Insight

by Jennis Slaughter

  “It’s already in the works. I phoned our helpers and they are arranging for some protective custody. They’ll be here in a few hours. They want to get you both out of town after dark,” Jasper explained. He no longer trusted that this woman wouldn’t run to AJ, and as such, he’d decided not to give up his cover.

  Jenny shook her head. “I’m not leaving. I can’t leave while those other girls are still in the camp.”

  “Jenny, you can’t stay. Once the townies involved know that we are on to them, and are getting ready to make our move, they’ll want blood. There won’t be a safe place left in Leroy. I can’t risk you getting hurt.” Del shook her head, not willing to put this girl in danger once again.

  “If there won’t be a safe place in Leroy, how can you ask Raelin to stay? I thought that you loved her,” the younger woman countered.

  “She isn’t asking me to stay. This is my home, and I can defend it. If you want to stay, it is your choice, but you will have to stay here and do exactly what the agents and Del tells you to do,” Raelin answered back, not leaving her spot wrapped around Del.

  Del leaned her head back onto Raelin’s shoulder for a brief moment, trying to keep herself in check. Looking back at the young girl, Del groaned, “Fine, but if I catch you so much as thinking about leaving this house, I’ll have you shipped out of here so fast your panties will have a hard time catching up. Am I clear?”

  “Yes ma’am. Perfectly clear.”

  Del ran her fingers through her hair, pulling it off her face for a few seconds before letting it fall back into place. She could feel a terrible headache coming and while Raelin had given her an energy boost earlier, she was exhausted. “Don’t make me regret this child. You’ll listen to what we tell you. We are trusting you to be an adult with this. It’s not a joke. As long as you understand that, we’ll get along fine.”

  Raelin squeezed the detective and returned to the sink to pick up the pieces of the plate to toss in the garbage. She knew that the blonde was not pleased that Jenny would be staying with them, but she couldn’t force the young woman out. She deserved to make sure that those other girls were safe.

  Del unclipped her holster, rubbing the shoulder where the nylon sat on it with a grimace. She hung it over the back of her chair, within easy reach and sat back down. “Jasper, I want you to call our friends back and tell them we only need to arrange for one protective detail. You…” She scowled at Amelia. “Are being taken elsewhere.”

  Raelin froze at the sight of the gun, and then she remembered that she had let Delaney wear it since her attack, but she still didn’t like to see it. She knew that she would have to tell the detective the reason for her dislike sooner or later, but if she had her way, it would be much later.

  Del rested her elbows on the table, her hands in her hair, holding her head up. She closed her eyes against the headache, and heard when Jasper came back into the room. Without lifting her head, she addressed the older agent, “Jasper, please tell me they’ve gotten it all arranged.”

  “Yeah, they’ve gotten all the arrangements made, but they won’t be able to come out and get her until early morning.”

  “Amelia, you’re welcome to stay in the spare bedroom. I don’t think that it would be safe for you to go back to your home. I believe that I still have some of my mother’s clothes that you will fit into,” Raelin offered.

  Amelia looked up in surprise at Raelin’s generosity. “That’s very nice of you Raelin. I would appreciate it very much.”

  Del scowled at the mother sitting across from her. “You’d better be grateful. It’s more than you deserve,” she muttered, mostly under her breath.

  “Jenny, would you mind showing your mother the spare bedroom and bath? I know you two still need to talk a bit.” Turning to Jasper, Raelin instructed him, “If you wouldn’t mind, would you go over to Canal City and pick up a cell phone for me. I’ll call to tell them that you’re on your way and to pay for it.”

  Jasper and Jenny both got the hint and quickly excused themselves to their tasks. When Del sensed they were gone, she let out a long audible breath. “Well fuck me.” She wasn’t usually prone to a bad mouth, but she was pretty well beyond keeping up appearances.

  “I did that earlier, but I can take it under advisement for later. Would you mind joining me in our bedroom?” Raelin smiled sweetly at her own joke.

  Del nodded and stood from her chair. “I’ll see you up there.” She offered a weak smile before she grabbed the gun and headed for the stairs, knowing Rae would be a few minutes, setting any wards and checking the locks.

