For a few moments, the only sound in the car was the radio playing Janet Jackson’s “Escapade.”
“Yes,” Midnight said finally. “It’s true, Joe and I were together.”
“Really?” Susan’s eyes widened. She had been wondering for a long time now. She didn’t know if her Aunt Katherine had just been being mean—Katherine didn’t like Midnight at all.
Midnight laughed. “Yes, really! Did you think it wasn’t true?”
“Well, I didn’t know. It was Aunt Katherine, after all…” Again Susan’s voice trailed off, as she realized she probably shouldn’t be speaking ill of her own aunt.
“Yes, I understand that.” Midnight grinned.
Susan was silent for a few minutes, digesting the fact that Midnight and Joe had been together.
“How long?” she said finally.
“How long were we together? Oh, I’d say about two years, off and on.”
“Wow! Really!”
Again Midnight was laughing. “Yes, really!”
“So you two were, um, close.” Her emphasis on “close” indicated exactly what she meant.
“You mean did we sleep together?”
Susan turned a couple shades of red, then blurted out, “Yes.”
Midnight hesitated this time. She didn’t know why Susan was asking all of this; she suspected she had a crush on Joe and wanted to talk to someone about it, but Midnight wasn’t sure she should be the one to do that—it seemed like a job for Deborah. But she knew it could be hard for a girl to get her questions answered by her own mother, and if she didn’t get the answers there, she might look for them somewhere else—and who knew how informed that source would be.
“Yes,” Midnight began carefully, “we did sleep together.” She left the conversation open for Susan to ask other questions. She could see the girl wanted to ask more, and she hoped that by staying silent she was encouraging her to do just that.
“Did you love him?” Susan asked, obviously feeling more comfortable.
“Yes, I did love him. I still do, just not the way I love your uncle.”
“There’s different kinds of love? I mean, different kinds like when you sleep with someone?”
Midnight smiled, seeing Susan’s conflict. She wanted to know how Midnight could love Joe enough to sleep with him, and then love Rick the same way and sleep with him. I don’t remember having these problems when I was her age, she thought.
“Yes, there are different kinds of love. It’s hard to explain, but I loved Joe because we were the very best of friends and we needed each other.”
“Needed each other?” Susan was still confused.
“Yes, this was in the early days of FORS and things were very dangerous for both of us, and we knew that one of us may not be there the next day. We were very protective of each other, because we both had lost so much, and it just translated into a very close relationship that turned into love, and became making love. Does that make any sense?”
Susan thought about it for a while, then nodded. “But how is your love for Uncle Rick different?”
Midnight had to think long and hard about this one. It had been hard to work that out for herself, let alone know how to explain it to someone else. “Well, your uncle and I have a totally different relationship. We love each other because we’re alike and different too. You see, with Joe, I loved him because he was my friend and I knew that he’d always be my friend. With Rick, it’s like a friendship, but much, much more. We’re very, um…passionate for each other. It’s much more than just a comfortable friendship—we’re willing to change for each other, to make the relationship grow. With Joe, it was ‘Take me as I am, ’cause that’s all you’re gonna get.’ Your Uncle Rick and I made a real commitment to each other, by getting married.”
“So you wouldn’t have married Joe?”
“At one point I might have, if only to have something to hold on to. But in the end, no, I wouldn’t have, because he and I were just too wrong for each other. Joe needed something I couldn’t and wouldn’t give him.”
“What was that?” Susan sounded almost awestruck that someone would not want to marry Joe Sinclair.
“Joe has a real need to be needed. He needs to take care of someone and nurture them, and I’m just too independent for that. Your Uncle Rick understands that, and loves me anyway.” As she said the words, Midnight thought about what Rick had said this morning—“I want all of you.” So did that mean he wanted her to be dependent on him? Midnight wasn’t sure, and that scared her more than anything.
