by Leroux, Lucy
I’ll cook every other night, he promised himself before retiring to his office to make a few calls. Twenty minutes later, he was speed-dialing Jason.
His partner could barely understand him because Ethan was talking so fast. Forcing himself to slow down, he took a deep breath.
“I said…there was this guy here today. Juliet thought he was with the electricians, but he wasn’t. The electricians thought he was with the plumbers, but they weren’t supposed to be in today. And the plumber confirmed he hadn’t sent anyone, either.”
“And you say he took a picture of Juliet?” Jason made a humming noise as if he were thinking it over. “It could be nothing. You have guys in and out all the time with the renovations. One could have dropped by on his own to pick up something he forgot and decided to snap a pic of the hottie.”
Ethan picked up his paperweight, rolling it around in his hand. “If it was just Juliet in the picture, I’d be willing to let it go at that. But she was holding Luna at the time. I don’t like it.”
Ethan paused. “I’m thinking we should get out of here for a while.”
“You want me to get you a room at the hotel?” Jason asked.
“Maybe. Am I overreacting?”
Jason thought it over. “No, man,” he eventually said. “Trust your gut. It’s saved your butt before. Hell, it’s saved mine. But you’ll have to have someone else supervising those work crews for a while. Juliet shouldn’t be watching them on her own like she has been.”
Ethan groaned. “I know. I’ve been racking my brain, but I can’t think of anyone else who can cover for her. I better update Donovan and Mason. They’re not going to like it, but I think we might have to shut things down for a while. I can’t take time off work anytime soon.”
“No, you can’t. The Angel would have your ass in a sling.” Jason snorted. “But as far as Lang and Donovan are concerned, they can suck it. They left you on your own to do all the heavy lifting.”
“Technically, that was the deal with Donovan Carter. Mason and I both knew Carter would be off saving the world for the duration.”
“Yeah, yeah. Carter’s a saint. But Lang was supposed to be here last month, pitching in.” He broke off. “Do you want me to ask Mags about finding someone to take over? The Tylers know everyone in the construction game in this town.”
“No, we’re trying to keep costs down, remember? Besides, the Tylers work on another level. I don’t want someone used to building skyscrapers, slumming it up in here.”
“I’m sure Mags can find someone happy to slum it. This town is full of people desperate to be on the Tylers good side.”
“As happy as I am for you to trade on your wife’s connections, I hate doing it myself,” Ethan began. “Besides, Lang and Donovan agreed we’d do this on our own.”
“Mmm-hmm. This wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact Maggie’s connections are Liam’s connections? Or that he married the girl you lusted after for years?”
Ethan rolled his eyes. When Jason was off, he was way off. “This has nothing to do with Peyton. You know I’m in love with Juliet. But Liam is and always will be an ass. Besides, this is only a small setback for the renovations. It’ll be done in time. I just need to shuffle some stuff around.”
A small sound made him turn around. Ethan turned to see Juliet at the door. “Dinner’s ready.”
He covered the mouthpiece. “I’ll be right there.”
She smiled and nodded, leaving him alone. Ethan watched her go, his chest tightening involuntarily.
He had to keep her safe.
“I have to go, Jason. We won’t be coming to the hotel. I thought of someplace else we could go.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
She was glad Ethan was carrying Luna because Juliet took one look at the spacious condo around them and tripped.
Ethan’s free arm shot out, catching her before she fell flat on her face.
Abashed, she straightened her jacket before realizing she was now too hot. “Who does this place belong to again?” she asked, stripping off her outerwear and pivoting on her heel to take it all in.
The condominium was in the exclusive Beacon Hill area. It was in an old building dating from the 1920s, but the interior had been gutted and reborn into opulence.
The walls were a delicate eggshell white with thick dark wood moldings that could only be mahogany. The furniture was antique Louise the XVI, and it was real. So was were the Tiffany lamps and the Harrington commode against the wall. Her childhood had taught her how to spot a fake.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could make out the doorway to a formal dining room with a huge wooden table and an ornate chandelier. I think this is where mahogany comes to die.
“This is Donovan Carter’s condo,” Ethan said. “He’s the other partner in our apartment investment.”
Donovan was his friend in Doctors Without Borders, but perhaps that was a temporary or recent appointment. “Is he a plastic surgeon or something?” she asked, bewildered.
Ethan set Luna on the floor, but she immediately got to her feet, tugging at his pant legs in a silent demand to be picked up again.
He caved, swinging her up into his arms. “No. He’s a GP with a background in emergency medicine. When he still lived here, he worked in the ER.”
Juliet shook her head. “ER doctor salaries do not pay for this.”
“You’re right about that,” Ethan laughed. “The Carter’s are old money. Donovan can trace his origins back to the freaking Mayflower. The entire extended family is loaded. They can find my annual salary in loose change in their sofas.”
Juliet cocked her head at Ethan as he began to show her through the rooms. “I thought you said the other partners were moving into the building, too.”
“They are.”
The doctor was downsizing then. “Is Donovan’s new apartment as large as yours?”
Pausing, he turned toward her. “It’s a bit smaller. It doesn’t have the office space.”
