Blood Money (NYPD Blue & Gold)

by Tee O'Fallon

  Gray stood and gently gripped Alex’s arms. While she stared up at him, he breathed in her scent, trying not to remember how good it felt to kiss her, stroke her shiny hair, and feel the silky smoothness of her skin.

  He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them and let out a tight breath. “I knew you were hiding something that night we had dinner, but it wasn’t just about purchasing a false identity. When I wanted to talk about you and Nicky’s father, you shut down on me. You were lying about something. What was it?”

  “There’s nothing else.” She shrugged from his grasp and averted her gaze. The same way she’d done at dinner that night.

  Classic behavior of a really bad liar. What the hell is she hiding?

  Alex crossed her arms and looked down at the floor.

  Closing off and avoiding eye contact. More signs that she can’t take scrutiny from someone who knows she’s full of shit.

  Gray clenched his jaw. “I don’t believe you.” He waited for a response, but there was none, and that irritated him more than anything. “Did the Pyramid pay you to get close to me?”

  “What?” Alex jerked her head up. She dropped her arms to her sides and fisted her hands. She met his angry glare full-on, no aversion this time. “I did no such thing. I would never do that.”

  Gray watched her closely, observing every nuance of her body language the experienced detective in him could decipher. The locked-on stare. Rage glittering in her eyes. Fists clenched.

  Jesus, he wanted to believe her, and he almost did. But the long, sharp talons of his past were still deeply embedded into his memories, refusing to let go.

  The fury in her eyes dimmed to something akin to pain. Her smooth forehead wrinkled, and she unclenched her fists.

  Gray shoved his hands into his pants pockets, angry at the hurt now glowing in her eyes. He’d put that look there, and he wished he could say or do something to take it away. The inexplicable urge to protect her was a fierce burning in his heart. But his gut still told him she was hiding something. Something important.

  “Mommy?” Alex spun as Nicky’s voice came from the hallway.

  He rounded the corner into the living room, caught sight of Gray, and stopped. His New York Yankees footed pajamas made him look like little Cindy Lou Who in How The Grinch Stole Christmas. “Who are you?” he asked Gray, hugging his baseball mitt to him like a favorite stuffed animal.

  Alex scooped him up into her arms, plastering on what had to be a bright smile she couldn’t possibly feel. She was protecting her child from the ugliness of what was transpiring in his mother’s life. In a moment of clarity, Gray knew this was not a woman who would knowingly place another in danger.

  She continued smiling at her son. “This is Detective Yates, baby. He’s a policeman.”

  Nicky’s sleepy, dark brown eyes widened with curiosity as he stared at Gray. “Are you here to arrest my mommy?”

  Gray choked at the near-direct hit.

  Alex snorted. “Out of the mouths of babes.”

  “No, Nicky. I’m not here to arrest your mommy.” He gave Alex a meaningful look meant to reinforce his promise. He stepped closer and smiled, holding out his hand to Nicky. “Call me Gray.”

  Nicky took his large hand in his, giving it a quick shake. “Gray’s a color, not a name.”

  “Actually, it’s a color and a name.” Gray smiled, enjoying the little boy’s candor.

  “Oh.” Nicky clung to Gray’s hand, his eyes still wide with fascination. “Your eyes are gray.”

  “Yours are brown.” Gray tugged his hand away and patted Nicky’s head gently.

  “Mommy says I get that from my daddy.” Nicky grinned.

  Gray narrowed his gaze on Alex. “And your daddy is…where?”

  “He’s in Heaven,” Nicky answered. “He died when I was a baby.”

  Alex glared at Gray, subtly shaking her head. She obviously didn’t want Nicky to know that his father was still alive.

  Unexpected relief spilled over him that Nicky’s father truly wasn’t in their lives. With all the lies swirling around Alex, he wouldn’t have been surprised if that turned out to be bullshit as well. “That’s a great baseball mitt.” He pointed to the little glove Nicky hugged to his chest. “You must love baseball.”

