Double The Risk (4 page)

Diego Nieves had the dark and smoldering thing going on. A bit shorter and more thickly muscled than Ronan, he kept his hair on the short side, and everything on him was neat as a pin. He appeared to be the kind of guy who took great care of everything in his life, a serious guy, but one who promised an explosive time in bed. When he fixed his deep brown eyes on her, she knew she was the center of his attention.

Jesus, if she ended up going out with only one of them, she’d count herself lucky. The only fly in the ointment was, she was sure both of them were a few years younger than she was. As Diego had indicated at the crime scene, Ronan was maybe mid-twenties and Diego closer to thirty. Regardless, at thirty-two, she was older than both, not by a huge margin, just enough to be noticeable. Except neither of them seemed to care about that if the looks they gave her meant what she thought they meant.

“Dr. Barnes? Cassidy?” Ronan’s voice permeated her sexual fog, and she remembered he’d asked her a question.

Crap, she needed to get her head back in the game. “Um, no, that’s all I have of particular interest. No signs of recent sexual activity, either, if that matters. And there was what I’d take to be an old bullet wound on his side.”

“How old?” This from Diego.

“Oh, hard to say, but it’s many years old. Here.” She lifted the sheet to show them.

The two men bowed down, heads almost touching, to look at the scar. That was another thing to recommend them both. Even though she could tell they were interested in her, they were still focused enough and dedicated enough to do their job thoroughly.

She felt stupid for her lapse in attention, although she was sure of her autopsy results. Details were her strength, and she loved solving puzzles. Healing people had its appeal, of course, and she’d done well as an intern and resident. When it came to a career path, however, being a medical examiner was the perfect fit for her. Too bad her parents didn’t see it that way.

The cops straightened up. “Well, at least we know he didn’t live a completely quiet life,” Ronan observed.

“Yes, but that doesn’t put us any closer to figuring out who he is,” Diego replied. He smiled at Cassidy. “Thanks. I guess we’ve seen and heard enough. You’ll let us know about the tox screen?”

Cassidy crossed her heart. “As soon as I hear.”

He smiled again. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Ronan chimed in. “You’re more fun to visit with than Morris.”

She frowned at him. “Morris is a nice man.”

“You’re nicer. See you around.”

“Good-bye,” Diego added as he followed his partner out.

Pulling the cover more fully over the victim, Cassidy started to strip herself of the gear in the vain hope that shedding some of her clothing would make her more comfortable. Her reasoning was stupid because she knew the heat came from the inside. Although, hopefully with the men gone, her core temperature would return to normal.

Her hip started to vibrate. She poked through the surgical gown to grab her phone. She couldn’t hold back a grin when she saw the caller I.D. “Hi, did you forget to ask me something?”

“As a matter of fact, I did.” There was a hint of laughter in Ronan’s voice. “I forgot to ask you if you’ll go out with me.”

Nerves fluttered in her stomach like angry butterflies. It had been years since a guy’d asked her out. She wanted to play it cool, but hard-to-get had never been her style. “I’d love to. When?”

“Tomorrow night? I thought dinner.”

“Oh, not just drinks? Isn’t that the way you kids do it these days. Make it for drinks and if we hit it off, we can always move onto dinner. If not, it’s over fast.”

Ronan chuckled. “First of all, what’s with ‘you kids’? You’re not that old, Dr. Barnes. Second, I don’t need the escape hatch of a drink date. I’m sure I want to have dinner with you.”

The certainty of his tone shredded the butterflies in her stomach. “Okay, me too. What time?”

“Sevenish? It’s hard to say for sure when I’ll get free. How about I text you tomorrow afternoon to confirm the time and place?”

“Sounds good.” She couldn’t keep the smile off her face and was glad there was no one else around to see it. She was sure she looked goofy, way goofier than a woman her age should.

They said their good-byes, and as she pressed end, her face fell. Damn, she didn’t have any more date clothes. Good thing the date wasn’t until the next night. She had shopping to do.

****

“Son of a bitch! You just asked Cassidy out.” Diego had caught the tail end of the phone call as he caught up to Ronan by the car. Asshole! He should have known the guy was pulling a fast one when he walked briskly ahead of Diego even with the sun still beating down on them.

