Treachery Rising (MidKnight Blue Book 4)

by Sherryl Hancock

  It was the weekend, and she was off from school. She got out of bed carefully; Joe stirred but didn’t get up. Randy put on his FORS jacket, picked up the keys to the older-model black Jaguar, and went down to the bakery in town. She came back and made coffee, which she carried in to Joe along with some fresh croissants.

  Joe was already up and in the shower. Randy found herself watching him a little while later as he shaved. It was as if she were falling in love with him all over again. Suddenly, every move he made, every look, every sound, every gesture seemed new and exciting to her again. While she wanted their relationship to get back on track, especially in the intimacy department, she was determined to respect what he had told her about Midnight.

  Later that morning, Randy told Joe she had something she needed to do. He didn’t question her, and she was glad, not wanting to have to lie or be evasive with him. She drove the black Jaguar to the hospital and headed straight to Midnight’s room. Steeling herself, she went in. Midnight was awake, and not surprisingly she was reading some sort of report.

  “That didn’t take long,” Randy said, feeling too happy to try to be clever or sly.

  Midnight looked up at Randy and was totally stunned by the change in the younger woman, so much so that she didn’t speak. Randy moved over to the side of the bed.

  “Midnight,” she said. She spoke softly but was determined to say her piece. “You were right about everything. I have been criminally stupid, and I am so sorry. Please.” She reached out to touch Midnight’s arm gently. “Please know that I never meant for what happened with Dick to happen. I know,” she said, seeing the look in Midnight’s eyes, “that that doesn’t excuse it, but I had no idea that Dick was going to do that. If anything, I figured I might get lucky and land one punch. I never even thought he’d get involved.” Her eyes pleaded with Midnight to at least understand, if she couldn’t forgive her. Midnight was looking at her, but her face showed no real emotion. Randy was relieved, however, to note that the hate and naked anger she’d seen the day before weren’t in her eyes either. “I want you to know that I’m moving out of the apartment with Sarah, and I’m not planning to ever see Dick Dickerson again. I did exactly what you told me to, and I realized a lot of things, not least of which was how much I owe you.”

  Midnight narrowed her eyes slightly. “What about Joe?” she asked, her voice controlled.

  “Well,” Randy said, “that’s actually up to you.” She smiled at Midnight’s surprised expression. “Joe told me about the two of you getting together in Sacramento.” She spoke without a trace of anger, and Midnight was further surprised. “He told me that he had promised you that he’d be there for you. And, well, now he’s waiting to see if you’re going to need him.”

  “And if I do?” Midnight asked, wanting to cover all of the bases.

  “Then he’s yours,” Randy said, shrugging. “You two have to be there for each other—that’s what makes you who you are. I’ve regained my understanding of that now. I’ll wait for him, though, because I’ve also regained my senses, and I remember now that Joe is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  Midnight gave her a measured look. “If you ever hurt him again, I swear I’ll kick your ass.”

  Randy nodded, her expression serious. “If I ever hurt him again, I expect you to.” The two women stared at each other, both of them wondering what would happen.

  “And what’s goin’ on in here?” Rick asked from the door. Midnight and Randy glanced over at him, then looked back at each other and laughed.

  Rick watched them both for a moment, an odd grin on his face. He knew he had missed something. He felt a tug at his leg and looked over at Midnight. “I have someone here that wants to see you.” He stepped back.

  A tiny, copper-blond-haired blur ran into the room, squealing with delight as she threw herself toward her mother. “Mikeyla!” Rick called firmly. The child stopped just short of the bed and looked back at her father. “Remember what we talked about. Mommy is still hurt, so you have to be careful, okay?” Mikeyla nodded, her eyes wide as she turned back to look at her mother, very obviously trying to determine where her mommy’s “boo-boo” was. She looked up at Randy and smiled sweetly as she held up her arms to her.

  Randy bent down and picked the girl up, then looked at Midnight.

  “Go ahead and set her here.” Midnight patted her lap.

