The World in Reverse (20 page)

“Ivy is fine. She just went back to work t
oday after being off for over a week. She was about to go crazy in this house. You don’t know how she is. Once she sets her mind to a thing, it’s done. It would be easier to try to re-write the constitution. Plus, she loves her job. She’s been there for years and she’s moved up. And the boys are fine. Hold on and I’ll get them for you and you talk to them until you’re blue in the face,” Nicola said, standing up. He could hear his sons rolling around in the playroom fighting and scuffling down the hallway. He had a mind to tear into their asses.

Ignoring his son’s statements, he continued. “We need someone to run our operations at the company. We’ve expanded and…”

Nicola cut his father off. “Dad, once I know something, I’ll give you a call about job opportunities, but right now, I need to focus on staying here. Ivy’s job means a lot to her, and I doubt that she’d be interested in just walking away from it because of me.”

“Well, we need a new marketing exec too,” he said, willing to compromise in any way possible to get his family closer to him in his old age.

The doorbell rang, saving Nicola from a continued conversation.

“Hey, there is someone at the door. I’ll have the kids call you back, okay?” Nicola said, walking slowly down the stairs.

“Okay, we love you son,” Mr. Agosto said sincerely. “If there is anything that you need…”

“I’ll call. Promise. Love you guys too,” N
icola said, hanging up the phone.

The doorbell rang once more before Nicola got to the door.

“Coming!” he said, looking through the peephole. It was a woman. Probably a desperate reporter.

He eyed his gun, sitting on the top rack of the hat shelf, tucked under a scarf, before he opened the door, just in case. To his surprise, it was Mrs. Naples, the mother of the twin boys who had been murdered. She looked even more worn down
than the day that he had broken the news to her about her boys. In a pink cotton t-shirt and a pair of jeans with her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, she appeared to have aged dramatically within a few weeks. With cracked dry lips and no make-up on, she tried to smile when she saw his face.

“Lt. Agosto,” she said, eyes red and puffy like she had been crying for days.

“Mrs. Naples,” Nicola said, opening the door wider. “Please, come in.” Quickly, he stuck his head out of the door and looked around, praying that no media was lurking around.

He closed the door and tried to straighten his clothes. He didn’t look much better than her in his black Nike jersey shorts and his sleeveless, orange Nike t-shirt.

“Please come and have a seat,” he said, walking her to the living room.

She looked around his house in surprise. Even in the mist of her trauma, her face was awash with the same curiosity that most people had when they visited his home for the first time.

“You have a very lovely home,” she said, following him into the perfectly designed room.

He offered her a seat on the sofa and moved a toy police car on the cushion. “Thanks,” he said, hearing his kids running upstairs. “Can I offer you something to drink?” It was odd, but the sound of his boys l
aughing and playing made him feel guilty.

“No, I’m fine,” she said, trying to smile again. “Your house looks like it fell out of Southern Living.”

He grinned. He had heard it a hundred times before but he could take absolutely no credit for it. “My wife has what some people call
an eye
for that type of thing.” Unsure if he should sit or stand, he walked over to the fireplace and leaned against the mantle. “So, what brings you to my home, and how did you find it?”

“I could have easily found it on the County Assessor’s site, but it’s available online as well on a bunch of forums. There are tons of people rallying to…” she didn’t finish her sentence. She didn’t want to tell him that people were suggesting going to his house in protest.

Nicola raised a brow. “Well that’s disturbing.”

She reached into her purse to pull out som
ething and Nicola quickly stopped her. “I don’t mean any harm, but sudden movements make me uneasy,” he said, face pensive.

“It’s just a photo of my boys,” she said, slowly pulling out two pictures of her twins. “I know what they are accusing you of, but I don’t believe it.”

Nicola didn’t know what to say. He walked over and took the pictures. Running his hand over their faces, he put down his head. “I never meant to let you down, Mrs. Naples.” He sat down beside her and scratched his head. “The other detective you met, Johnson, is working hard to find the persons responsible for this.”

“But you made me a promise,” she said, eyes watering again. “And I could see in your eyes that you really cared.”

“Daddy!” Adamo exclaimed, barreling down the stairs. “Can I have some ice cream?”

“Not right now, Adamo,” Nicola said, stan
ding up. “Go back upstairs.”

His words were too late. His son hit the last step of the stairway and headed straight for him.

Mrs. Naples eyes lit up as Madison followed. Twins. Just like hers. She swallowed hard and nodded at the boys. “Hello,” she said, voice cracking.

