Midway home she noticed the dark gray car following her. She looked in the rearview and noticed that the same headlights had been behind her for a while. It was dark so she couldn’t read the plates. She looked around her at the other cars. To her relief she saw a San Diego PD car two lanes over and about a half mile ahead.
“Who says there’s never a cop around when you need one,” Midnight muttered to herself.
She pulled out her phone and dialed. The San Diego PD dispatcher answered on the second ring. “Yeah, this is Lieutenant Chevalier. I need to you to patch me through to car”—she narrowed her eyes trying to see the car number on the back of the black and white—“530.” She waited as the dispatcher patched the line through.
“SAM 24, go,” came a familiar voice.
“Mike Harlow?” Midnight said, recognizing her old training sergeant’s voice.
“Midnight?” Mike replied. “Or should I say Lieutenant?”
Mike Harlow had been one of the few men at the department who had treated her well from the beginning. They had gone out a few times, but nothing had really come of it. He was a player like Midnight, so everything had remained friendly between them.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said, grinning.
“What can I do for you, Lady Midnight?” Mike asked.
“Well, I seem to have picked up a tail, Mike, and I could really use a, shall we say, routine stop?”
“I got ya,” Mike said. “Just go ahead and speed up. I’ll grab him as he goes by.”
“You’re a doll, Mike,” Midnight said.
“Yeah?” he said then, his voice taking on a low tone. “Why don’t you tell me that, tomorrow night over dinner?”
“You got it!” Midnight said, grinning.
“Okay, then,” Mike said. Midnight could almost see him smiling. “Get on ahead, girl, and I’ll see you tomorrow night. Say seven, my place.”
“Yep,” she said, and hung up.
She pushed her foot down harder on the gas pedal, and passed Mike. She flipped him a wave as she went by, and he nodded to her. She watched as the tail sped up with her, then she saw Mike pull in behind him and the red light came on a moment later. Midnight smiled to herself. “Hasta luego, Mr. Tail,” she said gleefully. It helped to have friends.
She thought about the date she’d had with Mike. He was very easy to be with, he was also very good looking, in a cop sort of way. He had dark brown hair, and blue eyes. He was tall, like Joe, but larger in the build. Mike was in very good shape for a man of forty-five. Midnight hadn’t been with anyone since Rick and that had been almost three weeks ago now, not counting the aborted lovemaking on the night they had their battle. She thought a nice diversion with someone like Mike was just what she needed right now.
Mike Harlow leaned down to look at the guy he had stopped from following Midnight. Boy, this guy is a real winner, Mike thought to himself. The guy had close-cropped hair, and looked pretty scummy. He was wearing shades, even though it was dark.
“Can I see your driver’s license and registration please?” Mike asked, watching the guy carefully.
“What’s the problem, officer?” the man asked.
As he reached over to his glove box, Mike saw the scar that ran from the man’s ear down the side of his neck and down past the neck line of his shirt. When the guy’s hand reached the glove box, he hesitated. Mike’s hand went automatically to his holster. He unsnapped the restraining strap and rested his hand on the butt of his gun. The man obviously noticed Mike’s readiness and changed his mind about something. He reached up to the passenger side visor and pulled out his registration. He handed it to Mike along with the license he pulled out of his wallet.
“Step out of the car, sir,” Mike said, taking a cautious step back. “And keep your hands where I can see them.”
The man stepped out. “Put your hands on the hood of the car,” Mike ordered. Holding his flashlight up, Mike looked at the driver’s license. It said the man’s name was Daniel Robbins. Mike flashed the light into the car, keeping an eye on Robbins at the same time. He didn’t see anything, but his gut told him that there was a gun in that glove box. He searched him and then told him to put his hands behind his head.
“What did I do, sir?” Robbins asked, his voice gravelly.
“Well,” Mike said, putting the first cuff on him, “for starters, you were speeding while following a cop, and second of all, I have probable cause to search your vehicle. Are you going to give me consent or do I have to have it towed to the station for the search?”
