Marked for Murder

by Donna Raider

  Both nodded in agreement as they began giving assignments to the staff for the care of the Cross family.

  After dinner, Mika and Leah took their children to the gym. It had a full-scale basketball court. They used it for volleyball, tennis, or any other sport requiring a net. It was complete with bleachers and locker rooms with showers. A short hallway led to a swimming pool and an enormous game room. The children were ecstatic. Their only concern about living in the city was the lack of places to play. Obviously, they need not worry.

  The Cross family was in the living room of the penthouse. Adam and Mika were horses for Eve and Paul. Richie and Jacob were playing chess while Matt, Hannah, and Mark were playing virtual reality video games. Sara, Rachel, Leah, and Amber were playing cards.

  Pretend horses, Adam and Mika, chased each other on all fours until they both collapsed, laughing and rolling on the floor with Eve and Paul. Their wrestling seemed to be an open invitation to Hannah and Mark, who quickly dogpiled their mother and older brother. Not to be left out, Leah and Matt joined into the fun. The younger children’s cries for help soon had Rachel, Jacob, Sara, and Richie jumping into the fray. Before Leah knew what was happening, Mika had pulled Leah onto her lap, and Adam had drawn Amber into the family free-for-all. As everyone began to tire and quiet down, Eve and Paul began to beg their big brother for a story.

  “Tell us the story of how the beautiful queen charged into hell to save her wife,” they pleaded, crawling into their parents’ laps. The others sprawled on the carpet or leaned against whatever was handy. They were all on the floor. Mika noticed that Adam had his head in Amber’s lap.

  “Yes, please,” Hannah and Mark pleaded, “the one where she rode a fire-breathing warhorse.”

  “We know it’s just a fairy tale,” Matt and Regina said, laughing, “but we love it. She was so beautiful and powerful, and they were so much in love that they would die for each other.”

  “Yes, they were.” Leah smiled, laying her head on her wife’s shoulder. “They still are.”

  After the story, Mika and Leah tucked in each of their children, from the youngest to the oldest. “You don’t have to tuck us in.” Adam and Sara laughed. “We will just hug you good night and walk Aunt Amber to her room. Her suite is on the same floor as ours.”

  “I have to catch a red-eye flight,” Richie informed them. “Rebecca is picking me up from the airport.”

  “Please be careful, dear.” Leah kissed him goodbye.

  Mika and Leah held hands and kissed as they rode the elevator back to their apartment. “Come on, Mika.” Leah smiled devilishly. “Time to play horsey with Mommy. Have you ever tried breathing fire from your nostrils?”

  ##

  Joe watched the woman as she entered his club. It had been months since her last visit. Heads turned as she walked toward the bar. As she gracefully slid onto the barstool, he poured her a glass of wine. He had watched her whirlwind rise to fame on Marked for Murder. He wondered where her wife was—how they were doing.

  “We have a nice French restaurant now,” he said casually. “I hope you will join us for dinner tonight, compliments of the house.”

  Leah smiled and nodded.

  The blonde woman entered the club, her jacket over her arm. Her blue shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, and her sleeves rolled up. Mika rolled down her sleeves and slipped on her jacket as she slowly approached Leah.

  Mika sat down beside her and nodded her thanks to Joe as he slid a glass of wine toward her.

  “Come here often?” the blonde woman asked. Leah ignored her.

  “I don’t mean to be forward,” Mika spoke softly, “but I am looking for Detective Candice Carter. Is that you?”

  For the first time, Leah turned to study her. She looked Mika up and down, widening her eyes as if assessing her worthiness.

  Eye sex, you are using eye sex on me, Mika thought as she tried to conceal her laughter. So not fair. How can I pretend to be meeting you for the first time, when you are undressing me in your mind?

  It was a game they played. The first one to break character and laugh lost the game.

  “What if I am?” She suppressed a smile, wondering where Mika was going with her charade. “Undressing you, that is.”

  “I need to report a major theft.” Mika frowned, trying not to break character. “I have some theories on who the thief is, but I need your help in proving it.”

  “When was the theft?” Leah asked.

