“Well, maybe you need to try and talk to him again, and make him listen,” Deborah said.
Midnight laughed, looking at Deborah incredulously. “Deborah, I think you know your brother better than that. No one makes Richard Joshua Debenshire listen to anything.”
“Well, that’s true enough,” Deborah agreed, grinning at her sister-in-law. “Do you want me to talk to him?” She desperately wanted to help. She thought Midnight and Rick belonged together, and she had always been very happy with her brother’s choice of spouse.
Midnight shook her head. “No, I don’t want him to think we’re ganging up on him or something. Besides, you know how he is about keeping family business, family business.”
“But we are family, Midnight,” Deborah said.
“Yes, but I meant the Debenshire-Chevalier family,” Midnight replied apologetically.
“Yes… I guess that would be the case here, wouldn’t it?”
The following morning Midnight got up early to go into the office. She had some things to clear up before taking some time off to spend with Deborah and the girls. She intended to stay in the office for only a couple of hours, but by noon she was fully inundated with requests and problems; Joe was off on a vacation himself, so she was stuck answering everybody’s questions and problems.
At one o’clock, Rick came into the office with Deborah, Liz, and Susan in tow. He had stopped by to find out why his wife hadn’t come home like she was supposed to, and his sister and nieces had wanted to see where both Rick and Midnight worked. They got a full view. When Rick and the three of them walked off the elevator, the office was in its usual chaos. Rick moved through the group, holding his sister’s hand, heading for Midnight’s office.
When they got there, Midnight was on the phone, her FORS jacket hung over the back of her chair. When she stood to move to a file cabinet behind her, Rick saw that her gun was in its usual place at the small of her back. He was surprised; usually she put it in her desk drawer when she was in the office. She turned back to her desk, holding the phone and talking all the while.
“No,” she was saying, shaking her head, her eyes flashing. “I applied for that warrant myself, and I know that the narrative was sufficient, so don’t give me that crap!” She glanced up at Rick, grimacing at having said “crap” in front of his nieces. Both girls just giggled.
Deborah took in the difference in her sister-in-law. It was obvious that she was the boss here, and that she was very capable in that position. As they waited an Asian man came in. He nodded to Rick, then moved to Midnight’s desk. He held out a folder to her, and she took it, nodding. She held up a hand to the young man, and he waited obediently.
“Yes, you do that, and get back to me. I want those warrants in my hand by three o’clock. These guys aren’t just going to sit around waiting for us to come bust them, you know.” She rolled her eyes as the Asian man started to laugh. Midnight listened to the other person again for a moment before hanging up after a short goodbye.
She looked over at Rick apologetically. “I’m sorry, things got a little harried here, with Joe out and everything. That Taos case is trying to go south on us, and Judge Connell is being a pain in the keister again—says our narrative wasn’t sufficient. I’ve been writing them for the old buzzard for almost eight years—I think I should know what he’s looking for by now!” She turned to the other man. “Spider, what’s up?” she asked.
Deborah watched as her sister-in-law listened to him, nodding. She could see Midnight’s mind working over the problem he was explaining.
“Okay, okay,” Midnight said finally, holding up her hand. “So what we need here is some assistance from your friends in BNE. Tell them that this guy has weapons and parole violations up the ying-yang, and we don’t have the manpower to keep up the twenty-four-hour surveillance. Tell them if they’ll assist, we’ll split the surveillance time with them. Okay?”
“Yeah, but Midnight… What about the border?” the young man said. “What if they skip?”
“Spider, if they try to skip, you grab ’em, but not until. Otherwise we blow the whole thing. Okay?”
“Okay,” he said finally, nodding.
“Okay, now, out with you, and let me know what BNE says, alright?” she said, her smile supportive.
“Yes, boss.” Spider gave her a two-fingered salute as he walked out.
“Night,” Rick began, irritation in his voice.
“I know!” Midnight retorted, cutting him off. “But I gotta find out about these warrants. If we don’t hit these guys they’re going to close up shop, and I’m out a hundred and fifty or so man hours without a bust. The chief won’t like that much.”
