Red-faced with fury, the man, who looked vastly out of place in the country in his Italian suit, stomped back to one of the cars, got in, and slammed the door.
“Wanna flip who drives that one?” Wayne grumbled. The man had gotten into his car.
“I’ll drive the prick if you buy at Smitty’s tonight,” Arlen offered.
“You got yourself a deal! I’ll buy coffee at Mae’s, too, as soon as we dump this piece of shit.”
“Sweet.”
The two young deputies high-fived each other and, with a wave for Liv, strolled back to their cars.
Liv remained on the sidewalk until the two police cars disappeared from sight down her driveway. Then, realizing she’d been holding her breath, she exhaled softly and turned back to her house.
“You were impressive, babe,” Jake drawled as she walked into the kitchen a few moments later. “That big-city lawyer’s spitting nails about now.”
“Wayne and Arlen are nice guys. I was pretty confident they’d listen to reason.”
“They were serving custody papers, weren’t they?”
Liv turned at the sound of Janie’s voice and saw her standing in the doorway to the kitchen, Roman at her side like her Pretorian guard. “I think so. Wayne mentioned custody papers.”
“This might be a good time to move on,” Roman observed. Leo wasn’t a patient man. He’d put someone else on the hunt who’d found the same phone records as he.
“Or perhaps time to give Leo a call,” Janie countered determinedly. “I don’t feel like running every time one of his goons shows up. I really like it here. It’s peaceful.” She smiled at Liv. “Who would think I’d like peaceful? But I do.”
“Leo might not operate so legally next time,” Roman warned. “He sent me out here to snatch Matt and bring him back.”
“I know.” Janie patted his arm. “I knew why you’d come. I also had a pretty good idea you couldn’t do what Leo wanted.” Roman had always been nicer to her than he would have had to be as Leo’s hired gun, taking time when they met to engage her in conversation.
“My personal feelings aside, I’d still recommend finding a better refuge. Leo won’t give up. He’s putting plan B in action as we speak. That’s my professional opinion, and I know him better than you.” Dipping his head, Roman held Janie’s gaze. “I know a lotta things you don’t want to know about him.”
“But then you don’t know that I have something of Leo’s he’s going to want back very badly.” She hadn’t told anyone about it. Not Brad or Liv, not Roman who, until last night, had been only a possible in terms of reliability.
A new degree of admiration gleamed in Roman’s eyes. “Is that a fact?” he murmured.
Janie grinned. “Yes, indeedy. I have some excellent leverage. I hadn’t planned on using it unless it was absolutely necessary. But if Leo wants to play hardball starting at square one, I’m more than willing.” She took Roman’s hand. “Come, I’ll show you.” She turned to smile at Liv and Jake. “If you’ll excuse us.”
“That was all very mysterious and cheerful,” Jake murmured, watching the couple walk away.
“Whatever it is, I don’t want to know,” Liv said firmly. “With Leo Rolf, ignorance is bliss, believe me. There is nothing about that man that withstands close scrutiny.”
Jake knew some foul things about Leo but kept them to himself. Time enough to reveal the sordid details should Janie need help in divorce court. “How about close scrutiny and me?” Jake playfully inquired.
“Now, that’s entirely different,” she said, gazing up at him from under her lashes, her smile pure seduction.
“Not that I shouldn’t go home.”
“I know. And I should be out in my vineyard, working.”
“So what’re we gonna do?”
“How tired are you?”
“I’m never that tired.”
“I was hoping you weren’t.”
“I knew you were hoping that.”
“Don’t think you know everything about me.”
“I’ve got a feeling I’m gettin’ close to knowing everything about you.”
“Sex-wise you mean.”
"No, I meant your favorite CDs.”
“Just for that, I may not want to have sex with you.”
“That’ll be the day.”
“You think I can’t go without sex?”
“Yeah.”
She saw the certainty in his eyes, heard it in his voice, realized he might understand her better than she understood herself. “It’s all your fault.” A flat, almost resentful note in her voice.
“I know how you feel,” he grumbled, a scowl drawing his dark brows together. “I’ve been trying to leave before I even got here.”
