Shades of Temptation by Virna Depaul Read Free Book Online

streets. It’s why
it’s taken so long for me to get a serial case.”
    “Your breasts aside…” Though he wanted to, he didn’t glance
down. “I never thought I’d hear you play the gender card. We’re all in rotation.
We take the cases as they come and as the member with the least homicide
experience, it makes sense you haven’t been assigned one until now. Serial cases
don’t exactly pop up all over the place.”
    “So says a man who’s worked two of them this year.”
    “I wanted this one, too,” he pointed out.
    “I know. I won’t say I’m sorry.”
    “I didn’t expect you to. Now, do you want to come join me and
DeMarco?”
    “I need to leave. I just came by to see Mac and Natalie. To
wish them well before they left. But I have to work.” With a bright, utterly
disingenuous smile, she held up her files and said, “Looks like nothing’s
changed. You’ve got your pick of women to keep you company tonight, and I’m
going to get up close and personal with my case. Tell DeMarco I said hello,
okay?”
    He didn’t want another woman. And he certainly didn’t want
Carrie thinking about him with one. “Damn it, Carrie. You’ve been gone a month.
What harm will having a drink with us cause?”
    Her expression grew serious. Then she straightened. “I—I don’t
want to wait and find out. I can’t afford to,” she muttered. “What I mean is, I
have a serial killer to find. Good night, Jase.” With that, she turned on her
heel and left.

CHAPTER FIVE
    C ARRIE EXITED M C G ILL ’ S and took in deep breaths
of air. She was a grown woman and had been attracted to plenty of men before.
Why was Jase Tyler the only man who could throw her so off course?
    Because he turned her on. And turned her inside out. Because a
part of her wondered if, in a different time and place, without her baggage or
her scars, they might have meant something special to one another. But that was
ridiculous. Even without her troubled past, Carrie couldn’t change who she was.
What she looked like. She was strong and sturdy, not sexy and svelte. Jase
flirted with her because they worked together, because she was there, and
because he’d probably been coming on to females since before he could walk. It
wasn’t her he wanted, but the challenge she
represented. Even so, she couldn’t believe he wanted her at all.
    Sensing movement from the corner of her eye, Carrie looked
up.
    “Murderer!” a voice yelled just as someone clasped her arm,
jerked her around and threw her drink. Carrie felt lukewarm liquid splash all
over the front of her.
    Carrie stared in stunned disbelief at the short elderly woman
who stood aggressively in front of her, gripping her with almost superhuman
strength despite the fact that her wrinkled skin was paper-thin and looked only
slightly more delicate than the frail bones of her body. Her silver hair had a
purple tint to it, giving her a comic matronly appearance, but her eyes were a
penetratingly clear-blue, staring at Carrie with such hatred that she
automatically flinched back.
    “Ma’am,” she began.
    The woman dropped her now-empty coffee cup and shoved Carrie’s
chest with both hands.
    Carrie barely moved from the impact, but a suspicious dread
ignited in her stomach. She’d never actually met Kevin Porter’s grandmother, but
they’d talked on the phone....
    The door to McGill’s opened, allowing some of the noise from
inside to drift out.
    “Hey, lady,” Jase called from behind her.
    A quick glance confirmed he was walking toward them, a
concerned expression on his face. Carrie held up her hand. “Jase, it’s okay. Let
me handle this.”
    The woman looked at Jase as if he was a dead snake. “Who are
you? Another dirty cop? You’re all bastards. Kevin’s dead because of you. You
should all be rotting in hell!”
    Carrie had been right—this was Martha Porter. She kept her
voice low and steady, trying to disguise the anxiety seeping into her. Her
breathing escalated, and she felt a