Betrayals Stand (MidKnight Blue Book 5)

by Sherryl Hancock

  Randy gave him a measured look, aware that he was about to take a lot of flak for his decision to counter Midnight’s denial. Midnight already had her eyes narrowed at him.

  Randy and Jessica beat a hasty retreat, and Midnight closed the door to her office. She walked over to her chair and sat down, leaning back and putting her booted feet up on the credenza behind the desk. She glanced back over her shoulder at him.

  “I’m listening,” she said, her voice a little chilly.

  “Well,” Joe said, shrugging as he moved to sit sideways in the chair in front of her desk, extending his long legs to rest on the chair next to it. “Randy needed to do a ride-along, and I wanted her safe. It’s pretty simple, really.”

  Midnight was silent for a few minutes. He could tell she was trying to reign in her temper, because her foot was moving agitatedly. It was a habit she had picked up over the last couple of years, that and tapping her pen when she was irritated. “I denied that request almost a month ago,” she said.

  “Yeah.” Joe nodded, keeping his voice even. “But that was when Randy was screwing around with Dickerson and you were pissed at her.”

  Midnight’s foot stopped moving. She twisted around to look at him with narrowed eyes. “Are you trying to say that I let my feelings cloud my judgement?”

  “Are you trying to say that they didn’t?” Joe said calmly.

  Midnight looked at him for a long moment. “Maybe,” she acquiesced, but her tone hadn’t changed much. “But I don’t think Randy riding along with you is the best idea either.”

  “Why not?” Joe was starting to get a little irritated himself.

  “Duh, Sinclair. Maybe for the same reason that you and I never stayed together too long. You have this bad habit of smothering people and making them too careful, remember?”

  “Randy’s not undercover, Midnight.”

  “No, but she’s not a fully trained peace officer either.”

  Joe was silent. He knew she was right, but he hadn’t thought about it in that way before. “So, you’re saying you don’t mind her here at FORS, but you don’t want her with me?”

  “You got it.”

  “Well, there’s one little problem with that.” Joe pressed his lips together.

  “What’s that?”

  “They’re mad at her.”

  “What? Why?”

  Joe looked at her as if she was an idiot. “Duh, Midnight.” The words Midnight so liked to use on him sounded strange in an English accent, and she found herself laughing.

  She made a face. “Hadn’t thought about that,” she said honestly. Standing up, she looked into the outer office. “Hold on,” she said, holding up one finger to Joe. She went to the door and opened it.

  “Kana, Spider, Tiny, and Dibbs—front and center!” she bellowed. She turned around and looked at Joe as they moved toward her office. She tilted her head to indicate that he should leave. Joe stood up, his face showing his lack of understanding, but he left. The four senior members of FORS entered her office and took up positions. Spider and Dibbs sat in the two chairs, Kana leaned against the table in the corner, and Tiny perched on her credenza.

  “It’s nice to have you back, boss,” Spider said. The others nodded in agreement.

  “Well, thanks for the sentiment,” Midnight said, making a face. “But I called you in here to chew on you a little bit, so let me do that before we have the group hug, okay?” Her tone was light, and the other four knew she appreciated their support, but she wasn’t one for great shows of emotion. “I did, however, appreciate the twenty-one-text salute this morning.” She grinned at them then, as all four smiled widely.

  “So what else did we do this time?” Tiny asked, suspecting he knew what she was going to say.

  Midnight looked at them seriously then. “I want you to lay off Joe and Randy.”

  There were snickers and coughs. It was obvious they didn’t like the idea.

  “Is that how you’d react if I got back together with Rick?” she said, the look on her face indicating the remoteness of that possibility.

  “It’s not the same thing,” Kana said, her eyes narrowed.

  “Why not?” Midnight asked, without any anger.

  “Because Rick screwed up, but it wasn’t with another cop—that makes it different,” Dibbs said.

  “Come on,” Midnight said, shaking her head. “I know she fucked up, believe me. I wasn’t real pleased with her actions either…” She trailed off, knowing they had no idea how much Randy’s actions had affected her personally. “But here’s the thing. Joe loves her, and they’re back together. That’s what counts in the end, isn’t it?”

