Cops 02 - Love on the Run (16 page)

“Shit, I hope so!” Jeff laughed. “Man, I would love to get in on the action with Clarke. I never had a black woman before.”

“What the fuck did you just say?” Tony demanded, confronting the surprised threesome.

That last comment was the deal breaker. These assholes had to be out of their minds if they thought they could get away with saying shit like that about a woman he considered his sister, and who was now the wife of his best friend.

Jeff managed to find his voice first. “Hey, Tony! How’s it going?” Tony ignored Jeff’s proffered hand as he nailed him with a hard look.

The family resemblance between the two brothers was unmistakable, but that’s where their similarities ended. While Jack was a good man who he was proud to call brother, this one was nothing but a pathetic piece of shit.

The smile on Jeff’s face faltered when Tony didn’t respond. “Look, man, we were just joking. We didn’t mean any harm.”

“Oh yeah?” Tony’s voice was deceptively calm. “Why don’t I just call your brother over, and we can let him decide whether he thinks the things you said about his wife were a joke.”

The look on Jeff’s face would have been comical if Tony wasn’t already struggling to control the urge to knock the little bastard on his ass.

“Aw, come on, man! We weren’t serious. It was a compliment, really. I mean, Clarke’s a beautiful woman. We couldn’t help but admire her. I know she’s off-limits.”

Tony held back. Jeff was obviously scared as hell of Jack — and with good reason. “On the other hand, that sweet little señorita right there is a different story.”

There they went again. He’d just started to cool off a degree or two, and Jeff’s little punk friend had to go and fuck everything up again.

Tony knew immediately who he referred to, and his belief was confirmed when he saw the man staring at Bianca, who now stood talking to Clarke.

Before Tony knew it, he’d gotten up close and personal in the blond’s face, so near to the man that he could tell what brand of liquor he’d been drinking.

“The only thing that could possibly bring you more pain than fucking with Clarke is fucking with her,” he growled out, his voice sounding dangerous and threatening to his own ears.

“Jesus, man! I’m sorry. I didn’t know she was with you.”

His garbled words hit Tony like a slap in the face, and he realized that not only did he have the man pressed up against the bar, but he had a death grip on his throat.

Christ.

“Get the fuck out of my sight,” he said to Jeff as he released the man’s throat. “And take your friends with you before I forget that I’m at your brother’s and my best friend’s wedding reception and beat all of your sorry asses.”

After they’d left, Tony remained standing there, trying to get his emotions under control. Despite his desire for it to be different, Tony didn’t have any real claim to Bianca.

Yet he was so possessive of her, he was ready to kill a man over her. Hell, he felt like he was the one who’d just gotten married.

“What are you doing standing over here, looking like you just lost your best friend?”

Tony looked up and saw Jack standing next to him.

“You’re my best friend, asshole.” He tried to grumble, but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face at Jack’s words.

“I know,” Jack said drily. “So, what’s your problem?”

“I just finished chatting with your brother,” Tony finally said.

Jack sighed. “What the hell did he do this time?” Before Tony could respond he said,

“On second thought, I don’t even want to know.” Tony saw Jack glance in Clarke’s direction.

“This is my wedding day, and I’m not trying to spend my honeymoon in jail.”

“Smart man. Besides, I already took care of it.”

“I figured you had,” Jack assured him. “I know you got my back.”

“Always.” Tony nodded and then changed the subject. “So, have your parents gotten used to Clarke yet?”

Jack glanced at him with a slight grimace on his face. “Well, you know how my parents are.” Tony did, and it still amazed him that a man as open-minded as Jack could have such straitlaced, uptight parents. Tony was pretty sure that was one of the main reasons Jack didn’t spend that much time around them.

He wouldn’t call them racists outright, but he knew they believed in a time when whites and blacks were separated. Although they always treated him politely whenever they saw him, Tony could tell they weren’t thrilled that Jack’s best friend was black. And now that Jack had a black wife, well, Tony could only imagine how they felt.

“But it’s hard not to like Clarke,” Jack said, and they both chuckled. “Between her and Pops, I think they’ve won them over.”

