An Irresistible Man

His words drew no reaction from the man in front of them. “What good would my concern do Ramsey? I been to see him a couple times, he tell you that? I’m making sure his bills get paid. That’ll do him a lot more good than my concern.”

“You’re taking care of his hospital bills, huh?” Cruz rested a hip against the car next to his. “That’s real good of you, Dirk. You’re a prince. Just how do you manage to do that, since your parole officer tells me you haven’t stuck to a job for more than a few weeks at a time?”

The man’s tone iced. “I got friends, man, I don’t need no job.”

“Who do you think did the shooting?”

“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to find out instead of wasting time asking me all these question?”

“Well, tell you what I think, Dirk,” Cruz said. His arms were crossed and he leaned back, one foot bracing himself against the bumper of the car. He could have been discussing the cure for crabgrass with a neighbor. “I think you know who shot at you guys that day. I think it was a rival gang, and you know what else? I think they were shooting at you. That’s why you’ve been keeping such a low profile lately. And I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that you were planning to get some revenge for it, either.”

Cantoney threw his head back and laughed, an ugly sound. “Martinez, you got some imagination. Why are you accusing me of something you think might happen?” His eyes slid to Madeline and he said, “You better tell him, lady. Get him back on the right track. You guys are supposed to be looking for someone who almost killed Ramsey Elliot, not busting my ass.”

“All Detective Martinez is telling you is that we’re going to be watching. Very closely. If there’s another shooting, we’re going to be looking for you.” Her gaze was steady.

He snorted. “Typical cops. Come after me when I ain’t even done nothing.”

“Never said you did, Dirk.” Cruz’s tone was pleasant. “Just want to keep it that way.”

Cantoney pushed himself away from the car and sauntered off without another word. Madeline got in the car and waited for Cruz to join her. When he did, she started the engine and headed back toward district headquarters. “I hope we didn’t tip him off by warning him like that.”

“I doubt anything we said to him had much effect. He’s smart. If he’s planning a retaliation, and I’d bet my paycheck he is, he’s already got the whole thing planned, especially how to avoid getting caught at it.”

“He didn’t seem too worried about us keeping an eye on him,” Madeline mused. “That could mean a couple of different things. Either he isn’t planning on making a move…”

“Which I don’t believe for a minute,” Cruz put in.

“Neither do I.” Someone with Cantoney’s history of assaults for the most imaginary slights couldn’t possibly be expected to ignore getting shot at. Especially if Cruz’s hunch was correct and Cantoney himself had been the target. “It could also mean that he’s already purchased a gun, and has figured out how to get away with retaliating. Or maybe someone else will actually be dealing on the gun, so it wouldn’t matter how long we watched him.”

“I’m betting he hasn’t gotten his hands on it yet. He’s bright, but he has a real short fuse. I don’t think he could hold off using it for long. I also don’t doubt he has plenty of weapons he can use. He just wants to get his hands on the same type of gun. It’s a prestige thing. And while he’s dealing on one he’s just biding his time. Because he has it all figured out who did the shooting and how he’s going to hit back,” Cruz said grimly. “And the bastard knows there’s nothing we can do but wait.”

“Wait for more bodies to show up?” Madeline grimaced. She didn’t like the thought of that.

“Unless Ritter manages to convince Jacobs to offer that plea bargain to Stover, our options are limited at this point.”

Madeline nodded, a slight frown creasing her forehead. She should be used to this, after all the years she’d been on the force, but these occasional brick walls that cropped up in most investigations always made her impatient. She had never been one to enjoy spinning her wheels while some perp was on the loose. She glanced at Martinez. If he shared her frustration, it didn’t show. He was slouched in the seat with his head on the headrest, looking for all the world as if he could drop off to sleep at any second. How did he do that? The man seemed to have no vertebrae. He was constantly leaning on whatever happened to be handy, and she’d yet to see him sit up straight.

A smile pulled at her lips. She’d been reminded of her posture so often as a child that by now it was second nature. Perhaps she was just jealous of his ability to be comfortable no matter the circumstances. But he was a little too comfortable, she decided. In an instant her hand went to the radio and she turned it up full blast. She grinned as his big body jackknifed straight up, his eyes flying open. He turned to fix her with an accusing look.

“Oops,” she said without apology, turning the radio back down.

His face turned pained. “Please tell me, Madeline, that you’re not one of those women who can’t stand to see a man at rest.”

“The last time I saw a man looking that restful they piled six feet of dirt on top of him.”

He chuckled. “Witch.”

“If you need that much test, you must have a big weekend ahead of you,” she noted with studied indifference.

Cruz’s lips curved as he thought of the plans he had for the next two days. “The biggest,” he agreed cryptically. He studied her as she brought the car to a halt and switched off the ignition. “Now why do I have the feeling that your little trick a minute ago was in response to our conversation at the Blue Pelican?”

“I don’t get mad,” she acknowledged sweetly, “I get even.”

His smile widened. “I don’t know about that. I seem to recall a hint of temper earlier.”

Somehow she’d known that her reaction had been duly noted by him, and that he’d invoked it purposely. “Martinez, you can be a real pain, did anyone ever tell you that?” she asked as they got out and she handed him the keys.

He shook his head. “I don’t think anyone else has put it quite that way,” he denied cheerfully. He slanted her a look. “What do you have planned this weekend?”

She walked toward her own car. “Nothing.”

“Got a date?”

Gosh, he was nosy. “Nope.”

“Why not?”

She looked at him impatiently. He hadn’t learned a thing from that little payback she’d staged. “Maybe you should mind your own business.”

“What fun would that be?”

She unlocked her car and got in, returning his careless wave as they parted. She didn’t spend more than a few moments admiring the way his taut male buttocks moved as he sauntered toward the building.

As she drove away, Madeline reflected that it would be a lot easier to investigate Cruz Martinez if he wasn’t so darn likable.

Chapter 5

Saturday morning found Madeline immersed in her normal routine, but in concession to the adjective Martinez had pinned on her yesterday, she varied the times of each chore from her regular schedule. There, just let him call me regimented now! she thought smugly, thinking of how she had worked out at the gym before tackling the cleaning. She’d stopped for her usual creme-filled doughnut on the way home from the gym, though. Just because he’d correctly guessed the precise way she ordered her life didn’t mean that she needed to listen to his disparaging comments about what she ate. She enjoyed her unconventional eating habits and firmly believed that chocolate was the fifth food group. Since she was in excellent health and had weighed the same for the past ten years, she saw no reason to change those particular habits now.

When the doorbell rang she checked the peephole with her usual caution, even knowing that the visitor would be her neighbor, Ariel.

“Madeline, it’s been ages since we talked. I tried to catch you one morning this week, but I just missed you. You were already in the elevator.” She flew into the room with her usual hurry, talking nonstop. She went immediately to the kitchen area, pulled a stool up to the counter and sat with a flourish, arranging the folds of her