Jet Blue (WeHo Book 5)

by Sherryl Hancock

  “I doubt that is true,” Fadiyah said. “So how did the ‘butch thing’ ruin Ashley for her husband?”

  “Because I’m more masculine than he is,” Jet said simply.

  “How?” Fadiyah asked.

  “Just things like picking up heavy stuff, opening doors, that kind of thing.”

  “That does not seem like the type of thing to ruin a marriage.”

  “Well, I’m not totally sure that their marriage was that great to begin with, but there was another factor.”

  “What factor?” Fadiyah asked.

  “That’s the part you probably aren’t going to want to hear about,” Jet said, chuckling as she did.

  “Why?”

  Jet screwed her lips around in a grimace. “Because it has to do with sex.”

  “Sex?” Fadiyah asked.

  Jet nodded, her eyes on the road and not looking over at Fadiyah.

  “Because she had sex with you?” Fadiyah asked.

  “Well, yeah.”

  “I do not understand.”

  Jet rolled her eyes, this was not the conversation she wanted to be having right now, and she really couldn’t see a way out of it.

  “Let’s just say I’m better at it than he is,” Jet said, trying to end the conversation quickly.

  “Better how?” Fadiyah asked.

  Jet laughed shaking her head. “You just aren’t going to let this one go, are you?”

  “I am trying to understand, Jet,” Fadiyah said. “Because you are not the type of person to ruin a marriage.”

  “Well, apparently I am now,” Jet said.

  “How are you better than Ashley’s husband at sex?” Fadiyah asked.

  “Well, there’s the whole point of sex,” Jet said, then grimaced. “I mean, not the reproductive part, although the chances are good I’d be more likely to get Ash pregnant than that guy… But…”

  Fadiyah looked completely undone by that comment, so Jet rushed on.

  “But the other whole point of sex,” she said.

  Fadiyah looked confused still.

  Jet dropped her chin to her chest, shaking her head as she blew her breath out in a loud sigh.

  “Can we please be done with this conversation?” she asked.

  “I am making you uncomfortable?” Fadiyah said.

  “Oh yeah,” Jet said, nodding.

  “Okay,” Fadiyah said, nodding. “So Ashley is divorcing her husband for you.”

  “No,” Jet said defensively. “She’s divorcing him because he’s a pussy and she can’t deal with that anymore.”

  “A pussy?” Fadiyah asked.

  “Oh for God’s sake, please, please, please let us be done with this conversation…” Jet said, shaking her head.

  Fadiyah chuckled. “Okay, we are done with this conversation.”

  “Thank Allah!”

  “That’s blasphemous,” Fadiyah said, a barely contained smile on her lips.

  Jet saw the smile and shook her head. She was glad that Fadiyah was already learning to tease her. It would make things easier between them. Certain things were bound to be obstacles in their conversations, not the least of which was Fadiyah’s complete innocence and upbringing.

  In the office, Jet was greeted repeatedly. Once in her cubicle, Jet plugged in her phone, turning the music up and turning on her computer. Fadiyah watched as Jet worked, she was astounded at how many things Jet did in a short span of time. She typed extremely fast, and made phone calls, joking with people on the phone. Fadiyah swore she flirted with people on the phone as well, but couldn’t be sure.

  At one point a man poked his head around the cubicle wall.

  “Uh, aren’t you in Iraq picking up a package?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

  Jet continued typing the email she was working on, but pointed at Fadiyah.

  “John Evans, meet Fadiyah Antar. Fadi, John is a member of my team.”

  John looked at Fadiyah and smile widely. “Hi there,” he said, his tone suave.

  “Knock it off…” Jet warned.

  John only smiled.

  “It is nice to meet you,” Fadiyah said, inclining her head to John.

  “So, you know you weren’t supposed to be back, ya know?” John said, his tone leading.

  “Uh-huh,” Jet said, nodding her head.

  “And you know who is gonna be so thrilled that you’re here…” John said sarcastically..

  “And he knows this is my op, and he couldn’t do it right if his life depended on it,” Jet said, her tone even.

  John nodded. “Well, trust me, he’s going to be pissed.”

  Jet made a rude sound. “And I care because?”

