Hunter's Way

by Gerri Hill

  “No. I’m fine. It’s important, Sam. Check on them.”

  “No. I want to go with you,” she said stubbornly.

  “They might need you,” Tori murmured.

  “Okay, okay. But then I’m coming to the hospital.”

  “Sure. You catch up with me.”

  Sam watched them take Tori away, then walked slowly down the alley back to their car.

  “Detective?”

  She turned.

  “I’m Sergeant Lewis, Narcotics. I have some questions.”

  “It’ll have to be tomorrow. I’m kinda on a stakeout,” she said.

  He nodded. “How did you and Hunter, from Homicide, get here?”

  “Did you get all four?”

  “Yes. And two bodies on the second floor.”

  She nodded. “Call me tomorrow. I’ll give a statement first thing.”

  She opened the car door and sat on the passenger side. She looked once at the empty seat, then let her tears fall. Stupid PMS, she thought.

  “She could have been killed,” she whispered. “I could have been killed.” Then, “Robert’s going to freak out.” She wiped the tears away, staring at the club across the street. “Fuck Robert.”

  155 “What do you mean, she’s gone?” Sam demanded. “She was bleeding to death.”

  The nurse smiled. “I assure you, a flesh wound to the side would not keep Detective Hunter in here. She left nearly an hour ago, with our blessings, I might add. That one is nothing but trouble when she’s here.”

  Sam stormed out, speeding through town. Of all the stupid, arrogant things to do!

  She found Tori exactly where she suspected she’d be-sitting at her desk.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Sam demanded as she narrowed her eyes at Tori.

  Tori glanced up from the computer.

  “Typing the report.”

  “Get up!”

  “What?”

  “You’ve been shot. You should be at the hospital! You should be in bed! Not at your goddamn desk.”

  “Sam, I’m fine. It just barely caught me.”

  “Fine? Then why do you look so pale?”

  “Sam…”

  “You simply amaze me, Tori Hunter. Now, get up. You’re coming with me.”

  “Where?”

  “To my apartment. You’re going to lie down and rest. And in the morning, you’re going to eat something. And then, we’ll decide if you’re coming to work or not.”

  “Sam…”

  “Don’t argue with me. I’m in no goddamn mood.”

  Tori sat quietly beside Sam as they drove away. Actually, she still felt dizzy, weak, but she would never tell Sam that.

  “Did they give you something for pain?”

  “I have a prescription, but I don’t need it.”

  “Give it to me,” Sam said, holding out her hand. “There’s a twenty-four-hour pharmacy not far from my place.”

  “I’m not in that much pain, Sam. It’ll pass.”

  “Bullshit. Give it to me. It’ll help you sleep if nothing else.”

  Tori pulled out the crumpled piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Sam. Sam glared at her.

  “Sometimes, you piss me off so much, I want to shoot you myself,” she said.

  “So you’ve told me.”

  “Oh, God. I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry,” Sam said. She reached out and took Tori’s hand. “I was just so scared and you were acting like it was nothing.”

  “I’ve been shot before.”

  “I gathered that from the nurse. Tori, why don’t you wear your vest?”

  “It’s uncomfortable. Probably the same reason you don’t wear yours.”

  “Maybe we should start.”

  Tori leaned her head back against the seat. The throbbing in her side was getting worse. Maybe she should have stayed overnight in the hospital.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Tired.”

  “You’re hurting, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  Sam again took her hand. “Tori, you don’t have to be strong all the time. Let me take care of you. Please?”

  Tori smiled, letting Sam’s soft voice lull her to sleep. She felt drugged, and she supposed they had given her something in her IV. Then Sam was shaking her, touching her face. “Come on, sweetie. I’m just on the second floor.” Tori opened her eyes. Sam was standing beside her on the pas senger side, green eyes full of concern looking into her own.