“Yeah, and you won’t be his golden girl anymore, right?” Rick said derisively.
Midnight looked up at him sharply. “What?”
“Never mind,” Rick said, sighing. “So I take it you aren’t coming with us?”
Midnight looked at him for a long moment. Deborah could see that she was trying to read his expression, but Rick’s face was closed up and cold, which surprised Deborah. Finally, Midnight sighed and shook her head. There was a long silence, and Deborah broke it with an exclamation—she had been looking at the wall behind Midnight, and now, as she walked over to it, she could see all the awards and certificates that her sister-in-law held. Deborah read some of the certificates’ narratives about the awards. She was astounded at the amount of them. One had come from the Governor of California; there was another one from the Attorney General of California.
Deborah was duly impressed with her sister-in-law, and when she turned to Rick to mention how amazing it was, she noticed the irritated look he was giving her. Deborah was taken aback. Why would he be irritated at her? She suddenly realized that her little brother was actually jealous of his wife’s accomplishments. That surprised her; she had always thought her brother above such negative emotions. He had always been so loving, and sweet, but now she saw the jealousy in his eyes.
“We better get going then,” Rick said shortly. Deborah nodded, looking over at Midnight. Midnight had not seen Rick’s expression; she was staring off into space, a dark look on her face.
“Yes, well…” Deborah said, moving to hug Midnight. Midnight looked up at her sister-in-law and smiled as she reached up to hug her.
“Sorry,” Midnight said quietly.
“Don’t worry about it, love, you have an important job to do. We’ll just see you tonight.”
“Thanks,” Midnight said. She looked distressed, but Deborah had a feeling it was more to do with Rick’s attitude than the loss of a day with her in-laws.
That evening, Midnight listened while her nieces went on about the sites they had seen and the beautiful beaches, and how warm it was. Finally, Deborah told them to hush and eat their dinner of Chinese takeout—“I only order the best for my in-laws!” Midnight had joked, but the humor didn’t reach her eyes.
Wilson was off at some business meeting. His bank had an overseas office in San Diego, and he always liked to do business while on vacation—that way he could claim the entire trip as a business expense. Rick thought it was a sleazy way to do things, but he didn’t say anything.
“There’s a party I’d like to take you both to,” Deborah began, watching for Rick’s reaction. It bothered her that suddenly she was wary of her brother’s mood. He had never been the moody type before—that had always been his best friend Joe’s act.
“A party?” Midnight said skeptically.
“Yes, some friends of ours are having a little get-together to welcome us to America. They’re English as well, and good friends of our family. The party’s tomorrow evening.” Deborah kept her tone light, hoping Rick would put the kibosh to the whole idea. She knew how he hated society parties. She was surprised when it was Midnight who objected.
“Well, Deborah…” Midnight began, her tone indicating that she was attempting to be polite. “You see, we’re just not the party-going type. I mean… Well, I’m not. I—”
“We could make an exception this time, couldn’t we?” Rick said tersely, narrowing his eyes at Midnight just slightly, as if she had been attempting to slight his family in some way. Midnight sighed, looking at him, then at Deborah, who was waiting expectantly to see what would happen. It hadn’t been her intention to cause a fight; she thought an evening out would be just the ticket to getting Midnight and Rick back to where they had been before.
“I guess,” Midnight said.
“Party?” Mikeyla chimed in, her voice high-pitched as it usually was when she was hoping for something.
“Not for you, little one,” Midnight said. She grinned at her daughter, her mood lightening a little. “This is a party for big people. Little people don’t have to go.”
Although she spoke lightly, Rick caught the word “have” versus the alternative “get” and knew she was irritated at him for committing them to it.
