Cops 02 - Love on the Run (15 page)

Tony closed the door and turned to face Lisa just as she dropped her towel on the floor. “I’m ready to play now.” Tony stared at her nude body, perfect by most people’s standards, and he felt completely unmoved. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck; her lips immediately pressed against his, then her tongue slid deep into his mouth.

Finally, she ended the kiss and sank to her knees. Her hands immediately unfastened and unzipped his pants, her mouth finding and covering his cock.

No matter how he tried, Tony just couldn’t get into it. Everything from the taste, the smell, the feel of her was wrong, and it left him completely cold.

After several long minutes, he carefully pulled his unresponsive cock from her mouth and lifted her from the floor.

“I’m sorry, Lisa. This isn’t going to happen tonight.”

“What do you mean?” Her face held the look of a woman who was obviously not used to rejection.

“I mean, I made a mistake when I invited you inside. It’s late, I’m tired, and it’s time for you to leave now.”

“What is this about, Tony? You’ve never turned me down before.” She still stood in the same spot, staring at him in disbelief.

Tony sighed as he readjusted himself and refastened his pants. “Look, Lisa, I’m sorry I wasted your time tonight. Here.” He reached into his pocket for his wallet. “Let me pay for a cab for you —”

“Fuck the cab!” she shouted angrily. “This is about that Mexican bitch, isn’t it?”

“What did you say?” He looked at her through narrowed eyes, the threat in his tone evident.

“You heard me!” She refused to back down, either too arrogant or too ignorant to realize that she was treading on dangerous ground. “This is about little Ms. Español who just left. Chiquita, Margarita, or whoever she is.”

“Her name is Bianca, and she’s Brazilian, not Mexican.”

“Mexican, Brazilian, what-the-fuck-ever.” She waved her hand dismissively. “It makes no difference. All those people are the same, anyway.” Disgust filled her voice. “She’s probably not even here legally, anyway,” she muttered.

Tony stared at her in stunned silence, his anger growing with every passing second.

“Thank you,” he finally said, and his voice was deceptively calm. “Thank you for reminding me that ignorance is color-blind, and racists come in all colors, shapes, and sizes, including a prejudiced bitch like you.”

“Who do you think —”

Tony cut her off. “If you say another fucking word, I swear I will not be responsible for my actions. Now get your shit and get the fuck out of my house!” He was yelling by the time he finished speaking. From the fearful look on Lisa’s face, it was obvious that she finally realized just how angry he really was.

He practically threw her clothes at her and watched as she hastily dressed before he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the door.

“The next time you’re in town, make sure you lose my number before you get here.”

Tony slammed the door in her face before she had a chance to respond.

Even after she was gone, Tony still stood there, so pissed off that he wanted to hit something. He was far from naïve, but it never ceased to amaze him that even in this day and age, people still existed who held the same bigoted beliefs that Lisa did.

Shaking his head, Tony headed back to his bedroom, determined to go straight to bed, more than ready to see this fucked-up day come to an end.

Bianca fumbled with the phone on her nightstand as she tried to answer it and fought the temptation to throw it out of the window instead.

“Bianca, it’s Tony.”

Her eyes snapped open; the sound of Tony’s voice brought her fully awake. “Tony, if you’re calling about last night, don’t bother, okay? I got the message loud and clear.” She’d spent hours trying to erase the image of the other woman in Tony’s condo, wearing just a towel and looking at her with nothing but contempt in her eyes.

“That’s not why I called. Have you seen the news?”

Bianca frowned and glanced at her clock. It was barely five o’clock in the morning.

“No. Why?”

“Richard Greenley was killed last night.”

Bianca sat straight up in bed, her heart pounding in her chest. “What? How?”

“The official report is that he was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while crossing the street after he left a bar late last night.”

Bianca heard the unspoken message in his words. “What about the unofficial report?”

She was almost afraid to hear Tony’s response.

“I think we both know the answer to that. Although we’ll never be able to prove it.

Like I said, once Dimitryi found out about that story, somebody was going to pay.”

“Jesus…” Bianca just couldn’t believe it. She hated Richard, hated what he’d done to her story, but she didn’t actually want him to die, no matter how much she’d fantasized about it.

