Burning Hearts

by Marci Bolden

  Josh tried to use his fire breath, but sitting cross-legged on the padded gym floor seeking his Zen, he sounded more like an asthmatic lizard. “I still don’t get this.” He grunted when the back of Eva’s hand collided with his diaphragm.

  “Feel that?”

  “Hard to miss you punching me.”

  “Did you feel how the air left the bottom of your lungs?”

  “I felt you punching me.”

  She let out her fire breath—a guttural-sounding whoosh of air that was supposed to help her connect with her inner peace. “Push from deep down, Joshua. Don’t use your lungs; use your abs.”

  “Shouldn’t I be blowing smoke or something?” He pulled his lips into a sarcastic grin. “Fire breath.”

  She rolled her head to him, causing the messy bun on her head to plop to one side. “Breath of fire, Josh.” Untangling her feet, she hopped up with the ease of a bouncing ball. Situating herself behind him, she grabbed his shoulders, rammed her knee into his spine, and forced his posture straight as a series of joints popped and released pressure he hadn’t noticed before.

  “Ow.”

  “Hush,” she insisted. “Deep breath. Through your nose and hold it.”

  He pulled in as much oxygen as he could while she continued to torture him. He had to wonder how much of that had to do with her frustration that Rene had called to let her know that the camera she’d dropped off at HEARTS was clean. There wasn’t a single fingerprint on the thing. She’d been so upset, she’d slammed her phone down hard enough that Josh had checked to make sure the screen hadn’t cracked. Rene wasn’t giving up. She was going to see if there was a way to trace who had bought the camera, but Eva had been angry all the same. She wanted this case wrapped up, and the fact that the camera hadn’t shown the bad guy and he hadn’t left trace evidence was making her angrier and angrier the more she thought about it.

  “Eva,” he grunted out after too many moments had passed. “Can I exhale now?”

  “Oh, sorry. Tremant walked in. I was watching him check out my ass in the mirror.”

  Josh released his breath with a growl and opened his eyes, ready to take on the giant if necessary.

  Eva pulled his shoulders back into position, popping even more vertebrae. “Close your eyes.”

  He continued scowling at the man adding weights to the straight bar.

  “Your shoulders are getting tense.”

  “I hate him.”

  “You and every woman he’s ever met. Now close your eyes.”

  Straightening his back in an attempt to get her knee out of his spine, he inhaled.

  “Hold it,” she instructed. “If he knows that his wife is sleeping with a woman, do you think he’d even care?”

  “Doubt it,” he grunted. “He’s the type who would ask to participate.”

  She removed the pressure on his back and put her lips to his ear. “And you aren’t? Exhale.”

  He did, too quickly thanks to the image that flashed through his mind at her whispered words. And when she told him to take another breath, he did. Then her hand slid around his chest and she pressed her palm to his stomach. The warmth of her skin against his thin shirt consumed him. She smelled of jasmine—sweet and a little spicy. Josh smiled, thinking how the scent so perfectly represented Eva. Sweet but spicy. Kind but tough. Gentle but hard. So full of contradictions she made his head spin.

  Eva kept her voice quiet as she spoke. “I wonder if he put the cameras in not to catch them but to watch them. Maybe Tiffany knows.”

  “But there wasn’t a camera in Courtney’s bedroom. If Tiffany knew, wouldn’t she have had sex with Courtney in view of the camera?”

  “Good point. Hold your breath.”

  He refilled his lungs and held as she brushed her fingers over his shirt, over his muscles, lingering lightly. Damn. He missed how she’d used to caress him. But then she jabbed his solar plexus so hard, all the air rushed out of him in a desperate grunt. Standing up, she patted him on the head like a dog who’d learned to sit. “That was better.”

  “Jesus, Eva.”

  She leaned over his shoulder and whispered again, earning his forgiveness with her close proximity. “I’m going to keep him distracted. You very discreetly watch him. See if you catch him doing anything suspicious.”