  Randy hesitated, looking over at Rick. He shrugged, knowing arguing with Midnight about this would be pointless. Randy did as she was asked. Mikeyla immediately leaned her head down against Midnight’s chest, having very apparently missed her mother a great deal. Midnight wrapped her arms around her daughter, holding her close. Randy was always amazed at the change in Midnight’s face when she was with Mikeyla. It made Randy feel like she was missing something very important in her life.

  “I’d better be going,” Randy said, knowing she should get out of the way.

  Midnight looked up at her for a long moment, her eyes searching the younger woman’s. Randy didn’t look away. She knew Midnight was trying to see if there was any type of deception, and it made Randy all the more aware of the change her personality had undergone in the past month or so. Midnight would never have had to look at her in that way before. Finally, Midnight smiled a half-smile, pleased with what she’d seen in Randy’s face—and also in Randy’s direct gaze, which went a long way to proving to Midnight that Randy’s words had been sincere.

  Randy left, closing the door slowly behind her. Rick stood still, close to the door. He had watched the exchange, and he knew that something very important had occurred between the two women, and he was very curious about what that was. He also knew that asking Midnight a battery of questions would get him into yet another battle, and he wasn’t there for that.

  Mikeyla sat back on Midnight’s lap, looking at her mother. “When can you come home?” she asked, getting straight to the important matter at hand.

  “I don’t know, sweetie,” Midnight said. “The doctors want to keep me here long enough to make sure I’m okay first.”

  Again Mikeyla looked up at her mother intently. She reached up, delicately touching the bruise on the side of Midnight’s face. “Is this your boo-boo, Mommy?”

  Midnight nodded.

  “How did you get it?”

  Midnight looked up at Rick, and then back at her daughter. “Mommy’s not exactly sure,” she said, and from the tone of her voice and her hesitation, Rick could tell instantly that she was lying. She didn’t like to lie to Mikeyla, and Rick knew that the circumstances would have to be extreme for her to do so. He recognized that he was due to have another argument with Midnight, because this was too important to let go.

  He watched Mikeyla and Midnight visit for about a half hour, then told Mikeyla she needed to go with Grandma and Grandpa while he and Mommy talked. Mikeyla was reluctant to leave, but she knew better than to argue with her father.

  Midnight knew what was coming. She knew Rick was aware that she had lied. She also wasn’t sure how she was going to get out of this. The moment Mikeyla left, Rick walked over to the bed.

  He looked down at her, his eyes narrowed slightly, not in anger but in analysis. He was trying to figure out what she was doing.

  “Okay,” he said simply. “Explain.”

  Midnight considered playing dumb, but she knew it would be a waste of time. Rick was like a pit bull when it came to things like this.

  “Look,” she said, trying to put more confidence in her voice than she could really muster. “I told you what I did to keep some things from happening.”

  “And?” Rick prompted, not willing to be put off that easily.

  “And,” Midnight said, “I’m still not ready to talk about it, okay?”

  “No, it’s not okay.” Rick was exasperated at her evasiveness. “Tell me what the fuck is going on, Midnight.”

  “Rick, I can’t, okay?” Midnight said, her voice taking on a desperate edge.

  “Why?” He sound
ed almost hurt.

  Midnight closed her eyes, not wanting to lie to him too. “If I tell you right now, it could hurt someone else, and I’m not ready to do that just yet.”

  “Who’s it gonna hurt?” Rick asked, looking very confused. “Why are you protecting the person that almost killed you and who did kill our baby?”

  Tears came to Midnight’s eyes, but her face contorted into a mask of anger and vengeance. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him myself.” Her voice was rough with frustration and fury.

  Rick looked alarmed. “I don’t want you taking care of anyone by yourself. This is my fight too.”

  Midnight looked up at him sharply, surprised that he suddenly seemed to care about the baby that he originally thought she should have gotten rid of.

  Rick noticed her surprise and shrugged self-consciously. “Let’s just say that someone set me straight on that one, okay?” Midnight suspected she knew just who that someone was. Joe did have a tendency to talk out of turn.