  “Technically fifty-eight years ago, but the thief only realized she possessed the item twenty-eight years ago.” Mika bowed her head as if trying to hide emotion. She was hiding the smile on her face.

  “What was taken?” Leah smiled now, unable to suppress her joy at her wife’s antics.

  “My heart.” Mika looked wounded, soulful. She clutched her chest over her heart.

  “I’m afraid I can’t help you.” Leah turned back to face the mirror behind the bar.

  “Have you ever been in love?” Mika asked seriously.

  “Only once,” Leah answered honestly.

  “Obviously, we have a lot in common.” Mika smiled. “I, too, have only been in love once. Perhaps I can take you to dinner, and we can compare notes.”

  “Joe,” Leah said without taking her eyes from the blonde woman, “please move our tab to the restaurant. We will be dining here tonight.”

  Joe nodded and smiled. I have missed you two, he thought.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Marked for Murder had garnered eight Emmy nominations: Leah, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series; Lana Lawson, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series; Chanel Hale, Outstanding Makeup for a Series; Trey Slater, Outstanding Lead Male in a Drama Series; Carlie Carlyle, Outstanding Technical Direction; Ruddy Wilder, Outstanding Writer for a Drama Series; and of course, Stiles for Outstanding Director and Outstanding Producer.

  The children had enrolled in school and were dealing with the usual problems of being the new kids in school. They were doing good, making friends and impressing their teachers. The fact that they were gorgeous twins made them instant celebrities. They never revealed that their mothers were Leah Redman and the female priest disrupting the entire Catholic Church. Some things were best kept to one’s self.

  “Your dress is gorgeous,” Haley said as she put the final touches on Leah’s makeup. “Are you nervous?”

  “No, not really.” The star smiled. After facing the Devil, very little makes me nervous, she thought. “Has my wife arrived yet?”

  “I wouldn’t know her if she bit me,” Haley scoffed. “It’s not like you have ever brought her around us.”

  The door to the dressing room opened, and so did Haley’s mouth. The woman framed in the doorway was the most gorgeous human she had ever seen. Her thick blonde hair and mesmerizing blue eyes took away Haley’s breath. Mika smiled, and perfect white teeth completed Haley’s idea of the ideal woman. She was as perfect as anything Haley had ever imagined, a Greek goddess perhaps.

  “Here she is now.” Leah rose to meet the Greek goddess as she strode toward her, leaning down to kiss her lightly, cognizant of her makeup.

  “Darling.” Mika held Leah away from her, turning her as she admired Leah’s beauty. “You are breathtaking. If there is an award for escorting the most beautiful woman in the world, I will surely win it.”

  Leah’s joy at having Mika by her side was evident from the broad smile that lit her lovely face. “Haley, I would like you to meet my wife, Mika.”

  “Haley, Haley.” Leah tried to shake the woman from her catatonic state. “Haley, my wife.”

  “Yes.” Haley slowly shook the hand Mika had extended.

  “Darling, this is the woman who is responsible for my wonderful makeup and hair on the series, Chanel Haley. We call her Haley.”

  Haley regained most of her senses as the goddess shook her hand. “I see why you never bring her around,” she mumbled. “The men and women would crawl all over her.”

  “They wouldn’t
do it but once,” Leah growled, recalling how the women had rushed the stage when her wife had performed with the choir boys’ band. She shuddered and pulled herself back to the present. “Yes, well, I know how to cope with that.” She smiled darkly.

  “Time to be seated.” A young man knocked on the door as he poked his head into the dressing room.

  “I think we’re all seated together,” Haley said as she led the way to their seats in the theater. “Stiles wanted you to sit next to Trey.” When everyone was seated, Leah found herself seated between Trey and her wife.

  By the time the evening was over, Marked for Murder had walked away with all the Emmys for which it had been nominated. Stiles was ecstatic. He was already planning how to win next year.

  As soon as the presentations were over, Leah and Mika stole away to her dressing room. “Congratulations, darling,” Mika murmured against her lips.

  Leah kissed her gently at first then moved her lips harder against Mika’s to awaken a deep desire in her. Leah was magnificent. Mika was her slave. Mika knew it and loved it.

