Burning Hearts

by Marci Bolden

  Eva, on the other hand, swallowed and wiped her mouth before speaking. Her manners were much better. “Don’t encourage him. He already thinks I can’t take care of myself.”

  Josh eyed Eva. Like he needed encouragement to consider her safety. If she’d considered her safety more often, maybe they wouldn’t have had that fight that eventually led to them breaking up. She was so mad that he worried about her, but she never considered that he wouldn’t have had to worry about her if she were more aware of the danger she put herself in sometimes. He’d spent the better part of their brief romance trying to convince her to let Holly or Rene take the more intense cases. They had military training. Sure, Eva had been a cop, but that was a long time ago. Besides that, it was natural for someone to become more relaxed as they became comfortable in their job. It was only a matter of time before Eva let her guard down and got hurt. Moving into a condo for any amount of time was just asking for her to get too comfortable.

  If Holly was concerned, why the hell wasn’t Eva? He understood her reasoning—it wasn’t right for Holly to ask one of the other PIs to work overtime without compensation. And Eva was right. Holly was still recovering. She shouldn’t overdo it or put herself at heightened risk.

  “Me,” he blurted without thinking. “I’ll stay with her. I’ll have her…six. Right? You call it her six?”

  “We call it cover,” Eva stated. “And I don’t need you providing me cover. You are the least qualified person in this building, and I’m including Sam in that.”

  “Bite me, Thompson,” the receptionist called from the other room.

  Eva ignored her as she wiped her hands on a napkin and crossed her arms over her chest, staring Josh down with that cool gaze of hers. It wouldn’t be so intimidating if her eyes weren’t the color of Arctic ice against her porcelain skin. “Exactly what do you think you’d do if I found myself in trouble? Embalm someone?”

  “Undertakers embalm corpses,” he stated. “I examine them to determine cause of death.”

  She lifted her brows and tilted her pointed little chin as if that emphasized her point. Maybe it did. “You going to examine the bad guy, Josh?”

  “A male presence is a deterrent to trouble,” Holly said.

  Eva darted her gaze across the table.

  “That’s just human nature, Eva,” Holly said. “Men are naturally more intimidated by other men. Women tend to be seen as helpless victims. You know this.” She focused on Josh. “You’d go about your life as normal, but you’d be living with Eva for a week, maybe longer. Are you up for that?”

  The tension radiating off Eva was palpable. Her condescending smirk disappeared as she tightened her jaw and stared—no, glared—across the table. “What part of one-bedroom condo are you not understanding, Holly? Where is he going to sleep?”

  Holly shrugged. “Use your imagination.”

  Josh swallowed hard. He didn’t need to use his imagination. He’d shared a bed with Eva enough times to know exactly what he was getting into.

  Sitting back, Eva shook her head, causing light red curls to tumble around her shoulders. “No.”

  “Then we’re dropping the case. You’re not staying alone.”

  Eva’s eyes widened. “No, we’re not. Those women are in danger.”

  “Yes,” Holly agreed. “And if I put you in that building without backup, you would be in danger as well.”

  “I can take care of myself,” Eva stated through clenched teeth.

  Josh shrank back in his chair. Uh-oh. Holly had inadvertently tripped Eva’s trigger. Nothing set her off faster than the implication that she couldn’t handle a situation. There were far too many police officers—and criminals—who had viewed Eva as inadequate when she was on the police force. The main reason she’d left the department and joined Holly at HEARTS was because she felt she had been passed up for promotions because of her gender and petite stature.

  She might not be intimidating at a glance, but Josh knew better, and the anger burning in her eyes would tell anyone else she wasn’t to be messed with.

  Holly, however, didn’t seem put off by the obvious irritation she’d caused. She dropped her pizza and wiped her hands. “I’m not saying that you can’t. I know you can. But living there means getting comfortable, and getting comfortable means unconsciously letting your guard down.”

  Josh was tempted to give her a high-five. He’d thought the very same.