Ronan shot him a smug look as he unlocked the door. “Yep. That a problem?”

“You know damn well it is. I saw her first.” Shit, now he sounded like a teenager.

“Sorry, man, I didn’t hear you call dibs.”

“Seriously? That’s so juvenile.” He buckled his seat belt and was too pissed off to grab anything as Ronan executed his standard out of the gate start.

Ronan shrugged. “I’m not the one whining about laying claim to Cassidy. A concept, I might add, she’d find offensive.”

“What are you, Gloria Steinem?” God, the more he spoke, the stupider he sounded. He should just shut up. And yet he didn’t. “There’s a bro code, or don’t you guys up here in Boston believe in that sort of thing?”

“Depends on what part of the code you’re talking about. Now, if you’re talking about having your back in the field, then sure, you can count on me. But if it comes down to stepping aside so you can move in on a woman like Cassidy, forget it.”

“So that’s it? We’re at war over this?”

“If you choose to see it that way.” Ronan shot him another smug glance that rubbed Diego’s last fucking nerve raw.

He took a deep and silent breath, using the relaxation techniques he’d learned in therapy to calm himself. He was too quick to anger since the worst night of his life, and part of coming to Boston was to break up old patterns. Fighting with his new partner over a woman, who was frankly out of each of their leagues, was a piss poor way to turn over a new leaf. Besides, there was no point in trying to get Ronan to step aside and for sure Diego wasn’t going to do it. The better part of valor was to retreat and find a way to outflank him.

Satisfied with his plan of action, he forced his body to relax. “Naw, forget it. We have a murder to solve. This isn’t high school.”

Pulling up to a red light, Ronan shifted to look at him. “I’ve known you for less than a day, but somehow I find it hard to believe you give up that easily.”

Diego gave him his most disarming smile. “If you choose to see it that way… Light’s green.”

Ronan hit the gas with a frown yet didn’t bother to challenge Diego further. When they arrived back at the station, they had an email from the lead forensic tech giving them the good news that the vic’s prints had matched someone in the Fed’s database. Each of them had a copy of the message, and they sat at their respective desks staring at the mug shots and other information contained in the file.

“Seamus O’Malley? Ring any bells?” Diego asked.

The guy had been arrested pretty regularly starting at eighteen, and likely there were sealed juvenile records as well. The last arrest had been almost eight years ago when the man had been in his mid-thirties. It was obvious this was their vic.

Ronan didn’t answer right away. He peered at his screen intently. “I know this guy. This last mug shot in particular is familiar, although the name doesn’t mean anything to me.” He shrugged. “Obviously, he’s Irish, but it’s not like all the Irish in Boston know each other.”

Diego snorted. “Yeah, I get that. And there’s no way you ever busted him. You weren’t even a cop, I bet, the last time he was arrested.”

Ronan went still. There was nothing overt about his reaction, yet the sudden tension in the man was palpable. “No,” he replied with a slow shake of his head. “I was just out of high school.”

Diego snorted again. “You’re just a kid.”

Ronan didn’t react to the jibe. Instead he said, “The summer after I started college, my parents were murdered.”

Oh, shit! Yeah, he’d caught wind of that fact already. “I’m, ah, sorry.” He winced at how lame his apology sounded.

Sitting back in his chair, Ronan stared off in the distance. “I don’t know why I just said that.” He frowned and looked at Diego. “Sorry, that was a weird non sequitur.”

“No, it wasn’t. I poked at your age, and O’Malley’s record took us back to around that time.” He stopped talking because he wasn’t sure what to say. For the first time all day, his cocky and charming partner looked vulnerable. Damn, it was easier to deal with him when he was acting like a bastard.

Ronan shook himself, and the easy smile returned. “Let’s see if we can get an address on Seamus. I can’t believe he turned over a new leaf and stayed out of trouble for nearly a decade.”

Okay, if Ronan was going to act like nothing had happened, Diego would, too. “People do change, although in my experience rarely when they start that young and are so relentless about getting arrested.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon digging into the possible residence of O’Malley, and while there were enough men in the Boston area with that name, none popped as their guy. Just after five, Ronan threw up his hands. “Maybe the guy was really homeless.”

