by Geri Krotow
“No.” He took a swig of tea, the bone china cup minuscule in his large hand. She had to stop obsessing over Josh’s physicality. “We’ll have to let NYPD know you’re working this, of course.”
“I’ve already emailed my supervisor about it, but yes, you’ll need to call it in, or have your chief do it. To make it official. And to provide whatever other details you need—I wasn’t fully aware of how deep in with ROC Kit’s husband is, of course.” She’d thought she’d been dealing with domestic abuse, period.
His eyes narrowed. “I’ll do that, but first I’m going to go out to Valensky’s place and charge him with domestic abuse.” Josh’s eyes blazed with conviction. “He’s done with hurting her.”
“Will you go over there tonight?”
He shook his head. “No. We know Kit’s safe, for now. It’ll wait until tomorrow. The way it works in our county is that we, SVPD, press the charges—the signed statement of the officer who either spoke to the victim or witnessed her injuries is all we need to move forward.” The lines between his brows deepened, and Annie wanted to smooth them. Wanted to do a lot more to him, in fact. Was something wrong with her, that in the middle of a very serious case she wanted nothing more than to explore her attraction to Josh?
“It never gets any easier with a domestic. I’m always asking myself if I’m doing enough.”
“Oh?” Please, please say you want to kiss me. Where the hell was all of this coming from? It had to be the combination of being back in her hometown, in Grandma Ezzie’s place and in the company of a man she’d once tried to lose her virginity to. She choked on a gulp of tea as laughter gurgled up her throat.
“You okay?” His brows lifted in a classic “no matter what you say I know you’re nuts” expression, and it set her into a gale of giggles.
“I’m so sorry, Josh. I’m obviously overtired, and it’s been a long day. You’ve handled all of this as well as I’ve ever seen it done—better.” She wiped her eyes with a napkin that had cat paw prints on it, in a rainbow of colors. All Grandma Ezzie had in the kitchen cupboard were cat-themed paper products. “I was laughing at my thoughts. I was thinking about how we know each other, well, knew one another...before.”
“Before prom night?” It was his turn to laugh. “We were the best of friends, weren’t we?”
“Until we weren’t.” She vividly remembered the debacle they’d made of their after-prom plans, neither of them having had any sexual experience beforehand. “I’m sorry I never tried to contact you after that, Josh. It was stupid of me.”
“And I’m sorry, too, for letting you go so easily. It was totally expected for our ages and time frame, though. We both went to college and learned how to do it, right?” The twinkle in his eye got her pulse pounding in all the right places again and she knew he saw the flush she felt on her cheeks.
“Yes.”
“So you’re still single.”
“I am.” She added milk to her tea, needing the distraction. Her hands were shaky with need. “We already went over this.”
“I want to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.” He stared at her, his expression neutral but his eyes, his eyes made her want to close the distance and kiss him for the umpteenth time since she’d first seen him again in the police station. So she did.
* * *
Josh was no fool. When a beautiful woman placed her lips on his he was happy to oblige, maybe even throw some tongue in for added effect. He liked kissing. A lot. But when Annie’s lips hit his, his mind shut down and his body woke up and went full throttle. He placed his hand on her nape and pressed her to him across the sorry excuse for a table, wanting to toss the tiny piece of furniture to the side and pull her onto his lap. Instead, he settled for a taste of her lips, taking extra time with her lower lip, sucking it into his mouth ever so gently.
Her groan undid him, and he growled in response as she opened her mouth fully, allowing his tongue complete access to the sweet softness that was Annie Fiero.
“Josh.” She spoke his name against his mouth, and he loved the way her lips moved, her breath felt. Annie even smelled, tasted the same as she had, but with more spice. And her abilities had vastly improved. As had her passion.
“Come here, babe.” He stood up and she followed suit, her arms going up onto his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “God, you feel so good, Annie.”
“You’re feeling mighty fine yourself.” She smiled up at him and he lowered his lips to taste her again, not stopping until his erection became almost painful.
“God, Annie, I want to—” He grasped her ass and pulled her to him, allowed her to feel his erection.
“But we, we can’t—oh, Josh.” Her eyes closed and she pressed back against him.
“I’m not saying we can’t ever.” He had a hard time keeping his words even. His breath refused to stop hitching.
“We shouldn’t, though. Especially if we’ll be working together.” Her voice was husky, and he knew that it wouldn’t take much to convince her. And he wanted to convince her, to show her that he wasn’t the nervous teen she’d tried to sleep with prom night.
But not here, not now. She deserved more than a quickie after a particularly emotional event. And he wanted more than that with her.
“I don’t care about any of that, Annie. If we do work together on this case, through to its end, we’re both professional enough to keep our personal feelings out of it.”
“But—”
“No buts. I want you, but I’m complicated. I can’t do serious, and you’re, you’re definitely a serious kind of woman, Annie.”
Oops. He felt her stiffen an instant before she pulled back. “What the hell does that mean? ‘Serious’ woman? Who says I need anything more than a good time in bed? And why would you even assume I’d want anything but a casual time with you? I’m headed back to New York at the end of three months. The last thing I need is serious when it comes to a relationship.”