  Holly lifted her hand before Eva could speak. “I trust you. I know you are good at what you do. If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be here. But I am responsible for your safety, Eva. I will not put you in a position where you might inadvertently get lax and misstep. Someone will go with you.”

  Eva drew a slow breath before turning her attention to Josh, glaring at him as if this were his fault. He guessed it was, really. He’d volunteered, but he had no doubt Holly would have called the client and passed on the case if he hadn’t.

  Even so, Eva didn’t appear at all appreciative. “Stay out of my way,” she said coolly. “Let me do my job, Joshua.”

  “Fair enough,” he said, already questioning whether Eva was right. Maybe this was a terrible idea.

  2

  Eva dropped her black duffle bag next to the navy blue sofa and put her hands on her hips. She scanned the furnished condo she’d call home for however long it took to find the resident pervert. The condo had an industrial design with exposed overhead silver pipes and concrete walls. Floor-to-ceiling windows had a reflective coating so she could see out but Peeping Toms couldn’t see in. Funny how that probably made the residents feel safe.

  The open-concept space was just under a thousand square feet in all but had plenty of places to hide cameras. She’d tucked the thermal camera from the office into her bag so she could scan for heat signatures emitted by any spycams that might already be discreetly placed in the condo.

  If that were the case, consider the issue solved, since the first footage on hidden cameras tended to be of the person who hid them. The idiot would convict himself with his own footage.

  Boom. Done. And she could get out of this disastrous situation before it even started.

  “This is great,” Josh said, coming to a stop beside her. “Look at how much natural light comes in here.”

  Eva closed her eyes. Just breathe.

  Nope. That mantra still didn’t help. Nor had yoga or an extra session of tai chi or beating the crap out of her Krav Maga instructor. She still wanted to strangle Holly for her ultimatum. Josh moved in, or HEARTS would drop the case. Eva had pointed out, several times, that having a male presence in the condo could detract from the residential voyeur’s interest in her. Holly insisted that was a good thing. If he fixated on her and slipped cameras into her condo, he might realize she was an investigator, not just another victim. It was better if Eva didn’t draw his attention.

  Eva disagreed. She was trained to handle bad guys. She should have been drawing his interest. She shouldn’t have been there just to investigate.

  Josh bent to pick up her bag, but Eva swooped down and snagged the handles.

  “I got it,” she said.

  He nodded. The man wasn’t stupid. He had to sense her resentment at his intrusion. Not just having him in her space but having him on her case. He wasn’t a private investigator. He didn’t like private investigators. He’d told her over and over it was up to the police to solve real crimes.

  She still didn’t understand how he could have been surprised when she ended things between them. How could he expect her to date someone so blatantly opposed to her career choice?

  Cutting in front of him, she carried her clothes and personal items into the one—singular—bedroom in the unit. “I get the bed.”

  Josh crossed the room and put his bag on the opposite side of the mattress from where she stood. “You get half of the bed.”

  A loud and sardonic laugh erupted from her. “No, Joshie. I get the entire bed. You get the couch.”

  His jaw muscles tensed. He loa
thed being called Joshie. Poking him with that particular stick felt incredibly good on an immature and petty level she should be above. She wasn’t. He’d inserted himself into her life without her permission. She was going to make him regret it in every way possible. If that meant reaching all-time lows on the pettiness meter, she’d just have to make the sacrifice.

  “We are supposed to be acting like a couple.”

  “Out there.” She pointed toward the wall, indicating the building outside of the condo. “In here, we are nothing.”

  His lips pressed together. “This is a case of hidden cameras capturing people’s every move. Don’t you think it would be suspicious to the perp if he noticed we just moved in together but aren’t sharing a bed?”

  She planted her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes closed as she exhaled a slow breath. “First, I have no intentions of letting anyone sneak a camera into this condo. Second, the only people who actually say ‘perp’ are TV cops. Real cops, real investigators, do not use that term.”

  He tilted his head, clearly processing her statement. “What do you call them?”

