“And, as for you,” Midnight said, smiling at him.
“What? You’re kicking me out too?”
“Would you be real hurt if I told you I wanted to be alone tonight?” she asked, her eyes showing her concern for hurting his feelings.
“No, I wouldn’t be mortally wounded, but if you need me I expect you to call me,” he said sternly.
“God,” she said, making a face. “Do you realize that you’re starting to sound exactly like Joe?”
“What do you expect? I’ve been friends with the man for twenty-two years!”
“Yeah, I guess that would tend to warp someone,” Midnight said, smiling.
“Warp, that’s a good word for it.” They laughed then.
Rick stood up and she walked him to the door. Before he opened it, he turned to her and held out his arms. She stepped into his embrace and he hugged her to him.
“Hey,” Midnight said, stepping back and looking up at him, as if she had read his thoughts. “I will see you tomorrow, you know. You hug me like you’re never going to see me again.”
Rick laughed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Midnight said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Rick said, flipping her a little wave as he walked to his car.
She watched him drive away, and then she closed the door. She leaned against the door for a few minutes with her eyes closed. Then she went to take a shower. When she went to bed an hour later, she found, to her dismay, that she missed having Rick there to hold her. That bothered her; she hated the fact that she had become so dependent on him. It wasn’t fair to him. She was surprised at how nice he had been over the last few days. She didn’t know about him though, he could be so intense sometimes. Midnight was one of the people who believed that there was one person in the world for every other person, and that when you met that one person you were meant for, you just knew it right away. Since she had not felt an instant kindred spirit in Rick, she chalked him up to yet another man in her life that would come and go.
Her thoughts turned to Joe, she was glad everything seemed back to normal with him. She knew that what had happened between them had permanently changed their relationship. But in a way, she knew that it was good for both of them.
As if he knew she’d been thinking about him, he called her.
“Hey,” he said smoothly, “Rick tells me you’re soloing it tonight.”
“News travels fast around here, doesn’t it?” Her voice held no anger, only surprise.
“Well, he worries about you, just like me.”
“So what is the story with Rick, anyway?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, when I first met him, I thought he was a player like you. Then when we slept together, I was convinced he was a player. But now, with all that’s happened … he’s been here for me. I mean, do all Englishmen have that damned gallant streak in them?”
“Yeah, they breed it into us,” Joe said, laughing. “Actually, you were right the first time, Rick is definitely a player. Hell back home he’d have three or four girls on the hook at a time, all dying for his attention. But, I think the thing is, you are different from any girl he’s ever dated, and maybe you’re the kind of change he needs.”
“Whoa, hold on there now partner, I’m not looking to be anybody’s change, okay? I mean you know my philosophy and Rick just isn’t him so don’t go off buying a wedding dress or anything.”
“Alright, alright,” Joe said, knowing that he shouldn’t bug her too much. “You win.”
“So what about you and Randy?” Midnight asked then.
“What about us?” Joe asked, grinning at Randy who sat next to him.
“Oh come on, Sinclair, I can see things have changed there,” Midnight said curiously.
“Okay, you’re right,” he said, realizing that Midnight had missed a few things where he and Randy were concerned. But he didn’t want to talk at that point, since Randy was there. “We’ll catch up soon on that, okay?”
“Okay, that makes sense,” Midnight said, catching his tone, and guessing Randy was still with him.
She was happy about that. Joe needed someone and it wasn’t a place Midnight felt was right for her to be anymore. It was time for both of them to move on with their love lives.
“So, are you okay?” Joe asked, concerned.
“Yes, I guess I am. Today was a killer, but we made it through.”
“Yeah what you said to Tim’s mother, that was good.”
“Well, I think her attitude helped a lot, but I was determined to try and keep David from getting the blame. I’ve been there, and it’s not a good place to be.”
“I know, love, but it was nice of you to be so strong for them. I was extremely proud to be associated with you today.”
“Gee, like you’re not any other day,” Midnight said, in mock anger.
