Red Sky At Morning - DK4

by Melissa Good

  “We will,” Kerry stated, then glanced down. “Won’t we?”

  Dar smiled wanly. A stroke? Her mind jerked in horror at a threat she’d never even considered. Getting injured was nothing new to her, 202 Melissa Good but this was different. She could imagine living with losing a limb, but strokes were a crapshoot. She could end up half-paralyzed, which was bad enough, but worse—she could lose part of who she was if it hit the wrong spot at the wrong time. “Yeah, we will,” she muttered hoarsely.

  “Good girl.” Dr. Steve patted her knee. “Let me get you set up with that sling. I already called in your prescription to that high-society mambo pusher they call a pharmacist on your Fantasy Island.”

  KERRY REACHED OVER and picked up her mug, taking a sip of the strawberry tea as she reviewed the data on the laptop screen for the nth time. She was curled up on the soft, comfortable leather chair in the living room, one leg slung lazily over the chair arm. Her eyes lifted over the mug’s rim and eyed the nearby couch, and then she put the cup down and went back to her statistics.

  She could, she knew, have gone into either of their offices and used the large monitors to make viewing the data easier, but she preferred to stay where she was and suffer the eye strain so she could keep an eye on Dar. The drive home had been very quiet, and her usually unruly lover had meekly taken the medicine the island pharmacy delivered, then settled down on the couch. She’d even let Kerry fuss and put a pillow behind her head and tuck a soft fleece blanket around her.

  Waiting for me to say I told you so, Kerry mused. The blood thinner and vasodilator Dr. Steve had prescribed, along with the painkiller, knocked Dar out in no time flat, and her lover had been sleeping for the past few hours. Which was good, Kerry thought, because if Dar was sleeping, it meant she wasn’t awake and worrying, having had the living daylights scared out of her by Dr. Steve’s warning.

  Poor Dar. Kerry leaned toward the couch and gently pushed a bit of Dar’s hair back away from her closed eyes. She had a white cotton sling fastened around her neck, holding her injured arm close to her body, and even in sleep a tiny crease was present across her forehead. As much as Kerry appreciated Dr. Steve’s forcing Dar to take her injury seriously, it hurt her to see her lover so subdued, obviously scared and keeping silent about it.

  Kerry riffled her fingers through the dark hair spilling over the pillow, straightening its silky strands as she watched Dar sleep. Then she sighed and returned her attention to the damn laptop.

  So, what was all this, Dar? She scrolled through files, seeing Dar’s notations but not seeing the patterns her lover had painstakingly constructed or the significance of them in the data stream. It wasn’t that she was oblivious to the method; she just didn’t understand where Dar got the little hooks she was using to connect all the pieces together.

  Maybe that was because Dar had worked on the original system software? Kerry pushed her hair back behind one ear and leaned closer Red Sky At Morning 203

  to the screen. Sure, that must be it. She knew how this whole thing worked, so naturally she could...

  Kerry let the thought trail off as her eyes found something.

  Curiously, she left the bowels of Dar’s program and called up the associated data files, studying the personnel assignments and the ship schedules coming in and out of the base. Slowly, her forefinger lifted and touched the screen, making a little scratching noise against the LCD.

  Why...she wondered. Why would one ship get all the new recruits?

  Operationally, it made no sense, especially to someone steeped in day-to-day operations, as she was. You don’t put all your newbies in the same bucket, because then you have a useless bucket of confusion. You spread them out among other, more experienced workers, so they can learn from them.

  Kerry looked up the operational record of the craft in question, a supply ship that apparently worked with larger groups of vessels but was small enough to dock in small ports. Slowly, she picked up her cup and took another sip, not taking her eyes from the screen.

  DAR BECAME VAGUELY aware of her surroundings, the medicated sleep still having a fairly firm hold on her. There was a slightly tinny quality to the sounds she was hearing, and she had no inclination to open her eyes.

  Her shoulder ached, but it was a far-off kind of ache, and it took several minutes for her to sort through a very foggy mind and remember what had happened. Oh yeah. Dar wondered if the medication was supposed to make her feel so completely washed out.

