Clare glanced at him sharply. Thats what Im afraid of. Youve been skirting the edge for so long, one of these days youre going to go native on us. Even Dr. Metzer wont be able to bring you back.
Dont sell Metzer short. Look what he did for you.
Her cheeks colored, not from embarrassment but from anger. I dont have to take that from you, Tony. Im your commanding officer, in case youve forgotten.
Not likely to forget that, he muttered. So what have you got for me? Might as well plunge right back in, get his feet wet his first day back.
Its not going to be as easy as all that, she said, heading back around her desk to sit. She picked up a report and studied it for a long, tense moment. Her glasses were lying on the desk but she ignored them. Things are going to change around here, Tony.
He stretched his legs in front of him. Meaning?
Just because we werepartners in the past doesnt mean youre going to get a free ride.
I never thought I would. He met her gaze.
She seemed momentarily flustered. Glancing back down at the report, she said, Superintendent Dawson is putting pressure on all the bureaus to clean up their acts, but especially on Investigative Services. No more tune-ups, attitude adjustments, whatever euphemism you guys are calling it on the street these days.
You know me better. Ive never gone in for that. Although he wouldnt be human if he hadnt been tempted a time or two to work over a suspect, especially the ones who murdered children. He remembered the Betts casethen again, he didnt want to remember the Betts case. Hed been the one to find the childs body in the Dumpster behind an abandoned apartment building in Chinatown. The little girls battered face and staring eyes had haunted him for months, years. But the smirk on her old mans face when Tony had gone to search his apartment had haunted him even longer.
Yeah, he could easily have done a little attitude adjustment on that psycho, but he hadnt. He might not always play by the rules, but he knew the dangers in losing control. If he ever came that close again that would be the day hed hang it up. Walk away. Spend the rest of his life scrubbing toilets or some damn thing if he had to.
Clares gaze softened, as if shed decided to cut him some slack. Or maybe she was remembering little Julie Betts, too. Clare had been the one to pull Tony away from Robert Betts when theyd gone to make the arrest.
I know you dont go that farnot even closebut you are something of a Dirty Harry, Tony, you cant deny that. You should have called for backup the other night, and you know it.
I was more concerned with saving two lives. Three, if I could have. He hadnt wanted Franco Mancini to die. Tony had tried to persuade the man to throw down his weapon and surrender, but Franco, eyes glazed from whatever drug hed been popping or snorting, had just kept on shooting.
Tony rubbed his forehead, where a migraine was starting to throb. The light in Clares office was suddenly almost blinding.
Hey, you okay?
Yeah, Im fine, he said. Lets just get this over with.
Clare frowned, and the compassion she might have felt moments earlier vanished. She said coldly, Youve got a woman threatening you because of your actions that night.
He shrugged. It wasnt the first time, and he doubted it would be the last. Still, if he were honest with himself, hed have to admit he wasnt exactly comfortable with Maria Mancinis vendetta against him. The woman looked pretty edgy herself.
One of these days, Clare warned with a hint of maliciousness, someone is going to make good on their threats against you.
He wondered if she was talking about Maria Mancini or herself. If memory served, Clare had made a few ugly promises of her own the night Tony had split. The scene had been nasty and brutal, not something he wanted to replay even in his head.
As if she were recalling that night herself, she lifted her chin, glaring at him. Youve pretty much been allowed to go your own way around here because, frankly, none of the other detectives want to be assigned with you. But like I said, things are changing. As of today, youve got yourself a new partner.
Alarmed, Tony straightened in his chair. I thought we had an agreement. I work best alone.
She smiled. That agreement was with your old lieutenant. Any promises you and I made to each other have long since become null and void. Isnt that right?
Her tone and her gaze challenged him, and Tony said, Youre getting off on this, arent you? You like making me suffer.
Youre such an easy target. You and all your pent-up angst.
He groaned. Spare me Metzers psychobabble. Who are you putting me with? Davis? Sanchez? Hed give either of them a week at the most.
Shes new. Transferred from the North Side a couple of weeks ago.
She? Oh, hell The North Side? Thats your old stomping ground, isnt it? You two pals or something?
