Page 53 of Blood Money

“You got all that from knowing a guy for a few hours?” Alex asked.

“I’m telling you, we had a connection. At least, I thought we did. In the end, he’s just like any other guy, I suppose.” Daisy groaned. “But enough about me. Are you with Gorgeous Gray?”

“Yes.” She glanced sideways and caught him frowning. “I have to go.”

“That’s what I thought.” Daisy giggled. “You still have the major hots for him.”

“It doesn’t matter. That’s not going to happen. Ever.” Unable to stop herself, she looked at Gray and watched his strong fingers loosen his tie. He had the most masculine hands. Big, callused, and warm. How could she forget the feel of those hands as they stroked her back, her rib cage, and her breasts?

“Earth to Alex.” Daisy laughed again. “Stay in touch. Let me know you and Nicky are okay.”

“I will.” Alex ended the call, grateful Daisy hadn’t pried further. Speaking of prying, she suddenly found herself angry with Dom for sleeping with her friend and leaving without a single word.

Both Gray and Dom were the topic of many a conversation among women at One PP. As Daisy said, Dom was extremely handsome and had the body of a professional athlete. As did Gray. Alex couldn’t stop herself from comparing the two men.

Both were about six foot three, and both men’s bodies were, apparently, covered with thick, hard muscle. That was where the similarities ended.

Dom was the epitome of a California surfer dude, an outgoing charmer with sandy brown-blond hair and blue eyes. Gray, on the other hand, was tough and unyielding, preferring to keep his thoughts coiled tightly inside. His personality matched his dark hair and intense, silver-gray eyes. But beneath that tall, dark, and steely cop exterior was an unexpectedly kind and generous man.

While he tried hard to keep it a secret, one of the ladies who worked for the department’s Community Affairs program let it slip that Gray donated hundreds of dollars every year to the department’s Toys For Tots holiday event. This event brought in needy children to receive a holiday gift their families couldn’t otherwise afford.

Gray glanced at her. “Is Daisy okay?”

“Why do you ask?” His question had her wondering if he knew what had passed between Daisy and Dom.

Gray cut his gaze back to the road. “She sounded mad when she answered your call.”

Heat flooded Alex’s body, and she felt her face flush. It occurred to her that Gray could very well have overheard parts of her conversation, including the part about Alex having the hots for him. She hoped not.

Shifting gears, she angled to face him. “Do partners really tell each other everything like TV show cops?”

He cracked a smile. “Some do, some don’t.”

Typically cryptic, Gray Yates.

“You and Dom do, don’t you?” Alex canted her head, trying to read his mind. And failing miserably. “It seems to me you two are pretty close.”

He grimaced. “Where is this going?”

“You know, don’t you?” She nodded, as if his knowledge of the Dom-Daisy fiasco was a foregone conclusion.

“Know what?” When he glanced at her, his face contorted with what looked like pain. The pain of having to dime out a buddy, no doubt.

She couldn’t resist poking Gray in the arm. “Even if you didn’t overhear my conversation with Daisy, you know she and Dom slept together last night.”

“Oh, that.” This time, he flashed her an all-out grimace.

“Yes, that.” She tapped her fingers on the door. “What kind of man is he? And I don’t mean the ladies-man reputation he has around the precinct. I want to know about his character.” Alex could practically hear Gray groan, although he did an admirable job holding it back. “If we weren’t stuck in this car together, I’m guessing you’d run like hell right about now.” She smiled, knowing it was true.

“You’d be right.” When he smiled back at her, her heart fluttered wildly.

Detective Gray Yates rarely smiled, but when he did, he was, in her opinion, the most handsome man on the planet.

“Daisy is my friend,” Alex went on. “My best friend. Aside from Nicky, she’s the only family I have, so when someone hurts her, I take it personally. Dom has a reputation, but I never heard about him treating women discourteously. So why did he cut and run on Daisy this morning without so much as a parting word? She feels thoroughly used.”

“Dom Carew is the best man I know.” Gray put on the car’s turn signal.

Alex read the highway sign that declared they were a mile from Hopewell Springs, population six thousand. “Then how could he pull this adolescent one-night stand with Daisy?”