Free Fierce Pride by Phoebe Conn

gambling.”
    “Maybe there are people who just don’t like you,” Rafael posed.
    Maggie took his arm. “Didn’t you hear him? He needs to rest.”
    “Do you suppose you should have a guard?” Libby asked.
    “Why? To keep out women putting on lipstick?” Santos snorted.
    “Call Manuel to come get you and tour the city,” Rafael told Maggie. “I’ll wait here and see if we can convince Santos’s doctor to release him today.”
    Santos caught his meaning and nodded. “I’ll ask. Kiss me good-bye, Libby. I still need more luck.”
    “Wait a minute. What did Mr. Martinez say about your fan mail? Have there been any threats?”
    “I forgot to ask him.”
    While Libby was embarrassed she’d spent more time kissing him than her sister and Rafael might suspect, she leaned over the bed to kiss him good-bye. He didn’t raise a hand to touch her, so it was only a whisper-light exchange, but she still felt a glorious electric sizzle. She wondered if he charmed every woman he met and thought he must without making more than the slightest effort. Just like his father.
    She stepped back. “A lot more women belong on that list, don’t they?”
    “You expect me to admit it?”
    Libby walked out the door without answering but paused to question Maggie once they were down the hall. “Was your father as charming?”
    “He was even more so. The man was magic.”
    “Then our mother never had a chance.”
    “She would have been too sweet and innocent to realize what was happening,” Maggie agreed. “Let’s hope meeting Santos doesn’t bring back sad memories for her.”
    “We’ll keep her busy with the wedding,” Libby offered, but she had no such easy solution for herself.
     
     
    Rafael looked down the hall to make certain Maggie and Libby had taken the elevator. “I don’t want to frighten them, but this was no careless accident. Whoever held the mirror focused it directly on you. You’ll be safer at home.”
    “Do you always expect the worst?”
    Rafael went to the window and glanced down on the street below. “I’ve learned to. They weren’t trying to kill me, and I’ve no great affection for you, but you’re Maggie’s brother, and she doesn’t need more grief.”
    “None of us do. I’ll check out without the surgeon’s approval if I have to, but I do want to speak with him first.”
    “While we’re waiting for him, why don’t you tell me who has a reason to kill you, and we’ll stop him before he succeeds. The girls don’t need to be in on it.”
    Santos studied Libby’s list. “I don’t know, but one of these women might. I’ll call Javier, the detective I know, as soon as I get home.”
    Rafael turned toward him. “Call him now.”
     
     
    Javier Cazares reached the hospital within the hour. He was a small man with a narrow face and gold-rimmed glasses. He wore his graying hair slicked back, and in a suit and tie, he could easily be mistaken for a physician on the hospital’s staff.
    Santos introduced him to Rafael. “Someone tried to kill me yesterday. Obviously they failed, and I don’t want to give them a second chance. It could have been one of these women.” He handed Javier the list. He’d added a couple more names after Libby had left.
    “The mirror report is true?” the detective asked, his voice a gravelly whisper.
    “Yes,” Rafael answered. “I saw it and think it’s more likely someone protesting the bullfights is responsible.”
    “May I sit?”
    “Of course,” Santos said.
    The detective took a visitor’s chair and pulled a small leather-bound notebook from his coat pocket. He copied the women’s names with a silver pen. “Do you have addresses, anything to identify these women from the hundreds with similar names?”
    “Yes, at home. I’ll get them to you this afternoon.”
    “Good. The protesters have been cited often enough for their leaders’ names to be readily available. I’ll pursue them as well.” He pursed his lips. “I’ve never