Diego frowned. “You don’t believe that any more than I do. He’s just managed to stay off the grid somehow while still living well enough to eat fish, brush his teeth, and cut his fingernails.

“Takes cash to do that without leaving a trail.”

“Or living with relatives.”

“Yeah, that could be it.” Ronan stood up and stretched. “We should start hunting down relatives.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m good for a few more hours. How about you?”

Diego hesitated. While he was willing to put in long hours to solve a case, he had a different plan for the evening. Fortunately, he was saved from making excuses. A uniform came up to speak with Ronan.

“Sergeant Callaghan requests the pleasure of your company, Ronan.” The uniform grinned as he pivoted away.

Ronan groaned. “Sorry, we’ll have to pick this up tomorrow. My brother has other plans for me it seems.”

“Sure, no problem. See you tomorrow.”

Diego made himself spend five minutes at his desk, neatening things up a bit before he left. He didn’t have much time to put his plan into action, and it was a crap shoot as to whether it would work or not. But if it did?

He couldn’t keep the grin off his face at the thought.

****

Cassidy came to a stuttering halt when she caught sight of the man leaning against the motorcycle. He looked so different in jeans and a polo shirt snuggly hugging his torso. Both his arms and his legs were crossed until his gaze latched onto hers. He stood up straight and gave her a welcoming smile, although his aviator glasses hid his eyes.

She returned the look and walked over to him. “This is a surprise, Detective Nieves.”

He tore the glasses off his face. “Diego.”

“Diego.” Stopping a couple of feet from him, she hefted her messenger bag higher on her shoulder and debated internally how to phrase the question on her mind. “Did you need something from my report?”

It was kind of a dumb question, but she really didn’t want to assume he was there for her. Maybe he was waiting for some other woman.

“No.” He dropped his gaze, as if embarrassed. “I was waiting for you. I’m hoping you’re free for dinner.”

“Oh. Um.” Now
she
stared at the ground. The idea of a man hanging around her place of employment in the hopes of taking her out was kind of thrilling. No one had ever been so interested in her that he’d taken such a chance.

“How did you know I was still working?” she asked, looking up at him again.

He shrugged. “I’m a detective.” This time when he smiled, there was heat in his eyes.

The look drove away thoughts of dinner and replaced them with thoughts of bed. God, what was wrong with her? She’d already accepted a dinner invitation with this man’s partner. Going out with Diego seemed, well, unseemly. Didn’t it? Perhaps Diego didn’t know about her plans with Ronan. It was only right she tell him, although a naughty part of her was disappointed at the idea of missing out on a date with each of them.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll accept that cryptic answer. You do know, don’t you, that I’m going out with Ronan tomorrow night?”

“Yeah, I know. I heard him call you.”

“Doesn’t that bother you?”

“If you mean would I prefer that you go out with me instead? Yeah, I must confess I’d like that. But, you know, we’re all adults, and to be honest, Cassidy, you’ve been on my mind pretty much since I met you. Ronan and I knocked off work early enough that I thought I’d take a chance on seeing if you were free.”

“As it happens, I am.” She peered around him to peruse his bike. It was enormous, and there were two helmets sitting on the seat. “Were you thinking of taking me out on that?”

Shrugging again, Diego twisted around to grab one of the helmets. “It’s a nice night. Why not?”

Cassidy frowned down at her cotton pants and sensible flats. “I’m not really dressed for it.”

“Sure you are. I’ll do all the work and go slowly. I got a recommendation for a restaurant a few blocks from here, so we won’t be going far. What do you say?” The expression he flashed her was part sweet charm and part irresistible seduction.

Taking a deep breath, she said. “Sure, why not?”

“Great, here let me help you put this on.” He stepped closer and lifted the helmet, then stopped. “This is going to get in the way.”

Holding the helmet in one hand, he reached back with the other to tug her scrunchy out of her hair. When his fingers lightly brushed her scalp, a small shiver ran up her spine. Her cheeks flushed as she took the elastic cloth from him.

The helmet was a serious one, not just one that barely satisfied the legal requirement. Once it was on her head, he lifted the visor and peered at her. There was no way in hell she looked anything other than dopey with it on, yet his eyes clearly telegraphed his interest. So did his jeans. There was a distinct bulge in front she didn’t need a medical degree to understand.