  “You don’t,” John said. “Just thought I’d warn ya.”

  “Consider me warned,” Jet said, finally glancing at him. “Thanks.”

  “You got it.”

  A few minutes later a man walked into the cubicle, looking pretty angry.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked without preamble.

  He was big man in his mid-forties, with shaggy brown hair and a bit of a belly.

  “I work here, Don,” Jet said, not sparing him a look.

  “You’re on vacation,” he snapped.

  “Actually I was on reserve status, but I’m back now,” Jet said, her tone even.

  “Well, I’m running this op today, so you should just go home.”

  Jet froze for a moment. Then she slowly turned her chair around, putting a booted foot up on her desktop, her look could have frozen water.

  “This is my case,” Jet said calmly, though her eyes challenged him. “And I’ll be running the op.”

  “Kash gave it to me while you were gone,” Don said.

  “And now I’m back, so…” Jet said, her foot starting to move in reigned in irritation.

  “Well, we need to go talk to Kash about this,” Don snapped.

  “Go talk to her about it,” Jet said. “I have an op to plan.”

  “You can’t fucking do that!” he yelled.

  Jet dropped her foot to the ground, standing up and getting right into his face. “Do you see the lady sitting here?” she growled. “You watch your mouth.”

  Don looked back at Jet, his eyes reflecting shock at her action. He mumbled an apology to Fadiyah.

  “Now,” Jet said, her tone still low and threatening. “Go talk to Kash if that’s what you want to do, but I’m done talking to you.”

  With that Jet turned and sat down again. Don moved out of her cubicle quickly.

  “Sorry about that,” Jet said to Fadiyah.

  “It is alright. Why is that man so angry?” she asked.

  “Because he wishes he was me,” Jet said, grinning.

  A few minutes later, a woman appeared at the cubicle entrance. Fadiyah saw her first, and thought she was very beautiful with long blond hair and dark blue eyes.

  Kashena smiled at Fadiyah, as she leaned against the cubicle opening, watching Jet singing, her head moving, her fingers flying over the keys of her keyboard. Kashena had a fond smile on her face; she knew Jet’s capabilities, and she also knew that the woman didn’t give a shit about being “in charge” like Don had just raged. He’d bordered on insubordination with Kashena, coming close to accusing her of putting her lesbian friends in charge over other officers. She’d waited for that comment as she’d watched him go on and on, pacing back and forth in her office. When he was done she’d told him that it was Jet’s operation and that she was in charge of it, period. The fact was, Jet was much more qualified for this job than Don had ever been, with her field experience and abilities with languages, Jet Mathews was invaluable to Kashena. She had no intention of ever letting her go. She’d let the rest of the team go before she’d give Jet back to LAPD.

  “So…” Kashena said, when she realized Jet hadn’t noticed her.

  Jet’s head snapped around, and a smile lit her face. Standing up, she moved in to hug Kashena who put her hand to Jet’s head, holding her close.

 
“I’m glad you made it back,” Kashena said, her voice low. “And brought back my partner in one piece.”

  “He brought me back,” Jet told Kashena.

  “I don’t believe that for a second,” Kashena replied, winking down at Jet.

  Jet turned to Fadiyah then. “Kashena Windwalker-Marshal this is Fadiyah Antar, the woman who saved my life,” she said smiling warmly.

  Fadiyah stood as Kashena put her right hand to her heart, and inclined her head, then she extended it to Fadiyah.

  “You know Iraqi tradition as well?” Fadiyah asked, surprised, as she took Kashena’s hand in hers.

  “I was in the Middle East for a while,” Kashena said nodding.

  “You were a soldier too?” Fadiyah asked.

  “Yes, I was a Marine,” Kashena said, nodding.

  Fadiyah nodded, looking impressed. “And your partner is Sebastian?” she asked then.

  “Yes,” Kashena said. “He and I have been friends for many years now.”

  Fadiyah nodded again. “He, Skyler and Jet are amazing people.”

  “Yeah, I agree,” Kashena said, nodding and looking at Jet. “And I have to say, I’m very glad to have my best asset back,” she said nodding her head at Jet. “Speaking of which, let me see it,” she said then, circling her finger to have Jet turn around.

