CHAPTER 5

EDDIE approached the house through the front yard—a sea of beach pebbles the color of coral, a staple of western landscaping. The house’s front windows were still intact on the torched shell and covered in soot. A heavy scorched stench brought reality home.

His temporary haven, the house he’d rented for his stay in Vegas, had been reduced to ash and burnt rubble, right along with everything Eddie owned. They’d said that not even his truck in the garage was salvageable.

He moved through the crippled entryway that used to have a door, reminding himself not to forget that Rio was behind him. Part ego and part detective told him to keep calm. Neutral. Never let your guard down. Let it down and you lose your edge.

Just inside the doorway, he braced himself and surveyed what used to be the living room. He focused on the charred ruins of the entertainment center. Skeletons of burned picture frames still stood on the scorched top, their photographs seared beyond recognition.

Images of his most cherished memories...gone, forever. His mother’s face, young and flawless, back before the tragedy that tore their family apart. Gone. His father showing off his ‘67 Chevelle, his most prized possession. Gone. And Eddie’s sister, Olivia—he could hardly remember her now. Gone.

A fireman emerged in the wreckage from the area that used to be a back hallway. Eddie commanded his unsteady emotions to step aside, and then beckoned the guy over. “Any idea what happened?”

“Educated guess.” The fireman shrugged, both arms dangling at his sides. “I’d say faulty wiring.”

Faulty wiring. The words whipped across Eddie’s mind with a biting chill. Some inept contractor’s blunder was responsible for the loss of practically all his belongings.

Eddie turned and locked eyes with Rio. Hers held a dedicated sense of compassion. Damn. He’d forgotten she was there, and it was too late to hide what she’d already seen. His loss. He let go of the question that had been pounding the sides of his skull. “What the hell am I supposed to do now?”

“Well, for starters...” She reached for his hand and gave him a gentle tug. “We’re getting out of here.”

He tagged along behind her, mainly because he didn’t want to see any more of the proof inside. Besides, his eyes hurt. They stung from the noxious smoke and bitter smell of charred wood.

She stopped in the middle of the yard that was overflowing with hoses, shovels, axes, and fire extinguishers. Tears had begun to seep from the outer corners of her eyes and she fanned her face.

He knew the gesture well. Sure, they could blame it on the fire, but no one understood better than Eddie about not wanting to appear weak. And tears, no matter where they came from, had a way of revealing a person’s weaknesses.

“What can I do for you?” she asked. Her offer sparked surprise in Eddie. Nobody but his mother had ever cared about what he needed.

Eddie sucked in his surprise and searched his brain for an answer to her question. What could she do? What couldn’t she do was an easier answer.

One last sweeping scan over the house’s carcass and Eddie accepted that it was time to step back and regroup. He looked at Rio. “Could you give me a ride?”

“Sure.” She began a slow procession of steps that led her toward her car. “Where do you want to go?”

“Maybe the federal building for starters,” he said, following along beside her. “I need to sit down and figure out what I’m going to do.” He paused long enough to slide into the passenger’s side of the car. “Where I’ll go from here.”

“Alright,” she said, fishing her cell out of her cleavage.

He gave up his interest in the phone’s hiding place in favor of who she was calling. “Anybody I know?” he asked, feeling upbeat, considering.

“Do you know PF Chang’s?” She threw him a humorous smile and hit the speed dial.

No. But he quickly deduced it as a restaurant when she started ordering things like General Chicken, Beef and Broccoli, Fried Rice, Egg Rolls and Crab Rangoons, all to be delivered to the Federal Complex.

By the time they arrived, so had the food.

* * *

Rio popped the last bite of Crab Rangoon into her mouth and savored the flavor, hoping it’d last until she got her hands on some more.

“Man...” She banged on the computer keyboard, taking out her frustrations. “I cannot believe there isn’t a single available hotel room in the entire city.”

Eyes of nearby colleagues landed on Rio. She gave them a sweeping smile and willed them to go back to minding their own damn business.

As heads turned away, one by one, Rio went back to her own affairs.

“Looks like being homeless in the midst of a major poker tournament isn’t such a great idea.” Eddie leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on Rio’s desk.

“There isn’t much you can do right now,” she said, eyeing his feet.

“I don’t even have a truck to sleep in.” A glint of humor finally returned to his smile.

“That’s why you have to come stay at my place.” She cut a stern eye at him. “At least until you can make other arrangements.”

“As enticing as that sounds,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t think of imposing on you.”

“Well, I guess you can sleep at your desk.” She surveyed the office’s expanse with a wide scan. “But I wouldn’t let Gabe catch you doing that.” Rio gave Eddie a wink before he had the chance to douse her with a comeback.

His mouth twitched with amusement and his eyes raked boldly over her. She let her mind caress his good looks with a quick fleeting glimpse and then chastised herself for getting carried away. No, no, no. Remember...lose your head, lose your heart.

“You have a point,” he said, dropping his feet to the floor. “It’s probably not a good idea to piss the boss off when I’m so new to the job, huh?” He leaned toward her, resting his forearm on one knee and winked.

“You’re going to have to impose on someone.” She judged him guardedly. “Might as well be me.”

“And you don’t think that’s moving us to the next level a little too quickly?” he asked, half-serious.

“Look, LaCall.” Her mood soured as she pushed her chair against the wall and away from him. “I never said I was going to sleep with you. I have two bedrooms and you’re welcome to one of them for as long as you like.”

