Dez slammed her coffee down, startling her new friend. She should have known Mace had another woman. Some poor Navy wife waiting for him to come home for the holidays. "What's her name?"

"Who?"

"Mace's 'nice little girl.'"

Sissy raised an eyebrow. "I'm talking about you, darlin'."

"Me?" Now it was Dez's turn to be startled. "I'm not nice, Sissy Mae. I ain't little. And Mace does not have me."

She waited for Sissy to say something, but to her growing annoyance, the woman only folded her arms in front of her chest and stared at her.

Bitch.

Smitty bit into his hot pastrami on rye with spicy mustard. Mace almost laughed at the absolute rapture on the man's face.

"Like it?"

He received the thumbs-up, since Smitty was enjoying his food way too much to answer. For the next ten minutes, the men ate without once speaking. Although they did occasionally grunt at one another.

When their plates were clean, they leaned back with their sodas and sighed in satisfaction.

"So, hoss. Have you actually told her you're in love with her?"

"She won't let me. When I tried, she threw me down a flight of stairs."

"And you're not concerned about that?"

"There weren't that many steps."

"Mace..." Smitty rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "She ain't a village of well-armed rebels, ya know. You can't just invade under the cover of night."

"But I have. And I will. Again. As many times as I have to. Until she admits she's crazy about me."

"And if she ain't?"

"If she ain't what?"

"Crazy about ya? Then what?"

He didn't want to think about it. He couldn't. He loved her too much to think about it. To worry she didn't love him. True, he could always find another woman, but he'd still always be alone. He'd be alone because he wouldn't have Dez.

Mace looked at Smitty and shrugged.

Dez answered her cell. "MacDermot?"

"It's Vinny."

Dez slammed her phone shut and took another bite of chocolate cake.

"Problem?" Sissy asked as she studied all the activity on the busy Village street.

"Nope."

The phone rang again. Dez answered it. "MacDermot."

"Don't hang up."

Dez hung up and took a sip of her coffee.

"How long are you going to torture them?" Dez had filled Sissy in on her friends bursting into her house and putting a gun on Mace. Although she left out the astounding blow job she gave him beforehand.

"Until they learn better."

"Sounds like they were trying to protect you. Friends like that are hard to find, darlin'. You should be grateful."

"I am."

"But you're going to make them sweat anyway?"

"Yup."

Dez's phone rang again. She glanced at caller ID. The number looked familiar to her but it wasn't one of the guys unless they grabbed someone else's phone.

"MacDermot."

"You fuckin' bitch!"

Dez grinned. "Ms. Brutale. Is there a problem?"

"Why are the cops here? Why are they tearing my fuckin' club apart?"

"Gee. I don't know." Dez licked her chocolate-covered fork.

"Bullshit, you bitch! You did this. And if you think for a second I'm going to let you get away with this..."

She wasn't surprised Brutale was pissed. Dez heard back from the officer in charge of the investigation. A big, biker-looking, old-school cop called Crushek, or Crush if you liked playing with fire. Several of Brutale's bartenders and waitresses pulled in for possession with the intent to distribute. They closed the club for at least the night, if not longer, depending on the Brutale political clout.

"Don't threaten me."

"I don't get it."

"Maybe you should ask your sister. She seemed to have a real problem with my presence at your club last night."

The silence Dez got back from the other end of that phone sent a chill up her spine. Not for her, but for Anne Marie Brutale. She didn't envy the girl. She got the feeling Gina didn't like her sister involving herself with her life.

"I understand," Brutale said, and hung up.

Dez shuddered. No, she didn't envy Anne Marie one bit. Of course, she didn't really feel bad for her either. The woman had tried to kill her, after all. The bitch had made her bed. Now she could freakin' lie in it.

"Everything okay, darlin'?"

"For me. Yeah."

Sissy's phone rang. She answered it, and when Dez realized it was a rather tense call from one of Sissy's other siblings, she decided to give her a little privacy. With her cup in hand, Dez strolled slowly past her coffeehouse. A cute place that had great hours, not closing until three or four A.M. She came so often many of the staff knew her by name. She continued to walk until she found herself in front of the alley beside the coffeehouse. A fairly large place with one entrance in front and another side entrance leading to the alley. A large brick wall spanned between the coffeehouse and the building beside it. A metal door oddly placed dead in the middle.

Dez stopped and openly stared. How could she not? She knew the woman. Anne Marie Brutale. And she recognized the man. How could she forget a guy she'd once arrested? Especially a guy who broke one of her ribs during the takedown? She wasn't sure about his name. Something Irish.