She turned on the light next to her bed, suddenly afraid to be in the dark. Every shadow, every noise made her feel jumpy and uneasy. “Listen, Bianca. I talked to Jack, and he told me what happened with Greenley stealing your notes and making up that story.”

Tony’s sudden change in subjects caught her off guard. His words caused all the hurt and anger that she’d managed to suppress to rise to the surface again.

“Well, if you’d given me a chance, I would have told you myself.”

“Yeah.” She heard Tony sigh deeply. “About last night…”

“Tony, please. Just don’t. I don’t want to talk about last night. And if you mention another word about it, I will hang up this phone right now.” Seeing the bony bitch in his house was bad enough. She sure as hell didn’t want to hear the gory details.

“I just wanted to apologize, Bianca, that’s all.”

“I don’t need your apology. I already told you that I got it. I know there’s nothing between us anymore.”

“What if I still want there to be something between us?” he asked quietly. “What if I still want more?”

I do, too, her mind shouted. She wanted to beg him to come over right now and make the ache in her heart go away. Instead, for the first time ever when it came to Tony, Bianca’s mind overruled her heart.

“Princess,” she whispered.

“What?” The confusion was evident in Tony’s voice.

“That first weekend, you gave me a safe word. You told me to use it if you ever hurt me more than I could handle. Well, I’m using it now, Tony.” Bianca closed her eyes and swallowed past the lump in her throat as the first of her tears began to trickle from her eyes.

“Everything you ever taught me, everything you ever did with me, was based on mutual trust. The trust between us isn’t there anymore. You didn’t trust me enough to believe that I wouldn’t betray you, and after last night, I don’t trust you enough to believe that you’re ready to be with just one person. As you said many times, if we don’t have trust, then we don’t have anything at all. There’s so much pain and anger between us right now, Tony. It hurts too much, and I just…I can’t take it anymore.”

Tony was silent for so long that Bianca began to think that he wasn’t on the phone any longer.

“So, where does this leave us?” he finally asked.

“It leaves us in the same place where we were before. As friends. We’ll still see each other, still talk to each other, just like we used to. And, in three weeks, we’ll both stand up in our best friends’ wedding.”

“I know you don’t want to hear it, but I am sorry, Bianca. I never wanted to hurt you, never meant for things to happen this way between us.” She heard Tony’s frustrated sigh over the phone before he swore softly. “Listen, I gotta go. I just wanted to tell you to be careful. In fact, it might be a good idea for you to stay with Clarke and Jack for a little while until some of this stuff settles down. I don’t think there’s anything to really worry about, but Dimitryi’s a crazy son of a bitch, so you can never be too careful. Just because we’re not…

Well, I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Don’t worry about me, Tony. I’ll be fine.”

Bianca barely managed to disconnect the call before she curled into a ball and cried herself back to sleep.

*

Bianca rushed out the door and down the stairs of her building as she headed to her car. Her latest emotional breakdown had caused her to oversleep, and now she was late for work.

She’d just gotten inside her car when a man’s face appeared in her rearview mirror.

Bianca screamed and immediately reached for the door handle as Tony’s words of warning rang loudly in her ears.

The man reached over the seat and grabbed her. Bianca began to struggle, but he held her steady.

“Calm down!” he demanded. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

She met his eyes in the mirror, expecting to see danger but finding only desperation instead. Slowly, she calmed down.

“What do you want?”

“My name is Viktor Sikolov. I work for Dimitryi Ivanov, and I need your help.”

“You look beautiful,” Bianca told Clarke as she helped her adjust her headpiece.

“You think so?” Clarke beamed and turned around in a slow circle. Her ivory satin spaghetti strap wedding gown fit her curvaceous frame to perfection. The plunging neckline and low-cut keyhole back revealed plenty of skin, and the delicately embroidered flowers adorning the front and back of the dress, leading down to the attached beaded lace train, made it both feminine and sexy, and so very Clarke.

“I know so.” Bianca smiled. “Wait until Jack sees you. He won’t be able to keep his eyes off of you in that gown.”