  Sam helped her up the stairs and Tori was embarrassed for having to lean on her. Her side was killing her and, wrapping one arm around Sam’s shoulder, they managed the stairs. She walked into Sam’s bedroom without protest, lying down as Sam instructed. She took the pill Sam handed her, swallowing it down with the glass of water Sam shoved in her hand. She felt her shoes being removed, felt her jeans sliding down her legs, but she couldn’t open her eyes to protest.

  Sam covered her lightly with the sheet, then pulled the comforter up to her waist. Without thinking, she touched Tori’s face, rubbing lightly across her cheek. So soft. So peaceful looking now. She perched on the side of the bed, her hands brushing lightly across Tori’s arms.

  “It could have been so much worse,” she whispered. “You could have been killed.” She reached her hand up and stroked Tori’s cheek. “I’m scared, Tori. I feel things… for you.” She frowned, then closed her eyes. “What are you doing to me? Do you even know?”

  Sam stared at her for several more minutes, then made herself leave. She closed the door quietly, taking both Tori’s and her own phone from the room. She wanted Tori to sleep until morning.

  Sam was too wound up to sleep. She poured Diet Coke into a glass and took a sip, then went to the cabinet and moved the few bottles of liquor around, finding the bottle of rum. She added that to her Coke and took her glass, finally settling down on the sofa. The whole night was like a whirlwind to her. One minute, they’re sitting in the car discussing the case, the next, Tori is running off into a warehouse full of drug dealers. She replayed everything in her mind, knowing that if Tori hadn’t pushed her out of the way, she would have been the one hit. And it wouldn’t have been pretty. She was standing there, an easy target. She had frozen, she knew. She turned, saw the man… and stood rooted to the spot. The next thing she knew, Tori was on top of her and men were running.

  “She saved my life. Two times now,” she murmured. “Wonder what a whole year will bring?” she asked herself with a smile. “Won’t be boring, that’s for sure.”

  A cell phone rang and she grabbed them both, not knowing if it was hers or Tori’s. It was Tori’s.

  “Hello?”

  “Kennedy?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You okay?”

  “Yes, sir, I’m fine.”

  “I just got the call. Where’s Hunter? The hospital said she went AWOL.”

  “She’s with me, Lieutenant. She’s sleeping.”

  “Good. Damn stubborn woman,” he muttered.

  “Tell me about it.”

  “So, went to stake out a nightclub and ended up catching drug dealers, Kennedy. Good job.”

  “Lieutenant, we both know that Hunter’s responsible for this. I just happened to not get in the way too badly.”

  “Samantha, let me tell you something,” he said quietly. “You know she’s had six other partners before you. Each and every one of them came to me requesting a transfer. Hunter came to me within a week of each of them, demanding that they be transferred. You’ve lasted, what? Six weeks? She has yet to come into my office to say one derogatory thing about you. You must be doing something right.”

  “Lieutenant, she told me about her family,” Sam said quietly. “I think it’s remarkable that she’s survived this long.”

  “Well, she’s a fighter, that’s for sure. I think maybe you’re good for her.”

  “Maybe so.”

  “Get some sleep, Kennedy. We’ll talk in the morning.”

  Sam to
ssed the phone down, staring at it. Was she good for Tori? Yes, she was. But Tori was good for her, too. She tried not to think about the growing affection she felt for Tori. If she did, it would make her crazy. Besides, she wasn’t ready to analyze what she suspected the truth to be. She just couldn’t go there yet.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  “Will you be quiet and eat. You’ve done nothing but complain since you’ve been up.”

  “You drugged me. I can hardly stand.”

  “Good. Now eat.”

  Tori picked up the fork again and stabbed at the scrambled eggs. She hated plain eggs. Toss in some chorizo and salsa, then we’re talking.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. It’s great.” She forced down another bite, then chased it with orange juice.

  Sam stared at her.

  Tori reached up and ran her fingers through her close crop nervously. She didn’t like it when Sam stared.

  “Would it do me any good at all to suggest that you stay in today and rest?”

  “No.”

  “Would it do me any good to suggest that you sit at your desk all day, and I’ll do the legwork and go over the lab results?”