He had Anne Marie backed against the wall, one arm braced over her head. He leaned into her and she gave a freaky sadistic grin and shook her head. His free hand ran up her arm, across her collarbone, to savagely grip her throat.

"Do what I tell ya."

Anne Marie hissed, and Dez knew she saw fangs, even from here.

"Dez, let's go."

Dez turned her head to glance at Sissy Mae, who had already started off down the street. When she turned back in the alley, both Anne Marie and her pet criminal were gone. Dez looked around. She didn't understand. They couldn't have passed her.

Her eyes locked onto two doorways. One led back into the coffeehouse. The other led into the brick wall. Part of her itched to see what was in there. Itched to find out why a Jersey princess like Brutale would hang around with such a lowlife. Something deep inside told her it wasn't fucking, but something scary and dangerous. And she'd be an idiot to go follow them.

"Dez, come on, darlin'."

Dez stared into the alley a few more seconds, then followed Sissy.

From the bench, Dez watched Sissy Mae glide by on the ice. Impressed, Dez sighed. She had no idea Sissy could be so...graceful.

Funny, after thirty-six years this was the first time Dez had ever come to Rockefeller Center during the Christmas holiday. She hated the crowds, the tourists, and, God knew, she didn't skate. But Sissy Mae and Smitty wanted to come so badly, she didn't have the heart to tell them to go by their damn selves.

Sissy Mae glided by again. She moved with such confidence and skill. She could see the younger skaters watching Sissy with admiration. Until her brother slammed into her from behind. Dez covered her mouth and tried not to laugh. Although seeing Sissy sprawled out, facedown on the cold ice, made it kind of difficult.

Dez watched the younger woman snarl, drag herself to her feet, and take off after her brother. She'd never seen two siblings play so rough. Sissy Mae threw herself at Smitty, landing on his back. Using her body, she spun him up and around, knocking him to the ground while still attached to him.

"Holy shit."

She started to stand up, worried she would have to prevent the two from going to jail, when Mace's hand on her shoulder pulled her back onto his lap.

"Leave 'em alone, baby. They get like this."

Dez closed her eyes at the feel of Mace's chest against her back.

"You know, Dez, you never answered my question. Did ya miss me today?"

"No."

"Liar." Yeah. She was a liar. She'd missed him all afternoon. She had a great time with Sissy Mae, but she kept thinking about seeing Mace later. Seeing him naked.

He kissed the back of her neck, and Dez fought the urge to drag Mace into the nearest bathroom.

"Did you miss me, Captain Ego?"

"Oh yeah." He tightened his grip around her waist as he leaned in closer to her. "I missed that little sound you make when I graze my teeth across your clit. And the way you taste on my fingers and tongue. The way you dig your nails into my back when you're coming and that little thing you do with your hips when I'm going down on you."

"Stop."

"Stop? You sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure." If he didn't stop, she'd come while sitting on his lap without the man doing a damn thing to her.

Mace closed his eyes. Thank God she told him to stop. Much more and he'd have her jeans down and his cock jammed into her right in front of all of New York. He needed to get her back to her house. Or a hotel. Or an alley. He needed to fuck this woman and he needed it soon. Hell, he'd even brought a condom along...ya know...just in case.

He heard gasps around him. Mace looked up in time to watch Sissy Mae put her brother in a headlock and slam him face-first into a gate.

"How much longer can they keep that up?"

"Hours."

"That can't be good. Oh shit. Security." Dez started to stand up again but he pulled her back down.

"I'd really wish you wouldn't move right now."

"But I-" She stopped when he pulled her closer to his bursting erection. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

"Well, what about Sissy and Smitty?"

"They can take care of themselves."

"Honestly, Mace, can't you control that thing?"

"Not around you apparently." He rubbed the back of her neck with his hand. "Let's get out of here, Dez."

She looked at him over her shoulder. He saw the lust in her eyes. A lust as strong as his. She opened her mouth to answer but stopped when her cell phone went off.

"Goddamnit," she angrily snapped as she answered her phone. "MacDermot." She nodded. "Yeah. Okay. Okay." She glanced at her watch. "Yeah. Okay. Yeah." She closed the phone.

"I've gotta meet Bukowski at a bar."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. He wants to talk to me about the Petrov case."

"He can't do that over the phone?" He really had to stop growling things at her when annoyed and jealous. It did nothing but piss her off.

"Yeah. He can. But he probably wants to apologize too and he won't do that over the phone." She didn't seem pissed at Mace's tone, though. Instead, she acted like she expected the other shoe to drop-or for it to be thrown at her head. There was something going on and he had no idea what.

Dez rubbed the back of her neck. "You know, I'll understand if you want to-"

"Want to what?"