Clare hesitated. I may have seen her around a few times. She worked vice.
What happened? She get tired of wearing spike heels and leather hot pants?
It wore a little thin after a while, a soft voice said from the doorway behind him. I didnt mind it on Saturday nights, but every night of the week got to be a real drag. Maybe you should try it sometime.
Tony glanced around as his new partner walked into the office. Clare gave him a derisive smile. Tony, Id like you to meet Eve Barrett. Detective Eve Barrett. Im sure Detective Gallaghers reputation precedes him, she said dryly.
Eve held out her hand, and Tony grudgingly stood. You dont have to do that, she said quickly. Stand, I mean.
So its that way, is it? he muttered, almost under his breath.
She shrugged. I dont want to have to stand every time you come into a room.
He gave Clare a withering look, as if to say what the hell did I do to deserve this?
Not that I dont appreciate the thought, Eve continued. But were going to be working together as equals. Id like for you to treat me as you would any other partner.
He could almost see Clare smirking, but Tony wouldnt give her the satisfaction of glancing her way. Ill see what I can do, he said, checking Eve Barrett out in spite of himself. She wore a conservative business suit, not unlike Clares, but the skirt was just a little shorter, showing legs that were a little younger and firmer but, to Tonys mind, no more shapely. They both had great legs. Hell, hed hit the leg jackpot in here, he thought with perverse appreciation.
Eve Barrett was thin, toned, an all-American girl with her shiny, shoulder-length brown hair and scrubbed complexion. In spite of the shield she wore clipped to the waistband of her skirt, and the faint bulge where her shoulder holster rested beneath her jacket, she looked all of twenty years old. Tony wondered how shed ever ended up in vice. He couldnt imagine anyone looking less like a hooker.
Except, of course, for those legs
He had a sudden vision of her in the aforementioned hot pants and spike heels, and something unwelcome stirred inside him.
As if she were reading his mind, her hazel eyes narrowed on him. You dont have a problem working with a female partner, do you, Detective?
As if she were reading his mind, her hazel eyes narrowed on him. You dont have a problem working with a female partner, do you, Detective?
He shrugged. No. I just dont want a partner period.
Something flashed in her eyes. Anger, he hoped, but it sure as hell looked like hurt. Jeez
She gave him a cool smile. Well, we dont always get what we want, do weTony?
The way she said his nameher voice
For a moment, recognition teased at the fringes of his mind. Had they met before? She looked a little familiar, but surely he would have remembered that body. Those incredible legs.
Why dont you wait outside, Eve? Id like to have a word with Tony before you two hook up.
Sure.
Eve gave Tony a tentative smile before she turned and left the room. He wasnt sure, but he thought he caught a whiff of her perfume as she walked by him. The fragrance was light, flowerynot at all like the heavy musk Clare had always been partial to. The floral scent was more like the perfume Ashley had worn.
Ashley
Yes, something about Eve Barrett reminded him of Ashley, but he couldnt say what, exactly. It wasnt their looks. Ashley had been tall, willowy, blond. Drop-dead gorgeous. Eve was shorter, thin but more athletic looking. Attractive but not beautiful. Not even close.
Still, there was something about her that had momentarily taken Tonys mind off his headache. Looking back at Clare, however, the pain hit him right between the eyes.
She gave him a slow smile. So, what do you think? Can you work with her without driving her crazy?
Was that really what Clare wanted to know? Id say she has potential.
The smile disappeared from Clares red lips. Consider this a trial. A probation of sorts. If you screw up
His brows rose. Yeah?
Not even the Gallagher name will save you this time.
Had it ever? Both his brothers were cops, just as his father had been before hed disappeared almost eight years ago while investigating Ashleys murder. Tonys family had a long tradition in Chicago law enforcement, but he wasnt so sure that history had ever helped him out of a jam. In fact, maybe the pressure of trying to live up to the nameand not succeedinghad been his downfall.
Or maybe he was just a screwup, Tony conceded with an inward shrug. The black sheep of the family. At least Fiona still had hope for him.
