by Lori Ryan
“I had a feeling,” she said, and she wouldn’t have been able to stop the stupid grin on her face if she’d tried. She really had no interest in trying, though. It felt too good to be laying in his arms. Thoughts of what other people might think when their relationship came out were pretty far from her mind at that point.
Eve’s phone buzzed with an incoming text and she and Cal both groaned. He looked at his own phone as she rolled to grab hers.
“I’ve got nothing,” he said. “Are you getting called in?”
Eve realized how nice it would be to be with someone who understood when she got called in to work on a case. She wouldn’t have to try to explain the job to him. She opened her text messages and had to read it twice to be sure she was getting it right.
“What is it?” Cal came up on one elbow, his hand on her leg.
“I didn’t have a chance to tell you, but I reported Dyson’s sexual harassment.”
“Any fallout?” Cal asked, eyeing her phone like he was getting ready to jump to her defense.
She shook her head. “I thought it would mean I’d get pulled from the Genesio task force, at least temporarily while they looked into the claim.”
“Is that what’s happening?” She had to smile at the near growl in his voice and the way he sat and reached for his pants. As nice as it was to know she was an independent woman, it felt good to have someone on her side, someone who had her back in life no matter what.
She put a hand on his arm to stop him.
“No, not at all. Three other women have come forward. I turned him in because I overheard one of the support staff talking. He was doing a lot more to her than he was to me. With me, he just pressured and hinted. With her, he’d outright threatened her job. She was a single mom and she didn’t know if he could really get her fired or not. When I heard her, I realized I was being selfish. I was leaving it to someone else to stop him. I thought I was being strong by handling it myself, but what I was really doing was letting him move on to someone who couldn’t fight back as easily as I could. It turns out, there was no shortage of women who’d experienced this. He’s on leave pending an investigation, but with more of us coming forward, it’s a lot less of a he-said, she-said than I thought it would be.”
He reached up and placed a hand on her cheek. “You did a good thing. It sounds like you gave other women the courage to speak up.”
Eve shrugged and put her phone down. “They might have come forward themselves anyway.”
Cal pulled her toward him, and she found herself going so easily. She wanted nothing more than to get closer to this man. He kissed her lips long and slow and she knew they were headed for round two. Her body knew it, too, stirring to arousal again at the simple touch. She hoped they’d have the night together without being called back to deal with anything at the precinct. The night to make love again and again, and to sleep wrapped together. She was in this now. One hundred percent. There wouldn’t be any more holding back, and the knowledge seemed to loosen something tight in her chest that she hadn’t even realized had been there.
Chapter Forty
It was eight days before they were able to question Rebecca Evans because of the heavy narcotics she was on, and even that was surprisingly early. Detective Reynolds had quickly realized she’d been shot in the lung at the scene. He’d gotten a plastic cover over the wound to act as a one-way valve, likely saving her life until the EMTs had arrived to do a needle decompression of the air surrounding her lung. The doctors had had her in surgery for hours before letting the police know she would likely survive her injuries.
They had collected more than enough evidence to charge her with the crimes and to announce to the press that the sniper had been caught. They’d found the hiding place she’d built into the wall of her home, along with the sniper rifle she’d used to make the kill shots.
Still, waiting days for answers as they finished typing up reports and sifting through evidence was hell. Of course, that was only while they were on the job. In every other way, life was damned good. Eve was back at the FBI and back at work on the Genesio task force. That left them free to date as they pleased.
Cal was pretty sure he’d never get tired of hearing her laugh. They didn’t have many days off, but they took advantage of the ones they did. They’d spent a day sitting on the couch in pajamas reading together. He never thought he’d like a day so lazy and easy, but with Eve there curled up next to him, he’d been content. They’d gone for dinner at Joy’s house one night and seeing Eve and Joy together made him smile. The women seemed to really hit it off. Eve never questioned Joy or pressured her to leave the house. There was no judgment. That meant a lot to him.
The best part of the last eight days had been the nights. They’d slept at her house or his house together every night, spending hours learning what the other liked in bed. He loved to listen to her soft moans when he touched her just right or the cries of pleasure when he made her come. And when she climbed on top of him, straddling him and riding him, her eyes would darken, the blue becoming even more striking as heat and pleasure filled them. She looked like a goddess in bed and out.
There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he’d never tire of making love to her. To his Eve.
“I love you,” he’d told her one night as they lay together, legs and arms tangled the way he loved to be with her.
Her eyes had given away the slightest hint of surprise.
“You didn’t expect me to tell you that?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Not so soon. I thought you’d hold out for ages,” she said, drawing out the ages part as she laughed.
“Hell no. What’s the point in keeping it from you?”
She lifted a shoulder. “You’re a guy. Isn’t it a requirement of something?”
“I must have missed that memo. You going to tell me you love me?”
She wrinkled her nose at him and shook her head. At that, he’d climbed over her and tickled her until she admitted to it. Hearing those words on her lips, hearing her say she loved him meant everything, as it turned out. And it also turned out to be a huge aphrodisiac. All she had to do was whisper those words in his ear and he was hard and ready for her. She’d learned that trick, too, and liked to take advantage of it.
