by Kay Bigelow
Leah smiled. Score another conquest for Dani.
“We’ll talk about your role going forward when you get back to Xing, Leah. And you, too, Jardain. When might you be returning?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve decided to retire here,” Leah said.
Leah enjoyed watching as Dani’s head snapped around and her eyebrows shot toward her hairline. “Just kidding. We’ll be leaving on the fourth.”
That’s not very long. Drude.
“I’ll call to set an appointment to discuss the case with you. Can you have dinner with me tonight?” Fujiyama asked.
“We’ve already eaten. Maybe we can share a meal in Victoria, then,” Leah said.
“I’d like that.”
They’d strolled toward their bungalow along the path lit with strings of tiny lights in the trees on either side. At one point, Dani had stopped and taken Leah into her arms and kissed her with so much heat and passion that Leah’s knees became gelatinous.
“I love you so very much,” Dani murmured as she held Leah close.
They resumed their stroll. Instead of turning onto the sidewalk leading to their front door, Dani said, “Let’s go for a swim. The moon will be on the rise soon.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
Dani led Leah to the same white-sand beach they’d been to earlier. Dani began taking her clothes off, so Leah followed suit. When they were both naked, Dani took off at a run for the water. Leah followed her, but at a much more sedate speed. At the water’s edge, she dipped a toe in the water. She was delighted to find the water was still warm despite night descending on them. She moved into the water. She wasn’t able to completely relax because she wasn’t sure there weren’t creatures of some sort in the water with them despite what Dani had told her earlier about banning all the sea creatures for the duration of their vacation. She paused when she thought she’d felt something brush by her left leg. Of course, it could have been her imagination. But…what if it wasn’t?
Leah watched Dani frolic like a kid. Leah very slowly continued deeper into the water. Dani watched her move toward her. When Leah was close, she splashed her.
“You didn’t just splash me, did you?”
“I did,” Dani said, and did it again.
Leah responded with splashes of her own. Soon they were throwing water at each by the bucket-load and laughing like school girls. Dani grabbed her and hugged her tight. Within seconds they were kissing and Dani’s hands were on Leah’s breasts and Leah’s hands were sliding down Dani’s back to her ass.
Dani’s hand moved down to the apex of Leah’s legs. Leah felt Dani’s finger slide along her clit. “Oh, what you do to me,” Leah gasped.
Leah moved her hand to cup Dani and slid a finger along Dani’s clit. “By God, what you do to me,” Dani murmured.
Leah’s senses were running riot between the warm water surrounding her body, Dani’s mouth on hers, and her fingers on her clit. She didn’t know where to put her mind. She settled on the sensations being created by Dani’s very talented fingers.
“Let’s go back to the bungalow,” Dani whispered.
There was no way for them to dry off, so they picked up their clothes and headed toward their bungalow. They walked slowly along the path enjoying the warm night air drying their skin.
Over the course of the next several hours, they made love. It wasn’t frenzied as if fired by lust, but rather it was two women who loved one another showing each other how much they were loved. Leah was still enthralled by the fact that Dani called her name when she came. From what she’d read about players, they didn’t dare use the name of the woman they were fucking lest she use the wrong name. I wonder what Dani would say if I asked if she’d ever called one woman by the name of another. What does it matter as long as she doesn’t call me by someone else’s name? I swear I sleep better in Dani’s arms. Why is that? I feel safe. She hadn’t had a nightmare since they’d been on Wild and that was a new record. If that’s not trust, then I don’t understand the concept. They fell asleep in one another’s arms.
Leah and Dani spent the next morning not doing much. They enjoyed coffee on the lanai after Dani finished her laps. They talked about many things, none of which had to do with either their future together or the murder case. Leah wasn’t surprised they hadn’t spoken about the case, but she was surprised that Dani had studiously skated around the topic of their future. She wanted to ask why but didn’t want to put a pall on the comfortable and easy way they were together by asking tough questions that Leah suspected Dani wouldn’t want to answer or wasn’t ready to discuss.