She suddenly grinned. “It’s not as though it’s the worst problem in the world, I suppose, what with the Middle East currently going up in flames.”
A smile slowly formed on his mouth. “I guess. Put it in perspective-right? But I’m tellin’ you, this is sorta getting out of hand.”
She slid her fingers through his. “Could we talk about this later?”
“After you come?”
“And after you come.”
His grip tightened, and he jerked her against his body, his free hand skimming down her back, cupping her bottom, holding her hard against his cock. “What if I feel like doing it right here?”
“You can’t.”
“I can do anything I want.” Putting action to words, he pulled her toward the pantry, opened the door, shoved her in, and shut the door behind them.
“Really, Jake… wouldn’t it be more comfortable-” He’d pushed her up against the door and was unzipping her shorts. “What if someone came in?”
“Like who?”
“Like anyone or may-”
He kissed her hard, stopping her objections, which weren’t very convincing anyway, since she’d begun moving her hips in a show-me-what-you’ve-got way. Although even if her protests had been convincing, he might not have noticed, since he was busy shoving her shorts down her legs.
“Jake-stop!” This time there was no question she meant it.
“Uh-uh.” That male-brain single-focus thing was operating at the max. He lifted her up, kicked away her shorts, and ran his middle finger down her cleft in a practiced checking-on-progress stroke.
It took her a moment to drag her senses back to reality after his titillating scouting maneuver. But once back on track, she said, heatedly, “Stop! You don’t have a condom!”
“Don’t worry, baby. I won’t come in you.”
He was stroking her clitoris, every one of her sexual receptors was panting in response, sending competing messages to her brain apropos the importance of condoms. And when she should be responsible and engaged, her brain seemed to be turning to mush.
He was unzipped a second later and forcing her thighs apart with his muscular thighs, pushing his swollen cock up into her with his own very specific style of engagement. Propelling her up on her toes, he grunted in satisfaction as he thrust in up to the hilt and lifted her completely off her feet. As she started to fall, he quickly slid his hands under her bottom, picked her up, wrapped her legs around his waist and, without missing a beat, swung his hips out and drove back in again hard, hard, hard.
Leaning into her, he pressed her back against the door while she clung to him and met each pounding, fevered thrust.
“What are you doing getting fucked in your pantry?” he said, thickly. “I thought you didn’t want to.”
“Screw you,” she muttered, rankled at his knowing tone, chafing as well that she wanted him with an almost unfathomable intensity.
They could have been animals mating, she thought, her panting, him growling, each uttering guttural, throaty moans deep in their throats. Mere days ago, she couldn’t have contemplated such outrageously wanton feelings, no more than she could have considered overlooking the lack of a condom. And here she was, throwing caution to the winds just to feel the raw, feverish plea
sure he so casually offered.
How did he inspire this overwrought nymphomania? Was it him or her or some odd, compelling combination of the two?
His arms abruptly tightened.
As if she was alert to his every mood, she looked up.
He smiled faintly, neither resentful nor ruffled-other than sexually. He was exclusively focused on getting off. “No rush,” he politely said. “Just wondering.” He’d actually considered coming in her, a notion so shocking it had sent his adrenaline into the stratosphere, instantly clearing his mind. On the other hand, he couldn’t last forever.
“Are you waiting for me?” Her gaze was heated, her voice breathy with need, issues of unfathomable need obliterated by more gratifying sensations.
“Take your time.”
He didn’t mean it. “You come. I can wait,” she said, inexplicably willing to subordinate her pleasure to his like some harem slave or vassal handmaiden from ages past.
“Uh-uh… we’ll both come; I’ll fill you full of my sperm,” he said, his voice a low, sexy rasp. “That way I’ll leave my mark on you, and other men will know you’re taken-that you’re my property. No one else will be able to screw you-just me. Only I can cram my cock in you and make you scream for more. Would you like that?”
The pulsing ache inside her had reached fever pitch at his words, the entire focus of her senses on his cock sliding in and out of her flame-hot vagina.
“Answer me,” he growled, “or I’ll take it out.”
“Yes, yes-please don’t!”
