FORBIDDEN: Book 1;: Sizzling HOT Detective Series (The Criminal Affairs Collection 2)

by Taylor Lee

  Sly nodded and even managed to look sympathetic. “So, I’ve heard, sweet cheeks. I also hear that he’s hard-assed in more ways than one.” He added with a chuckle, “It’s too bad I don’t swing both ways even if I dress like I do, or I might go after that hot piece of beef.” Before Viviana could appeal for mercy, Sly continued. His straightforward reprimand confirmed she couldn’t expect a reprieve. “Look, Sergeant, you and I have created a partnership that relies on obfuscation with everyone except each other. The reason we’ve been able to do that is while we both bend the rules to the breaking point with everyone else, we’re who we are with each other.”

  Viviana was startled to realize that the crazy-looking “she,” who was really a hardnosed “he,” had summed up their relationship accurately. She admitted that Sly/Francis was the one individual in her life with whom she was real, that, in crass terms, she never “played.” Even with Mick O’Reilly, who was as close a friend as she had, she often fudged the truth if she felt she needed to. At least she came clean when she decided it was in her best interests to do so. The fact that Mick knew both sides of her and still loved and admired her helped. Before she could try to explain her challenging situation, Sly broke into her thoughts. The fact that he called her by her given name underscored the seriousness of his information.

  “Look, Viviana, the shit I have for you is potentially such pure gold that if it pans out, we could use it to top ice cream, and people would beg for a bite. Hell, we could sell it for a thousand dollars a lick. I’ll admit it’s in the formative stages, meaning I have to learn more before I can pass it on even to you, or especially to you, because you are the only copper I know who has the balls to run this particular explosion in the making to ground.” At Viviana’s darkening frown, Sly relented. “Okay, okay. For once I’m not shitting you, sweet cheeks. This one potentially makes all of your past triumphs seem like junior high school pranks.” At her impatient growl, Sly held up his hand and asked, “Tell me, wise tracker of salacious crimes, what are the two ingredients always present in high crimes and misdemeanors?”

  Viviana gave in to his drama and shrugged. “That’s easy. Sex and money.”

  Sly crowed, grabbed her under her arms, and twirled her in a circle. Viviana laughed and insisted that he put her down. “Be careful, Sly, or someone might guess you have some manly looking muscles under your padded falsie double-D cups.” Sharpening her tone, she added, “And just so you know, Sly, I’m about done with the strip tease. Speaking of pasties and G-strings, you can drop them both and get to the full Monty or I’m outta here. I’m facing enough shit in my personal and professional life that I don’t have the energy or inclination to put up with yours.”

  Viviana realized that she’d let some of her anxiety show though when Sly studied her, a surprised frown furrowing his brow. “Hmm, sweet cheeks, I noticed that you seem a little agitated. I’m wondering if all the tales I’ve heard about the prowess of your new commander is affecting my little blonde-haired cupcake. Don’t tell me the GQ superstar is trying to put a leash on my unleashable pussy cat?”

  Shaking her head, Viviana said, “Let’s just say that he is as different from Captain Michels as a rabid dog is to a cuddly puppy. And yes, Sly, I’m going to have to work hard to keep our usual business relationship in place. He’s insisting that I give him the real names of my CIs. He insists that any confidential information I give him will remain confidential. And, Jesus God, he is such a straight shooter he just might mean it. I think I can get by with revealing my lesser informants, but he’s so fucking accomplished he might guess that I have a more important one. You.”

  Sly was silent for a moment, then shrugged. “Why not tell him about me? If you really think you can trust him, revealing the two sides of my Eves, or more accurately my Adam and Eve duet, will be such a big reveal you may be able to keep the rest from him. Hell, he might even front you the dozen Benjamins it’s going to take to get me to reveal what may be your biggest coup ever.”

  Viviana wrestled with the idea that Sly proposed. She admitted it had merit. She was certain that no one knew about Sly’s double life. And absolutely no one knew that the she/he doppelgänger was her primary source for every important crime that she’d solved. The problem was that she didn’t know if she could trust her commander with such a powerful secret. Even as she played with the idea, she realized that the problem was she couldn’t trust him. All she had to do was remember him assaulting her body and soul and having her beg for more, then him leaving the party minutes later with Deidre Cummings. Having resolved that issue in her mind, she turned back to Sly, who was watching her thoughtfully, and decided to press him.

