Wine, Tarts & Sex

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 his 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.”

“You’re really a good person, Roman. I mean it,” Janie added softly. “It’s been a long time since a man’s done anything for me without wanting something in return.”

“Let’s not talk about that.” He knew she’d pulled herself up from poverty; he also knew she hadn’t always been particular about the methods she used.

She smiled, liking that he preferred not seeing the skeletons in her closet. More important, she liked that he didn’t want something from her. “Do you think we could stay here in the country for a while at least? It’s sort of like a little bit of paradise: strife-free, laid back, away from everything icky.”

He laughed, understanding the ickiness of the world better than most. “Sure, why not. Let me make a few calls, and when Matt wakes up, we’ll take him somewhere fun. There has to be a park or something around here.”

When he said really sweet things like that, she found herself beginning to feel something way beyond gratitude. Or maybe it was just that anyone who was good to Matt touched her heart. Leo had never actually played with his son. He’d just hired nannies and tutors, clowns and pony rides on birthdays. Roman’s kindness to Matt was profoundly moving.

Although on a purely selfish level, Roman was also a major turn-on sexually. Like he was enormous and after being with Leo, she was dying for a big, husky man who could last.

And could Roman last.

Really, a holiday in the country was just what she needed.

On several levels.

All of them sure to prove highly satisfying.