Intuition

by Jennis Slaughter

  Raelin moaned as Delaney’s tongue requested entrance to her mouth and she gladly parted her lips and drew it inside. Her hands molded themselves to the blonde’s muscular back, loving the play of flesh and sinew under her fingers.

  Moaning into the kiss, Del pressed closer, crushing their bodies together. She let her fingers run over Raelin’s strong shoulders, massaging the muscles and working her way up the witch’s graceful neck to play with the fine hairs there.

  “Delaney, can you take me to bed please?” Raelin husked.

  “Sure baby.” Reaching behind her, the blonde pulled the plug to let the water drain and rose from the water to grab a couple towels. She wrapped one around herself and handed one to Raelin as she stepped out as well. Once they were somewhat dry she captured Raelin in a demanding kiss backing her into the bedroom and grabbing the monitor on the way by.

  Just as Raelin’s knees hit the bed, they were startled out of their embrace by the shrill ring of Delaney’s cell phone. “I don’t want to answer that. Maybe if we ignore it, it will go away,” Del mumbled kissing a trail across Raelin’s jaw.

  “I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but Chief...do you think that you should?” Raelin growled. She hated being the responsible one every once in a while.

  “Oh, damn it,” Del cursed, stomping to the nightstand she grabbed her phone and opened it. “What?” She snapped into the phone.

  There were a few minutes of silence and Del’s face fell. “Are you serious?” she asked rushing to the closet, trying to find clean parts of her uniform. She pulled on a pair of pants as she spoke over the phone, grabbing her spare vest and a tank top out of a drawer.

  “Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Thanks for calling, Douglas.”

  She hung up the phone and shoved it into her pocket trying to pull herself together as she pulled the tank top over her head and tucked it in.

  Sighing, Raelin turned to her side and propped her head up on her fist. “So Chief, what trouble has our town folk gotten into tonight?”

  “Some out of towners apparently started a brawl at the pub. Kasey is already on her way, but I guess there is a pretty good sized crowd now,” Delaney growled finishing the last few buttons of her shirt and tucking it in. She knelt down beside the bed and unlocked her lock box pulling out her belt and strapping it around her waist. Rising she leaned over Raelin’s lithe form and kissed her hard. “I’m sorry Darlin’, to be continued?”

  “Hun, this is going to happen from time to time. We knew this.” The witch got up and got a hair tie for her wife’s hair.

  Letting Raelin pull her hair into a ponytail she took a few deep breaths. “I know, but I was hoping they would interrupt supper, or cuddles on the couch or something. I was kind of enjoying myself,” she huffed playfully.

  “As was I, but duty calls and I’ll be alone in this nice, big bed when you get home. Keep that in mind, but be careful.” The witch quickly finished the braid and went around to look at her wife.

  Standing, Del adjusted her clothes so her vest wasn’t riding up so bad and straightened her belt. “I’ll be as safe as I can be. I have my phone with me and I’ll try to get back here as fast as I can. I love you.” Del smiled softly.

  “I love you too. I would walk you down, but I’m a bit underdressed.” Raelin grinned.

  Grinning, Del said nothing and just pinched Raelin’s waist as she headed out and to the Jeep.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Flopping onto her bed Jessie groaned as she hit the mattress, she had forgotten how long the drive back to the city was. Remembering she needed to call Raelin and Delaney, she fished her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed the house number, hoping it wasn’t too late, and the women wouldn’t mind.

  “Hello Jessie… How was the drive?” Raelin’s voice came through the speaker.

  “Long, but that’s nothing new. Just calling to let you know I made it alright. How’s Ariel making out?” she asked, not even trying to hide the fact that she missed her little one. She’d had a pretty good cry once she left Leroy and she felt a little better, but it was still hard to leave Ariel behind.

  “She is fine, and you could have warned me that she is a splasher. I’m going to wear a swimsuit next time.” Raelin laughed.

