Justice Served Part 10

"Agreed." Absently, Rebecca leaned forward with both hands braced on the wooden piling in an attempt to stretch the tight muscles in her chest. Between the surgical incisions and the damage from the gunshot wound, the left side of her chest was constantly in spasm. It didn't help, and she pushed off with an irritated shake of her head.

"Except I have to believe that Jimmy would've told someone in narco about it and not us. We're s.e.x crimes, not drugs."

"Yeah, can't argue." Watts icked the b.u.t.t into the river. "Something in the middle. It always comes back to that."

"The currency of esh."

"Huh?"

Rebecca regarded Watts solemnly. "s.e.x. It sells, it pays, it's the common denominator that runs through every branch of Zamora's organization. We have to concentrate on the girls."

"Yeah," Watts spat in frustration. "But what about them? Most of them have no pasts we can trace, no permanent address, and no interest in helping us. It's like they're right there in front of us and invisible at the same time."

* 74 *

Justice Served "Exactly. We need to start creating some solid pro les. Facts, not fantasies."

Watts snorted. "Should be a snap. And just where do you plan on starting?"

"Ziggie's."

v "Honey?"

"Yeah?" Sandy replied, leaning into the closet as she sorted through the clothes in a faded oral brocade suitcase she'd brought from her apartment.

"I'm gonna need your help a little later on tonight, so can you plan on being back here around midnight? I mean, if you're going out?"

Slowly, Sandy pivoted, a white satin thong dangling from her ngers. "I was thinking of wearing this. What do you think?"

"I think it's really s.e.xy," Mitch.e.l.l said, trying to keep the bite from her voice. I think if you're going out, you shouldn't be wearing anything like that. Why would you need to?

"Yeah," Sandy mused as she closed her ngers around the slip of material. "Me too. And since I was planning on staying here and watching videos with you and Michael, I thought you could think about it while you're eating popcorn."

"You like to tease me, don't you?" Mitch.e.l.l rolled to the edge of the bed and levered herself upright with her crutches in one adroit move.

"Slick," Sandy observed, holding out one arm with her palm extended. "Just stay right over there, supercop. And yes, I like to tease you. It makes your eyes get this dark, dark hungry blue color. You complaining?"

"Nope." Ignoring Sandy's directive, Mitch.e.l.l closed the distance between them until she was inches from her lover. Then she angled the crutches against the wall and placed both hands on Sandy's waist for balance. "But you know what happens if you tease the animals." She lowered her head and nipped at Sandy's neck. "You get bitten."

Sandy slapped a hand against Mitch.e.l.l's chest. "No teeth. No lips either. I told Michael we'd hang out with her tonight. She's ordering pizza and everything. I don't want to be h.o.r.n.y the whole time."

* 75 *

RADCLY fFE Mitch.e.l.l snaked her arm further around Sandy's waist and nuzzled her neck. "Give me ve minutes. I promise to make you happy."

"All I have to do is push," Sandy murmured seductively, her mouth against Mitch.e.l.l's ear. "And you'll fall on your a.s.s."

"I don't mind if you're on top. Makes me hot." Mitch.e.l.l chuckled when Sandy bit her earlobe. Hard. "Okay. Okay."

"What's happening later, anyways?"

"Jasmine is bringing the kings around. I want to gear up."

Gently but rmly, Sandy pushed Mitch.e.l.l away. "You're not going out with them tonight."

"No. Uh-uh. They just want to see how Mitch is doing."

"Okay." Sandy's tone was doubtful.

"I'm going to see Dr. Rawlings tomorrow afternoon," Mitch.e.l.l informed her quietly. "I need to get cleared so I can go back to work, San."

"You're still on crutches."

"I have that appointment with Dr. Torveau in the morning, too, remember? You're coming, right?"

"I said I was."

"So," Mitch.e.l.l said nonchalantly, "maybe I can get a cane."

Sandy sat on the side of the bed, her arms braced on either side of her body as she leaned back and regarded Mitch.e.l.l suspiciously.

"Promise you don't go back to work until you're a hundred percent."

Mitch.e.l.l dgeted.

"Dell."

"I was sort of planning on going to the club this weekend. I should be okay by then."

"Are you going to ride your bike?"

Mitch.e.l.l raised a shoulder. "Probably."

"Then Dr. Torveau has to say it's okay."

"Oh Christ, come on, Sandy-"

"Promise."

Carefully, Mitch.e.l.l shuf ed to the bedside and eased down next to Sandy, keeping her left leg out straight. She put her arm around the smaller woman. "I promise."

Sandy settled against Mitch.e.l.l, both arms around her waist and her head on Mitch.e.l.l's shoulder. "Then I'll help Mitch get ready tonight."

"Thanks."

* 76 *

Justice Served "Under one condition."

Mitch.e.l.l sighed. "Okay."

Sandy raised her head and peered at Mitch.e.l.l curiously. "Okay?