The puzzle was deepening. “Did he lose money in the stock market or something?”
“Nope. He just…hates his family.”
Ethan shrugged, the expression on his face a mixture of sympathy and exhaustion.
That made sense. It was close to eleven. Luna should have been in bed hours ago, but Ethan had insisted on decamping that very night and coming here.
“Long story short, the Carters have tried to orchestrate Donovan’s every move for most of his life. The one time he tried to wrest control away, something bad happened. Now, he doesn’t speak to them at all.”
Ethan bobbed Luna up and down, trying to encourage the sleepy toddler to nod off. “That’s not much of an explanation, but it’s all we’ve got time for today. Donovan will probably sell this place. Knowing him, he’ll give the proceeds to charity.”
“Are you serious?”
Another shrug. “He’s been divesting for years, trying to pull his family’s claws out of his backside. I think he took the Doctors Without Borders gig as a sort of penance for his family’s general shittiness toward humanity.”
She huffed. “As motivations go, I understand that one only too well.”
He glanced down at Luna. She was finally asleep, one of her little hands curled around the collar of his t-shirt. Very carefully, he transferred her to Juliet’s arms.
“I’m going to run down to the garage for the rest of our gear. Tomorrow, I’m going to buy a portable crib somewhere and rent a bigger car.”
“We don’t need a bigger car,” she said, then caught herself. “Sorry, I didn’t mean we. I meant you. You don’t need a bigger car.”
“I don’t know, I think we could use something more spacious. I know the car seat fits, but it’s a squeeze. An SUV would make getting Luna in and out of the car a bit easier.”
He was so sweet she almost couldn’t stand it. And he said he was over Peyton and in love with you. Ethan hadn’t realized she’d been standing there, though, so she couldn’t let him know.
Not yet.
“I suppose that makes sense, but I don’t want you to put yourself out. I know you love that car.”
Before they had met, she had watched him wash it from a safe distance, usually by peeking around the worn curtains of her old studio apartment.
In fact, it had been difficult not to watch him. It had been particularly nice when Ethan would take his shirt off to soap up the hood… Of course, it didn’t compare to the close-up view she now enjoyed.
“I’m not really attached to the Mustang,” he said, blatantly lying to her face. But she understood why.
Standing on her tiptoes, she pressed her lips to his. “You are without a doubt the most wonderful man I have ever met.”
Ethan returned the sentiment with a searing kiss before going downstairs for the rest of what they needed for the night.
When he was gone, she set Luna down in one of the condominiums three bedrooms. She picked up extra pillows from the other two rooms, surrounding the bed to make a ring of cushions in case Luna rolled off the bed. Then she went to find the nearest shower.
Ethan would join her there later. In the meantime, she would wonder why she had changed her mind at the last minute.
Why didn’t I tell him I loved him, too?
* * *
Ethan felt a little bad about what he’d told Juliet as the dealer pointed out the hybrid SUV model he wanted.
It’s a white lie.
Trading in the sports car for a more family friendly SUV was a smart move, particularly after the winter they’d had. The hybrid was more economical, too. But there was more to it than that. If anyone was watching them, a nondescript black SUV would be a lot harder to find than his cherry-red Mustang.
There was also the fact he could get away with not putting a license plate on a new car. Maybe I can mock-up different cardboard dealership signs to swap out every few days.
“So, are you sure?” the dealer asked, twisting to give Ethan’s Mustang another lustful glance.
The dealer was incredibly young, probably quite new to the job. Otherwise, he would know not to say things like that. “I’m sure. I need something with more room. It also needs to fit a car seat.”
“The model you chose is LATCH enabled. It’s where you clip the baby chair to the seat frame, for more security.”
“Great. How soon do you think we can wrap this up? I need to get back to work.”
“Well, with your excellent credit score, I think it will take a few hours—minimum.”
“I’m hoping we can take care of this in the next forty minutes.”
“Forty minutes?”
“That’s what’s left on my lunch hour.”
The guy winced. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think—”
Ethan put his hand on his belt, pushing his jacket aside to let the badge clipped to his waist show. Hopefully, that would do the trick. He would hate to have to flash his gun.
The guy lifted a shoulder. “I’ll see what I can do.”
He went around the Mustang to the dealership door, stopping to give the car another admiring glance. “I hope it’s worth it.”
Ethan’s grin came easily. “Oh, she is.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ethan was at the range when Jason joined him. He wore goggles. His partner slipped on protective earpieces, then aimed at the farthest target twenty-five yards away. He squeezed off five rounds, paused, and then shot another five before pressing the button to bring the target forward.
The brothel raid was tomorrow night. He and Jason had come down to make sure they were in top form.
He slipped off his ear protection before walking over to his partner’s cubby. “Not bad,” he said, pretending to admire the tight formation of bullet holes on the target. “Why only two to the head?”
Jason was indignant. “It’s four to the eyes—twins through each socket. Six to the torso.”
“Sure, it is,” Ethan teased, pushing the button to bring his target forward. He knew his partner was a great shot and would never lie about something so small, but he was fun to rile.
Swaggering, Jason came over, prepared to gloat. Then he laughed aloud when he saw his target.
