Shot in the Dark (18 page)

“When did all this happen?” she asked, her bright blue eyes lit with sunlight. Her breasts pushed against his chest with every breath she drew into her lungs.

“While you were studying for your finals, I worked out at the gym and walked without my cane on my lunch hour.” He canted his head to the side and brushed the stubble of his beard against the smooth skin of her neck. “When you want something bad enough, it’s amazing how much you can push yourself.”

Dropping his mouth to take hers, he nearly groaned from the sweet taste of her. Coaxing. Teasing. He waited until she shivered and then deepened the kiss.

Finally releasing her mouth, he confessed, “I’ve been waiting to tell you this all week. Now I’m going to show you that I’m a new man.” Dropping the tone of his voice, he whispered in her ear. “I get to be on top this time.”

Her eyes started to flutter closed, but then shot open. “Devan. We can’t! We’re in a public park.”

Tormenting her, he rained kisses down her neck and pulled her tank top to the side, stabbing at her bared breast with his tongue. “We haven’t seen anyone on this trail since we’ve been here. Not even a squirrel.” When he reached to undo the button on her shorts, her breath caught.

“Dev…” she tried to protest, but never finished her sentence. He slid his hand down the front of her shorts and into the waiting wetness between her thighs.

Lifting her chin with his thumb, he said, “I know it’s against the law to have sex in public places. I’m a cop. I know the laws and I take full responsibilities for my actions.” His other hand hooked under the edge of her shorts and pulled them down her long legs. “But wouldn’t it be a great thing to have on my arrest record? If they boot me off the force for this, so be it. You listen for anyone coming, I’ll do the work.”

Bending his large frame between her bent knees, he proceeded to do just that. He had Luci crested and crying his name in minutes.

Crawling up her still trembling body, Dev held himself above her. He remembered the dream he’d had of making love to her braced on the weight of his legs. Dev thought that dream would never become reality. But now, it was real.

It was all real.

Watching a pink flush rise on her beautiful cheeks, he sunk his rock hard cock into her with one solid thrust.

Luci had always been the one accommodating
his
needs. Not that he was complaining. However, this simple act of regaining the strength in his legs to lie on top of her luscious body made him feel whole again. This moment was more than just the act itself. Luci had made him whole with her never-wavering faith in him.

Dev wanted to tell her all the things felt, but his head swam with a lust-filled haze as he felt her inner muscles milk him.

Luci moaned his name into his mouth, and felt her shudder. With the texture of the grass clenched in his hand, the whisper of the breeze on his bare backside, and the taste of Luci’s arousal still on his lips, Dev knew this was heaven.

  With one last thrust, he followed her.all Dev got out, before Mac pulled him to his feet and clapped his arms around him in a bear hug.

“I had to hear from the captain? You’re back on active duty? I thought it would be months. How did this happen?” A large grin split Mac’s good-humored face as he dropped Dev back on his feet.

“I got tired of the captain, keeping me chained inside to my desk and only pushing paper.” Dev shrugged nonchalantly. All eyes had turned to watch them. “I decided I’d see what I’ve been missing out on the streets.”

Mac laughed. “Not a whole lot. Same dirt bags, different day. When is this effective?”

“Today. But first, I need to find a partner.” Dev saw the smile falter on Mac’s face, before he continued. “But I would bet that your department wants to get rid of you. So I guess beggars can’t be choosers. If I’m stuck with you, I guess that’s the way it’s going to have to be. I was hoping to move up the food chain a bit, but…” Dev sighed dramatically, as he sat back in his chair, laced his hands behind his neck, and casually hooked one long leg over the other.

“Smart-ass.” Mac laughed deeply as he dangled a file between two fingers swinging it in front of him. “So I guess you also don’t want to know what information Barowski found.”

“Barowski?”

“You don’t remember him? He’s in the Russian Organized Crime detail downtown.”

“Yeah, now I remember him.” Dev put the face with the name.

“I mentioned the tats at the monthly meeting with the Sheriff’s Russian unit. It seems some Russian mafia shithead got himself blown up in a titty bar in West Hollywood a while back. When their boys got there, they rounded up all the employees and patrons for interviews. They took ID’s from everyone they talked to. One of the customers was a guy named Ivan Petrova. According to the report he has the tats Luci described.”