Just like that?"

"I'm going to say yes eventually."

Laughing, Sandy nipped at Mitch.e.l.l's chin, then kissed the tiny red spot. "You're pretty smart for a cop."

"Yeah." Mitch.e.l.l kissed her. "So what did I just agree to?"

Sandy smoothed her hand down the front of Mitch.e.l.l's T-shirt, danced over her y, and cupped her between the legs. "Mitch wears his working gear."

Oh yeah. Too busy kissing Sandy again, Mitch.e.l.l didn't answer.

v "How's it going?" Sloan brushed her hands over Michael's shoulders as she leaned down to kiss her neck.

"Mmm." Michael tilted her head back against Sloan's chest and closed her eyes as strong ngers ma.s.saged the tight muscles along her spine. "A little better than yesterday. I can actually read for ten or fteen minutes at a time without getting a headache."

"That's great, baby." Carefully, Sloan swiveled the of ce chair around so that Michael faced her, then knelt before her. With a thumb, she traced the smudges beneath the sapphire eyes that were still dimmed with pain. "Tired?"

Michael covered Sloan's hand with hers and rubbed her cheek against Sloan's palm. "Yes. But that's better too."

"Good."

"How was your day?" Michael combed her ngers through Sloan's hair, then rested her hand against the side of Sloan's neck. "You look a little...harried."

Sloan gave a crooked grin. "I'd forgotten just exactly how much I hate working in a bureaucracy. It takes three times as long to do anything. And the equipment...I don't know how they can keep track of parking tickets with the system they have, let alone collate data on criminals." She laughed. "It's a challenge."

"Did they give you some help?"

"A couple of fairly decent guys." Sloan thought of the two detective * 77 *

RADCLY fFE threes who'd been pulled from burglary to form the core of the ESU.

Two guys who'd been selected because they'd once upon a time taken a computer course. But their inexperience bothered her less than her new of cial status as the civilian head of the unit. The ESU might be tucked away in the corner, but news would travel fast. She forced a smile, determined to concentrate on Michael and forget about what she couldn't control for a few hours. "I've missed you."

"I love you." Michael caressed Sloan's cheek. "You know, not talking about it won't help."

Sloan frowned. "I'm sorry?"

"There's something you're not telling me."

"You're de nitely getting better. You're back to reading my mind."

"I may have forgotten some things, darling, but I remember everything about you." Michael leaned down and kissed Sloan lingeringly, a gentle but possessive kiss. "You don't hide things from me. And even when you try to avoid telling me what you think I'm not ready to hear, it shows."

"It's nothing you need to be concerned about."

"Is it something to do with you?" Michael asked mildly.

"Not exactly. Maybe."

"Then it has to do with me."

With a sigh, Sloan inched closer and pillowed her head against Michael's b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Michael in turn stroked the back of her neck. Finally, Sloan mumbled, "It's the visibility. If there's anyone the least bit suspicious that we might be trying to track them down, my presence at Police Plaza is going to tip them off. They could start to cover their tracks. Computer tracks, that is. I'm working against the clock."

"They know who you are, don't they."

"Probably."

"They know that you can nd them."

Sloan nodded wordlessly.

"And you think," Michael said haltingly, "you think my accident wasn't an accident. That someone was trying to hurt you and I was just in the way."

"We don't know that," Sloan said quickly.

"But that's what you think."

"Michael-"

* 78 *

Justice Served "So it follows... G.o.d, I wish I could think clearly. It follows, doesn't it...if they see you at police headquarters working on the computer system, they might feel even more threatened." Michael's ngers trembled against the back of Sloan's neck. "And they might want to...be more... thorough than the rst time."

"It's not going to happen." Sloan leaned back and framed Michael's face in her hands, her thumbs gently caressing the curve of her lover's jaw. "Baby, there's nothing for you to worry about."

"Promise me you'll be careful."

"Always."

"Can you stay here tonight instead of going back to work? Sandy picked up some videos, and I'm going to order pizza."

Sloan thought about the work she had planned to do in the of ce downstairs, reviewing the data that Jason and Mitch.e.l.l had collected in the last few days and running some traces herself. She thought about the long hours she had been away from home since the case had started to break the weekend before, and how often Michael had been alone.

By the time she came to bed it was often almost morning, and she frequently rose after only an hour or two of sleep and went back to work.

With guilty eyes, she noted the circles under her lover's eyes, the pale cast of her skin, and the whisper of hollows beneath her cheekbones.

Michael might be out of danger, but she was far from well.

"Comedy or drama?"

"Actually, I think she got Night of the Living Dead and every one of the sequels."

"I'm in." Sloan rose and guided Michael to her feet, pulling her into a loose embrace. She buried her face in Michael's fragrant hair, relaxing into the welcoming curves of her lover's body. For the rst time all day, she felt calm. "Pizza?"