my e-mails to all his friends. I’m trying. Really I am. I know this is your decision and all, and I’m not telling you what to do. But it seems to me you picked a punishment that hurts Carmencita worse than me. And we both know she didn’t do nothing wrong. I mean, that girl, all she does is study and work and take care of this house. All she wants is to go to college. Okay, me, I’m boy crazy. I admit it, I’m bad. Definitely. But Carmen isn’t like that! She’s good. So why are you letting this happen to her? Why punish her for my sins? If you don’t care about me, think about Papi! What’s he supposed to do if shit gets messed up and Carmen dies? Who’s gonna take care of him then, when you already took his wife? Huh? Our Lady? Are you listening?”
Lulu stared desperately at the picture, trying to discern any movement or change of expression in the Virgin’s face. But the image was completely inert. Tears began falling in earnest from Lulu’s eyes, and her shoulders heaved with suppressed sobs. “Please! Please!” she pleaded. “Dear Lady, I need an answer. Before it’s too late.”
Lulu buried her face in the stiff, scratchy bedspread, eyes and nose streaming. She remained on her knees for a long time, until she was so exhausted that she climbed on top of the bed and fell into a fitful sleep, still wrapped in her parka.
32
MELANIE WAS on her second Starbucks of the morning, but aside from bad caffeine shakes and a couple of trips to the bathroom, it was having zero effect. She was in a complete daze. As exhausted as she’d been last night, she’d barely slept. And she needed her brain to function today. The team would be here any minute to write the wiretap application for Jay Esposito’s cell phone. The team, including Dan. Concentrate, goddamn it. Stop thinking about him. It was Wednesday morning, and between getting Main Justice approval and going before the judge, they were pushing it to be up on the cell phone in time for the Friday shipment as it was. She’d put all her credibility on the line with Bernadette and Lieutenant Albano, convincing them the wiretap was necessary, so she couldn’t afford to fuck it up by obsessing over some guy.