Amanda Stevens - Secret Admirer

Eve gave her reflection one last glance as Fiona’s words echoed inside her head. Maybe she wasn’t even the right woman.

Right, Eve thought. And the winters in Chicago were always balmy.

TONY SAW FIONA COME OUT of the bathroom with Eve firmly in tow. Eve looked a little disconcerted, as if she didn’t quite know what had hit her. But that was Fiona’s MO all right. A regular little bulldozer when she had something up her sleeve.

She dragged Eve over to David, who was chalking his pool cue. “David MacKenzie, I’d like you to meet Eve Barrett. Tony’s new partner.”

David’s brows shot up as he glanced from Eve to Tony and then back again. “Nice to meet you, Eve. And my condolences.”

“Those were Nick’s words exactly,” Eve told him.

“Which goes to show how well we both know Tony.” David flashed her a charming grin, and Eve could immediately see why Fiona was so taken with him. David MacKenzie was indeed yummy. And he smelled wonderful. Expensive.

“Look, you two let someone else have the pool table, and let’s all grab a table,” Fiona instructed them. “I’m dying to catch up with Eve.”

“Catch up?” David gamely handed his cue to the next person in line.

“We all grew up in the same neighborhood,” Fiona explained. “Eve’s dad still lives only a few blocks over from Mom and Gram.”

Tony didn’t say a word until Fiona had laid claim to a table. “I think I left my drink at the bar.”

“I’ll get a fresh round,” David said magnanimously. “What’ll you ladies have?”

“Boilermaker.” Fiona shot Tony a defiant glance.

“She’ll have a beer,” Tony said darkly. When his sister started to protest, he snapped, “I’m not carrying you out of here again, Fiona.”

Instead of a retort, she actually blushed. “Make it a Guinness,” she told David.

He winked at her. “Don’t worry. I’d be happy to carry you out of here. Have a boilermaker if you like. Have two.”

“Are you trying to get her drunk, MacKenzie?” Tony asked grimly. “Because if you are—”

Fiona rolled her eyes. “For God’s sake, Tony, lighten up. David’s your best friend. If you can’t trust him with your sister, who can you trust?”

“Yeah, Tony, if you can’t trust me with your sister, who can you trust?” David taunted with a grin as he turned to get the drinks.

“What the hell are you trying to do?” Fiona demanded the minute David was out of earshot. “Scare him off? I finally get him to notice me after all these years, and you pull that overprotective big brother routine on me? Just for that, I ought to get hammered,” she grumbled. “I ought to get falling down, sloppy, puking drunk so that you have to baby-sit me all night. It’d serve you right.”

Tony gave Eve a long-suffering look. “See what you got yourself into tonight?”

Eve shrugged. “Beats staying home.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” he muttered.

Vic D’Angelo ambled over with two mugs of beer. He sat one before Eve and the other in front of Tony. “Compliments of the lieutenant.”

Eve glanced toward the bar. “Where is she?”

“Had to make an early night of it.” D’Angelo clapped a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “To tell you the truth, this place is not exactly Clare’s style these days. She likes a little more class.”

Eve half expected Tony to knock D’Angelo’s hand off his shoulder, but instead he picked up the beer, took a long swallow, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He lifted the half-empty mug to D’Angelo. “Have a drink, D’Angelo. You don’t strike me as the type of guy who minds leftovers.”

D’Angelo’s face contorted with anger. For a moment, Eve thought he might do something stupid, like start a fight, but then he pulled off a cocky grin and raked Eve with a smoldering glare. “We’ll see who ends up with the leftovers, Cowboy.”

Eve shivered and Fiona gasped. “The nerve of him! Did you see the way he looked at Eve?”

Tony said, very deliberately, “Excuse me.”

Fiona grabbed his hand. “Where do you think you’re going?”

He lifted a brow. “To the bathroom. Is that okay with you?”

“Just…don’t start any trouble.”

“A nice guy like me?” He gave Eve a glance before he disappeared.

David brought the drinks right after Tony left. “Where’s he off to?”

“Don’t ask,” Fiona mumbled.

“Here,” David said, handing her a shot glass and a mug. “I brought you a boilermaker. Kill it quick, before he comes back.”

Fiona giggled. “There’s nothing I like better than pulling one over on Tony.”

“You and me both,” David agreed, distributing the remaining drinks. “How about you, Eve? Sure you don’t want something stronger than beer? Might make working with Tony a little easier on the nerves.”

David was a nice guy, and Fiona was a lot of fun, but Eve suddenly felt uncomfortable sitting at the same table with them. It wasn’t just because the makings of a romance were stirring, either. Like Clare and D’Angelo, Fiona and David were sending off unmistakable vibes, but that wasn’t the source of Eve’s uneasiness. It was her urge to defend Tony that worried her. Her desire to plant herself firmly and squarely in his corner.

And considering her assignment, that wouldn’t do. That wouldn’t do at all.

TONY WAITED FOR EVE outside. He leaned against his car and watched the night people come and go—the drunks, the lovers, a homeless man shuffling down the sidewalk.

He was tired tonight, almost indescribably weary, though he couldn’t say why exactly. Was it the approaching anniversary that was still bothering him?

Eight years was a long time. Was he still in love with Ashley’s memory, or was it the guilt that still haunted him this time of year? The knowledge that, if not for him, she might still be alive?

He closed his eyes, letting the breeze drift over him. Sometimes he had a hard time remembering what Ashley had looked like alive, but he’d never forgotten what she’d looked like in death. Her face pale. Her eyes open and staring. Her beautiful body covered in blood.

He used to see her face in almost every murder victim he saw, but not so much anymore. Not since he’d seen little Julie Betts lying in that Dumpster. Her murder had affected him in a way so profound he couldn’t begin to explain it, and after that case, he’d started working alone. He found he couldn’t deal with a partner after seeing something like that. He couldn’t handle the camaraderie and sometimes sick cop humor that others used to deal with the nightmares. For Tony it wasn’t that easy. He couldn’t forget any of them. Ashley. Julie. They all haunted his sleep, because he hadn’t been able to save them.

“Tony?”

He opened his eyes and saw Eve standing before him.

“You okay?” she asked anxiously.

He drew in a breath. “Just needed to get some fresh air.”

She nodded. “I understand. It was pretty stuffy in there.”

“Not used to bars?” he asked her.

She smiled ironically. “How could you tell?”

“Just a wild guess.” He straightened from the car and stared down at her. Somehow she seemed smaller out here in the darkness. More vulnerable, although he’d seen the way she handled Vic. “Why did you tell Clare I went out on a call this afternoon?”

“Because I didn’t know where you’d gone,” Eve said. “I had to tell her something. She was looking for you.”

“So you covered for me.”

She shrugged.

“Why?” he asked softly. “Why would you do that for me?” After the conversation they’d had earlier, why would she put herself on the line for him like that?

She looked up at him, her gaze earnest. “It’s like you said inside there. What are partners for?”