  Jessie chuckled softly knowing that once you got the toddler in the water she was like a fish. “Sorry about that. Mike learned that the hard way. He figured since it was so hard to get her in that she would be pretty subdued about it. He was wrong. She likes to play in water; it just takes a bit to convince her to get wet. Did she go down alright? She didn’t give you a hard time I hope?”

  Jessie could hear the witch move around. “She is doing great. Doesn’t like to have her hair brushed though but I am learning the art of compromise.”

  “Yeah, she doesn’t like the pull when the knots come out. Thanks again for taking her, Raelin; I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. Is Del right there? I need to ask her about her father. I got a phone call from the rehab place today on the way home. Sometimes I think she keeps me on as her attorney just because she doesn’t ever want to answer her phone,” Jessie asked with a chuckle, rolling off the bed and started to get ready for a long day at the courthouse the next day.

  “No, there was a disturbance and she was called out. Would you mind telling me what the problem is? Maybe I can help.” Raelin’s voice got serious.

  “There isn’t a problem, they were just wondering if she’d be willing to come in for a group therapy session now that he’s dealt with the worst of the withdrawals. I’m just not sure she would be willing to, you know what Del is like when it comes to Duke.” Jessie sighed sadly.

  “Yeah, I’ll let her know that they’re asking, but I won’t promise anything. Anything else either one of us needs to worry about?”

  “Yeah, I’m not sure what you put in that bottle of water, but I haven’t had this much energy in a while. Aside from the standard aches and pains of a long trip I feel wide awake. Long drives usually knock me out.” Jessie laughed, sorting through papers on her desk and opening the file for her current case.

  “It’s from our spring here, and I’m glad that it was able to help. It always gave me a burst of energy when I needed it. And the come down isn’t as harsh as a caffeine high.”

  “Yeah, seems that way. I feel like I could take on an army right now.” Jessie laughed. “Well, thanks for the burst. I’m going to be up all night trying to build this case. I should probably let you get back to worrying about your Chief then, shouldn’t I?”

  “She’s got everyone there, so I’m quite sure that she’s safe. Listen, is there anything that you don’t want Ariel to do or have while she’s here?” Raelin’s voice didn’t betray the fact that something all of a sudden made her nervous.

  “I’d rather her not spend too much time at work with Del. Not because I don’t want them spending time together, but more because I think Del forgets she’s only four sometimes and a police department is not the best place for a toddler,” Jessie said hesitantly.

  Clearing her throat, Raelin sat up and went to peer out the bedroom window. “Not a problem, I’m going to take her over to the Foundation with me tomorrow and she can hang out with some of the kids. Listen, I’m gonna let you go get started on your trial. Call us anytime if you want.”

  “Yeah okay sure. If she fusses too much, give me a call and I’ll try to talk her down. Thanks again Raelin.”

  “Not a problem...Good night.” Hanging up the phone, the witch now allowed the throbbing to have her full attention. There was someone outside, and they were making the wards vibrate, but not completely go off yet. If they got any closer to the house, she might have a full-blown migraine.

  She concentrated, and could tell whoever it was, was inching closer. She waited and could tell when the person was on the verge of knocking on the door because the thrumming in her head was near painful and she squinted against the pain, not willing to lose her concentration while the threat remained. S
he stood silently in place, and then heard a distinct thud against the door followed by a yell, and then the thrumming and pounding in her head eased off the farther whoever it was got.

  Sighing, she turned from the window and lay back down on the bed, her forearm covering her eyes. She wasn’t going to go downstairs until Delaney got home, as she didn’t want to foolishly think that whoever it was had left completely. They had been through enough for her to use caution and to stay where she was until the Chief came home, which the witch hoped was soon.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Del sighed, swiping at her forehead as she slammed the drunk tank door on the last of the brawlers. She’d shown up to find her deputies already struggling to break up the brawlers. There’d been about five of them going at it and by the time they sorted everyone out, they’d discovered that the out of towners had already taken off. Because they’d all been locals and most of them had had a few too many, Delaney decided to just let them spend the night in the drunk tank and dry out. They got statements from the other bar patrons who confirmed it was started by out of towners got descriptions of the men and then trucked everyone to the department to lock em up.

