“So obviously you’re not seventeen,” McKenna said. “How old are you really?”
“Twenty-two. I’ll be twenty-three next month,” Cody said.
McKenna drew in a slow breath then expelled it nodding, her look closed off.
“McKenna,” Cody said, leaning forward, her eyes on McKenna’s. “I’m really sorry, about having to lie to you. I had a job to do, and didn’t know whether or not you were part of what your husband was doing…”
“I know, you were just acting,” McKenna said flatly.
Cody looked back at her, surprised by the statement. “Not always,” she said.
“When weren’t you?” McKenna asked, leaning forward in her need to know that part.
Cody narrowed her eyes at McKenna knowing exactly what she was asking. “Ask what you really want to ask, McKenna,” she said softly.
“What do I really want to ask?” McKenna replied, looking hurt. “Whether or not I was imagining things when I thought you wanted me?”
Cody nodded, her look pointed. “No, you weren’t imagining that at all,” she said sincerely, her eyes staring directly into McKenna’s.
McKenna felt her pulse quicken; it was the one thing that had been driving her crazy since that morning. Had Cody completely played her? She nodded slowly.
“That last day you were there…” McKenna said, her tone cautious. “I have to know… Did you kiss me first?”
Cody’s lips curled into the most engaging grin McKenna had ever seen, her hazel eyes sparkling with mischief.
“Yes,” she said, biting her lower lip slightly.
McKenna blew her breath out in relief then.
Cody saw the relief and grimaced. “McKenna, I’m really sorry about that part, I know that you didn’t know how old I really was. I also know that you were just responding to what you were seeing from me. I couldn’t seem to keep out of trouble there…” she said, her voice trailing off as she shook her head ruefully.
“I really thought I was going crazy,” McKenna said honestly. “First of all wanting another girl, and secondly wanting one that was underage!” She shook her head indicating her confusion.
“I know,” Cody said. “And I really tried to stay away from you…”
“Except I kept looking for you and talking to you…” McKenna said, rolling her eyes.
Cody grinned. “Yeah, that was kind of nerve-wracking.”
“Good,” McKenna said, her tone matter-of-fact.
Cody laughed out loud, and McKenna found that she really liked the sound of Cody’s laugh. She watched as Cody took a drink of her coffee, and it another cigarette and taking a deep draw from it.
“I only ever saw you smoke once,” McKenna said, having found it strange, most smokers usually smoked quite often.
Cody nodded, looking back at her. “Yeah, that really wasn’t a Cody Wyatt kind of thing to do,” she said, her look narrowed. “You actually made me break cover for the first time in my career.”
McKenna looked back at her shocked, but then shook her head. “You had just met me…” she said, indicating that it wasn’t possible that it had been her fault.
“I know,” Cody said. “And I wanted you the minute I saw you.”
McKenna’s mouth dropped open at the admission. Then she gave Cody a querulous look.
“Is that normal?” she asked. “I mean do you usually want someone you’re investigating?”
Cody chuckled, shaking her head. “No, never.”
“Oh,” McKenna said, nodding.
The back sliding door opened then, and two pit bulls darted out of the house. Lyric stood at the door.
“Sorry, Code, they were driving us nuts,” Lyric said, smiling.
Cody laughed, and put her hand up to stop the dogs from running any further forward. They both stopped instantly and sat down.
“I got it, Mom, thanks,” Cody said, smiling at Lyric.
McKenna watched as Cody stood and walked over to two tennis balls sitting on the ground. As she picked them up, she gave a short whistle and both dogs bounded over to her. She began tossing the balls for the dogs who ran after then, picked them up and brought them back to her. When they would reach her, she would use an upward flip of her hand to signal them to sit, which they did, then she would tell them “drop it” and they would drop the ball into her hand. Then she’d throw it for them again. They played for a few minutes, then finally Cody walked back over to her chair and sat down. The dogs walked over with their balls still in their mouths and lay down near Cody’s chair, happily chewing on the tennis balls.
