Betrayals Stand (MidKnight Blue Book 5)

by Sherryl Hancock

  An hour or so later, Tiny walked into Joe’s office.

  “What’s up?” Joe asked him.

  “We got a raid goin’ down in a couple of hours. Spider wanted me to let you know, in case you wanted to come along. It could be a good one.” Tiny’s eyes went to Jessica. He had seen her shoot at the range; he’d also seen how hesitant she had been. “Hi,” he said, his voice kind of soft and shy. Tiny was a fairly brawny Samoan—he’d slimmed down somewhat since attending the police academy three years before, but he still stood as tall as Joe and was almost twice as wide with muscle. His jet-black hair was cut short on the top and sides, with a long trail of curls down the back. Jessica glanced up at him and smiled.

  “Hello,” she said shyly, intimidated by Tiny’s size.

  Joe looked at the two of them and grinned. “Tiny, this is Jessica Harland. She’s a police officer from Sacramento—she’s on vacation.”

  Tiny’s eyes never left Jessica’s face, but he smiled widely and said, “Some vacation.” He looked around Joe’s cluttered office and then back to Jessica.

  “My travel agent told me this was a great sunbathing spot,” she replied, grinning widely.

  “This office gets about ten minutes of sun a day. I think you should fire your travel agent.”

  Jessica laughed, and so did Tiny.

  “Tiny,” Joe said, his expression indicating that he hated to interrupt, his eyes twinkling. “Tell Spider that I’ll be there. Have him call the address into me.”

  “I can just ride with you,” Tiny said, looking at his watch. “We’ve got about two hours.”

  Joe looked down at his own watch—it was four o’clock. “Good, that’ll give me time to pick up Randy and drop her and Jess off at the house.” He stood up, pulling his jacket off the back of his chair. Shrugging into it, he looked up at Jessica. “You ready?”

  Jessica nodded and stood. She turned around and just about walked into Tiny, because he had stepped forward to get out of the doorway. He steadied her, holding her by the shoulders. She looked up at him and smiled. “Thanks,” she said, and Tiny nodded, smiling back. As she started to step aside to get out of his way, he did the same, trying to move for her. They both laughed. “If we had music…” Jessica said.

  “I could hum,” Joe put in. Tiny and Jessica looked over at him, and it struck Joe that they’d make a pretty nice-looking couple. Tiny’s dark features and his obvious brawn blended nicely with Jessica’s tiny frame and auburn hair and fair skin.

  They left the office, and Tiny made a point of opening the car door for Jessica. A little while later they pulled up in front of the sheriff’s range. Joe got out of the car and perched on the hood. Randy came out a few minutes later. Joe noticed the bandage on her hand immediately, but she waved away his concern. “It’s no big deal,” she said, moving to kiss him. “I just couldn’t shoot without it.”

  “Mmhmm,” Joe muttered, grinning down at her.

  “Stop!” she said, laughing. She looked over and saw Tiny in the passenger seat. Her expression changed. Tiny was watching her, his eyes narrowed. Randy knew that everyone in FORS knew about her disloyalty to Joe, and she assumed, correctly, that most of them didn’t accept that she and Joe were back together.

  Joe realized what she was thinking. “Don’t worry about it, they’ll get used to it,” he said softly.

  Randy shook her head, the look in her eyes miserable. “I don’t know about that.” She walked over to the driver’s side of the car and got in the backseat with Jessica. Tiny didn’t even turn in her direction. Randy was actually surprised at his coldness; Tiny had always been so nice to her. It really bothered her.

  Joe got in. “I gotta drop you ladies off,” he said, glancing back at Randy. “I got a raid to go on. I might be pretty late.”

  “Okay,” Randy said, very conscious of every word that she or Joe spoke, in case Tiny should take something the wrong way. Suddenly, their being back together wasn’t as easy as it had seemed. Randy was still seeing the effects of her actions, and she wondered how long it would be before anyone would look at her like they had before.

