To Protect & Serve

by V. K. Powell

  The words filled Alex’s heart as her pulse pounded faster in her aching head. “Do you always say exactly what’s on your mind, Morgan?” Her smile assured Keri that she was teasing. Noticing Beth’s approach, she said more formally, “I’m really all right, Keri. But you look a little ragged. Do those scratches hurt?”

  “Not really. I’ll be fine.”

  “Keri, about the last few days—”

  “The only thing that matters now is that you’re here and you’re okay. I know you need space when you’re confused.”

  Alex frowned in puzzlement. How could Keri possibly know what she needed? And yet… Catching Beth’s attention, Alex called, “Have the paramedics checked Morgan for injuries?”

  “What about you, Lieutenant?” Keri tried to argue.

  “Don’t worry about the lieutenant,” Beth said. “I’m taking her home right now. That’s where she was headed when some idiot ran her off the road. She refuses to go to the hospital.”

  “Was this a hit-and-run?” Keri asked. “Did he make contact? Did you get a description of the car and driver?”

  “It was a big, older model car,” Alex replied. “I couldn’t tell anything about the driver in the heavy rain. But I don’t think it was intentional. The car just hydroplaned.”

  Beth patted Keri on the shoulder and directed her toward the ambulance. “Don’t worry about it. The uniform guys have already broadcast an alert. They’ll run it down. Now, go let the medics take a look at you.”

  Rain dripped off Keri’s hair and ran down her back as she turned reluctantly from Alex and walked toward the waiting ambulance. “Sergeant, are you sure the lieutenant will be all right?”

  “Absolutely, and so will you.” As Keri climbed into the back of the ambulance, Beth muttered, “But I don’t think it’s the physical injuries either of you need to worry about.”

  Her comment was almost drowned out by another torrent of blowing rain, and Keri thought she’d probably misheard the faint humor in her tone.

  Chapter Twelve

  When Alex entered the lineup area late Saturday afternoon the assignments had already been made and the officers were preparing to leave. Her walk showed little sign of her ankle sprain. Even the cuts and bruises to her face and lip had almost vanished. She’d disguised the final traces with careful makeup. As the troops filed from the room, she handed Keri a razor-thin cell phone.

  “Wear this.”

  Keri frowned. She’d expected to be wired. “It’s a cell phone.”

  “And a transmitter. When the time is right, we’ll be able to hear everything that’s going on. It won’t help us much in a noisy bar but we can send you text messages if we need to.”

  “You two get going and be careful.” Beth patted Keri on the shoulder and handed her the Corvette keys.

  Before Alex could speak, Keri said, “I know. Don’t wreck the ’Vette. By the way, Chad called. He says Tiffany is running scared, but he can find her. It may take a few days.”

  “Good work,” Beth replied. “Keep this up and you’ll be my prize pupil.”

  Alex leaned toward Beth and whispered, “I’m going to need that weekend at the lake you keep talking about. And copious amounts of alcohol will be involved.” She followed Keri toward the parking lot to get the ’Vette.

  On the way to the club, Alex filled every minute with final instructions and reminders. She couldn’t afford to indulge the attraction she felt toward Keri. “Your main purpose tonight is to entice Davis, make him feel comfortable, and make him want more. We wait for him to bring up the subject of drugs. Anything else would raise suspicion.”

  Keri responded with nods and mumbled acknowledgments. When she could no longer contain the need to be on a more personal level with Alex she asked, “You really liked Stacey Chambers, didn’t you?”

  Alex looked at Keri’s profile as she drove, wondering how this young woman sliced through her carefully constructed façade to the very heart of her. “Yes, I did.”

  “What was so special about her? I mean, she worked for you. How did you get so close?”

  “It wasn’t really anything she did, exactly. It was more about who she was. Something about her attitude was contagious. She believed in possibility and wanted everyone to have a fair chance. She was incredibly hopeful and honest.” As Alex described Stacey she realized that the same words could easily be said of the woman next to her.

