Cops 02 - Love on the Run (25 page)

“Beautiful and deadly.” Tomas gave her an admiring look. “I hope you don’t mind me saying that you truly are an amazing woman.” He turned and smiled at Tony. “And you are one lucky son of a bitch.”

Tony and Bianca were the first to arrive at the house, and they took advantage of the private time to have a shower and wash away the filth, violence, and death from the past day.

Bianca followed Tony from the bathroom to the bedroom, and she went willingly into his arms when he opened them for her.

She raised her face, and Tony bent and covered her lips with his. The kiss was deep and long and needy. Neither of them was willing to let it end until they were both breathless and gasping for air.

Tony backed her against the bed until she fell on it, his large body coming to gently rest on top of hers. Bianca moaned into his mouth, her hands stroking along his strong back and muscled ass, her pussy wet and aching, rubbing against his hard, thick shaft.

Tony leaned back and looked into her eyes. “I love you,” he whispered against her lips.

She smiled and looked into the most beautiful brown eyes she’d ever seen. “I love you, too…with all my heart.”

Tony’s eyes closed, and she felt him shudder as he released a breath. When they opened, he leaned down and kissed her again.

“Fuck me, Tony,” she begged softly.

“Uh-huh. Anything you want.” Tony continued to love on her, his hands and mouth driving her insane.

“You, Tony. I want you. Need you…love you so much,” she moaned.

Bianca held his gaze as he slowly pushed inside her until they were finally pressed tightly together, skin against skin. The contact of their heated bodies made them both moan. Tony made love to her with so much need and passion that it made her whimper, made her beg, made her cry as she lost herself in him: the taste of his mouth, the strength of his body, the pleasure of his touch.

They came together, hearts pounding, pulses racing, calling out each other’s name as pleasure, pure and powerful, flowed through them and filled their bodies, hearts, and souls with love.

They were lying quietly together, sharing whispered words, unhurried kisses, and leisurely touches when they suddenly heard Clarke’s voice moments before she burst into the room.

Bianca released a startled screech and pulled the covers tightly around them. Clarke made a similar sound before she covered her eyes with her hands.

“Oh, shit! God, I’m so sorry!” Embarrassment rang clear in Clarke’s voice. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I was just so worried; I needed to see for myself that you were both okay.”

“I tried to keep her outta here.” Jack appeared in the doorway behind Clarke and gave them an apologetic smile. “But she couldn’t wait to see you two.” He pulled Clarke against him. “Neither of us could.”

“It’s cool.” Tony chuckled. “The feeling’s mutual.”

“Listen, we’re gonna go get cleaned up and give you two a chance to finish up here.” A slow smile spread across Jack’s face. “Should we plan on a quick shower, or do we have time for a long bath?”

Bianca groaned, and she heard Tony’s deep laugh. “You still got jokes, I see.”

“I do try.” Jack’s laughter joined Tony’s.

“We’ll see you in ten minutes, funny man.”

Jack’s voice sobered. “Seriously, bro, it’s good to see you. You too, beautiful.” Bianca smiled when he winked at her and led Clarke from the room.

*

Clarke and Jack were already in the living room when Tony and Bianca walked in.

Tony shook Matt’s hand and introduced him to Bianca.

“You arrived right on time. We just finished catching Jack and Clarke up on what’s been happening since they’ve been gone,” Matt informed Tony as he and Bianca found a seat together on the couch.

“Yeah, and I see you couldn’t even stay out of trouble for a week, could you?” Jack grinned at Tony.

“You know I like to keep things interesting.” “Well, the really interesting stuff is what you don’t know yet,” Matt said. “Tony, when your team raided that house a few days ago, one of the women you recovered was the girlfriend of Viktor Sikolov.”

Tony nodded. “Yeah, I suspected she would be in the group, since Viktor gave us the location, but I hadn’t had a chance to confirm it.”

“As it turns out,” Matt continued, “Viktor gave her a disk with a shitload of information on it that she kept with her at all times.”

Bianca looked confused. “How did she manage to do that? I mean, she was probably used for sex all the time, right?” She looked around at the group. “How was she able to keep the disk safe and hidden away without anyone finding it and taking it away from her?”