“Hello,” Madison answered first. “Who is she, daddy?” he said, turning towards Nicola.

“Someone daddy worked with,” Nicola answered, putting his hand on their heads. “Why don’t you boys go upstairs and after I’m done, I’ll be up.”

“But…” Madison prepared to protest. His emerald green eyes were bright as he begged. “We want a snack.”

“Later,” Nicola said sternly.

Sulking they both headed back up the stairs as quickly as they had come.

Nicola turned around and tried to smile. “My boys…well half my boys. I’ve got two more upstairs and one on the way.” He didn’t know why, but he felt comfortable telling her that.

“And they are bi-racial?” she asked.

“Yes,” Nicola answered. He went back to her and sat down. “I really want to help you. I do.”

“You made a promise. And in my heart, I believe that you are the only one who can do this. I had a dream about you yesterday, Lt. Agosto. You were in front of a plume of smoke and there were children all around you. I think it was a sign that you would lead them out of this hell.” Tears ran down her cheeks.

Nicola’s heart broke for her. “They are not going to give me my job back.”

“Even if we beg for it. I’ve gotten with some of the other parents and…”

Nicola cut her off. “It won’t matter. With all the bad press, they have to take another course of action.” He heaved a frustrated sigh. “This is my fault, I know, but trust me. It was something that I had to do.”

“I believe you,” she said with sincere unde
rstanding in her voice. “But you have to find a way to solve this case.”

With the photos still in his hand,
Nicola rested back on the couch. His long, muscular body was tense with frustration. Running a hand over his stubbly beard, he tried to figure out a way to tell her that there was nothing that he could do.

He was five minutes from not being a cop any longer. 

“Mrs. Naples…” he said, closing his eyes. He didn’t want to break her heart or take hope from her but he had his own family to think about. Right now, he needed to be thinking about job options and how to take care of his family, not trying to take care of someone else’s misfortune.

The jingle of keys at the front door inte
rrupted him in the middle of yet another statement. He rolled his eyes, feeling as though his cell phone and his front door had become his biggest enemies. He knew that it had to be Ivy, but looking at his watch, he knew that it was way too early for her to be home.

Having been married for years, he realized that there was a woman in his house,
regardless of the reasoning behind it
. He tensed up tighter as he heard her heels click against the hard wood floor. Dropping her bags on the bench in the foyer, she called out for her husband.

“Nicky,” she said, voice echoing through the large airy rooms. In just one word, it was obv
ious that Ivy wasn’t happy.

“In here, babe,” Nicola said, looking over at Mrs. Naples, who heard Ivy’s voice and also tensed a bit.

The woman of the house had arrived. 

Ivy turned the corner in a navy blue tailored business suit and yellow Brooks Brothers oxford. With pearls around her neck and on her ears and her matching navy blue pumps, she looked every bit of the part of executive. She eyed her husband first, sitting on the couch in his lounge wear and then the white woman sitting beside him.

“Am I interrupting something?” Ivy asked, looking to her husband for an explanation as she took off her suit jacket. She laid it across her arm and walked over to the arm chair by the sofa where Mrs. Naples was and took a seat.

“This is Mrs. Naples,” Nicola said, watching his wife closely. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Naples, I don’t know your first name, but this is my wife Ivy Agosto.”

Mrs. Naples pushed to the end of the sofa and offered her hand. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

Ivy shook her hand with a frown on her face. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“You’re home early,” Nicola said, finally standing up.

“Yes, I know.” Ivy cut her eyes at her hu
sband. “I was let go today. Something about too much negative publicity.”

Nicola bucked his eyes. “What?” He growled. “You’ve been at that firm for nearly a decade.”

“We’ll talk about it after Mrs. Naples has left,” Ivy said, turning her attention back to the woman. “So, what brings you to my home in the middle of the day?”

Mrs. Naples took the pictures that Nicola had laid on the coffee table and passed them to Ivy. “My boys,” she said with finality. “I was hoping that Lt. Agosto wouldn’t give up on trying to find their killers.”

Suddenly extremely more sympathetic, Ivy took the pictures slowly. She had never met one of her husband’s cases. He wouldn’t allow it. And now she knew why. Staring at the photos of the twin boys who were no doubt her children’s ages brought tears to her eyes.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Ivy said, looking the woman square in the eyes.

“I saw your children,” Mrs. Naples said. “If anyone understands what this has done to me, you all do. In some ways because of what is happening to your own family, we are connected.” She tried to smile. “Lt. Agosto made me a promise to find whoever was responsible for taking my reason for living from me.” Shaking her head, she pulled her purse to her body. “I just wanted to know if he planned to keep that promise.”