  “I’m a Yankees fan.” Nicky grinned with obvious pride.

  “I can see that. Nice PJs.” Gray found it hard not to grin right along with the little boy. “So am I.”

  “Really?” Nicky’s eyes widened. “Can we go to a Yankees game together?”

  Gray’s heart went out to the boy. The expectant look on his cherubic face was heartbreaking. It was obvious how badly he wanted a father. And in that moment, he realized something else.

  Someday he wanted to be a father.

  “Say good night to Detective Yates.” Alex rescued Gray before he had to decline Nicky’s tempting invitation.

  “G’nite.” Nicky giggled, and as Alex turned to take him back to bed, declared loudly, “I like him, Mommy. You should marry him. That way I could have a daddy and you wouldn’t be alone and he could come live with us and we could be a family.”

  Alex laughed. “We are a family. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” She kissed Nicky on the forehead then disappeared into one of the rooms off the hallway.

  Gray uttered a low laugh. Alex’s little boy was something else, and everything a father could want in a son. It astounded and saddened him that a kid so full of life and energy had cancer. That any child should have cancer was one of the most screwed up aspects of the universe.

  Again he looked around Alex’s cozy apartment, taking in the bright yellow paint and antique oak furniture in the tiny kitchen.

  “Looking for evidence to indict me with?” Alex said from behind him in a sarcastic tone.

  He turned to see that defiant look in her eyes had returned, and with it came a sadness he hadn’t expected to feel. The brief encounter with Nicky had him experiencing paternal thoughts. Nicky didn’t have a father, and the boy couldn’t afford to lose his mother, too.

  “Or should I just pull out all the diamonds and furs you know I can’t afford on my salary?” The edge to her voice was bitter. “That way you don’t need probable cause for a search warrant. I’d hate for you and the guys to mess up my apartment.”

  “This is too dangerous.” Gray came to stand before her. “You should talk to the DA, tell him about Nicky. That’s what I came here to say. There’s an exception to the bribery charge. Coercion about Nicky could mitigate your sentence.”

  “I already know that. I looked it up.” Alex sat heavily on the green velvet sofa. “But you know as well as I do there won’t be any mitigation. I took a bribe from an international assassin. Case closed.”

  Gray shook his head. “I’m sure you can produce medical records to verify Nicky’s situation.”

  “What’s the difference?” Alex held out her arms. “If you and Lt. Frye—two people who actually know me—don’t believe anything I said today, how can I expect a judge or a jury comprised of total strangers to believe me? I have to do everything possible to show my cooperation. I’m out of options.”

  “It’s too risky.” And dammit, it was.

  “What do you care?” Alex pointed at him. “I can see by the look on your face you think I did this, and you’ll never trust me again. Hell, no one in the department will ever trust me again.”

  Seeing the determination in her eyes and the firm set of her jaw, Gray headed for the door. He realized with a growing sense of doom that there was nothing he could do to change her mind. Aside from running, she had no options. “Isn’t it better to be in jail than dead?”

  “Says you.” Alex stood but stayed where she was. “You’re not the mother of a very sick little boy.”

  He paused with his hand on the doorknob. What she’d agreed to do was too dangerous. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes, I do.” As she glared at him from across the room, Gray felt her eyes burning into hi
s soul. “But you could never understand that. You aren’t capable of it. You only see things in black and white. Your name might be Gray, but for you there is no gray area, no middle ground. You can’t take human factors into consideration because that’s not your way. To you, it’s dangerous, so I shouldn’t do it. To me, it’s dangerous, but I have to do it.”

  She rounded the coffee table and came toward him. “Leaving Nicky without a mother is unacceptable, so I have to do everything possible to stay out of jail. With Nicky’s illness, no one would take him in if I were gone, so for his sake I have to try.”

  Gray gripped the knob tighter, about to pull the door open. “You should have asked me to borrow money,” he said with his back to her. “I would have given you anything.” And he meant it. In so many ways.

  “I’ve been taking care of myself and Nicky just fine. I didn’t ask for a bunch of hired killers to bribe me.”

