Loving Leo (The Romanovsky Brothers Book 3) (4 page)

“Because you’re the one who alerted Harp to their connection to Victor King in the first place?”

“Because headquarters won’t trust a
female
agent to dig into the real dirty work on King.”

“Here we go…” Chet gave her shining eyes.  “Now
I
need a beer.”

“God forbid they see a female agent infiltrate the mob, the federal government, or a Mexican drug cartel.  They give the
woman
the Romanovskys.”

“Why do you hate being a woman so much?”

“Why do they hate me so much for being one?”

Chet laughed.  “You’re the one who convinced Harp that you found
yet another
crime we can nail King with once we decide to close in.  You convinced him that Val and Tony’s testimony alone would be enough to open an entirely new investigation on the corruption that went on at 5th Precinct while he was Chief. 
That
is why you got assigned this family, Jess.  Are you just a small cog in a much bigger machine? Yeah, but every agent on King’s case is, including the ones looking into his connections to the mob and the drug cartels.  Personally, I’m not sure why you’re so desperate to be tangled up with those kind of people, anyway.  I would choose a Romanovsky over a Corleone any day.”

“And that’s why you work on surveillance.”

“Do you see me whining about it?  Never.  Because I know that we all play a part here, however big or small, and they’re all equally important. My god, not everyone is out to get you.”

“I just want respect.  Of course I’m married to my work, Chet.  Of course I’m tearing my own skin from the bone. I have no choice but to.”

“I understand where you’re coming from, Jess.  I feel you.  I’m just saying… it’s okay not to be so reckless.  To have some boundaries.  Healthy even.”

“I’m an undercover agent. My entire job depends on me
breaking
boundaries.”

“A boundary was definitely broken tonight. Leo Romanovsky… he was feeling you.”

“Leo Romanovsky tortured me in high school.  Leo Romanovsky can eat a fucking dick.”

Chet shifted.  “Don’t let Harp find out you went to school with this kid.”

“The only way Harp will find out is if you open your big fucking mouth.”

“He won’t hear it from me.”

Eyeing him, she leaned forward, pulled her cell phone out of her jacket pocket, and pulled up an old picture of her family, turning the screen toward Chet so he could see.

He leaned in, squinted at the image, and then chuckled.  “Okay.  I see your parents, and I see two huge dudes standing behind your parents.”  His eyes rose to her.  “Which one are you?”

She kicked at him, watching as he nearly fell off his chair to avoid the blow, laughing.

With a roll of her eyes, she recrossed her legs and tossed her phone on the table.  The clank echoed through the empty halls.

“I was obese in high school,” she said.  “Bigger than most of the linebackers on the football team.  It didn’t help that I dressed like a man.  Leo used to call me Beer Belly Borgia.”

“Seems appropriate.”  He dodged another kick with a chortle.

“He never tried to fuck Beer Belly Borgia the way he’s going to kill himself trying to fuck Ashley Williams,” Jessica said.  “Yes, I went to school with all of them, but they wouldn’t recognize me in a million years.”

“Like I said, Harp won’t hear it from me.”

“Good.  I think we both know how he can get when it comes to protecting his agents, even if it comes at the expense of closing an investigation.  If he finds out I went to school with the family, or that I threw myself in front of Leo’s car tonight, he’d pull me so fast my head would spin.  I can’t let that happen.  I need this case.  My entire professional future is dependent on my performance with the Romanovskys.”

“How many different ways can I say he won’t hear it from me?” Chet slapped his hands to his chest.  “He won’t hear it from me, Jess. Enough with the lecture.”

She took another swallow.  “I think I’m going to have even more fun nailing Leo than I will his twin brother.”

“We haven’t proven Val is the killer.”

“Of course he is.  We have his mug shot.  A mug shot someone went to an awful lot a trouble to bury on the night two people were murdered.”

“A mug shot with no booking papers or fingerprints.”

“Which makes it all the more suspect.”  She beamed.  “When is the last time you’ve seen a mug shot with no paper trail?  No prints?  Huh?”  She didn’t wait for an answer.  “Never, bitch, that’s when.”

“Still doesn’t prove Val’s a killer.”

“He has the same tattoo the driver had—”

“They all have that tattoo—”

“
And
he has a mug shot that was taken that same night?  Chet.  Come on.”  Jessica waited for Chet’s rebuttal.  When it didn’t come, she stared off into the empty house, shaking her head.  “You should’ve seen the look in his eyes when I ran into him in the hallway.  He has the creepiest eyes.  Eyes that have seen things, you know?”

“Are you describing Val’s eyes… or yours?” Chet laughed.  “Creepy eyes, does not make someone a killer.  If they did, you would’ve been convicted a long time ago.”

“I can’t stand it when you go all devil’s advocate on me.  It makes my teeth itch.”