They were back at the big house in time to say goodbye to the girls. Tasha ran to Leah when she and the others came down the steps of the lodge.
“Leah, Maria says we should thank you for having found us.”
“Tasha, Maria is a wise woman. You can learn much from her,” Dani said, sounding to Leah like a wise woman herself.
“I’m going to miss Maria,” Tasha said, tears forming in her eyes and in her voice.
“Maria is going with you. You and the others will be living with her for a little while. Who told you she wasn’t going with you?”
I’ll have to hurt the woman who lied to these children.
“That other mean woman,” Tasha said pointing with her little finger at Garrison. She’d obviously been taught it was impolite to point at people.
Leah bent down on one knee. “Tasha, that mean woman fibbed to you. Give me a hug and let me say goodbye to Fiona and Nicole.”
Tasha hugged her tight for long moments and then ran back to Maria. The other two girls came to Leah.
Nicole, the eldest of the three girls, held out her hand. “Thank you for saving us from that bitch.”
Leah didn’t even try to hide her smile. She’d been afraid that Nicole and Fiona might never speak again.
“I was very, very glad I found you,” Leah said as she shook the solemn girl’s hand.
Fiona came and stood next to Nicole, and said, “Are we going to be safe where we’re going?”
“Oh, yes. Maria will be with you. Look at how muscly she is compared to the rest of us. She’ll be your protector for some time.”
“She is big, isn’t she?” Fiona said, giggling.
“So there’s no need for you to be afraid.”
“Will we see you again?”
“I sure hope to see you again.”
Maria and the three girls got into the van taking them to the SpacePort.
Fujiyama came and stood next to Leah, who had risen from her knees.
“I don’t trust Garrison. She told the girls that Maria wasn’t going to be with them once they got back to Victoria. Why would she say that?”
“I don’t know. She’ll be dismissed from the DA’s office if I have anything to say about it.”
“Good. I don’t think she has a compassionate bone in her body.”
“I wonder why no one has seen that in her before now. I’ll make it clear when I get back to the office.”
“Have a good trip. I’ll see you when I get back to Victoria,” Leah said.
“Have a good rest of your vacation,” Fujiyama said with a grin.
“I certainly will.”
Leah took Peony and Alex aside and commended them on their hard work while on Wild. She told Peony to make sure Cots hadn’t spent them into a hole while they’d been gone. Cots was itching to build a state-of-the-art security business, and with the other two partners away, he might think he had carte blanche to spend away. They laughed, and Peony told Leah she’d would put the brakes on his spending.
Leah stood watching the van move away from them. As they turned onto the street leading out of the resort, she noted that both sides of the road were lined with women cheering the girls on. She was so glad there were good people in the world who might not be able to stop the ones like Cooper, McDonald, and Garrison, but might be able to mitigate their evil with the goodness in their hearts.
After the van disappeared, Dani took Leah
’s hand and said, “Let’s go wild now that you’re no longer being supervised by your business partner.”
“Hardly being supervised considering we’ve barely seen either Peony or Alex for three days,” Leah said with a laugh.
“Right. Let’s go wild anyway. What would you like?”
“Whatever you want, however you want it.”
“Be still my beating heart. Really?”
“Really.” Leah had the feeling she’d just called Dani’s bluff. Maybe not, though, if that gleam in her eye says anything about what she’s thinking.
Bette came up to Dani and said in a low voice, “A moment of your time, please.”
Dani, with an apologetic look at Leah, walked a few feet away.
Leah sent a message to Cots saying, “Find out all you can about a woman ADA named Garrison. There may be a connection between her and Cooper.”
Since Garrison has been on Wild, she’s gone out of her way to intimidate and lie to the girls. Is she trying to scare the girls into not testifying? From that line of thinking came another thought: Will Cooper and McDonald survive the trip back to Victoria?
