Cops 02 - Love on the Run (12 page)

He never thought he would meet someone who would make him want to give up the carefree single life and settle down. Until Bianca. Tony could admit, even if only to himself, that she was his perfect match in every way.

It took Tony a moment to realize that Bianca sat watching him with a smile on her face. His heart skipped a beat, and he realized that she was the only woman he’d ever known who could do that to him. For a few seconds, all he could do was stare at her. She looked so amazing that she left him speechless at times. He used to think that Bianca didn’t know how beautiful and desirable she was, but he was wrong. Tony could tell that she knew exactly how men reacted when they saw her, knew what they were probably thinking when they stared at her. Hell, he witnessed it himself all the time when they were in the club together.

The way she looked never seemed to affect her personality, despite the attention it caused. Bianca never appeared concerned or conceited about it, seeming to accept that her beauty was as much a part of her as breathing.

“What are you smiling about?” He reached out and stroked his thumb across her bottom lip, still slightly swollen and tender where she’d bitten it earlier.

“The look on your face.” Bianca grabbed his hand and sucked his thumb into her mouth.

“What about it?”

“You look like you’re ready to teach me another lesson.” Her voice dropped lower, sexier.

Jesus. Tony could feel his dick getting hard. He’d never met a woman whose sexual appetite rivaled his own.

“The thought did cross my mind.” His own tone had become raspier. “Although my lesson is going to have to wait until I can get you home.”

Bianca reached over and cupped his erection. “Maybe we can have a practice session before the real lesson begins.” She unzipped his pants, and his cock sprang free. Bianca unfastened her seat belt, leaned over, and took him into the wet heat of her mouth.

Tony used one hand to drive while the other tangled in her hair as he guided her head up and down his shaft. It took all of his effort to stay on the road as Bianca’s lips, teeth, and tongue slowly drove him out of his mind.

“Goddamn, baby…gonna come.” He tried to pull Bianca up, but she increased her efforts, her cheeks hollowed out as she sucked him even harder. His orgasm was approaching like a runaway freight train, and he couldn’t stop it even if he wanted to.

Tony gave up and let his orgasm slam into him, roll right over him. He shot so hard, he thought his head would pop off his shoulders. Bianca continued swallowing around his cock, and it sent another round of shudders through his body as he continued to jerk inside her mouth.

Finally, she lifted her head and those green eyes of hers looked at him with so much hunger, he was tempted to pull over and give her the release she so obviously needed.

His cell phone rang before he had a chance to do anything. Tony pulled it from the clip on his waist. He checked the number and saw that it was Jack.

“What’s up?” “Sorry to interrupt your evening, but we have a witness who might be able to provide us with a lead on one of Dimitryi’s houses.”

“I’m listening.” Tony’s entire mood changed as Jack’s words put him on instant alert.

“A couple of uniformed officers spotted two men dumping a body in an alley just off of Fifty-Fifth Street. They gave chase, and the driver lost control and ended up crashing a few blocks away. The car burst into flames, and both people in the car were pronounced dead at the scene.”

“Please tell me they weren’t the witnesses.”

“No,” Jack confirmed. “But they are part of the lead. One of them was identified as Peter Fokin.” Tony was familiar with the name. He knew the guy as a low-level criminal with ties to Dimitryi’s organization.

“Turns out, the woman they dumped wasn’t as dead as they thought. She was rushed to the University of Chicago Hospital. Ed’s already there, and I’m headed there right now.”

The hospital was in the opposite direction of where Tony was headed, and he still needed to drop Bianca off. But if he hurried, he could make it back in about twenty minutes.

“I’ll meet you there shortly,” he told Jack.

“Tony, you might want to get here as fast as possible,” Jack said. “From what I‘ve been told, she’s got some pretty serious internal injuries. She’s not dead yet, but she probably will be soon.”

Tony disconnected the call and glanced at Bianca. “We have to cut our evening short. I need to meet Jack at the hospital to talk to a witness.”

“Do you think she’s from one of Dimitryi’s houses?”

Tony nodded. “Probably, but we need to talk to her first. If we’re lucky, we might be able to get some information on where the actual house is.”

“Can I go with you?”

