Cops 02 - Love on the Run (4 page)

“Come on in.” Tony stepped back from the door. “Sorry if I smell bad.” He wiped a hand across his brow as she passed him. “I just got home from the gym, and I haven’t had a chance to take a shower yet.”

Oh, she smelled him all right, and there was nothing bad about it. Every time she inhaled, his scent filled her nose — earthy, masculine, and strong. She pressed her lips tightly together, trying to hold back the groan threatening to escape.

“Oh, no, you’re fine…I, uh…I mean, it’s fine.” Bianca suddenly felt flustered as her face heated. God, what was it about this man that constantly made her blush like a teenager?

Tony just smiled and had the decency to pretend he didn’t notice. “Go ahead and make yourself comfortable. I’m going to run and take a quick shower. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

Yep, that was just the image she needed. Tony naked and wet in the shower. She nodded and smiled as she took off her coat. She didn’t trust herself to speak, because she wasn’t completely sure her urge to groan was under control.

Bianca watched his retreating back before she wandered over to the window and stared out at the ice-covered lakefront below. It wasn’t long before she heard the sound of the shower running, and the groan she’d been holding in finally escaped. Why can’t he be butt-ugly? It would be so much easier to ignore him if he were. As far as Bianca could tell, though, everything about him was perfect. No way in hell would she be able to ignore anything about him.

She’d never been attracted to a man before like she was to Tony. Gorgeous and physically fit, his mere presence screamed sexual dominant. When it came to sex, there were things about herself that Bianca had a hard time admitting. With secret cravings and hidden desires so extreme, she could barely acknowledge them — even to herself.

So far, she’d been able to keep a tight rein on those emotions, but she knew she wouldn’t stand a chance against a man like Tony. She could tell that he possessed the ability to go beyond her self-control, force her to face the sexual urges she still wasn’t sure she was ready to deal with yet.

She didn’t know how long she’d been standing there questioning the wisdom of this whole partnership thing when she saw Tony’s reflection in the window behind her.

Bianca turned around and forced a casual expression on her face. She glanced at his loose-fitting sweatpants and the new, plain T-shirt he’d put on. The citrus scent of his soap drifted across the room, teasing her nose and making her tingle. Inside, she panted and tried to figure out which one turned her on more: Tony all sweaty or shower fresh.

“I’m just going to grab some water.” Tony headed in the direction of the kitchen.

“Would you like anything?” he called out over his shoulder.

Now wasn’t that a loaded question. She’d probably shock the hell out of him if she told him what she’d truly like to have. “Um, water would be good.” Yeah, she was definitely feeling parched all of a sudden.

Tony came back with a bottle of water in each hand. He held one out to Bianca. “Come on, we can talk in the office.”

Bianca picked up her tote bag and followed him, desperately trying not to stare at his ass but failing miserably. Once inside the office Bianca sat on the leather chaise while Tony took a seat in the chair at his desk.

“So.” She dragged her gaze away from his long enough to reach into her bag, pull out her laptop, and turn it on. “Where should we begin?”

“Why don’t you start by telling me a little bit more about your investigation, and we can figure it out from there.”

“Sure.” Bianca scrolled through her notes on her laptop for a moment before she glanced up at Tony again. “Okay, this is what I have so far.” She began to explain her story to Tony and the information she’d obtained about Dimitryi in connection to sex trafficking so far.

While she talked, Tony would occasionally interrupt to make comments or recommend changes to those parts of her story that were incorrect or needed adjustments. Bianca typed notes the entire time, not willing to trust herself to remember everything they discussed.

By the time Bianca finally finished, it was well after ten o’clock. Damn, they’d been talking for over three hours.

“So, that’s about it.”

“Impressive.” Tony nodded, his approval apparent in his expression. “You’re on the right track so far. It’s going to be a hell of a story once you’re finished.”

“Thanks.” Bianca smiled and tried not to let his praise make her too giddy. “But there are still a couple of parts in the story that I’m unclear about.”

“Like what?”