So yeah, the eight-day wait hadn’t been the worst thing in the world. Jarrod was back at work with Cal, and his partner hadn’t taken long to broach the subject of Eve.
“It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?” Jarrod asked the second day they’d been back on the job together, as Cal spread on sunscreen.
“What, sunscreen? Yeah, actually it is. I mean, when you think about it, it’s pretty cool we can put some lotion on that somehow blocks out the damaging rays of the sun.” Cal was forever lecturing Jarrod on protecting his skin, so he took advantage of the chance to taunt his partner, even though he knew full well there was no way Jarrod was talking about sunscreen.
“Asshole.” Jarrod tossed a pen across the desk at Cal, making Cal grin as he dodged the projectile. “You know what I mean. Eve is different, isn’t she?”
Cal laughed, but sobered, as he looked around at the fairly empty room. “Yeah, she’s different. And, it is pretty amazing, mom. Now can we drop it?” That was about as far as he and Jarrod were going to go in talking about their feelings. He knew Jarrod got it, though. For the first time in a while, Cal didn’t feel that pinch of jealousy when he thought about what Jarrod and Carrie had.
So now, Eve and Cal walked back into the hospital together. She’d come to the precinct to do the final interview with Rebecca Evans by his side. They had visited Evans twice over the past week to check on her progress, even though the doctors had said she wouldn’t be ready to talk on the record for weeks. Off the record, she’d been cooperative and willing to talk to them. When the call had come in that Rebecca had refused to take more narcotics and was weaned down to nonnarcotic pain medication, they’d been more than a little surprised. She’d also asked the nurses to call for Cal
and Eve so she could give her statement.
“From what the former militia member told us, I have to wonder what kind of drills her dad put her through,” Eve said as they entered the hospital. “If you were training a soldier, you’d put them through a lot of threshold and resistance training. Could be, she’s still got the mental toughness to withstand a lot of pain.”
Cal shook his head. He couldn’t imagine doing that to your own child. Which reminded him, he hadn’t asked Eve about kids. “Hey, do you want kids?”
She stopped in the hallway and laughed at him. “You’re asking me now?”
He grinned. “Why not? I mean not that I’m asking you to have kids with me now. But yeah, why not have the conversation now. Seems as good a time as any.”
He held the elevator door open for her and they stepped in, taking space at the front as people moved over. She didn’t answer his question in the full elevator, but she was still laughing and shaking her head at him.
When they stepped off the elevator, he pulled her to a stop, holding her hand. “So, how about it? Are you going to have my babies someday or is that not in the cards for us?”
She raised a brow. “It’s all up to me?”
He thought for a minute about the question. He could almost see her pregnant with his kids. It had to be some kind of stupid caveman kind of response, the way it made him feel. Like he could take on the whole damned world and win. He could see the amusement in her face. “I guess I’d be disappointed if you don’t want them someday,” he said, a little cautiously.
She laughed again and pulled him down the hall. “I’m probably going to make you wait a couple of years, but yeah, I’ll have your babies. Someday.”
The whoop he let out was wholly inappropriate for a hospital and she turned and shushed him. He got himself together before they turned down the hall where Rebecca Evans was recovering. The uniformed officer looked up as they approached. He only nodded at them as they entered the room. Initially, reporters had tried to sneak into the hospital, but things had died down now.
The tubes that had led to Rebecca’s arms during their earlier visits were now gone. The one that had come from underneath the sheet near her chest leading to a contraption used for drainage, that had been hanging on the side of the bed, was also absent. She would still have a long recovery before serving whatever sentence she was eventually given, but she was sitting up in the bed and ready to speak with them.
Cal and Eve waited for the nurse to leave the room before beginning. Eve sat next to the bed.
Cal hung back as Eve spoke to Rebecca. Rebecca had already signed a Miranda waiver and Eve placed a small recorder on the bedside table. They would normally video an interrogation, but given the hospital room setting and Rebecca’s willingness to talk to them, they’d decided to opt for audio recording only. “We’d like to give you a chance to tell us what happened, Rebecca. I know you’ve signed the Miranda waiver, but can you state for the record that you’re waiving your right to have an attorney present, as well as your right to remain silent?”
“Yes.” Rebecca’s voice wasn’t as weak as it had been, but her face was ashen. The doctor had said she was expected to make a full recovery, but Cal had to wonder if she wanted to. There seemed to be an air of defeat about her, and he could feel a weight to the air. It was hopelessness, he realized, and it was palpable taking on a life of its own. He guessed that losing her husband and son had done that to her.
“And you understand that anything you say to us can and will be used against you in a court of law?” Eve went on.
“Yes.”
“Can you tell us about the shootings, Rebecca? Why don’t we start with the first one, Eddy Preiss. Do you want to tell me about Eddy?” Eve’s voice was gentle, coaxing.
Rebecca spoke in phrases rather than sentences. “At the station to talk to detectives. Officer said Preiss was going to get off. Had info about crime so he’d get off.”