She tried to stare him down but her efforts were fruitless. He still had her wanting to laugh and that was overrunning her with a self-conscious ache. She fought it and glanced away, looking for any kind of distraction, finding none.

“Yeah,” he quipped, rolling his chair toward her, “you keep telling yourself that.”

“In your dreams, LaCall,” she insisted. “In your dreams.” Her heart hammered desire up to her face, scalding her cheeks.

If she was lucky, Eddie LaCall would back away.

Any second now.

Gabe entered Rio’s peripheral vision with a slow swagger, one arm swinging at his side and his other hand stuffed inside the pocket of his slacks. Her gaze traveled up to his smiling face. Rarely did the man smile, but his daughter was an incentive for such a happy disposition.

Digger must be here. Damn. With the fire at Eddie’s house, she’d forgotten about their lunch date.

“Michelle’s on her way up,” Gabe said to Rio.

She thanked him with a pleasant smile and dug her purse out from her bottom left-hand drawer.

Digger appeared around the corner on the arm of Chris Bradley. “It’s always a pleasure when the lovely Michelle drops in for a visit,” he said, delivering her to Rio’s desk side.

“Dig...” Rio addressed her friend by her preferred nickname. “I’m almost ready to go.” She pushed her chair back and stood, glancing down at Eddie. “When I get back we’ll talk strategy on the new case,” she said vaguely, on purpose. Anything more would be fodder for Digger’s imagination.

Every time Digger showed up, Chris was like a puppy dog following her around, flirting with her. But Rio supposed his motivation had more to do with Digger being Gabe’s daughter than Bradley being that attracted to her. Not that Digger was homely or anything. She was average height, slender, dark hair and blue eyes. Pretty girl who’d had her share of nefarious affairs.

She was definitely getting laid much more often than Rio.

“You ladies want some company?” Chris asked with such a straight face that Rio couldn’t tell if he was serious or not.

She cut him a glare that was supposed to ward him off. It didn’t. He twitched his eyebrows a couple of times and waited for an invite.

Digger giggled.

“Sure, you can come along.” Rio slung her purse over her shoulder. “We’re planning to take in a little eye candy though while we dine,” she added, moving past Chris and prying Digger from his grasp.

“Hooters?” Chris asked with a little too much enthusiasm.

“Not exactly.” She gave him a once-over that ended with a ho-hum sigh, as if he didn’t measure up. When her gaze met his, she grinned. “Chippendales.”

A chorus of repugnant objections harmonized around Rio. That’ll teach them. She laughed inside. “You ready?” she asked Digger.

“Yeah,” Digger said, pulling away from Chris. “Think it’d be okay if we lunch downstairs?” she asked as they walked toward the double doors. “I have a client at two.”

Rio glanced at her watch. 12:30. “Sure. Okay.” She didn’t mind eating downstairs.

“Bye, Daddy.” Digger waved at Gabe as Rio pushed through the exit and out into the hallway. “Isn’t Chris Bradley a little hottie?” she whispered at Rio.

“Please, Dig, tell me you’re not going there?” Rio shuddered at the thought of her friend getting mixed up with her coworker.

“Are you kidding me?” Digger’s voice jumped an octave. “Me and Bradley?” She slipped inside the elevator with Rio. “I mean, he’s cute and all,” she said with an inconsequential shrug, “but he’d never be able to handle me.”

Rio snorted and hit the ‘one’ button. They rode the elevator down two floors and, after a slight wait in the cafeteria line, they claimed a table in the back corner near a window.

Rio didn’t pay much attention to the bright sunny day outside. She was more concerned about what Digger might have to say.

“So tell me about this mole, Dig.” Rio lifted the top bun off her burger, diligently salted the beef patty and then the fries. She reassembled the burger, adding the lettuce and tomato sitting on the side, and took a big bite.

“All I can tell you is that someone you’re acquainted with is not what they seem,” Digger said, pouring sugar into her tea.

“Someone of my acquaintance?” Rio picked up a French fry and held it in the air next to her mouth. “That’s awfully vague,” she added and then took a bite. She loved French fries, and the cafeteria’s, surprisingly, were some of her favorites.

“Sorry, but I cannot be more specific.” Digger’s apology was hollow, she was never sorry for the messages, or lack thereof, that she delivered. “I have no idea who it is. But, in your shoes, I wouldn’t trust anybody.” Her tone was somber. She really meant that.

“Is the mole and whoever’s watching me the same person?”

“It’s possible, but I doubt it.” She paused, as if listening to someone speak. Someone Rio couldn’t hear. “I think they’re unrelated.”

“You still think I’m in danger?”

“Yes. I see danger all around you.” She paused and pointed her fry at Rio. “I also see one very sexy houseguest in your immediate future.”

Okay, it was that kind of crap that drove Rio nuts. Chills swept over her, raising the hairs on her arms. How could she know that? Rio and Eddie had only discussed it moments before Digger arrived.

Digger stopped. Her hands froze at the sides of her plate. “Your car.”

My car? Rio’s pulse accelerated.

“And a knife,” she said, staring off into space. “A big knife.”

What the hell...? “Is somebody going to try to stab me in my car?” The hysteria hammering the blood through Rio’s veins escaped in her anguished tone.

Finally, Digger’s gaze fell upon Rio. “I don’t think you should go anywhere alone right now.”

That wouldn’t have bothered Rio half as much if it hadn’t been for the look on Digger’s face.

Sheer fright.