Like a cold dowse of mountain spring water on the Appalachian Trail, her words stopped him dead. She wasn’t going to be here forever, and the last thing he needed was to be involved with another woman whose departure could hurt his sister like Christina’s had. Because in a small town like Silver Valley, it’d be tough to date Annie even casually without having to introduce her to Becky.
“Wait—” She had her hand on his forearm as he turned to leave. “That was incredibly rude of me. I’m sorry, Josh.” She ran her fingers through her fiery locks, tousled from their embrace. “Maybe we need to start over?” Her full lips and brilliant eyes begged for him to resume where they’d left off. To take her to bed tonight and each night while she was in town.
“I’d love nothing more than to get to know you better, Annie. To appreciate the woman you’ve become, both in and out of bed.” He saw her pupils dilate when he said “bed,” and it was a total test of his self-control that he didn’t back her up against the kitchen counter and make love to her here and now. “But I can’t afford to do casual. I have someone else to worry about.”
She tilted her head. “Is there something I’m missing? Do you have a child?”
“No, a sister. You remember my younger sister, Becky?”
She nodded and smiled. “The Beckster. I loved her. She was always such a sweetie pie!”
He couldn’t help but smile back. “Yeah, well, you might remember also that she had some developmental delays from being deprived of oxygen at birth. The official term for it in the school system and for living placement is PDD—Pervasive Developmental Disorder.”
“I do recall that, but your mother was always so positive about it, and I don’t remember Becky having any major issues, at least not physically.”
“That’s right. But mentally—that’s the catch. She seemed okay when she was seven or eight, when you knew her, because that’s closer to the mental age she’ll always be. Somewhere
around ten or eleven. She’s a grown woman of nineteen now, and she still behaves and acts like she did when you knew her.”
“Oh, Josh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were the one taking care of her. I should have, of course.”
She didn’t know. But how would she? He kept his responsibilities on the down low right after his parents’ fatal crash, and now that he’d been taking care of Becky for over a decade, they were invisible to the Silver Valley community. He and Becky were a pair, a family. No one saw the effort it took on his part to care for her because it was none of their business as far as he was concerned.
“That’s just it, Annie. I was named Becky’s guardian as they’d neglected to pick anyone else. I changed my entire life to fit Becky. So you see, I don’t come as a solo package.”
He saw the light dim in her eyes. Annie understood. There would never be a long-term commitment where he was concerned.
“I admire you and all you’re doing for Becky. That doesn’t have to affect a casual relationship, though.”
“Maybe.” He wanted to agree, to throw in his resistance and fear of taking on too much. But first he had to address a startling observation. He was disappointed that Annie didn’t make a case for a more lasting commitment.
It had to be the long hours affecting him.
“Before I go, let me get something for you out of my car.” He was back within three minutes and Annie froze at the sight of what he gave her.
“I don’t want this, Josh.” She took the SIG Sauer from him, though, knowing that the .45 handgun could save her life if Valensky came after her.
“There’s a lot to what we do that we don’t want. This is my spare—please take it. I take it you have a license to carry?”
“Of course.” It was all part of being in law enforcement. “And this is my favorite, on the range.” She’d never had to fire a weapon in New York City. Would she in Silver Valley?
“If you want, I can get you a gun safe.”
“I’ll take care of that, no problem. It’ll be a write-off for the shop.” She tried to muster a smile, because it was terribly important to her that he remember her in a positive light. No matter how disappointed she was that a relationship wasn’t happening.
“Okay, well, I need to get back home and then clock in at the station. Call me if you need anything, okay?” He hadn’t been looking at her, his gaze bouncing from the gun to his phone to the floor of the apartment entryway. When his gaze finally settled on hers, she saw everything she needed to know.
Desire. Dedication to duty. Disappointment.
Yeah, she and Josh were on the same page.
“Will do. And, Josh?”
“Yes?”
“Thanks.”
He nodded and turned, his steps quick and certain down the stairwell as he left her standing at the apartment door.
* * *
Josh was never fond of making a house call on a Saturday morning, but as he pulled up to the Valensky fortress he didn’t give a chipmunk’s butt what day it was. Vadim Valensky had beaten Kit, and it was Josh’s job to apprehend him.
“You expecting trouble from him?” Lieutenant Rachel Hollenbach sat in the passenger seat. He’d grabbed the first officer he’d seen when he’d gotten into work.
“Not sure, but we’ll find out. Let’s see if we get past his security to start with.”
He wasn’t expecting to get past the locked front gate as quickly as he did, as it opened right after he held his badge up to the security camera. As soon as the sound of the gate’s motor started, he got back into the cruiser.
Vadim Valensky stood at the top of the imposing front porch as they pulled up.
“He looks real friendly.” Rachel’s crack was accurately inaccurate as he took in the dark expression on Valensky’s worn face.
“We don’t need friendly. We need to charge him. Let’s go.”
They got out of the car and walked up to Valensky, who started to visibly shake.
“Mr. Valensky, we’re here to follow up on yesterday’s visit about your wife. She has filed a complaint with SVPD that you have abused and assaulted her.” Josh spoke first.
