The In Death Collection 06-10 Read Online Free PDF Page B

fists, but never went looking for trouble that I recall.”
    “Looking or not, he found it. Do you know where his family is?”
    He shook his head as he rose. “But I can get that information for you quickly enough.”
    “I’d appreciate it.” She rose as he shrugged into the casual elegant shirt. “Roarke, I’m sorry, for whatever he was to you.”
    “A touchstone perhaps. A song in a smoky pub on a rainy night. I’m sorry, too. I’ll be in my office. Give me ten minutes.”
    “Sure.”
     
    Eve took her time dressing. She had a feeling Roarke would need more than ten minutes. Not to access the data she’d asked for. With his equipment and his skill he’d have it in half that time. But she thought he needed a few moments alone to deal with the loss of that song in a smoky pub.
    She’d never lost anyone even remotely close to her. Maybe, Eve realized, because she’d been careful to let onlya select few become close enough to matter. Then there had been Roarke, and she’d had no choice. He’d invaded, she’d supposed, subtly, elegantly, inarguably. And now . . . she ran a thumb over the carved gold wedding ring she wore. Now he was vital.
    She took the stairs this time, winding her way through the wide halls in the big, beautiful house. She didn’t have to knock on his office door, but did so, waiting until the door slid open in invitation.
    The window shields were up to let in the sun. The sky behind the treated glass was murky, hinting that the rain wasn’t quite finished. Roarke manned the antique desk of gleaming wood rather than the slick console. The floors were covered with gorgeous old rugs he’d acquired on his journeys.
    Eve slipped her hands into her pockets. She was almost accustomed to the grandeur she now lived in, but she didn’t know what to do with Roarke’s grief, with the self contained quiet sorrow.
    “Listen, Roarke—”
    “I got you a hard copy.” He nudged a sheet of paper across the desk. “I thought it would be easier. His wife and children are in Dublin at the moment. The children are minors, two boys and a girl. Ages nine, eight, and six.”
    Too restless to sit, he rose and turned to stare out at his view of New York—quiet now, the light still dull, the skies almost still. He’d brought up visuals of Brennen’s family—the pretty, bright-eyed woman, the rosy-cheeked children. It had disturbed him more than he’d anticipated.
    “Financially they’ll be quite comfortable,” he said almost to himself. “Tommy saw to that. Apparently he’d become a very good husband and father.”
    She crossed the room, lifted a hand to touch, then dropped it. Damn it, she was no good at this, she thought. No good at knowing if comfort would be welcomed orrejected. “I don’t know what to do for you,” she said at length.
    When he turned, his eyes were brilliantly blue, and fury rode in them along with the grief. “Find who did this to him. I can trust you for that.”
    “Yeah, you can.”
    A smile touched his lips, curved them. “Lieutenant Dallas, standing for the dead, as always.” He skimmed a hand through her hair, lifting a brow when she caught it.
    “You’ll leave this to me, Roarke.”
    “Have I said otherwise?”
    “It’s what you haven’t said that’s just beginning to get through.” She knew him, knew him well enough to understand he would have his own ways, his own means, and very likely his own agenda. “If you’ve got any ideas about going out on your own, put them to bed now. It’s my case, and I’ll handle it.”
    He ran his hands up her arms in a way that made her eyes narrow. “Naturally. But you will keep me apprised? And you know that I’m available for any assistance you might require.”
    “I think I can stumble through on my own. And I think it would be best if you took a step back from this one. A long step back.”
    He kissed the tip of her nose. “No,” he said pleasantly.
    “Roarke—”
    “Would you prefer I lied to you,