Page 67 of Romancing the Rumrunner
“Well, Miss Harlan. It was a pleasure doing business with you but I sincerely hope we never see each other again.”
“The feeling is mutual, Agent Jameson.”
He gave her a cold smile and tucked the last file into a box.
“Jameson,” she said, before he could leave. “About Tony…”
“No. Solomon can cool his heels for a few weeks. That’s aslenientas I’ll go. I might not be able to prove he destroyed evidence, but his gross misappropriation of funds while he was undercover is enough to earn him a little jail time.”
Jessie bit her tongue to keep from saying something she might regret.
“Don’t worry, Miss Harlan. Greaseballs like Solomon always slither their way out of trouble.”
“You’ll never be half the man that Tony is,” she said, pushed to the breaking point.
But Jameson just smiled at her. “That is your opinion, Miss Harlan. Good-day.”
Jessie was glad to see him walk out her door. If she never set eyes on him again, she’d be a very happy woman.
She slumped into her chair. She couldn’t believe it was over. The speakeasy was gone. The booze was gone. The Feds were off her tail. Willie had done his worst and now that the rumor was spreading that both the Phoenix and his club were history, she didn’t think she’d have any more problems with him. Especially since she’d made sure his last payment had made its way into his corrupt little pocket. With her father’s debt paid off, Willie didn’t have any reason to be interested in her.
She had insurance money, and the private stash she’d held back from the club’s money that she’d turned over, so she could rebuild the shop. Could even improve on it. She laid her head on her arms and closed her eyes. Her life was her own again. But it wasn’t complete yet…not without Tony.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jessie grabbed another bucket of paint and lugged it into the main shop area. It was amazing what a couple of months had done for the place. The outside was completely rebuilt. They just needed to get the inside to match. The shop area had been finished first. The workmen only needed to finish up the living quarters upstairs and she’d be able to fully move back in.
Maude had kindly taken her in while the building had been rebuilt, but the second the walls had gone up, Jessie had hauled an old mattress up the stairs so she could sleep in her own place again. She longed for the day when it would be completely finished.
Even more than that, Jessie yearned to see Tony again. Since he’d been away, he’d written to her every week, without fail. But he refused to allow her to come visit. The one time she’d tried, she’d been turned away. She’d given him an earful for it in her letters, but he refused to budge. The man was infuriating. She just wanted to see him. She didn’t care where that might be. But he’d insisted, and so she’d spent the last couple months pining for him.
She’d never pictured herself as the pining type, but she needed the man, plain and simple. It had been a blessing, perhaps, that they’d had the chance to get to know each other better through their letters without the heat of their attraction getting in the way. But it had been long enough and Jessie wanted her man.
The door opened, the brand-new bell tinkling a welcome to whoever had entered. Jessie turned to tell them she wasn’t open for business yet, but the words stuck in her throat.
His broad shoulders filled the doorway, the sunlight gleaming off his black hair, his deep brown eyes creasing at the corners with the width of his smile.
Jessie squealed, a noise she had never made before in her entire life, dropped the brush she held in her hand, and launched herself at Tony. He laughed and caught her, supporting her weight so she could wrap her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.
Her lips were on his, her hands fisted in his hair, before he could get a word out. He didn’t seem to mind though. He kissed her until she had to wrench herself away to suck in a deep breath.
“You’re here,” she said, near breathless with joy.
“I’m here,” he said, leaning in for another soul-altering kiss.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, breaking away long enough to press a trail of kisses down his neck.
He kicked the door closed and carried her farther into the shop, placing her on the newly built counter. She kissed him again and again, and finally wrapped her arms around his neck so she could just hold him.
He stroked down her back, making quiet shushing sounds while he murmured the most beautiful nonsense in her ears. She didn’t realize tears were slipping down her face until he kissed them from her cheeks.
“I missed you,” she said, smiling up at him.
He laughed. “I noticed.” He leaned down for a long, lingering kiss. “I missed you, too.”
He untangled himself just enough so he could get a good look at her and Jessie suddenly remembered what she looked like.
“Oh horsefeathers! I’m a mess! Don’t look at me like this.” She covered her face with her hands, mortified beyond words.
