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Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. Love best-selling fiction?
  3. Also by McGarvey Black
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraph
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. 48
  54. 49
  55. 50
  56. 51
  57. 52
  58. 53
  59. Acknowledgements
  60. A note from the publisher
  61. Love best-selling fiction?
  62. You will also enjoy:

“She could be Brazilian too,” said Sean. “We also learned she likes expensive things. She has a Gucci bag, necklace and sunglasses.”

“Also,” said Zoe, “we remembered that the masked man wore an FDNY hat and a NY Rangers mask.”

“Do you know how many hockey fans wear Rangers gear?” said Daryl. “My next-door neighbor has NY Rangers sweatshirts, socks, hats, beer glasses and probably a mask, knowing him.”

“We believe the husband might work for Blue Crest Financial,” said Sean, trying to rescue his friend.

“Look,” said Daryl, “We are following up on a few things, but I’m not going to lie, it’s a long shot. In the meantime, stay out of it and let us do our job.”

Sean and Zoe looked at each other, defeated. They had asked the police to search for a needle in a haystack without telling them what kind of needle or which haystack. Dejected, they left the 24th Precinct and stepped out into the sunshine onto a practically deserted West 100th Street.

“What do we do now?” said Sean, squinting from the sun in his eyes.

“I’ve got an idea,” Zoe said, looking at her phone. “There are only two hundred and fifty-four fire stations in New York City. We could try going to the ones in Manhattan and see if—”

“Only two hundred and fifty-four? Are you kidding me? Even I think that’s ridiculous. We don’t even know if he is a fireman,” said Sean. “Going to fire stations makes no sense.”

“Are you saying you want to give up?” Zoe demanded.

“No, but we’re chasing our tails.”

22

Gabriela García’s cleverly orchestrated romance with Greg Harmen took off like a bottle rocket. Never having considered himself terribly attractive to women, a month of the Mexican knockout’s undivided attention and her ecstatic vocal approval of his lovemaking, Greg started to think he had underestimated himself.

For starters, she laughed at his terrible jokes. He was fond of a pun and she hated puns, partly because English was her second language but more because she thought puns were stupid, even in Spanish. The little quirks and idiosyncrasies other women had found annoying, Gabriela declared adorable. She also did physical things to him that he didn’t know could be done. Soon Greg was sure he couldn’t live without her, which was exactly what she was going for.

With the deliberateness of a shark that spotted a school of fish, Gabriela circled her prey decisively and without remorse. Greg was simply a necessary stepping stone, a means to an end. Marrying him would ensure her a green card and allow her to legally stay in the United States. He was single, which meant she didn’t have to dispose of a girlfriend or wife and she’d have a home in Manhattan. Given her larger long-term goals, Greg seemed like her best option—for the moment.