They continued the ride into the office in silence, each of them thinking their own thoughts. Midnight was sure she hadn’t heard the end of this, and she was actually glad that Susan trusted her enough to talk to her about such things. She was also glad that she could be there for her niece; she missed having a younger person look up to her and need her guidance.
Midnight introduced Susan to members of FORS as they went into her office. Susan acted much as her mother had the day before, walking over to Midnight’s wall filled with awards and certificates and reading each and every one.
“Aunt Midnight,” she said after a few minutes.
“Hmm?” Midnight didn’t look up from the report she was reading.
“What’s it like, being so important?”
“Important?” Midnight was surprised by the word. She had never thought of herself as important.
“Yes,” Susan said, moving to sit in the chair across from Midnight’s desk, her face earnest. “I mean, if you have been recognized by so many people, then you’re important, right?”
Midnight grinned. “I guess, but just try reminding those people of that when it comes time to make a new budget, then suddenly you couldn’t possibly need anything, no matter how important they think you are.”
“So you mean, they didn’t really mean what they said on those awards?” Susan asked, perplexed.
Midnight looked thoughtful for a moment. Good question, she thought. “Well, I think they mean it,” she said. “It’s just that money’s tight right now, and I guess they feel like as long as they get the level of service they’ve always gotten, then everything’s alright. They don’t really realize that my expenses for my unit have gone up and my members expect more for salaries now than they did ten years ago, and I’m having to compete with the money they would be making if they stayed on the street and continued committing crimes. And believe me, there’s not much of a comparison there.”
Susan thought about that for a while. “So your employees really were gang members?”
Midnight nodded.
“And they really committed crimes? You mean stealing and the like?”
“Stealing, selling drugs, prostitution, all the good stuff, yeah,” Midnight replied. Susan’s eyes widened, as if she had just realized that the people she had been meeting all morning were criminals. Suddenly she looked worried.
“Have any of them ever killed anyone? I mean, as a gang member.”
Midnight grinned at that, then shook her head. “No, if they’d killed someone they’d be in jail.”
“Have you ever killed anyone?” Susan asked, her youth making her seem so innocent as she asked such a loaded question.
“Yes, I have,” Midnight said, and continued quickly when Susan’s eyes became as wide as saucers. “But only in the line of duty—only while I’ve had the law on my side.”
“Oh,” Susan said, then was silent for a moment. “Has Joe killed anyone?” This time she waited expectantly for an answer. Midnight wasn’t sure what Susan wanted to hear, but before she could answer another voice spoke for her.
“Yes, and he’s considering killing one more.”
Susan and Midnight looked up to see Joe standing in the doorway. He looked tired and irritated. He was wearing jeans and a blue shirt with his black FORS jacket; he still wore his hair shaggy and long, and his light blue eyes burned with anger. Midnight had to admit he looked good in spite of his apparent mood. Susan just stare
d at him; the girl definitely had a crush.
“Joe,” Midnight said, smiling and wagging a finger at him. “That was a short two-week vacation.” She pointedly looked at her calendar. “About two days short.”
“Shut up,” Joe said, grinning in spite of himself. He went to the chair next to Susan, ruffling her hair as he sat. “How’s it going, young lady?”
Susan didn’t reply at first; she was too busy being tongue-tied. “Okay,” she said finally.
Joe looked at the girl for a moment, wondering why she was staring at him like that, but then mentally shrugged it off—it must be some adolescent thing.
“So,” Midnight said, breaking the silence. “Who are you going to kill, and why?”
Joe glanced at her, trying to decide if he should ask her about Randy or accuse her. “Did you know about this little career change Randy is planning?”
Midnight looked blank.
“Obviously not,” Joe said.
“So, what is this new career?” Midnight asked.
“She wants to be a cop.” Joe expected Midnight to be shocked, but when she nodded, as if expecting there to be more to the story, he was the one who was surprised. “Night!” he said, stressed. “How can you just sit there and nod?”
“Joe,” Midnight said, mimicking his alarm and grinning. “What’s wrong with that? In case you didn’t realize it, we happen to be cops.”
