“Why’d you pick Quinn?” Kana asked Cat, still mystified by her choice.
Cat shrugged, “I’ve seen her fight,” she said, winking at Quinn, “You Tube.”
While a couple of the girls still looked mystified, Midnight started to nod, “Know your opponent,” she said by way of explanation.
“Exactly,” Cat said, nodding, “I saw how she moves, when she moves in, and how to maybe counter it.”
“And you stuck to your left because of your shoulder,” Quinn said, looking approving.
“Yeah, little bit of handicap there,” Cat said, grinning.
“But a smart compensation for it,” Jericho put in.
“Cat says that she learned to fight by way of her job,” Jovina said, looking at the other law enforcement officers at the table, “Is it always like that?”
Midnight glanced at Cat, her eyes widening slightly, but she nodded to Jovina, “In the kind of work we do, yeah, it’s like that a lot.”
“Well, we were a gang task force,” Kana said, “And sometimes that actually meant fighting gang members to prove our point.”
“Undercover narcotics work is probably one of the most dangerous,” Jericho said, her eyes on Cat, “Especially for a woman that looks like you.”
Cat caught Jericho’s meaning easily and nodded, looking over at Jovina.
Jovina looked a little sickened by the idea.
“And by a woman that looks like her, you mean?” Zoey found herself asking.
Jericho glanced over at her, “She’s a looker,” Jericho said, her eyes on Cat again, “And that’s going to cause her more headaches, as much as it also helps her to get to the men she needs to get to in order to get the job done.”
“Meu Deus...” Jovina breathed as the ramifications became clearer with Jericho’s words.
“But that’s why I learned to defend myself,” Cat said, knowing that Jovina was now completely freaked out, “It’s how I learned to handle problems as they happened.”
“Adapt and survive,” Jericho put in, her tone serious.
“Did you do UC work?” Cat asked Jericho.
“Some,” Jericho said, “More than I liked, yeah.”
Cat nodded, understanding the sentiment. She looked over at Jovina, putting her hand on Jovina’s hand that rested on the table, “I know how to handle myself.”
Jovina looked back at her, still feeling a sense of shock at suddenly fully understanding what Cat did. It was one thing to know she was a police officer, but to know that she regularly had to deal with seedy drug dealers who might touch her, or hurt her, or worse… It was a lot to take in.
Jericho and Midnight exchanged a look, as did Kana and Cat, they knew what Jovina was thinking, but it had been a way of life for them for so long, it was shocking that others didn’t just understand it. It was what they’d chosen to do with their lives, and sometimes it endangered their lives. The people that loved them had to accept that part of them in order to stay in their lives. Hopefully Jovina could make that transition.
After lunch, everyone headed their separate ways with plans to meet up at a local bar that night.
Zoey looked over at Jericho as she drove, “I didn’t realize how dangerous your job was,” she said honestly.
Jericho glanced over at Zoey, her look assessing, then she shrugged, “Most people don’t.”
“I’ve been following you around for over two weeks now,” Zoey said, “I should have recognized it.”
Jericho chuckled, “What I do now, isn’t that dangerous, Zoey.” She told the girl.
“But you’re responsible for people like Cat who do that work every day,” Zoey said, “And that’s huge.”
Jericho looked over at the girl, surprised by what she’d said as much as the fact that she saw it that way.
“What?” Zoey asked, seeing the surprise on Jericho’s face.
Jericho shook her head, “Just…” she began, her voice trailing off as she shook her head again.
“Just what?” Zoey asked, wanting to understand what Jericho was thinking.
Jericho sighed, “It’s just that other people don’t see it that way.” She said it in a way that made Zoey know what she was really saying.
“You’re saying that Kelly didn’t see it that way.” Zoey said.
Jericho grimaced, then nodded, “Yeah.”
Zoey shook her head sadly, “How did she see it?” she asked, her voice softer.
Jericho gave a short mirthless laugh, “I believe the term she used was an overpaid paper pusher.”
