Maybe not, but she was waking the pain anyway.
The light around him intensified. He was breathing fire now. He felt her hands on him and groped until he caught her wrist. Stop, he croaked. Listen.
Adam, I cant help you if
Im dead, Maya. I know it, and so do you. Do this for me, please.
Do what?
He squeezed. Take care of things. Made a will last year. Straightforward. Money, investmentstheyre my sisters. Condos yours. Go through it andAhh! Pain sheared from chest to brain. He had to talk through his teeth. Dont let my brother have the MustangCrash addict. Give my sweet baby to Tal. He fumbled two sets of keys from his pocket. Condo keys, car keys. Promise.
Yes, okay, I promise. Now let me help.
Theres more. Stuff, official stuff. Hid it. Dont trust anyone, anywhere. Huge mistake. Big fish, small pond. Sall I can say. Tell Tal to finish the deal.
The light flared. It seemed to explode like a starburst that went from a bang to a fizzle.
Sorry, babe. He rattled out a breath. Ill tell your mom youre good.
Adam? Now she shook him. Adam!
The last thing he saw was her face. Then the sparkles died, and there was nothing.
DR. SANTINO? A NURSE with red curls and acne touched her sleeve as she stared at her ex-husbands face. A lower body traumas just come in. Female. Six months pregnant.
Through the buzz of shock in her head, Maya caught the last part of the nurses statement. She shook off what she could and refocused. Where?
Over there. The young nurseCassie? Callie?pointed. She looked down, then hesitantly up. Can I, uh, do anything for you?
No. Thanks, but no. With a hand that wanted to shake, Maya closed Adams eyes. She regarded the paramedic whod helped her lift him from the ground to the gurney. Take him inside. Ill be right there.
Got a bleeder over here, another nurse called.
The words jarred. Thirty seconds, Maya told the redhead. Get Jamie to take the bleeder.
Turning away, she pressed two fingers to her temples. She needed to settle herself, to absorb what had just happened.
Adam had always been a risk taker. Shed loved him once, hated him briefly, then figured to hell with it and dealt with her mistakes. With her mistakes.
Theyd been strangers, for the most part, after the divorce. Hed transferred to Orlando, but returned to Miami sixteen months ago, because his roots were here, hed said.
She understood roots. Hers were mostly here, too. In any case, she hadnt hated him by then.
Doctor Santino?
Her thirty seconds were up. Adam was dead. She couldnt make him undead by standing outside the emergency room, ignoring the injured while a host of memories swamped her.
Im really sorry, Adam. Head tipped back, she spoke to the night sky. Then shut down and fixed her attention on the living.
ARE YOU AWAKE, TAL? DON Drakes voice hacked rudely into Stephen Talbots dream.
Go away, Tal said into the phone. Im still working the Demorno case.
Youre done enough to be back in Miami, so listen up. I got a call from Lieutenant Morse in fraud.
Tal tried to prop his eyes open. When that failed, he rolled onto his back and let the watery light outside play against his lids. Youve got about ten seconds before my brain shuts down. This is the first time Ive seen a bed in three days.
Tylers dead, his captain growled.
That worked. He went up on one elbow. Adam Tyler?
You got it. He was shot late tonight, died in the E.R.
Tal swung his feet to the floor. Eden Bay?
Youre two for two. He went to his ex for helpor was taken there. Details are sketchy. McGraws on his way over to firm up what he can, but since homicide and fraud are more or less cooperating on the Perine investigation, I want a rep there, too. Tyler was a cop, Tal. He was one of us. I know youre familiar with the case he was working on, even if you werent directly involved. I want that shooter nailed. Tyler was your friend, so Im thinking youll want the same thing.
Tals sleep-deprived mind resisted the attempt to shove it into line. When had he and Adam talked last? Seven, maybe eight days ago, and only briefly then. Adam had called him in Tampa.
He said he had a line on Orlando Perine.
Had a hook in the bastards mouth, near as I can tell. Drake gave a grunt. Grill McGraw, see what he knows, but dont count on him giving you straight answers. You know how the fraud boys are. Vultures over a rotting carcass.
Standing, Tal bulldozed the last of the grogginess from his brain. His old academy friend was dead. Hed died at Eden Bay Hospital. Adams ex-wife worked at Eden Bay. Had she seen him, spoken to him? Hell, had she watched him die?