When Dani returned to her, she explained where her thinking had taken her. Dani asked, “What are you going to do about your suspicions?”
“I’ve got Cots checking for any connections between Garrison and Cooper and McDonald. Do you think there’s a way for us to move the prisoners’ departure date up several hours without Garrison knowing about it?”
“Yeah, there is. I hired a private shuttle to return a wedding party to Victoria last night. They were supposed to leave the day Natalie was discovered. The shuttle is returning to Wild with a party of eight and they’re due in at two. I can contact the shuttle captain and tell her I have another party that needs to go to Victoria as soon as possible if she’s interested.”
“We can put the prisoners and Sojourner’s team on it without Garrison knowing. She’ll be none the wiser until it’s time for her to supervise the removal of the prisoners tomorrow morning,” Leah said.
Dani and Leah grinned at each other.
“Let’s make this happen,” Leah said.
While Dani took care of the arrangements for the private shuttle to return to Wild with the party of eight as fast as possible and to pick up another party and take them to Victoria, Leah called Sojourner and asked her to meet her in the kitchen of the big house as soon as she could.
Leah was enjoying talking to Meryl about cooking when Sojourner came into the kitchen using the back door. Meryl left the table to make room for Sojourner.
“What’s up?” Sojourner asked.
“My gut tells me there may be a connection between Garrison and Cooper. I want you to take the prisoners to Victoria this afternoon. Can you and your team guard and secure them from potential ‘friendlies,’ or do you need more people to help?”
“No, we can do it. Treat, Lucy, and I have actual experience transporting prisoners. Bailey has the training, but this will be her first assignment.”
“Good. I’ll let you know what time to be here to take the van to the SpacePort as soon as I know when it will be.”
Leah gave Sojourner a few minutes’ head start out of the kitchen. Then she left the same way and headed for the infirmary. She filled Dr. Dominier in about the change in the schedule.
“I don’t want to know the reasons why you’ve changed the schedule, but I would have preferred to have Cooper in my care one more day to ensure she’s healthy enough to travel. But if you think they need to leave earlier, I’m good with that.”
“Would you feel better traveling with your patient? I can arrange that. And since you’ll be witness at their trial, I’m sure the DA would be willing to put you up for a few nights at a very nice hotel so you’ll be able to see a couple of shows and do some shopping.”
“How can I possibly resist such an offer?”
“Great. I’ll make the necessary arrangements.”
Leah felt much better about getting Cooper safely to Victoria alive and relatively well. Once they were gone, her own vacation would start for real, and she was looking forward to that.
Chapter Twenty-eight
At one, Dani was notified that the private shuttle would be landing at two and needed an hour to do safety checks and then they’d be ready to return to Victoria. Leah and Dani were in the alley behind the facility when Sojourner brought Cooper out to put her into the van they had parked at the infirmary’s back door. Cooper was on a hover-stretcher. Sojourner brought McDonald to the van shackled with handcuffs attached to a chain leading to manacles on her ankles.
“Jardain. You’ve got to help me,” McDonald said.
“Help yourself, Camryn. You got yourself into this mess,” Jardain said, turning away from her.
Before entering the van, Reagan admitted to giving Cooper a sedative to keep her quiet while they got her to the ship. McDonald went willingly with Sojourner to the van. Once the van was on its way, both Leah and Dani breathed a sigh of relief.
Cots sent a preliminary report to Leah that said, “There’s preliminary evidence that there is, indeed, a connection between Cooper and Garrison, but I have to dig deeper for enough evidence to convict Garrison.”
“Well done, Cots,” Leah texted. “We’ve arranged for the prisoners to leave Wild this afternoon without Garrison. She’ll be arriving at Victoria late tomorrow evening. Please send your report to District Attorney Fujiyama so she can make arrangements to have Garrison arrested when she steps off the shuttle.”
“Will do, Boss. Are you coming home soon? It’s lonesome without you.”