  The witch took a few moments to make sure that Rori had some leftovers since she hadn’t seen him since their talk before she walked around and brought up the energy’s around her home. Now was not the time to be have a lapse in judgment with everything that was going on.

  A few minutes later, she was walking up the stairs to her bedroom and to her lover, and a smile appeared on her face. She had someone waiting for her in her bed.

  j

  Del had tucked her gun into the drawer she’d found in the nightstand and stripped to an oversized button up that she’d not even bothered to button. She sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly out the window, not really seeing much, but unable to calm her thoughts or the headache pounding behind her eyes.

  Closing the door behind her, Raelin crawled on the bed behind the blonde and started massaging her temples like she had earlier in the day. “Relax Darlin’, let everything go. There is nothing that needs your attention right now.”

  Finally letting her body melt under Raelin’s hands, the blonde closed her eyes, trying to let the day go. “I just don’t understand how she could do that to Jenny. To take her relationship with her daughter for granted like that. How can she even look herself in the mirror? How can she even think about being so cavalier about her daughter when some mother’s don’t even get the chance to see them grow?”

  “Your mother didn’t have a choice Del. She would have stayed if she had. She would have wanted to see you grow to the smart, independent, beautiful young woman that you are right now, but I can’t answer why Amelia did what she did...she’s the only one that can do that, but she had her reasons, and now she’s going to pay the price. I don’t think Jenny will be able to forgive her. Maybe I shouldn’t have had her try and talk with Amelia again,” Raelin murmured.

  “Raelin, if I’ve learned anything about you, it’s that your instincts are rarely wrong. Jenny may not be able to forgive her mother, but at least you’ve given Jenny the chance to say what she wouldn’t in front of the rest of us.” Del was quiet for a moment as a thought came to her. She pulled away a little to turn and look at Raelin. “Raelin, Jenny could be your niece.”

  Raelin stopped what she was doing when she realized that the blonde was right. “Oh Goddess...how am I going to tell her that?”

  Del turned around and scooted onto Raelin’s lap, straddling her thighs so she could look into her face. “I don’t know Darlin’. You’ll figure it out though. You’ll know when it’s right, you always do.”

  Reaching up, Raelin brushed her fingers over Del’s eyelids. “Do you know that you have the most expressive eyes that I’ve ever seen? You notice the tiniest details, and then the way that you look at me sometimes, I can actually feel your touch.” She let one finger slide down the blonde’s elegant nose to begin to trace over her lips. “And you have beautiful lips, did you know that? I love watching them as you talk, and I absolutely love that way that they feel against mine.”

  Leaning forward to place her own lips against a pulse point on Del’s neck, Raelin let her hands wander farther down to cup the pair of perfect breasts. Moaning softly, she murmured against silky skin, “Do you know how addicting you are? I can’t help myself from touching. I don’t care that my niece is down the hall with her mother who has no idea that I’m a lesbian; I want to be the one person that can take you some place where no one else can. And I want to do it for the rest of my life.”


  Raelin’s eyes went wide as she realized what she had just said, and she leaned back to look at Del. “I’m sorry...how about...uh...you didn’t take a shower. I need to get some fresh towels.” The brunette carefully moved Del from her lap, and all but ran into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

  Del sat there staring at the bathroom door for a few seconds before the shock of the witches words wore off. She hurried to the door and tapped on it lightly. “Raelin, it’s okay. You don’t need to run from me. Why don’t you let me in and we’ll both have a shower?” she implored softly through the door.

  After a few heart beats, the door slowly opened to show the brunette with red-rimmed eyes, which she kept downcast. “Sorry about that. Umm...let’s take that shower,” she turned to the shower stall and turned the water to the right temperature before she went over to the vanity to brush her teeth.

  Del grabbed her as she started to pass by and hugged her from behind. “What are you crying for? It’s okay. You don’t need to be scared of me,” she paused, taking a deep breath before she pressed her cheek against the taller woman’s shoulder blade. “I want that too.”