“I’ll call DMV and get a picture sent from his driver’s license, then get the six-pack together and show it to Luci. Hopefully we’ll get lucky and she’ll be able to pick him out, no problem.”

Mac smiled. “Already done partner. I told you I’ve been here since seven.” Mac slid the folder across the desk.

  Dev opened it and scanned the information. “Did you read this?” Dev’s eyes flipped up to briefly meet Mac’s.

“Of course I did.” Mac said, rather indignant. “The sketch of the tattoos Luci made, the one of the skull with the white x is a prison tattoo for convicted robbery. The DOJ told me the blue hue of the ink Luci described is ink from pens the inmates use to do the tattoos.”

Dev flipped the file closed and let out a long, deep sigh. “And the other tattoo, the split octagon, dark on the top with a heart in the bottom right. Petrova served time in Leningrad prison for rape.” His throat suddenly felt tight under the collar of his dress shirt. He ran a finger under the edge to loosen it. “Petrova’s blond, twenty seven, and five-foot ten. I’ve got you, you bastard.” Dev muttered through clenched teeth. “They got an address on him?”

  Mac nodded. “Why are you sitting there on your candy ass? There’s an address in there. Let’s pick him up.”

Dev began to rise from his chair, but stopped, and sat back down. Pulling his cell phone from his inside jacket pocket, he flipped it open, and then frowned. “Damn.”

“What’s wrong?” Mac asked, leaning his hip on the corner of the desk and hooking his feet at the ankle.

“Luci. I’m supposed to pick her up at the college. She’s going to be waiting for me. She doesn’t have a cell so I can’t call her. We’ll have to swing by, pick her up, and then drop her off at the house. I don’t want her hanging around by herself.”

“Let’s go.”

Chapter Nineteen

Dev pulled the police Impala to the curb and threw it into park. The afternoon sun blazed down as he pulled himself out of the car.

“I don’t see her,” Mac commented, as he joined him on the sidewalk.

“It’s hot out here. Luci doesn’t like to be in the sun.” Dev glanced nervously around the grounds where the branches of tall trees dipped to keep the lush green lawns in partial shade. “She says it’s bad for her skin. Maybe she’s finishing up one of her tests.”

Tomorrow, first thing, he was buying that woman a cell phone. Technology wasn’t her favorite thing, but dammit, until this creep was behind bars, he had to have a way to keep in touch with her.

Jingling his keys in his hand, he continued to scan the students milling around. Some kids lay on blankets with textbooks next to them. A group close to the sidewalk played hacky-sack.

“You sure this is where she said to meet her,” Mac asked, pushing his sunglasses up to rest on top of his head.

Dev looked back at the building, confirming that it was where he’d picked her up a few days back. “I’m sure. Why isn’t she here?” Dev muttered angrily, trying to keep calm.

Stalking towards the group of young men in the grass, Dev pulled his badge out and flipped it open. “LAPD. I need to ask you a question.”

“We’re not doing anything illegal.” The tall man with Rasta braids and baggy board shorts dropped the hacky- sack on the grass, his eyes growing wide.

“I never said you were,” Dev said. “I’m looking for a blonde woman with pink streaks in her hair. About five-foot seven, she’s wearing…” he paused, realizing he’d left the house before she got dressed. “Do you remember anyone fitting that description?”

The first boy nodded no, but the second one held up his hand like a teacher just asked a question. “Yeah, I remember seeing her. She was really cute.”

His jaw tightened, but he let the boy continue.

“I was thinking of going over to her, you know, striking up a conversation. She was hot. But this guy came up next to her, close, with his arm around her. I figured he was her boyfriend. He didn’t look like someone you would want to mess with.” The young man nodded his head making his shaggy brown hair bob.

  “Did she look afraid? Do you think it was someone she knew?” Dev’s stomach clenched down into fists.

The kid shrugged bony shoulders. “I couldn’t see her face. The man was about six-foot, blond and was driving an expensive BMW. Black, custom rims… sweet ride.”

“Wait here,” he barked at the kid and strode to his car. Grabbing the police file from the front seat, he came back and pulled out the six-pack of photos. “Can you identify any of these men?”

