Crash Into Me

by L. A. Fiore

  “Good. Then we’re even.”

  “Carmine is dangerous,” he said. “But he’s like a brother.”

  Remembering the man in question, that didn’t surprise me. “I saw a bit of you in him.” Then a thought had me stopping mid chew. “Does he know about me?”

  His expression shifted, his voice a growl. “Yes.”

  “Hmm.” I reached for a fry. “Who was the model?”

  He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “Why? You jealous?” he teased.

  “At the time, I was hurt, not jealous.”

  He grabbed my chin, held my gaze to his. “Smoke and mirrors.” He kissed me. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  He released me and reached for his beer. “I was there because there were rumors of another attempt on Gregory Enzi senior’s life, and I was making sure Carmine didn’t lose his shit. He’s a bit of a hothead,” he said, then waited. And I knew what he was waiting for. I was there with vice, the line in the sand clear, and we were on opposite sides of it.

  “Like you pointed out, I’m not vice.” I didn’t know what he was expecting, but his head lowered, and he nodded once. “Hey.” I got his face, and damn, but I’d never get tired of looking at him. “I don’t know much about Carmine, but if he’s anything like you, I know I’ll like him.” I touched his arm, his focus going to my hand, before lifting back to my face. “He’s not their target.” I probably shouldn’t have shared that, but I did because I knew what I wanted. I was looking right at him.

  The look I was coming to really love swept his expression before he kissed me again. “I choose you,” he whispered against my lips.

  Three words and I was a goner. I touched his face. “Say it again.”

  He didn’t smile or grin, but said it almost solemnly, a vow. “I choose you.”

  I kissed him. It was then that I knew I didn’t just choose Kade Wakefield. I was in love with him.

  Kade wanted me to go home with him, but I took the plane back with Zac because I wanted to tell him about Kade. He took the news better than I thought.

  “You’re dating Kade Wakefield,” he said, his expression almost as incredulous as his words.

  It was more than dating, way more than dating. “Yes.”

  “He was in Los Angeles to see you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why didn’t you go back with him? I’m sure he has a private plane.”

  “I wanted to tell you about him.”

  “You do realize that, though, there are no active investigations on him, he doesn’t just dip is toe over the line.”

  “We both know what we’re getting into, know that things will need to change to make it work. But he’s a good man, Zac. You know me, you know I wouldn’t fall for someone who wasn’t.”

  He nodded because he did know.

  “If it comes down to it, I’m choosing him.”

  That earned me his face. “What?”

  “I love the job, you know how much I love it, but I…”

  “Fuck, you’re in love with him.”

  “I am. It happened so fast. Blindsided me, but from the minute we walked into his office, I knew.”

  He pulled a hand through his hair, let out a breath. “If we’re being honest, I knew then, too.” I wasn’t surprised. Zac was an excellent detective. “You leaving the job doesn’t work for me.”

  “I don’t want it to come to that, either.”

  “Good. Well, if you can keep Kade Wakefield walking a semi-straight path, that’s one less thing we’ve got to worry about,” he teased, then sobered, and added, “Be careful.”

  “I will.”

  “But I’m happy that you’re happy.”

  I reached for his hand and squeezed. It was why we worked so well together because we were more than partners; we were friends.

  Fourteen

  “Whoever created his background is good, damn good,” Harvey said, “It’s like Jason Benjamin was conjured out of thin air. I’m not giving up, but I’d like to know who built his profile because they’re CIA level good. What I have uncovered is he was handpicked for Katrina Dent. Practically custom-made for her and I mean custom-made. He had work done, his nose augmented, his lips changed, so he looked more like what she liked.”

  Kade leaned back in his chair, intrigued. “Who footed that bill?”

  “Her parents.” Harvey moved to the edge of his seat. “Her parents introduced her to Jason Benjamin, and soon, he wasn’t just her beau, but he was representing her, handling contracts. I have to admit; he did a damn good job. Katrina Dent had a stellar career, traveled all over the world filming movies, and Jason was there, every step of the way.”

  “Was Katrina consulted about the life her parents and Jason had planned for her?” Kade asked disgustedly.

  “That’s what’s interesting. Tony Dent had a thing for playing the ponies, lost more than he made, was in it for some serious dough and then in stepped Jason, offering him the golden goose.”

  “In it to whom?” Kade asked.

  Harvey pointed at him. “Right question. Family was originally from Brooklyn, owed a low-level loan shark who I traced back to none other than Gregory Enzi senior.”

  Well fuck.

  “Parents got in too deep then Jason Benjamin magically appeared, who happened to turn their child into a star.”

  Kade didn’t like where this was going when he followed the logic. “He was part of Enzi’s crew.” Molly was right in the fucking middle of it.

  “I can’t prove any of this, just following the breadcrumbs, but that’s what I think. Dent was into him for fifty large, but he had a beautiful daughter, and Enzi had the contacts. Got his foot in the door of the Hollywood elite and the money to be made from dealing drugs…certainly an incentive to make the dream a reality.” Harvey shook his head. “Katrina Dent was a pawn in the truest sense of the word.”

  “Son of a bitch.”