Zoey’s mouth dropped open at the term, and then she nodded her head, “Yeah, I just confirmed it, that woman is a fucking idiot.”
Jericho burst into laughter, shaking her head, it felt really good to laugh that hard.
In Cat’s car the conversation wasn’t as light.
“You can’t keep doing that job,” Jovina said, her tone tense.
Cat looked over at her, her look assessing as she chewed the gum she’d put in her mouth earlier.
“Why do you say that?” Cat asked, her voice even.
“You’ll get hurt,” Jovina said.
“Babe,” Cat said, her look incredulous, “I’ve been doing this job for going on eleven years now, I’ve been hurt.”
Jovina shook her head, “No, it’s too much.”
“It’s what I do,” Cat said, trying to figure out how to explain it to her.
“How can you do it?” Jovina asked, “Aren’t you afraid?”
Cat considered the question, then nodded, “Sure, yeah, sometimes.”
“Sometimes?” Jovina repeated dubiously.
“Jovi,” Cat began, “Look, you’re worried about something that you can’t worry about.”
“What do you mean?” Jovina asked.
“I mean, you can’t think about that part,” Cat said, “I can’t think about that part. If I think about that part, I’ll get too cautious.”
“How can you possibly be too cautious?” Jovina exclaimed.
“If I’m cautious,” Cat said, “And they sense it, and trust me these fuckers can smell it on you, I’ll get myself killed.”
Jovina stared back at her and Cat knew she wasn’t helping the situation. Blowing her breath out, she looked over at Jovina.
“I’m not trying to scare you babe, but you really do need to know that this isn’t something I’m going to quit doing. So, if it’s not something you can handle, then we need to rethink this.” She said the last motioning between the two of them.
Jovina looked back at her, stunned, but then she realized what Cat was saying, and knew that she was right.
Reaching out her hand, Jovina touched Cat’s hand that rested on the stick shift. Cat looked over at her, Jovina just nodded, to show that she understood what Cat was saying.
CHAPTER 5
That night at the bar, Kana joined the group, Midnight had stayed back at the hotel to do some work and meet her husband. The Debenshire love affair was legendary in the law enforcement community. Everyone knew that Midnight and her husband, Rick, were beyond passionate about each other. So it was no surprise to anyone that knew her that she’d opt to stay in with her husband if he was in town.
They’d chosen a dance club so the girls could dance. The drinks were flowing, and so were the jokes and jabs.
“Well, now that we know Cat swings both ways…” Quinn said, grinning, “Femme and butch at the same time,” she clarified, “I say we toast that,” she said, holding up her glass.
“Yeah, yeah,” Cat said, grinning as she held up her glass, “Just trying to move the focus as usual” she told Quinn.
“Oh, that’s true!” Xandy said, laughing.
“Hey! You’re supposed to be on my side!” Quinn told her.
“I am babe, believe me.” Xandy said, winking at Quinn.
Things were, as usual, getting out of hand when a new song started.
“I love this song!” Jerry said, “Come on!” she said motioning to the girls.
Cat, Xandy, Jerry, Jovina, Devin and Zoey went out to dance. Jericho, Kana, Quinn and Skyler stayed at the table discussing the girls as they danced.
“She can definitely move,” Jericho said of Cat, “Hard to believe she was fighting like she was earlier today, huh?”
“Told ya,” Kana said, “She’s hard to figure out, that one.”
“Yeah, don’t envy Jo on that one,” Skyler said.
“Oh, I dunno,” Quinn said, grinning, “I think she might be worth the work.”
“She is,” Kana said pointedly.
Skyler and Quinn stared open mouthed at Kana, who only shrugged grinning.
“You?” Quinn asked.
Kana nodded, picking up her beer and taking a drink.
“So?” Skyler asked, when Kana said nothing.
“Everything that,” Kana said, pointing to Cat on the dancefloor, “Promises and then some.”
“Holy shit,” Jericho murmured.
“Damned right,” Quinn muttered.
Skyler chuckled.
“And how cute is little Zoey?” Quinn said, winking at Jericho.