With the light off and the phone wedged between his shoulder and ear, he located his jeans. Adam was working with an informant last week, he said. Some guy who wanted out. Didnt get a name.
He didnt, or you didnt?
Both. He called the guy Falcon.
Dragging a T-shirt over his head, Tal searched for boots, sneakers, shoesanything wearable. He found a pair of black hikers on the closet floor and, holding his keys in his mouth, laced them on.
You know Tylers ex, dont you? the captain asked.
Tal grabbed a jacket. Weve met.
Use it. Tyler was a good cop, and homicides our business. We call the shots. Frauds on the sidelines here. Make sure McGraw understands that.
Tal really didnt care what McGraw understood. Adam had been his friend. Whether officially or unofficially, this was his case now.
Heading out, he said and tossed the handset aside.
Adam Tyler was dead. And the man responsible was going to pay.
YOU CANT OUTRUN THE TRUTH, Ms. Santino. Someone shot your ex-husband. Someone who works for Orlando Perine, aka the slimiest scumbag in the Sunshine State.
Gene McGraw enunciated the last part of his statement as if speaking to a five-year-old child. Not the best approach, in Mayas opinion, but then if the rumors shed heard about him had any merit, he wasnt the most tactful cop in the fraud division. He certainly wasnt the most incisive.
Three hours had passed since the first ambulance had pulled in. Shed lost count of how many patients shed treatedwhich was just as well, since counting meant thinking, and thinking would lead her straight to Adam. Not that she could avoid that destination indefinitely. Detective McGraw was dragging her there despite the crush of activity around them.
Bumping him back, Maya palpated the ribs of a man groaning on a gurney outside an overflowing treatment room.
Ms. Santino
She turned from the patient. You dont seem to be getting it, Detective McGraw. I havent got time for a cross-examination right now. Although it continues to escape your notice, were a bit busy here.
So the fact that your ex-husbands been murdered doesnt mean diddly to you? He hitched a testy shoulder as a pair of paramedics elbowed past.
Appearance-wise, McGraw reminded Maya of a shaggy blond Columbo. In terms of attitude, however, the word caveman sprang to mind. Or perhaps more aptly, her cousin Diego, who she swore was a throwback to one of her mothers nastier Andalusian ancestors.
Believe me, Detective, Id give a great deal to be able to reverse time and bring Adam back, but I cant do that, and unless you know some secret science, neither can you. What I can do is help the people in the here and now. Once the last patient is treated, Ill be more than happy to answer any question you want to throw at me. Until then, the machine in the doctors lounge has better coffee than the cafeteria. Its also free.
Tipping her lips into a quick smile, she sidestepped his arm and was out of range before he could object.
Guess you told him, huh?
Maya had her palm on the next treatment-room door when another mans voice reached her. She turned to meet Stephen Talbots cool gray eyes. Im kinda busy here, Tal. Questions will have to wait.
What about emotions?
Same answer. Frustration rose, coupled with something she knew better than to pinpoint. Dont push, okay? I might bite, and thats not how I want to react. Adams gone. Im making myself accept the truth, but I cantI wontlet down someone whose life I might be able to save because of it. Any chance of any cop in Miami grasping that concept tonight?
Tal raised his hands. Message received, Dr. Santino. Ill wait in the lounge.
She tried very hard not to notice how tall he was or how incredibly, well, male, she supposed. How sexy. It felt wrong to be having thoughts like that. It definitely seemed inappropriate.
Dr. Santino!
With her eyes still on Tal, Maya pushed the door. Im here, Jamie. Ive got a dozen more patients to see, Lieutenant, and that number doesnt include any new arrivals. You could be waiting for quite some time.
He ignored the stream of people rushing past. Better waiting than lying on one of your tables. Do what you have to, Maya. Ill handle McGraw.
Great, she reflected, pushing through the door. Except that McGraw wasnt the problem.
THE MAN CALLING HIMSELF Falcon crouched under a palm tree behind a lilac bush and watched time crawl by. He was afraid to leave his hiding place, terrified that Adam Tyler hadnt blocked the shooters view, after all.
But no, he had to believe he was still a man of mystery in his bosss eyes. A wanted, hunted man, but still an unknown commodity.