  “I’ll admit it, Sly. I’m under a lot of pressure, and it’s getting to me. So for once give me a break. Help me out. I need to know what you have. Not the details. I understand those are only for sale. But throw me a goddamn bone, will you? What makes that pile of shit you have shine like gold?”

  Sly’s frown deepened to the point that his heavy theatrical makeup threatened to lodge in the creases on his brow. After a very long moment of silence, he lit a cigarette and handed it to her but not before he lit one for himself off the end of hers. After two long drags on the cancer stick, he smiled at her.

  “Okay, sugar lips, here goes. As you correctly surmised, any scandal worth its salt includes sex and money. Only this time the purveyors of the sex are more than wannabe tarts with more mileage on them than a Goodyear tire after multiple laps at the Indie five hundred. You know those kinda tarts, sweet cheeks—bitches who could suck the chrome off a tailpipe. Not in this gig. Uh-uh. In this scandal, the snatch for sale not only comes in the high-end packages of some gen-u-ine call girls, but it also includes teeny boppers.” He added, “The kind of young hoes these connoisseurs require; the ones the trollers call spinners.”

  At Viviana’s questioning frown, he said, “You know, the boppers who are so young that when the prick puts her on top of his bone, he can spin her.”

  Chapter 11

  Waiting for Mick at their morning hangout, Viviana slugged back her third cup of steaming Kona brew. She didn’t need it for energy or to make up for her lack of sleep. She was so high on adrenaline she couldn’t have slept last night if she’d wanted to. Her anxiety was at such a level that she’d done what even she rarely did. She’d headed for the SJPD gym at three thirty in the morning and pounded the bejesus out of the leather bag before peddling a ten-mile jaunt on the stationary bike at a blistering four-minute mile pace. She’d relived her meeting with Sly so many times in her mind that it had become a whirling kaleidoscope of images, one damning piece after another ricocheting in her brain. When she allowed the pieces to take shape, claim an identity, she realized that Sly hadn’t been shitting her. She truly was on the heels of the biggest crime she’d ever uncovered.

  As always, sex and money were involved. That was a given in even the most boring mini-scandals. And yes, since Sly was the informant and also a pimp/madam of some repute, it was a given that it would involve hookers. Only in this case, for the most part, according to Sly, these whores weren’t your garden-variety lot lizards. Hardly. These were high-end call girls, the kind of women who made a hefty living on their backs or on their knees and had very important men willing to pay the price for the pleasure of their company. Add in what Sky called boppers—which meant that the women who weren’t high-priced whores were underage girls—and you had the makings of a genuine scandal.

  But it was the final ingredient in Sly’s “scandal in the making” that had Viviana up all night for the second night in a row. It was her CI’s assertion that, while he only had hints, if those hints proved true, this scandal involved high-level players. Make that some of the best-known politicians in the city as well as a financial scion or two and most damning, a significant representation from the law enforcement community.

  “Damn, Vivi, I never thought I’d say it, but you look like hell.”

  “Thanks, Mick, glad that I can always cou
nt on you for your honesty. And, yes, I’m not surprised that you think that. If it makes you feel any better, I feel like shit warmed over, which happens when you haven’t slept for two nights in a row.”

  Mick’s cheerful grin and twinkling eyes should have warned her, but she wasn’t in the mood for jokes. No, she had serious shit on her mind, and she had to figure out how much she could reveal to her partner. God knows she was going to need help if this case was as big as it appeared to be.

  Before she could begin to suss him out, he said, “Now, now, my prickly partner, don’t misunderstand. On a bad day, you are the hottest babe in the room. And on a good day, I don’t have to tell you what every guy will attest to, that you are a wet dream walking.”

  When Viviana glared at him, not up for their usual banter, Mick frowned. “Damn, Vivi, I sure as hell hope that what I said yesterday didn’t upset you. You know I was just slinging my usual crap.”