“I’ll be home on the fourth as planned—and not a moment sooner—so don’t even try to convince me to come home now.”
Leah could hear Cots’s laughter as he broke the connection.
The next morning, Leah and Dani decided to face the music and headed to the big house for breakfast. They knew Garrison would be furious that the prisoners were gone. They were right. They could hear her screaming as they pulled up in front of the big house.
“Are you ready for this?” Dani asked.
“No, but let’s get it over with.”
They walked up the steps and into the big house. In addition to Garrison, there was only one couple in the main room. Bette was at her post behind the reception desk. When Garrison saw Dani and Leah, she advanced on them. They continued moving toward the dining room. Garrison intercepted them and grabbed Leah’s arm to jerk her around, screaming, “Where are my prisoners?”
Leah jerked her arm away from Garrison. “Touch me again, Garrison, and I’ll arrest you for assault and battery.”
“You have no authority to arrest anyone, especially not me. Tell me now where you’ve hidden my prisoners.”
Leah started to move away from Garrison without saying a word. Again, Garrison made the mistake of grabbing Leah’s arm, and this time she jerked Leah around to face her.
Dani started to step forward, but before she could even move a muscle, Leah had Garrison on the floor with her knee on her back.
“I remain an officer of the court. You attacked me. I am placing you under house arrest for attacking an officer of the court as well as assault and battery. You will be escorted to the shuttle this afternoon and returned to Victoria.”
“Get off me, bitch,” Garrison yelled. “You just made the biggest mistake of your phucking life. I’ll have you arrested when you get back to Victoria. No one will believe I touched you since you’re nothing but a has-been cop.”
“You’re mistaken, Garrison,” Dani said. “She’s got me as a witness.”
“Me, too,” Bette said from her station behind the reception desk.
An additional half dozen employees stepped forward to say, “Me, too.”
Stanhope and a member of her team arrived on the scene.
“Stanhope, take Garrison into custody. She needs to be escorted to the SpacePort and put on the next shuttle headed to Victoria.”
“Yes, ma’am,�
� Stanhope said as Leah stood up.
“Bitch, you’ll die for this.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Leah said under her breath. “Dani, I’m starved. Let’s have breakfast.”
After a leisurely breakfast, they walked back to their bungalow. They agreed neither wanted to see either Cooper or McDonald again in their lifetimes. They would, of course, need to see them at their trials. Leah would surely be called to testify against them, and Dani might be called to testify how she’d found the girls’ mental states when they’d located them. But after that, they’d be done with them.
That night, they decided to order dinner from the big house’s kitchen and stay in. After dinner, Leah volunteered to clean up. Just as she was finishing, Dani walked into the kitchen and kissed Leah softly on the cheek.
“Come with me, love.”
Dani led her into the bedroom and slowly undressed her. Then she took her own clothes off. She held her hand out to Leah, who took it. Dani led them toward the bathroom. She stepped aside and let Leah enter first. Leah was stunned. The bathtub was full of bubbles, the room lit by dozens of candles of various sizes and scattered around the room. Fresh flowers were in tall vases. Leah went to the tub’s edge and could smell lavender. She turned to Dani and said, “This is so beautiful. Thank you for thinking of doing this.”
“Let’s take a bath, shall we?” Dani asked.
Once they were in the bathtub, Leah leaned back against Dani and let the lavender scent seduce her. When Dani began nuzzling her neck, she closed her eyes and emptied her mind of everything but the feeling of the warm water and Dani’s lips on her neck.
“You surprise me,” Leah murmured.
“How so?”
“This is so incredibly romantic.”
“You didn’t think I had it in me?”
“I didn’t know whether you did, but I hoped it was so.”
“This is only the beginning, my love.”
“You make me fall more in love with you every day.”
“Wait a second. Are you telling me no one has done something like this for you?”
“Yes.”
“Quinn wasn’t a romantic?”
