“The girls are getting out of hand. I want you to stay with them,”

he said gruffly.

“Until the police come for us like last time?” Irina scoffed. “I will stay where I am safe.”

“You will stay where you are told.”

“She stays with me,” Mitch said softly.

“This is not your affair, boy.”

“Irina is my business.”

Olik gripped the desk on either side of his hips, his smile condescending. The outline of an erection was prominent beneath the expensive material of his trousers. “Maybe you should show me what you’ve got that Irina likes so much.”

“That’s private,” Mitch said.

“Irina,” Olik said, his voice low and dangerous. He drew back the edge of his jacket, exposing the automatic on his hip. “Explain to your boy who’s in charge.”

“It’s all right, Mitch,” Irina whispered. “I know what he wants.”

Before Mitch could protest, Irina shifted until she straddled his thighs, her skirt pulled tight across the junction of her pelvis. He gripped her hips automatically.

“Irina, what—”

Then Irina’s hands were in his hair and her tongue was in his mouth, and she was kissing him feverishly. For a second, he was too stunned to do anything but hold on to her while she rocked on his cock. He finally pulled out of the kiss and stared into her eyes. She was breathing fast and her lids drooped heavily.

“It’s all right,” she murmured again, sliding a hand down to his belt buckle. “I don’t care if he sees.”

She wasn’t acting. She wanted him to fuck her. And suddenly

• 280 •

Justice for All

Mitch wasn’t thinking about Sandy, or the job, or Olik, or what was right or what was wrong. He was thinking about Irina, a woman he cared for. He could feel her heat through his pants. He looked down and saw the ridge of his cock nestled between her thighs. Irina tugged at his belt. Oh fuck, she really was going to take him inside her, right here.

“Irina.” Mitch brushed his thumb across her full lower lip, then cradled her hips in his palms. He tensed his thighs and lifted her off his body, rising to his feet all in one motion. He stared at Olik. “I know how to treat a woman right. That’s why she prefers me.”

Olik flicked his hand at the muscle by the door. “Show this boy how we treat disobedient dogs in our country.”

The guy was twice Mitch’s size, but Mitch had fought big men before. The cadets at West Point only came in two sizes. Big and bigger.

With men like this, there was no choice but to hit hard and hit fast. He wouldn’t get a second chance. With a leering smile, the Russian threw a looping haymaker and Mitch did exactly the opposite of what the guy expected. He stepped forward to the inside of the punch, blocked the big man’s forearm with his own, and rabbit punched him with a straight hard shot to the larynx. The Russian’s eyes bulged, he grabbed his throat with both hands, and sank to his knees. With a wet gurgling moan, he collapsed onto the dirty gray carpet.

Mitch sidestepped as he toppled. “His larynx is fractured. He’ll drown on his own blood if someone doesn’t take him to the hospital.”

The man thrashed on the floor and the front of his pants turned dark as he urinated. Olik cursed in Russian and strode to the door, yanking it open so hard it ricocheted off the wall. He snapped out something else in Russian and the man in the hall rushed in, grabbed the prone man under the arms, and dragged him out. Olik kicked the door closed and spun around.

Mitch braced for the next round. Irina appeared beside him and put her arm around his waist. Olik stopped a few feet away, his face stony.

“The girls would feel safer with Mitch on security,” Irina said.

“He’s good and he’s not going to try to fuck them.”

“You’ll supervise them. Go with them on their jobs? Make sure they behave?” Olik asked.

“Da,” Irina said.

Olik regarded Mitch. “You provide security when they travel.”

• 281 •

RADclY fFe

Trying to appear nonchalant although his heart was pounding, Mitch said, “When Irina’s not working, she stays with me.”

Olik nodded.

“Okay then,” Mitch said. “When do we start?”

• 282 •

Justice for All

ChAPTER TwENTy-NINE

Mitch keyed in the security code so he could park his Ducati inside Sloan’s building. When he turned around, Sandy stepped out of the alcove at the top of the stairs and headed his way.

“What are you doing out here alone?” Mitch asked. “It’s the middle of the night and it’s freezing.”

“I was hoping I’d get lucky.” Sandy linked her arm through his.

“And I guess I did.” She tugged him into the shadows and kissed him.

“Everybody’s here—upstairs rehashing tonight. I wanted to see you alone first.”