  Delaney turned to Kasey and took the statements out of her hands. “This is crazy.”

  “Yeah, it’s not like these guys to start in on people,” Kasey replied shaking her head.

  Del was about to reply when she got the distinct feeling that something was wrong. She felt a faint anxiety and knew it was Raelin coupled by fear and worries that eased off only a few minutes later. “Kasey, you think you have things under control here? I need to get back to the house,” she said, slightly distracted with trying to push to the limit of her abilities to keep tabs on Raelin’s emotions.

  “Yea Boss, go ahead.” The ex-Agent had noticed that the blonde had seemed a bit distracted for the past few minutes, and understood how closely she was linked with her wife. Kasey knew that Delaney would never be derelict in her duty to the town, but Raelin came first.

  “Thanks just make sure the boys are okay for the night and then you can probably get back to Jenny. She’s probably worried too. Good night Kasey,” Delaney said over her shoulder as she headed out to the Jeep and back out to her home. The closer she got to the house the more she felt Raelin’s nervousness and she sat in the Jeep for a moment and concentrated as Raelin had taught her. She sighed in relief when she felt no foreign presences and jumped out of the Jeep and headed for the back door. Climbing the steps, she nearly stumbled when she saw the note on her back door, held in place by a small pocket knife.

  Movement to her left caught her eye and she whipped around her gun drawn and ready out of pure instinct.

  “Who’s there?” She hadn’t felt any strange presences, but she was still learning the ins and outs of her abilities and it was possible she’d missed something.

  “Take it easy Chief...it’s just me.” Rori slowly walked up to wind around the blonde’s legs. “Whoever did this is long gone.”

  Quickly holstering her weapon she kneeled down and ran her hand down Rori’s back. “Is everyone safe? Did you see who did this?” she asked standing to take a closer look at the note. “For a beautiful woman, you sure are stupid,” she read out loud. “This could be directed at either one of us.”

  “I sent Tasha upstairs to stay with Rae until you got home. We came home from a walk after they had already left. I am so sorry.” Rori rubbed against the blonde.

  Del slipped her cell phone out of her pocket and without touching it, used her flashlight to light up the note, and took a few pictures.

  “Okay, you wait here and keep an eye out for a second. I’ll be right back. Can you take a sniff around and tell me if you can smell anything? If it’s familiar?” Del asked heading inside when he nodded.

  She sighed once more and walked into the house grabbing two large baggies and returning to the porch. She slipped on her own latex gloves that she kept in her belt and gently pulled the knife out of the door, dropping it in one baggie and the note in the other.

  “Get anything?” She asked, kneeling down next to the grey feline once more.

  “Cigarette smoke...A lot of smoke. I’ve never smelled this much before.” The cat twitched his whiskers.

  “Aw, I’m sorry. I’ll give you an extra bit of Salmon for breakfast for your trouble. Just don’t tell your witch.” She opened the door and headed into the house checking everything on the bottom floor before she turned and looked at Rori who’d followed her in. Filling a glass with some juice, she took a sip and leaned against the counter, looking carefully at the knife sealed in the baggie. “Any ideas?”

  “Where did you run off to? Could it have been a diversion to get you away from the house?” The cat jumped up on the counter so that he was closer to eye level with the blonde.

  Setting the knife aside, she reached out to scratch behind his ears as she thought. “You know, that might actually be possible. I got called in because some out of towners started a brawl at Ivan’s. By the time we got there, the instigators had already left. You think it’s me they left this note for?”

  “I honestly don’t know. Both of you have made a few enemies recently so it could be either one,” the cat stated.

  “Damn it. Okay, well, it looks like we’re going to have to start keeping an eye on things again. Let’s go get our girls and see if they can offer any insight.” Del yawned, standing up and heading for the stairs, Rori trailing behind her. She peeked her head into Ariel’s room on the way by, relived to find her sleeping peacefully. Satisfied the toddler was safe, she stepped into her own bedroom spotting both Raelin and Tasha curled up in the bed.

