by Kathryn Shay
“Along with a lot of squad guys who heard about the incident on the scanner.”
“Fuck.” She was half seated now, so her shoulder hurt even more. If that was possible.
“Water?” she said looking at Ty.
“Just sips.” He held her head up and let her take some water.
Back on the pillow, she sighed. “That was something.”
“Feel like talking about it?” the captain asked.
“Not much to say. I noticed the guy on the way in. I’d never seen Paige before.” She glanced at Ty. “I was distracted. When I got back, for some reason I stopped at the door and looked inside, saw what was going on. I was quiet, came in, gun in one hand, soda in another.” She shrugged. This sounded ludicrous. “I threw a can of Coke at the wall. He turned and fired, but I got a shot off before I fell.”
“Why’d you throw the Coke?” Deke asked.
“To get him to face away from Ty. They were too close for me to take a shot.”
“You got an arm, kid.” This from Mack.
“I played softball in school.”
“They got softball in Casarina?” Deke asked.
She rolled her eyes. “I think I deserve one night off from that shit, don’t you?”
“Yeah, they’re callin’ you the Hero Princess now on TV.”
“Does the press know already?”
“Yeah. Reporters showed up and heard the other guys talking about you.”
“That didn’t take long.”
The cap stood. “We should leave. Let you rest.”
Ty scowled but said his goodbyes along with the others.
When he walked out the door, she bit her lip. She told herself it was because of the pain, but she’d wanted Ty to stay.
The doctor came in and examined her. “Glad you’re awake. I’m having you transferred to a room.”
“How long do I have to stay in the hospital?”
“We’ll see in the morning.”
“Did anyone call my family?”
“The next of kin listed on your police file. I’m not sure if anyone got through to her, though.”
“That’s odd.”
“Do you have other family?”
“You could say that. I’ll call them.”
But she’d wait until she got into a room. Lying there, she replayed all that had transpired tonight. She’d reacted on instinct. Any one of her colleagues would have done the same thing, regardless of the danger. She pictured Ty. When she’d seen him with a gun at his head, some things became clear to her. Though her cop’s instinct made her react calmly, she shivered now at the thought of what could have happened to him.
She dozed.
A while later, she was transferred to a room. When they wheeled her in, she saw someone in the shadows. “Ah, just the guy I wanted to see.”
After the nurses got her in bed, then left, Ty took a seat on the edge of the mattress and grasped her hand. “You scared the dickens out of me, darlin’.”
“I had no choice, Ty.”
Leaning over, he kissed her nose. “We have to talk.”
“I want to. I realized some things tonight.”
“Me, too, but right now...oh, God.” He lowered his head and kissed her knuckles. “I could have lost you.”
Weakly, she squeezed his hand. “You didn’t. I love you, Ty.”
His face lit from within. “I love you, too, Frankie.”
“This sucks.” She shook her head. “We finally get here and we can’t do...anything.”
He chuckled. “Soon, love. I promise. And I also promise we’ll figure things out with the department.”
“I know, I—”
Frankie looked past his shoulder when another person entered the room. Nope, not a person...a parade of princesses.
Ty stood as the six of them entered. “Holy hell, I can’t believe it.”
Calla came forward first. She had a smile for them both, and comforting words for Frankie.
Brie next. She seemed wary of Ty when he said hello to her.
Lexy hugged Frankie and tears glistened in her eyes.
“None of that, kiddo. I’m fine.”
Evangelina and Mariella sat on either side of the bed.
Evvie asked, “Does it hurt, sweetie?”
“It does.” She smiled at all of them. “But I’m going to fully recover.”
Raven had said nothing. After she kissed Frankie’s head and drew back, her eyes blinked rapidly. Then she looked over at Ty. “And you are?”
Standing, he faced her squarely. “I’m the man in your sister’s life.”
Raven arched a dark brow. “We know nothing about you.”
He took a bead on her. “I reckon you’d better rectify that, because I’m not goin’ anywhere.”