  Josh wanted to protest. The idea of her intentionally drawing some pervert’s attention made him uneasy, but he kept his mouth shut. This was her job. This was what she did. She knew what she was doing. She could take care of herself.

  He replayed the new mantra he’d been telling himself over and over. Let Eva do her job, Joshua.

  Still sitting, as if he were working on his meditative practice, he opened his eyes enough to watch Tremant’s reflection in the mirror as Eva stood as tall as her short frame allowed, stretching her arms over her head and arching her back. The prick paused, smirked, and focused on the tight bralette barely containing Eva’s breasts.

  When she’d emerged from their bedroom in what Josh would consider underwear, he’d swallowed hard. She had looked down at the short shorts and told him they were the same type volleyball players wore. And the sports bra? Perfectly acceptable in a gym setting. Her pale skin shone like a silver pearl against the dark blue spandex of her outfit. He stood motionless, watching her muscles bulge and twist over bone as she pulled her hair into a messy bundle that reminded him how the strands got tangled around his fingers as he buried himself deep inside her.

  The little hint of a mischievous grin on her face made him suspect she knew just how hot she looked. The suspicion was confirmed when she patted his chest as she headed for the door.

  “I’m on the hunt for a voyeur, Josh. Old sweats and a ratty T-shirt isn’t the right bait for this fishing expedition.”

  He’d kept his mouth shut. The idea of a pervert seeing nearly every part of her precious body didn’t sit well with him, but…

  Let Eva do her job, Joshua.

  Grinding his teeth, feeling anything but in touch with his peaceful side, he watched through squinted eyes as Tremant licked his lips while Eva bent over at the waist to touch her toes. Josh couldn’t see from his angle, but from the dramatic way the man bit his lip and leaned back, he imagined Eva’s tiny shorts had pulled tight against her sex.

  Exhaling slowly as he clenched his fists, he had to focus all his energy on staying put. He wanted to jump up and put himself between the man’s prying eyes and Eva’s skimpy shorts.

  “Listen to you,” she teased. “Getting in touch with your breath of fire.”

  “I want to kill him.”

  “Is he watching?”

  Josh ground his teeth even closer together. “Intently.”

  “Just remember. If he’s got his eyes on me, he’s leaving innocent bystanders alone.”

  Another breath of fire left him. “I know how to remove eyeballs without causing damage to the surrounding tissue.”

  “Careful, Dr. Simmons. You know what that sexy office talk does to me.”

  Josh actually chuckled. Before he could stop himself, he ran his hand down Eva’s leg. She tensed but didn’t smack him away like he expected. He supposed she couldn’t without making Tremant wonder why she wouldn’t want her boyfriend touching her.

  The temperature was cooler in the gym than in the rest of the building, but her skin was warm against his palm. Her calf muscles contracted as she twisted at the waist, still stretching in a way that gave the pervert a perfect view of her assets. Her cheeks had blushed, and that knowing smirk curved her lips.

  “Whatcha doing, Joshie?” she whispered.

  He gripped her leg. “Reassuring myself you could kick his ass if needed.”

  “I could kick his ass five times if needed.” She winked before standing upright and stepping from his grasp.

  Watching the mirror again, he narrowed his eyes when Tremant studied Eva’s every move as she stepped onto a treadmill. Josh sighed, knowing from experience how those little shorts were going to start riding up her
ass once she started jogging. She might as well be naked, and he had no choice but to stand back and watch Tremant watch her.

  A growl left him, and he didn’t even bother to hide it.

  8

  Eva spread paperwork and notes across the conference room table and settled in with a cup of coffee to review all the evidence she’d collected since moving into the condo. She still got the heebie-jeebies when she thought of how Tremant been looking at her during the potluck. Tiffany might have her husband on a pedestal, but the favor definitely wasn’t returned. He’d barely noticed she wasn’t at his side.

  Something was off with that man. She tapped her fingers. Maybe he was just testing the waters with the key fob, just seeing how natural it felt to hold it the way he was. Maybe he was working up the courage to be so bold as to record his victims right to their faces.