  “She sounds a lot like my friend Josh,” Keri said. “He was a great believer in the potential of the human spirit. Any cause that came along, he was on board. I used to tell him that he was burning his candle too brightly, that he needed to slow down or he’d spontaneously combust. I had no idea I’d lose him so soon.” Her voice cracked and she clutched the steering wheel tighter.

  Alex reached across the seat and placed her hand on Keri’s knee. “I know how you feel. We never expect to lose those bright spots in our lives, ever.” Keri’s pain and empathy struck an all-too-familiar chord, peeling away another layer of Alex’s resistance. She withdrew her hand to refocus on the job. “Do you have any questions about our purpose tonight?”

  Keri had plenty of questions but none of them were work related. In the five days since the accident, Alex’s demeanor had been different. The professional barrier was still in place, but Keri felt somehow more connected to her personally. Some of the emotional separation seemed to have been replaced by a cautious watchfulness. Keri didn’t really understand how or why the change had occurred, but it gave her hope for their future. She wanted to talk with Alex about what was happening between them but that conversation would have to be put on hold as they pulled into the lot at the Gentlemen’s Club.

  Alex watched Keri walk toward the entrance, feeling against all reason like she was leading the lamb to the slaughter. Keri wore black skintight leather pants and a red stretch top. It didn’t take imagination to see the dips and curves of her body as she moved. Alex wanted to stop this whole process, start over, reconsider, and choose another primary officer. But it was much too late to back out now, and besides, Keri was doing a good job.

  A waiting line stretched out the front door of the upscale club. Chad appeared from the crowd, whispered to the bouncer, and led them inside. “Sonny’s been waiting for you.” He pulled Keri aside, telling her, “I tracked Tiffany down tonight, but she won’t talk to anybody but you. I told her she can trust you.”

  “Good, call me with the details tomorrow.”

  The dimly lit building vibrated with earsplitting music. High-beamed ceilings and painted concrete walls made it look like a warehouse that had been converted into a meat market for sexual predators. Scantily clad women balanced trays of cocktails and delivered them to eager patrons with a personal touch. Nude and seminude strippers gyrated on the raised performance platform vying for attention and tips. The atmosphere was heavy with smoke and the stench of stale sex.

  Sonny Davis and his cronies held court in front of the stage watching the strip show. He had a woman on each arm. His face lit up as Keri and Alex approached.

  “Hey, the girls I’ve been waiting for. Vodka tonic and beer, right? Get these ladies a drink, Amber,” he cooed to one of his arm decorations and motioned to Keri and Alex. “Have a seat.” He patted sleek cushioned chairs on either side of him.

  Fletch rose beside Davis to pat the women down, but Davis waved him off. “They’re fine.”

  The hairs on the back of Alex’s neck bristled. She didn’t like having Davis between her and Keri. The first rule of engagement was divide and conquer. Davis was a slick one, all right.

  Davis gave Keri and Alex a quick up-and-down appraisal, then addressed Keri. “You’ve never been to a strip club before, have you?”

  Keri looked away from the g-string-clad dancer humping a pole on stage. “What gave you that idea?” She blushed, embarrassed for Davis or Alex to think her inexperienced. She’d been in plenty of places like this, but never with her mind so singularly focused on one woman. If she was going to make
this work, she had to get her head out of her pants and play her part.

  “But you”— Davis turned his attention to Alex—“I bet you’ve seen plenty of naked women.”

  The way Davis leered made Keri want to use his pretty face for a punching bag.

  Alex answered in a seductive tone Keri had never heard. “As a matter of fact, I have. My ex-boyfriend loved titty bars. It’s the reason we finally broke up. He didn’t know the difference between looking and touching.”

  “Too much of a good thing, huh?” Davis waved the other two women away and scooted his chair closer to Alex.

  When their drinks arrived, Keri gulped down part of her beer more quickly than she intended and immediately felt the results. Watching Davis eyeballing Alex, she fought the urge once again to throttle him. Her head began to pound. She pressed against her temples and tried to focus on her surroundings. Tonight she’d detected a familiar bulge under Cappy and Hunk’s jackets and the outline of an ankle holster under Fletch’s pant leg. The men hadn’t been armed at Shelly’s. Her eyes burned in the smoky room and her vision blurred. She finished her beer in two gulps and caught a subtle warning look from Alex. Her meaning was clear. She and Keri weren’t armed, a definite disadvantage when the men around them were. They needed to stay sharp and focused.

