Maria didn’t understand the game, and he would never want her to. She was different—special—meant for someone who had long term in mind. A man who would put a ring on her finger and honor his vows.
He didn’t believe he had fidelity in him. A day would come when some tempting little thing would cross his path, and he’d go and royally screw everything up. If he ever hurt Maria like that, he’d shoot himself, saving Kincaid the trouble.
But, Jesus, she’d knocked the floor out from under him with that kiss.
From the time he’d kissed his first girl at age thirteen, he’d loved the feel of soft feminine lips on his, had made it his mission in life to kiss as many girls as possible. Then at sixteen, he’d lost his virginity to his twenty-three-year-old neighbor and never looked back. Though he now understood she was wrong to seduce a teenage boy, she’d taught him how to please a woman and he had very fond memories of her.
If someone asked him how many women he’d slept with, he couldn’t begin to answer. He couldn’t remember most of their names, though he’d always remember their faces as they came. Seeing their eyes dilate and darken, hearing their soft sighs and sometimes their screams, feeling the curves of their bodies as his hands explored them, it was what he lived for.
No, he wasn’t the man for Maria.
A ball of fur landed on his lap and began to knead his stomach. Jake sighed. “Yeah, cat, I guess we guys have to stick together.” He peered down at the creature. “You are a guy, right? Or have you been neutered? Maybe that’s what somebody needs to do to me.”
Jake once again found himself standing next to Eddie as Detective Nolan questioned Angie and her mother. Nolan had agreed to hold the interview at the Davis house, his hope that it would put mother and daughter more at ease. Maria sat on the couch, her hand clasped in Angie’s.
“When was the last time you saw him, Mrs. Davis?” the detective asked.
“I’m not sure exactly, about a month ago.”
Jake studied the woman who’d been Fortunada’s girlfriend. She was attractive, maybe in her midthirties. Her eyes, green like her daughter’s, were red rimmed and swollen from crying. Even now, she had a handkerchief clutched tightly in her hand, dabbing at the tears falling down her cheeks.
Nolan handed her a mug shot. “Is this Hernando Fortunada?”
She glanced at it and gave it back. “That’s him.”
“Does he have a job?”
“He’s a bartender at Missy’s Place. At least, he was a month ago.”
As Nolan questioned Angie about her visit to Fortunada’s house, Eddie started bouncing on the balls of his feet, his hands curling into fists. Jake put his hand on the kid’s shoulder and pushed him into the kitchen.
“You need to calm down, Eddie. Getting all agitated isn’t helping anyone.”
“I know, man, but I just get so pissed when she talks about what he tried to do to her.”
“I understand, but she got away. What Angie needs now is for you to hold it together and be there for her.”
“Man, I know that, but what I really wanna do is find the asshole and hurt him like he hurt Angie.”
Jake caught the boy’s gaze and held it. “Eddie, pay attention here. The man’s dangerous. He’s hurt people before. I’m an ex-SEAL, and even I would use caution where he’s concerned. Let the police do their job.” A small lie, that one. He’d have no problem tangling with Fortunada.
“No shit? You’re a SEAL. Wow. Were you on the team that killed bin Laden?”
Jake suppressed a smile. The kid was a trip. “No, that was Team Six, but back to my point. The way you can help is to stick close to Angie and her mother. Like I said yesterday, it’s possible Fortunada could show up if he gets desperate, maybe looking for a place to hide out. What if he does and they’re here alone because you’re out somewhere on a fruitless search for him?”
“Shouldn’t I have a gun?”
Hell no. “You have a cell phone?”
Eddie’s eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead. “Doesn’t everybody?”
Well hell. He let his amusement go and laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. You stick with your ladies and any sign of our man, you call the police, then me. Give me your cell.”
Jake programed his number into Eddie’s phone and handed it back. “Now, there’s something else I need to know. Who holds the mortgage on this house?”