He could feel the man tense, and he hurriedly locked the other cuff on his other hand.
“You ain’t gonna find anything,” Robbins said.
“Well, then should I take that as consent?” Mike said, as he walked Robbins back to his patrol car.
“Yeah, whatever man,” Robbins said, as Mike seated him in the back seat of the patrol car. “Nice tattoos ya got there,” Mike said, eyeing them. “How long you been out?”
“Hey, man, I don’t gotta tell you nothin’. You haven’t even read me my rights yet.”
“Feeling a little guilty of something are we?” Mike said, a smirk on his face. He closed the car door then and went to do the vehicle search. He found in the glove box a Smith and Wesson .45 caliber revolver, fully loaded. He stood looking down at the weapon, and then looked down the freeway. Midnight was developing some particularly dangerous enemies.
When Midnight got home, she noticed the wind had picked up and the ocean down the hill from her house was very choppy. There was a storm rolling in. She went into the house and closed all the beachfront windows, then settled herself on her couch, with the paperwork she had brought home.
****
Randy jumped and squeezed her eyes shut as another crack of thunder rolled. Joe smiled down at her. “It’s just thunder,” he said, not for the first time that night.
Randy nodded her eyes still on the triangular windows of Joe’s living room. The evening had started off nicely; they’d had dinner at his house, Randy had cooked for them. Then they’d begun working on the laptop Joe had brought home from work. They were researching names and addresses of suspects. The storm had been developing all evening, but when the thunder and lightning display began, Randy’s hands had started to shake. That was when Joe had discovered her fear of storms.
Twenty minutes later, the lights had gone out. Joe had gotten them candles and placed them all around the living room. They were sitting on the couch, Joe leaning against the arm, with her in the circle of his arms. She huddled against him, little tremors going through her every time there was another clap of thunder.
“It’s okay, Randy,” he said, stroking her hair. “Relax nothing’s going to hurt you, you’re okay here.” His voice was soothing and soft.
She looked up at him, her eyes less fearful. She nodded, but she didn’t move away from him. She laid her head on his shoulder, and they sat in a comfortable silence for a while. She felt very safe with Joe. She had never liked thunderstorms; they had always frightened her, even as a child. The lights going out made it even more terrifying.
It usually took Darrell and Donovan hours to calm her down during bad storms. Fortunately, San Diego didn’t usually experience them.
“Does England have storms like this?” she asked, trying to take her mind off the storm raging outside.
He looked down at her, smiling. “Sometimes, mostly it’s just dreary with a deluge of rain.”
“You miss it, don’t you?” Randy said, her eyes watching him sympathetically.
Joe nodded, his eyes coming back to hers. “Yeah, I do, but I can’t go back, not quite yet.” The pain in his voice surprised Randy.
“Is it because of your parents?” she asked instinctively.
Joe nodded, looking away again, the look on his face withdrawn.
“What happened, Joe?” Randy couldn’t help but ask. He seemed so unhappy suddenly.
Joe was silent for a few minutes; he was looking down at the
ring on his right ring finger. Randy began to wonder if she shouldn’t have asked, it really wasn’t her place to be asking him questions. When he did answer, his voice was a mere whisper, as if saying it softly would keep it from hurting as much.
“They were killed, in a car accident. An accident that was meant to kill me too …” His voice trailed off and he looked down at her.
She saw so much pain reflected in his eyes that tears came to hers. She reached up and hugged him.
“I’m sorry.”
Joe hugged her close to him then too. The storm raging outside made him think of the night of the accident.
London, England, 1980
Joe came home to find his parents getting ready for a party.
“What’s goin’ on?” Joe asked, sitting down on the stairs in the foyer, watching his parents move back and forth getting ready to go somewhere.
“Oh, Joseph,” Cynthia said, her voice soft and sweet, “we have the Kingston’s Fiftieth anniversary party tonight.”
