“I know that,” Riley said. “But I think her family would appreciate if someone from her own backyard found her instead of someone out there. Besides we don’t know why she is there or what she is running from. I don’t want to alarm the family yet; if we hand it over to Miami Metro then we might lose her.”
“I think you should give Miami Metro some credit; they do have a lot more citizens than we do.”
Riley took a deep breath. She really wanted this case; it was hers and she had to convince the Captain.
“Let me do this,” Riley said. “I really think I can solve this quickly and reunite this girl with her family.”
The Captain thought it over.
“Ok. I’ll make the arrangements for your flight. You should go home and pack.”
“Thanks, Captain!” Riley said.
Little did she know that this was going to be the adventure of a lifetime.
CHAPTER 2
Riley was in culture shock overload. She had been to a few beaches in Miami on vacation with her family when she was a kid, but she had never actually been to the heart of Miami. Everywhere she looked she could see people wearing next to nothing; strange hair, tanned bodies, people obsessed by image, status, and money. It was like a celebrity paradise for people who were not celebrities but wanted to live like them.
From the surveillance photos that had matched in the database, Riley could see that Jordan was carrying a shopping bag from a shoe store called Blaze Shoes Inc. After doing a search for the area that the convenience store was located in Riley found that the only one close by was in the Merrick Park Mall.
So that was the place to start.
As Riley entered the mall she continued to be shocked by the way people were dressed and how they were all staring at her dressed slightly conservative in polo shirt and a pair of jeans. It was like they could instantly spot someone who was not one of them; Riley could not help but feel kind of frumpy and out of place, whereas she was always considered stylish and modern in Oklahoma. It was almost like a different world out here.
But she thought she could get to like it; the warm sunshine, the smell of the ocean breezes, and the beautiful bodies that were walking around everywhere. The most amazing looking women were just everywhere as if they had their own assembly line here; but none of them compared to the way she felt when she looked at the picture of Jordan. There was just this extra spark that she did not know how to deal with.
The shoe store was located in the middle of the mall on the first level. It was a more upscale store and the prices were insane. As she walked through the doors pretending to be just an ordinary customer browsing for a new pair of work shoes. She did not want to scare Jordan and have her run from her; but it was not going to be easy because Riley knew that she projected a very “cop” vibe sometimes. It was the sort of thing that was just really hard to turn off; it had become like an extension of her personality and it was just second nature.
As Riley looked around at the different pairs of way over priced shoes that would cost her a week’s salary, she kept her eyes peeled for any sign of Jordan. There was only one girl working behind the counter; she was a perky and cute girl but younger than Jordan would have been now. She was waiting on another customer. Riley waited until she was done before approaching the counter. This girl appeared to be high school age possibly or eighteen at the most.
“Can I help you find something?” the young lady asked Riley.
“Maybe,” Riley replied in her sweetest voice, hoping to keep her Oklahoma accent as sparse as possible. “I’m looking for this woman; have you seen her?” Riley held up the picture to the young girl and waited as she stared at it blankly.
“Oh, that is Miss Donovan; she owns the Cuban restaurant a few doors down from here.”
“Oh, well thank you for your help.”
Riley walked into the restaurant and pretended to be another customer. She did not see the woman she was looking for anywhere close by. She needed to find out where Jordan or “Miss Donovan, as she was now called” was, but then again she did not want to upset the establishment or cause a scene at all.
“Just one today?” the hostess asked as she entered.
“Actually, I was wondering is Miss Donovan was in today?”
“Oh, sure; she is in the back. I’ll be glad to get her.”
While the hostess was gone Riley took the time to look around at the décor of the restaurant. It was very festive and kind of dark, atmospheric, but at the same time it seemed to hold good cheer. The food smelled delicious and Riley found herself getting really hungry. She had never had Cuban food, but she definitely wanted to try it out before she left town.
“She is right over there.”
The voice of the hostess flooded her ears from a distance. Riley turned and stared down a long corridor that led towards the kitchen area
She could not believe her eyes.
Standing there about twenty feet from where she stood was Jordan Daniels. She was even more beautiful than any photo could ever do justice; it was like a dream had just come to life before her eyes and Riley could not breathe. Her heart felt like it was trying to come to a stop inside her chest. The legs she usually relied on and had foot chased down over ten different perps in her career seemed nailed to the floor and refused to obey her commands to move.
Jordan approached her slowly with a smile on her face. Riley had never seen such an angelic smile on anyone before and she felt her whole body getting tingles at the thought of even shaking this woman’s hand. Sweat began to trickle down her back, adding to her sexual awakening, which was happening right then. She wanted this woman more than she had ever wanted anyone before. It felt good… it felt right… it felt perfect. Finally, it felt perfect.
But as Jordan approached, moving closer and closer to Riley her smile began to fade, the sweet look of open friendship and grace disappeared in a flash to be replaced by a look of total fear and panic as she realized who Riley was. It was impossible to know what might have tipped Jordan off, but she suddenly turned and ran out towards the back of the restaurant.