  “Other interesting tidbit, their daughter died, Jason disappeared, and their income flow stopped until almost a year to the day when the same sum, twenty grand a month, was deposited into their account like clockwork.” Harvey leaned back in his chair. “Who’s paying them and why?”

  “Enzi. They showed their loyalty by keeping their mouths shut for a year. Reward them with a payoff.” Why hadn’t the authorities, at the time, followed the money? “And Katrina’s death?”

  Harvey rubbed a hand over his head. “I got to say, from everything I’ve found it looks like a suicide. She started withdrawing from friends, missing public appearances, she even started acting differently, more closed-off and guarded.”

  “And Jason?”

  “No trace of him. I’m still looking, but again, whoever arranged for him to disappear was good. Even for organized crime, his shit was sealed up tight. Another interesting tidbit, Katrina went away in nineteen eighty-four, a mental health break they claimed.”

  “But?”

  “She was in the maternity ward, but there was never an announcement of a child.”

  “The baby wasn’t Jason Benjamin’s.” Kade resisted the urge to pull a hand through his hell, but fucking hell.

  “That’s my guess. Found the woman who worked the ward, was the nurse on record for Katrina Dent. She moved back to Manhattan years ago. She’s going to be at the Art Institute Gala tomorrow night.”

  “You’re a little dangerous,” Kade said.

  “Yeah, but I’ve never been able to dig up anything on you, and I’ve tried.”

  Kade would have been disappointed if he hadn’t tried, but he’d never find anything. Harvey was good, but Kade knew better.

  Harvey reached into his briefcase and pulled out a file that he dropped on Kade’s desk. “Info on one of the names you asked about.”

  “Thanks, Harvey.”

  He stood. “
I’ll be in touch when I have more.”

  Kade walked him to the door, offered his hand. “They’ll be a bonus in your account. Appreciate the speed.”

  “Anytime.”

  “Penelope,” he called from the door.

  “Yes, Mr. Wakefield.”

  “Confirm my attendance to the Art Institute gala.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Upside to all this bullshit, he’d get to dress his woman again and then undress her.

  He closed the door and walked back to his desk. Lifted the file and scanned the contents. “Son of a bitch.”

  “What’s going on with you?” Carmine asked Kade that night. They were on the back patio, surrounded by manicured lawns, tended garden beds and woods. He had purchased the estate in the suburbs, as a tax write off, but it had grown on him. He liked the quiet, the open space, even the history of the place that Benson went out of his way to share. “Talk to me about the cop.”

  “She knows,” Kade said, and waited for Carmine to lose his shit.

  He didn’t disappoint when he stood so fast he knocked his chair over. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

  Kade’s words were clipped. “How long have you known me?”

  “She’s a fucking cop, was working with vice.”

  “She told me you’re not their target.”

  “Of course she’s going to tell—”

  Kade was up and had Carmine against the wall in a heartbeat. “You forget who you’re talking to.” His tone menacing.

  Carmine shrugged him off and stalked away from him. Pacing to get a hold of his temper. “You’re telling me you’re looking at the big picture.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re not letting your cock do the thinking?”

  “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just ask me that.”

  Carmine stopped pacing, looked at his friend, really looked at him. “Shit, she’s not just a fuck.”

  Kade bit back. “No.”

  “And she knows about DeNuzzi.”

  “Yes.”

  “And?”

  “She said she didn’t see a crime there.”

  Carmine pulled a hand through his hair. “I can’t believe you’re sleeping with the fucking NYPD.”

  “Not all, just one.”

  Carmine stopped pacing, looked back at his friend, then laughed out loud. Kade relaxed his stance.

  “I took her to Antigua.”

  Carmine stopped laughing. “No shit? She’s that important.”

  Kade returned to his seat, reached for his whiskey, took a sip. “I’m only just beginning to realize how important.”

  Carmine sat on the edge of the chair and dropped his elbows on his knees. “Fuck, man. Surprised as fuck it’s a cop, but seeing her in person, I get the appeal.”

  Kade leveled hard eyes on his friend.

  Carmine put his hands up and laughed. “Just an observation,” he said, and then added sincerely, “I’m happy for you. So what happens now?”

  Kade wanted Molly in his apartment and his bed. It was one of the things they needed to discuss. “I make it known she’s mine.”

  “What do you think her partner and boss are going to say?”

  “She took the commercial flight back with her partner to tell him.”

  “And what if she gets push back?”

  Kade wasn’t going to let that happen. They could find a way where she didn’t have to give up her career. “She wants me.”

  “She’d give it up?” Carmine was incredulous.

  “Yeah,” Kade said, lifted his glass, and added, “I’d give it all up for her.”

  Those words rendered his lifelong friend speechless but not for long. “Well, then it’s time you introduce your woman to your family.”

  Kade didn’t miss a beat. “Why do you think you’re here?”

  The doorbell turned Carmine’s head. “You sneaky bastard.”

  Kade knew there was a good chance Carmine wouldn’t show if he knew Molly was coming. He was a crime lord, after all, and she was a cop, so he took the option off the table.