She was dressed in a blue gown decorated with tiny jewels. Cynthia Sinclair was a lovely woman with silky blond hair and green eyes and she looked beautiful. Joe sat and admired his mother from the stairs; it wasn’t often that he saw his mother dressed up.
She was looking at her son now. “Joseph, are you going to be home tonight?”
“Yeah,” Joe answered absently and then regretted it when he saw the sad look on his mother’s face; she always wanted to be around on the rare occasions when he was home.
Once again, he felt like a shit for never being around. The fact was he felt more comfortable in the pub with regular people, than here in this huge house, rambling around with the antiques and expensive artwork. He felt out of place.
“Cynthia,” Joseph said, “I can’t find the bloody keys …”
“Dad,” Joe said, “you’re not planning to drive tonight, are you?”
Joseph senior looked up then, looking at his son in mock offense. “I’m not that old, young man!”
“No?” Joe said, laughing as his dad smiled. His mother laughed too. But then Joe grew serious. “Really, Dad it’s nasty weather out tonight. It’s been rainin’ all night, maybe you should get your driver to take you …” But Joseph was shaking his head.
“He’s out, I gave him the night off. Forgot about the party, actually.”
Joe grinned at his dad, as he saw his mother shaking her head and rolling her eyes at her husband.
“Well, look,” Joe said standing, “I’ll take you.”
“Oh, Joseph,” Cynthia said, smiling at her son, “that would be just lovely. We never get to spend any time with you anymore …” Her voice trailed off, she didn’t want to upset her son by starting the same old argument.
“Great!” Joe said, feeling glad he had suggested it. Finally, he was doing something to make his mother smile. “Let me clean up and grab a more formal jacket and we’ll be off.”
“Don’t be long dear,” Cynthia called up after him, as he disappeared up the stairs.
Fifteen minutes later, they were on their way with Joe driving his parents’ Mercedes. They lived on the outside of London and the party was in the city. Joe took it very slow, due to the rain and wind. On a particularly steep part of the road, the car was gaining speed and Joe saw a curve coming up. He stepped on the breaks, and nothing happened. He stepped on them again, and they simply sunk to the floor. His heart leaped to his throat. ‘No!’ was the only thing he had time to think before the car hit the guardrail and went over the embankment. The last thing he heard as the weight of the seat shoved him painfully against the steering wheel was his mother’s scream. Then he blacked out.
****
The memories seemed to hit him in waves. It took him a while to regain his composure. Randy didn’t say anything, she just held him.
When he pulled back, he looked down at her, his look grim. “I guess you know my deep dark secret now, so what’s yours?” He looked better now, Randy decided. His eyes were still a little haunted, but he didn’t look as unhappy.
“I don’t have any secrets,” Randy said, smiling up at him.
“Oh yeah,” Joe said, “I forgot, you’re just a baby.”
“I am not!” Randy said, laughing at him. He laughed too.
“Love, twenty years old qualifies you as a baby,” he said, his eyes glittering mischievously.
“Maybe to someone who’s almost thirty …” Randy replied.
“Oh, that was low,” he said, grinning.
“Yes, well, you started it,” she replied, smiling widely.
He was glad to see that she wasn’t afraid anymore. They sat in silence for a while, listening to the wind howl outside. She looked down at his hand resting on the back of the couch. She took it in her own, looking intently at the ring he wore.
“What does this mean?” she asked touching the intricate design on the face of the ring.
It was a tiny detailed emblem of some sort with tiny baguette style sapphires around the edge of it. She’d noticed it many times over the last couple of weeks, but had never asked about it until now.
Joe looked down at the ring, smiling distantly. “My dad gave me this, it’s our family crest.”
“Crest?” Randy asked, confused.
“Yeah, it’s like my family name, kind of like a symbol for our family name …” His voice trailed off, frustrated at not being able to explain it better.
“Like royalty?” Randy said, her eyes widening.
