“What am I, on the couch now? I thought we were talking about you.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love to talk about myself,” she said, laughing. “But once in a while we have to talk about you, don’t you think? It’s only fair. I need some basic information.”

Dan took his eyes off the road long enough to see she was waiting for his answer. He smiled. “You’re not gonna let me off the hook, are you?”

“Not a chance.”

“Well, okay, it was like this. They did the best they could.”

“That’s it? Please. Details.”

He smiled again, shaking his head. “You’re somethin’, you know.”

“Come on. Spill it.”

“All right, all right.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “My dad’s a hard man, but he’s got his reasons. Retired as a lieutenant. He was good at his job, and ’cause of that he drew one shithole precinct after another. They’d send him into places other guys couldn’t handle, and it took its toll. He worked so hard and had so much stress when I was growing up that he was a pain in the ass to be around. He’s more relaxed now. Sometimes I’ll go over there on a Sunday, watch the game or whatever. That’s nice.”

“And your mom?”

“Well, she had seven boys real close together. It wasn’t easy.”

“Seven? I had no idea. You have six brothers?”

“Four now. My second brother, P.J., died in a car crash when he was sixteen. Out with some buddies, and they were drinkin.’ He was my mother’s pet, so that was rough on her. And my youngest brother, Sean, was a probie in the fire department on 9/11.”

“Dan! I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah. That one was hard to take. But he was doing his job, right? If the next big thing happens on my watch, I’m going down with the ship, too.”

“God, don’t say that.”

“Why not? You’d do the same. I know you step up when your name’s called. I seem to recall not so long ago walking into a room and finding the bad guy dead on the floor and you with a gun in your hand.”

“Exactly. The bad guy buys it, and you live to tell the tale. Like in the movies. The hero never dies.”

“Nice work if you can get it.”

“That’s my plan. Or at least my hope anyway,” she said.

“Don’t count on that with me, missy. Life without a plan is what you’re looking at here. I’m not too good at keeping my head down. But I’ll tell you one thing I do believe in.”

“What’s that?”

He grinned. “The hero gets the girl.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“You’re not making any promises, huh?”

She smiled tantalizingly. “I don’t want to give away the ending.”

“Keeping me in suspense. I like that.”

“So…back to business. Where were you in the birth order of all these brothers?”

“Birth order? Jeez, this is like the frickin’ shrink!” Dan said, but his smile told her that, for all his protesting, he loved talking to her about himself. “I was fourth. Smack in the middle, guaranteed nobody would pay any attention to me. Suited me fine, though. I went about my business. Always did okay, never in trouble. People left me alone.”

They stopped at a light, and Dan consulted a map. She was about to ask him another question, but when the light changed, he just started talking again. “You know, people think big families are always jolly. I love kids, and I want a bunch of ’em. But you gotta be careful. Too many, and you can’t give ’em enough of your time. In my house you had to fight for everything you got. Like with laundry. We had a clean pile and a dirty pile. When you got up in the morning, you’d go dig around in the clean pile for something that fit. You never owned anything. If I found something I liked, guaranteed somebody bigger would steal it away. Same with food. You had to get to the table early, grab what you wanted, and eat fast, or you’d go hungry. Not that I’m complaining. That’s just the way it was.” He looked over at her. “How’s that, Doc? Satisfied now?”

“You did good.”

“How the heck you always get so much information out of me? Nobody else does.”

She giggled. “Ve haff our vays.”

Their eyes met, and for a long minute neither of them could look away. Suddenly a horn blared, and Dan swerved, narrowly missing another car.

“Jeez, we better stop talking like this, or we’ll end up roadkill,” he said.

“Okay, I guess you’re off the couch for now.”

They were silent for a moment. “So any developments on the case?” Melanie asked.

“Well, Albano asked me this morning if I’d join his task force,” he said. “I mean, that’s not exactly about the case, but-”

“Permanently?”

“I think the minimum commitment is a year.”

“Did you accept?”

“I’m thinking about it. I’d like to work for the guy. My boss now is a real mutt.”

“Narcotics is kind of a backwater these days,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, but Albano’s starting up a new narcoterrorism initiative. Bureau, DEA, and PD together. Joint task forces are big again now, with all the intelligence sharing. I’d be the lead guy. Albano’s offering me primary relief supervisor, the whole nine yards. They’d probably team me with Bridget.”

“Bridget?” Anger flashed through Melanie, so powerful that her head felt hot.

“Yeah.” He glanced at her. “You don’t think much of her, do you?”

“Oh, sure. She’s fine if you want to be on the arm with Jimmy Mulqueen!”

“What?”

She shook her head. “Forget it. Never mind. Just go ahead, I’m sure it’s a smart career move.”

He grinned broadly. “You’re jealous!”

“I am not. Why should I care who your partner is?”

“Ha, I can’t believe it. Melanie Vargas, queen of cool, is jealous of little Bridget Mulqueen over me!”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“I’ll say it is. I mean, come on. She’s a kid. You’re a woman. There’s no comparison.”

“I told you, I really don’t care. It’s not about that.”

“Why can’t you admit that you feel the same way I do? Huh? Tough guy?”

She folded her arms stubbornly. “Shut up and drive.”

“Right? I caught you.” He chuckled to himself as he looked out at the road.

They arrived at the hotel. Dan threw the keys to the young valet, who regarded the G-car with undisguised contempt.

“Just park it, for Chrissakes,” Dan snapped as they headed for the lobby. “Kid’s making minimum wage, but if it’s not a Ferrari, it’s beneath him to touch it,” he said to Melanie. “Lemme stop and check messages.”

He went over to the reception desk. Melanie watched him walk off. The powerful way he moved made her catch her breath. Why the hell was she fighting so hard against her feelings for him? It would be such a relief to just give in.

“Yeah, okay,” Dan said, returning a minute later. He leaned toward her, speaking in low tones so as not to be overheard by people passing through the lobby. “Bridget went back to the airport with a couple local DEA guys to watch the incoming flights for when Trevor comes in. They’re being real careful, just like you said. You and me’re tasked with staying here, seeing if any of our subjects show up.”

Melanie looked into Dan’s eyes and promptly forgot what she was about to say. “Okay, good,” she managed. “I mean, I’m pleased they’re looking out for Trevor. With the surveillance and such.”

“You all right?”

“Sure. Maybe a little cold.” She rubbed her bare arms.

He moved in closer, leaning down so his mouth nearly brushed against her hair when he spoke. “I think we look less obvious if we stick together. You know, pretend to be a couple on vacation. Will you do that with me? For a little while? Please?”

“You mean, act like lovers?”

“Lovers? Now, who uses a word like that anymore?” A smile crinkled the corners of his eyes.

“I do. I like that word.”

“Well, I gotta admit, it sounds pretty good coming from your mouth. But then you have a beautiful mouth.”