The kid took the photos and fanned them in his hand, then pointed his finger. “It’s this guy.”

“Shit.” Dev’s heart sank. Running back to the police unit, he ripped the radio’s mic from its holder. “This is Detective Devan Burke. We have a possible 207.” The code for kidnapping slipped off his tongue like shards of glass. Opening the file, he scanned the data with his finger. “We’ll do a drive-by to verify the car the witness identified belongs to Petrova; after that I’ll need a SWAT team to meet us at 8168 38
th
street.”

“You want me to drive?” Mac asked, concern filling his eyes.

“I shouldn’t have left her alone.” Dev shook his head sharply.

“She’s going to be okay. I’ll call campus security and have them make a sweep of the campus buildings and grounds in case she’s still here.”

“That bastard found out where she was from the textbooks he stole in the robbery. I should have had protection on her.”

“You told me yourself that since there have been no additional robberies, you thought he’d left town.” Mac frowned. “Don’t second guess yourself. No one knows how criminals are going to move. We know that better than anyone does.”

“I never…” Dev words broke in his throat as he fought for composure.

“You never what?” Mac asked, turning towards him.

“Nothing.” Dev clenched his teeth.
I never told her. I love her.

****

Dev waited impatiently as the SWAT van stopped a block from Petrova’s house. The sergeant jumped out of the side of the van meeting him on the curb.

“Burke. Fill us in?” The sergeant had a square-shaped body with military cut black hair, and sharp dark eyes.

“The man we are looking for is Ivan Petrova. He’s tied to a string of robberies and is now the lead suspect in a kidnapping.”

“Do you have any information on registered weapons we might be up against?”

“We ran a check on the way over, but nothing turned up,” Mac added, pulling two bullet- proof vests from the trunk of the car. Devan took one of the vests from Mac, pulled it on over his head, and secured the Velcro tabs in front.

“It seldom does,” the sergeant said thinly.

“He prefers knives.” Dev turned towards the man. “The victim’s name is Luci Lombart.” Saying Luci’s name in context with the crime scene made Devan’s blood boil. He had to put his emotions on auto-pilot. There were no acceptable options other than getting her out safely.

The sergeant’s eyes narrowed. “And you would know this how?”

“Luci’s my girlfriend. I was picking her up after class at college. Some kids on campus described her getting into a car with a man matching Petrova’s description. I ran a six-pack of photos past the witnesses, and the kid identified Petrova. I think that he is the man who broke into her apartment. I’d stake my career on it. She would never have willingly gone with him. She was forced and he’s abducted her.”

****

At Petrova’s house, a cold sheen of sweat coated Luci’s skin. She remembered the threats from her stepfather, and this was different. This man wanted to rape her and then possibly kill her. She read the icy emotions in his eyes, changing by the second.

At the college, Luci hadn’t heard the man come up behind her on the grass. She knew self-defense, and how to protect herself. But when he’d pushed the tip of the knife into her back and whispered, “I’ll kill you if you call out,” she knew she had no other choices than to get in the car.

Without loosening his grip, the blond-haired man shoved her through the front entryway of the large sprawling house. Stumbling, Luci almost fell as her soft-soled shoes hit the marble tile. His fingers bit into her upper arm, keeping her upright.

When he finally released her, she rubbed her bruised skin and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Why the fuck do you care?” His eyes darkened to a flat grey. “Ivan.” He poured vodka from a bottle, downed the clear liquid, and then poured another.

  “Ivan… please, just let me go. Why do you want to hurt me?”

“Why do people always ask stupid questions?” He shook his head.

Ivan came toward her.
Luci didn’t have time to raise her hand for protection before he slapped her hard across the cheek. This man didn’t need a reason for violence. Men like him hit first, and asked questions later. Black stars swam behind her eyes and she tasted the copper of her blood pooling inside her mouth.

Dominance. Her gaze dropped to the floor. She knew it was all a matter of power and control with brutal men like Ivan. Standing up to him would only aggravate him, causing him to strike her again.

How could she get a message to Devan? She knew he’d been on his way to pick her up at the college. He’d obviously suspect something was wrong when she wasn’t there to meet him, but how would he know where she was?

He won’t. You’re on your own.