by Mimi Barbour
Given that he had information Aurora desperately wanted and needed, she’d turned up the heat a little. Not surprisingly, the perp had squealed like a baby. Convinced it was in his best interest to share this lead, he’d assured her the subject, Earl Rhondo, accused of rape along with a bundle of drug-related charges, would be there.
Rhondo, the scumbag, had beeped on her personal radar months ago, ever since the night he’d attacked and almost killed her former partner, Debbie. Since then, Aurora had had her sights set on the monster, and she’d pushed hard to get the lowdown on his whereabouts. Rhondo’s plans to party that night had led her to bring her brand spanking new partner along, so they could gatecrash the shindig.
Sure enough, they’d caught the fiend red-handed, with his pockets full of drugs, and paraphernalia everywhere. Young and scared, not at all as loyal as Rhondo would have liked, his flunkies rushed out, leaving him behind to fight his own battles.
From the moment the cops entered the room, Kai had had his weapon out, with the sights trained on the man they’d come to take down. A young hooker, who’d hidden behind the filthy sofa, took her courage in her hands and shoved Kai, then rushed Aurora… who tripped her up with a maneuver right out of the movies. A well-placed karate chop struck the silly girl
unconscious.
Rhondo, taking advantage of the distraction, made his move. The asshole pulled out a knife and grabbed Aurora, whose back had been turned for a second. He wrapped his arm around her neck and gave the order. “Drop ‘em. Both of you.”
Unable to argue, Aurora had let go of her gun. Then she told Kai: “Shoot the son-of-a-bitch.”
Rhondo had tightened his hold on the lethal-looking knife and started to drag her backwards. When she’d struggled, it had given Kai his chance. Only, he was supposed to have shot the bad guy, not her.
Kai propped her against the wall and wiped his hands on his jeans. “You’re going to be fine now. I’ve still got a lead on Rhondo. I know exactly where he’s headed, and I intend to nab him before he cleans out his safe. If he retrieves his fake passports, we’ll lose him again.”
Aurora was confused. “Again? I thought you were new to Las Vegas.” She narrowed her eyes and gave him the hard, demanding stare that would have sent most of her team looking for somewhere else to be.
“Nah. I’ve tracked him here before, but he disappeared.”
“Why do I get the feeling what’s between you and Rhondo is personal?”
Kai looked away, slapped his hands down on his knees, and stood, his movements smooth and fluid. “I’ve worked his file for some time. It’s probably why Cory paired us up. We both want the creep, just for different offences.” He listened as the approaching sirens stopped, indicating that help was just outside. “Sounds like the backup team finally made it. You’ll be in good hands.”
“What!? Hey, you can’t go without me. We’re partners. Forget the ambulance. I’m coming with you.” She tried to stand but instead fell back and motioned to him. “Don’t just stand there like a model in freeze frame, for chrissakes. Help me up.”
He stood with his arms crossed and stared at her until she extended her good hand and waved it him angrily. Then he reached down and gently helped her rise.
With Kai’s support, Aurora wobbled to her feet and took in a couple of full breaths to clear her head. “I’m good. Let’s go.”
“No, you aren’t. And don’t argue.” He held up his hand in front of her face and got it slapped for his audacity.
“Aurora, you have a t-shirt tied around your arm, and it’s full of blood. Look… here’s Rhondo’s new address. It just showed up on the radar. I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, but I think he’ll head over there and get his stuff.” He pulled a crinkled card from his pocket and flipped it to reveal an address scrawled on the back. “Meet me there when you’re patched up.” `
He strode toward the door, until she whistled for him to stop. When he turned, she motioned to his nakedness. “Better cover up the body before we have every horny female in the neighborhood chasing after your car.” Reaching into an open closet to her left, she snatched a turquoise and black plaid cowboy shirt and held it up.
He moved closer to take the shirt, and then the cheeky bugger grinned. “Thanks, sunshine. You give a nice compliment.”
“I can give a nice kick in the ass also.” She’d have donated a month’s salary to rescind her earlier flattery. “Must be the pain screwing with my eyesight.”