  “Okay,” she said, unwilling to continue the discussion further. Fortunately, there was a knock at the door. “Come,” Midnight called, before Rick could tell the person to go away. She was sorry a moment later when her parents walked hesitantly into the room. Midnight’s eyes flashed angrily as she looked up at Rick. “What are they doing here?” she said, not caring if they heard.

  “Midnight.” Rick was surprised at her tactlessness. “I had them called,” he said, trying to end the conversation quickly. Carrie and Jack were standing still at the door, but it was obvious they were as uncomfortable as Rick.

  “I see.” Midnight looked at her parents. She saw before her the people who had not only disregarded her as a child but had only become interested in her life when Thomas died, and only so much as to accuse her of causing his death. They had shunned her from that day on. Now here they were, standing in her hospital room, looking at her like she was their daughter again. She noted their discomfort as well, and she was determined not to alleviate their feelings. Midnight tilted her head to the side, as if not recognizing them. “You looking for someone?” she said caustically.

  Carrie looked up at her husband, and when she saw no support from that area, she glanced over to Rick. Rick said nothing, not wanting to make things worse. He knew they needed to work through this. He stepped back, moving to sit in a chair by the wall. He gave Midnight a look as if to say, “You’re on your own.”

  “Midnight,” Carrie said. The name of her own child sounded strange to her, she uttered it so rarely. “We wanted to be here.” Her voice was so hesitant that Midnight wanted to laugh. Here was her mother, saying one thing with her mouth and something totally different with her heart.

  “Yeah,” she said scornfully. “I can tell.”

  “You don’t need to speak to your mother that way,” Jack put in sternly. And this time Midnight did laugh.

  “What, are you kidding?” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Since when is that woman my mother?” She pointed to Carrie, her voice and eyes turning to ice as she looked at her father. “And who the hell are you to tell me what not to do?”

  “Whether you like it or not, Midnight Katherine Chevalier, I am your father, and—”

  “Katherine?” Midnight exclaimed. “What the hell is that?”

  Jack shook his head, as if not understanding her question.

  “Who’s Katherine?” Midnight asked, her voice indicating that she didn’t believe his ignorance.

  “You are,” Carrie said. “Midnight Katherine Chevalier—you were named after my favorite sister.”

  Midnight stared at this woman, her mother, and couldn’t even begin to think of a response. She had never heard the name before; she had always assumed she didn’t have a middle name. She certainly hadn’t ever seen a birth certificate, and no one in school had ever gotten past the peculiarity of her first name and the difficulty of pronouncing her last name.

  “I have an aunt?” she asked finally, dumbfounded.

  Carrie nodded. “Yes. She lives in Ireland. That’s where my part of the family is from, Midnight.” She was speaking patiently, as if to a small child, and Midnight didn’t like it.

  “I know that I’m part Irish, okay. But I didn’t know that you had a sister. I guess I don’t know too much about either of you, since you never bothered to talk to me. Except, of course, to tell me that I killed your one and only son.” Midnight’s voice was strained. She looked away from her parents, not wanting them to see the hurt in her eyes.

  Carrie took a couple of steps to stand next to Midnight’s bed. She reached over to touch her daughter’s hand. Midnight snatched it away, looking at her mother as if she couldn’t believe the woman’s nerve. In truth, she couldn’t. She glared at Rick, feeling like he had betrayed her by calling her parents.

  “Maybe the three of us getting to know each other wouldn’t be a bad thing,” Carrie said hopefully.

  “Why?” Midnight said. “So you can tell me in a hundred different ways what a disappointment I am, and how if it wasn’t for me your baby son would still be alive for you to ignore?”

  “Are you denying that it was because he was in the gang that he was killed?” Jack Chevalier said, his voice taking on the familiar tone.

  “You know,” Midnight said, reaching up to snatch the IV from her arm as she got out of bed, “I don’t need this shit.”