Riley’s legs became unfrozen as she ran after Jordan, past the hostess who was suddenly very confused and through the busy kitchen and finally out a back door into an alleyway that ran behind the mall.
“Wait! Stop!” Riley yelled, ignoring the futility of such commands. She did not have a gun on Jordan and had no reason to pull one; Jordan was not considered armed and dangerous. And she was much faster than Riley had anticipated, those long, sexy legs of hers could move, pumping the pavement with long strides where her feet barely even touched the ground.
Luckily Riley ran five miles every day and was in great shape; she wasn’t sure she could out sprint Jordan, but she was hoping her endurance might give her the edge she needed.
She chased Jordan down the street yelling for her to stop, but Jordan kept running harder, and harder. Riley was at full speed, full on sprint mode and she actually thought Jordan was starting to tire as she began to gain on the leggy redhead.
Jordan got lucky and hit a red light at an intersection and ran to the other side and then rounded a corner. Riley hurried, pumping her arms and her feet faster and faster. She had to make the light or else she would have to wait for the traffic to get out of the way.
She hit the light as it turned yellow, sprinting past the cars still standing still and then rounded the corner. Jordan was up ahead still running hard and turning into a lush, beautiful looking park. Riley was definitely gaining on her as Jordan’s endurance began to slow down. This excited Riley and she found a way to tap into the reserves of energy she had deep inside and flip the switch of adrenaline to propel her body forward even faster.
She was getting closer… closer…
Jordan glanced back, the absolute terror still evident on her face as she tried to push her body harder. She did not see the edge of the park bench and by the time she turned her head back forward she did not have time to move out of the way as h
er toe caught the edge of it and she hit the ground.
Riley was there a second later, as Jordan struggled to stand up. Riley tackled her to the ground and placed her in a strong judo hold so the girl could not move.
“Let me go!” Jordan screamed.
“No! “Riley yelled, producing her badge to display to the shocked people who were now starting to gawk at this scene.
“Why? Why don’t you let me go?”
“I don’t want to take you in; I just want you to talk to me. Your family is worried sick about you. They think you might be dead.”
“You’re police?” Jordan asked, the fear in her voice subsiding a bit.
“Yes. I’m Oklahoma City police.”
“Oklahoma..”
“Here is my ID,” Riley said flashing her photo ID in front of Jordan’s face.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Can we please go over here and just talk?”
“Ok,” Jordan said as Riley helped her to her feet.
They found a park bench in the middle of the park and took a few minutes to catch their breaths.
Riley could not help but be somewhat turned on at the sight and the sound of Jordan’s hot breath moving in and out of her body at a rapid rate, her large, full, chest undulating up and downward.
Riley tried to calm her heartbeat down, but being this close to the epitome of sexy made it almost impossible.
She had it bad for this woman.
CHAPTER 3
The boardwalk on the beach was beautiful; the gorgeous sunshine, the clear blue skies, the warm ocean air, and the beautiful bikini clad bodies everywhere she looked; Riley could not have imagined paradise being any nicer than this.
After they relaxed a few minutes in the park, Jordan had suggested they go for a walk and they had ended up a few blocks away at the boardwalk. It was nice to move around and just be walking, especially after such an intense chase down.
“So, why did you run from me?” Riley asked after they had been walking in silence for a while. She did not want to jump right into things; it had been a bonding experience just walking together in silence with the occasional chit chat thrown in there.
“I don’t know… well, I guess I do. But I have my reasons.”
“You don’t want to talk about it? I might be able to help.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’d rather forget it.”
“So, why did you come here? Why have you severed all contact with your family?” Riley asked, trying a different tactic.
Jordan wasn’t biting. “I have my reasons,” she repeated. “It’s better this way. You and everybody else will just have to trust me on that.”
“Ok,” Riley said. She loved to listen to Jordan’s voice. It was so soothing… so feminine with a slant of take-charge strength in there as well. It was just another sexy thing about her. Everything about this woman just oozed sex appeal. It was so much to take in, impossible to not be deep in the throes of lust with every second of being in her presence.
“Am I under any charges back home?” Jordan asked.
“No; as far as we know you have done nothing wrong; they ruled the fire accidental. Mostly I was sent here to make sure you were ok and to reunite you with your family. They really miss you; they are all worried.”
“I appreciate you coming out here, but as you can see I’m fine. I can’t talk to my family… I just can’t.”
“Does it have something to do with why you changed your name?”
“Yea, a bit. I go by Cadence now.”
“That’s pretty, but I like Jordan better,” Riley said with a smile. She was trying to remain focused on her line of questioning and doing her job, but it was so damn hard not to think about romance and sex when she was with Jordan. She could not hold back the flirt. She couldn’t remember a time when she had felt this way.
“Well, you can call me Jordan; but not in front of other people,” Jordan replied with a smile.