Mitch rolled the bike in next to Sloan’s Harley on the other side of the Porsche and closed the overhead doors. Then he unzipped his jacket and leaned back against his bike. Sandy took off her jacket and dropped it over the handlebars. When she kissed him again she tasted a little like liquor and smelled like fresh snow. Her skin was cold and her mouth was hot. Mitch tightened his grip and buried his face in the curve of her neck.

Sandy stroked his hair. “You okay, baby?”

“Yeah.” He spoke without looking up. Olik had seemed satisfied with the agreement Irina had made to supervise the girls, but Mitch had taken Irina back to the apartment and waited for an hour to be sure she wouldn’t have any unwanted company. They didn’t talk about what had happened in the back room of Ziggie’s. They’d both done what they’d had to do.

“Irina handle things?”

“She did fine.”

• 283 •

RADclY fFe

“Was there trouble?” Sandy asked.

“Some. Olik needed a little convincing that Irina and I were a package deal.” Mitch flexed his right hand and noticed for the first time that his knuckles were sore. Sandy caught the motion and grasped his wrist, drawing his hand up to the light.

“You broke some skin over your knuckles. Got any bruises anywhere else?” Sandy asked casually. She didn’t want to fuss over him because she knew he needed to believe she had total faith in him.

Her fears were hers to deal with, not to lay on him.

“He never touched me,” Mitch said without much satisfaction.

He’d thought he would feel better about taking one of these guys out, but he didn’t really. He’d realized as he watched the Russian flail on the floor, choking to death, that all he wanted was to put the guy behind bars. He didn’t need to deliver the punishment himself. “I hurt him pretty bad.”

“Did he come after you?”

“Yeah.”

Sandy framed Mitch’s face so she could look into his eyes. “Then you did what you needed to do. Don’t feel bad.”

Mitch smiled wryly. “I don’t. Not really.” He brushed his fingertips through the soft, short hair at her temple. “I saw you had a new boyfriend tonight.”

“Phil?” Sandy laughed. “He is so all talk.”

“Glad to hear that.” Mitch’s smile disappeared. “You okay about everything?”

“Don’t talk in code, rookie.” Sandy poked his chest. “You mean am I having a fit about Irina—who happens to be very hot in the flesh, by the way—having her hands all over you?”

Mitch nodded.

“If I said I didn’t mind, you’d know I was lying. But I’m not having a fit either.” She leaned into him, her thighs against his thighs, her belly tight against his crotch. “When I was still working, you never told me not to. You made love to me when you thought I was still hooking. You loved me even when you thought I was giving my body away.”

“Sandy,” Mitch whispered.

Sandy pressed her fingers to his mouth. “If you keep doing what you’re doing, and I guess you’re going to since Frye thinks you’re so good at it, you might have to do more than kiss a girl’s neck some night.

• 284 •

Justice for All

Whether I see it, or I don’t, it’s about work. I don’t need to know the details.”

“Just so you know, it won’t happen unless there’s no other way.

And…” Mitch sighed. “It won’t mean anything to me.”

“You sure you’re okay?” Sandy ran her hands down his arms, then rubbed her palms over his chest inside his jacket. “You’re pretty tight.”

Mitch shook his head. “Maybe a little. How about we check in with the lieutenant and then you can find out if I’m wearing any underwear.”

“I don’t want to be distracted in front of Frye,” Sandy whispered against Mitch’s mouth while she worked the zipper down on his fly.

Mitch stiffened as she slid her hand inside his briefs and gripped his cock. “One question answered.”

“That’s as far as you better go,” Mitch said thickly. “Because we don’t have time for the rest.”

“Five minutes?”

Mitch laughed. “You know how to straighten out my head when I’m twisted around. No one else ever has.”

Sandy licked his neck. “I know how to straighten something out.

Got a safe in your wallet?”

“You know I do. But I’m still not going to fuck you right now.” He gripped her hips and backed her off a few inches, then looked down at her hand inside his pants. “Jesus. You make me hot.”

“That’s more like it.” She kissed him lightly on the mouth, rearranged his clothes, and zipped his fly. “Now, let’s go to work.”

v

“Jesus Christ, Frye,” Clark barked as he held his hotel room door open a few inches. He wore boxers and a white T-shirt, and he needed a shave. “It’s five o’clock in the morning.”

“Five twenty,” Rebecca replied. “We need to talk.”

“I’ll be in the office by nine.”

When Clark tried to close the door, Rebecca wedged her foot in the opening. “This can’t wait.”

Clark looked back into the darkened room. “I’ll meet you downstairs in the coffee bar in fifteen minutes.”