Betrayals Stand
Sherryl D. Hancock
Copyright © Sherryl D. Hancock 2018
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any person or persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Published by Vulpine Press in the United Kingdom in 2018
ISBN 978-1-912701-11-7
Cover by Claire Wood
www.vulpine-press.com
Also in the MidKnight Blue series:
Building Empires
Empires Fall
Where Loyalties Lie
Treachery Rising
Chapter 1
Things between Joe and Randy had settled into a routine. He dropped her off at the academy and picked her up in the afternoons. Everything wasn’t perfect, but they were working on it together, and in Joe’s mind, that’s what was important.
Driving home one afternoon after picking Randy up, Joe’s phone rang. It was Jessica Harland calling.
“How’re you?” he said, grinning widely.
“I’m fine,” Jessica said, “and I’ll be there tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow!” Joe exclaimed, laughing at the same time. It had only been a few days since he suggested Jessica come and spend some time in San Diego. “That’s a lot of notice.”
“Well, you know how things are. I kept meaning to call and I just forgot. Is it too late to request a pickup at the airport, or should I just go ahead and catch a cab?”
“Like hell you will.” Joe glanced over at Randy, who was watching him, smiling. “What time does your flight get in?”
“Four o’clock.”
“I’ll be there.”
“I’ll see you then.”
Joe hung up and looked over at Randy again. “This is okay with you, isn’t it?” he said, his voice indicating that he knew it was too late to ask the question.
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“I don’t know… I just thought you might be bothered or somethin’.”
“It sounds like she did a pretty good job of looking out for you when I wasn’t around, so I don’t see why I wouldn’t want to meet her,” Randy said, smiling.
Joe looked at her for a long moment, trying to detect any hint of anger in her voice, but there was none. Finally, he shrugged. “Okay.”
The following day, Joe picked Jessica up at the airport, and once they’d gotten her luggage he escorted her out to his black Jaguar. Jessica eyed it appreciatively. “Nice car, Sergeant.”
“This?” Joe said, pointing to the vehicle and shrugging. “It’s kind of a backup. I only drive it when I have to pick people up from airports and the like.”
“Poor baby,” Jessica said, clicking her tongue and shaking her head.
Joe grinned self-consciously. “I guess that did sound a bit stuffed, didn’t it?”
“It’s okay.” Jessica grinned. “You come by it naturally.”
“Shut up.” They both laughed.
A few minutes later they were on the road. “I thought you said you lived on the beach?” Jessica asked, having noted that he was going east. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Or is that just the weekend mansion?”
Joe rolled his eyes at her. “Smart ass. I’ve got to pick up Randy at the academy first, if that’s alright with you.”
“Oh, I suppose you can pick up your wife if you really have to,” Jessica said, smiling.
“Gee, thanks.”
Jessica looked at him closely. “So you two are really okay now?”
“As best as we can be right now.” Realizing she didn’t understand what he meant, Joe continued. “We’re, uh, not…” He shook his head, not wanting to tell her more than she really needed to know, especially about their sex lives—or lack thereof. “Never mind.” He waved away the rest of his statement, but Jessica was nodding wisely.
“No need to explain any further,” she said. “I get it.”
Joe glanced over at her. “I had almost forgotten how good you are at this.”
Jessica nodded, grinning. “But everything else is okay, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“And Midnight?”
“Her, I don’t know about.” Joe looked distressed. “I went and saw her today, and she was real quiet and closed up, and I couldn’t get anything out of her. I think I know what it’s about, but I don’t want to ask directly.”
“Is this about Rick?” Jessica didn’t want to pry, but she was already worried about Midnight.
“Yeah. He’s gotten himself in a real jam now, but I don’t know if he told Midnight or not. I told him to, but he doesn’t always listen to me.”
“But if Midnight’s gotten really quiet, don’t you think he must have told her whatever it is?”
“Not necessarily. I think she might have got some news from the doctor that she didn’t want to hear, and that might be it too.”
“Would I be being too nosy if I asked what you think that news might have been?”
Joe looked over at her for a long moment. He knew Jessica sometimes saw things more clearly than even he himself did, especially when it came to the women in his life. “I think they told her she can’t have any more kids.”
Jessica looked surprised. “Shouldn’t or can’t?” she asked, knowing the difference. Midnight shouldn’t have tried to have this second baby, but she had been willing to take the risk.
“Can’t,” Joe said, his tone definite.
“Oh boy.” Jessica blew her breath out in a sigh. “I’ll bet that’s rough.”
“Yeah,” Joe said, his expression cynical. “It probably doesn’t help much then to hear that your husband’s girlfriend might be pregnant.”
Jessica’s eyes widened. “Oh shit.”
“Tell me about it.”
“You said might,” Jessica said hopefully. “She isn’t sure yet?”
“No, and this isn’t the first time either.”