“Well, I know that most of Dimitryi’s victims are shipped here from overseas like cattle, but what I don’t know is whether he has any other sources.”

“What types of sources do you mean?” Tony looked confused by her comment.

“I mean, is he preying on people in Internet chat rooms or online dating services? Is he hooking up with mail-order brides?” She shrugged. “I’m just not sure if he targets the victims in more than one way.”

Tony shook his head. “Nah, Dimitryi is pretty old school when it comes to this part of his operation. He’d never use the Internet for something like this.”

“Really?” Bianca frowned. “Why not?”

“It’s not personal enough,” Tony explained. “Dimitryi is a sadist. He thrives on threats, intimidation, and brutality. He likes to see his victims terrified and living in constant fear for their lives and the lives of their families. He can’t get that type of pleasure and satisfaction from anonymous encounters on the Internet.”

“I never thought of it that way. But I can see your point.” Bianca’s thoughts drifted to a different place and time when she still lived in Brazil. She remembered what she and her mother went through because of Dimitryi, and she could see now that Tony’s words made perfect sense.

That experience a decade ago taught her all too well the kind of horrific acts Dimitryi was truly capable of committing. Ever since the day her cousin had left home and never returned, she’d been obsessed with finding him.

Every piece of research, every bit of information she’d obtained about her cousin’s disappearance since that time — it all pointed directly to Dimitryi’s operations.

More specifically, his sex trafficking activities.

Bianca wasn’t just after Dimitryi, either. She’d set her sights on those who helped him commit his atrocities as well. Particularly the one directly responsible for making sure she’d never get the chance to look into her cousin’s eyes, hear her laugh, see her smile again. She even knew the name of the person she was after. It was a name that was synonymous with everything that was evil in the world; it was a word she couldn’t say out loud without feeling overwhelming anger and immeasurable grief. Reggie.

“Okay.” Tony’s voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to see him leaning back in his chair, his arms folded in front of him. “What else are you unsure about?”

“This is probably the part that I’m struggling with the most.” Frustration seeped into her voice. “I know that Dimitryi is involved in everything from drugs to sex trafficking to murder. But what I can’t figure out is how he manages to hide all of that in plain sight without anyone noticing.”

Tony laughed, the sound bitter. “That’s because Dimitryi is one clever bastard.” The way he said it told Bianca his words weren’t meant to be a compliment.

“He pays less than scrupulous businessmen substantial sums of money to establish

legitimate businesses that are used to cover up his illegal operations. On paper, the businesses appear to be owned by other people, but Dimitryi provides all the financial funding and receives most of the profits from the legal and illegal services. We still don’t know all of the locations of his businesses, but we do have enough information to confirm that he operates mainly out of Chicago, with a few businesses in Nevada, and another handful in Europe.”

“Wow.” Bianca stopped typing the notes she’d been taking and sat back against the chaise. She stared at Tony over her laptop. “That’s a pretty impressive setup. Dimitryi reaps all the benefits of ownership without being directly involved, and if the place gets raided, he’s clean and clear because his name isn’t attached to it.”

“Exactly.” Tony’s smile was grim.

It was all starting to fall into place. It explained why the police had spent so many years searching for Dimitryi and still hadn’t managed to find him. It must be hard to catch a person who lived in the shadows, under layers of protection provided by people who were more than willing to sell their souls and sacrifice the lives of innocent people for the right price.

That knowledge made her even more determined to see her exposé through to the end.

She would never have closure until she exposed Dimitryi — and those who worked for him — for what they really were. Animals. And, like the animals they were, she’d hunt them down until they were made to suffer the same fate as their victims — like her cousin, and Clarke — and those pulled from the store.

“You know, it’s too bad you can’t include pictures of actual victims in the story.”

Tony’s remark interrupted her thoughts.

“No.” She gave him a playful smile. “But I have something even better than that.” At Tony’s questioning look, Bianca said, “When I lived in Atlanta, I did volunteer work for an organization that helped former victims of sex trafficking start new lives. I happen to have videotaped interviews that I did with several of them while I was there, along with their consent to use the information for my story, provided I don’t reveal their real names or show their faces.” “Damn.” Tony laughed. “You are good, I’ll give you that.”