Just then, Hampton arrived at a dead run, sweat streaming, dripping off his patchy red cheeks. “Sorry we got held up, you guys.” He puffed out each word as he tried to catch his breath. “A freight truck overturned, causing a four-car pileup. Ours was the fourth car. I ran the last few blocks to get here.” Disgust rang in Ham’s voice and couldn’t be camouflaged.
Aurora watched as Kai took the opportunity to sneak behind everyone and make good his escape. Then a few moments later, Lieutenant Ashton arrived and the scene became even more hectic.
“Aurora, I was heading home when I heard over the radio that you’d been shot. Figured Debbie would have my ass if I didn’t check it out. I’m happy to see you on your feet.”
“It’s just a scratch, Cory… uh, I mean Boss. And tell my old partner to stop worrying over me all the time. Pretty soon she’ll need to concentrate on the little junior lieutenant growing in her tummy.”
“Tell her yourself. I don’t have that kind of nerve.” Acting silly, the tall redheaded guy shook his head and made his eyes swell in mock fear.
Aurora laughed and then winced. Damn arm hurt like hell.
Noticing her paleness, Cory bellowed, “We need some medical—”
Ambulance attendants rushed in before he could finish the sentence, and put the stretcher down beside her.
“Get that thing away from me.” Her growl got their attention, and they stopped. She wouldn’t tolerate being stuffed into a cot on wheels like a big baby. “Just patch me up. We have to move. Boss, Kai gave me the address where he’s sure Rhondo is heading. Probably where he has his drugs and money stashed. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s stored some fake ID’s there. Most likely the same ones we figured he used the last time he disappeared. Kai suspects he’ll try and grab the lot.”
“Okay. Let the medics patch up that arm… and don’t look at it, or we’ll need the smelling salts.”
Aurora couldn’t believe her ears. “Your big-mouth wife spilled the beans, didn’t she?”
“Nah, I forced it out of her.” Was that a wink? It had to be, considering she knew Cory didn’t have a nervous eye or a twitch.
“Wait till I see her,” Aurora mock-threatened.
“Put that thought on hold for now. Get cleaned up, and we’ll head out.” He scrutinized the room, and soon orders were given to anyone standing around looking stupid. “Don’t just stand there, tape off the crime scene and get whatever prints you can.” Two officers who’d just arrived were stopped in their tracks. “You two, canvass the neighborhood for any potential witnesses. Maybe someone got a good look at one of the vehicles or the partiers. An officer has been injured and the culprit is going down. Now move!”
Chapter Two
Racing through the dark Vegas desert toward the rainbow of lights from the strip, Aurora monitored her situation. Police sirens on both the lieutenant’s car and those traveling with them offered comfort. The medication forced into her by the paramedics had kicked in, and the painful stabs in her arm were almost a faded memory.
Why then did her heart pound so hard—a sickening reminder of bad things to come? Aurora had no idea. Probably the crap they’d injected her with had induced this sensation. Considering what might be going down that night, she knew she needed a clear head, but once Cory picked up on her stupidity of refusing their pain meds, he’d made it an order.
She tried to shake off the nagging discomfort, but it wouldn’t let up. Every time she thought ahead to what they might find at their destination, she experie
nced a choking sensation. It took all her concentration to ignore the apprehension and zero in on the coming confrontation.
Never once had she let a partner leave her behind. Then again, none of her other partners had ever shot her before. The reminder eliminated some of the guilt, but it did piss-all for the worry.
Kai Lawson has no freaking business playing a hotshot, going rogue like some kind of old-time vigilante. He could have waited a few minutes and nabbed a couple of the uniforms to go along with him for backup. Damn fool!
“What are you scowling and mumbling about over there?” Cory’s voice broke into her reverie.
“My partner’s a loose cannon, that’s what. He took off, no backup—nothing. And he knew all about Rhondo. When you introduced us, why didn’t you fill me in on his previous involvement with our suspect?”
“There wasn’t time. Yesterday, you two were wrapped up in that shoot-out in the underground parking lot, and I was stuck with the mayor all day. Then today, you’d headed out before I could de-brief you both. I took it for granted that Kai would fill you in.”