  A soft clicking was coming from nearby, and she heard a faint sound of ceramic on wood, then a sigh and the shift of a body against a leather surface. Dar spent a moment drawing a mental picture, imagining Kerry in the chair with the laptop. Very slowly, she opened one eye, then turned her head and blinked, the image in her mind resolving into reality.

  Kerry was intent on the screen, her brow furrowed and the end of a pencil being gnawed on between her teeth.

  For some reason, that made Dar smile.

  After a second, Kerry looked up and their eyes met. “Oh.” She put the machine down and leaned on the chair arm. “Was I making too much noise?”

  “No.” Dar cleared her throat. “Wow. I feel like I’m swimming in clam chowder.”

  A blonde brow arched. “Clam chowder? Ew.”

  “What time is it?”

  Kerry checked the laptop’s system tray. “Two.” She studied her injured partner. “Here, take a sip of this; you look dry.” She handed 204 Melissa Good over her tea, then paused and changed her mind, getting up out of the chair to hold the cup for Dar to sip from. “I forgot how awkward it is when you’re wearing one of these.” Her free hand plucked the sling.

  Dar sucked thirstily at the tea, enjoying the sweet taste. “Glad you put some tea leaves in this sugar water,” she teased.

  Kerry stuck out her tongue. “It’s your fault,” she accused Dar. “I didn’t used to.” She leaned over and kissed her partner on the lips.

  “Want some of your own? I was going to put some soup up.”

  “Soup?” Dar felt a little more alert. “Was that inspired by my chowder, or do you think a bone bruise requires that for healing?”

  Firmly, she pushed aside thoughts of clots, halfway convinced she’d have been better off just letting the damn thing heal on its own, with her in blissful ignorance of her risk.

  “Hon, I’ll order in baby back ribs if you want them.” Kerry laughed. “I’m hungry, and I’ve got a container of that spicy Thai soup in the fridge, so...”

  Dar’s eyes lit up. “With the coconut milk?”

  “Uh-huh.” Kerry had to muffle a smile. “That changes things, hmm?” She ruffled Dar’s hair. “I need a break anyway. I found something I think you need to look at when you’re a little more awake.”

  She made her way past the coffee table toward the kitchen.

  Dar knew she should get up and look at the computer, but the drugs still had a tight hold on her, and her body was more than content to remain where it was. Probably so fuzzy I wouldn’t know what the hell I was looking at anyway, she mocked herself. But the thought started her mind churning over the problems she’d seen the day before.

  As if on signal, her cell phone rang. However, since Dar was dressed in a pair of soft gym shorts and not much else, she didn’t have the phone near her. “Hey, Ker?”

  “I hear it.” Kerry came trotting out of the kitchen sucking on a wooden spoon. “Ooh...you’re gonna like this. There’s more chicken than vegetables in it.” She picked up the buzzing phone and opened it.

  “Hello?”

  “Is that Roberts?” a female voice asked crisply.

  “No.” Kerry glanced at her lover. “Can I ask who’s calling?”

  There was a brief silence. “Chief Daniel.”

  Ooh...Kerry narrowed her eyes. The bulldog. “She’s—”

  The chief interrupted Kerry. “Look. I need to talk to her. Just tell her who it is. Believe me, lady, I wouldn’t be on this phone if I didn’t need to be.”

&nbs
p; Hmm. Fair enough. “It’s that petty person,” she told Dar, after muting the phone.

  Dar’s brows lifted. “Chief Daniel?” she asked in surprise. “Damn.

  Give me the phone.”

  Kerry walked over and handed it to her, then knelt and helped Dar to sit up a little. “Easy,” she murmured.

  Red Sky At Morning 205

  Dar’s head spun for a minute, and she waited for the buzz to fade, then held the phone to her ear. “Hello, Chief.”

  “Roberts.”

  “Yep, that’s me,” Dar agreed. “Did you miss me so much you had to call on a Saturday?”

  “Roberts, just shut up a minute.” The chief lowered her voice. “All crap aside, there’s something here you need to see.”

  A prickle went up Dar’s back. “Like what?” she said.

  A distinct hesitation made itself felt. “I can’t explain it,” the chief said.

  “Bad enough I’m dealing with the devil, as it is. Just get down here.”