The look on Clarke’s face was pure mischief. “If I’m lucky, he won’t be able to keep a lot more than just his eyes off me.”

“Somehow, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” Bianca snorted with laughter. “Jack can’t keep his hands off you on a regular day, let alone your wedding day.”

Suddenly, Clarke’s face became serious. “Oh, God, B. I can’t believe Jackson’s actually going to marry me today.”

“I can.” Bianca blinked back sudden tears. “Jack’s no fool. He knows what’s good for him. “And that’s you.” She wrapped her arms around Clarke and hugged her tight as she remembered all of the shit that Clarke and Jack had gone through over the years just to get to this day. Especially within just the last year.

“I am so thrilled for you, sweetie. You and Jack deserve to be happy.”

“Now all we have to do is find someone who makes you just as happy,” Clarke whispered back.

Before Bianca could think of a response there was a knock on the dressing room door before it opened slightly. “Is everybody decent in here?” Clarke’s father called out.

“We’re fine, Pops.” Clarke laughed. “Come on in.”

Pops walked in, and Bianca thought her heart would leap out of her chest when she saw Tony behind him.

“Oh, baby girl, look at you!” Pops grinned broadly. “Don’t you look beautiful?”

“Thank you, Pops.” Clarke hugged him and then stepped back to admire him. “You’re looking awfully handsome yourself.”

“Wait a minute,” Tony interrupted. “Aren’t you forgetting somebody here?”

“Oh, that’s right,” Clarke turned to Bianca with a wink and a smile. “Bianca, that dress is gorgeous on you.”

“Hey!” The affronted look on Tony’s face made everybody laugh.

“Oh, Tony, I’m just joking.” Clarke spoke in between laughter. “Besides, you already know that you look good,” Clarke assured him. “You don’t need me to tell you.”

Bianca couldn’t help but agree as she tried hard not to stare at Tony. The man didn’t just look good, he looked fucking magnificent. The way he filled out that tuxedo made her salivate.

Since their last conversation, she hadn’t seen Tony much during the past three weeks.

A new assignment kept him busy, and their paths had only crossed briefly during that time.

As she looked at him now, the familiar spark of need, the flame of desire that only he could ignite, flared to life. Suddenly, past memories of them together flooded her thoughts, and she blushed.

As if he were reading her mind, Tony turned, his hooded gaze met hers, and his eyes flashed with the same heat that warmed her cheeks.

“I agree with Clarke.” Pops unknowingly interrupted the silent exchange between them. “Bianca, you look beautiful enough to be a bride yourself today.” He glanced at Tony.

“Don’t you think so, Tony?”

Tony didn’t respond immediately, his gaze still locked with hers, and she could see Clarke and Pops out of the corner of her eye, looking back and forth between them. Finally, Tony spoke.

“Pops is right. You look beautiful as usual, Bianca.” He looked at Clarke. “You both do.”

“I just wish your mother was still alive to see you right now.” Pops hugged Clarke again. “She’d be so proud of you.”

“You’re gonna make me cry, Pops.” Clarke sniffed and fanned her face with her hand.

“And if I do, I’ll mess up my makeup and then I’ll have to start all over again, and I’ll be late for my own wedding. I’ve waited way too long for this day to let that happen.” Clarke gave Pops a watery smile. “Now, let’s get this show on the road. My man is waiting for me.”

*

Tony stood at the wedding reception bar, getting more and more pissed off with each passing second. Which of the three pricks standing in front of him should he beat down first?

Studying the three, he realized one of them was Jack’s younger brother, Jeff. In all the years Tony had known Jack, he could count on three fingers the number of times he’d seen the man.

Tony knew Jack wasn’t particularly close to any of his family, but he seemed to go to great lengths to avoid his brother. As he listened to Jeff’s conversation with his asshole friends, Tony could understand why.

“Damn, look at the body on your new sister-in-law.” The tall, lanky man with dirty blond hair smiled as he and Jeff stared at Clarke, who stood across the room with Jack talking to a group of people.

The third guy was square and beefy, with a big mouth and an even bigger midsection. He gave Jeff a lewd look.

“You think Jack still likes to share women like he used to when you two were younger?”