desperate to be tangled up with those kind of people, anyway. I would choose a Romanovsky over a Corleone any day.”
“And that’s why you work on surveillance.”
“Do you see me whining about it? Never. Because I know that we all play a part here, however big or small, and they’re all equally important. My god, not everyone is out to get you.”
“I just want respect. Of course I’m married to my work, Chet. Of course I’m tearing my own skin from the bone. I have no choice but to.”
“I understand where you’re coming from, Jess. I feel you. I’m just saying… it’s okay not to be so reckless. To have some boundaries. Healthy even.”
“I’m an undercover agent. My entire job depends on me breaking boundaries.”
“A boundary was definitely broken tonight. Leo Romanovsky… he was feeling you.”
“Leo Romanovsky tortured me in high school. Leo Romanovsky can eat a fucking dick.”
Chet shifted. “Don’t let Harp find out you went to school with this kid.”
“The only way Harp will find out is if you open your big fucking mouth.”
“He won’t hear it from me.”
Eyeing him, she leaned forward, pulled her cell phone out of her jacket pocket, and pulled up an old picture of her family, turning the screen toward Chet so he could see.
He leaned in, squinted at the image, and then chuckled. “Okay. I see your parents, and I see two huge dudes standing behind your parents.” His eyes rose to her. “Which one are you?”
She kicked at him, watching as he nearly fell off his chair to avoid the blow, laughing.
With a roll of her eyes, she recrossed her legs and tossed her phone on the table. The clank echoed through the empty halls.
“I was obese in high school,” she said. “Bigger than most of the linebackers on the football team. It didn’t help that I dressed like a man. Leo used to call me Beer Belly Borgia.”
“Seems appropriate.” He dodged another kick with a chortle.
“He never tried to fuck Beer Belly Borgia the way he’s going to kill himself trying to fuck Ashley Williams,” Jessica said. “Yes, I went to school with all of them, but they wouldn’t recognize me in a million years.”
“Like I said, Harp won’t hear it from me.”
“Good. I think we both know how he can get when it comes to protecting his agents, even if it comes at the expense of closing an investigation. If he finds out I went to school with the family, or that I threw myself in front of Leo’s car tonight, he’d pull me so fast my head would spin. I can’t let that happen. I need this case. My entire professional future is dependent on my performance with the Romanovskys.”
“How many different ways can I say he won’t hear it from me?” Chet slapped his hands to his chest. “He won’t hear it from me, Jess. Enough with the lecture.”
She took another swallow. “I think I’m going to have even more fun nailing Leo than I will his twin brother.”
“We haven’t proven Val is the killer.”
“Of course he is. We have his mug shot. A mug shot someone went to an awful lot a trouble to bury on the night two people were murdered.”
“A mug shot with no booking papers or fingerprints.”
“Which makes it all the more suspect.” She beamed. “When is the last time you’ve seen a mug shot with no paper trail? No prints? Huh?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Never, bitch, that’s when.”
“Still doesn’t prove Val’s a killer.”
“He has the same tattoo the driver had—”
“They all have that tattoo—”
“ And he has a mug shot that was taken that same night? Chet. Come on.” Jessica waited for Chet’s rebuttal. When it didn’t come, she stared off into the empty house, shaking her head. “You should’ve seen the look in his eyes when I ran into him in the hallway. He has the creepiest eyes. Eyes that have seen things, you know?”
“Are you describing Val’s