by Tee O'Fallon
Staying here tonight was going to be one of the toughest assignments Gray ever had. Then again, Dom could have been grinning like an idiot over Daisy.
It hadn’t escaped Gray that his partner couldn’t take his eyes off Alex’s friend and seemed all too eager to drive her home. It was like he’d been bushwhacked by Cupid. Gray hadn’t seen him interested in a woman since…the day that changed both their lives.
The sound of a door shutting yanked him back to reality. That, and the pounding of little feet as Nicky ran down the hall. The boy’s exuberance was impossible to ignore, so Gray lifted him into his arms.
“You’re back, Mr. Policeman.” Nicky looped his arms around Gray’s neck. “I’m glad.”
“So am I.” The words were out of his mouth before he could take them back. He glanced at Alex, whose lips held the barest hint of a smile.
Gray was unable to resist smiling into Nicky’s dark brown eyes. Eyes so different from Alex’s in color, yet not so different. The more he looked at Nicky, the more of Alex he saw in the boy. Nicky may have gotten his father’s dark coloring, but his aristocratic features were all Alex.
“How old are you?” he asked, figuring the boy was between six and eight.
Nicky held up one hand with all his fingers extended, and his other hand with his index finger sticking out. “I’ll be seven soon.”
“You’re a very big boy,” Gray said, smiling.
Nodding, Nicky touched his hand to Gray’s jaw. “Your beard is rough. How old are you?”
Gray laughed. “I’m thirty-six.”
Nicky twisted his face into a grimace. “Wow, you’re old.”
Again he laughed, and caught Alex watching him with what looked like amused shock. “What, you didn’t know I was that old?”
“It’s not that.” Alex reached up to smooth Nicky’s hair from his eyes, and as she did, her perfume wafted to Gray’s nose. “I haven’t seen you smile in the last few days, except when you and my son are having very grown-up discussions about your ages and shaving.”
Gray uttered an acknowledging grunt. He hadn’t felt the urge to smile since the day he’d discovered that twenty grand in Alex’s bank account. Keeping his distance from Alex had turned him into a cranky bastard. His change of thoughts must have shown on his face, because Alex had stopped grinning.
“Time for bed, sweetie.” She slipped past Gray through the open door and waited for him to carry Nicky inside.
“Nooo, Mommy.” Nicky tightened his arms around Gray’s neck. “I want to stay up with you and Mr. Policeman.”
“I thought I told you to call me Gray.” He stared down into Nicky’s wide, innocent eyes.
“I want to stay up with you and Gray,” Nicky insisted as Alex shut the door behind them.
“Not tonight.” She reached out to take Nicky from him.
To his amazement, Nicky clung so tightly to him that Alex couldn’t extricate his little arms from around his neck.
“If I tuck you into bed, will you be a good boy and go to sleep?” Gray asked.
Nicky brightened. “Okay.”
Gray tipped his head to Alex, indicating she should lead the way to Nicky’s bedroom. “Then we have to talk.” About things he wasn’t sure Alex would like, but it was in Nicky’s best interest that she at least listen.
After following Alex to Nicky’s room, he watched her help Nicky into his New York Yankees pajamas then down to fold back the covers on the bed. With his unintentional birds-eye view of her mounding swells of cleavage beckoning to him, the synapses in his brain crackled like gunfire.
Nicky grabbed Alex’s sleeve. “Mommy, can we finish the book before I go to sleep?”
She smiled and picked up a thin children’s book, The Littlest Yankee. “Of course.” Her gaze slid to Gray. “We only have three more pages. He’s a die-hard Yankee fan.”
“I remember.” He glanced at Nicky’s Yankee pajamas. “Good night, Nicky.”
“’Night, Gray.” Nicky yawned as Alex kicked off her shoes and settled next to her son on the bed.
Gray turned at the doorway to watch them. For a moment, he pictured himself on the other side of Nicky, the boy snuggled against his chest as Alex read him a bedtime story.
Was the money payment for her to get close to him? To learn what the NYPD knew about the Pyramid?