“Telling the truth does not make me a devil’s advocate.  Refusing to blindly follow everything you say does not make me a devil’s advocate.”

“Val is guilty.”

“Receipts?”

“There’s a reason that mug shot was wiped clean from every database but one.  There’s a reason there is no trail.  It’s because he’s
guilty. 
He’s guilty, and someone tried to make it go away.  I’d bet my last penny that
someone
is his father, since Tony was supervising chief at the very station that mug shot was taken in right before it disappeared from sight. Victor King was Tony’s Chief of Police.  To get rid of that mug shot, Tony would have
had
to go through him.” Jessica took a deep breath, staring into space.  “God knows what else King covered up during his time at the 5th Precinct.”

Chet spoke up and brought her back to the present.  “Look, don’t get me wrong.  You did real good today.  You did.”

“I got an interview at Novsky tomorrow morning.”

“I heard.  You always did work fast.”

“I’m going to have bugs and cams set up behind any wall Val breathes on.  If I don’t have solid proof he killed the Blacks today, it’ll only be a matter of time before I do. If I have anything to do with it, he’ll be squealing before the end of the month.”

“Then we can move on to the real work.”

Jessica’s eyebrows rose.  “Don’t underestimate the Romanovskys.  They might be the guppy fish,” Jessica said.  “But guppies play the most important role.  They lead you straight to the shark.”

“Five minutes ago you were singing a different tune.”

“I’m feeling enlightened.”

Chet smirked.  “The FBI’s been after King for almost ten years.  I don’t think the word
shark
really covers it anymore.”

“You’re so annoying.  Fine. 
Fine.
  What’s the biggest fish in the sea, then?”

“I don’t know.  Sperm whale, I think?”

“Sperm whale?” Jessica chortled.  “It just doesn’t have the same devious ring as
shark
.  I hear sperm whale and want to die laughing.  I want to swim with the sperm whale.  But the shark?  I want to see the shark suffer.  I want the shark floating, dead in the water.”

“If you want King dead in the water, we’d better work quick.”  Chet leaned over and swept up one of the many newspapers he’d plowed through that night, dropping it in front of her.

Jessica took in the headline on the front page and scoffed.

“Number one in the polls,” Chet said.  “And he’s just getting started.”

“King will never be President, Chet.  He might have a chokehold on every cop and mob monkey in New York and New Jersey, but he doesn’t have a hold on the FBI. This man has been destroying lives since before I spoke my first words.  Enough is enough.  I’ll do my part and prove he helped cover up the murder of the Blacks, and even if every other op falls apart,
my
op won’t.  And it’ll be enough to destroy his reputation and stop him from smearing his shit all over everything else he touches.”

“See.”  Chet smiled.  “And you thought your part in this play was small.  You thought you were the understudy.”  He winked at her.  “Jess, you’re the main act.”

“I will expose King.”  Jessica knew Chet was coddling her, and it sent her stomach churning.  “Even if I have to steamroll over every Romanovsky to do it.”

Family dinner long over, Tony and Val found themselves alone at the circular fire pit in the backyard.  Tony was sitting on the edge of the stone structure with Val pacing before him.

Tony’s eyes followed his son, blazing hotter with each passing second. “What the hell do you mean Rome knows?”

Val stopped pacing and gave Tony a look.  “I mean Rome knows.  What do you mean, what do I mean?  He knows, Pop.  He knows.  He
knows.”

“How?”

“He had my mug shot in his hand tonight.  In the study.  He wouldn’t tell me where he got it, but my money’s on Angie Colt.”

“Goddamn it.  King said he got rid of everything in her office.”

“Yeah, well, he didn’t.”

“Watch your tone with me.”

“Watch my
tone
?” Val laughed, but instead of lighting him up, it curled his lips.  “Rome knows, Angie knows, and whoever put that mug shot in Angie’s hand?  They know it too.  God only knows where she
got it.  Who from.  Our family is about to be torn to shreds, Pop, and you’re worried about my
tone
?”

Tony stood tall, closing in on him with a finger pointed.  “You made the choice to climb into bed with Zoey.  Your irresponsible actions are what drove Roman to that fertility clinic in the first place, and eventually straight to Angie Colt.
Your irresponsible actions are the reason all of this has spiraled so far out of control.  All because you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants.  So, yes, Valentin Romanovsky, watch your tone when you’re speaking to me, I’m your father.”

Val stepped back, teeth grating, lips curled down.  He dug his hands into his hair as his skin flushed crimson.

“Calm down, Val.  Christ, you’re shaking like a leaf.  Take a deep breath.”

Val’s breathing picked up, causing his words to lag and break.  “It’s going to kill her, Pop.”  His hands fell helplessly to his sides, moisture filling his eyes.  “It’s just going to fucking kill her.”