“They’re yours I take it?” McKenna asked.
“Well, technically, yes,” Cody said, grinning. “I basically get them out of the shelter, work with them to make them better, more well-mannered dogs, then I get them adopted.”
McKenna nodded, looking both shocked and impressed at the same time. Then her look grew serious again. “So, Cody Wyatt is just a cover, an act?” she asked, wanting to know if she really didn’t know Cody Falco at all.
Cody looked back at McKenna, knowing she should say “yes” and leave it at that, but for some reason she just couldn’t.
“Cody Wyatt is who I used to be,” Cody said, her expression somber.
McKenna looked back at her, her eyes searching Cody’s. “Before…” she said, her tone leading.
“Before Lyric and Savanna saved me,” Cody said.
“So… What you told me that night…” McKenna said. “About…” She hesitated saying the words, but Cody knew what she meant.
“Yeah, that was true. All of it.”
McKenna’s eyes widened. “Oh my God… Cody…” she breathed, feeling horrified at what she’d been through.
Cody took comfort in McKenna’s reaction; it wasn’t something she told people normally. In this case, she felt like she needed to be honest with McKenna, since she’d had to be so dishonest previously.
“How old were you?” McKenna asked gently.
“I’d just turned fourteen,” Cody answered, her tone flat.
McKenna blinked a couple of times, feeling her heart break a little for the girl Cody had been.
“Will you tell me about it?” McKenna asked and saw Cody’s chin come up slightly almost immediately. “Maybe not now,” she added, “but someday?”
Cody looked back at her for a long moment, and McKenna realized that she was assuming she’d ever see Cody Falco again after this day. She realized it really bothered her to think she might not. After all, Cody was a police officer, and after this case she’d have no reason to see someone like McKenna again. Another thought occurred to her then.
“What happens now?” McKenna asked, realizing how little she’d thought about what was happening with her life at that point.
In her rush to see Cody, she hadn’t had a chance to really ruminate on her situation or the situation at the group home at that point.
“Well, in terms of the group home,” Cody said, “a judge has to put someone in charge of it… My mom is actually going to take it over for the time being, until everything is settled and the court goes to trial.”
“Your mom?” McKenna asked. “Isn’t she a police officer?”
“Lyric is on the same task force as me, Savanna is like you actually, only she’s a board-certified psychiatrist, and she runs an LGBT group home not too far from yours.”
“Oh,” McKenna said, surprised by this information. Then she looked at Cody. “Are you the reason she’s been appointed?”
“I asked her if she’d do it, yes,” Cody said nodding.
McKenna drew in a deep breath, blowing it out slowly as she nodded. “I guess you’ve been protecting me all along, haven’t you?” she said, her tone matter-of-fact.
Cody’s lips curled in a grin. “Depends on how you look at it, but… really, I was protecting the kids at the home in this case.”
McKenna nodded, still looking grateful.
“So what will happen to the house when everything is done?” s
he asked then.
“Well, that’s a good question,” Cody said, taking another cigarette out of the pack and lighting it. “Whose name is on it?” she asked.
McKenna looked back at her, a little bewildered. “Oddly enough, when we got married he put it in my name.”
“Who paid for it?” Cody asked, her eyes narrowed.
“That’s what’s weird. We took out some money to do some improvements, but he made some excuse about his credit, so my parents did the refinance.”
Cody looked speculative for a moment, then finally nodded. “Well, he may have inadvertently done you a solid there,” she said. “The house is not likely subject to asset forfeiture. Of course, that’s if you divorce him…”
“Oh, that’s happening for sure,” McKenna said sharply.. “Asset forfeiture?” she asked then, looking confused.
“Yeah, anything he bought with money he got from his illegal enterprise can be seized by the DOJ.”
“Is that who you work for?” McKenna asked then.
“Yeah,” Cody said, nodding.
“So you’re not a police officer?”
“Technically I’m a special agent,” Cody said, grinning.
McKenna nodded, looking like she was trying to assimilate everything.