Later that night, as Rick climbed into bed he noted that Midnight’s back was to him, a sure sign that she was pissed. He decided to try and smooth things over, knowing how Midnight could be if she was allowed to stew on something for too long. He reached over and pulled her body back against his. He felt her tense and knew she was fighting the urge to pull away from him. It struck him again how different things were between them now. She was much harder to read these days, and he found that he was irritated about that more and more often. He had always known she wasn’t an open and gushy sort of person, and that she liked to keep some of her thoughts to herself, but usually she would share those thoughts eventually. Lately, she didn’t share anything, and when he asked she’d either shrug or just stay silent. He didn’t know what to do. He did know that he hated the idea of her keeping to herself—he knew it was a bad sign for their marriage—but he didn’t know how to break the cycle they had started, and he was too caught up in his own feelings lately to even try. He decided to try now.
“Night,” he whispered against the nape of her neck. “Baby, what’s bothering you?”
Midnight was silent for a few minutes. The silence seemed to stretch out, covering everything else. Rick waited, knowing that she was debating whether or not to tell him, and that asking again would only irritate her or cause her to stay silent.
“Why do we have to go to this party?” she said finally.
“The party?” Rick asked incredulously. “That’s what’s bothering you?” His tone indicated he thought she was overwrought, nuts.
“Yes,” Midnight said, wiggling out of his arms and turning to face him. “Among other things, this party is a bad idea.”
“Why?” Rick asked defensively.
“What do you mean, why?” Midnight said, rolling her eyes. “Duh.” Her face took on the superior look she wore when she was dealing with a gang member.
“Don’t talk to me like that, Midnight,” Rick warned heatedly. “I’m not some dumb kid, and yeah, I want to know why this party is such a bad idea.”
“I just think it is. Besides, I have better things to do than hang out with a bunch of rich snobs.” Midnight sounded angry now too.
“Oh, I see,” Rick said, his eyes flashing. “Is that what my family is now? Rich snobs?”
“I didn’t say that, but ten bucks says your sister’s little get-together is as big as our wedding reception.”
“So now you don’t like my sister?” Rick knew as he said it that he was being irrational, but he wasn’t able to stop the flood of anger that had started between them.
“Oh, Jesus Christ!” Midnight said, sitting up in bed, glaring at him. “I’m not even going to start this shit with you. If you want to go to the fucking party we’ll go, alright!” Her body was tense, like it was when she went into a situation she thought might get physical.
Rick sensed it and knew things were getting out of hand. He could feel himself getting even angrier, seeing her reacting to him in that way. He actually wanted to hit her, to show her that he could be tough and dangerous too. The thought struck him like a physical blow. He wanted to hit his wife—what the hell was wrong with him?
He moved to sit with his back to her, keeping his face turned away until he could get his emotions under control. He knew his passion for Midnight had turned almost violent a couple of times, and he was afraid at what would happen if he ever lost control of those feelings. Midnight tended to stir in him a full spectrum of emotions. He loved her very much, but she was as headstrong as he was and they often butted heads. Most of the time one of them would give in, but lately, things had been coming closer and closer to a head. Rick knew he needed to get away, to clear his head, but he also knew nothing made Midnight angrier than to have someone walk out in the middle of an argument.
As Rick warred with his emotions, Midnight watched his back, feeling very angry and emotional and not really sure why. She knew they had just taken another step away from what they had once had, and she didn’t know if they would ever find their way back. It frightened her. She had placed all of her trust in this man, all of her love and devotion, and if things didn’t work out… she wasn’t sure what she would ever depend on again. It was like counting on a life raft when your ship was sinking, and then finding that the raft had a slow leak. Her heart pounded in her chest, her hands clenched and unclenched. She longed to reach out to Rick, she longed to make everything right, but her headstrong stubborn nature said, “Why should I, he started all of this.” Midnight stood, and for a few minutes just watched Rick, thinking about what she wanted to say.
Finally, giving in to her wants, she knelt behind him on the bed. She felt him tense as she slid her hands around his torso. She laid her cheek against his bare back and just knelt there, holding him. After a few moments she felt his muscles relax, then his hands slid over hers, his fingers entwining with hers. Glancing up, she noticed that his head was bowed. She felt him caress her wedding ring, the ring that had been his grandmother’s, and she knew he was thinking of their wedding day.
“I love you,” she whispered, “just as much as I did that day.” She heard his sigh, and could almost feel him grin. He had always said it was amazing how well she could read him, like no other woman had ever been able to do. He turned, pulling her around to face him, ending up cradling her in his arms.
