Cops 02 - Love on the Run (21 page)

“Gotcha!” Bianca spun around with her heart in her mouth and a scream on her lips.

She looked into Traci’s surprised face.

“Jesus, Traci!” Bianca snapped. “You scared the shit out of me!”

“I’m so sorry!” Traci looked genuinely concerned, and Bianca immediately felt bad for yelling at her.

“I saw you earlier coming out of one of the stores,” Traci continued. “I tried to catch up with you, but you were moving so fast. Oh, honey, I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No, it’s okay, Traci.” Bianca tried to assure her. “I’m sorry for yelling at you. I was just startled when you came up behind me.” She forced a smile. “I’m fine. Really.”

“You don’t need to apologize.” Traci patted her on the arm. “You had every right to be upset. It was my fault. I don’t know what I was thinking. Considering how many crazy people there are out there these days, you can never be too careful.” You have no idea. Bianca pasted a smile on and followed the other woman into the building.

*

“I followed her like you told me, but there were so many people around that I didn’t want to risk grabbing her and making a scene.” Reggie listened in silence as Yuri spoke, his voice clearly nervous. Yuri was a good worker, so there was no reason to doubt that everything had happened exactly as he’d claimed.

But it didn’t change the fact that they still didn’t have the woman, and Dimitryi was growing increasingly impatient. He was known for a lot of things, but patience was not one of them.

If there was one thing Reggie knew for certain, it was that the longer Dimitryi was kept waiting, the more someone would suffer because of it. And Reggie had no intention of being on the receiving end of his wrath.

“Where is she now?” Reggie asked.

“At work,” Yuri said. “She met up with another woman outside, and they went in together.”

“Were you able to set up a meeting with her?”

“No.” Yuri sounded almost reluctant to answer. “But I did try. I spoke to her and told her that I knew Viktor, just like you told me, but she didn’t go for it. I’m sorry, Reggie.” The nervousness in Yuri’s voice had given way to fear. “I’ll keep following her. I’ll have her before the end of the night. I promise. I won’t let you down again.”

“Of course you won’t,” Reggie said calmly. “Not if you wish to continue breathing.”

By the time Tony tied up some loose ends on his raid from the previous night and wrapped up for the evening on his latest case, it was well after ten o’clock that evening. He’d been awake for nearly twenty-four hours. He was hungry and bone tired, but he’d been waiting all day to see Bianca again, and there was no way in hell he’d miss being with her like he’d promised.

Tony made a U-turn in the middle of the street so that he could pull up in front of the restaurant for valet parking. When he stepped out of his truck, he saw several well-dressed couples entering the restaurant and heard the sounds of Latin music coming from inside.

He glanced down at his simple attire of jeans and a shirt. He hadn’t had time to go home and change, so he’d taken a quick shower at the police station and changed into the extra set of clothes that he kept in his locker at work. Tony just hoped the restaurant didn’t have a dress code.

He went through the revolving doors and up the stairs, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkened interior of the restaurant.

“Is that you, Tony? What’s up, man?” Tony turned around at the sound of his name.

“Hey, Hector. How’s it going?” He grinned and shook the other man’s hand. Hector was also a cop, and Tony had worked with him for several years before he transferred to another precinct. “Are you here for dinner?”

“No. I work here doing security a few nights a week.”

“I’ve never been here before.” Tony looked around the crowded room. “How is it?”

“It’s nice.” Hector smiled. “Great music, great food.” A woman walked in their direction, her gaze locked on Tony. She gave him a flirty smile, her body so close that her bare arm brushed against him when she passed. “And they definitely have great views.” Hector leaned past Tony, still admiring the woman’s retreating form. “You sure you wanna let her slip away? She obviously likes you.”

“Nah, I’m good.” Tony remembered a time in the not so distant past when he would have been all over a woman like that. But those days were over, and that was fine by him.

“Well, there are plenty of other women here to keep you distracted,” Hector continued, “like that tall one on the dance floor.” Tony’s gaze followed Hector’s to the dance floor, where people were dancing to live band music.

It was immediately obvious who Hector meant. Bianca was instantly recognizable, even among the throng of dancers. The band finished its song, and Tony saw her make her way through the crowd of people.