  Gray released the doorknob, rounding on her. “Maybe,” he said with a note of anger in his voice, “you’ve been on your own so long that you can’t see there are people—me—who would gladly have helped you.”

  “And maybe you need to be more trusting.” She walked to the door and glared up at him. “I didn’t use you. What I felt for you—or was beginning to feel—was real. No one could possibly pay me to feel something for a man.” She jabbed a finger at his chest. “You need to trust me.”

  “Sometimes things happen in a person’s past that make that impossible.” As he said the words, that familiar weight sat on his chest and he recalled exactly what those things were.

  “Like what?” Alex canted her head and gazed intently into his eyes, almost as if she were daring him.

  “Not worth discussing.” And he so didn’t want to get into it. Not here. Not now. Probably never.

  “Try me.”

  Gray opened his mouth, then closed it. He turned and gripped the knob again but didn’t open the door. There was truth to what she said, and right now that truth was stabbing him in the gut—and in the heart. I’m sorry I can’t open up to you. “I’m sorry I can’t change your mind,” he said instead.

  “At least I found out exactly who and what you are before anything more happened between us.” Alex’s eyes glittered like shards of blue steel. “It took me nearly a year to feel that you were someone worth letting into my life, but I can’t be with someone who doesn’t believe me and can never believe in me.”

  Gray squeezed the knob tighter. I want to believe you, I really do.

  “Without anyone on my side…” Alex stared at the ceiling and took a deep breath. “The only shot I have at squeezing through this mess without incarceration is going through with the meeting.”

  She brushed past him, opened the apartment door herself, then stood aside. “I assume you said what you came here for. Now leave.”

  “There’s one more thing.” He paused on the threshold, anger and regret coursing through him at what he had to say next. “Don’t even think of running.” He stepped out of the apartment, and the door closed quietly behind him. When the deadbolt turned, echoing in the silent hallway, he couldn’t help but feel he’d just been locked out of what should have been the best part of his life.

  Chapter Eight

  Gray sat in the squad’s conference room, tapping his fingers on a notepad. He glanced at his wristwatch. Eight fifteen. Alex was late for the most important meeting of her life.

  Damn, doesn’t the woman know her life and Nicky’s depends on her cooperation? Her total cooperation?

  Which included showing up for briefings on time.

  Lt. Frye exhaled an impatient breath. Dom and FBI Agents Wilson and Tanner, along with HSI Agent Greer, busied themselves re-testing the digital recorder and other surveillance equipment Gray had signed out for this operation.

  He yanked his phone from his belt, about to ring Alex’s cell phone, when she walked into the room and closed the door behind her. Wearing a snug black skirt suit and a strand of tiny pearls around her neck with matching earrings, she looked more like an attorney than an NYPD cooperator on the verge of being charged with multiple felonies. At least she wasn’t wearing the same robe she’d had on last night.

  Holy hell, that little scrap of material had barely covered her shapely thighs, and he could practically see right through it. The way the robe clung to her damp skin made it clear she didn’t have anything on underneath. The entire time at her apartment he kept imagining what the rest of her body looked like under that robe.

  The detective in him had wanted to park her butt on a chair and interrogate her until he had the answers he needed—mainly whether or not she’d been using him. The man in him wanted to walk up to her, untie that pretty little silk garment, and watch it slip to the floor so he could see her sleek, naked body. Touch her warm, soft skin.

  As she walked gracefully to the table, her high heels made distinct clicking sounds on the wood floor. She had an unexpected air of self-assurance that instantly put Gray on edge. This wasn’t the typical attitude for an NYPD cooperator. Most of them were understandably antsy.

  When Alex sat directly across the table from Gray, he realized her choice of attire was no accident. The woman was smart, and she wanted them all to know she meant business. That, combined with what he’d learned about her last night—including her genius IQ—made him suspicious they were all about to get played.

  “Glad you could join us.” Lt. Frye’s tone held an undercurrent of annoyance.