  Davis snaked his arm around Keri’s chair and leaned into her. “Ever think about doing that for a living? With a body like yours, you’d rake in the cash.” He nodded toward the stage and slid a finger down the length of her arm.

  Keri cringed inwardly but forced herself not to let it show. Davis’s eyes held the glazed-over expectancy typical of drunk, horny, and demanding men. “Not really. I don’t have the right moves.”

  “Maybe you just need a few lessons.” He continued to stroke her arm as he watched Alex for a reaction.

  Alex couldn’t hear what Davis was saying, but from the look on Keri’s face it wasn’t anything she wanted to hear. Anger boiled inside, and she reminded herself that this was part of the job, no matter how disgusting. Her grip tightened automatically on her glass as she pretended to laugh at one of Fletch’s off-color jokes.

  When Alex returned her attention to Keri, she was being led to the dance floor by Davis. It took all her strength to remain seated and let the younger officer handle the situation. To do anything else would’ve blown their cover.

  Sonny Davis slid his arm around Keri’s waist and pulled her into his body. She felt the hard muscles along his chest and pelvis against her softer flesh and cringed. The urge to resist was almost unbearable.

  “So how long have you and the redhead been together?”

  “Not long,” she answered, stealing a quick glance in Alex’s direction to be sure she was okay.

  “I bet she’s hot in bed. She’s the silent type that screams like a banshee when you fuck her. Am I right or what?” Davis rubbed his chest against Keri’s breasts and backed her into a darkened corner of the dance floor.

  A wave of disgust and anger churned in Keri’s stomach. A knee to the nuts would probably get his mind off sex, but if she stayed focused there would be a bigger payoff than watching him writhing on the floor holding his balls. But her head was pounding like a jackhammer driving rivets behind her eyes.

  “I get it, you don’t kiss and tell.” Davis slid his hands down Keri’s back and pumped his hips forward. “My kind of woman, the kind that don’t tell.”

  “And you’re my kind of man, strong and sexy as hell. But don’t you have an old lady?” The words almost hung in her throat as she allowed Davis to grind his pelvis against hers.

  “Up until a couple of weeks ago. She thought she could fuck me over. Nobody fucks Sonny Davis without a personal invitation.”

  “I bet she’s pushing up daisies somewhere in the des-sert.” Keri’s speech slurred and she wondered how one beer could have such an effect. She shook her head from side to side, which only served to make her dizzier.

  “Not yet, but soon.”

  Memorizing Davis’s words verbatim for future reference, Keri tried to sound sympathetic without being overly solicitous. “I don’t blame you, man. Fuck a double-crossing bitch.”

  Sonny nodded. “I knew you’d get it. You’re one of those broads that got a double dose of the loyalty gene.”

  “Damn straight.” Keri nuzzled the side of Sonny’s neck and almost puked at the strong taste of his aftershave.

  “Look, I like you and your friend. We could do some serious business together. You girls can get my product into the women’s scene around town. My guys can’t touch those places. There’re big bucks to be made with the dykes, all that disposable income and high drama. They’re always in need of a fix of some kind. What do you think?” He emphasized the question with another hip thrust.

  Keri’s vision blurred and two grinning Sonny Davises smiled down at her. “I think you talk too much and don’t take enough action. Bring it on. We can handle whatever you got.”

  Davis laughed and maneuvered Keri on the dance floor until they were in front of Alex’s table. “I believe you probably can.”

  Alex watched Sonny rake his fingers through Keri’s hair and trace the angle of her jaw to the edge of her lips. If he tried to kiss her, Alex knew she wouldn’t be able to contain her rage regardless of the effect on the case. The fact that he was breathing the same air so close to Keri made her want to choke him with her bare hands. He squeezed Keri’s upper arms, slid his hands behind her, and kneaded her back down to her buttocks.