Joe laughed. “Yeah I guess. My family name goes back pretty far.”
“How far?” Randy asked, obviously impressed.
“Several generations,” he said offhandedly. Randy stared at him openmouthed. “Oh, I forgot Americans don’t have much of a history do they,” Joe said, and Randy laughed.
“Not like that. Is there any royalty in your family?” she asked, still awed.
“My uncle married a Lady, but that’s about it,” he answered.
“Oh,” Randy said, her eyes wide. “Do you know any regular royalty?”
Joe shrugged. “Some, why?”
“Wow,” Randy said, again impressed by him.
Joe laughed shaking his head.
“It’s not that big of a deal, Randy. I grew up with a couple of distant members of the royal family. Hell, I’d had a duchess after me since I was fifteen. They’re just regular people, you know.”
“You had a duchess after you?” Randy said, latching on to that statement.
“Yeah she was a real pain too,” he smiled again. “It’s no big thing, Randy. Half the time it’s like half of London is member of the royal family in one way or another.”
“But still …” Randy said. “Can I ask you a question?” she said more cautiously now.
“I think you’ve already asked me a few questions,” he said, but there was only humor in his voice. “Go ahead,” he said then seeing her hesitate again.
He didn’t want her to retreat now.
“It’s kind of personal.”
“Ask,” he said simply.
She took a deep breath, and then looked up at him. “I heard that you and Midnight used to be a couple, is that true?”
Joe nodded. “Yeah, that’s true.”
Randy nodded, she wasn’t really upset by the answer. “Can I ask why you two aren’t together anymore?” she asked. Seeing the surprised look on his face, she quickly added, “I mean, you two just seem so close, I just wasn’t sure … I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t have asked,” she said then, trying to get out of the uncomfortable moment quickly.
“It’s okay,” Joe said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “Midnight and I are too much alike, that’s why we couldn’t make it as a couple.”
“Too much alike?”
“Yeah, we’re both driven to avenge the tragedies in our lives. The problem is, her way was way too much for me.”
“What is her way?” Randy asked.
“Balls out, no holds barred,” Joe said, with a sardonic grin. “S
he takes chances I just couldn’t handle. And that became a problem in our relationship. I tried to shield her, and she got pissed at me for it. We ended up fighting a lot, and in the end it almost got her killed.”
“What?” Randy asked, disbelieving. “How?”
“A gang leader she was working got suspicious at her caution and knifed her.”
“Oh my God,” Randy said, shocked.
“Yeah, so we decided us being together probably wasn’t the healthiest thing,” Joe said.
“I guess not,” Randy said, rolling her eyes.
Joe grinned at her. “You know, the funny thing is, I don’t think that was the only problem with our relationship.”
“What else do you think it was?”
“Midnight didn’t need me,” he said.
“What do you mean she didn’t need you?”
“I mean, she’s independent, self-sufficient, and can and will do everything for herself. She doesn’t need anyone. And, I know it’s pathetic but I have this knight complex. I have this need to save people,” he said derisively.
“And you think that’s a bad thing?” Randy asked, her tone amazed.
“It doesn’t seem to suit women these days,” he said, shrugging. “Women’s lib and all that.”
Randy laughed softly, nodding her head.
“So,” he said, sliding his hand through her hair, “what about you? What are you looking for?”
Randy bit her lip, not sure if she should say what instantly came to mind. It was true, but she didn’t want to sound silly and childish.
Joe watched her, seeing the doubt play across her face.
“Tell me,” he prompted gently, his thumb brushing her cheek.
“I’m looking for that fairy tale,” Randy said softly, “a knight in shining armor to sweep me off my feet.”
Joe stared down at her for a moment, seeing the timidity in her look.
Smiling, he leaned down, staring into her eyes. His lips were within an inch of hers as he said, “Well, then I think we have ourselves a match.” Then he kissed her softly and she just melted.
Building Empires (MidKnight Blue Book 1) Page 17