LITMIR.BIZ

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let him in.

      “Well, big guy, are you going to tear a strip off me for leaving you here this morning?” asked Danny, while placing two photo albums on the coffee table.

      “I don’t know whether to yell at you or thank you.” Jack stole a quick look at Natasha and added, “But I think maybe I’ll thank you.”

      “I should be home by five tomorrow,” said Natasha. “I’ll check on you then. If you’re okay, you can go, provided you take some time off and don’t go back to work for a while.”

      “Maybe by then I won’t want to go.” Jack caught the sparkle in her eye and thought how good she was for him — and not just as a doctor.

      “So what’s this? Your family photo albums?” asked Natasha.

      “Pictures of Satans Wrath,” replied Danny. “See if Jack can put names to who did this.”

      Jack opened the binder to the picture of Wizard. He knew it well but wanted to look again. After turning a few pages, he recognized another picture.

      “That’s the driver. His forehead looks like someone performed a frontal lobotomy.” Jack looked at Natasha. “Your work?” he asked.

      Natasha snickered and lightly squeezed his leg.

      Danny took a look. “Lance Morgan. Okay, that’s two out of three. See if you can recognize fat boy.”

      Jack took a few more minutes to identify him. “His name is Roland Leitch.”

      Natasha went to the kitchen and Danny whispered, “We got a computer kickback on Red this afternoon. She’s dead. The landlord found her body. Looks like an accidental overdose. The needle was still hanging off her arm and there was a deck of heroin nearby.”

      “That was no accident. She was a connection to them. Dig up everything you can on my three friends from the alley.”

      “Will do. Also got a response on the Volvo.”

      “Stolen?”

      “Yup. The owner was out of town. He reported it stolen last night when he returned.”

      “Speaking of returning home. Come back in the morning and bring me some clothes! It’s time I got out of here. With this blanket I’m beginning to feel like a monk!”

      “Don’t give me that!” replied Danny. “I saw how you two snuggled in with each other when you were looking at the pictures! Besides, you’ve been through those pictures a dozen times. It should only have taken you seconds to find them!”

      “Well … I had to make sure I picked the right person.”

      “Oh? Well, I hope she is the right person,” retorted Danny.

      Jack didn’t respond, so Danny asked, “What did you mean when you said the gloves were coming off?”

      Jack’s face hardened. “I’ve got a plan. Might get a little violent.”

      Natasha saw Danny out the door and then returned to sit with Jack on the sofa. Earlier, she had studied his face as he spoke. He seemed intense, yet he was quick with a smile. She had watched his eyes as he related his past experiences. His long, dark eyelashes made his blue eyes take on a deeper shade, but at the same time he had a boyish, wide-eyed look of innocence. The type who had freckles as a kid, she decided.

      Considering his experiences, she knew he was far from naive. Briefly she felt irritated to think other women had probably fallen for his boyish charm. Still, he was compassionate. He hadn’t become hardened and callous, like so many people who deal with life and death.

      Maybe it was the intensity and openness of his conversation, or the realization that they both dealt with grief and sorrow, but it occurred to her that she felt closer to this man in the short time she had known him than any other man she had ever met.

      Right now, with a blanket wrapped around him, he looked cute. But earlier today, when he was wearing only a towel, she had felt aroused. There was no denying that. She had only ever kissed him once. That was in a men’s room. There was no denying what she had wanted to do then, either.

       Enough fantasizing! I’m a professional. I’ve got to behave like one.

      “Okay, you’re still my patient. Turn around on the couch and lower the blanket so I can have a look under those dressings again.”

      Jack did as he was told. She carefully removed the dressing covering the wound across his shoulder blade. She gently ran her hand over the smooth skin on his back, lightly probing with her fingers. She felt his muscles tense under her hand and noticed he held his breath.

      “I’m sorry, does it hurt?”

      “No,” he replied softly, “it feels good.”

      Neither spoke as Natasha put on a fresh dressing.

      “Turn around and let me take a look at your arm.”

      His eyes were intensely fixed on her face. She pretended not to notice as she peeled off the dressing.

      “This looks fine, too! You’re really doing well.” She picked up a fresh roll of gauze and wrapped the dressing around his arm. The closer she came to the end, the slower she wrapped.

      When she finished she said, “There! All done,” in a voice she hoped would sound perky.

      He stared at her eyes, their faces almost touching. He didn’t move or speak. She tried to smile but felt her lip tremble and quickly looked away.

      She felt his other hand on her back, guiding her toward him. She closed her eyes and felt his warm lips on hers. It was much different than their first kiss. This was long and gentle. She felt herself drawn against his naked chest, where she remained a moment before pulling away.

      She cleared her throat. “Get in there and get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning before I go to work.”

      “Are you going to sleep on the sofa?”

      She stared at him for a moment without speaking, then answered, “Yes … but I want you to kiss me once more before you go.”

       chapter twenty-two

      It was mid-morning when Jack let Danny inside Natasha’s apartment.

      “Louie wants to talk to you!” said Danny, handing Jack a bag containing his clothes.

      “I’m not surprised. We’ll go back to my place and I’ll call him from there.”

      “I was supposed to wait until Natasha looked at you. Maybe we should leave a note.”

      “She’s working until four-thirty. I found a spare key on top of the fridge, so I’ll be able to lock up. I’ll talk to her later.”

      Danny stared at Jack, then said, “She’s a smart girl — and damned attractive.”

      Jack looked at Danny, then said, “I noticed. Now take me home. We’ve got work to do!”

      Back in his own apartment, Jack looked at the information that Danny had found on Wizard, Rolly, and Lance. Wizard was forty-five years old and had four convictions for trafficking in drugs: fines on the first two, thirty days in jail for the third, and six months of house arrest for the last time. A month later he was charged with armed robbery, but it was dismissed. Jack pointed to the report and said, “Why?”

      “Lack of evidence,” said Danny. “The only witness was killed in a hit-and-run accident. Wizard is also a suspect in three murders. Those victims were all drug dealers.”

      “Probably a little tardy in their payments.”

      “He changes addresses and girlfriends about as often as you’d change your shorts.”

      “Speak for yourself.”

      “He maintains a pretty high

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