“Good girl. Here, babe-you can have it back.”
She gasped, the jolt of his cock hitting bottom spiking through her brain, the aftermath rippling outward in concentric waves of heated bliss.
“Maybe I should keep you tied to my bed,” he murmured, “so you’ll always be there to fuck me. Then when I come home, you’ll be waiting for me, with your cunt wet with longing. I’ll ram my big stiff prick into your tight little pussy and fill you with come over and over again. How would you like that? Would you like me to fill you to overflowing? ”
She wasn’t able to answer. She was climaxing.
Like he wanted.
And just in the nick of time, he determined, jerking out and coming all over her stomach.
After he’d found some paper towels and wiped off and wiped her off, he helped her on with her shorts. Patting the zipper in place, he dropped a kiss on her nose. “Thanks, babe. I needed that.”
“As if I didn’t. By the way, you’re good,” she said with a sunny smile. “You should do phone sex.”
He grinned. “Just for you, I’m on call twenty-four/ seven.”
Twenty-one
Having been shown Janie’s ace in the hole, Roman was sitting beside her on her bed, discarding all of the contingency plans having to do with Leo’s physical well-being that were racing through his brain. “Are you sure you want to talk to Leo?” he muttered, irrationally feeling as though Janie needed protection even across the phone lines. Or maybe not so irrationally; Leo was without scruples. “I could give him the bad news.”
“I’m so pissed right now, I’m in the mood to tell him myself what he’s up against. Look”-she held out her hand- “I’m shaking, I’m so pissed. If he thinks he’s taking Matt from me, I’m going to personally clue him in.”
“At least let me patch you through to him via my office. I’ll call Vinnie, and he can set it up. Leo won’t be able to trace the call that way.” He shrugged. “Not that it much matters, I suppose, after our recent visit from his stooge.”
“No, you’re right. Why make it easy for him? Call Vinnie. I’ll take great pleasure in telling Leo to leave me alone-and the sooner he knows it, the better.” She exhaled softly. “I actually thought I might not have to threaten him. I thought maybe he’d be agreeable about the divorce. We could deal through our lawyers, come up with some congenial settlement.” She snorted. “How’s that for naive?”
“Leo’s Leo,” Roman simply said as he dialed his office. “A leopard doesn’t change his spots. And Leo’s been pushing people around for a long time. Hey, Vinnie, roll me over to Leo Rolf’s office. And FYI, as of now, we’re off the prick’s payroll. Right. Don’t talk to him unless you clear it with me.” He held the phone to his ear and listened, then spoke crisply. “Ben, Roman here. Is Leo there? Okay, put on your flak jacket and put me through.” Roman chuckled. “Fuck no. Why should I tell you? You’re gonna listen anyway. Now, do it, okay? I’m in a hurry.”
“Where the fuck are you!!!”
Leo’s fury bounced off the bedroom walls.
Holding the phone away from his ear, Roman said, “None of your business. I’m not working for you anymore.”
“Then you owe me for your goddamn plane ride!”
“Shut up and listen, Leo. And just a word to the wise. Don’t fuck with me. You’ll lose. Now, Janie’s here. She wants to talk to you.”
“You’re screwing my wife! I can’t frigging believe it. I’ll sue your ass! I’ll see that you never work in this town again! I’ll-”
“Shut the fuck up, or I might put a bullet through your head and save everyone a lotta trouble. Now here’s Janie.” Roman handed her his cell phone.
“I don’t appreciate your lawyer showing up here at the crack of dawn, you prick,” Janie snapped.
Leo was still debating the degree of danger he might be in after Roman’s threat; it took him a moment to gather his thoughts.
“Leo, dammit, are you there?”
“I heard you,” he murmured, deciding he’d hire bodyguards for protection. His momentary fear resolved, his voice returned to its normal bullying tenor. “Now, listen to me, you worthless cunt. I’m getting custody of Matt, and there’s nothing on God’s green earth that you can do to stop me. You can’t afford to take me on in court, and I have enough money to stay in litigation for years. So listen up, you greedy bitch. Do as you’re told, and I might give you enough money to live in the style to which you were accustomed. How much can a fucking trailer cost?”