“And in case you don’t realize it, we’re talking about Randy here, not you or me. Little Randy… Ya know?” He was talking to her as if she had some kind of head trauma and she didn’t remember who Randy was.
“Yes.” Midnight smiled. “My dear Englishman, I do remember Randy, and as I recall she is an adult and has the right to make her own decisions about her career.”
“Like hell she does!” Joe snorted indignantly.
Midnight leaned forward. Making a fist, she knocked on Joe’s forehead pointedly; Susan had to stifle a giggle. “Hello?” Midnight called. “Earth to Sinclair, come in, Sinclair. This is the twentieth century, you know. Women’s lib and all that crap. You can’t tell her what to do, Joe.”
Joe narrowed his eyes at her. “Why not?” he asked belligerently, like a schoolboy denied a field trip.
Midnight couldn’t help but smile at her partner of over ten years. “Because, honey,” she said, overly sweetly, “women have rights too, and you men are just going to have to remember that, or we’ll have to put a nice bat over your heads.”
At that, Susan did giggle.
“What’s so funny?” Joe asked, turning to her, grinning broadly. Susan immediately covered her mouth, her eyes wide as she shook her head. “Nothing,” she muttered, but her smile was evident.
“I see,” Joe said, still grinning. He turned back to Midnight. “So what, oh lady of the downtrodden, am I supposed to do?”
“You,” Midnight said, pointing at him, “are supposed to be supporting and loving—and try to curb your attitude.”
Joe shook his head, his expression serious now. “I don’t think I can, Night. I can’t let her do this. If something happened to her…” He didn’t need to explain to Midnight—she’d been there before too.
“Joe, come on. Realistically, what are the odds of something happening to her? And even if the odds were greater, there’s nothing you can do. You can’t protect her all her life, and if you keep trying, she’s going to resent you for it. Is that what you want?”
Joe looked at his partner for a long time, then finally blew his breath out in a sigh and shook his head. “No.”
“Alright then. Besides, you never know, maybe she won’t like it, maybe this is just a phase and she’ll decide on something else. But I guarantee you one thing.” She paused, looking at him pointedly. “The more noise you make about it, the less she’ll listen.”
“Great,” Joe said simply. But he knew Midnight was right, and he knew he didn’t really have any options at this point. He decided he wouldn’t try to dissuade Randy from her career path, but he couldn’t be totally supportive either. It just went against everything he felt.
Chapter 3
Susan and Midnight arrived home a little after one o’clock. Midnight spent the rest of the afternoon playing with Mikeyla and just relaxing. Relaxation was difficult for Midnight Chevalier-Debenshire to achieve; her mind was turning constantly with things she needed to do and people she needed to talk to. In the office that morning she had received a request from the Seattle Police Department to come and speak about FORS. They wanted her there the following week, and she knew that was going to cause another fight between her and Rick.
At a little before five, Midnight went to take a shower and get ready for the party. She was already dreading the boring evening ahead; she knew how these things went. She’d have to deal with a bunch of stuff-shirt, high-class, over-educated rich people, and she’d hate it. Midnight considered begging off, claiming she had a headache, but decided it wasn’t worth the effort to argue with Rick. After all, it was just one evening, right?
As she stood looking in the mirror, putting on the makeup she rarely used, Rick walked into their bathroom. He looked very handsome in a navy blue suit; the color almost matched his eyes. He wore a crisp white shirt and a burgundy-and-navy tie.
“Wow!” Midnight said, turning to look at him. Rick grinned. “New suit?” she asked, though she knew it was—he didn’t own many suits.
“Yeah, I didn’t really have anything to wear to this thing tonight, and Deb said a tux would be a little much.”
“I see.” Midnight put her arms around his neck, looking up into his eyes. His hands moved to untie her bathrobe, and then to her waist, touching bare skin. He pulled her flush with his body, his lips moving to hers. Midnight entwined her hands in his hair, still worn long and shaggy.