  Benson appeared and right behind him was Molly. He hadn’t told her either, but she took one look at Carmine, smiled, and crossed the patio to him. “I guess he told you,” she said, in way of greeting.

  “You do realize the last time we met you had me under surveillance,” Carmine said.

  “Yeah, but I was moonlighting. I work with the dead, not the living.”

  “Moonlighting?”

  “To keep myself distracted.”

  “Really?” he said and moved closer. “Why?”

  “I think you know why,” she countered.

  “I think I do, too, which begs the question why Kade was out with a Victoria Secret’s model that night,” Carmine said, both of them turning their attention to Kade.

  He stood, crossed the patio, pulled Molly close and kissed her, and long enough that when he broke the kiss, she didn’t remember what they were discussing.

  Carmine laughed. “That won’t work on me, Brother.”

  Benson appeared. “Dinner is served.”

  After dinner, Kade watched Molly and Carmine and wasn’t surprised how easily they got along. She was sharing some story about her neighbor, her eyes bright with laughter. Carmine caught Kade’s attention a few times during the evening, giving him his approval. He didn’t need it, but he was glad to have it. And for the rest of the night, he watched the woman who had bewitched him, bewitch his brother.

  His cock was still inside her, and as much as he wanted to go another round, they had shit to discuss. He kissed her, long and hard, then pulled out of her. He didn’t stay in bed because she was too tempting, looking as she did, soft and sated.

  “We need to talk.”

  “Now?”

  He grabbed her hand and dragged her from bed. “Now.”

  He pulled on sweats; she pulled on his tee. He led her to the kitchen, so he could put the island between them because her in just his tee was fucking distracting.

  “I talked to my PI.”

  Soft and sated shifted. His cop was looking back now.

  “He found a possible link between Jason Benjamin and Gregory Enzi senior.”

  She was off the stool. “What?” She started to pace. “Okay, tell me everything.

  “Tony Dent liked to gamble, was in it to a loan shark for fifty grand, one who had a link back to Enzi.”

  Her eyes went wide. “Enzi saw Katrina, had contacts in Hollywood, made her a star, opened up a new revenue stream with selling drugs to the Hollywood crowd.”

  He loved watching her work. She was a damn fine detective. “Yes.”

  “Which explained Jason’s fabricated name because he had mob connections.” She pulled a hand through her hair. “So did Katrina learn who Jason was connected to? Was that what led to her death?”

  “There’s more. My guy found evidence that when she went away in eighty-four for a mental health break that she actually had a baby.”

  Her jaw dropped. “There’s no record of a baby.” She dragged a hand through her hair. “Why didn’t the coroner note that in the autopsy?” Her focus shifted back to him. “It wasn’t Jason’s.”

  “Our thinking, too.”

  She was moving again, working it out. “So a young girl was forced into stardom because of money. Her fiancé was unyielding, but she found a bit of happiness, got pregnant. It would ruin her image if people learned of her baby, so they hid her away, she gave birth, they took the baby.” She stopped pacing. “They took her baby.” Her eyes turned bright. “How the hell did she bear that? Unless she didn’t, unless she tried to find her baby, but there were those who wanted the secret kept, which points the finger at Enzi senior, the man behind the creation of Katrina Dent.” She paled, realizing just how da
rk a road her case was traveling down. “Jason killed Katrina. Enzi would know Jason, even with a different name, so Jason carried out the order and then went back to the Enzi crew or broke free, and with Enzi having his foothold in Hollywood, and Jason having a body on him, Enzi knew he was safe from Jason talking.” Wide blue eyes found his. “Frank figured out who Jason was, that’s why he was killed, why Samantha and Emily were killed.”

  “So who is he?”

  “I don’t know, but I need to share this with Zac.”

  “There’s more.”

  Molly had been heading for her phone but stopped and looked back at him. “One of the women who worked the maternity ward, when Katrina was there, is going to be at the Art Institute Gala tomorrow.”

  She moved right into him, pressed her soft curves against his hard body. “Want a job?” she teased. “Zac is going to want to be there.”

  “I figured.” And he had. An extra half a million donation and he was granted a plus two. He wasn’t going to share that with her.

  “He can come?” she asked.

  “As long as he’s got a tux.”

  She kissed him. He didn’t hesitate to take the kiss deeper. Then he lifted her, carried her back to the bedroom. “You can fill in your partner in the morning.”

  Her voice was a husky whisper. “Good idea.”

  The following morning, before Kade dropped Molly at work, he sat in a personal dressing room. Two women were bringing in gowns for Molly to try on for the gala. He knew which one he liked, the black cocktail dress with a dipping v-neckline and opened back that fell just to her mid thigh. She looked exquisite in it, even more exquisite out of it.

  She appeared wearing a silver gown, sheer top, with appliqués over her breasts, and a full skirt. She walked like she was on the catwalk, swaying her hips and turning to give him her back. “Yes? No?”

  “Nice, would look nicer pooled at your feet.”

  “That’s a no,” she muttered and went back into the dressing room. He stood, dismissed the women, who didn’t hide the looks they were giving him. He stepped into the room; she knew it was him when she stopped working the zipper. “I wondered how long you’d wait,” she said, a bit breathlessly.