  When they got off the freeway, Joe pulled up to a light and stopped. As he and Tiny watched, a woman in a skin-tight black velvet cropped top and retro bell-bottom pants walked by. She was raven-haired with a dark tan. As she strolled past the Jaguar, she glanced inside. She saw Joe and Tiny watching her, and she immediately turned to look at them full on. Joe, with his blond mane and light blue eyes, and Tiny, with his obvious build and dark good looks, sitting in a very expensive-looking car in downtown La Jolla were quite a sight. The girl stared at Joe, her eyes giving him an obvious come-on, but Joe shook his head slowly, holding up his left hand and indicating his wedding band. She shook her head and glanced over at Tiny. “We don’t have time, Tiny,” Joe said, his grin wide.

  “Damn,” Tiny said, but both men laughed as the light turned green. The girl walked on but watched the car as it passed her, only then noticing the two women in the back seat. She simply shrugged.

  Joe and Tiny exchanged a glance that was obviously an “Oh my God!” look, and then they both burst into laughter.

  “Black’ll do it every time,” Tiny said, shaking his head.

  “Tell me,” Joe replied. He glanced in the rearview mirror and caught Randy’s eye. He smiled at her, and she raised an eyebrow at him, but he could see a gleam of humor in her eyes. “I’m gonna pay for that one, I can see,” he said, still watching Randy. She nodded slowly, provocatively. “Might be worth it though,” he added.

  Later, on the way to the raid, Tiny looked over at Joe, watching him as if trying to figure him out. He and Joe had become pretty good friends over the past seven years. They’d had some run-ins, especially the time that Tiny hadn’t backed Midnight up properly and she had gotten hurt. They’d almost come to blows then. There had also been the time when Joe and Rick had gotten into a fight in the office, and Tiny had, at Midnight’s request, escorted Joe to the front door. Tiny knew where his loyalties lay, and if it came down to Midnight or Joe, it was always going to be Midnight.

  It had been Midnight who had visited him in the hospital when he’d had a fight with another member of his own gang. The guy had literally stabbed him in the back. It was Midnight who had talked to him like a real person. She had been honest with him, telling him that her newly formed unit was targeting his gang. She told him that if he was smart he wouldn’t go back to it when he was released from the hospital. He’d mouthed off to her, figuring she was just some broad trying to throw her weight around. Midnight had narrowed her cat-like eyes and told him she’d look forward to taking him down herself if he was stupid enough to ignore her advice. Tiny had found himself taking her seriously from that moment on. Something in her voice had made him see that she was not kidding and she was not someone he wanted to be enemies with. By the end of her visit, Tiny had asked her to come back and see him, if she had time. Midnight had made the time. She’d returned and talked to him, even joked with him. He’d asked her what her story was, and to his surprise she had told him. They had talked about why he was in the gang—mostly because he was so shy that he had to hide out in a gang to scare people out of trying to talk to him. Midnight had found that endearing and had told him so. She’d also told him she thought he’d be a valuable asset to her unit.

  “You want me to become a cop?” Tiny had asked her, his voice belying his shock.

  “No,” Midnight had said, shaking her head and smiling at him. “I want you to become a member of my gang. That’s basically what FORS is—it’s a gang that’s on the right side of the law.”

  Tiny had taken what she had said to heart. He had thought about her offer for a long time. He had come from a very traditional family and he had known for a long time that his parents were very distressed about his lifestyle. They didn’t understand him; they thought he just wanted to be a thug. His mother had tried to talk to him, but he had brushed her off, not wanting to have to explain that he was so painfully
shy that he needed to cultivate a tough-looking exterior so people wouldn’t try to talk to him. But Midnight had seen through his disguise right away. She hadn’t made fun of his shyness, hadn’t said anything about it at all after stating she felt that was what was keeping him in the gang. Tiny had felt a kindred spirit in Midnight from day one, and he’d had a crush on her for almost the entire time he’d known her. But over the years the crush had turned to a deeper affection for the tiny blond woman who had basically saved him from himself.

