by Jae
"Hey, you two!" Susan called from the living room. "What's taking so long? Hurry up; the one-minute countdown has started!"
One minute till the New Year! Dawn's eyes widened. It wasn't enough time to go into the bathroom to clean up and change. She didn't want to begin the New Year alone in a strange bathroom, separated from Aiden by solid walls. She also didn't plan on ringing in the New Year in a stained, wet blouse that made Aiden politely look away from her. "Hold this and turn around," she ordered.
"What?"
Dawn handed her Susan's blouse. "Turn around."
Aiden hastily followed the command when Dawn tugged the blouse from her slacks and began to unbutton it. Without looking, Aiden handed the new blouse back over her shoulder when Dawn told her to.
Dawn had just finished with the last button when she heard the guests in the living room shout, "Five, four, three, two, one! Happy New Year!" She turned Aiden back around and met her eyes. "We don't have champagne."
"We don't need any." Aiden stepped closer and wrapped her in a full-body embrace.
Dawn's eyes fluttered shut. She slid her arms around Aiden and breathed in her scent – leather, cinnamon from one of Susan's pastries she had eaten, and something that was the scent of Aiden Carlisle alone.
"Happy New Year," Aiden whispered, her breath warming Dawn's ear. "I hope you have a wonderful year."
"Happy New Year." Dawn pulled back a little. From the living room, she could hear shouts and laughter, the popping of champagne corks, and Ruben's enthusiastic voice as he butchered the words to 'Auld Lang Syne.' Outside, fireworks started going off in the sky. Dawn ignored the noise, concentrating only on Aiden's eyes and the warm, golden flecks in them. "What does that relationship rulebook of yours prescribe for a situation like this?"
Aiden chuckled. "The rulebook predicts a year of bad luck for anyone who fails to smooch their significant other at the stroke of midnight."
Fine hairs tickled Dawn's palm as she slid her hand up Aiden's neck. "Oh, I wouldn't want that on my conscience."
"No, we can't have that." Aiden's body pressed against hers more fully as she leaned forward and brushed her lips against Dawn's. She pulled back an inch to study Dawn's reaction.
This time it was Dawn who closed the remaining distance between them. She felt Aiden's lips caress hers slowly and gently. Too gentle, she decided when Aiden didn't try to deepen the kiss. She could feel her holding back, could sense the passion slumbering just beneath the surface. She wanted Aiden to enjoy their intimate contact and not have her planning her every action and analyzing Dawn's reactions, watching for any signs that she wanted her to stop. She tightened her arms around Aiden's waist and nibbled on her lips until she had teased them open. She moaned into Aiden's mouth when she felt her react.
"Hey, Aiden, Happy New Year!" Ray stepped from the living room.
The two women pulled back enough for Dawn to rest her forehead against Aiden's shoulder. "God!" she groaned. "I hope he has better timing when he's on the job."
The assembled party guests followed behind Ray, heading for the front door.
Aiden broke their embrace. "Did you run out of alcohol?"
Ray rolled his eyes. "We're going outside to watch the fireworks. Come with us." He pressed champagne flutes into their hands.
Dawn would have preferred to stay inside and continue her conversation – and other oral activities – with Aiden, but she followed them outside nonetheless. She watched as a ball of light burst overhead, streaking the night sky with purple sparks that drooped down to the ground. From the neighbor's backyard, golden and red fireworks launched high in the sky and divided into spirals. Dawn flinched when they finally exploded with a sudden "boom." Just a faint glitter remained after they burst.
Dawn touched her flute to Aiden's and that of half a dozen of her closest colleagues before taking a sip of the bubbly liquid.
"So, what New Year's resolutions did you make?" Susan asked no one in particular.
Okada shook his head. "I've given up on resolutions. The changes that I'd like to make are beyond the control of a mere mortal."
"I could suggest a resolution or two for all of you." Astrid Swenson looked at each detective in turn. "Always following my orders, for example."
"Sorry, Lieutenant, that'll have to wait till next year," Ruben quipped, "I got another resolution already. I'm gonna quit smoking."
"Ruben, my friend, you're a nonsmoker," Okada reminded.
Ruben buffed his nails on his shirt. "See? I work really fast, huh? Two minutes into the New Year and I already fulfilled my resolution."
"What about you, Aiden? Do you have any resolutions?" Susan asked.
Aiden paused a moment to contemplate the golden lights that were falling down from fireworks like branches of a willow. "Well, I guess now that I'm trying my hands at that relationship thing, I'll have to give up the strippers, hmm?"
Dawn had made a bet with herself that Aiden wouldn't give a serious answer. Or maybe it is a serious answer. Maybe what she's really doing is answering my question from earlier, telling me is that she's not trying to have one-night stands any longer.
"Strippers?" Susan asked with interest. "Is that what's really going on when my dear husband tells me you have another all-night surveillance?"
"Hey, we are watching very closely," Ray defended. "That's what surveillance is all about."