“Easy now,” Jericho said, “She’s just a kid.”
“A hot kid,” Skyler said.
“And legal,” Kana put in.
“And not your wife.” Quinn said, smiling.
Jericho blew her breath out, “You have no idea how true that statement is,” she said.
Kana looked over at Jericho, “How’s that going?” she asked.
“What?” Jericho asked.
“Kelly,” Kana said.
Jericho shrugged, “Haven’t heard from her as much since I got Riley back.”
“Riley?” Skyler asked.
“My dog,” Jericho said.
“She took your dog?” Skyler said, her tone shocked.
Jericho grinned, nodding.
“Bitch!” Skyler said.
Jericho chuckled.
“But she hasn’t filed yet,” Kana said.
“No,” Jericho said.
“Think that means something?” Quinn asked.
Jericho blew her breath out, shrugging, “I have no idea.”
“Maybe she’s rethinking it,” Quinn said, “You said she’s been having a rough time financially. Maybe there’s more to it than that.”
Jericho didn’t answer, she just ordered another shot.
“Sometimes it takes the absence of something to make you appreciate it.” Kana said wisely.
“Maybe,” Jericho said, her look a little more hopeful.
The song changed again, and some of the girls came back to the table, Jovina was one of them, she’d come back to take a drink. As they watched, another woman moved up to Cat and started dancing with her. The woman was very butch, and they could see Cat smiling up at the woman. Kana glanced at Jovina and saw her hand tighten on the glass she was holding, but she did nothing else. As the song played on, the woman dancing with Cat slid her hands around Cat’s waist and pulled her closer. Cat didn’t seem to mind, continuing to move with the woman as they danced.
Kana moved to stand behind Jovina, leaning down.
“This is a case where you need to go get your girl,” Kana told her.
Jovina glanced up at Kana, swallowed convulsively but nodded.
Putting down her glass, Jovina walked back over to the dance floor. Cat looked over at Jovina, and Jovina motioned to her. When Cat said something to the woman she was dancing with, the woman shook her head. Kana saw Cat put her hand to the woman’s chest, her look more serious this time and gestured to Jovina. The woman looked at Jovina and shrugged, moving to put her hands on Cat again. This time Cat stepped back, her chin coming up.
“Son of a…” Kana said as she saw Cat ball her fist, Kana whistled, a sharp whistle that had Cat snapping her head again to look at her.
Kana shook her head. She watched as Cat rolled her neck, and Kana knew she was fighting the urge to hit the woman.
“Don’t do it…” Kana muttered.
“Is she about to throw down?” Quinn asked incredulously.
“Yep,” Kana said.
Fortunately, something about Cat’s stance must have clicked in the other woman’s head, because she finally held up her hands and walked away. Cat walked back to the table without even looking back to see if Jovina was following her or not. Passing the table, Cat went straight to the bar.
Jovina was walking up to the table as Cat made it to the bar, she looked askance and Kana.
“Let me,” Kana told her.
Walking over to the bar, Kana noted that Cat downed a double, and ordered another.
“You driving?” Kana asked as she leaned on the bar next to Cat.
“Maybe,” Cat shot back.
Kana raised an eyebrow at her telling her she was breathing fire in the wrong direction.
Cat blew her breath out, “Sorry, K, I just hate that possessive bullshit.”
Kana nodded her head, her look telling Cat she knew it was more than that.
The bartender handed Cat the second double shot, winking at her. Kana gave the woman a look that essentially said ‘you’re not helping’.
Cat did the shot, then turned her back to the bar, putting her elbows up on the bar, looking out over the crowd. She knew she was in the wrong this time, and she really didn’t want to deal with it. Shoving off the bar she strode to the exit, pulling out her cigarettes.
Kana followed.
Outside they both lit up and stood smoking.
“You know that wanting to possess you is always the battle, right?” Kana asked Cat.
Cat looked perplexed, “Why?”
“Because you’re impossible to pin down,” Kana said.
“Why does everyone want to pin me down?” Cat raged.
