now!”
A second later, Luke rounded the corner.
The men hesitated, then they pivoted in unison toward Luke, shooting blindly as they turned.
CHAPTER TWO
RISA SHOT BACK.
When she stopped, three men lay on the sidewalk.
Down the street, sirens filled the silence, their wails growing louder as the police cars neared. With the part of her brain that wasn’t operating on automatic, Risa realized Luke had to have called for backup before he’d gotten out of the car.
The door of the club flew open and she swung her weapon toward it. Whoever was behind the door thought better of their actions and it instantly shut again, slamming against the frame so hard a piece of wood popped off.
The taste of fear filling her mouth, Risa approached the men with her gun extended. They weren’t moving, but Risa was a woman who didn’t take chances. She kicked their weapons under a nearby car, then bent down to the first man. He was slumped against the edge of the building and he sat in a spreading pool of blood.
He was dead.
The second one had a pulse but it was thready.
She reached Luke’s side, her pistol still pointed at the other two as she dropped to her knees on the dirty pavement. Pressing a finger against his neck, she searched for a rhythm. Her own heart was beating so fast all she could feel was the rush of blood inside her veins. She took a deep breath then held it, pushing her finger deeper into the side of his throat.
His eyelids fluttered open and she nearly passed out with relief.
“Hang on,” she said breathlessly. “Help’s coming, Luke. Hang on, okay?”
He smiled sweetly and said, “Okay.” Then his eyes rolled back and he went completely still.
GRADY WILSON HATED when the phone woke him up at four in the morning. The news was never good, he thought, fumbling for his glasses with one hand and for the lamp with his other. No one called that early in the morning to tell you you’d won a trip to Tahiti or that something had come up and your in-laws were not going to visit after all. Life didn’t work that way.
He picked up the receiver and answered. “Wilson here.”
“We’ve got trouble.” Stan Richards, Grady’s boss, sounded somewhat more awake than Grady but just barely.
“Imagine that.” Grady tested his theory. “I thought you might be calling to give me a raise.”
“You don’t need a raise,” Stan said sourly. “You’ve already got more money than God and you’re probably going to quit next week anyway.”
Grady ignored the money comment—he taught two night courses at the University of Houston on the side, so everyone thought he was rich. They had no idea college professors were as badly paid as cops. “You might be right about the quitting part,” he said instead. “I’ll decide after I hear about this trouble.”
Richards’s voice became serious. “It’s bad. In fact, it doesn’t get much worse. We’ve got an officer down over on the Strip.”
“Dead?”
“Not yet, but it doesn’t look good.”
“Damn.” Grady swung his legs to the side of the bed. “Who was it? Anyone we know?”
“Guy by the name of Luke Rowling. SCD.”
“Sex Crimes? What’d he do? Wander into a bust or something?”
“We don’t know right now. Chief Tanner got called so I got called so you got called. Go find out. I’m supposed to report directly to her personal assistant.”
“Directly?”
“Did I stutter?”
“Well, no, but—”
“The guy’s partner is Risa Taylor. You do know her, don’t you?”
“‘The Body’ Taylor?”
“The one and only. You’re a lucky man.”
Grady moaned. “I’m too damn old for this, Stan. Call someone else—”
“Can’t do that. It’s certainly not official but rumor has it, you were requested for the case. Taylor’s family is true blue and she’s tight with the chief. I suspect the Iron Lady wants this done right with no questions left.”
“So? What’s that got to do with me?”
“I don’t approve of your techniques, but you are the best. When you’re finished with it, everyone will know the case is tighter than a gnat’s ass and they’ll be satisfied.” Grady heard papers shuffling, then Stan spoke again. “They’re still on scene, Fifty-six eighty-nine Richmond, Tequila Jack’s. Samuel Andrews is the homicide lieutenant.”
As Stan hung up on him, Grady realized what was going on. Chief Tanner might have requested Richards to report directly to her assistant, but she wouldn’t have asked for Grady. Stan had put him on the case because he didn’t like Grady and had probably wanted to call him out at this ungodly hour.
A former instructor at the Police Academy, Catherine Tanner had been the HPD commander for some time, but Grady’s direct interactions with the woman had been too limited for her to ask for him, even if she were inclined to do so. Despite the gossip he’d heard about her, she was supposed to be fair and levelheaded, but a few people thought she’d gotten her job through connections rather than talent, and rumors continued to circulate about some type of vague corruption going on at the higher levels. Fair or biased, crooked or straight, it didn’t matter to Grady. He only delivered the truth.
Fifteen minutes later he was dressed and in his car. Fifteen minutes after that he pulled into the parking lot of the bar. Grady had the feeling he could have found the place without the yellow-and-purple neon sign of a fat man wearing a huge hat and holding a margarita glass. Dozens of cop cars with flashing red lights were parked haphazardly on the sidewalk and in the street. Nearly that many television vans lined the street on the opposite side.
Pushing through the reporters and hangers-on, Grady spotted Samuel Andrews. Simultaneously yelling into a cell phone, talking to two other cops and answering a reporter’s questions, the African-American lieutenant saw Grady and motioned him forward.
Grady nodded but took his time, looking around first. A blue plastic sheet covered a body, but it was the only one. Scanning the scene, he searched for Risa Taylor. He’d popped off about her nickname, but in truth, he wasn’t sure he’d even recognize the woman. She was supposed to be a looker and very, very smart…so naturally most of the male cops hated her and/or lusted after her. Grady couldn’t think of a more volatile mix inside a police department—resentment and sexual tension. Yipperdoodle, he thought dryly. This was going to be a real fun case.
He came to Andrews’s side and waited for his turn. Andrews handled everyone else smoothly and quickly then he faced Grady, his expression wary, his demeanor less friendly. Grady barely noticed. He was