Susan's marital eye rolling was interrupted when she gazed up to watch what looked like hundreds of shiny jewels falling from the sky. Finally, her gaze came to rest on Dawn. "Have you made any resolutions?"
For a few seconds, Dawn contemplated answering with a joke of her own, but then she felt Aiden's gaze on her, almost like a touch. "I resolved that I'm going to bid the last year farewell tonight. I want to look forward instead of always looking over my shoulder. I want to take my life back and live it to its fullest."
Exploding fireworks sounded unbearably loud in the sudden silence. Then Aiden stepped forward and raised her champagne flute. "To living life to its fullest."
CHAPTER 29
"AIDEN?"
Aiden looked up from the report on her desk to see Ray set the phone receiver down.
"We've got a witness." Ray made quotation marks in the air at the word "witness." "Another nearsighted granny claims that Robert Danton just moved into the apartment next door from her."
Aiden read the address on the piece of paper he handed her. She snorted. "Philadelphia Street? That's practically in the lap of the North Precinct. Even Danton couldn't be that stupid. If you ask me, he's not even in Portland anymore."
"Yeah, I'd guess that he's breathing fresh Canadian air by now. But we have to check it out anyway, and you can even go and say hello to your lieutenant buddy from the North Precinct." Ray grinned down at her.
"Lieutenant Vasquez is not my buddy," Aiden protested as she clipped on her holster and checked the magazine. "She's Dawn's friend, not mine." At the mention of Dawn's name, her gaze fell onto the good luck charm that had escaped from the confines of her V-neck shirt. Aiden hesitated, but then spontaneously opened her locker. "Let's wear the vests today."
Ray watched as she fastened the Velcro straps of the dark blue bullet-resistant vest. "You have a premonition or something?"
"No, nothing like that. It's just that..." Aiden hesitated. "I promised myself that I wouldn't take any unnecessary risks." It's not only me that I have to think of anymore.
Ray grabbed his own vest. "Ah, so you did make New Year's resolutions."
"I'm just not eager to be the next dead cop Dawn has to cry over." Aiden held his gaze for a second and then closed her locker. "Let's go."
* * *
The detectives pulled their car up one house before the targeted address. On the remote chance that Danton, who had brutally murdered three women, was really in the area, they didn't want to alert him to their presence.
Two uniformed officers from the North Precinct were already waiting for them – and they weren't alon
e. Del Vasquez leaned against the hood of her unmarked car, also wearing a vest and her service weapon. "Carlisle." Del gave her a curt nod. She was all business now, a tough, competent cop, not the charming aunt that Dawn knew.
Aiden returned the greeting in the same professional manner.
With a quick glance toward the uniformed officers who had taken cover positions around the block, they entered the building. Del jammed a ballpoint pen under the front door to hold it open in case they needed backup. The officer directly behind Aiden lowered the volume of his portable radio to a whisper.
Aiden drew her weapon from its holster and held it alongside her thigh, the index finger resting next to the trigger, as they climbed the stairs.
Somewhere above them, a door banged and a male voice shouted angrily.
They stopped before turning around the last corner, communicating with quick hand gestures.
Aiden could feel her heart begin to pound. Adrenaline was pulsing through her veins. All her senses were focused on the landing before them as they rounded the corner.
The landing was empty. The number on the door at the top of the steps revealed that it was the apartment they were looking for.
Aiden tensed when the door next to it opened, but it was only a little silver-haired lady peeking out. "Get back into your apartment, ma'am."
As the old woman moved back, they took positions on each side of Danton's door.
Ray listened for a second, trying to hear what was going on behind the door, and then shook his head. Nothing.
They exchanged one last, silent glance. Ray raised his fist to knock.
Another door behind them opened.
"Get back into your apartment," Ray ordered without looking away from the door in front of them.
Aiden turned to make sure the neighbor had moved back. Instead of looking into a curious tenant's eyes, she was suddenly staring down the barrel of Robert Danton's gun. Their elderly witness wasn't only nearsighted, she had a bad memory for numbers, too – they were standing in front of the wrong apartment.
"Drop the –!" Aiden saw Danton's index finger move, and she squeezed the trigger.
Shots echoed through the stairwell.
Aiden wanted to fire again, but suddenly pain exploded in her chest, and she found herself staring up at the gray ceiling.
* * *
Ray spun around, his pistol trained on the man who had suddenly appeared behind them. One quick glance told him that he didn't need to worry about Robert Danton anymore. A bullet from Aiden's weapon had killed him instantly.
Holstering his weapon, he turned back around toward his partner. "Good sho... Aiden!"
Aiden was lying flat on her back without moving, one hand pressed against her chest, gasping and wheezing. To his half-trained ear, it sounded like a collapsed lung. A pool of blood was spreading under her.
Oh, shit, shit, shit! God, no, please, let her be okay. One quick step and he fell onto his knees next to her.
Somewhere behind him, Del Vasquez had taken over the portable radio. "10-74! Officer down! We need the EMTs at 7017 North Philadelphia Street! Now!"