Valensky’s face crumpled, and to Josh’s surprise, fat tears ran down the man’s cheeks. “Oh my God. Is she okay? What has happened?”
Josh realized that Valensky could easily not have any idea that Kit had left voluntarily. He might think she’d been in an auto accident or even met foul play while away from home. Or the monster could be playing both him and Lieutenant Hollenbach.
“Can we go inside?”
“Of course.” Valensky turned and led them through the most ornate front door that Josh had ever seen in Silver Valley. The inside of the house was no less opulent, with fancy looking knickknacks on every surface. But Josh wasn’t here to determine whether Valensky’s belongings were legit pawnshop finds or stolen. Or worse, bought with ROC-earned funds.
“We can talk here.” Valensky pointed to a sitting area, where he sank into a huge leather chair while Josh and Rachel remained standing. Rachel began the questioning, as they’d agreed upon.
“Mr. Valensky, it’s come to our attention again that you have been harming your wife. It’ll go much smoother for you if you don’t repeat what you said yesterday and admit to whatever you’ve been doing.”
“I didn’t say anything yesterday because I was afraid. I’m all Kit has and if something were to happen to me, she’d be alone. She relies fully on me. I would never hurt her, not on purpose. Do I drink too much sometimes? Sure. Who doesn’t? Does she get on my nerves? Of course. But I’ve never touched her, unless of course she’s asked me to.” His smirk earned him a steely look from Rachel. Seeing her lack of understanding, he looked at Josh. The smirk melted away.
“Do you keep any weapons here, Mr. Valensky? Licensed or otherwise?”
“Only one handgun, in a lockbox on my nightstand. All the rest of the weapons I own are in the pawnshop, legally locked up.” Josh knew that this was true, at least the pawnshop part. And Kit had verified that she didn’t know of any other weapons on the property other than the one Valensky mentioned. Though, as he looked around the ostentatious room, he knew he wouldn’t feel safe living here with Valensky, not with the line of medieval bows on one wall or the trio of battle axes on another. And they didn’t have a search warrant, so he wasn’t going to pursue this. He wanted one thing from Valensky today: compliance.
“Where’s your wife?” He took over the questioning. He watched Valensky for signs that he knew Kit was in a shelter, under police protection.
“I have no idea. Sometimes she’s gone for a long time, the whole day, at her college library. Why she can’t study here in this nice home I built for her, I don’t know.”
“When’s the last time you saw her?” He knew Valensky was worried; it was in the deep furrows of his jowls. Josh trusted his investigative gut. Valensky had hurt Kit, and would do it again. But Kit had most likely told the truth. Her husband was a blackout abuser. And he seemed to be genuinely confused about why the police were at his home.
“Kit was here on Friday morning before I left for work.”
“You’re telling us that you haven’t seen her in over twenty-four hours?”
“No, no, I haven’t.”
“And that doesn’t give you cause for concern?”
“I thought maybe she’s mad at me. My wife, she’s young. When she gets very angry, she goes to her sister’s.” Valensky sighed.
Josh silently swore. He didn’t know if Kit had a sister, but if she did, he’d have liked to know about it from her.
“Where does her sister live, Mr. Valensky?”
“In New Jersey.” Spoken with resignation, as if Kit had done this before. Josh looked at Rachel and raised his brow. She picked up on his cue.
“For the record, you admit to assaulting your wif
e, Mr. Valensky? On the date and time listed here?” Valensky looked at the report Rachel gave him and after a long beat, nodded.
“Yes.”
“Go ahead and sign here, and I’ll need your initials here and here.” Rachel handled the task like the professional she was. After Valensky finished, she continued.
“We’re going to verify all you’ve told us, Mr. Valensky. If none of it fits, you can expect us to return.” Rachel proceeded to charge Vadim Valensky with assault and battery. Josh observed, but not because he had to—Rachel was an extraordinary cop and she’d proved her expertise not only on domestic calls like this one but on the streets of Silver Valley, taking down drug dealers and apprehending criminal suspects. As he watched Valensky, he saw what he prayed was resignation and maybe the beginning of remorse in the man’s eyes. It was the most Josh ever hoped for—that the abuser would pay for their crimes, and find help to never do it again.
Rachel wrapped up the formalities after obtaining Valensky’s signature. There would be no arrest because it was his first officially charged offense, and because Kit was safe in the shelter.
“One more thing, Mr. Valensky. If for any reason you think you have a problem with your anger, and how you express it, I suggest you seek help. Voluntarily is always better than being forced to do it in a jail cell.” Rachel reached into her back uniform pocket for a pamphlet that she left on the coffee table. “There are links and phone numbers for you to utilize. Please do.”
Valensky didn’t get up as they walked out of his house and drove off the property. Only after the gates closed behind them did Josh speak. “You did great in there, Rachel. I thought he was going to piss when he saw your expression. And that was before we charged him.”
“After he tried to brag about his sexual prowess when he said he doesn’t touch her unless she asks him to? Gag.” Rachel’s profile was resolute. “He’s like all the other ones, isn’t he? He’ll never admit he has a problem even after he’s broken her bones or worse.”