  “Not really,” Spider said.

  They weren’t giving an inch. Midnight grinned. They really were like a family. Joe and Midnight were the parents, and they were the stubborn children. When one of their parents made what they perceived as a bad choice, they dug their heels in and wouldn’t let up.

  “Oh, come on, guys!” she said, exasperated. “Haven’t you seen the guy? He’s happy as hell, and it makes me sick, but none of you saw how unhappy he was up in Sacramento.” She shook her head. “I don’t ever want to see him that bad off again, and if Randy makes him happy, what right do we have to tell him he’s wrong?”

  Tiny was looking at her, and she stared back at him. “What, Tiny?” It felt like she was under a microscope.

  “I heard about Sacramento,” he said, and Midnight knew exactly what he was talking about. She wondered mildly if the other three did too. She realized they didn’t seem to—but they wanted to now.

  “Shit,” she said, and went to sit at her desk. She looked up at Tiny. “Joe tell you, or did Jessica?”

  Tiny grinned shyly when she mentioned Jess, but he shook his head. “No, Joe told me. Jess wouldn’t tell me something like that. She knows it’s private.”

  “Yeah,” Midnight said. “Well, Sinclair’s got a big mouth.”

  “Excuse me,” Spider said, looking between her and Tiny. “What’re we talking about here?” He looked hopeful.

  Tiny nodded, confirming what Spider was thinking. The other two got it shortly after that.

  “So how come you two didn’t stay together?” Kana asked, sounding to Midnight like a kid asking about her divorced parents getting back together. “That way you could get rid of both pieces of deadwood in one shot.”

  Kana had always liked Rick, but she didn’t like what he had done to Midnight, and for that reason she had changed her mind. It was that easy with gang members—your friend one day, your mortal enemy the next.

  “Kana,” Midnight said, with a warning note in her voice. Then she looked at the others. “Look, we have to work together here, and Joe’s getting a lot of negative shit coming his way, and he doesn’t need it right now. Okay?” She looked at them sternly. “And I want it to stop.” Her eyes pinned each of them in turn. “Now.”

  “We have no control over the other members,” Dibbs said, sounding rebellious.

  Midnight flashed him a nasty look. “Don’t play dumb with me, Dibbs. They’ll follow you fours’ lead, and I want you to lead them down the happy-go-lucky members path. You got it?”

  All four of them moaned, shaking their heads or looking up at the ceiling.

  “Hey,” Midnight said, her tone softening. “I’m askin’ here, okay?” She knew she couldn’t issue an order that they all play nice, but that if she did, they’d follow it without question—and if that was what it took… But they were nodding now, guilted into agreeing. “Oh, what good boys and girls I have.” Midnight smiled as they started to grin at her. She looked down at her watch. “Ah, shit. I gotta go.”

  “Where to?” Spider asked as the other three moved toward the door.

  “Meeting with the assistant chief.” Midnight made a face.

  “So important,” Spider said with a sardonic grin.

  “Yeah, right.” Midnight grabbed her jacket off the back of the chair.

  Spider noticed that Midnight was wea
ring black cotton slacks with a white cotton button-up shirt, but she was wearing her usual black boots, with the tapered legs of her pants reaching just to the back and top of the heels—what Midnight would consider regulation. The jacket she shrugged into was the same heavier black cotton as the pants, and tailored so that it stopped right at her waist and cut in like a matador’s coat.

  Spider whistled. “Impressive.”

  Midnight slapped him on the arm. “Can’t go totally casual, can I?”

  An hour later, Midnight left the assistant chief’s office, her face drawn and angry. She leaned against the wall just outside, trying to keep from going back in and shooting him. When she stepped away, intent on heading back to her office, she ran into someone coming the other way. She looked up, and her apology died on her lips. Dick Dickerson looked down at her as if surprised that she was there, but then his expression turned into a leer as Midnight’s eyes narrowed at him.

  “Well, little Midnight,” Dick said, his voice low. “How are things going?”

  Midnight nodded, looking daggers at him. “You and I have a date, Dickerson,” she said, deadly quiet.