  “Geeze, it’s no big deal,” Jet said as she reluctantly turned around.

  “Oh yeah, I can see that,” Kashena said, looking the long wound on Jet’s shoulder. “You need to get this checked out, Jet, it’s not looking happy.”

  “Well, I kind of pissed it off yesterday,” Jet said, grimacing.

  “As I said…” Fadiyah muttered.

  Jet looked at her, her mouth open. “Was that an Iraqi ‘I told you so’? Or am I imagining things?”

  “Sounded like an Iraqi ‘I told you so to me’,” came a voice from behind them.

  Kashena turned around and hugged Sebastian. “About time you came to see me!” she said, swatting him on the arm.

  “Hey!” Sebastian said, grinning. “I was asleep until about an hour ago.”

  Moving to Jet, Sebastian hugged her. “What are you doing here?” he asked her, even as he smiled at Fadiyah, inclining his head to her.

  “Working,” Jet said, her look level.

  “Jesus, Kash, you’re making the kid work?” Sebastian said, shaking his head at his partner.

  “Right, ’cause that’s what I do, make people work past their capacity for fun…” Kashena said, narrowing her eyes at Sebastian.

  He merely smiled back at her, his look of feigned innocence almost believable, except for the sparkle of mischief in his eyes.

  “You,” Kashena said, pointing to Sebastian, “in my office we need to talk. You,” she said then, pointing a finger at Jet, “I’m going out on this one to keep an eye on you. Be extremely careful, do you hear me?” Her tone was all boss and Marine.

  “Ma’am, yes ma’am,” Jet said, grinning.

  “And don’t even think about coming in the rest of the week,” Kashena told her.

  Jet widened her eyes at the edict, but nodded a grin still playing at her lips.

  Sebastian and Kashena left the cubicle. Jet moved to sit back down again. She’d turned her music off for a moment to make a phone call. When she hung up, she heard someone on the other side of the cubicle wall.

  “Evans?” Jet queried, her voice gravelly.

  “And Jet’s here…” he said. “And you sound like you’ve been eating a lot of—”

  “Stop!” Jet roared, holding up her hand.

  The man’s head poked over the cubicle wall at that point.

  “Look!” Jet said, pointing over her head at Fadiyah.

  The man’s eyes flicked over to Fadiyah and widened significantly. He smiled then, looking very guilty.

  “Now, come around like your parents taught you manners,” Jet said, her tone reproving.

  The man walked around the cubicle wall then, smiling at Fadiyah. “Sorry,” he said to her.

  Fadiyah looked at him trying to figure out what he was apologizing for.

  “Nick,” Jet said, putting her foot out and kicking him in the butt, “is sorry he was about to be a crude cop-type person, Fadi. Now, Nick Curry this is Fadiyah Antar, and Nick do not put out your left hand to shake her hand, use your right… Good…” she said, sounding very motherly.

  Nick smiled at Fadiyah. “She’s a bossy little thing, isn’t she?” he said, his tone amused.

  “That is what I hear,” Fadiyah said, smiling.

  “You can go back to your cubicle now, and don’t come out till it’s time for the raid,” Jet instructed, grinning.

  “You’re leading it?” Nick asked hopefully.

  “Yep,” Jet said.

  “Thank God!” Nick said. “We’d probably end up at the wrong house if Don was running it.”

  Jet laughed. “I know, that’s why I’m here on my day off.”

  “You’re always here on your days off,” John chimed in from the cubicle on the other side, his tone wry.

  “Shut up,” Jet replied.

  Fadiyah laughed at the exchange, it was obvious Jet was well liked by her co-workers, and she liked them as well.

  “Okay, we’re heading out in…” Jet said, glancing at her watch, “twenty minutes. Gear up.”

  “Yes, ma’am!” John and Nick said at the same time.

  “Assholes…” Jet said, even as she grinned.

  She grabbed her gear bag, and also her cigarettes and lighter, nodding for Fadiyah come with her. She walked Fadiyah out to her car, where she opened her trunk and sat against the car, pulling out and lighting a cigarette.