  Leah urged her mouth open as she pulled Mika toward the sofa. “Do you think this is a good idea?” Mika whispered as she kissed down Leah’s neck to her wonderful breasts, igniting every nerve ending in her body.

  “I think this is the best idea I have had all day.” Leah smiled her wonderful, wicked smile that Mika knew was an invitation to the world’s most wonderful woman.

  Lost in each other, they didn’t hear the partying taking place backstage or the knocking on her dressing room door. There was nothing in their world but Mika and Leah Cross.

  “You really should make an appearance at your celebration.” Mika cradled Leah’s head against her shoulder.

  “Um, give me a few more minutes to catch my breath,” she murmured.

  Steeling herself for the party, Leah quickly dressed them. “I had almost forgotten how beautiful you are in an evening dress.” Leah smiled as they approached the door to the ballroom. “You haven’t worn an evening dress since our wedding.”

  Mika kissed her softly. “You always look breathtaking in anything…or nothing,” she added shyly.

  “Here’s my star.” Stiles hurried to greet Leah. “Who is this?” he demanded, looking Mika up and down.

  “My wife.” Leah smiled. She never tired of the reaction people had to her gorgeous wife. She knew they were a beautiful couple.

  Stiles shook hands with Mika, then ushered them to a table at the front of the room. “Come, meet the rest of the staff.” He smiled. “I guess Marcus represents you too,” Stiles addressed Mika.

  “No, I’m not an actress,” the priest declared.

  After introductions had been made, Mika pulled out the chair for her wife then took the one next to her. Carlie sat on the other side of Leah. The beautiful female doctor Mika had assumed was with Trey Slater turned out to be Carlie’s date. Trey was at the party alone.

  “I believe the A&E folks would like to see us dancing together.” Trey leaned across the table toward Leah. “We mustn’t disappoint them, my lovely.”

  “Sorry,” the star said with a smile, “I only dance with my wife.”

  “Come on, Redman.” Trey caught her hand and attempted to pull her to her feet.

  Mika rose suddenly, towering over the shorter man. “My wife doesn’t want to dance with you,” she said.

  Trey stumbled backward. Although Mika’s words were spoken softly, they resounded through the actor’s head like thunder.

  Mika stood and led her wife to the dance floor. They danced, enjoying the feel of being in each other’s arms. They were oblivious to the network news cameras that were all around them, outnumbered only by the paparazzi.

  “I would like to go home to our children.” Leah smiled as the dance finished. Mika led her to a coat closet she had seen just outside the ballroom. They stepped inside and disappeared.

  ##

  The children were all gathered in the living room of their apartment and squealed when the elevator doors opened. Choruses of “Queen Mommy, Mika,” filled the room.

  “Mommy, you won.” All the children gathered around her, hugging her, loving her. “Your show won everything.”

  My family is the only audience that matters to me, Leah thought.

  The children had recorded the awards ceremony so they could watch it with their parents. While Mika and Leah changed into comfortable clothes, Sara and Adam made popcorn. Rachel and Jacob dispensed drinks to everyone. They settled in front of the television to watch the Emmy Awards. The youngest were in their parents’ laps. The older ones lounged in chairs or on the floor. Amber sat in a comfortable armchair and Adam sat on the carpet at her feet, leaning against her leg. Nana and Vonda joined the family to watch Leah’s triumph.

  “Queen Mommy, look how beautiful you are, accepting your award.” Rachel hugged her mother. The other children chattered their agreement.

  Mika put her arm around her wife. In a pair of jeans and one of Mika’s Henleys, she was gorgeous. Leah loved wearing Mika’s shirts. They made her feel closer to the angel. She snuggled into her wife’s side and hugged Luke, who was chattering happily on her lap. Athena had already fallen asleep in Mika’s arms.

  It was late when the replay of the awards was over, and Nana herded her wards off to their respective rooms. Mika and Leah carried their sleeping babies to the nursery and— as always—made the rounds tucking in the others.

  As they settled in their bed, Mika heard the ding of a text message on her phone and frowned as she read it.