  “Really?” He glanced down at his watch. “Well, I can’t make it right now, honey, but we’ll do it real soon.” He reached out to pat her hand but was surprised when she grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm up and around behind his back, slamming him face first into the wall.

  “You touch me again, and you’ll wish you hadn’t,” Midnight said, her voice a harsh whisper.

  The assistant chief’s secretary came running out of the office, having heard the commotion. Midnight looked at the woman for a long moment, her cat-green eyes all but shooting fire, then she let Dickerson go with such abruptness that he stumbled sideways.

  “You’ll pay for that, Chevalier!” he yelled as she started down the hallway.

  Midnight turned around. She was a striking figure in black and white, her copper-blond hair a sharp contrast. “I already have, ten times over,” she said, her tone indicating that she could tell everyone who cared to hear just how.

  Dickerson shut up, realizing he was taking too many chances.

  Midnight nodded condescendingly. “Oh, and don’t think for a minute that this is over, ’cause it’s not.” She turned on her heel and headed for the elevators.

  By the time she reached FORS’ floor she still hadn’t managed to calm down. Her hands were shaking as she reached for the door to her office. Spider noticed and went to find Joe; he, Randy, and Jessica were in one of the briefing rooms, looking over reports. Glancing over his shoulder, Spider saw Midnight heading back toward the elevator with keys in hand. He picked up his pace, all but running to the briefing room, and skidded to a halt in the doorway.

  “Joe!”

  Joe’s head snapped up.

  “You gotta go after Midnight.”

  “What happened?” Joe asked, standing and moving toward the door.

  “I don’t know,” Spider said, leading the way, both of them taking long strides. “But she came back from her meeting with the AC and she didn’t look good at all.” He glanced at Joe as he punched the button for the elevator. “She had her keys, man. I don’t think she should be alone.”

  Joe looked at him sharply. “Fuck this,” he said, gesturing to the elevator, and headed for the stairwell.

  Joe took the stairs two and three at a time and managed to get to Midnight’s Corvette just as she did. He leaned against it casually.

  “Where’re you goin’?” he asked, eyeing her. She did look very shaken up.

  “Out.” She gestured for him to get out of the way.

  “Well, I’m going with,” he said, his tone allowing no argument.

  “Fine,” Midnight said tonelessly.

  A few minutes later, Midnight drove out of the parking lot, leaving black tracks on the pavement as she accelerated down the street. Joe watched her, wondering if he should have made her let him drive, but he knew Midnight found driving therapeutic.

  She was once again listening to No Doubt. “Just a Girl” came on, and she cranked the volume, her way of saying she didn’t want to talk just yet. As Joe listened, he began to really wonder what had happened with the assistant chief. He didn’t like that Midnight was singing the words with such intensity. He didn’t like the lyrics—they related to women’s place in society, and he knew that Midnight meant every word as sarcastically as the lead singer of the band did.

  “I take it the meeting didn’t go well,” he said as Midnight reached over to turn the volume back down.

  She shook her head, her face a mask of cynical anger. “Not well would be a pretty safe description,” she said coldly.

  “What’d he say?”

  Midnight shook her head again, her eyes narrowed. “It wasn’t so much what he said, as what he didn’t say. No—come to think of it, what he said pissed me off just as much.”

  “Well, let’s hear it.” Joe could see the anger building in her, and he knew she needed to vent.

  “Well, let’s see,” Midnight said, like she was getting ready to rattle off a grocery list. “First of all, he told me that the chief’ll be out for at least six months, maybe longer, maybe forever.” She looked over at Joe, and he nodded, his face solemn, but he knew this wasn’t the main point. “Oh, yeah,” she said, as if in afterthought. “He also told me that he was aware that my program had always been treated with a lot a favoritism, since I had managed to ingratiate myself with the chief…” She trailed off as she let her words sink in.

  “Ingratiate?” Joe said, his mouth agape, the look on his face reflecting his shock. “He said that to you?”

  “Yeah,” Midnight said, her expression showing her rage.

  “He used the word ‘ingratiate’?”