The loving, maternal picture before him began chipping away at his doubts. Then again, Nicky could be exactly why Alex took the bribe. She needed money for her son, and nothing would stand in the way of her getting it. Even him.
He cleared his throat. “I’ll wait for you in the living room.”
As Gray walked around the rest of the apartment, he could hear Alex’s smooth, even voice reading to Nicky. He had to admire her ability to shield her son from the ugly truth. Gray could only imagine how protective he’d be of his own child, but getting married and having children seemed like a remote possibility at the moment. With all the messed-up memories banging around in his head, getting hitched was the last thing on his mind.
He headed to the kitchen, where he’d draped the coveralls over a chair earlier. He grabbed a pair of latex gloves from one of the pockets then took out the plastic baggie containing the note left in Nicky’s mitt. Carefully, he pulled the note from the baggie and unfolded it. With only a few typed words, the veiled threat against Alex and Nicky was obvious. Still not sufficient for him to put in another request for official police protection for them but enough to confirm his decision to protect them himself.
After refolding the note and putting it back into the baggie, he stuffed it inside his duffel and tossed his latex gloves into the kitchen garbage can. As much time as he’d spent in Alex’s living room yesterday, he’d been distracted and was now getting his first real look at the kitchen.
The walls were pale yellow, contrasting with the deeply golden oak table and chairs. Hung here and there were framed photos of flowers and vegetables. Wrought-iron shelving held copper pots and dishware. The floor of the kitchen and hallway was covered in what appeared to be old but clean Kashmiri-style rugs. He recognized them from his time in the Middle East and wondered how Alex could afford them. An old girlfriend once told Gray that genuine, antique Kashmiri rugs were very expensive.
Warning flags began to wave in the back of Gray’s head, but then he recalled overhearing two women at One PP discussing how Alex spent her spare time scavenging yard sales, so he supposed it was possible she acquired them legitimately and at low prices. She’d obviously been on a very tight budget for quite some time, which was why the Pyramid had chosen her. Like One PP’s janitor, she had major money problems.
But did they also choose her because she has access to the lead detective on the Pyramid case?
Gray shoved his hands into his pockets. His internal truth detector had to be on the fritz. His gut told him Alex hadn’t used him to get confidential police information, but too many lives were at stake for him to ever fully trust his instincts again. He needed proof.
“Dammit.” Protocol dictated that if anyone was officially assigned to protect Alex at night, it would be a policewoman. Lt. Frye would have his ass over his breach of conduct for staying overnight at Alex’s apartment. And he didn’t give a shit.
“Something wrong?” Alex stood near the sofa, a pile of sheets, a blanket, and towels piled high in her arms.
“No.” When he shook his head, she gave him a look that said she didn’t believe him. He took the back cushions and embroidered pillows from the sofa and stacked them neatly on the floor. Wordlessly, they made up the sofa with the sheets and blanket.
When they were done, he sat on one end of the sofa. “Let’s talk.” He hoped like hell she’d sit on the other end like she did last night. If he had to take in any more of her perfume or glimpses of her cleavage, he’d get a hard-on the size of the Empire State Building. Grateful didn’t begin to describe what he experienced when she sat as far away from him as possible.
“I’ve made arrangements for
Nicky,” he began.
Alex paused as she tucked a thick lock of blond hair behind her ear. “What kind of arrangements?”
“If you agree, tomorrow we’ll drive Nicky to Hopewell Springs. Cassie and her husband, Mike, have agreed to take him in until this is over. You said he doesn’t need his next treatment for another three weeks and your part in this operation should be over long before then. He’ll be safe there. I promise.”
Alex looked at him warily. “Does Cassie know everything, including what you think I’ve done?”
Gray nodded. He knew she was referring to the part about her using him. “I told her today.”
“Then why would she be willing to care for my son?” Her tone was laced with suspicion and anxiety. “She must think I’m a total bitch for using you.”