“She’s thought she was pregnant before?” Jessica looked perplexed. “I thought this thing with them hadn’t been going on for that long.”
“This time, no, but Rick’s dated her before, back in England.”
“Oh,” Jessica said, nodding. “So maybe her trap didn’t snare him the first time, and she’s rebaited it, huh?”
Joe laughed, shaking his head at her deductive reasoning. “You hit the nail on the head there.”
A few minutes later, they pulled up in front of the college. Randy was just coming out of class, and Joe got out of the car, resting his forearms on the roof as he waited for her. She smiled when she saw him, looking pointedly at her watch.
“I’m impressed,” she said.
“I get extra credit this time.” Joe nodded toward Jessica, who was just getting out of the passenger’s seat to make way for Randy.
Randy walked over to the other woman, extending her hand. Jessica took it, smiling. Randy looked over at Joe again. “Why, because you managed to accomplish what you promised?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Hey, I would’ve had a hell of an excuse to be late, and I’m not,” Joe protested, a grin on his face the whole time.
“He’s late a lot, huh?” Jessica asked Randy.
“Constantly,” Randy said, grimacing. “It is nice to meet you, however.”
“Thanks, you too.”
Jessica was taken a
back by the size and elegance of Joe and Randy’s home. She walked out onto the deck and stared at the ocean, a look of sheer astonishment on her face.
“You guys have this view every day?”
“Actually,” Joe said, “we have a different one shipped in every day.”
Jessica turned and punched him on the arm. “Asshole!”
Joe laughed. “Hey, maybe we should work on your combat techniques while you’re here too. That jab could use a little more power behind it.”
“You don’t want me to really hit you,” Jessica said ominously.
“Besides,” Randy said, stepping outside and looking at her husband seriously, “maybe we’ll gang up on you.”
Joe grinned mischievously. “That sounds like an interesting proposition.”
“Sinclair!”
“Joe!”
Joe laughed, fending off their advances with his fists raised. Randy got to him first, and he grabbed her around the waist, turning her around and using her to block Jessica.
“Put me down, you shit,” Randy said, laughing all the while. Joe wrapped his other arm around her waist, then pulled her back against him in a bear hug. Randy leaned back against him, craning her neck around to look up at him, her smile radiant.
Jessica could see the deep emotion reflected in Randy’s and Joe’s eyes, and she found herself wishing once again that she could find someone like Joe to love her that much. A few moments later, they looked back at her, but Randy didn’t move from Joe’s embrace. Joe leaned back against the railing, putting his chin down on Randy’s shoulder. His eyes sparkled in the setting sun. “So, Jess,” he said. “Whaddya want to do your first night in town?”
“To be honest with you,” Jessica said, “what I really want to do is go to bed early and sleep all night long. Things up in Sacramento have been hectic with you gone, and the catch-up time on all my paperwork has been while I was home at night. Do you mind?” she said, wondering belatedly if he’d planned something.
Joe looked at Randy, then back at Jessica. “Nope,” he said simply, happy to be able to stay home again. His nights were bound to get longer as he tried desperately to catch up at FORS.
Randy cooked dinner for all of them, welcoming Jessica’s help. Joe sat on the center island of the kitchen, observing and making a general nuisance of himself as he drank wine and occasionally reached out to sample vegetables and whatever else they were preparing. Now and again, Randy would stand between his legs, leaning back against him companionably. Joe would kiss the top of her head or lean down to nuzzle her neck.
They ate dinner at the dining room table, and Jessica was again impressed with the elegance of their home. Randy had pulled out the Dresden china, declaring that evening a special occasion. Randy had gotten fairly good at setting a refined table, and Joe was proud of her as she talked to Jessica and made her feel comfortable in their home. He commented on it that evening as they lay on their bed, watching some movie that happened to be on.
“Thanks for being so great to Jessica,” he said, smoothing her hair back from her face. She was lying with her back against his chest, her legs stretched out between his.
“I like her. She’s really nice.”
“Yeah, well, some women wouldn’t take kindly to another woman in their domain, ya know.”
She glanced up at him. “Is there a reason I should be worried?”
“No.” Joe kissed her forehead. “But she is pretty nice looking, and she would tend to cause a little bit of friction with some women.”
“Are you trying to tell me that you’re attracted to her?” Randy asked, her voice still calm.
“No, that’s not what I’m trying to tell you,” Joe chided her. “I’m just saying that I think it’s great that you’re getting along with her.”
“Versus what?” Randy had started to sound a lot like Midnight again. Joe couldn’t decide if that thought bothered him or not. He had always enjoyed his and Midnight’s banter, and having that same type of teasing relationship with his wife was a new twist to their marriage. He just wasn’t sure where her quick wit was suddenly coming from.
“Versus you hating her guts and trying to claw her eyes out,” he said patiently, grinning down at her.
“Not my style.”
“And what is your style?”