Standing quietly and watching, Nicola saw Ivy’s range of emotion as she tried to take in what she had truly just walked into. His wife met his gaze with a determined look, but for once, he was not sure what she would say.

“He can’t give you an answer on that, Mrs. Naples,” Ivy said finally, handing the pictures back to her. “You’re asking him to be your personal vigilante and you’re asking him to forget the needs of his own family.” Ivy stood up as if to tell the woman that her visit was coming to an abrupt end.

Mrs. Naples stood too.

Nicola stepped out of the way, amazed at how graceful his wife could be. He watched his wife put a loving hand around the woman to comfort her, even as she walked her to the front door.

Ivy leaned into her and in a low voice said, “and if he were to do that, you wouldn’t want to know about it. Now would you?”

Mrs. Naples looked in Ivy’s eyes with a grateful smile. Nodding, she mouthed thank you. “No,” she answered aloud. “I wouldn’t want to place you in that position. Thank you both for your time.” Looking back at Nicola one last time, he heard the two of them mumbling words before the door closed and Ivy came back around the corner alone.

“Well, this Baby Boys case has truly come home to roost, hasn’t it?” she said, walking up to him.

Nicola looked down at her and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“Finish this, Nicola,” Ivy said, cutting him off. Her eyes blazed with anger and disgust. “We’ve lost nearly everything. Our jobs. Our friends. Our life. If what you say is true about being set up, then this was all orchestrated by someone. And for all we know, they aren’t done with us. So, finish this before they do. Finish this for our family, for those children and for yourself so that we can move on with our lives. I don’t want my baby coming into this mess, and I don’t want my other babies suffering anymore.”

Nicola nodded. “Thank you,” he whispered. To finally have his wife’s blessing, took a weight off his shoulders that he could not explain. “I will. I promise you. I’ll finish it.”

19

Johnson slammed the door of his dusty, u
nmarked squad car and headed quickly up the stone walkway of Carmen’s house, ready to confront her for what he considered high treason in a relationship.  Ten minutes before his illegal, blue-light dash across town to her house, he had gotten a text from her on his private cell saying that they should
spend some time apart at least until the case was over
. 

Complete and utter bullshit. 

He knew that it all stemmed from the night before, when while drunk and guard finally down, she had told him that she loved him.  And in turn, he had told her the same.  At last, he felt like they had turned a corner.  He went to bed with her curled into him and his mind finally at ease.  However, the next morning, he had awoken to an empty bed.  She had ditched him at his place and headed off to work.

That would have been fine if only the text five hours later had not been so damn cold.  Intending to get to the bottom of things, he beat on her front door with
his fist and rang the doorbell like he was serving a felony warrant. 

Frustrated, she snatched the wooden door open and stared out at him with a scowl.  “Johnson, what are you doing here?” she asked. 

Her question seemed ridiculous to him at the moment.  In fact, it only infuriated him more.  “I need to talk to you,” he said, trying to push his way in. “I’m tired of this cat and mouse game.”

She planted her hand on his wide chest. “This isn’t a game,” she said, refusing to let him in.  “I’ve had time to think about it, and I just don’t think we should do this right now.”

Johnson stepped back and got composure of himself.  Narrowing his eyes on her, he asked, “Is there someone else in there?” His concrete chest swelled.  Radiating tension, he looked around to see if there was another car parked closely around.

“No, there is no one here,” she said, shaking her head.  “God, you just don’t get it, do you?”

“What is there to get?” his deep voice echoed in the quietness of the tree-lined street.  He lowered his voice and snatched off his shades.  “Did you mean what you said last night?”  He swallowed hard and the motion caused a jolt of his Adam’s apple in his thick neck. 

Carmen looked away, rolling her eyes.  She had to tell him the truth.  He deserved that much, but somehow exposing even the truth could be a way for him to develop a better lie.  “Johnson, you’re just going to hurt me, if I let you get too close.  And I can’t afford to do that again.”

He repeated himself again. “Did you mean what you said last night? That’s all I want to know.”

Carmen folded her arms and stood her ground but said nothing.