  “Okay, you need to listen to me right now,” Jet said, looking at Fadiyah, her tone very serious. “When we get to the site of this raid, I’m going to put you in a vehicle. You need to stay there no matter what you see, no matter what you hear, okay?”

  Fadiyah nodded. “No matter what I hear or see?” she queried, her look quizzical.

  “Yeah, like gunshots, people running, fun stuff like that,” Jet said, winking at her.

  Fadiyah widened her eyes. “Are you telling me that is possible?” she asked sounding afraid.

  “I’m telling you that it happens. This group we’re trying to take down have a lot of three strikers, which means they are going to jail for a long time when we arrest them. Bad guys don’t like to go to jail, especially when they know they aren’t likely to ever get out. So they shoot at us and run.”

  Fadiyah swallowed convulsively.

  “You will be perfectly safe,” Jet told her. “I wouldn’t take you with me if I didn’t think you would be, Fadi, okay?” she said, reaching out to touch Fadiyah’s cheek. “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes,” Fadiyah said unequivocally.

  Jet smiled, loving that Fadiyah hadn’t hesitated for even a fraction of a second.

  Finishing her cigarette, Jet dropped it and stubbed it out with a booted foot. She then opened her gear bag. Fadiyah watched, fascinated as Jet put on her bulletproof vest, then pulled on the jersey with “POLICE” in large yellow letters. Jet then pulled out her holstered weapon setting it aside, and wrapped a gear belt around her waist, securing the holster by tying it around her thigh. She depressed the weapon’s magazine release, checking the clip to make sure it was full, then sliding it back into the weapon, pulling back the slide to rechamber the round. She then put the gun in the holster. Next, she reached into the bag and pulled out a shotgun. Taking cartridges out of a box in the bag, she loaded the rifle from the bottom, not chambering a round at that point in time. Then she set the shotgun aside.

  Looking over at Fadiyah, she saw that the girl watching her carefully.

  “What?” Jet asked, as she reached for another cigarette.

  Fadiyah simply shook her head, she didn’t think she’d ever see all the sides to Jet Mathews. Jet walked over to the driver’s side of the car and started the engine. She hooked her phone up, selecting a song t
hat pumped out of the speakers. Moving to lean on the back of the car again, Jet closed her eyes singing the song between draws on her cigarette. Her head and feet moved in time with the music, her eyes remained closed.

  A few minutes later, the rest of the team came out of the office, carrying their gear bags.

  “Jet’s already started pre-game,” Nick called over his shoulder.

  “That’s ’cause you’re late…” Jet said her eyes still closed.

  “It’s fifteen minutes…” Nick said.

  “And pre-game started at ten…” Jet said, grinning.

  “Always cheating…” John said as he passed.

  “Am not,” Jet said.

  “She cheats,” Nick said.

  “And least I’m not always late,” Jet said.

  “That’s what his girlfriends always say,” Kashena chimed in and she walked to her vehicle. Their cars were clustered closely together.

  Kashena opened the trunk of her newly-replaced black Mercedes SL550.

  “Nice boss…” Jet said, grinning.

  “Sierra insisted,” Kashena said, rolling her eyes. “Like an outrageously expensive house payment wasn’t enough.”

  “Well, it was her ex that crashed your last one…” Jet said.

  Kashena laughed. “True,” she said, as she put on her bulletproof vest.

  When the whole team was ready, Kashena said, “Okay, mount up.” Then she looked at Jet. “You told Fadiyah what she needs to do, right?”

  “Yep,” Jet said, nodding.

  “Good,” Kashena said, looking at Fadiyah. “You stay where she puts you,” she told Fadiyah, her tone serious.

  Fadiyah nodded. “I will.”

  “What is pre-game?” Fadiyah asked in the car on the way to the raid.

  “It’s what we do to get ready, mentally. For me it’s music and smoking. Other cops have other routines.”

  “Oh,” Fadiyah said, nodding.

  At the raid site, Jet took Fadiyah over to one of the large police vehicles and introduced her to the staff inside the truck who were monitoring the raid. She showed Fadiyah the cameras and gave her an earpiece so she could hear what was going on.

  Fadiyah could see the house from where she sat in the truck. Once of the officers wore a camera so they could film the raid. She watched it with fascination.