  The bulge in Davis’s pants became increasingly obvious as he moved his determined strokes up and down Keri’s body again, lingering on her butt. His eyes were glassy and unfocused, but it was Keri’s expression that worried Alex more. The usual soft candor of her gaze had given way to a distant edge. The change could not have been caused by a single glass of beer.

  Alex stood, checked her temper, and sauntered over. With a slight pout, she ran her hand up the inside of Davis’s leg and crooned in her sexiest voice, “You’re making me jealous, Sonny.” She licked her lips and breathed on his face. “God, I’m so horny.”

  Davis dropped one hand from Keri’s butt and hooked his arm through Alex’s. “Well, bring it on. Your girlfriend and I were just getting things cranked up. I’d love to make it three-way. Damn, that would be hot and a great way to seal a partnership.”

  Alex let her fingers linger inches from Davis’s crotch. “Hold that thought. Gotta use the restroom.”

  He nodded, his mouth agape.

  Alex extended her hand for Keri’s. “Come on, Lynn. After all that beer, I know you need to go, too.”

  Keri cast a slightly vacant look at Sonny, who slapped her ass and said, “Don’t keep me waiting.”

  Alex slid an arm around Keri’s waist and led her to the restroom. When they were safely inside the single-seat facility, she locked the door and pushed Keri against it.

  “Are you all right?” She leaned into Keri’s space and examined her face.

  “Yup, I’m fine, boss.”

  “You don’t look so great. Your eyes are glazed over, your face is flushed, and you’re slurring like a drunk. I’m going to call this off.”

  Keri stared at Alex’s hands that still gripped her waist. “You know, I think this is the third time you’ve touched me. They say third time’s the charm.”

  Alex started to withdraw, as if she’d just noticed the touch herself, but Keri grabbed her hands. “Don’t…I like the way it feels.” She cupped Alex’s hands on her narrow waist.

  Sparks shot through Alex’s body, bringing blood and passion to the surface. She’d felt like this before holding Keri—so very right. Yet the circumstances this time were horribly wrong. Keri’s eyes were wide, her pupils constricted and cloudy with confusion or intoxication.

  Keri leaned forward and framed Alex’s face in her hands. “You are so fucking beautiful. All I’ve thought about for days was how it felt to kiss you.” She licked her lips and moved closer. Alex felt hot breath against th
e side of her face and waited for the kiss. Keri’s hands drew her nearer. Her body strained against the fabric that separated them. Urgency grew in the pit of her belly and the craving would not be still.

  Keri whispered, their lips close enough to touch, “I was so afraid that night at Brighton’s Curve. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d lost you. Do you have any idea how much I care about you? How badly I ache for you all the time?” Her hands slid up Alex’s sides, palmed her breasts, and thumbed Alex’s taut nipples into hard pinpoints of sensation. “I need you so much. Please, Alex.”

  Please? No one had ever asked her to let them love her. She’d been told what she wanted plenty of times and taken when she wasn’t sure what she wanted. But that simple word combined with Keri’s skillful foreplay made Alex’s resistance almost futile. Her body had given up already. She wanted Keri with every cell in her body, but this was not the time or the place.

  Alex steeled herself against the loss she knew would hit the minute she broke contact with Keri and stepped back, forcing Keri to release her grip. “That’s it. We’re definitely out of here. Splash some water on your face. I’ll make excuses to Davis. Meet you back at the table.”

  Keri shook her head, producing a light wave of dizziness. She turned toward the sink, scooped cold water in her hands, and buried her face in it. The shocking contrast of icy water on her skin did little to cool the burn that seemed to scorch her from inside out.

  “Please don’t call it off, Alex.” She lifted her hands away from her face and turned around. Alex was gone.

  *

  When Alex exited the restroom, the house lights were on. She was so angry she stood in the shadows and took several deep breaths. How dare that scum-sucking bastard drug one of my officers? She waited for Keri, returned to the table, and asked Dolph where she could find Davis. He motioned toward a private lounge area in the back.

  She followed his directions and found Fletch and Cappy standing in front of a door that led into a private dance room. “I need to see Sonny.”