“You know what a meant.”
“Yeah, I know.” She stifled a yawn then.
“Look I’m keeping you awake, I’m going to go. I just wanted to check on you myself.”
“Okay, boss, I’m fine,” she replied.
“Goodnight.”
“Bye.”
Joe hung up the phone, looking over at Randy. They were parked at the beach. Joe had decided they needed to clear things up between them before another day passed.
“Now,” he said, turning to her as he slipped his cell phone into his pocket, “we need to talk.”
Randy nodded, somewhat worried about what that meant.
Joe moved forward on the seat, reaching out to touch her cheek with his hand.
“I’m sorry,” he said, surprising her, “I shouldn’t have allowed Taylor to get to me like she did.”
“Joe, she basically accused you of killing your parents for their money,” Randy said, reaching up to touch his face. “I can’t blame you for letting her get to you.”
He smiled, blowing his breath out. “Okay,” he said, nodding, “but I could have handled things better. I shouldn’t have shut you out.”
“You did what you needed to do.”
Joe looked back at her for a long moment, narrowing his eyes slightly. “You’re far too used to people treating you badly, Randissi Curtis,” he said, his tone chiding. Randy started to shake her head but his finger on her lips stopped her. “You are, and you need to stop,” he told her firmly.
“Joe, I can’t ask too much of you,” she told him.
“Why not?”
She didn’t reply. She just shrugged, her eyes dropping from him.
“What are you afraid of, Randy?”
She shook her head, still not looking at it.
“You’re afraid I’ll leave you,” he said, his tone matter of fact.
“Everyone does,” she said softly, tears in her eyes.
“Well,” he said, turning her eyes up to him with his finger under her chin. “I’m not goin’ anywhere,” he told her, leaning down to kiss her lips softly.
Her hands reached up to wrap around his neck. It was exactly what she’d needed to hear from him. They kissed for a little while, then talked a little more. When he dropped her off at home, Randy watched him drive away, hugging herself. She couldn’t believe she was lucky enough to meet a man like him.
****
The next morning, Midnight was feeling very refreshed and ready to face the day that lay ahead. After a quick shower, she blow-dried her hair, partially, because she was already in a hurry to get to her day’s tasks. She was in her car on her way to the office within forty-five minutes of waking up.
Once in the office, she posted a notice that she was calling a unit meeting in the conference room at ten that morning. Many people were surprised to see her in the office, more still at the fact that she seemed okay. People that knew her better chalked it up to her usual strength of spirit. Midnight worked industriously until Joe wandered into her office at nine.
“Hey,” he said, sitting down in his usual spot, “what’s
this meeting about?”
Midnight looked up at him, smiling at his boots that were, as usual, up on her desk. “Well, it’s kind of a pep talk slash strategy session actually.”
“I see,” Joe replied. “You need me to do anything?”
“Nope,” Midnight replied, “got it all under control.”
Joe looked at her for a long moment, not sure if this was even the same woman he had talked to the night before. She was all business and the epitome of focus. “Okay then,” he said slowly, as he stood. “I guess I’ll see you in there.”
Midnight nodded, already going back to work at her computer.
Rick met Joe coming out of Midnight’s office.
“What’s this meeting about?” Rick asked, his head nodding toward Midnight’s office.
“She says it’s a pep talk,” Joe shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“She seem okay?” Rick asked then.
“Yeah, she’s back to her usual intense, distracted self,” Joe replied, grinning at Rick.
“Well then, I guess we’ll just see what our Lady Midnight has up her sleeve then.”
An hour later, Joe and Rick lounged by the head table in the conference room as everyone filed in. There was a lot of murmuring going on; somebody had started a rumor that Midnight might be resigning from FORS. Rick and Joe had tried to kill the rumor before it really got going, but it was obvious from all the tense faces in the room that they hadn’t managed to nip it soon enough.