  Most voyeurs liked the thrill of watching without being caught. Holding the actual camera might heighten his perverse enjoyment. He might even be preparing to do a little upskirting on his unsuspecting neighbors. Now that every phone came with a camera, the act of snapping a photo or grabbing a few seconds of video under a woman’s hemline had become more of an issue than it should be in a civilized society.

  She wouldn’t be surprised if he had been working up the courage to utilize his key fob at a social gathering. Hell. Maybe he already had.

  She shuddered at the thought, recalling how many short skirts had been worn at the recent potluck. “Creep.”

  Alexa walked into the conference room and dropped into a chair across the table. “Have you nailed the voyeur yet?”

  “Not yet. I have an idea but nothing concrete.”

  Alexa finished pulling her long, dark hair into a bun and wrapping the haphazard mess with an elastic band. “What does your gut tell you?”

  “There is something very fishy about this guy.” She tapped a picture of Shane Tremant.

  “Your new BFF’s hubby?”

  Ignoring the jab—she’d taken more than enough of them since explaining in the morning meeting why she’d gone on a shopping spree and gotten a makeover on the agency’s dime—she tapped the photo of Neal Price. “He’s sleazy, too.”

  “Isn’t that the guy who hired us?”

  “Well, he couldn’t very well ignore a tenant reporting a hidden camera in her condo, could he? But he didn’t take it to the police, did he? He probably thinks he’s smart enough to worm his way out of getting caught. He’s the only one who knows about the investigation. He can pacify Wendi, keep an eye on me, and remove any cameras he may have previously hidden. And he conveniently lost the recovered camera, so we couldn’t review it. That’s a red flag and flashing neon sign all wrapped up in one.”

  “That is convenient.” Alexa read over some of Eva’s notes. “Has Sam found any of the footage online?”

  “Not yet.”

  “She’s checked the Dark Web, too?”

  “She’s monitoring, but nothing is going easy in this case. The camera was found. And then lost. There are security cameras, but the company doesn’t retain footage for more than an hour or so. Someone is recording but not posting the footage anywhere online that we can find. Granted, we can’t search all those private for-sale sites, but certainly something would have leaded by now and Sam would have found it.” She shook her head. “The usual crumbs are missing, and it’s setting me on edge. I’m overlooking some major clues, and I don’t like it.”

  Alexa’s lips curved into a supportive smile. “You’ll get it, Eva. We’re all here to help if you need to bounce things around. So. How’s Josh handling this?” She lifted her light brown eyes and batted her lashes as if she were as innocent as a cherub.

  Aha! The real reason her co-worker had come to check on her. The women of HEARTS were more like sisters than teammates, so Eva wasn’t the slightest bit surprised that one of them would sneak in to get intel on Joshua. She knew what Alexa was really asking, and it had nothing to do with how Joshua was handling his first undercover assignment. But she wasn’t going to answer the real question. She wasn’t going to tell anyone, not even herself, how nice it was to come home to Josh every night.

  She’d missed the companionship. Not Josh. She’d missed having company. But she couldn’t say that without Alexa trying to pick her intentions apart and turn her words into more than they were. So no. She wasn’t going to say that. Instead, she said, “He seems to be doing okay. I told Holly having him there was pointless. He’s more of a risk than an asset.”

  “How so?”

  “Holly’s worried about what could happen if I catch someone in the condo. She wants Josh there for backup. But what if Josh walks in on someone? He is completely incapable of protecting himself. And if he’s there, I’m going to be distracted trying to keep him out of harm’s way.” Lifting her hands, palms up, point made, she said, “More risk than an asset.”

  “Well, you were right. We couldn’t put one of us there with you, and Holly felt it was too dangerous to be there on your own. Josh was the logical answer.”

  Eva snorted, recalling how they’d laughed just that morning as she’d had to balance him so he didn’t topple over while she was showing him a new tai chi move. “Mr. Rogers would be better equipped to deal with this situation.”

  “We just want to know someone has your back.”