After an awkward moment of standing there in chaotic silence, Johnson shook his head and threw up his hands.  “Alright.”  Stepping up to her, he bent and whispered, “I meant it.  I meant every
fucking
word.  And you know what, until now, no I haven’t been with a woman that I actually gave a damn about. But with you and your daughter, I could be that guy…the one that you need so badly. I could be anything that you want me to be because I know that you’re what I want.  But it’s you getting in the way.  You’re getting in the way of what we could have because you’re afraid.  And I can handle a woman who comes a little damaged, someone who’s a little angry, but I can’t deal with a coward.”  Stepping back, he spit out his gum and turned on his heels for his car. 

Carmen watched him leave her.  And su
ddenly, the worry that she felt turned quickly into loneliness.  She knew that he made her happy, and he made her safe and that was what scared her.  However, actually seeing him walk away for good made her the most afraid. 

Digging in his pocket for his keys and trying to hold back hot tears, Johnson heard Carmen scream from the door.

“Yes, okay.  Yes, I meant it!” she said, stepping onto the walkway.  She scratched the back of her neck and wiped a tear.  “But at what cost, Johnson?”  Her voice had lost all authority. Now it only sounded desperate, much like she felt inside. 

He looked up from his car door and wiped his face.  “Everything,” he answered.  “For both of us.”

She walked closer as the sun burned her olive-skin. Golden streaks of untamed hair danced in the dry wind.  Putting a hand over her eyes to shield the glare, she looked out at him. 

There was something very vulnerable about the way that she appeared at that moment to Johnson.  Standing there, eyes wrought with need, heart open as a fresh wound, fear emana
ting from her very being.  He knew that if he went to her now, he would need to be with her forever, and for once in his life, that feeling exhilarated him.

Stalking back up to her, he picked her up in his embrace and kissed her passionately as if for the very first time. Their body armor pr
evented the feeling of hearts beating against each other, but they could feel the pulse of their love through their touch.  He stroked her face with the back of his knuckles as he set her down.  “I’m not going anywhere, Carmen,” he promised.  “I’ll be here with you for life. All you have to do is just let me be.  Don’t be afraid to feel something real.”  He wasn’t sure if he was talking to himself or her. 

“For life?” she asked, as if hearing the words soothed some hidden pain.

“Till our last breath,” he answered sincerely. “From this moment on, I’m done with every other woman. I’ll change my number; I’ll move; I’ll take your last name…”

Carmen laughed. “Are you trying to give my dad a heart attack?”

“Well the last name might be a bit much, but hey…you could always take mine.”  His brown eyes sparkled in the sunlight and sent a zinger through her heart. 

Carmen gaped at him.  Was that a proposal?  She swallowed down all need to be sarcastic and simply allowed herself to just be in the moment with him for once.  “I do love you,” she said in a whisper.

“Good, because I love you…so much.” Johnson knew that he was supposed to be meeting his new partner/boss in less than thirty minutes, but there was no way in hell he was going to leave this house without making love to her. 

Grabbing her by the hand, he led her to the door. 

“My lunch is over,” she said, looking at her watch. “I just came here to grab a bite and then get back.”

Johnson opened her screen door for her and waited. 

Stepping into the house passed him, she watched him carefully close and lock the door behind him.  Like a predator eyeing his prey, he kept his eyes on her as he approached, nearly salivating at the thought of having her again, even though it had only been hours since their last encounter.  

With one carnivorous gaze, he pushed her roughly against the wall and pressed his body up against hers.  Hands against the wall, cove
ring her like a web, he attacked.  The act was electric.  He picked her up off the floor and wrapped her legs around his waist.  At the apex of her sex, he nestled his aching hardness as he kissed her open mouth, sucking at her tongue and moaning at the thought of what he would do to her. 

Her body convulsed as he moved his kiss from her mouth to her neck.  She raked her nails over his baldhead and down his neck as he kissed her. 

With his hands on her breasts, massaged over where he knew her nipples were under the Kevlar and then ripped her oxford open.  The sound of buttons hitting the floor and rolling around on the hardwood floor mixed with the heady moans and groans of anxious lovers.  

Returning the favor, Carmen happily tore off his grey t-shirt, knowing that he had a hundred more like it upstairs in her bedroom.  Tattoos and muscles rippled before her.  Pushing back up to her body, he kissed her mouth as he ripped off her yellow lace bra and found her nipples between his fingers, but his mouth watered for the taste.  Picking her back up off the floor, he suckled at her breasts wildly as she clawed at his shoulders and back. 

She held him close, taking in the aroma of Cool Water cologne and cigarettes. 

Within a minute flat, they were both naked.   Bullet-proof vests lined the hallway, clothes lined the entry way to the living room and Johnson had Carmen thrown over the sofa table.