A few minutes after ten, Midnight walked in. She was wearing black jeans, black boots, and a sapphire-blue shirt. Rick couldn’t help but admire her as she walked in. For all that was going on, she just looked so beautiful. She also looked very determined and both Rick and Joe were relieved. They had kind of wondered if the rumor might have some truth to it. She had said some things the night Tim had been killed that made the rumor possible. But the way the carried herself as she entered the conference room and made her way to the head table put instant death to that rumor. Everyone in the room seemed to relax simultaneously.
Midnight stood in front of the room. She put the folder she was carrying on the table in front of her, and she looked at the members of her unit. Her face was very serious.
“Thanks for coming everyone,” she said evenly. “I’m sure you all know that Tim’s death hit me pretty hard and I’m sure that you also know who killed him, our elusive leader of the Scorpions.” She looked down and took out a page, and held it up.
“I was just informed this morning that Sergeant Mike Harlow was in a serious car accident yesterday on his way to the funeral. It was of a suspicious nature …”
Joe and Rick moved toward her, but she held up her hand, looking at them, and shaking her head as if to tell them that she was okay.
She turned to the group again. “Fortunately, Sergeant Harlow is going to be okay. I’m sure all of you know that Mike Harlow is a personal friend of mine. But what many of you don’t know is that he helped me out a week back, by stopping a guy that was tailing me and subsequently arresting him.” She looked around at everyone then.
“It is my belief that the Scorpions tried to kill Mike for assisting me, to keep him from talking to me about the person he stopped.”
Everyone in the room started to talk; they were uncomfortable with the direction of the meeting. The Scorpions were putting hits out on cops? How crazy was this leader anyway? Midnight held up her hand for silence.
“The thing here is, folks, these guys aren’t playing games, and they’ve been hitting real close to home lately and you know what?” Her eyes turned to ice then, as did her voice. “They’re really starting to piss me off.”
Everyone cheered. They knew that Midnight wasn’t the type to run from a fight, but her reaction to Tim’s death had shaken some of their confidence in her invulnerability. That confidence had now been restored. Joe and Rick exchanged a look of surprise at her vehemence, but Joe shrugged, shaking his head. He knew how strong she could be, but his unwavering belief in her strength had been damaged by her emotional state the night of Tim’s death too. It was obvious now that she was definitely back to her old self, and Joe was glad. The last thing he ever wanted was to lose her over something as impossible to predict as Tim’s death had been. It had terrified him and shaken him to his very core. She could have killed herself before any of them knew what was happening, and her subsequent overwhelming grief had made it difficult to believe she would ever be the same. But here she was, the same old Midnight, ready to take on the world again.
She talked about the Scorpions; what they knew so far, what she had ascertained from Mike’s comments the night she had been to his house. She gave them the description of the guy that Tim had given her and explained how the police mug shot at the county jail had matched that description.
“Unfortunately for our little Scorpion friends, they can’t kill off the whole police force,” Midnight said, with a nasty glint in her eyes.
It was obvious that she was out for revenge. They had killed Tim and tried to kill Mike, and they were going to pay. Midnight announced then that they were going to run twenty-four-hour surveillance on three different houses.
“I think this Daniel Robbins, might be at one of them, or will show up there,” she said.
She read off the list of shifts she had worked out and partnered people up. Rick and Joe were partnered. Midnight’s name was not on the list. “I’m going to keep an eye on things from here,” she said, by way of explanation. She had always made a point of doing the same dirty work she assigned her people to, and she always felt it necessary to explain when she wasn’t included in one of those duties. No one ever faulted her though. “And as for the rest of your cases, boys and girls, this one is top priority. I’ve got tons of overtime already allocated for this case, but I don’t want anyone overdoing it, okay.”
Many in the group laughed ruefully, and Midnight smiled in response. It was well known that if anyone overdid it on a regular basis it was either Midnight or Joe, or both. “Okay, point taken,” Midnight said, smiling at her group, “but let’s be real careful out there guys. I don’t want any more incidents, okay?” Everyone nodded seriously. She adjourned the meeting and everyone filed out, talking amongst themselves.
