Hers to Protect

by Nicole Disney

“Kaia.”

  “Fine.” Kaia raked her fingers through her hair. “So she didn’t tell you she did it, how do you know she did?”

  Adrienne cocked her head in surprise. “The same way you do.”

  “Well, shit.” Kaia ran her hands through her hair again. It was down today, the first time Adrienne had seen it that way since Kaia came back into her life. The unruly dirty blond tresses fell into her face. She probably hadn’t bothered even touching it today. Adrienne smiled, remembering how Kaia would scold Adrienne for calling her hair blond, insisting it was brunette even though it wasn’t. If only she knew she was gorgeous just as she was.

  “So what did you want to talk about then?” Kaia asked.

  “Gianna found out you’re my ex.”

  Kaia finally took off her sunglasses and leaned forward. “What? How? What did she do?”

  “It was my fault. It was stupid. I accidentally said your name.”

  Kaia raised a suggestive eyebrow to tease her and caught her completely off guard. Adrienne felt her cheeks flush. “Shut up, not like that. In conversation.”

  “Did she freak?”

  “Yeah, but not as bad as I thought she would. She wants me to pump you for information.”

  “What kind?”

  “I convinced her you’re just following up on me, but she wants me to get you to find out how much the detectives know about the Wild AKs.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, then she wants me to convince you they have it all wrong and that the Wild really just deal a little weed and that Gianna hitting me was a crazy fluke so you’ll all leave us alone. She thinks all you’re doing is making sure I’m okay.”

  “That is what I’m doing.”

  Adrienne felt a warmth travel down her spine. “I’m taking a leap of faith here, Kai, telling you this instead of trying to actually do it. What do I tell her? What am I supposed to take back to her?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll have to ask Davis what he wants to reveal.”

  “What? No. I’m not a mole. I’m telling you this, not the department. And I’m only telling you because she wants me to play you and I’m not going to do that.”

  Kaia smiled. “Thanks for that. I was afraid you were.”

  “I’m not playing you. I’m trying to keep your stupid ass out of danger.”

  “Not going to happen.”

  “Yeah, I’m getting that. So what do I tell Gianna?”

  “Tell her her plan might’ve worked, but now I know she hurt Reid and no amount of you lying or saying you’re okay is going to stop me.”

  “I don’t want you in a war with her, Kaia. I know you’re pissed and want to fight right now, but she’s not going to fight fair. The Wild are everywhere now. There are dozens of them.”

  “Dozens? Really? How many dozens?”

  “Several.” This felt too much like snitching, but she had to make Kaia understand the danger. “And they are all armed. Heavily.”

  “Yeah, what’s up with that? Why so many guns?”

  “To scare people, obviously. They’re taking over everyone’s territory by sheer force. You can join or get gunned down.”

  “Where are they getting them?”

  Adrienne pushed back in her chair. “Come on, Kaia.”

  “You come on. I know you know this stuff. You say you can’t leave and you keep telling me how scary they are, help me disarm them. Let me fix it. You don’t have to be trapped. You’re doing this to yourself.”

  “If they find out—”

  “I know. They won’t.”

  “You don’t know that. You want to find my body in a ditch with no fucking skin? Because that’s where this goes.”

  “Okay, okay.”

  “Thank you.”

  Adrienne watched Kaia try to hold back. She could barely control herself. “Oh, for Christ’s sake, what?” Adrienne asked.

  “Don’t go back,” Kaia said. “If you’d let me get you out of there this wouldn’t be a problem.”

  “You really think it’s going to be that easy? She will find me.”

  “She’ll be in jail once you give us what we need.”

  “I’m not going to send her to prison.”

  Kaia shook her head. “So you’re just here because she sent you? That’s all there is to it?”

  “No. I came for you too, but I’m not going to do what either of you want. You could have arrested me the other day. I told you to, but you didn’t.”

  “Of course not.”

  “Well, I feel the same about her. We might not be flowers and chocolates anymore, but I still can’t ruin her life.”