“Are you finished, you impotent old fart? Because I happen to have the means to put you in jail.” After his allusion to trailers, Janie’s temper was red-hot. She’d worked hard and long to guarantee she’d never be poor again. No way would she let Leo destroy what it had taken her years to accomplish. “For your information, I have a flash drive from your personal computer. I copied all your files, Leo. Every last one. The ones with the Isle of Man accounts. The ones with the Cayman Islands accounts. The list of those black-box companies and dummy corporations. I dumped everything, Leo. Every last red cent of your illicit operations and bank account numbers is in my hands. So fuck you.”
“I’ll kill you!” Leo shrieked.
“Even if you do, you’ll still go to jail,” Janie said, cool as ice. “If I die or disappear, a friend has orders to mail the flash drive to the attorney general of New York, the IRS, and every newspaper on the East Coast. You have yourself a good day, Leo, and leave me the fuck alone.”
“Wait, wait, don’t hang up. Let’s talk about this.”
“There’s nothing to say.”
“For one thing,” Leo smoothly noted, careful to keep his voice restrained, “if I go to jail and they confiscate all my property, you won’t get anything. Have you thought of that?”
“Of course. Here’s the way I see it, Leo. You don’t want to go to jail a lot more than I want your money. So I’m pretty sure I’m holding a better hand than you. My suggestion to you would be”-her voice took on a crisp cadence-“get your lawyers to draw up divorce and custody papers ASAP, giving me full custody of Matt. Along with that, I want fifty million. It’s not complicated. So let me know when the papers are ready to sign. You can leave a message at Roman’s office. In the meantime, enjoy your life.”
Snapping the phone shut, she shivered uncontrollably.
“Hey, hey, everything’s good,” Roman murmured, taking his phone from her white-knuckled grip, tossing it aside, drawing her into hi
s arms, and holding her close. “I’m pretty sure you ruined Leo’s day.”
“Better his than mine,” Janie whispered, feeling the tension drain from her body with Roman’s arms around her. “And thank you for your support and kindness.” She looked up and smiled. “And thank you for last night. I haven’t had great sex for a very long time.”
“You shouldn’t marry old men.”
“Tell me about it.”
Roman smiled faintly. “In that case, you might not mind knowing that Leo has a new girlfriend.”
Janie grimaced. “I figured. I wish her luck. She’s going to need it.” Resting her cheek against Roman’s chest, she sighed. “I was so stupid, wasn’t I? Like a damned lamb to the slaughter.”
“Don’t beat yourself up. You weren’t the first woman to succumb to Leo’s lavish lifestyle. There were a few before you.”
She glanced up. “Did you spy on his other wives, too?”
“Naturally. Not that it’s an excuse, but the others were pretty damned mercenary. You, however, still had a modicum of sweet, small-town girl in you when I first met you. To be honest, it surprised me.” He didn’t say he’d always wished her the best-an anomaly for a cynical soul like him. He’d never been given to benevolence. “Anyway,” he said, changing the subject to something less angst-filled, “you should think about what you want to do in terms of your and Matt’s safety.”
“I was hoping you might stay with us until everything is resolved.”
“You did, did you?”
“I’d pay you for your time, of course,” she quickly offered, uncertain of how to interpret his brusque reply.
His gaze narrowed. “With what?”
“Hey!” She shoved him away, distancing herself on the bed. “Don’t you dare even think what you’re thinking! I have money!”
“Calm down. I’m not impugning your character.” He blew out a breath, cracked his knuckles, half-rose, sat back down again, and stared at the toes of his custom shoes. “I’ve been all about business for so long I don’t know anything else,” he said gruffly. “I didn’t think I had any functioning feelings left. When you come up through the vice squad like I did, then go private and deal with every lowlife, rich and poor, you get numb. You just do your job and don’t ask questions.” He turned his head marginally in Janie’s direction and looked at her from under his lashes. “You don’t have to pay me with anything. Not money, not you, not a smile or a kind word. I’ll stay because I want to. There,” he muttered. “We’re done.”
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