They walked a bit longer without saying much and then decided to get some ice cream from the cart on the boardwalk. Riley usually ate pretty healthy and could not remember the last time she had indulged in some good old fashioned junk food, but being with Jordan it seemed like she threw a lot of the rules out the window.
It was just so easy and fun walking, chatting with her, and even eating the ice cream. It felt like the best date she’d ever been on. Was that right? Riley had to ask herself and ponder the question seriously… was this a date? It wasn’t supposed to be, but that was exactly what it felt like. There was an air of romance surrounding it all and she kept looking towards Jordan to see if she felt it too; did she feel the romantic spark that Riley was feeling? Or was she just relieved that Riley was not there to hurt her?
They chatted for a while about everyday things—tastes in music, movies, books, and Jordan told her how she decided to open up a Cuban restaurant after moving to Miami and tasting all of the wonderful different foods and learning about the Cuban culture there. Riley respected anyone who followed a dream or a passion and made it reality, especially when they were trying to eliminate a former identity.
“You know, you don’t have to be afraid of me; you don’t have to tell me anything about yourself that you don’t want to, but I am here and ready to listen to anything you want to say. I really hope you will tell me what you are running away from; I might be able to help,” Riley said as they stood at the edge of the pier watching the sunset.
“I know,” Jordan replied. “But I just can’t. I’m not sure I ever can.”
Riley felt a twinge of sadness as she stared off into the beautiful sunny sky and the blue ocean in the distance.
CHAPTER 4
Riley woke up early and went for a morning run along the beach; she had always wanted to do that. It seemed that almost every great Hollywood movie had a scene where one of the main characters jogged along the beach at sunrise and here was her perfect chance to try it. She knew it was a silly sentiment, but once she was out there it felt fantastic and she did not want to leave.
There was something about the morning ocean air, the crisp feel of the warming day, and the bright and happy smiles plastered on the faces of everyone else she was seeing along her run. It was easy to see how one could fall in love with life down here; she could not imagine anywhere more beautiful.
She’d had a good chance to think the night before as she tossed and turned, trying to get to bed. Her head was swimming with so many thoughts and feelings; she wasn’t sure how to deal with them all. Finally she drifted off a bit after midnight. She could not get Jordan out of her head, and it wasn’t just the total crush she had on the woman, which was ten times stronger than anything she’d ever felt for anyone; it was the fact that she had a job to do and Jordan was not really allowing her to do it.
The Captain was going to be harping at her for some info and to get a report to her soon and let him know how things were going and she wasn’t sure right off what to tell him. Should she tell him that she hadn’t found Jordan yet, or should she just come clean and say that Jordan was alive and well, but living life under a new identity and did not want anything to do with her former life or family?
Riley wanted to solve the case and prove to the Captain that she could do this, but for that to happen she had to convince Jordan to change her mind and come back. There had to be something she was running from, something terrifying, and Riley was determined to find out what that was. She had to help the girl; Jordan wanted help, but was too terrified to admit it. How awful must this thing be that she turned her entire life around to escape from it and now that help was being offered she was too afraid to accept it? Something that awful must be brought to justice and could not be left to hurt anyone else.
Riley arrived at Jordan’s restaurant just before lunch. She was hoping that Jordan might be persuaded to take a break and have some lunch with her; she was dying to try some of that delicious smelling Cuban food she had seen just about everywhere.
&nb
sp; Jordan was actually surprised to see her when she walked in the door and even greeted her with a sweet smile; Riley knew that she had broken through a layer of the façade that Jordan had created to hide under. She was starting to trust Riley just a little bit. That was some progress at least.
They sat down and Jordan asked her chef to prepare them one of the most popular lunch dishes; Riley had no idea what it was or even how to pronounce it, but it sounded delicious.
“So, you fall in love with Miami and never going to leave?” Jordan joked.
Riley smiled. “Yes, actually. This place is like paradise, isn’t it.”
“Yeah, it’s one of the places I’ve always wanted to live; ever since I was a kid I’ve dreamed of being here. It’s like a little tropical paradise.”
“I agree,” Riley replied. “But of course I can’t really stay here forever; the job will be calling me back soon. I was just hoping that I could talk with you a bit more before I left.”
Jordan sighed heavily, waiting for what she obviously knew Riley was going to say. Riley hated to sound like a broken record, but this had to be said. She at least had to try.
“I really wish you would reconsider and come back with me, at least for a while to reconnect with your family. They have never stopped looking for you and you are breaking their heart. Now you seem like a very sweet, kind, caring person and I can’t imagine you would want to do that to them.”
Jordan wiped tears from her eyes just then. Riley hated that she had pulled the emotional cord, but sometimes that was what it took to get through to someone. You had to break through that wall.
“I would love to, but I can’t. I know what I’ve put them through; I think about it every day, but I have to do this. I wish I could tell you, but you have to believe me when I say that this is the best way.”
“Why? What is so horrible that you have to keep running, that you have to keep hiding? I can help you; you have to believe that.”
“I’m sorry; I know you mean well, but I have my reasons and I can’t talk about them.”
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