  “It’s a bit more serious than lackluster romance.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “The middle is dangerous, Adrienne. You’re going to have to make a decision.”

  Adrienne smiled weakly. “I know. But not right now.”

  * * *

  Gianna was waiting in the dark when Adrienne got home.

  “Well?”

  “She’s not going to stop,” Adrienne said.

  Gianna shot to her feet and crossed the space to the door. “Why not? What did you say?”

  “I told her I love you and I’m fine. She doesn’t care.”

  “She have a death wish?”

  “She said it started about me, but now it’s about her partner, Reid. She knows it was you.”

  Gianna reached out, grabbed her neck, and squeezed. Adrienne forced herself not to move. It only got worse when she fought back.

  “Did you tell her it was me?”

  “No. I wasn’t even sure it was, but she is.”

  Gianna studied her, then released her. “Yeah, it was me. What’s she going to do about it?”

  “She wants you to know he’s okay.”

  “She said that?”

  “Yes.”

  “This bitch. Oh, I’m going to kill her.”

  “Gianna, just let it go.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Baby, if you kill a cop you’re going to prison. I love you. I want you here. Let’s just stop.” Adrienne looked into Gianna’s eyes, trying to communicate her love, searching for the tender soul she knew was buried under all the pain.

  “She got to you, didn’t she?” Gianna said.

  “No. I didn’t give her anything. I just want you safe.”

  “I’m not going to prison.” She shocked Adrienne by reaching out and hugging her. “If I let her get away with talking trash I’ll lose everything. I won’t be safe here anymore. You know my respect is everything.”

  “They do respect you.”

  “It’s not a one-time earn, babe. You have to live it every day. She should have never chased me. It’s been shit ever since then and we can’t go back now. She has to defend her partner. I get it. Cops ain’t nothing but a rival gang, and we’re at war.”

  “I miss you,” Adrienne said. “I miss what we were before the Wild AKs.”

  Gianna backed up, all business again. “The gang comes before anything. You know that.”

  Adrienne dropped it before she made Gianna mad. “I know. I just care about you.”

  “Yeah, well, you sound like your cop friend. Don’t let her mess with your mind.”

  “I’m not.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Sometimes Kaia couldn’t stand the gray of Chicago. It felt like the city was composed almost entirely of concrete and the criminals were just as cold and hard. She liked being able to say she was an officer in one of the roughest cities in the nation, but on those days she needed a little help, the old-fashioned neighborhoods where everyone grew up being told to never tell cops anything were suffocating and lonely. Nevertheless, she went into the salon that had a direct view of Reid’s assault and hit the bell at the counter. A bite-sized over-tanned teenager came to the front.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Chicago PD, I need to talk to you about an event from last night.”

  “We already talked to someone. We didn’
t see anything and our cameras only monitor; they don’t record.”

  “I find that hard to believe.”

  “Don’t know what to tell you. That’s the way it is.”

  “Uh-huh, were you working last night?”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t see anything.”

  “You said that. I was going to ask if anyone came in here, maybe stole your equipment? Maybe threatened you? You can be anonymous.”

  “Lady, what are you talking about? This is a salon. Only time I get threatened is when I’m doing a bikini wax.”

  “All right, if you remember anything give me a call.” Kaia slid her card across the counter.

  “There are three employees here,” she said. “How anonymous do you really think I can be?” She slid the card back to Kaia. Kaia nodded and turned to leave. She understood, and as much as she wanted to catch Gianna, she didn’t want to get this kid killed.

  She exited the salon while trying to return her card to her wallet and almost bumped into someone. When she looked up, it was Gianna. It took her a second to process Gianna’s face, then take in Anna, Celeste, Christina, and Adrienne beside her.

  Gianna beamed at her. “You want me to go in with you? You can ask her if she recognizes me.”

  “That’d be great, thanks.”

  “You don’t get it, do you?”

  “Oh no, I get it. I know you terrorized these people with your fake macho shit. We know, you have a huge dick, Gianna.”