“Thank you, sir.” She bowed her head theatrically. “I do aim to please.”

The smile slowly slid from Tony’s face. “I’ll just bet you do,” he murmured.

In an instant, it was as if the temperature in the room shot up by at least fifty degrees, and Bianca’s breath caught in her throat at the amount of heat she saw in Tony’s eyes. The room went completely still as their gazes remained locked together, and for the life of her, Bianca couldn’t manage to tear hers away from his.

Finally, she cleared her throat. “Um…so, the only thing I wasn’t able to do was connect any of those women that I met back to Dimitryi’s operation.”

“That’s because Dimitryi uses his victims until they become too old or too ill to perform, and then they’re beaten and tortured to death and disposed of like garbage.”

“Like the ones murdered a couple of days ago,” Bianca commented.

Tony didn’t respond, but it wasn’t really necessary. All she had to do was look at his face for the answer. The clenched muscles along Tony’s jawline hinted at just how much that situation still bothered him.

“I take it you were able to connect those murders to Dimitryi as well.” She probed a little deeper.

“Oh, yeah. One of the victims was an asshole named Josef Michalovich, who worked for Dimitryi. While I’m far from sad that he’s no longer among the living, his death just shows that Dimitryi doesn’t believe in leaving witnesses, and he would rather sacrifice everyone — including people who’d been loyal to him for years — than risk leaving anyone around who might be able to talk later.”

Tony seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, and Bianca stared down at her notes.

She debated. Should she ask him the one question that would probably upset him even further?

Before she could make a decision, he said, “What is it?”

“Huh?” Her head snapped up, and she met Tony’s gaze. “What do you mean?”

“You obviously want to ask me something, so go ahead. Ask.”

Bianca thought about denying it, but the look on Tony’s face made it clear that she was so busted. She laughed instead. “How did you know?”

“How could I not? It’s practically written in a permanent marker across your forehead.”

“Very funny.” Bianca tried to look bothered, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “Okay, you’re right. I do have a question.” She paused. “You and Jack have been after Dimitryi for years, but you still haven’t been able to catch him, right?”

“Yeah, we have. Why?”

“So, do you ever wonder if he’s getting help from somewhere inside the police department?” A shadow passed over Tony’s face, and Bianca knew that she’d touched a nerve. She watched him carefully to see how he’d respond. Finally, he sighed heavily and nodded.

“As much as I hate to think that one of our own would do something like that, I will admit that it does cross my mind, especially when you have a situation like this last raid, and the victims were murdered less than an hour before we arrived.” Tony glanced away from her for several seconds before he met her gaze again, his eyes filled with determination. “But trust me, even if Dimitryi is getting extra help, he’s still going to slip up one day, and when he does, we will take him down.”

“Yeah.” She nodded slowly. “I believe you will.”

Bianca glanced down at her laptop again. She couldn’t believe three hours had passed already. It seemed like they’d just started talking. She suddenly felt sleepy, and she couldn’t stifle the sudden yawn that escaped.

“Am I that boring?”

“Sorry.” Bianca chuckled when she looked up and saw the amused expression on Tony’s face. “And no, you’re not boring at all. It’s just been a long day.”

Tony laughed outright. “If you spent the day shopping with Clarke, I’ll bet it was long.”

“You’re right about that.” Bianca smiled as she began to shut down her laptop. “But seriously, this was really nice. Thank you.”

Even as she said it, Bianca realized just how much it was true. After spending the past couple of days worrying about this day, she ended up feeling much more relaxed in Tony’s presence than she thought she’d be.

Between sharing ideas and throwing theories around, they’d spent most of the time just talking and laughing with each other. She got to see a side of Tony that she’d never experienced before. Instead of feeling like she was conducting an interview with a stranger, Bianca felt like she was chatting with a friend.

Bianca felt Tony’s gaze on her as she began to pack up her things.

“No problem,” he finally said. “Although I don’t know how much help I’ve been. It seems to me you know plenty already.”