“Viktor was a lot smarter than we gave him credit for,” Matt said. “Apparently, the information was kept on some fancy-looking little memory stick disguised to look like a necklace that she wore all the time. He’d also managed to sneak a cell phone to her that was sewn into the lining of a purse he’d given her. She had instructions to use it only if something happened to him. She was to contact Bianca and turn the disk over to her.”

Matt glanced at Bianca. “It seems other than his girlfriend, you were the only person Viktor truly trusted. Now that we’ve seen the information on the disk, I can see why.” He paused and turned his attention back to Tony and Jack.

“As you’ve figured out by now, Reggie Peters and Elizabeth Peterson are the same person. We believe her real name is Regina Elizabeth Petrova, but she’s used so many variations over the years that we’re not completely certain at this point. What we do know is that prior to the two aliases she’s been using, she was also known as Regina Peterova. Sound familiar?”

“Wasn’t that the name of Andrei’s girlfriend?” Tony asked.

“One and the same,” Matt confirmed. “It would seem our old friend Andrei taught her well. She stepped right into his place once he died.”

“Well, thanks to Bianca, we don’t have to worry about her any longer.” Tomas spoke up. Everyone looked in Bianca’s direction. “Man, I’m so glad you’re on our team.” Tomas smiled. “You are definitely one lady I would not want to piss off.”

“Unfortunately, Reggie wasn’t the only leak in the department,” Matt added. “Based on Viktor’s information, it appears Captain Reyes has been helping Dimitryi for years.”

“Jesus,” Bianca murmured, her expression filled with shock. “Now I understand why Viktor was so unwilling to trust the police,” she said. “It’s kinda hard to feel safe when one of the top cops involved in the case is also working for the enemy.”

“I guess that explains why Dimitryi was always one step ahead of us on damn near everything we did,” Jack commented.

“Yeah,” Tony added. “And it would also explain why Reyes always seemed to fight us on just about every decision we made involving the case.” “I just don’t get it.” Clarke shook her head with a frown. She looked at Jack. “I know you and your captain didn’t always agree, but from everything you’ve ever told me about the man, he was a well-respected cop with a great reputation. Why would he jeopardize all that for a piece of shit like Dimitryi?”

“I can answer that for you,” Matt spoke up. “Reyes’s wife is the sister of one Isabella Medina, who was the mother of —”

“Gil Medina.” Jack growled out his name, his face a mask of fury.

“You got it.” Matt looked at Jack. “According to Reyes, Dimitryi has been blackmailing him for years, using the lives of his wife and children as leverage to keep Reyes in line. It was because of Dimitryi’s influence that Reyes finally gave in and called in some favors to get Reggie transferred to your precinct so that he could assign her to this case.”

“Was Reggie even a real cop, or was that just one of her aliases?” Clarke asked.

“Her being a cop was probably the only legitimate thing in Reggie’s whole life.” Tim spoke from across the room. “She was also as corrupt and violent as they come.”

“When I first realized who Reggie was, I just couldn’t believe it.” Bianca shook her head. “And to learn that a captain in the police department knowingly helped to put her in a position where she could have killed both Tony and Jack at any given time, I just…” Her voice trailed off, and she took a deep breath.

“I know he was trying to protect his family, but I just can’t bring myself to feel sorry or have sympathy for him when he almost cost us our lives.”

“If it’s any consolation, I got the impression that Reyes hated Reggie and Dimitryi as much as we do,” Jeremy added. “When we finally arrested him, he seemed relieved. I truly believe that he was only aiding them out of fear for his family’s life. He’s been extremely cooperative and has provided us with the locations of all of Dimitryi’s houses. We’ve been making raids and arrests night and day, and we’re destroying Dimitryi’s empire a little more with each one.”

Tony smiled grimly. “Too bad we couldn’t bring Dimitryi down at the same time.”

“Don’t worry, Tony,” Matt said. “Dimitryi’s turn is coming. Real soon.”

*

“All of this drama and danger has made me hungry.” Clarke stood and stretched. “I’m going to find some food.” She looked around the room. “Who else wants something?” A chorus of requests rang out, and she laughed.

“I’ll help you.” Bianca followed Clarke toward the kitchen.

Tomas got up as well. “I’ll be just outside the door,” he told them. “Try to stay away from the windows as much as you can, and let me know if you see anything strange.” Tony could feel Jack’s eyes on him as he watched Bianca until she disappeared into the kitchen. He finally glanced in Jack’s direction and sighed at the smirk on his face.

