Imagination. Since that night he’d phoned her in the car, Juan Lopez and Herb Booker had been very much on guard and had assured her no one had been following her.
Maybe.
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She turned the corner and saw the familiar gates of home. "We’ll find her tomorrow," she told Sarah. "He didn’t lie to me. I know that—"
"Watch out!"
Eve stomped on the brakes when she saw the man in the street. "Christ." Lopez had stopped his car behind her and was running toward the man, gun drawn.
"No!"
Then Lopez was down, lying in the middle of the street. My God, he was going to kill Lopez.
She jumped out of the car.
"Eve, are you crazy?" Sarah shouted.
"Stop it. Do you hear me? Dammit, stop it. You’ll hurt him."
"I feel like hurting someone." Joe released his hold on Lopez’s neck and stood up. "He was stupid to run at me."
"He was trying to protect me."
"He didn’t do a good job. Logan’s wasting his money.”
“He does a very good job."
The gates were swinging open and Herb Booker was running out into the street.
Joe whirled, immediately on the offensive.
Eve stepped in front of him. "No, it’s okay. I know him, Herb." Herb looked at his partner, who was on the ground, slowly sitting up, and then at Joe. "It’s not okay to me."
"He’s a police detective."
"Since when do cops use Rambo tactics?"
"Joe’s a little different." She turned to Joe. "Go on up to the house." He smiled sardonically.
"You’re actually letting me in?”
“Shut up. I’m mad as hell at you. There was no call for hurting Juan.”
“He had a gun."
"And you nearly killed him?"
He shrugged. "Like I said, I was annoyed."
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"Well, so am I." She got back in the car. "No one invited you here.”
“Oh, I’m well aware of that." He turned and strode through the gates. " Who is that?" Sarah asked Eve. "Herb was right. He reminded me of Rambo too."
"Joe Quinn." She drove up the driveway. "An old friend.”
“Are you sure? The vibes he’s giving off are more explosive than friendly.”
“He’s upset with me." Her lips tightened. "But no more upset than I am with him."
"He was at Fay’s," Jane said from the backseat. "He jumped on me.”
“You jumped on him first. With a baseball bat."
"You’re defending him," Sarah noticed.
"It’s habit." She parked and got out of the car. "You all go on to bed. I’ll deal with him."
“He’ll take some dealing," Sarah murmured. "But Monty and I are too tired to volunteer, and Jane doesn’t have her baseball bat."
Jane chuckled. "Can Monty sleep with me tonight, Sarah?"
"Not tonight. You know that’s only on special occasions." Sarah nodded at Joe, who was waiting by the door. "Be nice to Eve, or I’ll set my dog on you."
She didn’t wait for an answer as she ushered Jane and Monty inside. "Who is she?" Joe asked Eve.
"Sarah Patrick. Monty is her cadaver dog. If you knew where I was staying, I’m surprised you didn’t know about Sarah. Didn’t Logan tell you what was going on?"
"You’ve got to be kidding." He followed her into the house. "Logan told me no more than he had to, just that you were safe, he had two men guarding you, and that I should go jump in the lake."
"Then how did you find me?"
"Mark told me you were heading for Phoenix and that he thought you had an ace in the hole. I immediately thought of Logan. I started looking for him and learned that he’d left Monterey and was staying at the Camelback Inn. I’d also discovered that he owned this house, and I thought it logical that he’d provide you and Jane with a place to stay."
"How astute of you."
"I wouldn’t be sarcastic if I were you." His tone was thick. "I’ve gone through hell trying to find The Killing Game – Eve Duncan 02
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you and not knowing if I’d get here before Dom did. I don’t know how much control I have left."
"Not very much judging by that display you put on outside.”
“Did it upset you? Too bad. But then, I’ve always known that violence upset you.
You’ve had too much of it in your life. So I kept that part of me turned low. I’m tired of it, Eve.
Accept me as I am." He looked around the foyer. "Very nice. Very cozy. Logan did you proud."
"He’s been a great help."
His lips tightened. "Oh? How great a help? Lots of sympathy and intimate little chats?"
"Of course I talk to him. I call him whenever I get a chance, to tell him how things are going.
Was I supposed to just drop him after he helped me get Sarah and all the other— Why am I defending myself? It’s none of your—"
"There’s only one thing I want to know. Has Dom contacted you since you’ve been here?"
"Yes."
He muttered a curse. "How does the bastard do it? He must be sticking as close as molasses to you."
"Why are you surprised? He’s had decades of experience in stalking, and he must know every trick in the book. It wouldn’t be any fun for him if he couldn’t check my pulse." She walked into the living room and turned to face him. "I’m tired, Joe. Say what you’ve got to say to me and let me go to bed. We’ve got to get up at dawn and start searching again."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that." She lost patience with him. "Dammit, Joe, do you expect me to apologize to you for trying to save your job? I’d do it again. This is my concern, not yours."
"Your concerns have been mine since the day I first met you. They’ll be mine until the day I—"
He shook his head. "You’re backing off, closing me out. I can feel it, dammit. How long do you think I can—" He took two steps forward and grasped her shoulders. "Look at me. For God’s sake, look at me and see me as I am, not what you want me to be."
His eyes…
Her chest was so tight, she couldn’t breathe. "Yes." His voice vibrated with intensity.
"Let me go." Her voice sounded faint even to her ears.
His grasp tightened and then he slowly released her. "I’m not stupid. After all these years, I’m not going to rush it. But you’ve kept me chained too long by pity. I can’t take it anymore."
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"Pity? I’ve never wanted your pity."
"How could I not feel pity? I ached with it. I ate and slept with it. It was dry as dust, but it was all I had. And every time I thought I couldn’t take one more minute of it, you made me bleed again and I was caught." He held her gaze. "No more pity, Eve."
"I’m going to bed." She backed away from him. "We’ll talk in the morning." He shook his head.
"No, we don’t have to. I can wait now." He glanced at the couch. "I’ll bunk down here."
"There’s another spare bedroom."
"You can show me tomorrow. Go escape now."
She needed to escape. She was confused and panicky and there was a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. And Joe, damn him, knew her so well, he was probably aware exactly what she was feeling. "I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“It will be okay, Eve," he said quietly. For the first time, a faint smile lit his face.
"Don’t think about it. Ride with it, live with it for a while. I’m the same man you’ve known for the past ten years."
But he’d been almost a stranger during those moments when he was looking down at her.
When he was touching her…
How many times had he held her in the last ten years? In friendship, in sympathy, quieting the pain, helping her through nights of torment and loneliness.
Never like this.
"Good night," she murmured, then fled the room.