  “No.”

  “Would it do any good if I threatened you with bodily harm?” Sam asked with a grin.

  “Well, now that depends. What part of my body are you talking about?”

  Sam leaned her elbows on the table and looked up shyly, meeting Tori’s eyes.

  “That bullet was meant for me,” she said quietly.

  “Yes.”

  Sam reached across the table and took Tori’s hand.

  “You’re the best partner ever.”

  Tori chuckled and Sam did the same. She finally released Tori’s hand.

  “Robert, now is not a good time to discuss this.”

  Tori looked up, then moved as if to leave. Reaching across the desk, Sam motioned for her to stay.

  “Yes, I know.” A pause. “I know that, too.” She rolled her eyes at Tori. “Robert, please? No, I don’t know if I can see you tonight. I’ll call you.” She looked again at Tori, meeting the dark eyes that looked back at her. “Yes, I know you do.”

  She put the phone down and sighed. She had to tell him. She just had to tell him and get it over with.

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  Sam smiled. “Will you tell him that I’m not in love with him and I’m sorry that I’m about to hurt him? Can you do that for me?”

  “You must care about him a lot to not want to hurt him,” Tori said.

  “Yes, I do. Like I said, he’s a good guy. He’ll make someone very happy.”

  “Then you need to let him go so he can find that someone,” Tori said quietly.

  “The problem is, he thinks that someone is me.” She pushed away from her desk and stood. “I’m going to brave the coffee. You want some?”

  “No, I’m good.”

  “Are you feeling okay? I didn’t want to say anything, but you’re looking a little pale again.”

  “It aches a little. I’ll be fine. I’m going to call the lab.”

  “Let me do it. You always get stressed when you call them. Idiots,” Sam mimicked as she walked away. It was good to hear Tori laugh.

  It was after six when Sam walked into her apartment. Her mind was on nothing but Tori. The woman insisted on driving herself to her apartment, insisted she would be fine. Sam made her promise she would get something to eat, at least. In fact, she’d offered for Tori to stay again with her, here. She was worried about her.

  “Hello, Samantha.”

  “Jesus Christ!” Sam jumped, hand going to her chest. “You scared the shit out of me, Robert.”

  “I’m sorry, I thought you saw my car out front.”

  Sam shook her head, tossing her purse and keys on the bar. “No, I’ve just got a lot on my mind. You want a drink?”

  He held up his glass. “Have one. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “I mean about yesterday,” he said.

  “I’m fine,” she said again. “As long as I don’t think about it too much, I’m okay.”

  “Do you want to tell me why you were out chasing drug dealers?”

  “We weren’t chasing drug dealers. We were staking out a bar. Tori saw them, I didn’t. We called for backup. We heard shots, we went in.”

  “You almost got shot,” he said, his voice louder than before.

  “But I didn’t. My partner took the bullet for me,” she said.

  “It was because of her that you were even in that situation. Dammit, Samantha, what were you thinking?”

  “What was I thinking? Robert, this is my job. I wasn’t thinking,” she said. She went to the fridge and pulled out the bottle of wine she’d opened the other night. She poured herself a glass, thinking she wanted something much stronger.

  “I worry about you, you know that.”

  “I know you do.”

  “Samantha, maybe if we lived together, if there was some continuity in our life, maybe then it wouldn’t be so bad. I mean, I’d be there when you got home, no matter what time it was. I’d know that you were safe.”

  She stared at him. Surely he wasn’t suggesting that they move in together. Didn’t he have any idea of the friction in their relationship right now?

  “Let’s think about it, okay?”

  But she shook her head. “I don’t need to think about it, Robert.” She pointed to the bar stool beside her. “Sit down. We need to talk.”

  “Nothing good ever follows those words,” he said slowly, with a hint of a smile.

  “No. It doesn’t, does it?” She took a quick sip of her wine, then nervously twirled the glass between her fingers. “The reason I don’t want to move in with you is because I know it’s the first step preceding marriage. And I don’t want to marry you, Robert.”