  She caught a glimmer of a smile on Celeste’s face, but Adrienne was a pro actress.

  Gianna stepped closer. “You keep poking around where you don’t belong you’ll get my huge dick right up your ass.”

  “They’re not going to be afraid of you forever.”

  “Oh yes, they will,” Gianna said. “You will be too one way or another.”

  “You messed with a cop,” Kaia said. “You fucked up. They know you fucked up, but they won’t tell you.” Kaia pointed to Christina, Celeste, and Anna. “And you’re all going down for it. Someone always does the right thing eventually.”

  “Fuck you, pig,” Anna jumped in. “We didn’t do shit.”

  Gianna held up her hand. “It’s okay. She’s trying to make this a legit investigation, but we all know it’s personal. You’re just mad I’m fuckin’ your ex. I know it hurts, but you have to pull yourself together. Let it go.”

  Gianna grabbed Adrienne’s chin and kissed her. Adrienne seemed to expect a peck but Gianna licked her lips and coaxed her into a french kiss.

  Kaia’s hands felt numb, but she knew the others were diligently studying her for a reaction to report. She gave away nothing, even hoped Adrienne would pull it off seamlessly, well aware of the beating she’d probably get if she didn’t. But if Adrienne was uncomfortable with the display, Kaia couldn’t tell. Adrienne laced her fingers into Gianna’s hair and met her lips passionately. When they finally parted, Kaia felt drained and tingly, a rock heavy in her chest.

  “Very nice,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll write every day from prison.”

  She passed them, not trusting herself to look at Adrienne.

  “Give my best to the cripple,” Gianna called after her.

  Kaia flipped her off over her shoulder and got in the marked unit she’d decided to drive today.

  * * *

  Kaia waited outside Reid’s room, hoping that obstructing the hallway would force someone to update her. A nurse finally stopped.

  “He’s doing really well,” she said. She looked like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, in personality more than literally. She wasn’t sure this woman was capable of bearing bad news and doubted her information.

  “Does he have more surgeries?”

  “Yes, two more. But he’s already through the worst of it. Keep your head up.”

  “When will he wake up?”

  “It’ll be a while. He’s got some brain swelling right now, so we don’t want him to wake up yet. Don’t let that stop you from talking to him, though.” She moved on to the next room unceremoniously.

  Kaia went into Reid’s room and pulled a chair next to the bed. She interlaced her fingers and rested them on the side of the mattress.

  “You’re going to be okay, Reid. I know it. And I’m going to catch these bastards. I’ll catch them if it kills me. I know you’re going to wake up and tell us it was them. They’re saying you might not remember, but I know you will.”

  She watched the monitors. She didn’t know what it all meant, but it seemed steady, peaceful. She sat with him for hours, happy to have some time alone with him. Reid’s warm and silly personality won him lots of friends. Everyone wanted to be there for him, and there had been a steady stream in and out since he was hurt.

  Kaia knew her people would show up for her too, but not the kind of turnout Reid had. She had family, supportive parents. They hadn’t loved it when she came out, but they took it on the chin, hugged her, loved her. She had a brother in Australia who was a sweetheart, but she only saw him around Christmas, and some years he missed that too. Her dating habits were shallow and erratic. Reid was her family. The longer he was gone the more she realized how alone she’d been walking through the world.

  Kaia walked out of the hospital late, after midnight. The cold air ripped through her, humidity from the lakes giving the temperature a sharp edge that cut through her layers. She was heading for her car when she heard pops. She couldn’t process what it was for an instant. It sounded like fake gunfire, like a toy. Two massive impacts hit her chest like a baseball bat and sent her to the ground. She hit pavement flat on her back and lost her breath but didn’t let the pain slow her down. She scrambled behind her police car, opened the passenger door, and hit the emergency button to call for help. She glanced at her chest and confirmed there were two rips in her shirt where bullets had found her vest. She didn’t think either had made it through, but she didn’t have time to check.