  “I’m sorry I’m late.” Alex laced her fingers together on the table. “Perhaps we should get started.”

  Agent Wilson snorted, while his partner held back a smile. Dom, likewise, sent Gray an inquisitive look. This self-assured woman sitting across from him was not what any of them expected.

  Something is definitely up.

  He took a moment to observe her body language, to assess what was really going on in that pretty head of hers, but all he got in return for his efforts was her steady, unwavering gaze.

  “Today,” Gray began, “we’ll go over an ops plan so you’ll know what’s expected of you. Since we don’t know for certain when or how this will play out, it will have to be fluid and subject to change.” He indicated the small silver and black hard-sided cases on the end of the table. “After we go over the details, I’ll familiarize you with the equipment you’ll use to record all phone calls with the Pyramid.” He looked at his partner. “Anything new on what we discussed?”

  Last night, after he’d left Alex’s apartment, Gray expressed concern to Dom about wiring Alex with anything more than an emergency locator. Even a simple locator posed some level of risk.

  Her part in this op would involve nothing more than delivery of an envelope with fabricated information. The primary goal was to surveil the drop location, photograph and video the pickup, then follow and ID whoever came for the package in the hope that it would lead to a Pyramid operator or safe house. Not tipping their hand that Alex was cooperating with the police was essential to her safety. Getting caught wearing a bug would dime her out in a heartbeat. On the other hand, Gray didn’t want her out there without a lifeline if something went wrong.

  Dom nodded. “According to my sources, it’s likely the Pyramid will use scanners to detect any transmissions.”

  Gray was afraid of that but not surprised. With the Pyramid’s vast resources, it only made sense that they would have access to the same high-tech equipment law enforcement used.

  “Why does she need to wear any equipment at all?” This from Agent Greer. “This is a drop only, and she’ll be within our sight the entire time. The Pyramid will have someone close enough to positively ID it’s Alex dropping off the package, and not an undercover cop. They could be close enough to scan for transmissions, so why take the risk with a locator that could be detected? On top of which, she’ll have a cell phone with her.”

  Gray was torn between Greer’s logic and his own instinct that was screaming at him not to send her out there with nothing. In
the end, instinct won out. “I’m not sending her out there with only a cell phone to track her location. Triangulation from cell towers and GPS tracking both rely on wireless signal strength that’s unreliable, even in the city. Plus, they both take too much time. The locator gives us her location in real time. If she carries both, the cell phone is a backup.”

  “Okay, just saying.” Greer threw up his hands.

  Agent Wilson pulled out a sheet of paper from his notebook. “We’ve got six agents available to supplement your manpower for this meet, so with all those officers and agents, there’s no chance we’ll lose sight of her.”

  You’re damn right, we won’t.

  Not giving a shit if there were any more objections from the team, Gray pulled two sheets of paper from his notebook and handed them to Alex. “First, I need you to read this agreement, then sign and date at the bottom.”

  With steady hands, Alex picked up the document and began reviewing it. As Gray watched her flip to the second page, he gritted his teeth. He imagined her long fingers with their neat, pink nails digging into his back while she screamed his name.

  Shit. Don’t do this to yourself, Yates.

  Alex cleared her throat and put down the document without signing it. “I’ve been giving this a great deal of thought. You want me to sign this because I have what you want—an active connection with the Pyramid, something you admit has never happened before with any agency. While I do owe the NYPD something in return for my mistakes, I believe my cooperation is of far greater value than I initially realized.”

  She clasped her hands on the table and leaned forward. “I know how this detective squad operates. I’ve been here long enough to know that while most people in my position cooperate to receive a lesser sentence or stay out of jail entirely, if a person’s level of cooperation is valuable enough, the department often sweetens the deal. With money.”

  Dom snorted, clearly knowing what was coming next. Gray held his tongue, admiring her audacity. This was an Alex Romano none of them had ever seen, or even knew existed. The kick-ass part. And the highly intellectual one that had thoroughly researched her situation and knew she had their asses dead to rights.