Double The Risk Read Online Free Page A

and he knew his blue eyes made for a nice contrast to that. But his skin tended to be too pale if he didn’t spend some time in the sun. He had a few inches on Diego, although the other man was more muscular.
    And, comparing himself to another man was more “Mean Girls” than macho, so he should knock it the fuck off.
    “The question is,” he said to get his thoughts back on track. “If the guy wasn’t really homeless, who the hell would go to the trouble of trying to make him look as if he were? Or was this some kind of weird-ass version of slumming it for him and the game got a little too real when an actual homeless man killed him for his money?”
    “Perhaps the poor guy was mentally ill or suffering from dementia and wandered away from home,” Diego offered.
    “That’s an interesting angle.” Ronan pulled into the precinct lot. “Look, I need to change. Standing out in that heat has turned me into a melting Popsicle. Why don’t you check on the missing person files while I head to the locker room? I’ll be quick about it and come give you a hand. Something might pop there before we get word from Cassidy.”
    “Sure. That’s a good idea.”
    It rankled, even though it shouldn’t, that while his new partner was the senior man of the two of them, he didn’t pull rank and nix the plan because Ronan had suggested it. The guy was obviously secure in his position and didn’t feel the need to throw his weight around. That was a good thing, so why did it irk him?
    He shook off the feeling as he headed into the locker room and made short work of cleaning up. By the time he returned to his desk, Diego was in deep concentration on his computer.
    “Nothing’s popped so far,” Diego said without looking up from the screen. “If the vic went missing recently, it wasn’t from Boston or the surrounding area.”
    Ronan plopped into his chair and booted up his own computer. “Maybe he hopped a train from somewhere else.”
    Diego looked over at him skeptically. “Does anyone actually do that anymore?”
    “Sure,” Ronan replied with a shrug. “It’s harder these days, but it happens.”
    Diego rocked back in his chair. “Did you notice the shoes?”
    “What about them?”
    “He wasn’t wearing any socks, so it was easy to see how they fit on his feet and they looked about a size too big to me.”
    “That doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Homeless people make do with what they can.”
    “True, but it will be interesting to see if the vic’s feet show problems from wearing the wrong size. That’s something that should be in the M.E.’s report.”
    Coincidently with the mention of the lovely Cassidy, Ronan’s phone pinged. Pulling it out, he read the text and grinned. “Post-mortem’s about done. Cassidy says to come over any time, and she’ll give us the run down.”
    “Cassidy?” Diego said with his eyebrows raised.
    “Dr. Barnes, if you prefer.” Ronan gave him a pointed look.
    Diego returned it. “I prefer Cassidy, myself.”
    “Then we’re of a mind, there.”
    They sat staring at each other for a few seconds, stupidly and with way more testosterone than should permeate any room in the twenty-first century, but there it was. Diego glanced away first as he stood up. Ronan in no way took that as a sign of the other man’s weakness or capitulation. He stood, too, and followed his partner silently out to the car. By unspoken agreement, they didn’t talk about anything on the way to the morgue. When they entered the chilly and creepy room where Cassidy had their vic laid out, she greeted them with a friendly smile and a wave for them to come join her by the corpse.
    That smile hit Ronan low in the gut, putting a momentary hitch to his stride. Even all suited up in her protective autopsy gear, her figure was on full display. She wasn’t very tall even for a woman, but she possessed the traditionally sexy hourglass curves. He liked the look, never having developed a taste for tall and