What would the big man do now? Obvious answer, hed go for the last person Tyler had spoken to. The doctor who just happened to be his ex-wife. Yeah, thats what hed do, all right. And if Tyler had talked, if hed told her
Falcon began to hyperventilate. The woman wasnt a cop, wasnt trained. A little pain, and shed crack, like the fatal egg hed laid today.
He had to run, get away. Let Tylers ex die. Beautiful she might be, but beauty wouldnt help her, couldnt save her.
Giddy laughter swelled as he regarded the silhouette of the hospital before him. The woman was as dead as her ex-husband.
She just didnt know it yet.
Chapter Two
Well, well. If it isnt Drakes go-to guy, hanging out in the E.R. at one of Miamis top three hospitals. Wish I thought you were here because youd been shot. However, since you appear to be walking upright, looks like Im out of luck.
Tal didnt bother to turn or even look up as Gene McGraw strode into the lounge. He wouldnt have made such a blustery entrance if thered been other people around, but for the moment they were alone.
McGraw came to stand so close that his chest almost bumped Tals arm. Youre looking a little unkempt, Lieutenant. Is this the appearance du jour of your homicide cronies up in Tampa?
Raising a mug to his mouth, Tal turned. You cant goad me, Gene. You dont matter enough at the moment.
Oh, thats right. You and Tyler were pals, werent you? Started out together on the street. Quick series of high-profile busts, and it was on to vice. Then a parting of the ways. Butch went to fraud, Sundance to homicide.
One thing McGraw seldom did was stir Tals temper. God knew he had one. It simply couldnt be bothered squaring off with an overinflated jackass.
Adams dead, Gene. He was shot from behind with a nine-millimeter handgun. You worked with Tyler, so you can be here. But this is a homicide investigation.
Now McGraw did knock his thick chest into Tals arm, just hard enough to slosh coffee onto the floor. He stuck a finger out for emphasis. This, Lieutenant, is your captain yodeling his swan song and you vying for his job. Or maybe you want to bypass captain and shoot straight to the next level. Cop on a rocket to the gold stars. He flicked at the shaggy ends of Tals hair. Gonna have to tidy up some, though. Cant run a department looking like a back-alley gypsy.
Tal held his stare at close range for several seconds. Still a homicide investigation, McGraw.
The detectives torso bulged. You listen to me, you
Oh, cool. A hormonal free-for-all. Can I watch? Maya breezed into the room and went straight to the refrigerator.
Tal admired her savvy entranceto say nothing of her other assets. Like the thick, coffee-colored hair she wore clipped back from the most striking face hed ever seen. It never failed to amaze him just how jaw-dropping her features were. The woman very simply commanded attention. He should know. Shed commanded his for seven years.
He knew McGraw missed the glitter in her bluer than blue eyes when the burly detective planted intimidating hands on the counter and leaned toward her. If you dont mind, Ms. Santori, Ill ask the questions. You only have to answer.
Its Santino, and we did this dance earlier.
Lets do it again. Be concise, and well be finished before you know it.
After a slight hesitation, her lips quirked. Not the best sign in Tals opinion. As you wish, Detective. Ill give you two minutes.
McGraw glanced at Tal, who shrugged and rested his butt on the table across the room. He opened with a gruff, Did your husband?
Ex-husband.
McGraws features tightened. Did your ex-husband, he repeated, mention any names before he died?
Yes.
The detective glowered. Well?
You said concise answers.
He pushed up to his full height of six feet four inches. Whose name did he mention?
Tals.
Why was that?
Adam wanted him to have his Shelby Mustang.
Tals eyes narrowed, but beyond that he didnt react.
Thats it? McGraw demanded.
She smiled vaguely, as if at some private joke. Adam and Tal rebuilt that car. Adam loved it. His brothers been involved in four traffic accidents over the past year. You dont leave treasure to a fool.
No editorials necessary, Ms. Santino. Were there any other names?
He wanted his sister to take over his investments and for me to have his condo.
Did he?
Say anything unusual or extraordinary? Anger was creeping in, but only to her voice. She kept those remarkable features schooled and her body, also remarkable, relaxed. That would depend on your definition of the words. He said hed tell my mother I was doing well. She died seven years ago. She capped her juice bottle, glanced at the wall clock. Tempus fugit, Detective. Your two minutes are up. Reaching into the pocket of her lab coat, she produced a set of keys. Yours, she said and tossed them to Tal.