Cal waited as she spoke. It made sense, now, how she’d known about Preiss. It was one of the big questions they’d had, but Rebecca had been in and out of the station house often. It wasn’t uncommon for cops to bitch when a witness made a deal based on testimony against someone else. You bring them in and think they’re going to serve time for something they’ve done, and then the lawyers get involved and deals are struck, and the case is out of your hands. The need to bitch or blow off steam about that is natural.
“Go on,” Eve said. She wasn’t guiding Rebecca too much. She wanted Rebecca talking.
“Just couldn’t take it. My boys were gone. No arrest. This guy was going to get away with his crime. Couldn’t take it.”
“Where did you get the rifle you used?” Eve asked. They had found no record of Rebecca owning a gun, yet she’d had the rifle and several hand guns in her home.
“Mine from childhood. Bryan thought I’d gotten rid of everything, but kept the guns.” She frowned. “I don’t know why, really. The General always said your weapon needed to be a part of yourself. I guess I just couldn’t give them up.”
“Your husband, Bryan?” Now Eve was documenting things for the record. Clarifying details for the trial, if Rebecca didn’t plead out.
The pain that ripped across Rebecca’s face was plain. She closed her eyes and tears shone in the corners. “Yes.”
Neither of them spoke for a minute as Rebecca kept her eyes closed.
After a long pause, she spoke, looking to Eve once again. “Dad. Had to hold my dad off with those guns when Bryan and I left. Became a safety net for me.”
“The guns became a safety net?” Eve asked.
Rebecca nodded. “Made me feel safe.”
Cal could understand that. The woman had been raised by a maniac who’d tried to turn her into his own personal soldier. He supposed she could have gone the other way; never wanting a gun around her. But both directions made sense to him. Being raised the way she had been would mess with you one way or the other.
“So you heard Preiss might get off and you decided that couldn’t happen?”
Rebecca nodded and went on to talk about the other crimes. Duerte had been easy because she’d simply had to watch the news to know what was happening, then watch his girlfriend’s social media feeds.
At some point, she’d decided being mobile would let her do more.
“How did you come upon the attacker in the park that day?” Eve asked, referencing the Mary Gentry attack.
Rebecca’s face was beginning to show more and more signs of pain and he had a feeling they wouldn’t be getting much more out of her today.
“Looked at crime rates and waited in the right areas. Inevitable.”
Cal’s gut twisted at the statement. The city as a whole had enjoyed lower crime rates in recent years, but there were pockets that still needed a lot of focus if they were going to make a difference.
“And the gas station hold up?” Eve seemed to sense the urgency in getting Rebecca to speak on the record about each of the crimes as well. They wanted closure for each shooting, but Rebecca was getting more pale. Someday, they’d want to interview her about the General. They wanted to find out if the rumors were true. If he’d been having her assassinate people for money.
“Part luck, part police scanner. In the area when it came over scanner.”
A nurse came into the room. “That’s all for today, detectives.” Her tone was firm as she turned her back on them and spoke to Rebecca. “Do you want me to get you something for the pain, Rebecca?” There was almost a pleading to her voice, as though she would feel better if Rebecca would accept the medication.
Eve and Cal stepped out of the way. Chances were, they’d need to do this interview in pieces, but they’d gotten what they needed for now. Their major questions had been answered, and they had her confession for each of the murders on record for the prosecutor. They’d be able to bring the case to a close.
Chapter Forty-One
Cal drove them back to the precinct. They would write up th
eir report and then Eve would head back to the FBI. Cal spotted him as soon as he and Eve walked in. He stopped at the sight of Ray Lansing talking to one of the uniforms in the lobby. Cal hadn’t had a chance to confront Lansing yet. He’d seen him at the press conference they’d held after Rebecca Evans’s arrest, but hadn’t been able to get to him one-on-one yet.
He needed to be damned sure Lansing understood he couldn’t screw with his sister. Joy was too damned vulnerable for a guy like Lansing to be hanging around her. Cal started toward him but felt Eve’s hand on his arm. He turned, prepping for an argument. No way would he let her talk him out of confronting the guy.
He was surprised to see her eyes looking as ferocious as his might. And her gaze was trained on Lansing. Something kicked over in his chest at the sight of that.
“Allow me,” she said, not waiting for an answer.
Cal crossed his arms and clamped his mouth shut and his feet to the floor. Eve crossed the room and smiled her winning smile for Lansing, drawing him away from the officer.
It was all Cal could do not to laugh. He wondered if Lansing was foolish enough to think he was going to get an interview with one of the chief investigators on the case. Cal had to admit, though, he’d always thought Lansing was a smart guy. Chances were, he was too sharp to think that.
Eve drew Lansing over to a row of chairs and sat down waiting as Lansing sat down next to her. She spoke as though she were talking to a friend, but Cal saw Lansing pale the slightest bit, but he had to admit, the guy recovered well.
Lansing gave Eve a small nod and said something to her before looking up and giving Cal a nod, too. Cal would rather have seen him running away with his tail between his legs. He doubted the man would do that, but at least he’d been warned. Lansing hadn’t seen the last of Cal or Eve.
Eve was laughing when she rejoined Cal.
“What did you say to him?”
He swiped his keycard and they walked through the doors to the first floor of the station together, heading for the elevator.