Her naked body was arched over the table and her arms rested on the sofa.  Behind her, Johnson bent between her legs and sucked at the inner folds of her womanhood until she began to shutter.  Knees buckling, she tried to stand but felt herself weaning with his every kiss.

“Yes,” she panted. “Oh…yes,” she said again as she heard audible licks to her swollen clitoris. 

“Come on, baby. Let me taste you,” he said, lapping his tongue against her violently. 

She tried to crawl away from him, but he pulled her back down. 

With both hands on her plump bottom, Johnson opened her wider and slipped his fingers inside her slickness. In slow evolutions, he moved in and out of her as she began to moan louder.

Unable to take anymore, he stood up and grabbed his shaft, rock hard and pulsing.  He was about to explode at just the sight of her athletic build.  Pushing into her, he grabbed a fist of her hair and pulled her to him while he slapped her behind.  Redness quickly formed when he moved his hand. Muscles tense and taut, he bent his knees to lower himself deeper into her and growled.

“Fuck,” he said, as he pushed into her. 

“Johnson,” she screamed, feeling her body began to pulsate. 

Watching her wide, muscular legs part to brace herself, he pulled her head back further and planted a kiss on her open mouth.  “Do you love me?” he asked, moving in and out of her.

“Yes,” she whimpered.

“Say it,” he said, grabbing her by the waist with both hands.   Slamming into her body, he watched as she began to climax. 

Bending down on her body, he reached around and put one hand on the front of her aching vagina and the other on her bobbing breast. 

“I love you,” she whispered. 

His blows became more powerful.

He growled. “Say it louder.”  Still ramming into her, he grabbed her by her neck and pulled her into his chest.

“Ahhh, I love you,” she screamed.  Holding on to the sofa table, she tried to absorb his powerful thrusts.  “Fuck me,” she ordered.

Looking down at his penis as he penetrated her, he felt himself begin to tense up.  “Not yet,” he said allowed, turning her over.  Picking her up, he pushed her against the wall and picked her back up.

The painting beside them fell on the ground. 

Laughing, he kissed her mouth as she held on to him.  They moved in a synchronic dance of love making until he felt her tense.  Locking her legs around his sweaty back, she began to moan louder.

“I’m coming,” she said, looking him in his eyes.

Johnson gritted his teeth.  She would never know how badly she turned him on.  “Yeah?” he asked, bucking his body harder.

“Yes,” she whimpered. “Yes,” she said, eyes rolling.

Gritting his teeth, he felt the strain in down in his groin.  Throwing her on the rug in the middle of the floor, he turned her over and buried himself in between her legs.  As she held him close, he felt them both reach a powerful climax. 

Sweating and exhausted, he rested with his head down on her breasts and his naked body on her rug.  Listening to her heart beat, he closed his eyes.

“Don’t go to sleep,” Carmen warned.  “We have to get back.”

“Let’s just lay here for a minute,” he said, sucking on one of her nipples. 

Carmen licked her lips.  “Just a minute,” she said, closing her eyes.  “Then we have to get up.”

“Sure thing.  Then tonight, when we get off, I’m moving in,” he said, looking up at her to see if she would protest.

Smiling, she ran her hand over his shaved head. “I’d like that,” she said softly.

“Yeah? Me too,” Johnson said, laying his head back down. 

***

By the time Johnson arrived at the office four hours after first showing up at Carmen’s doo
rstep, Lt. Kat Steele was absolutely incensed.  Sitting at her new desk with a file locked between her fingers, she watched him with a close eye as he entered into her office.  He breezed in with a carefree grin and closed the door behind him. 

“Sorry that I’m late,” he said, standing in front of her. 

She looked at her watch and then stood up from her desk. “Late?”  Walking behind him, she gazed over his body.  He was an extremely muscular man, tall and confident, but most of the guys in this unit were.  It was an asset in the field to be attractive and aggressive, but it was a necessity to be well-built.  Theirs was a job for fighters, not negotiators. 

Stepping closer into him, she inhaled his scent.  He smelled of soap and c
ologne…freshly showered.  To make her point, she audibly sniffed him.  Her voice was sweet and sultry.  “Have you been
fucking
today, detective?”

Johnson bucked his eyes. That was co
mpletely out of left field, but he had heard about Lt. Steele before. She was supposed to be a ball breaker.  “Excuse me, ma’am?” he asked, running his hand over the bridge of his nose. 

She lowered her voice but made sure that her words were perfectly heard. “Have you been fucking, detective,” she asked even slo
wer.