“Actually, she doesn’t believe you did that.” Odd, since Gray wasn’t sure of it himself. “Cassie understood you using the money to pay for Nicky’s treatment. She said she would die to keep her unborn child safe.”
“But you don’t believe me.” Alex clenched her jaw.
Shit, I honestly don’t know.
Yes, you do know.
Rather than answer her question, he stated the one truth he was sure of. “Nicky is an innocent, and I’ll keep him safe. Taking him to Cassie’s is the best way I know how to do this.”
Alex narrowed her eyes. “The department won’t provide official protection?”
“Not an option.” He’d already investigated that possibility.
“Why not?” She looked at him with disbelief. “You said it yourself, Pyramid assassins are dangerous. If they find out I’m cooperating with the police to set them up, don’t you think they’ll kill me? Or worse, hurt Nicky?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think.” Although that was exactly what he’d been worrying about every second since Alex signed that damned cooperator agreement. “Officially sanctioned police protection is only offered to crucial witnesses whose testimony is considered by the District Attorney’s Office to be critical to the prosecution of a criminal case, and which puts the witness in immediate danger.”
Gray ran a hand through his hair, exasperated at the logistical reality of the situation. “You’re a witness, but there’s nothing you’re privy to yet that would convict anyone. As far as Nicky goes, he’s not a witness to anything.” He paused to let that sink in, watching the play of emotions on Alex’s face. “You should be thankful for the money the department agreed to pay for Nicky’s treatments.”
“And what good will those treatments be if my son gets killed?” Alex’s eyes were bright with anger that lasered straight through Gray’s chest. “So leaving my son in the care of virtual strangers—let alone strangers who might have a grudge against me—is my only option?”
“They’re not strangers to me,” Gray answered. “I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t think he’d be safe with my sister and her husband. Cassie may have turned in her badge, but she’s still a cop at heart, even though she won’t admit it. And Mike is the chief of police.”
Gray watched Alex with a growing sense of just how hard this separation from her son would be. “Nicky will be safe with them.”
Alex let out a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll tell Nicky in the morning. I’ll have to call his school and make something up as to why he’ll be out for a while.”
“We’ll drive upstate first thing in the morning.” Gray watched as she rose from the sofa, knowing she was straddling a fine line between keeping it together and losing it. He prayed she didn’t lose it. If she did, he’d be hard-pressed not to take her in his arms and comfort her, and he didn’t trust himself that things wouldn’t spiral out of control from there.
“If there’s nothing else you need,” Alex said, then chewed her bottom lip, “I’ll say good night.”
“Good night.” Gray watched her head down the hallway.
When he heard the door firmly shut, he brushed his teeth in the kitchen sink, then shucked his shirt and slacks and lay on the sofa. The backlit dial on his watch said ten o’clock, but he couldn’t sleep.
The memory of Alex’s son exhibiting such unabashed affection made him smile. He hardly knew Nicky, but somehow the little guy had charmed his way into Gray’s heart. Making sure Nicky was safe was his number-one priority.
Then there was Alex.
Tough though it was, he had to focus on maintaining case integrity by not tainting any of his actions. His only job where Alex Romano was concerned was to get the evidence he needed to nail the Pyramid—and keep Alex and her son safe in the process. Then he would end all association with her.
Gray punched his pillow. He seriously doubted he’d get a wink of shut-eye tonight.
…
Alex jerked upright. Beside her on the nightstand, her cell phone shrilled.
The room was still cloaked in darkness, but the phone’s screen lit up the adjacent wall. She grabbed the phone. Her heart pounded. One look at the number on the digital display and her pulse went from fast to light speed. She didn’t recognize the number. Which could only mean one thing.
It was them.
She lunged for the light switch on the table lamp. Her hands shook as she fumbled for the digital recorder Gray had given her. Thank God she’d put it on her nightstand before going to bed. She stuck the earpiece into her ear, pushed the tiny red button on the recorder, took a deep breath, and answered the call.
“H—hello?” Her voice sounded breathy, panicked.