Kana gave a short laugh, “Because they want to love you, you idiot.”
Cat pressed her lips together, looking away.
Kana narrowed her eyes, “And you don’t want that,” she said her tone mystified.
“I don’t want someone else telling me they love me, no,” Cat said her tone jaded.
“What if they actually love you, though?” Kana asked.
Cat shook her head, not meeting Kana’s eyes.
Kana suddenly felt the need to drive to San Diego and beat the living shit out of Elizabeth Endicott.
Cat read the look in Kana’s eyes. “You didn’t love me either, K,” she told her.
Kana winced at that statement, having conveniently forgotten her part in Cat’s attitude about love.
“I did love you,” Kana said after a long minute, “I just loved Palani more.”
“Same difference,” Cat said, shrugging sadly.
“And now you’re assuming everything is going to turn out the same way?” Kana said, “That’s not like you.”
“It is now,” Cat said, narrowing her eyes as she took another drag on her cigarette.
Kana looked back at her, not liking this coldness she was seeing, and sincerely worried for her. Kana shook her head, not sure what else she could say at this point. Jovina walked out of the club then. They exchanged a look, and Kana stubbed out her cigarette and went back inside.
Cat leaned against the wall of the club, looking at Jovina warily as she smoked.
“Are you coming back inside?” Jovina asked, refusing to apologize to Cat for what she’d done, which was essentially nothing.
Cat took a particularly deep drag on her cigarette, and nodded.
Jovina looked back at her for a long moment, but then turned and walked back inside. Cat found that she was relieved that Jovina didn’t apologize; she knew that Jovina had a right to be irritated, she just couldn’t stop herself at this point. She felt very disconnected from everything at that moment in time, and she was afraid to look too closely at why that was. Instead she went back inside and got another double shot, then proceeded to walk over to the table, taking Jovina’s hand to lead her out to the dance floor. In the end, Cat showed Jovina with her body that she was sorry, sp
ending the rest of the night dancing only with her.
The next day at the Pride Parade, Jericho drove her black and orange Harley Davidson Softail Deluxe in the lead of the Dykes on Bikes. She wore jeans, black Harley riding boots, black leather chaps, and an orange and black Harley bar shirt under a white, black and orange Harley jacket. Cat wore jeans, dress boots, and a black leather vest that cinched up the side with leather laces, what no one saw on either woman, was the guns concealed at the small of their backs. Cat’s eyes watched the crowd, looking for anything out of place, while Jericho was able to focus on the road ahead.
What no one also saw was the man who cursed and muttered to himself as he found that his shot was blocked by a truck that had pulled up at the last minute. He hadn’t expected the bitch to go first!
Two days after the parade, Zoey arrived at Jericho’s as she had been for three weeks. When she entered the house, using the key Jericho had given her to use “just in case”, Riley came to greet her. Zoey noted no movement in the house other than that.
“Director?” she called.
Usually Jericho was in the kitchen drinking coffee and reading the paper at this point, either that or ready to leave the minute she got there, depending on her schedule. Zoey glanced into the kitchen and noted it was empty, but she saw a coffee cup on the counter, like Jericho had been standing there drinking it.
“Director?” she called again, louder this time, not wanting to surprise Jericho.
“Down here,” she heard Jericho call from the direction of the master bedroom.
Zoey walked down the hall, poking her head into the bedroom. She’d never been in the master bedroom, it was large, with heavy looking furniture. Zoey was shocked when she saw Jericho laying on the bed. She was laying on her back, she wore shorts and a tank top, her feet which were planted on the bed, were bare. Her arms were up and folded over her face.
“What’s wrong?” Zoey asked, alarmed at seeing Jericho so seemingly distressed.
Jericho shook her head, rubbing her face on her arms.
Zoey walked over to the right side of the bed, looking down at Jericho, she was alarmed to see a streak of tears down the side of her face. Shock at seeing this, drove Zoey to climb onto the bed, touching Jericho’s stomach in concern.
Turning Tables (WeHo Book 3) Page 10