  Staring at her, intent on making her point, she said, “Joshua has no training. He’s scared of his own shadow. And he is lousy at investigating. He doesn’t have my back, Alexa.”

  Leaning on the table, her friend returned her piercing gaze. “Joshua might not fight or carry a gun, but he doesn’t shy away from trouble.”

  “Are you kidding me? He won’t even send the wrong order back at a restaurant.”

  “He is extremely intelligent and capable of investigating. He’s a coroner, Eva. His job is investigation.”

  She sank back and frowned. There was no point in tossing out her bullshit excuses. Alexa would dismantle each one. “Why him?”

  “Who else would we send?”

  “I don’t need a man as backup.”

  Alexa nodded. “We know that. Holly is still healing from her last case. She’d die before she admitted it, but she is. Josh isn’t there to take care of you, Eva. He’s there to give Holly peace of mind. She’s worried about you being alone.”

  Suddenly Holly’s insistence made sense. She’d always trusted the HEARTS to take care of themselves before, but her last case had been terrifying and Jack and Holly had both found their lives on the line. Eva could understand how that would shake their lead investigator. Rene was usually the worrywart, the one who warned them about safety and made them wear personal tracers so they could find each other if someone didn’t check in. That tracer had saved Holly’s life, but Eva could understand how she would start wavering in her conviction that each of the women was more than capable.

  They’d gone through too much. All of them. They all had their own scars and burdens, and almost losing Holly had unnerved each one in their own way.

  “Has Josh done something to upset you?”

  Thoughts of Holly’s incident were immediately buried under a surge of a different kind of memory. Josh’s arms around her. His scent filling her. The warmth of his body against hers. All those things flashed through her mind, and her heart tripped over itself trying to keep up. She’d woken curled against him the last two mornings. She would have been angry, but she was on his side of the bed. She had rolled into him.

  He took the intrusion far more graciously than she would have. She would have been angry. He made coffee and scrambled eggs before crashing on the couch to watch a documentary on old FBI files. When they were dating, they had to compromise. He liked documentaries. She liked crime shows. They merged the two, so they were both happy. She had kept watching their show even after they had broken up. Apparently he had, too.

  “No,” she answered. “He hasn’t done anything to upset me.”

  Alexa tilted her head in that big-
sister way of hers. Her eyes were soft but probing and her smile supportive.

  Eva sighed. “Stop it.”

  “What?”

  Running a hand over her long hair, she mirrored Alexa and wrapped her hair into a bun and then secured it with one of the many pens she had lined up on the table. “He hasn’t upset me. He’s been…Josh.”

  “Sweet and concerned about you?”

  Dropping her hands, Eva gawked. “Really?”

  A smirk played across Alexa’s lips. “You know, he still doesn’t quite understand why you two broke up.”

  “Yes, he does. I told him.”

  “That’s not what I mean. He knows his behavior upset you, but he doesn’t really understand why. I tried to explain it to him.”

  “I did explain it to him.”

  “But not in terms he understood.”

  “One of his many degrees is in linguistics. I’m confident he understood what I said.”

  Alexa let out a frustrated sigh as she rolled her head back. “Eva. Don’t make me strangle you.”

  “Strangle him. He’s the dick.”

  Eyeing her, she said, “He’s not a dick. He’s an incredibly nice guy who is crazy about you.”

  She pouted a little. Not because Alexa wasn’t taking her side but because she was right. “He doesn’t trust me.”

  “He fears for you. Think about it. He deals with dead bodies all day. He’s not used to dealing with active criminals. He finds out how the victims died. He’s not tracking down who killed them. This is intimidating to him. You are intimidating to him.”

  Frowning, Eva muttered, “Everything is intimidating to Josh.”

  Alexa gave the sisterly look again. “So maybe the issue isn’t that he questions your competency but that you question his.”

  Eva opened her mouth, about to reject the notion, but then an anvil landed on her head. “He’s smart.”

  “Yes.”

  “And he”—she scrunched up her face in disgust—“messes with corpses all day.”

  “Yes.”

  “He’s competent.”