So how old is she, anyway? Tony nodded toward the door. She looks like a kid. How long was she in vice?
A while, Clare said evasively. She graduated from the academy a year after you did. Top of her class, I might add. You didnt graduate top of your class, did you, Tony?
No, but damn close. Clare might be surprised. Then again, he doubted there was much about him that would surprise her. Shed once made it her business to find out everything she could about himand now he knew why.
Payback was hell.
Shes a good detective, so cut her some slack, will you? None of your usual male chauvinist bull.
How many times do I have to tell youI dont have a chauvinistic bone in my body. I just dont have much use for people in general.
Except when it suits your purposes. Clare gave him an enigmatic glance. One of these days youre going to fall and fall hard, Tony. I just hope Im lucky enough to be around to stomp on the pieces.
EVE WAS AT HER DESK in the cubicle she would be sharing with Tony when she saw him come out of Clares office. He looked thinner than she remembered, but then, the last time shed seen him had been, what? Nearly eight years ago?
At Ashleys funeral.
Hed been so torn up with grief that day he hadnt even noticed Eve. But then, he never had.
Well, no, that wasnt exactly true. Hed noticed her before Ashley had come into their lives. Theyd even shared a mild summer flirtation the year before Tony graduated from high school. But then Ashley had moved into the neighborhood and thered been no room in his life for anyone else.
Hed been completely consumed by Ashley Dallasand why not? She was everything a man could want in a woman. Beautiful, blond, smart. She was even nice, for Gods sake. Eve hadnt been able to hate her, although there had been times when shed wanted to. But Ashley had been flawless in every way. The quintessential woman. Eve hadnt been able to compete with such perfection, and she suspected Ashleys memory would be even more daunting.
The fact that Tony hadnt even remembered her told Eve how truly pointless such a competition would be.
Their two desks were shoved up against each other, and when Tony sat down, he and Eve were face-to-face. He gazed at her across the expanse. Look. What I said in thereits nothing personal. I just like working alone, thats all.
I understand. Some people are like that. Ive worked alone before, too, she told him.
Yeah? Howd you like it?
She shrugged. I guess Im more of a people person. I like working with a partner.
Thats fine. He stood, placing his hands on his desk and leaning slightly toward her. So long as we understand each other. You stay out of my business, and Ill stay out of yours. None of that bonding crap
I get the message, she interrupted. Loud and clear. If I want someone to watch my back, I shouldnt count on you. Right, Tony?
He frowned. I didnt mean
Then what did you mean? She got up and stood facing him. If you cant trust your partner not to bail on you, youre as good as dead out there. If thats the way its going to be, lets get it straight right here and now.
Jeez, Tony thought. She was a lot tougher than she looked. Still, she was right. They might as well get a few things straight right from the start, even though he didnt expect her to last.
Ive never bailed on a partner. You can ask any of the detectives in this division if theyd worry about me covering their backs. Youd get the same answer from all of them. They may not like me. They may not want to have to deal with me and my bullshmy ways, he amended with a begrudging shrug. But they know, to a manand womanthey can count on me when the going gets tough. And it will, he added ominously.
She smiled faintly. Im hardly a rookie, you know. Ive been on the force almost as long as you have.
How do you know how long Ive been on the force?
Like the lieutenant said, your reputation precedes you.
He studied her for a moment, his gaze hooded and steely. Shed forgotten how blue his eyes were. Blue and almost breathtakingly intense.
Awareness tingled down her backbone. Theyd been kids the last time hed looked at her so intently, just before hed kissed her. Shed been sixteen that summer and had never been kissed the way Tony Gallagher had kissed her, his mouth fusing to hers, his tongue entwining with hers.
Eves mother had died when she was thirteen, and her father, an insurance adjuster, had become overprotective, resisting the reality of his little girl growing up before his eyes. She hadnt been allowed to date, but that hadnt stopped Tony. Hed come over before her father got home from work, and theyd sit on the stoop together. Sometimes theyd even go inside.
How easily hed forgotten her, Eve thought with a measure of regret, when all these years shed thought about him a lot. Hed been her first infatuation, and she hadnt gotten over him for a very long time.