  He had come to feel that Joe, too, was a very good friend. Joe had backed him up on so many occasions. He had gone toe to toe with anyone who had put him down, and had even gotten into it once with a higher-up in the department for telling anyone who would listen that Tiny didn’t have a right to wear a badge, that he was a disgrace to the uniform because of his weight. The guy had been a jerk, but it had hurt Tiny’s feelings enough to make him actually try to turn his badge in. He had gone to Joe, not having the nerve to face Midnight. Tiny found out a few days later that Joe had cornered the lieutenant at a local cop hangout and told the guy that if he ever mouthed off about one of his friends again, he’d personally stuff his lieutenant’s bars down his throat. The lieutenant had promptly attempted to have Joe fired, but Midnight had stood up to him and he had backed down, knowing he would look like a real asshole if the truth of what he’d said came out.

  “What?” Joe said, catching Tiny’s look.

  “I just don’t get it, that’s all.”

  “What is it that you don’t get?” But Joe knew what Tiny was referring to.

  “How can you be with her now?” Tiny’s voice showed his annoyance at Randy’s betrayal.

  Joe looked at the other man, shaking his head. “You’re right—you don’t get it,” he said, but with no anger in his voice.

  “Joe, she cheated on you! I’m sorry, but in my book that’s really fucked up.”

  Joe shrugged. “Yeah, but then that makes me an asshole too.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I cheated on her too.”

  Tiny’s eyes widened in surprise. “When?” It was obvious he thought Joe was lying to make what Randy had done seem okay.

  “When I was in Sacramento.”

  Tiny’s eyes widened further. “You mean with that hot Sacramento cop?”

  “Jess?” Joe said, and when Tiny nodded emphatically, he shook his head. “God, no! Jesus, Tiny, she’s a kid!”

  “No kid I’ve ever seen has a body like that.”

  “Well, she’s not too much of a kid for you, I guess, but she’s even younger than Randy.”

  “Okay,” Tiny said, finally accepting that Joe hadn’t slept with Jessica. “Then who?”

  Joe didn’t say anything for a long moment, and suddenly it came to Tiny. “You slept with Midnight again, didn’t you?”

  Joe looked chagrined as he nodded slowly.

  “I don’t believe it!” Tiny almost whooped—it was obvious that he did believe it. “And all that time I felt sorry for her because of Rick’s bullshit, and she was with you.”

  “Whoa!” Joe said, holding his hands up in protest. “No, we weren’t together that whole time. Just up in Sacramento, one time.”

  “But…” Tiny started, confused again.

  “We weren’t together, Tiny, except one time in Sacramento, right after I found out about Randy and Dickerson.”

  “So Randy did the deed first,” Tiny said, trying to qualify what Joe and Midnight had done. “Same as Rick.”

  “So that makes it okay—is that what you’re saying?”

  “Well, yeah. I mean, you didn’t cheat on Randy before she cheated on you. It was kind of like, well, uh…”

  “Payback?”

  “Yeah!” Tiny said triumphantly.

  “No,” Joe said quietly as he shook his head.

  “Bullshit, Joe. She burned you and you were just doing what was fair.” Tiny didn’t want to give up the argument until Joe was in the right.

  “By using Midnight?” Joe raised an eyebrow. He knew he had said the right thing when Tiny sucked in his breath sharply.

  “No.” The look on Tiny’s face showed clearly that he was going through all kinds of processes to make this come out right. “You weren’t using her, were you, Joe?” His eyes narrowed just slightly, and Joe knew he was on dangerous ground. He also knew Tiny wouldn’t actually kill him, just damage him a little if it turned out that Joe had indeed been improperly using the woman Tiny held in the highest regard.

  “No, Tiny.” Joe sighed. “I was just trying to make a point. Just because Randy did something stupid, doesn’t mean I should go out and do something just as stupid.”

  “Two wrongs don’t make it right and all that crap, yeah?” Tiny nodded, but he still looked affronted at Randy’s lack of loyalty.

  “Tiny,” Joe said, imploring the other man to try and understand, “she’s going through a rough time right now. She’s trying to grow up, and trying to become independent, and I guess that meant independent of me too. I think the thing with Dickerson was just to put distance between her and me, but now we’ve closed it again, and I’m tellin’ you, she’s not getting away from me again.” The look in Joe’s eyes convinced Tiny there had to be something important going on for Joe to be so determined.