“But enough about me.” Jack looked at him. “What’s got you all worked up — besides my brother?”

Tony didn’t respond immediately, his attention suddenly captured by Bianca and some asshole who grinned a little too much, looked a little too hard, and got way too comfortably in her face.

“How long are you going to wait before you do something about that?” Jack asked quietly.

Tony met his eyes, not even bothering to act like he didn’t know what Jack meant. It had only been three weeks since things ended between Bianca and him, but it felt like years.

He missed talking to her, seeing her smile, hearing her laugh. He missed how she felt, how she made him feel. Even now, his body craved her so badly, longed for the connection between them, the bond they used to share. Without it, he felt like he was dying inside without her.

“I wish I knew,” he finally said.

“Well, don’t wait too long to figure it out, bro, ’cause there are a lot of eager men who are more than willing to take your place.” Jack motioned toward Bianca and the group of men that now stood around her.

“I know how easy it is to hide behind the freedom of bachelorhood, pretending that you don’t need or want to be tied down by one person for the rest of your life,” Jack continued. “But the only person you end up fooling is yourself. And a woman like Bianca isn’t going to sit at home and wait around for you to figure out that being with her is more important than being alone.” Jack patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t let your pride get in the way and cause you to lose the woman you love for good.”

*

“Hey, are you even listening to me?”

Bianca pulled her gaze away from Tony and looked at Clarke.

“Sorry, sweetie.” She smiled sheepishly. “What did you say?” Clarke studied her. “You okay?” she finally asked. “You’ve been distracted and fluttery all day. I mean, I know why I’ve been acting that way.” Clarke laughed. “But what’s going on with you?”

“Uh…” Tony chose that exact moment to enter her line of vision, and like a little puppy, her gaze followed him. She turned back to Clarke, who gave her a knowing look, her face full of understanding.

“You love him, don’t you?”

Bianca wanted to deny it, tried to pretend it wasn’t true. But every time she looked at Tony, her heart felt like it would burst wide open, and there was no way for her to run from the truth.

He’d owned her body since their first weekend together. It hadn’t taken her long before she’d lost her heart and her soul to him as well. He’d consumed her to the point where she’d gladly give up everything for one more kiss, one more touch, one more smile from him.

“I know it’s hard to forgive sometimes, especially when someone you care so much about hurts you. Nobody’s perfect, B, and everybody makes mistakes. I’m not trying to make excuses for Tony, but he’s a good man, and I just don’t want you to let your fears cause you to walk away from a chance at happiness.”

Clarke’s words were dead-on; her friend knew exactly what demons haunted her.

Bianca smiled and hugged her.

“Thanks, kiddo.” She kissed Clarke on the cheek. “Who knew you were so good at this whole advice giving thing.”

“What can I say?” Clarke laughed and linked her arm with Bianca’s. “I had a great teacher.”

*

“You know, you really do look beautiful.” Tony smiled down at Clarke as they danced.

“Jack is a very lucky man.”

“Aw, thank you, Tony!” Clarke grinned. “I feel pretty lucky myself.” They danced in silence for a while until Clarke finally spoke.

“I hope you know how much you mean to me, T. You’ve been more of a brother to me over the years than any biological sibling could ever have been. I couldn’t love you any more than I already do, even if you were my own blood.”

Clarke stopped dancing, and looked at him with serious eyes. “But I gotta be honest with you. In spite of how much I love you, I feel like shaking the shit out of you right now.”

Tony looked at her in surprise. “What did I do?” “It’s what you’re not doing that’s the problem!” Exasperation laced her words. “This situation between you and Bianca is beyond ridiculous. Both of you are walking around like nothing is wrong, when everybody can see that neither one of you is happy.”

Tony sighed deeply. First Jack, now Clarke. It was obvious they both planned to chew his ass out before the night was over. “It’s not that simple, Clarke.” He tried to keep the frustration out of his voice.

Just let it go. Wishful thinking on his part. He’d known Clarke all her life, and it wasn’t in her nature to give up on anything.

“Why isn’t it?” Clarke demanded. “She loves you, you love her. What’s the problem?”

“Did she say she loved me?” Tony was too afraid to even hope that it was true.