“I know you got a smart-ass comment you wanna make, Parker, so go ahead and get it over with.”

Jack gave him an unrepentant smile. “Hey, I’ve been waiting a long time to see this, so I’m just gonna sit here and enjoy the moment.”

“Oh, really,” Tony said drily. “And what moment is that?”

“The moment I finally get to witness the great Anthony Tate get taken down by a little woman.” Jack didn’t bother to hold back his laughter. “All I have to say is, welcome to the club. Don’t even bother to pretend that you don’t like being a member.”

“Honestly, I love it.” Tony didn’t try to deny it.

“Yeah,” Jack agreed. “Membership definitely has its privileges.”

Bianca walked out of the kitchen carrying several bowls of snacks. Clarke followed, her arms filled with drinks.

“We brought a little something for everyone to snack on,” Clarke told the group. “The food’s just about ready. I hope sandwiches are okay. I figured it was a little late for anything heavier than that.”

“Sounds perfect.” Tomas smiled at Clarke and helped her and Bianca set everything on the table.

Jack leaned near Tony, his voice low. “It feels good, doesn’t it?”

“Hell, yeah.” Tony’s eyes remained on Bianca as she and Clarke returned to the kitchen. “Damn, if I’d known just how good it would feel, I would have done it years ago.”

Jack looked in the same direction. “No, partner, you wouldn’t have.”

“How do you know?” Tony glanced at Jack in confusion.

Jack turned and met his gaze. “Because you hadn’t met Bianca yet.”

Tony smiled slowly and nodded. “I see your point.”

*

Bianca saw Clarke stealing glances at her from around the open refrigerator door. So far, Clarke had refrained from asking her any questions. Bianca knew her friend well enough, though, that she could tell that Clarke was practically bursting with curiosity about her and Tony.

“So.” Clarke finally spoke, and Bianca had to fight to keep from smiling. “You and Tony seemed really…um…cozy upstairs.”

“Cozy?” Bianca snorted with laughter, unable to hold it back any longer. “Is that what they’re calling it these days?” “Hey, I was trying to be tactful.” Clarke’s hushed laugh joined hers. “What I really wanted to say was ‘well fucked.’”

“You should have gone with that description,” Bianca told her. “It’s definitely more accurate.”

Clarke closed the refrigerator door and walked over to where she stood by the table.

“Seriously, B, this is the happiest that I’ve ever seen you in the entire seven years I’ve known you.”

Tears burned her eyes. “I really am happy. You were right. Tony is everything you ever said he was, and more.” Bianca reached out and took Clarke’s hand. “God, Clarke, I love him so much.”

Clarke nodded, and her eyes were just as watery. “I know, sweetie. If you love him that much now, just think of how much better it’s going to be when all of this craziness is over and your lives get back into the normal swing of things.”

Tony walked into the kitchen and headed straight for Bianca, immediately putting his arm around her and placing a quick kiss against her temple. “Is it time to eat yet?”

“The sandwiches are on the way right now.” Clarke and Bianca finished loading up the tray with sandwiches and followed behind Tony, who carried the tray into the living room.

Conversation in the room slowed down some, as everyone’s focus changed from talking to eating.

“So, does this mean that everything is over, and we can go home now?” Clarke asked after a while.

“Unfortunately, not yet,” Matt answered. “There are still some loose ends that need to be tied up first, and since the four of you seem to be the primary targets, we want to make sure that you’re all safe from danger until everything is taken care of.”

“What about Pops?” Clarke looked at Jack, her face filled with worry. “Is he in danger, too?”

“Don’t worry, baby. They have agents protecting him around the clock.” Jack tried to reassure her. “He’s fine. We’ll call him later, so you can talk to him.”

Bianca turned to Tony. “I should call my job. They probably think I dropped off the face of the earth.”

“That’s been taken care of.” Matt spoke up. “As far as they know, you have a family emergency, and you’ll be away for at least a week.”

Bianca looked at him in surprise. “Why would they think that?”

“It was necessary,” Matt told her. “We couldn’t afford to take the chance of your job -or any of the local media in Chicago — learning about your disappearance and releasing information to the public that would be damaging to our investigation.”