  “Suspects. Criminals. Pieces of shit. Not perps.”

  “Why not?”

  Jerking her bag closer to her, she yanked at the zipper and directed her zinger straight at his soft spot: his love of crime TV. “Because we don’t want to sound like dipshit fake cops scripted by Hollywood.”

  She carried an armload of neatly folded clothes to the closet. After hanging her blouses and slacks, she unpacked three pairs of soft-soled ankle boots and a pair of running shoes. When she finished, Josh shoved his way into the doorway and hung his clothes beside hers. She used the intimate area to her advantage and crowded him. She only came to his chin, but she narrowed her eyes, using the depth of her irritation to make up the size difference. Keeping her voice level but firm, she asked, “Do you remember what we talked about?”

  “Y-Yes.”

  “If things get hairy, you get out of the way. Understand?”

  “I understand.”

  “You are not trained to handle confrontation.”

  He frowned. “Just because you have a gun and do kung fu—”

  “Krav Maga. There’s a difference.”

  His shoulders heaved, and he puffed out his chest as he drew another deep breath. “I’m here to watch your back. Not get in the way. If there’s trouble, I’ll leave you to handle it.”

  “Good. First thing I need to do is document the area. I need pictures of everything so if something is moved or added, I’ll notice when I do my daily inspection. Don’t move anything without telling me. Got it?”

  “I can help. Rene showed me what to look for.”

  Eva ground her teeth. Why couldn’t her teammates just leave her to do this? Josh was an asset. He was not an investigator and had no business getting himself into possible danger. “No. You just…stay out of the way.”

  “Eva,” he called before she could leave the room. “I thought we were okay after breaking up.”

  The sad puppy look in his eyes tugged at her heart, made her feel guilty for her show of resentment. She steeled herself against the temptation to cave and be nicer to him. She had put a wall between them for a reason. He’d broken her heart. And that hurt worse than any other injury she’s ever experienced. Idiot.

  Cocking her brow, she frowned. “Well, that was your second mistake.”

  His face sagged. “And the first?”

  Instead of pointing out that his first misstep was getting involved with her at all, she snagged her camera and got to work. The faster she solved this case, the faster she could put some space between them.

  Josh dropped onto the bed and watched Eva snap pictures of the bedroom, study all the lamps and clocks and pictures, and scan the room with her infrared camera. He didn’t move until she moved on to the living area. Well, apparently they weren’t okay. He hadn’t realized that. Maybe someone with better social skills would have.

  Eva wasn’t exactly subtle. But he really wanted them to be okay, so he had forced himself into believing that they were…at least to some extent. She was right; he wasn’t good at confrontation. And he wasn’t good at recognizing when someone didn’t like him. He worked with the dead for a reason; he sucked at understanding the living.

  Chalk that up to geeky childhood scars. He’d always tried so hard, but it wasn’t until he first met Holly that someone seemed to appreciate him for what he had to offer—and not just his knowledge. They had first met at a local law enforcement conference, but they’d had conversations about things outside of cadavers and biology and causes of death. When she’d introduced him to the rest of HEARTS, they had actually treated him with respect. He’d finally found a place where he felt he belonged.

  He’d been especially taken with Eva. She was funny and sweet and considerate. When she wasn’t so angry with him. They talked about the strangest things, things he never would have thought he’d be interested in. She shared the same innate curiosity he did, but she was drawn to areas he’d always shied away from.

  She wanted to learn everything about rock climbing, guitar playing, sculpting. Her interests were all over the map, and every now and then they intersected with Josh’s. Actually, he started actively intersecting them long before she noticed he was doing it.

  Rock climbing? He lied and said he’d always wanted to try that. The truth was, when they walked up to an indoor wall the first time, he nearly vomited just looking at how high they were expected to climb. He’d swallowed his fear and climbed just as high, albeit quite a bit slower, than Eva. She’d patted his shoulder and smiled, and his heart nearly exploded. That was all the confirmation he needed. He could and would try whatever she asked him to.