“What time are we supposed to leave?” she asked
“Six thirty.”
“Oops! I’ve only got fifteen minutes left to get ready, don’t want to hold everyone up…” She reached up to kiss him again. “Unless you want to stay here instead…”
“Oh no, we’re going, but after the party—that’s another matter altogether.” His grin was wide.
“I see,” Midnight said. “Have your cake and eat it too, huh?”
Rick nodded, smiling. He turned and left the bathroom, leaving her to finish getting ready. Fifteen minutes later she came out of their room wearing a burgundy silk dress, her copper-colored mane pulled back with a pearl hair clip. Rick was once again taken aback by how beautiful his wife could be when she dressed up, even more so than she always was. He felt puffed up with pride.
“Oh, Midnight,” Deborah exclaimed. “What a beautiful dress! You look wonderful! Now I feel absolutely dowdy.”
“Oh, stop,” Midnight said, smiling. “You couldn’t look dowdy if you tried.” Her words were sincere. Deborah was wearing a very elegant cream Chanel suit, and her hair, nails, and makeup were absolutely flawless, as always.
“Are we ready?” Wilson asked, joining them. Midnight realized this was just about the first time she had seen him since they had arrived in California. Once again she was surprised at how fair-skinned he was; he was so different from Rick. Wilson had cultivated the strictly clean-cut, clean-shaven, stoic banker look. His hair was a lighter shade than the regular brown of his eyes. His suit was a classic dark gray, and although very expensively cut, it didn’t seem to look quite as good on him as it should have. Wilson was thin in a non-athletic way, the opposite of Rick’s trim, fit, swimmer’s body. No matter how Midnight looked at Wilson, she could not see anything that would be attractive to a woman as quiet and caring as Deborah; she just didn’t know what Deborah saw in him.
The babysitter arrived a few minutes later. As they were leaving, Deborah told Midnight they should consider getting an au pair.
“A what?” Midnight asked.
“An au pair. It’s a girl that lives with you who acts as a nanny and does some light housework as well. We had one when the girls were you
nger—they’re great. I can give you the name of a good agency here in California if you’d like.”
“It’s something to think about,” Rick said, watching Midnight closely. He knew how she hated anything that seem too high class.
“Maybe,” Midnight said simply.
Rick drove to the address Deborah gave him. Midnight noted that the house they pulled up in front of was only a couple miles away from Joe’s. Good, if I need to escape I’ll know where to go, she thought. The house was big, a modern style with large panels of glass in front. Once inside, Midnight noticed that the decor tended toward bright, bold colors. She hated it on sight. She told herself she was being too negative and that thinking this way wouldn’t help the night go any quicker, so she tried to look for something positive and nice about the house.
When she met the Thelands, she realized she was indeed a Christian in the lion’s den. David Theland was very boorish, with his starched white shirt and black suit. His nails were buffed to a high sheen—and his mannerisms seemed to be too. He spoke to Rick and Deborah first, having known them since childhood.
“Richard, Deborah! How ever are the two of you? Angela is here somewhere, and she will be so happy you could join us.” His voice was pitch perfect, somewhere between bored and droll. His English accent was still there, but much less pronounced than Rick’s. Midnight was shocked when Rick’s whole appearance seemed to change as he spoke with the older man, showing a side of him she had never seen before. He was proper and cool, his tone of voice was different, and when he introduced her to Mr. Theland he seemed to have a hard time with her name, as if it had suddenly become foreign to him. David Theland’s ice-blue eyes came to rest on her, and seemed to widen a little in surprise. Midnight felt herself being appraised, like a head of cattle. She knew she should extend her hand to Mr. Theland as Deborah had done, but somehow she just couldn’t do it. Something told her this man wouldn’t kiss the back of her hand gallantly as he had Deborah’s. So she merely nodded to him, her eyes never wavering from his, which seemed to take him back a bit.
Where Loyalties Lie (MidKnight Blue Book 3) Page 4