Read Online For Love or Vengeance by Caridad Piñeiro - Free Book Online

putting up with.
    “Definitely a handful,” he agreed, and strode after her.
    When he turned the corner to where they had parked, she was already sitting in the passenger seat, looking regal as she waited for him. Funny, really. Considering all the other ways she wanted to be dominant, when it came to driving, she always deferred to him.
    He opened the door, leaned in, and teased, “What’s the matter, princess? Don’t feel like driving?”
    With a roll of her eyes, she shifted toward the dash and peered up through the windshield. “Kind of Goth, don’t you think? Almost like a castle?”
    Miguel turned and scanned the buildings. She was right. The architecture of the structures bordering the alley was different from the others around the area. Definitely more Gothic, especially with the crenellated tops.
    He slid into the car and said, “Leave it to a princess to notice castles.”
    “Why are you calling me that?” Annoyance flared in the tones of her voice.
    He started up the engine. “You’ve got attitude, Helene. Although I appreciate that you are working on that.”

    Helene regarded Miguel. Anyone else might have been angry at his comments, but she simply accepted their accuracy. She did have attitude, and didn’t consider it a bad thing. It was tough not to since she was a goddess.
    A goddess who could cause him great pain by laying her hands on him. Not that she wanted to do that. She would never hurt him.
    However, laying her hands on him…
    She buried the thought deep.
    “Would you rather I was milder? More subservient?”
    “Never, princess. You’re much more fun this way.”
    What did he mean by that? He didn’t look at her as he spoke, focusing instead on making a U-turn so they could drive to the precinct.
    Befuddled that it was so difficult to gauge his true emotions, she opened her inner eye just a bit, and let that special vision probe him.
    Within him she found acceptance of her, much as his tone had implied. She also found desire, so strong that she pulled her vision back abruptly. She didn’t want to explore that any more.
    Was his desire for her even stronger than hers for him? The possibility created a coil of warmth in her center. Had her itching to once again release that special sight to confirm she hadn’t made a mistake.
    But she didn’t.
    Her new partner was far too dangerous a mix of brains, honor, and a too-wicked body. Best leave him alone for now. She concentrated instead on processing all she had seen at the crime scene, as well as the disjointed images that had come to her when she touched the body. Images of the red rose, and rough hands posing the body. The muddled sound of voices, too indistinct to be of any help.
    Mentally, she compared those images to everything she had already gathered from the prior victims.
    The rose stood out in her memory, blood red and jarring against the pale skin of the victim’s naked body and the dull gray of the alley floor.
    “What did you think about the rose?” she asked Miguel.
    He shrugged. “Sometimes a rose is just a rose.”
    “Do you really think that?” she pressed, leaning toward him to get a better read of his expression.
    He shot her a glance and his lips thinned into a tight line. “No. I think we’re going to have even less time to catch him before he grabs someone else.”
    Sadly, she totally agreed.

Chapter Eight
    At the precinct, the interrogation of the two sanitation workers yielded no more information than what Helene and Miguel had gathered from their visit to the crime scene. She tried to tamp down her frustration. It wasn’t easy. She needed to stop this killer!
    With a copy of the victim’s license in hand, they drove to the victim’s residence—a small studio apartment on the edges of Chelsea. The manager of the building opened the door to the apartment for them without hesitation, although he hung around at the entrance, shouting out questions about what had happened to the victim. They ignored him as