  Dar met Kerry’s gaze. The blonde woman was shaking her head no, in a very serious way. “I can’t,” she finally replied. “If you want me to know about it, you’ve got to come up here.”

  “What?” the chief hissed. “Don’t be a— Jesus, I can’t believe I’m doing this. I’m trying to help you out here, damn it.”

  “I know.” Dar decided to try honesty. “I had an accident last night, Chief. I’m not driving to the base, so if you’ve got something that big, get moving.”

  The chief was quiet for a long time, and then she sighed. “Son of a bitch,” she finally said. “What the hell, I’m in this so deep now, it won’t matter. Where the heck are you?”

  Dar told her. “Chief?”

  “What?” the woman snapped back.

  “What made you change your mind?” Dar asked. “About me, I mean.”

  Chief Daniel snorted, clearly audible even to Kerry. “Change my mind? Like hell, I did.” She paused. “You ever hear the term ‘least evil choice’?”

  Dar allowed a dry chuckle to escape. “Oh yeah. I’ve heard that before.”

  “I bet.” The chief hung up.

  Dar folded the phone closed and relaxed back onto her pillow.

  “That was a surprise.” She glanced up at Kerry. “Last time I saw her, she was cursing me for a pervert.”

  Kerry gazed soberly back. “I can’t believe she’d just turn around and help you, Dar.”

  A faint shrug. “She’s not a...” Dar lifted her uninjured hand and rubbed her eyes. “She’s a good officer, Ker. She knows her stuff, and she’s just protecting her people. She views me as a threat.” Dar considered her words. “Question is, what’s she found that’s more of a threat to her than I am?”

  “Hmm.” Kerry tapped the end of the spoon against her chin. “Well, it’ll take her a while to head up here. Let me get this soup done.” She pointed the wooden utensil at the couch-bound woman. “Then you’re going to sit there and let me feed it to you.” She turned and headed back to the kitchen, leaving an amused Dar behind.

  206 Melissa Good

  “I DON’T SUPPOSE I can get away with staying dressed like this?”

  Dar asked, as she used a washcloth and cold water to bring a little more life into her face. “Can I?”

  Kerry leaned against the doorsill and regarded her. “If it were up to me...” she ran a fingertip under the elastic waistband of Dar’s soft gym shorts, “sure.” She traced a rib. “But I think your petty person is going to pop a solenoid.”

  “I’m not in the mood to coddle her solenoids,” Dar responded, awkwardly trying to manage her toothbrush one-handedly. “Ker, could you...”

  Kerry reached across her and picked up the toothpaste, spreading it neatly on the brush for her. “There you go.” She put the cap back on and watched as Dar brushed her teeth. “Well, all you need is a T-shirt or something.” Her eyes dropped to the very short shorts, which exposed almost all of the length of Dar’s very long legs. “On second thought, c’mon into the bedroom and let me see what I can do for you.”

  Dar turned, a very rakish grin on her face. “Now that’s my kind of offer.”

  “Tch.” Kerry moved forward and her hands found their way around the sling. “Do you remember how we... Ah.” Kerry found Dar’s arms wrapping around her, and the sling settled around her own shoulder, attaching them together body to body. “That’s right.”

  Dar ducked her head and they kissed. She felt Kerry’s body press against hers, and the sensual rush erased the lingering aches like magic.

  “Much better than drugs,” she murmured.

  “Oh yeah?” Kerry slid her hands across Dar’s skin. “How about this?”

  Dar growled softly in response and nudged Kerry backward a step.

  She held her lover’s body close with the sling and unhooked Kerry’s bra, feeling her gasp a little in surprise as the snug cotton came free.

  “Not bad for one hand, huh?” she whispered in the pink ear near her lips, which then was delicately nibbled.

  “Uh.” Kerry’s fingers roamed restlessly over Dar’s half-clad body.

  “This could get complicated.”

  “Oh.” A soft, breathy purr. “I hope so.” Another nudge toward the bed. “Simple’s no fun.” Dar rubbed lightly against Kerry’s skin and smiled as Kerry melted into her, a jolt of warmth flaring as their bodies joined. She could feel Kerry breathing, her chest moving against Dar’s, and as she took another step toward the bed, she felt that breathing quicken in time with her touch circling Kerry’s breasts.