  Viviana had to stop and think to remember that he was likely referring to his over-the-top description of her entrance to the mayor’s party. She frowned and shook her head. “For God’s sake, Mick, if I let your blarney bother me, we wouldn’t be able to work in the same office much less be partners. No, friend, I was not offended; in fact I have to admit I kind of like the way you described my entrance. At least you thought I looked like hot shit.”

  “C’mon, Vivi, you know damn well you caused a sensation, and there wasn’t a man there, including our new commander, who didn’t think so.” He added with an embarrassed half-smile, “Although if you’d heard him reaming me out, you’d know that he didn’t appreciate what he called my ‘making a spectacle’ of you.”

  Deciding that was a line of discussion she didn’t want to pursue, Viviana changed the topic and moved to the issue that had kept her gut roiling.

  “Look, Mick, I ran across some info last night about a possible crime that could have serious repercussions. I need to know that if I bring you into it, I can count on you keeping it to yourself. At least until I can get enough evidence to carry it up the line.”

  Mick threw her a troubled glance as he munched on his third cherry-filled doughnut, then asked, “Can I assume that keeping it to myself means I’m not discussing it with our new hard-assed commander?”

  “Yeah, Mick, that’s exactly what I mean. This is preliminary shit. Likely to have nothing behind it. But I need help figuring out if it has legs.”

  Her partner frowned. “Look Viv, I’m just gonna say what we both know. Commander Hughes is not Captain Michels.”

  Viviana stopped him before he could continue. “Do you think I don’t know that, Mick? For God’s sake, he’s driving me crazy. He’s even insisting that I tell him who my CIs are. Dammit, Mick, you don’t even know all of them.”

  Viviana could tell from Mick’s troubled expression that he was considering going along with her demands. Seeing his hesitation, she was infuriated. God, the arrogant commander had even gotten to her partner, a man she’d always been able to count on. Even when he got in trouble because of it, Mick had stood by her. Seeing his frowning countenance and hung over from lack of sleep, she struck out.

  “Damn, you were the last person I thought would pussy out. It’s one thing if Jensen gets on his knees and sucks the big man’s dick, but you, Mick? I don’t believe it.”

  O’Reilly sighed and looked uncharacteristically serious. He shook his head, then met her angry glare. “C’mon, Viv, give me a break. Yeah, I’m still reeling from the dressing down the big guy gave me. You’ve gotta admit Hughes is one formidable commander, and I’ll admit I don’t want to get on his bad side.”

  Not wanting to hear any more, Viviana shook her head and rose to her feet. Throwing a ten-dollar bill on the table, she fought to keep her voice cool. “Fine, partner. Forget I asked for help. I guess I assumed that as my partner, you’d have my back. Never mind. It’s good to know that I don’t.”

  To her surprise, Mick reached up and pulled her back into the chair beside him. His expression was troubled. “Wait a minute, Vivi. Hear me out. Yeah, the big guy is making me rethink a lot of things. The fucker is not Michels.” When Viviana snorted and tried to rise, he held her arm. “No, Viviana, please listen to me. I’m thinking that he isn’t Michels in a good way.” He continued in a rush. “Yeah, I know we had a lot of autonomy because Michels always looked the other way. And frankly, sweet stuff, he was cowed by you.”

  Viviana sneered. “And that was a bad thing how, partner?”

  “Face it, Viv, we spent half our time trying to keep the old guy from interfering in our business. Or to be more specific, I spent a lot of my time trying to keep him from finding out what you were doing. You gotta admit, your penchant for secrecy—”

  Viviana cut him off. “Dammit, Mick, you know perfectly well we couldn’t have accomplished all the things we did if we did them precisely by the book. Or if we’d brought Michels into it. We succeeded because we were willing to bend the rules. The ones in place to ensure that no one with a smidgen of initiative would succeed. Or that we’d be kept down by rules that everyone knew didn’t make sense. Because you and I had the stones to balk at those rules, we were a thousand times more successful than the rest of the squad.”

  Mick sighed. “You’re right, Vivi. We were. But something tells me that Hughes might be a bit of a rule-breaker himself.”

  Viviana tried to rise, furious at what she was hearing, but Mick tugged her back.