“A happy face over the real face,” he snorted, admiring the pattern. “That’s cool. It’s even smiling.”
“Should it be frowning?” Ethan smirked.
Jason appeared to mull that over. “I feel like it should. Especially if you try to recreate that on a real perp someday. He wouldn’t be happy.”
Ethan wrinkled his nose. “It would have to be a pretty evil bad guy for me to want to try. Also, I don’t think they’d stand still long enough.”
He was fast, but he wasn’t that fast.
“Hold it up,” his partner said. “I have to take a picture of this.”
Ethan complied, pointing at the smiling face while Jason took the picture. Then Ethan heard the whoosh of an outgoing text.
“Who did you send that, too?” he scolded.
“Just Mags. Don’t worry about it.”
“Hey!”
Ethan and Jason both looked up to see Rivera running toward them. “What’s up?”
“The shit has hit the fan,” the agent panted. He was covered in sweat as if he had run the whole way here. “Our eyes doing preliminary surveillance on the place in Mattapan said there was a gunfight inside tonight. Viktor was there. He took one to the chest.”
“What?” Ethan burst out.
Jason scowled. “What was Viktor even doing in there? Wasn’t he staying far away and letting us handle it?”
Rivera shrugged cynically. “Maybe he was blowing smoke up our ass about not being a customer.”
“No, I don’t think so.” Ethan could read people, and his gut told him Viktor had been sincere. “There has to be another reason he went in there. Maybe he thought the girl who went back to the brothel was in trouble or something. Was anyone else hurt?”
Rivera’s face soured. “Two girls in the hospital and one in the morgue. You don’t want to know how old she was.”
Ethan swore, red bubbling up in his vision. What the hell had happened?
“I think Viktor nailed one, though, for what it’s worth. There was blood at the scene that didn’t match anyone else.”
“They took the Russian to Presbyterian Hospital.”
Ethan ran to the exit. Jason and Rivera followed him. “Do you know his status?”
“No. I think it’s too soon to tell.” Rivera grimaced. “I’m heading back to the scene to help Jimenez and the others finish taking statements from the rest of the girls. There’s a lot…”
Jason didn’t say another word until they were in the garage. “What do you think happened?” he asked as Ethan headed to his new SUV. He stood next to it before he realized he’d chosen the wrong one.
Fuck. Picking an anonymous car was a double-edged sword. He turned around wildly, wondering why the hell he couldn’t remember where he parked.
“Ethan, I asked you a question.”
He threw up his hands. “I don’t know what the hell went wrong.” His tone was much sharper than he’d intended.
Jason pursed his lips. He gestured at the garage full of dark SUVs. “Did you forget which one is yours?”
“Yes,” Ethan admitted from behind gritted teeth.
If Jason had laughed or even smiled, Ethan might have hit him, but his partner was a smart man and kept his mouth shut. Instead, Jason took the keys from his hand and pressed the unlock button.
The taillights of one of three almost identical SUVs parked in a row lit up. His was in the middle. Sighing, he stalked over, and they climbed inside.
“Do you think someone found out Viktor was working with us?” his partner continued.
“We don’t have a leak if that’s what you mean.” Ethan started the car and pulled out of the lot, trying to stay under the speed limit when all he wanted was to gun it.
“How can you be sure?” Jason asked.
“If we did, the action wo
uld have gone down the night of the raid. At the very least, they would have done their best to move the girls, right? No sense damaging the merchandise.” He took the next turn with a squeal of brand-new tires.
“Careful,” Jason warned. “You’ll void the warranty. And it still has that new car smell.”
“They bottle that shit nowadays,” Ethan said. Didn’t they make new car smell air fresheners?
“I think Viktor must have been lured there,” he said. “Someone must suspect him. Possibly the whole crew.”
“The Angel will be disappointed. Viktor staying in the Komarov’s good graces was a big part of his future plans.”
“Was it?” Ethan hadn’t heard that. “Well, he’ll have to impress the higher-ups some other way.”
Jason murmured his agreement. They arrived at the hospital shortly after. Ethan stopped Jason before they went through the door. “Hey, try to keep a low profile. No flashing the badge in front of anyone who isn’t hospital personnel on the off-chance tonight wasn’t about Viktor’s involvement with us.”
His partner nodded. They went inside, splitting up to look less conspicuous. To his surprise, Viktor was out of surgery. According to the charge nurse, his prognosis was decent, but her expression said that wasn’t a good thing.
“From the look of that one, we’d all be better off if he didn’t wake up,” she bitched before marching away.
Ethan’s impulse was to defend the man, but he knew better. The hospital staff saw Russian gangsters like Viktor in here all the time. To them, his body was like a map. They could read his history in the tattoos on his skin.
Plus, they saw a lot of victims. Ethan didn’t know how many people Viktor had killed, but his surgeons did. It would have been recorded in ink on his body.
Ethan dragged his feet to the OR recovery room. Viktor laid in bed, naked from the waist up. His swarthy face was a few shades paler than Ethan remembered. The fluorescents certainly didn’t help, but he looked better than Ethan would have expected.
“Any news?” Jason entered the room.