The Crush

Notorious hit man Ricky Lozada is on trial and Dr. Rennie Newton is on his jury. She soon delivers a verdict of not guilty - and gains a new admirer. But days after Lozada's release, one of Rennie's professional rivals is brutally murdered. Although Lozada's dark shadow looms over the case, Rennie becomes the prime suspect... while Lozada stalks her, growing more obsessed with having her. She forms an uneasy alliance with Wick Threadgill, a rogue detective with his own personal vendetta against Lozada. Wick has nothing to lose by confronting a killer who, like the prize scorpions he treasures, strikes so quickly Rennie may never see it coming.
"Dr. Lee Howell's home telephone rang at 2:07 a.m. His wife, Myrna, who was sleeping beside him, grumbled into her pillow. "Who's that? You're not on call tonight." The Howells had been in bed barely an hour. Their poolside party had broken up around midnight. By the time they'd gathered up the debris and empty margarita glasses, stored the perishable leftovers in the fridge, and visited their sleeping son's room to give him a goodnight kiss, it was nearing one o'clock.
As they undressed they had congratulated themselves on hosting a successful get-together. The grilled steaks had been only a little tough, and the new electric mosquito zapper had sizzled all evening, keeping the insect population to a minimum. All things considered, a good party. The Howells had felt mellow but agreed that they were too exhausted even to think about having sex, so they'd kissed each other good night, then turned to their respective sides of the bed and gone to sleep. Despite the shortness of time Dr. Howell had been asleep, his slumber, assisted by several margaritas, had been deep and dreamless. Yet when the telephone rang he was instantly awake, alert, and responsive, as years of conditioning had trained him to be. He reached for the phone. "Sorry, hon. A patient may have taken a bad turn."