They were both quiet for a few minutes. Putting both feet on the ground, Cody reached down to pet the dogs, and McKenna thought about her situation. The song on the phone changed then, and McKenna was surprised when she heard Cody singing along.
“Is this the stuff you were always listening to on your headphones?” McKenna asked.
Cody looked up and grinned as she nodded.
“Who is this?” McKenna asked.
“Linkin Park,” Cody said.
“Do you listen to them a lot?” McKenna asked, noting that the music had a very hard edge to it.
“Lately again, yeah,” Cody said, nodding.
“Lately?” McKenna asked.
“When things get a little bit sideways, they seem to help smooth the rough edges…” Cody said, unsure if she was making sense.
She knew Lyric would get it, but not everyone thought of music the way she and Lyric did.
“Sideways,” McKenna repeated, her look thoughtful, then she nodded. “So what song do you listen to most right now?” she asked, the psychiatrist in her kicking in.
Cody thought about it for a moment, then reached over to her phone and found the song “Lying From You” and hit play, turning the volume up too. The song started out calmly enough, but then became hard and driving. Cody sang every word and looked like she definitely meant them. The song talked about pretending to be something she wasn’t and how that meant she’d lied herself away from people she wanted to be near. It also talked about wanting people to push her away because it was just better to be alone.
When the song ended, McKenna looked back at Cody as she lit another cigarette. She could see that Cody’s hands were shaking. She wondered if Cody meant what the song said, and if she meant it about her, that she was lying her “way” from her.
“Cody?” McKenna queried her look searching as she looked back at Cody.
“Hmm?” Cody murmured, as she lifted the cigarette to her lips again, her hands very definitely shaking.
“Who are you ‘lying’ yourself away from?” McKenna asked her tone soft.
Cody grinned sardonically, leaning forward to put her elbows on her knees and putting her hands together. Even then McKenna could see the tremor in them. She waited for Cody’s answer.
Instead of answering, Cody simply looked back at her, her look telling McKenna she was right that she was thinking that she’d ‘lied’ her way from McKenna.
“What else do you do when things go sideways?” McKenna asked her voice still gentle.
Cody smiled softly, her eyes dropping from McKenna’s. She was thinking that McKenna was starting to sound like Savanna. In answer, she looked over at the table, surveying the empty bottles of beer on it.
“You drink,” McKenna said.
“In my defense, those aren’t all mine,” Cody said, grinning.
“Which ones are yours?” McKenna asked, looking back at the bottles.
“The Blue Moons,” Cody said, her lips curled in a grin.
“Which is all but…” McKenna said, counting, “four of them.”
Cody rolled her eyes. “Yeah.”
“And how many weeks’ worth is this?” McKenna asked, there were at least ten bottles.
“Weeks?” Cody asked her look puzzled.
“Months?” McKenna queried, seeing Cody press her lips together, her eyes dancing in amusement. “Days?”
“Day,” Cody clarified.
McKenna’s mouth dropped open as she took the time to count the bottles.
“Cody there’s thirteen bottles here,” she said, her tone sounding exactly like Savanna’s at that moment.
Cody put her tongue between her teeth, her eyes widening in reaction.
McKenna just looked back at her, her eyes narrowed.
Cody chuckled. “Again, in my defense,” she said, her eyes still sparkling, “that was last Saturday, which was the day after Friday…” Her voice trailed off to indicate that McKenna knew what Friday she was referring to.
“The day you kissed me,” McKenna said, her tone taking on a humorous tint.
Cody nodded her eyes on McKenna’s.
“You started on Friday with these?” McKenna asked, wanting to clarify.
“No…” Cody said, looking a bit abashed at that point. “I drank myself into trouble at The Club on Friday night.”
“The Club?” McKenna asked.
“Gay club in West Hollywood.”
“And how does one drink oneself into trouble?” McKenna asked, looking critically at her.
Cody caught the look and laughed, shaking her head. “Oh hell no, I’m just gonna plead the fifth on that one.”