Tony opened his mouth to say no, but Bianca cut him off before he could speak.

“I’m not trying to interview her, Tony; I don’t even need to talk to her. I…” She sighed. “I just want to see her. I want to put a face to another one of that bastard’s victims.”

Tony knew he should drive straight to her house and drop her off, but he couldn’t resist the look on her face, the sincerity in her voice. Before he knew it, he turned on his police siren, made a U-turn, and headed back they way they’d come, toward the hospital.

“Thank you,” Bianca said softly and gave his leg a gentle squeeze, a grateful smile on her face.

“You wait in the hallway until we finish talking to her. Are we clear?” He tried to make himself sound tough and stern, in spite of the fact that he felt like a complete pushover at the moment.

“No problem.” Her response was immediate. “I swear I’ll stay out of your way.” Tony didn’t comment as he continued to speed to the hospital. By the time he pulled into the hospital parking lot a few minutes later, Tony still hadn’t figured out how he allowed Bianca to convince him to bring her along on an official police investigation. He could see Jack’s face when he showed up with her in tow. He just hoped that his captain never found out about it. He’d catch hell for sure if that happened.

Jesus, he was getting soft in his old age.

*

As promised, Bianca stood outside the hospital room door, and she peered inside as Tony, Jack, and another officer she didn’t recognize tried to talk to the woman.

Even from where she stood, it was apparent the woman didn’t have much longer for this world. They were trying to ask her questions, but from the looks on their faces, it wasn’t going very well. She was obviously heavily sedated, and her responses seemed barely intelligible.

“Ed, can you translate anything that she’s saying?” Tony asked the other man.

“Nah.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what language she’s speaking, but it’s not Spanish.”

The woman suddenly said something clearly enough that Bianca heard it from where she stood in the hallway.

“She’s speaking Portuguese.” Three sets of eyes looked at her.

“Do you understand what she’s saying?” Jack asked.

She nodded absently, her focus entirely on the woman in the bed as her legs moved of their own volition, drawing her farther into the room.

The woman had been so badly beaten that it was impossible to tell what she normally looked like. Her body was so mangled and broken, her injuries so extensive and extreme, Bianca was certain that she’d never leave this hospital alive. Swollen and misshapen features told the story of the violence and brutality she’d endured; blood-filled eyes revealed the pain and agony she still suffered.

The three men moved out of the way, and Bianca leaned down until her ear was right next to the woman’s mouth.

“Por favor…ajude-me.” She repeated it over and over again, through lips that were raw and bleeding, her words slurred by teeth that were cracked or completely knocked out. Her voice was little more than a thin whisper as she pleaded for help.

“Shh…você é seguro agora. You’re safe now.” Bianca spoke softly, soothingly while fighting back the tears threatening to fall. “No one is going to hurt you. Do you speak English? Você fala o ingles?” She saw the slight nod of the woman’s head. “Quem lhe fêz este? Who did this to you?

Who hurt you?”

Her question seemed to trigger something in the woman, and Bianca watched as her eyes widened and filled with unimaginable terror. “Reggie…por favor! Não me mate!”

“Oh my God.” For a moment Bianca couldn’t speak, couldn’t even move as paralyzing chills shot down her spine. Memories flooded her of the last time she’d heard that name.

“What’s wrong?” Tony suddenly stood next to her, his strong hands supporting her as she took an unsteady step away from the bed. “What did she say?”

She looked into Tony’s worried face. “She said” — Bianca took a deep, shuddering breath as she swallowed around the lump in her throat — “she said, ‘Reggie, please don’t kill me.’”

The sound of alarms filled the room, and everyone’s attention was drawn back to the bed.

“Shit. She’s not breathing.” Jack immediately reached out and pressed the emergency button near the woman’s bed.

“I’ll get help.” Tony moved toward the door, but the hospital staff arrived before he could leave the room. They were forced to wait outside.

“Does anybody recognize the name Reggie?” Tony asked once they were in the hallway.

Jack shook his head. “I’ve never heard it before.”

“Neither have I.” Ed spoke up.

Bianca wished she could say the same thing as she stood there, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, as if trying to hold herself together.

They hadn’t been waiting long before a doctor walked out of the room and approached them.