His jaw literally dropped open when he saw what she was wearing. The black leather pants sat low on her waist and were so tight they looked painted on. The soft-looking leather molded to her long legs like a second skin and made her already great ass look even better.

The black halter top she wore crisscrossed in the front and dipped so low he could almost see her belly button.

Jesus, she made his mouth water and, just that quick, his hunger for food vanished, replaced instead with a different type of hunger that had nothing to do with eating.

Before she’d reached her destination, a man stepped into her path. His arms wrapped around her waist, and he attempted to pull her back onto the dance floor.

Tony watched with mounting fury as Bianca shook her head and tried to move around him, but he wouldn’t let her go.

“What the hell is that guy —” Hector started, but Tony was halfway to the dance floor before the other man could finish his sentence.

He reached Bianca in time to see her struggling to get free of the man’s hold. “Get your goddamned hands off of me and leave me the fuck alone!”

“What’s the matter, baby, I’m not good enough for you to dance with?” he said, his words slightly slurred. One hand slid down Bianca’s hip and headed toward her ass.

Tony grabbed the man’s wrist and jerked him away. “What are you, drunk and stupid?”

He placed himself between the man and Bianca. “The lady said no. Now leave her alone.”

The man looked up at Tony with glassy and unfocused eyes. “Who’s gonna make me, tough guy? You?” he sneered, his tone belligerent. He tried to puff out his chest and stand a little taller, sound a little harder. But he’d had so much to drink that he practically swayed on his feet.

Tony sighed inwardly. Some motherfuckers just didn’t know when to take a hint, when to back down. “Trust me,” he warned, “you don’t want to do this with me. I guarantee it won’t end well for you.” He was teetering on the brink of complete violence, and this fucking idiot had no idea how close he was to getting the shit kicked out of him. “You need to walk away. Right now.” “Tony’s right.” Tony glanced at Hector, who’d joined their group. “You’ve had enough, and you’re outta here.”

“Look, why don’t you two rent-a-cops go fuck yourselves and bother some of the other guests so the lady and I can have a little fun.”

“Wrong answer.” Tony twisted the man’s arm behind his back, applying just enough pressure on his wrist to cause him severe agony, but not enough to actually break it. The man howled out in pain and dropped to his knees.

“Oh, shit, dude!” he yelled. “You’re breaking my arm!”

Tony used his free hand to pull out his badge, and he bent down until he was eye level with the man. “You should have walked away like I told you. Now you’re going to jail.” He held his badge in front of the man’s face.

“What…jail? Whoa, wait a minute.” It never failed to amuse Tony how the threat of facing jail time always seemed to have an immediate sobering effect on a person.

“I wasn’t trying to hurt her. I swear.” The man grimaced, the pain he was feeling written all over his face. “I only did it because this guy bet me a hundred bucks that I couldn’t get her to dance with me. He told me that he’d pay me that plus another four hundred bucks if I could get her to come outside with me.”

What the fuck? “What guy?” Tony demanded and tightened his grip a little, as the sound of what he’d just been told pissed him off a lot. Five hundred bucks was a hell of a lot of money to pay for a bet to see if a guy could convince a woman to dance and go outside with him.

“I don’t know who he is. I swear!”

“Get up.” Tony forced the man to his feet, still maintaining a grip on his arm. “What’s your name?”

“Jonathan…my name’s Jonathan.”

“Where is this guy, Jonathan? Show him to me.”

The man looked around the room and then back to Tony. “He’s not here. He was

standing right over there.” He nodded in the direction of the bar. “But he’s gone now.”

“What did he look like?” Hector spoke up.

“I don’t know…just some guy with an accent.” That made Tony pause. Apparently Bianca felt the same way.

“What kind of accent?” she asked, her voice sounding strange, and Tony turned to study her.

“I’m not sure.” Tony turned his attention to the guy. “German, Russian…something European.” Tony glanced at Bianca again. Something flashed in her eyes, but it was gone too quickly for him to identify it. He looked at Hector, who shrugged. “He’s probably long gone by now.” Hector pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call for a squad car to pick up this one.”