  Guitar? Who doesn’t want to learn to play the guitar? he’d asked. In reality, he’d never even considered it. But sitting with her in a little indie music shop, her laughter ringing out as she clumsily strummed the strings, had made the effort worth it. Neither had ever perfected the instrument, and after a handful of lessons, she suggested they move on to something else.

  Knife throwing? Um. Okay. Sure. He’d try that. He’d sucked at it, but seeing Eva’s natural ability to hit a target had made him smile so much his cheeks hurt by the time they’d left the archery studio and grabbed chili dogs at a little mom-and-pop shop on the way back to town.

  He never would have tried any of those things—including the hole-in-the-wall chili dogs—if he hadn’t been tagging along with Eva. He should have heeded Alexa’s warning when she pulled him aside one day and told him not to get involved with Eva. She said things wouldn’t work out, that Eva was too strong for him. That wasn’t exactly how she’d put it, but he’d understood her meaning. He’d convinced himself that they could overcome any differences they had. They’d spent so much time laughing and growing together. He’d thought they were stronger than they were.

  He didn’t even know things weren’t working out until Eva had sat him down one night and told him she thought it was best to end things. He worried too much. That was her excuse. Of course, she called it “doubt.” He doubted her too much. He didn’t believe in her enough. Bull. Just because he let her know he was concerned for her safety didn’t mean he didn’t believe in her. Just because he wanted her to do something less risky didn’t mean he doubted her.

  He just didn’t want to see her hurt. Why was that so wrong?

  Josh’s gaze landed on the clock. Remembering what Rene had taught him about spycam detection, he examined the face but didn’t find a lens. Turning it over, he popped the bottom off and pulled out the batteries to search for an SD card or any other sign the clock could actually be a recording device. Sure, Eva had done that already, but it didn’t hurt to double-check.

  He was examining the device, tilting it from side to side, before a realization dawned on him. He was double-checking Eva’s work. He was following behind her to make sure she hadn’t missed something. Why would he do that? She was perfectly capable. He’d said
that to her over and over when he’d been trying to convince her that he wasn’t discounting her job as a PI. He trusted her. He believed in her. He never once doubted her.

  But here he sat, following up on her work.

  Shit. Maybe he did doubt her.

  Reassembling the clock, he set it back on the nightstand and swiped his sweaty palms over his tan corduroys. He left the bedroom, stopping in the living room, where Eva was moving her camera over a lamp, looking for the distinct heat signature of a hidden camera. “I’m going to go check out the gym.”

  She stopped and looked over her shoulder, her brow raised in question.

  He flexed his arms and imagined if he were in a cartoon, the muscles would jiggle before dropping down into an exaggerated anti-flex. “Never too late to start working out, is it?”

  “Don’t hurt yourself, Joshua. I’m not playing nursemaid,” she said before focusing on her job again.

  Squeezing the keychain in his pocket to verify that he could let himself back into their temporary home, he left without another word. But as soon as the door shut behind him, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He scrolled through his contacts until he found Jack Tarek. Jack was Holly’s boyfriend and didn’t seem to have a problem with her line of work. In fact, Jack, a police detective, seemed to appreciate her hardiness.

  If he were ever going to get back on even ground with Eva, he needed to learn to accept, understand, and even appreciate the same attributes.

  “Jack,” he said when his call was answered on the third ring, “it’s Joshua Simmons. I need your help. ASAP.” Josh paused. “Do cops say ASAP?”

  “Yeah, Joshua, we say that.”

  Josh nodded as he pushed the button for the elevator. Only then did he consider that he’d likely lose reception if he stepped inside the metal car. Why hadn’t he waited to call Jack? Why hadn’t he thought of that? Eva would have thought of that. Eva always thought two steps ahead of what Josh did. That frustrated him most days. He wasn’t used to someone beating him to the obvious conclusion. Most of his life, he’d been the smartest person in the room, but more than once Eva had outsmarted him and shaken his confidence.