“She didn’t make it.” He confirmed what they already knew. Tears ran down Bianca’s face.

“I’m taking you home.” Tony reached out and wiped the wetness from her cheeks.

“You’ve had enough for one night.” He looked at Jack and Ed. “There’s nothing else we can do here tonight. We’ll get together tomorrow and see what we can find out about this Reggie the woman ID’d.”

“You’re right,” Jack agreed. “Let’s get outta here.” They all walked outside together.

Tony took her by the hand and led her toward his truck. As Bianca climbed inside, she heard Jack’s voice behind her.

“Thanks for your help earlier, Bianca. I’m glad you were here tonight.” She could only nod. Her throat was too tight to speak. Bianca remained quiet on the drive home. Her mind was still caught up in the past. “I’m sorry that you had to witness that.” Tony’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “I know it must have been hard, especially after what happened to your cousin.”

“It was hard,” she admitted quietly. “But not for the reasons you think.” She saw the slight frown on Tony’s face when he glanced at her.

“What do you mean?”

Bianca remained silent for a moment as she tried to put her thoughts into words.

Finally, she took a deep breath and started speaking.

“I wasn’t completely truthful with you when I said that I never saw Jazmin again after she disappeared.” She met his eyes. “I did see her, just not alive.” She waited for Tony to say something. When he remained silent, she continued.

“When my mother passed away, I had her body flown back to Brazil to be buried.

While I was there, I went to see Javier in prison.” She shook her head. “I don’t know why I did. I guess it was because I’d just lost my mother, and I needed to look into his face again and try to understand why he’d taken my cousin away from me as well.”

Bianca’s voice cracked on those last words, and she knew she was probably only seconds away from a complete meltdown. She’d never talked to anyone about this, had barely allowed herself to think about it too deeply. The pain was as fresh today as it had been so many years ago. Tony’s large, warm hand covered hers, and she held on tight.

“Anyway, I don’t know if Javier found religion or had some other life-altering experience while he’d been in prison, but he definitely wasn’t the same person that I remembered. He was the one who told me about Dimitryi, and how he was the one who snatched women that were used for Dimitryi’s operation here in the US. He also told me that Jazmin had been shipped along with a bunch of other girls to Nevada.” She wiped at the new round of tears.

“Before I returned to school, I spent some time in Nevada, going from one police station to the next, looking through photos of unidentified women who’d died in the area, hoping and praying that her picture wouldn’t be among them. A few weeks passed, and I hadn’t seen her picture yet. I’d just started to think that she might still be alive when I came across her picture at a station in Henderson, just outside of Las Vegas. She’d been dead for less than a year. She was barely twenty-one when she died, and she looked at least twenty years older. The police report said she was a prostitute, and they were looking for a person named Reggie, who they believed was her pimp and the person responsible for killing her.”

She looked at Tony through blurry eyes. “There’s no doubt in my mind that my cousin and this girl died at the hands of the same person. I suspected that Reggie was connected to Dimitryi years ago. And, after tonight, I’m certain of it.”

By the time she’d finished talking long enough to focus on her surroundings, Bianca realized Tony had already parked outside her house. He faced her as he listened to her story, his focus intense. He cupped her cheek. “You’re an amazing woman. Did you know that?”

The look in his eyes told Bianca that Tony meant what he said. “What are you talking about?” She chuckled lightly, his flattery making her blush. “I’m far from amazing.”

“Oh, yeah, you are,” he insisted, his face serious. “You’ve experienced and endured things in your twenty-five years that would have broken many people twice your age.” He leaned over and kissed her. “That makes you pretty damn amazing in my book.”

He sat back and picked up her hand again. His fingers toyed with hers. “After what you just told me, I suspect you’re right about Reggie and the connection between the women and Dimitryi. Like I said earlier, the name isn’t familiar, but there are always new players popping up in Dimitryi’s organization. And since Dimitryi operates out of both locations, it’s completely possible that this Reggie is the same one from Nevada. I’ll start looking into that lead tomorrow.” He glanced at the clock on his console. “My lesson is going to have to wait for another day. Right now, it’s time for you to go to bed.” Tony turned off the ignition, got out of the truck, and came around to her side.