Aiden was staring up at him with wild, unfocused eyes. For a few moments Ray wasn't even sure if she could see him until she groaned, "Ray..."
"Lie still," he ordered gently. It seemed as if Aiden was unable to move anyway.
Del Vasquez sank down on her knees on the other side of the wheezing woman. The hand that reached for Aiden's was gentle, but her voice was harsh. "Carlisle, if you dare to die, I swear I'll –"
"She's not going to die!" Ray didn't care that he was shouting at a lieutenant. He reached out frantic hands and ripped open Aiden's pierced shirt. Smoke rose from a hole in the vest, and for a few scary moments, he couldn't see if the bullet had penetrated or not. Then his trembling fingers felt the deformed lump of hot metal that was imbedded in the Kevlar layers directly over Aiden's heart.
Together, he and Del struggled to loosen the Velcro straps, and Del tugged up the white T-shirt underneath.
No blood. Relief almost made him collapse on top of his fallen partner. An extensive bruise was already spreading, but the Kevlar had protected her from more serious injuries or even death.
"Your vest caught it. You'll be fine." He almost sang it out to Aiden.
Aiden stared up at him, her amber eyes glowing against her pale face and lips. She was still fighting for breath, and blood was spreading from what he hoped was just a laceration but could just as well be a cracked skull. "D-don't –"
"Shh, don't try to talk," Ray cautioned her. He quickly slid out of his jacket and pressed it against the source of the bleeding. He heard sirens approach. "The ambulance will be here any second."
"D-don't... call... Dawn!" Aiden wheezed.
The EMTs came trampling up the stairs, and the two cops moved back to let them help Aiden. Ray stood with hanging arms, looking down at Aiden's blood on his clothes. He watched as a uniformed officer picked up Aiden's gun to place it into an evidence bag. As much as he wanted to follow his partner to the hospital, he knew that he had to stay and wait for the Internal Affairs Shooting Team.
"Go," Del told him. "The Internal Affairs guys can talk to me first. There'll be time for your interview later."
Ray breathed a sigh of relief. He moved to follow the EMTs down the stairs, but then turned back around. "You're going to call Dawn anyway, aren't you?" he guessed.
"Wouldn't you want your wife to know if you had been shot?" Del asked.
"No." Ray could understand the impulse to protect the woman you loved. "But she'd want to."
* * *
"Doctor Kinsley?" Dawn's new secretary stuck her head into the office. "There's a police officer here who wants to see you."
Dawn held back a grin. Aiden Carlisle, you're not using that gold shield of yours to scare my secretary, are you? "Is she tall, dark-haired, and attractive?" she asked with a smile.
"Yes, she is," Del answered as she entered despite the secretary's protests.
"Del!" It was not the tall, dark-haired, attractive detective she had wanted to see but not a bad second choice either. "It's okay, Mrs. Phillips. She's a friend of mine."
The secretary closed the door behind her, but Del still didn't move closer.
"Del? Is everything all right?"
Del trudged across the room and slumped into a visitor chair. "Sit down." Her voice was without any trace of her usual humor.
A clump of ice formed in Dawn's stomach. She had heard those words and had seen that look on a cop's face before. "No. I don't want to sit."
"Dawn, please..."
Dawn, not grasshopper. This is serious. A part of her didn't want to hear what Del had to say, but another part couldn't stand the dreadful silence any longer. "Just tell me."
"There's been a shooting."
"God, no! Aiden!" Dawn stumbled back. Her stomach heaved when she detected the blood on Del's sleeve. "Is it...? Is she...?"
Del leaped from her chair when Dawn began to sway. Quickly, she enfolded her in protective arms. "No, no, I don't think it's anything serious. Her bulletproof vest caught it. The EMTs said she should be fine."
Dawn closed her eyes and waited until she was sure that she could speak without throwing up. "Yes, this time. But how long until..." She swallowed and fell silent. The words hurt too much to say them out loud. "I can't stand it, Del. Not again."
Del's familiar dark eyes studied her intently. "So, what are you gonna do? Ask her to resign?"
"No." Dawn shook her head. That had never been an option in her mind. "The job is so much a part of who she is. I would never ask her to give that up."
"Then what else can you do? Break up with her?"
Dawn bit her lip until she tasted blood.
Del smiled softly. "Didn't think so. You're way past the point where it would hurt any less if you ended it now, grasshopper."
"I... I think I love her, Del."
"I know." Del's hand drew comforting circles across her back.
Dawn could remember her doing the same when she had skinned her knees over twenty years ago. I don't think a band-aid and ice cream will make it better now. Dawn blinked away her tears. When she moved back a few inches, she was surprised to discover that Del's eyes were a little misty, too.
Sudden anger gripped her. "Damn you!" Her half-closed fist hit Del in the chest, but Del made no move to defend herself. "Why do you cops have to be so... so..." She closed her eyes again and rested her forehead against the place she had just hit. "When Dad died and then Brian, I swore I would stay away from cops and never go through what Mom did and now... It's just not fair."