McKenna narrowed her eyes at Cody and the embarrassment of that night written on her face. It made her more determined to hear it.
“You said I could ask anything,” she said.
“Oh…” Cody said, narrowing her own eyes this time. “That’s low…”
McKenna gave her a too bad look, and smiled.
Cody blinked a couple of times, her look considering. “I never pegged you for a sadist…”
It was McKenna’s turn to laugh, shaking her head. “I’m not, but your reaction is making me want to hear what happened.”
Cody drew in a deep breath, and shook her head. “Let’s just say that I was a bit… Over the top that night. And it’s likely I’ll never live it down.”
“Over the top, how?” McKenna asked.
“Oh… You know, drinking, singing, dancing… carousing…”
McKenna narrowed her eyes on that last word. “Define carousing…” Cody’s eyes widened at the tone in McKenna’s voice, it was quite severe suddenly, and did she detect a hint of jealousy there?
“Uh,” Cody stammered, her hazel eyes looking everywhere but at McKenna. “I’m definitely taking the fifth on that one, doc.”
McKenna pursed her lips, the look on her face indicating that she wasn’t finished with this topic. Cody couldn’t help but grin at her. She leaned forward and clasped her hands together, one of her rings winking in the sunlight, which drew McKenna’s eyes to them. McKenna reached out taking Cody’s hands in hers and pulling them closer.
“Uh,” Cody stammered, grinning.
“Relax, I’m letting you off the hook for now on the carousing thing,” McKenna said, throwing her a for now look. “This is a class ring…” she said, touching the ring with the very distinct shape. She looked more closely at the lettering and numbers engraved on it.
She looked up at Cody sharply. “This is this year,” she said, sounding surprised. “Cody this says PhD…”
Cody grinned. “I know, I suffered through the classes,” she said, her tone indicating that she thought McKenna was crazy.
“You’re
a PhD?” McKenna asked, sounding dumbfounded. “How?”
“The usual way,” Cody said cautiously.
“You’re only twenty-two!” McKenna exclaimed.
Cody laughed, nodding. “Yeah, and I’ve had my GED since I was sixteen. I got my bachelor’s when I was nineteen, my master’s two years later and now this…”
McKenna frowned. “That’s disgusting, Cody,” she said simply.
“Why?” Cody asked.
“Because I’m twenty-five and I don’t even have a doctorate.”
“But you’re getting a medical degree, right?” Cody said.
“Well, yes, because if I want to practice I need that, but…”
Cody nodded. “I know, Savanna has one. I don’t need that though, I just wanted the degree.”
“A degree is a bachelor’s, Cody.”
Cody smiled, shrugging. “I tend to be an overachiever.”
“I guess,” McKenna said, her tone still somewhat awed. “So what about this…” McKenna said, touching the platinum band on Cody’s left ring finger.
“Lyric gave it to me the day she and Savanna got married. It was the day they found out my adoption was final,” Cody said, smiling fondly.
McKenna nodded, seeing the love Cody had for her mothers in her eyes. It was really nice to know that Cody had these two women in her life.
Cody reached for another cigarette then, and once again McKenna noticed her hands were shaking. McKenna reached out, touching Cody’s hand, her eyes searching Cody’s face.
“Why are your hands shaking, Cody?” she asked, her voice soft again.
Cody looked back at her for a long moment, once again needing to decide what she did and didn’t want to tell this woman. You’ve told her everything else… she thought to herself.
“I didn’t take my meds this morning,” she said, glancing at the house, wondering if her mothers were listening to this conversation.
“What are you taking?” McKenna asked gently.
Cody pressed her lips together, hesitating, but then finally answered. “Lithium.”
McKenna’s eyes widened slightly, and Cody’s mouth flattened in consternation at seeing it.
“Can I ask what for?” McKenna asked then, her eyes searching Cody’s face, like she was looking for the reason visually.
Vendetta (WeHo Book 7) Page 9