  “I’m not scared of you Del. I’m scared that I will say something and you will disappear, and I’ll...go back to being alone. And I know that it’s not fair to ask you to stay in a back woods town.” The brunette took a deep breath. “Maybe it was wrong for me to fall in love with you. You need someone who can give you everything, while I have nothing to offer you.”

  Del pulled Raelin around so that she was sitting on the toilet and knelt in front of her. “Don’t ever say that it’s wrong to fall in love. Maybe I want to settle down. Maybe I’m ready to give up the big city. I’m twenty-eight years old, and I’ve had my fun. Maybe you don’t have a mansion or fancy cars, but you give me the one thing I’ve always wanted Raelin. A family. You make me feel like I belong here, like you and Rori are my own little family to grow old with, and that’s more than I could ever want. You’ve already given me everything Darlin’. I could never ask any more of you than that.”

  Raelin stared at the beauty kneeling in front of her, letting her eyes trace over the hopeful looking face, while her feelings told her that the woman was telling her the truth. Reaching up, she let her fingers once more slide over Del’s lips. “I do love watching you talk.” Then she leaned forward to brush her lips against the blonde’s.

  Letting the brunette take what she needed, Del pulled Raelin into her lap, never breaking the kiss. She let her hands find purchase in their favorite place, the dark silky waves falling over Raelin’s neck. Finally pulling away, she allowed a few seconds to catch her breath. “I need you to trust me Raelin. Trust in how I feel, and that I won’t leave you. I know it’s hard, opening yourself to someone like that. I promise, I’m not going to hurt you, or run from you. I love you too much to give you up.”

  Raelin knew that this woman was speaking from her heart. “I do believe you, I really do, I just...I know deep in my heart that we were made for each other; and that I should accept that, but I’ve been alone for thirty years and I’m scared.”

  “Me too. There have been so many people in my life that have left me. My grandmother, the few women I’ve been with. My mother was taken from me before I’d even met her. It’s okay to be scared; you can do that with me. It’s safe for you to feel however you want to, Raelin. I can’t make this okay for you, that’s something you need to do yourself, but I can and I will do everything in my power to help you make this okay for yourself. If that means slowing down, and waiting for the right moment, then that’s okay with me. I just want you happy. That’s all.”

  Gazing into lovely jade eyes, Raelin whispered, “I want nothing more than for you to take me to bed and make love to me, but now isn’t the right time, and I need to quit taking advantage of you. We will have our time together, and soon. And you do make me happy Delaney; more than I have ever been.”

  “You make me happy too Darlin’, and you’re right. I’m way too exhausted to be able to make a proper job of it. So let’s get into the nice hot shower you’ve run and then cuddle in bed. I want to hear some little Raelin stories. I bet you got into all kinds of trouble as a little one.” Del smiled, pulling Raelin to her feet, and freeing the remaining button on her shirt.

  A Chapter 16 a

  The room was still dark when a noise from outside woke Raelin. Wiping her eyes, she went to sit up, but instead found herself being held down by Del, who was holding her gun in the ready position.

  “Who is it Raelin?” she asked.

  Reaching out with her ‘sight’, the witch recognized the distasteful aura of Agent Sumners and the very anxious aura of Agent Spaulding. “It’s Sumners and Spaulding...why are they here this early?”

  Del groaned and flopped back onto the bed, thumbing the safety back into place as she landed. “They had to push back Amelia’s extraction remember? Jasper mentioned that after supper.” She burrowed into Raelin’s warmth, completely forgetting that the gun was still lying on her lap. “Can’t we just stay here? They can take Amelia and the sooner the better, but I really don’t want to get out of bed.”

  Quietly Raelin asked, “Would you mind please getting your gun out of our bed...please.”

  “Hmm?” Del looked down and remembered the gun, quickly grabbing it she rolled over to place it back in the drawer next to the bed. Turning back to Raelin, she gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry Darlin’. It’s such an extension of my hand sometimes that I forget it’s around. Why is it that you hate guns so much anyway?” she asked, burrowing her face in Raelin’s side. She hadn’t lain down yet, and it was the closest piece of real estate Del could reach from her sprawled out position on the bed.