  “What do you have planned for tomorrow?” Mika asked as Leah settled into her arms.

  “We’re shooting a new episode,” Leah said as she softly kissed her. “What do you have planned?”

  “I just received a text that we are to reconvene our meetings tomorrow at nine.” Mika slipped her hand under Leah’s pajama top. The feel of her soft, smooth body was exhilarating. As usual, Leah wore no pajama bottoms.

  “Umm,” Leah hummed into her ear as Mika slowly ran her hands down her back. Mika loved the way she felt. “But we can still meet for lunch, right?” Leah questioned.

  “Of course,” Mika whispered hoarsely.

  “So,” Leah said as she propped herself up on one elbow, smiling devilishly, “have you given any thought to breathing fire through your nostrils?”

  “I have.” Mika laughed. “I think that’s going to take some practice on my part. I don’t want to set your hair on fire.”

  “God, I love you.” Leah pulled Mika tighter against her.

  ##

  Father Branch was delighted the meetings had reconvened. He knew he had overindulged in Ellen and had made a promise to himself to begin breaking the habit of her. Renewing his battle with Mika Cross would help keep his mind off her.

  He had been infuriated by the rumor that Cross had received a summons to meet with the Pope. He finally decided it was just a rumor, as the young priest hadn’t left town for a meeting in Rome.

  The most aggravating thing about arguing with Cross was that she always countered everything with verses from the Bible. Everything Father Branch believed wasn’t in the Bible or even Bible based. Some things, a man just knew.

  Father Branch had been assigned a new co-chair to replace the ailing Father Williams. Father Jeremiah Halcyon was a notorious proponent of celibacy. A very affluent priest, thanks to his family fortune, Father Halcyon was darkly handsome, twenty-eight, and very charismatic. He was rumored to be on the fast track to be a bishop. His parishioners called him Father Jerry, which seemed to fit him better than Jeremiah.

  Their morning meetings had been uneventful, and Father Branch was looking forward to lunching with Father Jerry. He had been surprised to see Father Darius and Mika Cross having coffee with Father Jerry when the meeting had broken mid-morning. What better way to throw one’s enemies off guard than to cavort with them? Branch had finally decided.

  As usual, Mika disappeared at lunch. Father Jerry had disappeared with
Father Darius. Branch had found himself dining alone. Afternoon break had once again found Darius, Cross, and Halcyon drinking coffee together.

  By the end of the week, Father Branch was furious. Father Jerry had spent far more time with Cross and Darius than with him. Father Branch seriously doubted the man knew his first name.

  “I need to meet with you in my office when the meeting is over.” Father Branch caught Halcyon as they returned for the final meetings of the day.

  “Of course.” Halcyon smiled.

  Mika watched Father Branch as the man struggled to bring home a dubious point he was trying to make. Father Jerry Halcyon smiled graciously and smoothly came to the aid of the older priest. “I believe my esteemed colleague is trying to make the point that celibacy not only means the state of not being married, but also that as a man of God, a priest should abstain from any form of sexual intercourse or activities with males and females.”

  Father Branch stared at Father Jerry. That isn’t what I was saying at all, he thought, but decided to let it go.

  “That should give us all something to think about.” Mika smiled. “Let’s close this week’s meetings on that note. Monday, we’ll continue to study the history of celibacy. Since there is no such word as celibacy in the Bible, it had to originate somewhere.”

  “Now there’s food for thought.” Father Darius grinned as he stood to deliver the prayer to dismiss the meeting. He silently patted Mika Cross on the back for her little coup.

  “If you have any time this weekend,” Father Jerry said, approaching Mika, “I would love to sit down with you and have a heart-to-heart discussion on this matter.”

  “That is the purpose of these meetings.” Mika smiled. “So everyone can share their heartfelt feelings.”

  “I agree with that.” Jerry nodded. “I would just like to get to know Mika Cross, the woman, a little better.”

  Mika smiled. “I would like to understand you a little better, too, but I reserve weekends for my family and church.

  “Maybe next Monday we can end the meeting at noon and get together after lunch. We can spend the rest of the day discussing theology.”