Midnight went back to her office. Her phone was ringing when she walked in. “Lieutenant Chevalier,” she answered. There was a moment of silence. “Hello?” she said into the receiver.
“Midnight,” came a vaguely familiar voice on the other end.
“Yes, who is this?” Midnight asked, glancing up as Rick and Joe entered her office, with Randy not far behind.
“Midnight, it’s me, your father.”
Midnight closed her eyes for a moment, sitting down heavily in her chair. Joe and Rick were at her side immediately, but she shook her head at them. They both stood by, watching her anxiously.
“What do you want?” Midnight asked, her voice shaky.
“We saw your picture in the paper this morning from that boy’s funeral,” her father said hesitantly.
“So you called to tell me again how I killed your son?” Midnight’s voice had turned to ice and she narrowed her eyes.
Joe looked at her sharply, his face showing surprise. He knew who she was talking to.
“No, Midnight, can’t we start again? Thomas’s death was so long ago.”
“And you think you can just call me and I’m supposed to come running home now?” Midnight asked, disbelieving.
“We are your parents, Midnight it’s only right that—”
“Hold on here!” Midnight interrupted him, making a cutting gesture with her hand, her eyes flashing angrily. “Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to? I’m the daughter you cut out of your life, remember? I’m the one that killed your baby boy, remember?” Her voice was thick with anger, even as her eyes filled with tears at the memory of that painful day over eleven years before. Joe moved around the desk, and kneeled next to her chair, taking her free hand. She shook her head
but didn’t pull her hand away.
“Midnight, you have to understand we were upset we had just lost our son,” Jack Chevalier said sternly.
“Your son? My God, I was your daughter, he was my brother, I watched him die.” Her voice broke then, and her tears started to flow.
“Yes, but why was that, Midnight? Why was he there, because of your gang. Your gang, Midnight. You let him join it and you let him fight. Can’t you see our side of this?” her father said desperately.
Midnight didn’t reply for a few moments, she was having trouble breathing, with the shock of the emotions she was feeling. She felt betrayal, anger, hatred, sadness, and an overwhelming need to hit someone. Her hand tightened in Joe’s grip, but he was ready for that, and held her hand tightly. She looked at him and his eyes bore into hers, as if willing her to calm down, and handle this. She took a couple of deep breaths, glancing at Rick, who was also watching her, concern written all over his face. She swallowed hard, as if swallowing her anger.
“No, I guess I can’t see your side of it, Mr. Chevalier. I do see that this conversation is over, however.” She hung the phone up. She turned and looked at Joe, her eyes still affected by the emotions running through her. He held his arms out to her and she moved into them.
“Who was that?” Rick asked.
“Her father, I believe,” Joe said, and Midnight nodded affirmation, as she sat back in her chair. Her eyes were guarded, but it was obvious she had been shaken badly by the call.
“You haven’t talked to him since your brother’s funeral?” Rick asked, making a good guess.
Midnight shook her head, looking up at him.
“And he just called you out of the blue?” Rick asked then.
“No,” Midnight said, expelling her pent up breath, shaking her head, “they saw my picture in the paper, at Tim’s funeral. I guess it made them homesick for someone to kick around.”
“What did he say, Night?” Joe asked.
“He said they wanted to start again with me.” She laughed ruefully then. “Yeah, start accusing me of killing Thomas again, is what I guess he meant. He said that I should try to see it from their side, bastard.” The last word was said with much venom, her eyes were flashing angrily again. “Jack and Carrie don’t realize that they lost the right to dictate anything to me when I was eight and they decide to go back to the party life they’d led before they had us,” Midnight said, disgusted. “We were nothing to them, nothing, just people in the house with them. They didn’t care who we were, what we did, or how we survived, as long as we didn’t interfere with their binges.”
Building Empires (MidKnight Blue Book 1) Page 26