of that response away from her. “It’s okay. I’m… it’s not as if-nothing happened.”
“The hell it didn’t.” He wasn’t looking at her. “But I’m trying to work it out in my head and decide what’s going on. Look, I’m no saint, but I don’t jump every girl I run across. The whole damn night has been crazy. I don’t usually interfere with- But I couldn’t let them hurt you. And then later on the stairs, I couldn’t keep from looking at you.”
And she hadn’t been able to stop looking at him. She still couldn’t. He was staring straight ahead, but her gaze was drawn to him like a magnet. Her gaze fell to his hand, lying on the wood arm of the chair.
His nails were short and clean, and the thumbs, which had dug into her muscles, looked long and strong.
They had been strong. She felt as if she could still feel the imprint on her flesh. Her chest was tightening, and her heartbeat was suddenly faster.
His gaze shifted to her face. “Oh, shit.” His cheeks were flushed, and his dark eyes were narrowing on her throat, then wandering to her breasts.
She had to stop this. She hunted wildly for something to break the web of sensuality that was tightening around her.
Rosa. The reason she was here. Talk about Rosa.
She jerked her eyes away from his. “Rosa’s afraid they’re going to try to take her baby away.”
“I don’t want to talk about Rosa right now.” His voice was soft and with a note in it that sent a shiver through her. She hadn’t realized that a shiver could be hot as well as cold. Then he paused. “But you need to back away from me, don’t you? Okay, I’ll try not to think about-but it won’t be easy.” He combed his fingers through his thick, dark hair. “What did you say? Oh, yeah. Why do they want to take the kid away from her?”
“They think she might be the one who hurt Manuel. It’s nuts. She loves that baby.”
He nodded. “I could tell.”
“None of the neighbors will talk to the police about what Rick Larazo and the rest of the gang did. And the guys were gone by the time the ambulance came. They’re not going to believe me, either. I’m too young.” She added in disgust, “They never believe anyone under thirty.”
“And you’re just a little over halfway there.” He grimaced. “Dammit.”
“I’ll get around it.” She finished her coffee. “I promised Rosa I’d go talk to some of the neighbors and try to persuade them to tell the truth about what they saw.”
“You really want to help her, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. Any way I can.”
“Then, if you can’t find someone to tell the truth because Larazo’s got them scared, get one of the potheads in the place to lie and say they saw it. It shouldn’t be hard. Just slip them a joint. There are addicts in half the apartments in the building.”
“I don’t deal drugs,” she said sharply.
“Whew.” His eyes narrowed on her face. “Did I hit a nerve?”
She ignored the question. “Do you deal?”
He shook his head. “But if it came to a choice of paying someone a few joints to help your friend keep her kid, I’d do it in a heartbeat. It’s a shitty world, and you have to pick both the weapons and the battles.”
“Not drugs.”
He nodded. “Whatever you say.” He was silent a moment. “But you have to know that I’m not like you. I won’t lie. I’m not what you’d call a good guy. I do whatever I have to do to survive and get what I want.” He paused. “It’s not always safe to trust me.”
She couldn’t look away from him. He was telling her the truth. She could see it in the intensity of his eyes, the tautness of his lips. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t have to trust you.” With an effort she managed to pull her gaze away. “You’re nothing to me.”
He chuckled. “Liar. Telling the truth should go both ways, Eve.” His smiled faded. “But maybe I’m asking too much. This is hard for you, isn’t it? Sometimes I think you’re tough as nails, then you surprise me.” He reached out and touched the soft hair at her temple. “How many guys have you made out with, Eve?”
His fingers were warm against the sensitive skin of her temple and were causing her pulse to leap as if to reach out to that touch.
He muttered a curse. “Dammit to hell.”
She could feel the heat rise to her face. “I don’t want to talk about this. It makes me feel… It’s none of your business.” She moved her head so that he was no longer touching her. She jumped to her feet. “I’m going to go back to the development and ring some doorbells.”
“I’ve got wheels. I’ll take you.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to go with you. I don’t want this. It’s not a good idea.”
He rose slowly to his feet. “Maybe not. Probably not. But I’m not going to stop. I need it too much. I told you I wasn’t a good guy.” His eyes were suddenly glittering recklessly. “What the hell. If I wasn’t the first, someone else would be. I don’t know what’s happened to me, but I’m going to go on until we’re both drunk and dizzy with each other.”
Drunk and dizzy. Eve felt that way already, and it was scaring her. “You listen to me,” she said fiercely. “You’ve been telling me all the things you want to do with your life. That’s fine, go do them. I’m not going to be a play toy for anyone. You think I don’t want to get out of the slums and make something of myself? I’ve worked at all kinds of jobs since I was twelve years old, and nothing is going to keep me down.” She started down the hall toward the bank of elevators. “Not my mother, not you, not anyone.”
“I wouldn’t keep you down. I’d help you fly, Eve.” He held her gaze as he added softly as she got on the elevator, “We’d both fly. It might not be for long, but how we’d soar.”
He was the last thing she saw as the elevator doors closed.
He stood with legs slightly parted, worn, faded jeans hugging his muscular thighs. He was tall, strong, but there was nothing bulky about that strength. He looked graceful, yet… tight. Sensual and wired and completely in tune with his body. Like a powerful machine, tensed and ready to move.
Ready to perform.
And heat was tingling through her as she stared at him. She wanted the door to close and block out the sight of him.
Yet when it did, she felt as if he was still with her. She didn’t want to feel like this. It bewildered her. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t familiar with sex. Sex was everywhere. She had seen sex on street corners, on the landings of the development, heard the sounds in the next room when Sandra brought home one of her men. Sex was what had drawn all those boys to Rosa and given her a child to raise. But it had never affected Eve. She hadn’t understood it.
She understood it now. It had a name.
John Gallo.
CHAPTER 3
“I DIDN’T SEE NOTHIN’.” Mrs. Smythe scowled. “I told the cops. Leave me alone.” She slammed the door in Eve’s face.
Eve drew a deep breath. It was the ninth door that she’d knocked on. Two of the occupants had been too stoned to even understand what she was talking about. The others had been either indifferent or clearly afraid. All of them were very annoyed to be disturbed in the middle of the night.
Too bad. If she’d waited for morning, the hospital might have already made a decision to turn the baby over to DEFACS. She had to get Manuel away from them right away.
She turned away. Don’t get discouraged. She still had other doors to try, other people to try to persuade. All it would take was one person, one witness, and Rosa would be safe.
“Eve!”
She turned to see Rosa running up the stairs. Her face was glowing and she was carrying a sleeping Manuel in her arms.
“They let you take him?” Eve smiled jubilantly. “That’s wonderful. Did your papa convince them what a great