“She’s not going to find out.”

Val looked away, tears threatening to spill out of his wide eyes.  “Fuck,” he wheezed, jamming them shut.

Tony swallowed hard and took the back of Val’s neck in his hand, tugging him in.

Val exploded into sobs on his father’s shoulder, clutching the back of his t-shirt in tight fists, nearly ripping the fabric.

“I’ll handle it,” Tony soothed, his unblinking eyes darting back and forth over Val’s shoulder as he clapped a hand to his back. “I’ll handle it, Son.  It’s okay.”

***

Leo made his way through his living room that night, sidestepping the sultry bodies all over his apartment.  If he wasn’t tripping over sprawled arms and legs, he was dodging overturned wine bottles, glass bongs and purses overflowing with cosmetics and prescription bottles.

“Leeeeoooo!” a petite blonde angel waved at him from where she was crouched next to his coffee table.  Her smile faded as she pressed one nostril closed with her manicured finger and leaned down.

Leo turned away before he could see her inhale the white powder she’d worked into a line on the table, pulling open the door of his balcony.

One of the highest dwellings in the city, the views from his penthouse were unrivaled, so a majority of the women were on the balcony.  It was the only place to be, nippy weather be damned.

With a sigh, he stepped through the sliding doors and into the cool night air, immediately flanked by soft bodies, sultry voices, and suggestive words of welcome.  He brushed away the advances of every curvy body that approached.

“Leeeoooooo, let’s have some
fun.
”

“Not tonight, ahh… umm…” He studied the eyes of the lithe beauty in his arms, faltering.

“Monica!” she beamed, giving him a halfhearted slap on the arm.

“Of course.”  The corner of his mouth lifted.  “I knew that.”

She rolled her eyes and turned away.

“Of course your name is Monica, baby, I
knew
that,” he called after her.  More girls came, one after the next. He allowed them to slither in close, to rub their beautiful bodies against his.  He even grabbed a handful of ass with his gluttonous palm from a few of his favorites.  The smack of skin permeated the biting air, and the chocolate vixen on his arm bit her lip at the sound.  “Mmmm…
Leeeooooo
… let’s go to the bedroom, baby.”

“Not tonight…. Ah…” He hissed.  “Urrrr…”

“Jasmine!”

“Jasmine.”  He smiled.  “Of course.”

“God,” she scoffed through her smile, shaking her head.

“Why don’t you go inside and make yourself a drink, Jasmine.”

“Maybe we’ll link up later?” she asked, over her shoulder.

His cheeks tightened.  “Maybe.”

Melancholy moans and pouted lips followed as he turned down what seemed to be a never-ending stream of sexual propositions and promises, only moving to the glass railing of his balcony when there wasn’t a single heart left to break.  He took the railing in his hands, drinking in the city lights.  Even the streets, seventy stories down, glowed like they were lined with white candles.  The Empire State Building soared in the distance, miles away, but appeared close enough to touch.

“
Leeeeoooo
.”

Clutching the railing, Leo looked toward the sunken Jacuzzi in the far corner of the balcony, toward that high, beseeching voice, and locked eyes with the voluptuous red head.  She smiled, a waterfall splashing down from her arm as she lifted it into the air and reached for him.  When he didn’t come, she bit her red bottom lip.

A blonde swam in next to her and sucked her earlobe between her lips.  Foamy water bubbled around their pert pink nipples.

“Not tonight, sweetheart,” Leo said, eyes falling to her breasts.

The redhead poked her lips out.  “Did you meet a nice girl?  You only get like this when you’ve met a nice girl.”

“Are you breaking up with us?”  The blonde laughed, meeting his eyes.

Leo clicked his tongue.  “Never, ahh…”

“Genevieve!”

“I
know.
”  He beamed.  “And never, Genevieve.  Never that.”

***

Zoey brushed her fingers along Val’s stubbly jaw as she walked through the door he held open for her, stepping into their apartment.

Val saw a chill race down her spine. She hugged her arms around her body.

The door slammed closed behind him, and he covered her protruding stomach with his hand before he went to the thermostat across the room, turning the heat up. The room swam with warmth.  He continued to watch the thermostat’s digital screen, bracing his hands against the wall on either side of it.

“Are you waiting for that thermostat to flash you her tits?  Because I really don’t think she’s that kind of girl,” Zoey teased.  When his head suddenly fell, and stayed down, she sighed.  “What is it, Val?”

He pushed off the wall and faced her.  They held each other’s eyes across the room, and then he swept his coat off his body.

Her eyes followed him as he moved across their open loft, dropping his coat across the half-assembled white crib in the corner on his way into the state-of-the-art kitchen.