“Well he didn’t. The goon hardly said two words all day. He sat there clicking and tapping on his computer, and periodically made constipated gorilla noises. It brought to mind a Neanderthal documentary I saw last week, and—”
“Stop, Aurora. I get it. I’ll talk to him. Look, he’s a good man. But Rhondo’s as personal to him as he is to you, albeit for different reasons, which are his own business. Either we let Kai play on our team, or he will go rogue. If that happens, L.A. will lose a dam fine cop—one of their best.”
Aurora heard unfamiliar passion in her boss’s voice. Must be some pretty strong mojo for him to care so deeply? Other than his wife and herself, Lieutenant Cory Ashton normally treated the others in his backyard as though they were lower life forms.
More than once, she’d thanked her lucky stars that she and Cory had history from back in high school. They’d grown up in Casa Grande, a few houses from each other. She knew quite a bit about the lieutenant. He’d lost a close buddy he’d loved as a young teen. He’d played on the all-star football team, often hailed as the hero. And girls used to make him shy to the point of stuttering.
They’d been good friends until Cory’s family moved, only for her to meet up with him again when she’d applied in Vegas. After graduating top of the class from the police academy and surviving her rookie years in Phoenix, she was more than happy to be working with one of her few friends from the past.
Truthfully, the exalted position of being part of Lieutenant Ashton’s “in-group” worked well for her. Also, it hadn’t taken her long to realize the only time her handsome boss stuttered anymore was in the presence of her former partner, Debbie. By saving Debbie’s ass more times than she wanted to count, she’d earned Cory’s personal and professional gratitude.
Considering he’d been sweet on the woman for years and kept it hidden until a month ago, she remembered some pretty tense moments. Aurora had sensed something happened between the two after Rhondo’s attack on Debbie, but neither of them was willing to kiss and tell.
At that point, Debbie had withdrawn to the point where even Aurora couldn’t reach her. They’d begun tippy-toeing around each other. Drove Aurora nuts. With all those raging tensions swirling, gnawing, something had to give. Sure as shit, when it did, the shock blasted everyone.
On that unforgettable day, Cory had caught up with her outside the office she shared with Debbie. While casually making shop talk, conversing over a case, he’d opened the door to accompany her inside, and both had stopped dead. Debbie, bending over to pick up a dropped manila folder, hadn’t noticed that her shirt gaped enough for her obviously pregnant belly to hang in full view. There was no hiding the baby bump from detectives who made their living solving mysteries.
Aurora and Cory had both been stunned, and Aurora was beyond shocked when Cory proudly claimed daddy rights and a quickie wedding ensued. Seems Cory had gone to Debbie’s place to check her condition a few days after her nightmare with Rhondo. As cliché as it sounds, one thing had led to another, and… well, it was time start knitting some booties.
“Hey, you still with me here?” Cory’s tone betrayed his annoyance that her mind had wandered. “Aurora, Kai Lawson and I have known each other for years, and I can tell you that Rhondo has a lot to answer for when it comes to the Lawson family.” Autocratically, he lifted his hand as she opened her mouth to ask the obvious.
“Let me finish. Kai is a professional. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be getting anywhere near this case. Plus, you’re one of the best I’ve got, and I trust you to keep him in line.”
His flattery earned him a black look, one she’d perfected. Her subsequent silent treatment had him fidgeting with the steering wheel. After a good throat-clearing, he continued. “With Debbie standing down, you were partner-free, and Kai needed the best, especially on this case.”
“Yeah, you said that before. Don’t you sweet-talk me, you sneak. Unlike your new wife, I know when I’m being conned.”
Aurora suddenly felt chills race across her back, and it gave her the willies. “Can’t you move this pile of junk any faster? If I gotta put up with your obnoxious buddy, maybe we should try and keep him alive?”
Uncomfortable, on the edge of her seat, she consciously forced her hands to stop fisting, and noticed that the flared pain in her shoulder decreased. Hurry up, for God’s sake! The mantra caught hold and wouldn’t stop.