“You mean if I thought some other woman was moving in on my man?” Randy asked, her eyes glinting impishly.
Joe shrugged. “Yeah, somethin’ like that.”
“Well…” Randy sat up slowly and turned to face him, tucking her legs beneath her. “I’d make it so that she wouldn’t have a chance.”
“Chance to what?” Joe replied, gazing down into her eyes.
“A chance to turn his head,” Randy said, staring at him suggestively.
“But what if she didn’t back off that easily?”
“Who said I’d be doing anything to her?” Randy moved her hands to the front of his shirt, her eyes never leaving his.
“So you’d be doing something to me then?” Joe said, the tone of his voice indicating that she was getting to him.
“You could say that.” She began to unbutton his shirt.
“I see,” Joe said, his eyes going to her hands as they reached the last button. Randy pushed the shirt away and placed her hands on his chest, spreading them over his muscles, her nails grazing them slightly as she flexed her fingers. She moved to get in the way of his downward gaze, and when their eyes met, she kissed him. Her hands trailed up to his neck as she pulled him close. It was very obvious from Joe’s reaction that he was deeply affected by her actions. They kissed for a long few minutes. Randy pulled back, looking up at him. Joe was watching her closely.
Keeping her eyes on his, Randy reached up and pulled off her shirt, then reached over to remove Joe’s. She straddled his hips, and his hands went to her waist as she moved to kiss him again. When their skin made contact, Randy heard Joe’s low moan, and it only served to spur her on. Within minutes Joe had his arms wrapped tightly around her, pressing her body to his. When Randy pulled back to look at him, she could see the passion burning in his light blue eyes. She smiled at him, her own breathing ragged from the intensity of their kisses.
“What’re you doin?” he said, his voice deep, his accent thick.
“What do you want me to do?” she said, echoing the words he’d asked her on a rainy night so many years before, the first time they’d ever kissed.
“Everything,” was Joe’s reply, and the look in his eyes told Randy that he had resolved the situation with Midnight and he was hers once again. The thought made Randy want to scream and cheer, but instead she kissed her husband until they were both breathless and unable to control themselves any longer.
Joe made love to her, but he noticed, as did she, that something had definitely changed between them. What astonished Joe the most was that the change was almost imperceptible—but Randy was different, and he was different with her. It bothered him to realize, as they lay entangled a while later, that she reminded him more of Midnight now than she ever had before. He analyzed the thought. It wasn’t because he and Midnight had been together so recently, because even that time with Midnight hadn’t been the same. They had only made love once, and he knew they had both perceived the difference. He hadn’t realized what that difference was until just now—whether he liked it or not, he belonged totally to Randy. Being with Randy now had made him feel complete again, like something that he had once had had been missing, and now it was back. But Randy was different. Her body felt different, her words were different, even the way she kissed him was different—and in a way it bothered him. He liked the changes, but he felt that somehow he shouldn’t. It occurred to him that it might have something to do with Dickerson.
When he glanced down, he saw that Randy was watching him.
“What were you thinking about just then?” she asked.
Joe didn’t respond right away, and Randy could see that he was trying to decide if he wanted to tell her
.
“Tell me, please.”
“I was thinking about how different you are now,” Joe said quietly, looking into her eyes.
Randy nodded slowly. She had also been thinking that things were not the same between them now. Then she speared him with a look. “You think it’s because of Dick, don’t you?”
Joe looked at her for a long moment, then nodded slowly, expelling his breath as he did.
“It’s not him, Joe,” Randy said, unconsciously moving her body closer to his, as if getting closer to him would convince him. “It’s you—you make me different now.”
Joe looked down at her, confusion clear in his eyes. “How?”
Randy shook her head. “I don’t know, really. It’s just that I feel so different this time. I feel like we’re more equal, like you’re more my lover than you are my father figure, you know?” Her voice was soft, but the look in her eyes was intense.
Joe considered what she was saying. “Meaning I was too protective before?” he asked, with no anger in his voice, only curiosity.
“You were protective, but I let you be. I even wanted you to be sometimes, like having you tell me I couldn’t or shouldn’t do something would let me off the hook.”
“Like being a cop?”
“Honestly?” she said. Joe nodded. “Yes, at first I kept thinking that if you’d just tell me you wouldn’t allow me to do it, I could just give it up and not have to worry about measuring up.”
“But you didn’t give it up.”
“You never told me you would leave me if I did it,” Randy said admonishingly.
“My mistake,” Joe said, grinning widely.
“And how,” Randy replied, grinning back. “But now, you use the word ‘we’ when you talk about police work, like I’m already part of your world. It makes me feel more part of you, more your wife and not your ward.”
“That doesn’t mean I won’t still worry about you,” Joe said calmly.
“I expect you to worry about me. Don’t you think I worry about you all the time?”
Betrayals Stand (MidKnight Blue Book 5) Page 1