  Rori trotted past and immediately went to Tasha’s side. Del tossed the note and knife onto the nightstand on Raelin’s side of the bed, sitting on the edge next to the witch. “Hey, it’s me, are you okay?”

  Raelin shook her head and turned to Rori. “Why don’t you take Tasha and make sure that she’s comfortable in the living room? I think that Del fixed her up a spot that she should like.”

  Del gently lifted the expecting calico off the bed and set her softly on the carpet, following both of them to the door. “It’s a little bed nest thing I set up at your favorite napping spot next to the windows. Check it out and tell me if you need anything changed tomorrow.” She smiled, giving them both a loving rub and closing the door behind them.

  Returning to the bed, she stretched out next to the clearly shaken witch. “Hey,” she whispered running her fingers over Raelin’s hair. “I felt you all the way in town. I got back here as soon as I could. Did you happen to catch a peek of who was out there?”

  “No, but they got zapped by the wards.” Raelin didn’t even try to stop herself from pulling the blonde closer. “The dreams cannot be coming true Delaney. We can’t let them.”

  “I know darlin’, I’m going to do everything I can to keep it from happening,” she paused a little to press a barely there kiss to each of Raelin’s cheeks. “Did you see what they left on the door?”

  Shaking her head, the witch closed her eyes and sighed as her heart finally started to slow. “I felt them when I was on the phone with Jessie, then I heard a thump followed by a yell.”

  Turning for a moment, Del grabbed the two baggies off the nightstand and showed it to the witch. “The thump you heard was this knife being sunk into the door to hold up this note.”

  Reading the note, Raelin whispered, “It must be the people from the casino. It has to be. I just turned them down.”

  “We don’t know that Raelin, it could be that idiot reporter I made a fool of. Hell if you want to really stretch it could have been the salesman we argued with. We don’t know if this was left for you or me.” Del sighed in frustration, dumping the two pieces onto the nightstand once more. “I’m going to try and get some prints off them; if we’re lucky we’ll get a hit.”

  Sighing, Raelin ran her hand over the blonde’s cheek. “I hope that we get lucky, and we can stop all of this before it even sta
rts. Why don’t you go take a bath babe? You smell like cigarette smoke.”

  “I know, it’s gross. Walking into Ivan’s was like walking into a brush fire,” Del groaned, and then she paused, her head snapping up. “Cigarette smoke, that’s it. Call Rori up here for one second, I want to try something.” Del stood up and started pacing the back and forth along the end of the bed.

  Within moments, Rori was scratching at the door. Walking in after Delaney opened it; he jumped up on the bed. “You hollered?”

  “Yeah sorry. Smell me?” Del asked quickly, her mind racing as she thought about possibilities.

  “Excuse me...That’s something that I thought that I would never hear coming from you.” The grey cat wrinkled his nose.

  “Look, you said that the porch smelled like smoke right? Well, Raelin said the same thing, but about me. You have a much stronger sense of smell than either of us. If you think I smell the same as the smoke on the porch, that places our suspect at the bar tonight and narrows the field by a pretty good chunk. At the very least, it gives me a place to start looking,” Del explained continuing to pace as she practically thought out loud.

  Walking over to the blonde, the cat delicately smelled the Chief. “You do smell smoky, and even though it’s nowhere as strong as the other, I would say that it’s the same. There is a cigar element that is very distinctive aroma, which to me smells like cherry.”

  Starting her pacing once more, Del rubbed her forehead as she thought. “So we are looking for someone who smokes cherry cigars. Then again, anyone at that bar could smell like a cigar whether or not they smoked it. But it’s the strongest smell, so likely to be the one our person was closest to,” Del muttered as she paced. There was no way in hell she wasn’t going to figure this out in time to protect her family.

  “Thank you Rori, we won’t keep you from Tasha.” Raelin scratched the cat behind his ears. The cat meowed and jumped off the bed to head downstairs. Waiting until he was out of earshot, the witch turned to her wife. “There isn’t anything that you can do about it tonight Babe. Go take a shower and come to bed.”