  Rick stood up and stepped toward her, but she gave him an icy stare that stopped him. She looked up at her father. He stood a good seven inches taller than her, but she didn’t look the least bit inferior to him. “Listen, you stupid son of a bitch. If you or her had given a shit about me or Thomas, neither one of us would have been in the gang. But you didn’t. You cared about everything else, your friends, your drinking, your TV, your dope, and whatever else you were into. So don’t fucking talk to me about your son. He was my brother, and I watched him die!” There were tears in her eyes. “I sat there in the middle of the street and watched his blood seep out onto the pavement!” Her voice had risen hysterically, and Rick came to stand behind her. He was alarmed to notice that blood was pooling on the floor, dripping down her arm.

  “Midnight,” he said warningly.

  Midnight spun around to stare up at him. “What?” she yelled, seething.

  “Get back into bed,” he said firmly.

  Midnight glanced behind her at her parents. “Get them out of here and I’ll get back in bed.”

  “Do it now, Midnight, or I’ll pick you up and put you there myself.” Rick could already see that she was weakening. Without another word, he reached out and picked her up. He was alarmed when Midnight basically passed out the moment he lifted her. He looked up at Jack, his eyes narrowed. “If you ever talk to her like that again, I’ll knock you out myself. Now get the hell out of here.”

  Jack looked at Rick, stunned. Carrie moved to her husband, taking his arm and ushering him out of the room. A few minutes later she came back and helped Rick put Midnight into the bed.

  “What the hell is wrong with you people?” Rick said disbelievingly.

  “I’m sorry,” Carrie said. “Jack feels like Midnight is at fault, and no amount of talking will change his mind, I’m afraid.”

  “You don’t think that though?” he said, surprised. She had seemed convinced, that time he visited them with Mikeyla.

  Carrie shook her head ruefully. “No, it’s just easier with Jack sometimes to agree with him. I used to think it was her fault. She surprised Rick further by reaching up to brush a copper-gold lock of hair from her daughter’s face. “But I realize now that I was just trying to hide my guilt in accusation.”

  “Well,” Rick said, still angry with them for upsetting Midnight, “it would have been nice for her to know that at least you didn’t really blame her.”

  “She knows it wasn’t her fault.”

  Rick stared at her for a long moment. “You don’t really believe that?”

  Carrie blinked, the look in her eyes indicating that ye
s, she really did.

  “God.” Rick rolled his eyes. “Midnight has blamed herself every day since his funeral, and you two blaming her just set it in concrete for her. You’re her parents, for God’s sake!” Carrie just looked at him blankly, and he growled with exasperation. “Don’t you know what that did to her? If her own parents think Thomas’ death was her fault, what do you think she’s gonna think?”

  “I guess I never really thought about it that way.”

  “Think about it.”

  The nurse came in, responding to Rick’s page, and Carrie left the room a few minutes later. Rick leaned back in the chair he had been sitting in for so many hours. He watched Midnight, thinking about all that she’d been through in her life. It didn’t seem fair. He had always had it so good—a family that adored him, who he adored, just about anything he’d ever wanted. His parents had supported him, no matter what. And yet, Midnight had accomplished so much.

  Rick had fallen asleep as he sat thinking about everything. He was awoken by a knock on the door. He got up and walked over to open it. He was shocked to find himself staring at Sheila Theland.

  “What are you doing here?” he said, a hint of anger in his voice.

  “I haven’t seen you. I just—”

  “Sheila! This is hardly the time or the place.”

  “Well… when, where?”

  Rick realized she had no idea that it was over between them. “Sheila,” he said tiredly. He didn’t want to handle this right now. “Later, okay? I’ll call you.”

  “Okay,” she said, and surprised him by reaching up to kiss him. Rick moved his face so she only kissed his cheek; he basically pushed her away after that. She didn’t seem to notice his brusque treatment. Shaking his head, he watched her walk away down the hall.

  ****

  When Randy got back to the house, she found Joe lying on one of the lounge chairs out on the deck. She felt a little bit better after her conversation with Midnight, but she knew she was still keeping something from Joe. She also knew that to tell him now would be more than counterproductive to any type of reconciliation. Looking down at him, she saw that he was asleep. He was exhausted from all of the events of the last couple of days. They hadn’t slept as much the night before as they should have, but they had been enjoying being together again.