  They stopped and rid themselves of extraneous clothing, still linked together by the sling. Dar slid her other arm under Kerry’s and half-turned, easing down onto the bed, pulling Kerry down with her.

  Amidst a tiny giggle, Kerry ended up sprawling over her, their legs tangling together.

  “Y’know...” Kerry licked Dar’s neck, then bit down lightly around Red Sky At Morning 207

  her collarbone. “With our luck, she drives fast.”

  “I haven’t cleared her on the ferry yet,” Dar replied blithely. “She’ll wait.”

  Kerry’s chuckle turned into a soft moan, and she forgot about visitors.

  Or ferries.

  CHIEF DANIEL DROVE along the causeway, looking nervously right and left when she wasn’t glancing at the piece of paper on which she’d written the directions. “What the hell is that nutball talking about? She sent me to the goddamned Coast Guard terminal. Damn her...thinks I’m joking.”

  Abruptly, she spotted a right hand turn and took it, almost causing a two-car collision behind her. The car she cut off honked furiously, and she stuck her hand out the window, giving him a rude gesture as she made the tight turn into the small, not-well-marked ferry base. “Son of a bitch.” She shook her head. “Should have figured.”

  The chief maneuvered her pickup truck through the roped-off lanes and arrived at the edge of the dock. A uniformed guard greeted her courteously. She rolled her window down. “This how you get on?”

  “The island? Yes, ma’am.” The security officer nodded, obviously used to the question. “Are you visiting one of our residents, or are you interested in purchasing a home?”

  Momentarily distracted, the chief leaned on her window frame and pulled her sunglasses down to get a better look at the neat, almost military clean Latino man. “How much do they cost?”

  The guard blinked. “Um...w...”

  “Round numbers.” The chief smiled. “Leave off the pennies.”

  He cleared his throat. “I think the little ones start at a million...”

  “Ah. Is that all?” The chief fixed a smile on her face. “Tell you what, there’s someone called Roberts who lives out there. Dar Roberts.

  I’m supposed to go see her.”

  The guard flipped through his clipboard, then read a page intently.

  “Ms. Daniel?” He looked up. “Is that you?”

  The chief’s nostrils flared. Ms? She’d get the little catfish bait for th
at. “Almost.”

  The guard directed her onto the patiently waiting ferry and they chocked her wheels, then after a few minutes and a few more cars, they got under way.

  Out of long habit, the chief reviewed the boat, noting the properly secured lifesaving equipment and the stock of life preservers. The ferry itself was flat, with room for perhaps twenty cars, and had a small cabin where people who were just riding over could stay in comfort. It was neat and clean and well ordered, and the chief found herself approving of it despite her inclination otherwise.

  208 Melissa Good In short order, they docked at the islandside dock, and she watched as the ramp to offload the cars was lowered. The island was plush and had lots of fancy-looking landscaping. She bet the hedges she was driving past cost more than a month of her salary.

  The sudden impact of water on her windshield made her jump and grab for the window controls. “Hey!” She glared at the dockhand, who was washing off the front of her car. “What th— Oh.” Salt spray. Sure.

  Seventy-two Mercedes per square foot; can’t have them rusting, now, can we?

  She drove on and glanced at her directions again.

  One road, clockwise. Simple enough. She turned left and followed the road around to the second drive, then slowed her pace until she found the parking she’d been told about. She slid the pickup into a visitor’s spot and got out, holding a briefcase close to her.

  She looked around, curiously. “Damn place shits money.” She shook her head and then made her way up the short path to the steps that led up to the door that matched the address she’d been given. It was a short flight that led up to a buff-colored door with a discreet doorbell. Chief Daniel paused and twitched at her uniform, dusting off her sleeve before she squared her shoulders and rang the bell.

  Barking answered her, which was a surprise. She hadn’t figured Roberts for a dog. After a moment, and a quick command from inside, the door was opened. Chief Daniel found herself facing the intense gaze from a pair of steady green eyes almost on a level with her own. She spoke crisply. “I’m here to see Dar Roberts.”

  “I know,” Kerry replied. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Kerry Stuart, Dar’s partner.” She held out a hand.