  “Listen, Viv, I think you’re underestimating Hughes.” He quickly added, “He’s more complex than you are giving him credit for. Hell, you don’t get the rep he has by being a ‘yes-man.’ He clearly had to bend and probably break a lot of rules to get where he is today.”

  Viviana grated her teeth and said crisply, “What do you want us to do, Mick? Roll over like little puppy dogs and beg him to rub our tummies? Or do you want us to run after him, begging to wipe his ass like every other goddamn person on our squad?”

  O’Reilly sighed loudly. “No, Viv, I just think we oughta give the guy a chance.” Not letting her interrupt, he added quickly, “I gotta say, the commander seems to be looking out for you. The way he reamed me out—”

  Viviana cut him off. “You and I both know that I didn’t ask him to do that or want him to do that. Like I told him, I’m not some pitiful little woman who can’t handle a bunch of yahoos like you guys. I can take care of myself.”

  Mick frowned and shook his head. “Hear me out, Vivi. He wasn’t protecting you; he made it clear that he respects you and insists that the rest of us do too. He also has standards that he expects us to meet. Respect among us is one of those standards.”

  Viviana tried not to sneer, wondering what her earnest partner would say if he knew what the supposedly “respectful” commander had done with her at the mayor’s party. To her surprise, Mick referred to the party.

  “Even that night of the bash he was looking out for you. I don’t know if you know it, Viv, but you looked a little out of it. Even I noticed, and I think the big guy did as well.”

  “I don’t know what you mean, Mick. Out of it how?”

  He shook his head and frowned. “I dunno, you just looked lost. A couple of times I started to ask you if something was wrong. I guess that’s why I wasn’t surprised when Hughes approached me as he was leaving. It’s clear that the big guy cares for you. He took me aside and said he hadn’t had a chance to say good night to you. Asked me to make sure that you got home okay. I told him not to worry. That our Vivi doesn’t need anyone to take care of her.”

  Even though she was shocked at what Mick had said, she managed to glare at him. “Damn straight, Mick. I’ve always taken care of myself, and I always will.”

  Mick sighed loudly. “I know that. But, Viv, for what it’s worth, Hughes didn’t say that in a patronizing way. He said it like he really cared that you were okay.”

  When Viviana didn’t answer, Mick said carefully, “I guess what I’m trying to say, partner, is that maybe we should give the gu
y a chance. See what he’s made of before we write him off.”

  Knowing that there was no way that she could make Mick understand and feeling more alone than ever, she shrugged. “I guess what you’re saying is that I can’t count on you to keep my confidence.”

  Mick frowned and said plaintively, “C’mon, Viv, give me a break. All I’m asking is that we ride it out for a week or so and see how it goes.”

  Rather than argue with him or try to change his mind, she nodded. “Okay, partner. I hear you.” When she turned to leave, Mick called after her, “Whenever you want to discuss the new case, I’m here, Vivi.”

  Throwing him a careless wave, Viviana headed for the door. She didn’t know which upset her more: the fact that Jax had captured her partner or that he’d told Mick to take care of her. Thinking about that horrible night, she admitted that she could have used some caring.

  Chapter 12

  You probably don’t know, Commander Hughes, but I was with Sergeant Moreau in Belize.” Lieutenant Jensen tugged at his thinning, sandy hair and gave a mirthless laugh. “Of course, given the media coverage, you’d never know that anyone besides Joan of Arc, or the Enchantress as the press has named her, was there.”

  Jax nodded and gave the unsmiling man a sympathetic smile. Well aware that Viviana’s superior had been in Belize, a safe distance away from the dangerous cartel that the intrepid woman had infiltrated, he wanted to get a better sense of the man. He pricked him in what he was sure was a sensitive place.

  “I can imagine that Sergeant Moreau manages to soak up a lot of the attention no matter where she goes and especially after she took a bullet in a very dangerous raid.”

  Jensen bristled. “What you’d never know from the media or even the chief or, hell, our captain, was that Mick and I could have been killed. If anything, we were in a more dangerous situation than Sergeant Moreau. She had a whole damn battalion of highly trained special operatives to protect her. Mick and I were left on our own to survive the horror of a South American prison.”