“And I love you,” he said, his voice soft, his expression tender.
He leaned down and kissed her, his lips moving gently over hers at first, then more passionately. It had been weeks since they had had sex; there had always been something else distracting them. But now there were no more distractions, and they made love, enjoying each other for hours.
Later, as they lay together, both feeling very happy and warm, Midnight rested her head on his chest and traced a lazy pattern over his ever-flat stomach with her fingernails. “Seriously,” she said, still husky from their lovemaking, “if you want to go to this party, I’m okay with it. I was just—” His fingers on her lips stilled her voice.
“We’ll talk about it in the morning,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “I don’t want to spoil this feeling now.”
“Okay.” She was willing to let it go for now, a concession not in her nature.
Chapter 2
Joe and Randy Sinclair returned from their vacation two days early, having decided that two weeks in Hawaii was about one week too many and longing for the relative comfort of their own home and their own bed. Plus Joe was getting antsy about being away from the office—and by definition out of touch—for that long. Randy knew that much just by looking at him. Their house, located on a nice quiet street overlooking the ocean, was similar to Joe’s first home in La Jolla, but with more updated amenities and a second story where their master suite was located. It was for this room that Joe made a beeline. Randy had expected him to get on the phone the moment they were in his car, but he had contained himself, although she did note that the new state speed limit of sixty-five miles per hour was exceeded by approximately twenty-five miles per hour on a few occasions. She chuckled to herself as Joe,
utilizing his long-legged stride to reach the bedroom in the most expedient manner, called over his shoulder in an overly casual tone, “I’ll grab the bags in a minute, hon. Don’t worry about a thing.”
“Right,” Randy mumbled good-naturedly. “Sure you will.” With that, she proceeded to haul in their luggage. They’d had a good time—she could not say they hadn’t. Joe had been his usual attentive self; he had even managed to unwind and enjoy himself for the first week. But after that, it had become increasingly obvious that he couldn’t relax for long periods of time, and it became evident to Randy just why Joseph Michael Sinclair hadn’t been capable of leading the rich playboy life that he had originally been slated for. She knew that without his work he would be miserable, and that attempting to keep him from doing what he loved would be the most foolish thing a person could do.
Randy admired Joe for the fact that he had so many other options other than to work, and yet he did work, and in a field he loved. “Keeping the world safe for democracy,” as he liked to quip. In a way she was jealous—not because the work took him away from her, but because she didn’t have something as important to dedicate her time to. She still worked as Joe’s secretary, and it just wasn’t enough anymore. Recently she had made a decision to change her career. She had been planning to talk to Joe about it while they were on their vacation, but she had the nagging feeling that her plans would not be well received by her husband. What made it even more difficult was that she had already put the plan into motion and, therefore, gone behind his back to do it, and she knew he would not be pleased about that. She needed to tell him, and she was starting to feel very guilty about not doing so, but she knew that she had a right to make her own plans and beat out her own path.
Randy Sinclair, formerly Randy Curtis, had done a lot of growing up in the three years that she and Joe had been married. She had been very shy and quiet when she and Joe got together, and Joe had been everything to her. He had taken her out of her humdrum life and made everything exciting and new. He had taken her places she had only read about in books and taught her things about culture and tradition. Joe had taken her to the opera, he had taken her to see plays, he had taken her shopping in Paris, he had shown her the Louvre and Notre Dame. He had also shown her the fun things. They had gone to Oktoberfest, they had gone exploring old ruins of castles, he had taken her to what he had called good, old-fashioned taverns in England. He had shown her all of his old haunts from his gang days. In the States they had gone to Disney World and on a tour of historic southern mansions, he had taken her to New York to see a Broadway show, and they had even gone on a two-week trip with some tornado chasers in the Midwest. Randy had seen so many things and enjoyed so much, and she loved Joe for everything he had done for her, but she knew she would never be totally happy unless she had something to do that gave her a sense of accomplishment.
Where Loyalties Lie (MidKnight Blue Book 3) Page 2