“She didn’t have to. It’s written all over her face — and yours.” He heard Clarke’s irritation before she sighed and softened her tone.

“Listen, Tony, I know I’m probably the last person who should give advice on relationships, considering everything that happened between Jackson and me. It’s just that I love you and Bianca, and I want what’s best for you both.”

“I know you do. And I love you, too.” Tony hugged Clarke and kissed her on the forehead.

“Hey!” Jack’s voice interrupted them. “No kissing my wife without my permission.”

Tony smiled as Clarke released him and went straight into Jack’s open arms. He kissed her lingeringly on the lips.

“You ready to get out of here yet, Mrs. Parker?” Jack asked.

“I’m more than ready, Mr. Parker.” Clarke stared up at him.

Despite Tony’s happiness for two of the most important people in his life, he felt a tinge of envy at the amount of love he saw reflected in their eyes for each other.

“All right, all right, break it up,” he drawled. “You two are looking at each other like you’re about to start coming out of your clothes, and I don’t think this is supposed to be that type of party.”

Jack seemed reluctant to pull his gaze away from Clarke as he glanced in Tony’s direction.

“I think you’re right. Come on, baby.” Jack kissed Clarke once more. “Let’s go and say our good-byes so we can leave.”

“Don’t worry about it. I got it covered.” Tony laughed. “Just get out of here already.”

“Thanks, bro.” Jack shook his hand and pulled him in for a hug. “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.”

“Have fun,” he said. “And make sure you take care of my girl.”

Jack met his gaze, his expression serious. “With my life,” he vowed. “As it should be.” Tony nodded and extended his fist toward Jack, who tapped it with his own.

“Here’s the latest information we’ve obtained from our partners at the FBI on Ivanov’s operation right now.” Captain Reyes handed out reports to each member of Tony’s team.

Tony’s attention was immediately drawn to a particular name mentioned in the report.

“Who’s this Reggie Peters person, Captain?”

“It would appear Reggie has replaced Andrei Ivanov as the new enforcer in Dimitryi’s organization. So far, Reggie has proven to be even more vicious than Andrei.”

Jesus. Tony rubbed a hand over his face as he recalled an earlier conversation with Bianca and her belief that Reggie was connected to Dimitryi. The information in front of him proved she’d been right all along.

“Captain.” Tony glanced up at the sound of Elizabeth’s voice. “Is there a description or any photos of Reggie Peters?”

Tony looked at his captain, who shook his head. “It seems those people unfortunate enough to encounter Reggie never live long enough to provide a description. And none of our informants have seen Reggie, so they haven’t been able to provide us with anything.”

“What about Viktor Sikolov?” Tony asked. “We’re already running surveillance on him, and I know we have more than enough probable cause to at least bring him in for questioning on extortion and prostitution charges. He’s fairly high up the chain in Dimitryi’s organization, so he might be able to shed some light on Peters.”

Captain Reyes didn’t respond immediately, and for a moment, Tony thought he would say no. They’d disagreed many times over the years on the best way to proceed with a case, and it wouldn’t be the first time the captain refused to authorize a raid that he or Jack had requested, particularly those involving Dimitryi or those associated with him.

“How soon can you set this up?” Captain Reyes finally asked. “Sikolov meets with his men every Wednesday at that bar on Thirty-Fifth Street in Bridgeport. That’s two days from now, so we can hit him then.” Tony glanced around the table at the rest of the team, who nodded in agreement.

“Okay,” the captain said. “Let’s do it.”

*

Tony sat in the surveillance van, barely noticing the background chatter of his teammates. Thoughts of Bianca consumed him and made it hard to focus on much else.

Since Jack and Clarke’s wedding a few days ago, he’d spent damn near every night sitting outside her apartment trying to figure out how he’d managed to fuck things up so badly between them, and what he could do to make her understand that losing all of the other women he’d ever known combined paled in comparison to losing her.

Someone whistled softly, and the sound pulled Tony back to the present. “It looks like Viktor brought his girlfriend along.” He glanced over at the rest of the team and saw them gathered around a screen.

“Does anybody recognize her?” Eric leaned in closer to the screen.