  “Okay,” he said finally, sighing dramatically. “But I’m warnin’ ya, the rest of the unit’s just as pissed at her.”

  Joe looked grim as he nodded. “Yeah, I know.” The ironic thing was that FORS was the family Joe had never really had, and now, it was like they disapproved of his wife. He suddenly knew what it felt like to be the wayward son who had brought home the inappropriate date. It bothered him that the rest of FORS was mad at Randy too, and he wondered idly what he could do to change that.

  They arrived at the raid site, and Joe didn’t have time to think about it anymore.

  Chapter 2

  Randy and Jessica had ended up on the couch after dinner, and they were drinking wine when Randy caught Jessica’s sidelong look.

  “You want to ask me something?” Randy said with just the merest hint of annoyance.

  “It’s really none of my business,” Jessica said, shaking her head.

  “Ask, and if I think it’s none of your business, I’ll tell you so.”

  “Fair enough.” Jessica nodded. “Do you think you and Joe are going to be okay?”

  “In terms of what? Our marriage?”

  “To start with, yes.”

  Randy thought about it for a moment, then nodded slowly. “I’m going to try my damndest to make it work this time.”

  “What’s changed that makes you think it will work this time.”

  Randy looked at the younger woman sharply, surprised by her directness. “Why do you ask? What’s your stake in this?”

  “Are you asking me if I’m after your husband?” Jessica said calmly.

  “I guess I am.”

  “To be totally honest with you, the idea of making a play for your husband has occurred to me, although not since I’ve been here.”

  “What’s been different here?” Randy asked evenly.

  “I’ve seen how much in love he is with you,” Jessica said, very matter-of-fact.

  Randy shrugged. “It’s just as well.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because I’d fight you tooth and nail for him,” Randy said, and it was clear that she meant it.

  Jessica smiled, surprising Randy. “Good,” she said, and that made Randy take a second look at her.

  “Good?”

  “Yes, good, Randy.” Jessica nodded. “I’m glad to see that Joe’s love for you isn’t being wasted. And if you’re willing to fight for him, then maybe you do deserve him.”

  “Maybe?”

  Jessica shrugged. “You have to admit, your dalliance with that other guy wasn’t the smartest move you could have made.” There was no accusation in Jessica’s words, only friendly observation.

  Randy stared at the
other woman for a long moment, shocked once more by her directness, but in a way appreciative of it. She knew Midnight would have been more direct, and probably a lot nastier about it, but it was good to have someone to talk to about her relationship with Joe. Someone that was at least partially on her side.

  “That,” Randy said, “was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done, and I hope to never make that kind of mistake ever again.”

  “Good.”

  Randy smiled at Jessica. She really did like this woman. She had been worried a few minutes ago when the conversation had gone into dangerous grounds, but she realized now that Jessica had, in a way, been testing her. She tilted her head.

  “Were you serious about wanting Joe?”

  “Oh…” Jessica considered her answer, looking directly into Randy’s eyes. “Yes.”

  Randy just laughed. “You aren’t the first, believe me.”

  “Oh, I do. Like today?”

  “Really,” Randy said, laughing again. “I was waiting for the woman to climb into the front seat with him. Jesus!”

  “I can’t even imagine being that forward with a guy, and certainly not with someone like Joe.”

  “I know,” Randy said, agreeing wholeheartedly.

  “How’d you bag him?” Jessica had wondered that since the first time Joe had mentioned his wife. How did someone go about catching a man like Joseph Michael Sinclair?

  “Actually, he bagged me.” Randy shrugged. “More or less. Not that I wasn’t just killing myself over him.”

  “So how’d it happen?” Jessica asked, her eyes wide.

  “Well, I was hired as his secretary, and from the first time I saw him, I was in love. But, well, I was really shy, and he was larger than life. He did eventually ask me out. It was all kind of a mess for a while, because of things going on with a really rough case.”