“No…wait.” Bianca spoke up. “He’s an asshole, Tony, but I don’t want him to go to jail.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yeah.” She spoke softly, and Tony saw her glance around at the onlookers who were watching them. “I just want him to go away and leave us alone so we can enjoy the rest of our night together.”

Tony sighed and reluctantly agreed. “It looks like things are looking up for you,” he said to Jonathan. “The lady is a lot more forgiving than I am, and she just saved your ass from a night in hell.” He leaned near Jonathan’s face, his voice hard and angry. “But let this be a lesson. Never touch what doesn’t belong to you.” He slowly released Jonathan’s arm and watched as Hector escorted him out of the restaurant.

Tony put his arms around Bianca and held her close. Her arms wrapped around his waist.

“You okay?” He kissed her temple.

“Yeah.” She pressed her face against his shoulder for a moment before she met his eyes again.

“You seem to be doing this a lot lately.”

“What’s that?”

“Rescuing me.” She smiled slightly and looked away.

“Hey.” He lifted her chin. “I’d do anything for you. Come on.” He gave her a quick kiss.

“This place is closing in an hour, and I’m not leaving until I get a chance to eat and dance with you.”

*

It was a few minutes after one o’clock in the morning, and Tony stood with Hector outside the now closed restaurant while Bianca said good night to her one remaining coworker.

“You know you blew a lot of guys’ fantasies tonight,” Hector told him.

“Oh, yeah?” He glanced at Hector. “How did I do that?”

“By leaving with the most beautiful woman in the room.” The other man laughed.

“You and Jack were always known for claiming the best-looking women around.”

“Since Jack just got married, I’m pretty sure his player card has been cancelled.”

“So I’d heard. Well, I guess that means more women for you now, right?” Hector winked and smiled. “Nope, not for me.” Tony’s attention was focused on Bianca. “I voluntarily turned in my own card already.”

“I can’t say I blame you.” Hector was looking in her direction as well. “If I had a woman like her to go home to, I’d be unavailable myself.”

After Tony said good-bye to Hector, he joined Bianca and her coworker.

“You remember Traci, right?” Bianca asked.

“Of course.” Tony smiled. It was hard not to remember her. Traci was an attractive woman with ample curves, a great smile, and an infectious laugh. “It was nice meeting you tonight.”

“Same here.” She smiled again. “I just wanted to say that whatever you’re doing to put that look on her face, keep doing it.”

“Traci!” Even in the dark, Tony saw the blush coloring Bianca’s cheeks.

“And the fruit bouquet was a very nice touch,” Traci continued, completely ignoring Bianca. Tony chuckled as the other woman sighed wistfully.

“Fine, thoughtful, protective.” Traci gave him a long look. Her rich brown face split into a huge grin, revealing the deepest dimples Tony had ever seen. “I don’t know about your horizontal technique, but judging from the way Bianca’s been smiling lately, I’d say it’s pretty damn spectacular.”

Bianca groaned and covered her eyes as Tony erupted in laughter. Yeah, he definitely liked Traci.

“Seriously,” Traci said to Bianca, “you are one lucky girl. Tony could arrest me anytime.”

*

Tony and Bianca rode in comfortable silence as he drove to his condo.

“Thank you for coming out with me tonight, Tony.” Bianca’s words were softly spoken, and he brought their entwined fingers to his lips.

“Thank you for inviting me.” Tony glanced at her briefly, noting the tired lines around her eyes. “How are you doing, baby?” Concern laced his words. A lot had happened to Bianca in the past day, and he suspected it was wearing on her more than even she realized. “You’re not still bothered by that prick from earlier, are you?”

She smiled and shook her head. “No, I’m not worried about him.” The hesitation Tony heard in her voice made him glance at her again.

“Then what are you worried about?” he asked.

“Do you remember when that guy, Jonathan, said he’d made a bet with a man who had an accent?” Oh, he definitely remembered, and that shit didn’t sit well with him at all. Considering everything that had happened lately with his investigation and Bianca’s research on Dimitryi, it just seemed a little too coincidental that a man with an European accent happened to show up at the same restaurant where she was and offer some drunken asshole a nice chunk of change to get Bianca outside, where she’d be alone without anyone around to hear her if she screamed.