She shivered, her arms wrapped around herself. He wanted to comfort her somehow, but he didn’t know what to do.

He said, “Believe me, Lipsy is going down hard. We don’t as yet know all the people he’s holding there against their will. Our people will interview each one, look at each one’s file, speak to all the relatives. It’ll shake out soon enough. I think when it’s all over, lots of very rich, very famous folk aren’t going to be happy.

“Also, Lipsy’s an accessory to murder. He’s gone for good, Sally. No need for you to worry about him.”

Jesus, what had that man done to her? He couldn’t imagine. He really didn’t want to be able to.

When Quinlan walked up, his eyes alight with pleasure at the sight of Sally, all skinny and pale, her hair mussed, her own eyes bright with the sight of him, Marvin Brammer wandered back into his office thinking that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d talked so much.

She would pry every secret out of Quinlan and he wouldn’t even know what she was doing. Better yet, she didn’t even realize the effect she had on people.

Good thing she wasn’t a spy, they’d all be in deep shit. He was also mighty relieved that her mama hadn’t been in on the nastiness.

25

QUINLAN BROUGHT HER home, to his apartment, to his bedroom, to his bed, and now he was holding her, lightly stroking his hand up and down her back.

She was so very thin. He could feel her pelvic bones, the thinness of her arms through her nightgown. He had the urge to phone out for Chinese food—lots of sugar in Szechwan beef and pot stickers—but he decided he’d rather be doing what he was doing. Besides, he’d already stuffed her to the gills with spaghetti, lots of Parmesan on top, and hot garlic bread that wasn’t nearly as good as Martha’s.

“James?”

“You’re supposed to be asleep.”

“Mr. Brammer was very nice to me. He told me a thing or two about you, too.”

Quinlan stared at her. “You’re kidding. Brammer is the biggest closed-mouth in the FBI. If they gave awards for it, he’d win hands down.”

“Not tonight. Maybe he was tired or excited, like you were. Yep, he told me lots of things. You’ve got a big family. You’re a lot like your father, just for starters.”

This was interesting. Quinlan cleared his throat against her hair. “Um, was all he talked about—it was all the case and the players?”

“Most of it, but not all.” He felt her fingers playing over his bicep. He instantly flexed the muscle. A man, he thought, he was just a man who wanted his woman to know he was strong. He nearly laughed aloud at himself.

“What was the ‘not all’?”

“You. He told me about you and your father and Dillon.”

“Brammer and my father go way back. I wish you could have known my old man. He was a kick, Sally. I wish he hadn’t died—just last year. It was a heart attack, all of a sudden, so he didn’t suffer—but still, he was only sixty-three. He’d make you so mad you wanted to punch his lights out and then in the next second you’d be clutching your stomach, you’d be laughing so hard.”

“A lot like you. That’s what Mr. Brammer said.”

She was caressing his bicep again. He flexed again. A man was a man. He guessed there was just no getting away from it.

“He also said that you liked to play a lone hand but that he always knew what you were doing even if you would swear he didn’t know a thing.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it, that old con man. He’s got moles everywhere.”

“Maybe now he’s got a mole who’s living with you.”

“That’s okay,” Quinlan said and kissed her.

She was soft and giving, but she wasn’t with him, not yet, and he couldn’t blame her at all for that. He said against her warm mouth, “There’s only your father left, Sally. We’ll get him. He won’t get away. There’ll be a huge scandal, a big trial. Can you deal with that?”

“Yes,” she said, her voice suddenly very cold and hard. “I can’t wait, actually. I want to face him down. I want to tell the world how he beat his wife. I want to tell the world what he did to me. James?”

“Yeah?”

“Was there another woman in my father’s life? Someone he was going to leave the country with?”

“Not that we know of, but that’s a good thought. We’ll have to keep an eye on it. It’s early, very early. As I said, we have people going through every scrap of paper in your father’s house and at his office. Everything will be scrutinized.