  “Yep,” Midnight said, shrugging and giving him a hurt, angry look. “I guess ‘fucked your way to the top’ was too indecent for him.”

  “Sonofabitch!” Joe yelled, balling his hand into a fist. A lethal look came over his face. “I’ll kill him.”

  “Oh, no,” Midnight said seriously. “No, I need you with me, Joe, and getting your ass fired and thrown in jail won’t help.”

  Joe looked at her for a long moment, not even able to guess how she was feeling. He nodded. “You’re right.”

  “Oh, there is good news,” Midnight said, but she was clearly still being sarcastic.

  “What’s that?”

  “Well, he made it clear that his career ladder was open to my agenda if I’m so inclined.”

  Joe just stared at her, not believing what he was hearing. “Jesus, Midnight,” he said, a mere whisper. “Who is this guy?”

  “I don’t know, but he’s gunning for us, and we have to be ready to shoot back.”

  Joe could see she was trying to shrug off the impact of what she was saying. He could also see that it was affecting her deeply. He once again cursed Rick for not being there. Midnight needed the man she loved right now, and he was in England, licking his wounds.

  “Oh, we’ll shoot back alright,” he said, his voice deadly serious.

  “Hey.” Midnight shrugged. “Maybe I’ll make captain yet, huh?” Her words were light, but the look in her eyes was one of deep pain.

  “Not funny.”

  Midnight drove in silence for a while. Joe knew she was angry and hurt, and he knew that what had just happened to her was the polarization of all her fears and angst over her career. To have someone dismiss everything she had accomplished with a few simple words, one in particular. Joe wanted to kill the guy, to beat him to a pulp, but he knew Midnight was right—there was nothing he could do and still be there for her.

  He found himself looking at her left hand, and noticed it was bare. “You took it off?”

  Midnight glanced over at him, and when she saw where he was looking, she looked back out at the road again. Her eyes narrowed just slightly. “I sent it to him,” she said coldly.

  “Ouch,” Joe said, his eyes on her. It amazed him once again how strong
she was. She didn’t let anything get her down for too long; she always fought her way back. It was astounding. He had no idea that she was thinking about how badly she wanted a really stiff drink right then—a lot of them. It wouldn’t diminish Joe’s faith in her; it would, however, mean he had to get drunk with her. It had become an unspoken rule with them—if they were in the same town, one couldn’t get drunk without the other one present. Midnight didn’t want him there, though. She knew he was still repairing his relationship with Randy, plus he had Jessica there now too, and she didn’t want to be another problem for him.

  Back at the office, they spent the rest of the day trying to get together stats and information on current cases. The assistant chief wanted them on his desk by the next morning. At one point Midnight looked up at Joe, Randy, and Jessica, who were in her office going through stacks of paperwork.

  “Why don’t we just give the asshole a list of zeros,” she said. “It’s all he’s going to see anyway.”

  Joe looked at her pointedly. “Let’s all quit then.”

  Midnight’s eyes showed her exhaustion. He didn’t know that her head had started to ache a couple of hours before, and that she felt like someone had beaten her up all over again. Without saying a word, she went back to work. Joe caught Randy’s eye, and they exchanged a worried look.

  Three hours later Joe stood, stretching. “I’m takin’ you home,” he said to Midnight. When she started to shake her head, he pinned her with a look. “Don’t give me any shit, Midnight. I’ll get the rest of this pulled together, okay?”

  Midnight nodded. She knew Joe could do it just as well as she could; they’d been working together long enough to know that.

  Joe looked over at Randy. “You follow me, okay?” Randy nodded.

  Half an hour later, Joe escorted Midnight into her house and made sure everything was okay. She turned to him, her eyes reflecting the day’s events. Without a word, Joe took her into his arms, hugging her close.

  “It’ll be okay, Night. We’ll kick this guy’s ass.”

  Midnight smiled at the conviction there. Her fights were always his; it was good to have someone to count on all the time. Joe left a few minutes later. After making sure the house was secure and locked up tight, with the alarm on, Midnight headed over to the bar. She spent the next three hours drinking as she sat staring off into space. The house was quiet, too quiet, so she turned on the stereo, but even that she kept low.