  “We had better get up, and get down there. I don’t want Sumners any grumpier than he probably will be. If you go let them in, I’ll wake Amelia, and then get breakfast started.” Raelin scooted out the other side of the bed.

  Catching the obvious change of subject Del decided to let it drop for now. Instead, she reached out and caught a handful of Raelin’s shirt, trying to drag her back to the bed. “They’re big kids that can take care of themselves. Come back,” she whined childishly.

  “Yes, but they are banging on my door and the wards are going crazy. The sooner we let them in, the quieter it will be.” The brunette tugged away from the detective.

  Del moaned and finally hauled herself out of the bed. She grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt out of her bag, slipped them on and brushed a kiss against Raelin’s head before she headed to the stairs. She opened the door and led them to the living room, knowing Raelin would be down shortly. “Morning Agent Spaulding, Sumners. Anything you want to drink?”

  “If you’ve got coffee ready, that would be very nice, thank you,” Agent Spaulding replied. She looked around the living room, hoping that Jenny would be showing up soon.

  Soft treads could be heard coming down the stairs followed by heavier ones and then Raelin and Amelia came into view. Raelin had taken a moment to brush back her hair into a loose ponytail, and had pulled on a pair of jeans, while Amelia looked sullen and not quite awake. “Morning...”

  Del acknowledged Amelia with a nod before turning her attention to Raelin. “Can you feel if Jenny is up and moving? I think there’s a certain agent that would like to see her,” she whispered with an amused chuckle.

  Instead of answering, Raelin went through the utility room and softly knocked on the bedroom suite’s door. When there wasn’t an answer, she opened the door and went in, softly calling out Jenny’s name. Going into the bedroom, she found a tousled bed and a note. Picking it up, she scanned it and bolted through the door, calling out Delaney’s name and tossing the note on the kitchen table. Opening the back door, she was down the steps, and heading towards the woods in a full run before the detective even made it to the kitchen.

  Hearing Raelin calling, Delaney quickly bolted into the kitchen. Finding the note, she only read a line or two into it before s
he was out the door and trying to catch up to Raelin. She bolted through the woods, finally seeing Raelin running a few yards ahead. She could hear the sounds of Spaulding running behind her, calling her name, telling her that Sumners was watching the house. Now she just had to work on catching up with Raelin’s long stride.

  Knowing these woods like the back of her hand since she had played in them since her childhood, the witch knew the fastest route to the Kingsleys estate, but the bad news was that Jenny knew the same route. Pulling in some power of the lines, Raelin reached out to find the young woman, but it was too late. Raelin sensed that Jenny was on the backside of the Kingsley property, watching her father and his family have breakfast. Using her power, she held Jenny there and shielded her from being seen as she ran to join her.

  Del knew she wasn’t going to be able to catch Raelin; it was obvious she knew the woods, and did a lot of running. Seeing Raelin come to a stop on the edge of a clearing, she pushed the last little bit, sensing Spaulding running next to her. She thanked the Gods when she saw Jenny with Raelin, the younger girl being pulled nearly kicking and screaming back into the woods. She ran up to them, helping Raelin pull Jenny away from the clearing until they couldn’t be seen. “What happened to listening to what we tell you Jenny? Do you realize what these people could to do you? What were you thinking?”

  “Why didn’t he come and get me when I was at the camp? Instead, he and his Momma go and hire you...I bet they never thought that you would find me...that I would disappear and they would be done with the whole thing?” Jenny struggled in Raelin’s embrace.

  Concentrating on keeping up the shield so they would be safe, Raelin had little energy left to calm her friend, but she tried.

  Del grabbed her arms, forcing Jenny to look her in the face. “Now you listen to me. You’re acting like a spoiled child. What happened to you was terrible; I’m not going to try to brush that off. Now, you need to trust me. Trust Raelin, and trust Agent Spaulding here to take care of things. It’s our turn. He’s an asshole, I’m not even going to lie to you about that, and I know you’re angry. I’m angry too, and you need to trust that I’m going to string the bastard up by the balls. Okay? Can you do that for me?”