  A black Escalade she’d never seen rolled by with the windows down. A handgun was leveled at her from the driver’s window, the back windows revealed assault rifles pointed her way too. The gunmen’s faces were covered with blue bandanas. She gave up the limited cover her car provided and ran in a crouch, hearing bullets thumping after her, stirring up dirt and bits of concrete. She cut behind a thick brick wall that surrounded the hospital dumpsters. She waited for the inevitable pause and returned fire.

  She hoped they would speed off, but they actually hit the brakes and another barrage from the rifles whizzed mercilessly at her. They weren’t making it through the wall. She heard a car door open and her heart leapt. She couldn’t let them close the distance between them. It would be over. She risked the exposure and peered around the wall. She fired at the Wild AK on foot. A fountain of blood erupted from the Wild’s chest and they went down. Three others jumped out. Kaia fired at them too, emptying the rest of her magazine and hitting another, who dropped to a knee. She scrambled to reload while they screamed at each other and tried to gather their wounded friend.

  She knew she could outshoot them, but she only had one magazine left. She had to be careful with it. She let them drag the down member back to the Escalade while the other limped back. Kaia chanced another look around the wall and fired at the side panel. She’d considered the driver, but if she killed him they’d be stuck here and they’d be forced to shoot it out. She didn’t have the ammo for that. She fired one more round and the driver finally sped away.

  Kaia checked herself for wounds. She knew adrenaline could be strong enough even to mask a gunshot wound, but all she found were the two initial shots to her vest. She was okay.

  Cop cars showed up fast enough she pointed after the Escalade in hopes they were dumb enough to be close by still. The third car ignored her gestures and pulled up. Sergeant Cruz leapt out and ran over to her.

  “Are you hit?”

  “Just the vest.”

  He keyed up his radio. “Sixty, I’m on scene, shots were fired at an officer. We’re code four, but we
need more cars checking the area on this.” He turned to Kaia. “You catch a plate?”

  She shook her head and gave him all she had. He relayed the description into the radio and helped her up.

  “You recognize them?”

  “WAKs for sure, but I don’t know who. Their faces were covered with blue bandanas.”

  “Got it.”

  “Sarge,” she said. “I got two of them.”

  “Attagirl. Dead?”

  “One in the leg, one in the chest.”

  “You’re a fucking boss, Sorano.”

  Kaia nodded, feeling a million miles away from Cruz.

  He walked over and rested his hand on her shoulder. “Look around, Sorano. You see all this?”

  Kaia surveyed the damage, the casings, the bits of concrete chipped from the ground and walls.

  “Most would be dead,” he said.

  She nodded. “I’m going to go inside. I need a minute.”

  “Of course.”

  Kaia went to the bathroom and threw up. She looked under her vest. Purple bruises marked where the bullets had hit. They were vital areas. If she’d ignored her instincts to wear the vest all the time these days, she’d be a goner. If she’d been hit by the rifles instead of the handgun she’d be dead. With bullets flying the way they had been she could easily have taken one to the head. Gianna definitely meant business. First Reid, now this?

  She couldn’t get her hands to stop shaking. She wondered if either of the people she’d shot would die, and if either had been Gianna. She knew it was a long shot. Gianna’s build was pretty unmistakable. She waited for some kind of crisis of conscience over shooting two people, but it didn’t come.

  Chapter Twelve

  The front door slammed open and blasted into the wall. Five people rushed inside, two carried a pale young woman, and Gianna carried a teenage boy.

  “Clear a space!” Gianna screamed. Adrienne jumped up and shoved everything off the kitchen table.

  “What happened?”

  A trail of blood followed them in. She cleared a second place on the floor. Gianna was shimmering in sweat from the effort of carrying the boy. Adrienne had seen him before but never met him. Gianna laid him down on the table. Anna and the uninjured recruit carried the young woman in and lowered her to the floor. Adrienne went to the guy on the table first and pulled his blood-soaked pants down. He had a gunshot to his thigh. It made Adrienne’s chest seize looking at it. It was smaller than she’d imagined it would be, a perfect black circle.