“It’s time to pay your debt,” the now-familiar female voice said. “Friday at noon. Bring the files to the corner of Sutphin Boulevard and 119th Avenue, South Jamaica, Queens.”
God, this is really happening.
Alex startled as Gray appeared in front of her. He made a circling motion with his finger, indicating she should continue talking.
“This Friday?” she repeated, her eyes locked onto Gray’s. “I don’t know if I can get them by then.”
“Do you love your son?” The accented voice held a discernible tinge of annoyance.
Alex clenched her teeth to keep from screaming. The touch of Gray’s hand on her bare shoulder was the only thing keeping her grounded, but even he couldn’t contain the firestorm brewing in her head.
“You bitch,” she hissed. “If you touch my son…if you so much as look at him, I’ll rip you apart with my bare hands.”
Feminine laughter came over the phone. “You are in no position to make threats. This Friday. Come alone, or else…”
The phone beeped in Alex’s ear, indicating the call had been disconnected. Gray pried the phone from her rigid fingers and set it on the nightstand. Next, his hands were on her shoulders. He was saying something to her, but all she heard was that bitch’s threat to hurt Nicky repeating in her brain.
Alex began to shake. Suddenly cold, she wrapped her arms around herself. All she had on was a short silk lavender sheath that went with her matching robe. Ironically, it occurred to her these garments were the only things Nicky’s father had given her that she’d kept. Everything else, she’d tossed long ago.
Gray pulled her against something solid and warm—his bare chest. Soothing hands stroked her back. Knowing she shouldn’t, Alex slid her arms around him, gripping his back, urging him to hold her closer. Which he did. The immense comfort was overwhelming in its intensity. It felt so right. He felt so right.
Steely muscles flexed beneath her fingers. Her cheek rested against his firm pectoral muscle. The remnants of his clean, fresh aftershave came to her, and she breathed him in. With his hands still gently stroking her back through the ultra-thin silk material, her shaking began to ease.
“It’ll be okay,” Gray murmured, his lips against the side of her head. “You did good.”
“I was so angry,” she whispered, then pulled away. Tears nearly spilled out. Determined to be strong, she blinked them back. “That bitch threatened my baby.”
He clenched his jaw. “And one day she’ll pay for that.”
Shudders racked her body and suddenly Gray’s lips were on her forehead, her cheeks, easing her anxiety as nothing else could. In some deep recess of her brain, she knew that’s all it was, but she could no sooner have pushed him away than she could stop breathing. He was what she needed, and right now she needed him more than ever.
Wearing nothing but her sheath and equally thin silk panties, Alex felt his erection pressed firmly against her belly and realized the only clothing he wore was skin-tight boxer briefs. And he was hard. For her.
Last week when he’d kissed her she’d thought her body was alive, but that was nothing compared to this. Fire blossomed in her core, and she pushed her hips forward, intensifying the contact. Wanting, no—needing—to be closer.
Hot, electrifying currents shot through her, eliciting a moan as his lips found hers. The kiss was gentle at first, his lips warm, molding to hers. Gray wrapped one arm around her back, his hand gripping her ass, pulling her even tighter against him.
He tugged her silk sheath higher until the rough hairs on his thighs brushed against the soft skin near her mound. The friction grew, and Alex found herself grinding against the full length of him.
I want this. God, how I want this. More than anything. This was how it should be. All heat and desire. Bodies touching, merging until there was no space between them.
His tongue slipped between her lips as he kissed her, groaning deep in his throat.
When her hands slid down his back, thick muscle rippled beneath her fingers. With a passion she didn’t know existed within herself, she undulated against him, wetness flowing and dampening her panties.
Gray hooked her thighs around his waist, pushing her against the wall. His long, thick erection pressed intimately against her throbbing sex, and she couldn’t stop herself from rubbing against him.
When she opened her mouth and moaned, he thrust his tongue inside and again kissed her deeply. Her stomach muscles tightened. Her nipples hardened, aching for his touch. If he didn’t put his mouth on her breasts soon, Alex thought she would die.