  “Samantha, I know you’re not ready. I don’t mean for us to get married any time soon. Not even in the next year, if you’re still not ready. But living together would at least give us a chance to see each other more often.”

  “You’re not understanding me, Robert. I don’t want to get married, now or next year or the year after that.”

  “What are you saying? You want to leave it as it is? Only seeing each other when we can snatch an evening or a weekend?”

  She closed her eyes. She didn’t want to hurt him. And this would hurt him. But she had no choice. She couldn’t let things go on the way they were. “Robert, I don’t think I’m the right one for you. I think we should…”

  “You want to end things?”

  “I’m just saying, I’m not happy like this. I know you’re not happy, you’ve made that perfectly clear. We don’t see each other much, my hours have become crazy. And I’m not willing to change that for you. That should tell us something, Robert. You were right the other day when you said that you should be more important to me than my career. And that’s the problem. You’re not.”

  “I can’t believe this, Samantha. I thought we wanted the same things. To be a family, to have kids and grow old together. What happened to that?”

  “That’s what you wanted, Robert. I went along with it because I thought I should want those things, too. I’m sorry, but I don’t. Right now, I can’t think past this case. I have no idea what my life is going to be like a year from now. I don’t want to settle down and have kids. I can’t envision that, Robert. That’s your dream. And you should have it. I just don’t see it happening with me,” she said softly.

  “I love you, Samantha,” he whispered.

  “Oh, Robert.” Samantha leaned forward and held him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you.”

  He finally pulled away, looking her in the eyes. “Is there… someone else?”

  “No, Robert. That’s not it at all.” Was it? Without warning, thoughts of Tori flooded her mind, and right then Sam knew she was lying. Yes, there was someone else.

  “Then I refuse to give up on this, Samantha. I thi
nk we were meant to be together.”

  “No, Robert. I don’t think we were.”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  “You’re impossible, you know that?”

  “Yes, I’ve been told.”

  “I’m serious,” Sam said.

  “So am I.”

  Samantha stared at Tori and narrowed her eyes. “Okay, if I let you do this, will you promise me you’ll take it easy this weekend?”

  Tori laughed. “If you let me do this?”

  “You are the most stubborn woman I have ever met!” Sam pushed her chair back and stormed into the ladies’ room. “Got shot two nights ago, big deal. We’re going on another stakeout,” she muttered to herself. “Arrogant… macho…”

  “Who are you talking to?”

  Sam whirled around, finding Tori casually leaning in the doorway. Tori shifted, crossing her legs at the ankles and shoving both hands into her slacks. Slacks? Why hadn’t she noticed that before? Tori always worn jeans.

  “You look nice,” Sam said without thinking. She walked over, lifting up Tori’s sweater at the waist. “Jeans too tight on your wound?”

  Tori nodded. She nearly gasped when warm hands touched her skin.

  “Tori, this is the same bandage that the hospital put on.”

  “I know.”

  “You were supposed to change it. Blood has seeped through.” She looked up at Tori. “What am I going to do with you?”

  Tori lifted an eyebrow. “I’m going to guess you want to change it?”

  “Stay here. Don’t move and I mean it.”

  Sam walked out to the squad room and up to Fisk’s desk. “Sergeant, do we have a first aid kit?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “I need it.”

  He rolled his chair over to the filing cabinets behind his desk. He opened up the bottom one and pulled out an ancient first aid kit.

  “That’s it? It’s like fifty years old,” she complained. “Don’t we have something from this decade, at least?”

  He glared at her. “You’ve been working with Hunter too long. You’re getting sarcastic. It’s not fifty years old. They check it every other month.”

  “Fine. Thanks.” She held out her hand. “Give it to me.”

  She found Tori in much the same position as she’d left her, leaning casually against the wall. She opened the antique case, surprised to find it stuffed full of medical supplies. She pulled out gauze and tape, then found a sterile bandage.