In minutes, they’d screeched up to an older apartment building that had seen better days. Big blotches of stucco were missing, and the wooden areas lacked color; the white was now a dull gray. Before the car had come to a complete stop, she leapt out and raced to the entrance with her gun drawn.
Faulty outside lights impeded her progress, and because Aurora had no idea which apartment they needed to access, she hoped she could figure it out from the list of names printed on the pad outside the front door.
Thanks to a flashlight offered to her by one of the arriving uniforms, she saw three apartments with no names listed. Making note of those addresses, she pushed the other buttons.
Sure enough, someone buzzed her in. It never failed to amaze her that folks would open up without asking questions. Crazy people! Don’t they know the world today?
At a dead run, she hit the stairs. Since all three anonymous apartments were on the second floor, she took the chance they’d find Rhondo there, and no doubt, her new, stubborn jackass of a partner.
Leaving it to Cory to organize the others who’d answered the call for backup, she slowed down somewhat, until she heard several sets of footsteps echoing behind her.
Hoping to hear clues of any kind of ruckus, she passed each door and listened carefully. A loud banging noise could be heard at the fifth apartment. Without hesitation, Aurora stepped back and kicked in the door, a trick taught to her by none other than the man who was now covering her back.
Screams met her from a terrified old couple who had their television turned up to an ear-splitting level.
“Oh my God! Oh my God!” the elderly woman kept repeating.
“I pissed myself.” The cowering fellow said only once.
For a second, Aurora felt some remorse, until the tingling in her spine started up again. She showed her badge to make sure they knew they were safe. “Sorry folks, for breaking in like that, but there’s a really bad man in this building. And my partner’s alone with him. We need to find which apartment they’re in. Do you know a man named Earl Rhondo? He tries to look like an Elvis, but hasn’t a hope?”
“Oh! That fellow.” The old lady slapped at her husband’s arm. “Told you he was no good!”
“He’s, uh, t-two doors down,” The elderly man offered. Shaken, holding a pillow over his urine-soaked lap, he pointed to the left. “This side.”
“Thank you, ma’am, sir. You might want to go with these gentlemen until we judge everything is safe. They’ll look after you until this is over. And I’m very sorry
for scaring the hell out of you.”
“It’s fine,” said the old guy, still pale and shaken. “First time I’ve felt alive for months! Good luck.” The two scurried in their house slippers behind the patrolman Lieutenant Ashton indicated, the white-faced man now wrapped in the snugly his wife had used to cover her lap.
Cory stepped up. “No more of this female Rambo shit, Aurora. Let’s calm down and handle this like professionals. I’m lead. You got it?” With her nerves screaming vociferously, Aurora nodded, then pushed him aside, and took off. “Christ’s sake, Aurora.”
She heard his words, but they made no difference. A sense of urgency drove her on. Made her react like she never had before. Rules were necessary. She’d always believed that, and lived by them. Except, right now nothing mattered. She had to find that apartment and stop what she feared the most.
A gunshot rang out, and her heart stopped. Terror drover her on, made her fly to where she was sure Kai needed her. Plain as the nose on her face, she was sure the news would be bad. Once there, she slammed the apartment door open with her shoulder… and saw her bleeding partner slumping to the floor.
With a torn backpack slung over one shoulder, Earl Rondo, the bastard who’d shot him, used Aurora’s momentary lapse of concentration to leap from the balcony.
Chapter Three
Damn it! It hurt like the devil. Kai lifted his wet hand from his side, where blood had soaked through the plaid shirt that now hung in tatters.
If only I’d stopped the bastard. Even wounded, he’d grabbed for the backpack on the floor near him. They’d had a tug of war, but Kai couldn’t hold on. If the door hadn’t flown open when it did, he’d have been shot again for his stubbornness.
Now slouched against the wall, his knee bent to help balance him, he checked to see who’d come to his rescue. Shocked, Kai saw his new partner turn away from him… but not soon enough. White-faced, Aurora’s expressive eyes fought an inner battle and lost. As he watched, stunned, Aurora toppled over in a heap by the door. She’d fainted from seeing him bleed. A smile started deep in Kai’s gut, and by the time his old friend and lieutenant dropped beside him, he knew it was plastered over his face.