Zoey stared at the crib, and couldn’t help it as her gaze moved along the various boxes that lined the wall. The gifts from friends and family piled up more each day as news of her pregnancy spread—furniture, high chairs, swings and toys.  All untouched.  All unopened.

“Are you going to talk to me?” she asked, eyes narrowing.

With his back to her, he ran his hands over the beanie on his head, back and forth, before finally ripping it off.  The bright kitchen lights caught his rumpled dark hair, making it gleam as his arms came down to his sides.

“I hate when you turn your back to me like that.”

“I’m not turning my back to you, Zo.  I’m in the kitchen.”

Zoey’s gaze lowered, rose back to the half-built crib, and then she took a sudden, fierce hold of the dining chair next to her, almost tipping it over.

Val fetched a pill bottle from the cabinet, turning just in time to see her grab the chair.

The pills clattered in the plastic bottle as he raced across the room, taking the chair she clutched and pulling it out.  “Sit down.”

Zoey took the hand he offered and obliged, eyes jamming shut as she fell into the chair.  “Just a little dizziness, that’s all.”

He twisted open the pill bottle.  “You were on your back when I woke up this morning.  You gotta stop that, baby.  You know how it messes with your blood pressure.”

“Well, I can’t lie on my stomach and roll around all night like Humpty Dumpty, and lying on my side is uncomfortable as hell.  It’s not like I can control what my body does while I’m asleep.”

“We should ask the doctor if there are steps we can take to keep you off your back.”

“Once upon a time you couldn’t wait to get me on my back.  What do you think got us here?”  She pointed to her belly.

He rammed the bottle on the table, making the pills rattle.  “Take your pill.”

“Will you sit down and talk to me?” she asked, watching him make his way back to the kitchen while clawing his fingers through his dark hair.  She fingered out a prenatal pill and swallowed it without water, even as he filled a glass at the fridge.

When he turned back with the glass of water, he stopped mid-step, seeing that she’d already inhaled the pill.  He pulled another bottle from the cabinet before making his way back to the table.

This time, he set the bottle down patiently.  “We forgot these.”

Zoey accepted the water and the second bottle of pills, swallowing them as he took the seat next to her.  When she was done, she sighed and met his eyes, smiling when he covered her hand with his on top of the table.   He squeezed tight, almost to the point of pain.

“Is it Novsky?” she asked.

He squeezed his eyes shut, running his hands down his face.  “Novsky, Rome, life, everything.”

“Everything?  Even you and me?”

“You and me is the only thing in the world that still makes sense anymore.”

“How do we change that?  As the CEO of a major corporation, I think it’s safe to say that you and I
can’t
be the only thing that makes sense to you.  There are a lot of other things in your life that need to make sense, too.”  She squeezed his hand.  “I hate seeing you upset.  I hate even more not knowing
what
it is that’s upsetting you, because that pretty much solidifies that there’s nothing I can do to help you fix it.”

His eyes opened and pounded into hers.  “Just be here, baby.  Just let me see you.   Let me touch you.”  He breathed deep.  “That’s all I need.”

“Apparently not.  You touch me every night.  You see me every night.  And I mean
all
of me.”

He looked away when a blush hit his cheeks.

“Even your smiles are distracted.  Halfhearted.  Around for a minute, and then gone again.”

“When have I ever been a smiler, Zo?”

She giggled.  “Never.”

“Exactly.”

“I used to pride myself on being the only person who could make you smile.  Now I can’t even do it.”

Val lifted her hand and pressed it to his chest.  “You make me smile in here, baby.”

“I love that.  But I also love making you smile here…” She brushed her knuckle along the edge of his lips.  “And here…” The corner of his eyes.

He tilted his head and kissed her palm.

“You know…  It might be cheesy, but you’re like my hero, Val.”

His eyes shot back to hers.

“You’re seriously my superhero.  And you’re going to be her superhero, too.”  She looked down at her stomach, and back up at him.  “Whatever it is… we can fix it.  Because together? The three of us?  We’re untouchable.”

His breathing picked up.  “Nobody’s untouchable, Zo.”

“Nobody but us,” she insisted.  “We.  Are.  Bulletproof.”

Val gazed off into the space over her shoulder.  His lips turned.  His bones tightened.

Zoey took the tip of her nail between her teeth.  “How are my words of reassurance only making it worse?  Huh?  How do I stop the wheels spinning in your head right now?”  When he didn’t answer, she removed her nail from her mouth and began to sing softly under her breath.  The lyrics of David Guetta’s “Titanium” wafted softly through her lips, and a mousy smile lit up her face when her voice broke.

He leaned in.

She did too.

Holding her gaze, he bent down, took the leg of her chair, and yanked it forward.

Zoey squealed as the chair screeched across the white marble floors, but the sound was muffled when he covered her lips with his.

A moan pushed in.

Val dove deeper, thrusting his tongue inside.