* * *
“Ready?” Ty asked as Frankie stepped out of the car in front of the Lamplighter Party House. The end-of-May weather was balmy, and Francesca wore a red, skinny-strapped dress with a matching sling that Evvie had made for her.
Francesca shifted uneasily. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
He kissed her nose. “No worries, it’s gonna be fine.”
The valet drove the ’Vette away, but they stood in the dim light for a moment. “I think we should have told the cap and the guys.”
“We’re not coming out, Francesca. They’ll think we showed up as pals. After all, you can’t drive.”
“Pals.” She leaned into him with that intimate smile of hers that drove him nuts. Once things had been settled between them, she became a toucher. Ty had the feeling that was the real woman inside the cop. “That’s not what you said this morning.”
He laughed out loud. He’d done a lot of that last week. She couldn’t work, of course, but would go back to desk duty soon. They’d spent every free minute he’d had together. “Besides, you’re gonna get so razzed about the headlines, that nobody will probably even notice we’re together.”
She closed her eyes. “How embarrassing.”
Every single news outlet covered the Princess Hero story. She’d been called a lot of things: a hero of course, a woman who had no right to be a cop, a great role model for kids, and a debutante, of all things.
At the restaurant entrance, he opened the door for her. The bar was straight ahead, and tables dotted the rest of the room, decorated with white tablecloths and navy blue napkins. A banner across the back wall read, We love you, Officer Jenkins. Cops and their dates mixed and mingled. Ty had been over earlier to check on the details of the benefit, but he’d left to pick Francesca up.
She said, “I want a drink.”
“All right. You’re off the medicine.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“That’s not what you said this morning.” He repeated her words in the same sexy tone.
After installing her on a stool, he ordered them whiskeys.
Judy came right over to them. “Hey, Frankie. How you doing?”
“Okay, Judy.” She noticed the woman was still limping. “You better?”
“Not enough to come back.” She glanced at Ty. “Thanks for planning this for me, both of you.”
“Ty did most of all the work this past week.”
She smiled. “A princess, huh?”
“Yep. Born that way.”
Judy chuckled. After some chitchat, she and Ty went to check on food details and Frankie studied the crowd. She felt at home here, ironically, after the most distancing thing that could happen in the department—the revelation of her background—had occurred.
From behind her, she heard, “So, the princess got shot?”
She swiveled her seat to find Lou standing on the other side of her. His suit was nicely tailored, his hair unruly. He looked wonderful, but she didn’t want him anymore. And this time, she knew she’d see him because he’d been on the signup sheet. “Uh-huh.”
“In two years, you never told me.”
“Nope.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.
”
He moved in closer, making her lean back. “You always kept a part of yourself from me.”
“Now that I do know the answer to.”
“Of course. I—”
“Hey, Bacardi.”
With a fleeting look of impatience, Lou turned. “Collingsworth, isn’t it?”
“That’s me.”
“You’re the person she saved.”
“In more ways than one.” With a huge, familiar smile, he faced Frankie. “Come on, honey, I’ll get you seated at our table.” He actually edged Lou out of the way and grasped her arm. “Nice to see you, Bacardi.”
“You, too.”
Frankie took one last look at him. “Goodbye, Lou.”
As Ty escorted Frankie away, he asked, “Think he got the message to stay away from you?”
“It was probably the honey that did it.”
When they reached the head table, only the captain and his wife were seated. Taking a deep breath, Frankie said, “Hello, Mrs. Lincoln. Cap, we have something to tell you.”
Ty glanced over his shoulder, presumably at Lou. “The sooner the better.”
* * * * *
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Author’s Note
The follow up to book one brought new people and a new plot in The Gentileschi Sisters series. As I wrote book two, the characters seemed to know just where they were going—or weren’t going—even though they may have been wrong. And the plot took some twists that also surprised even me.
Francesca, or Frankie, was established in NO OTHER LOVE as a tough cop. And she is. She’s good at her work, tireless in protecting her community and, we find out later, has a sense of humor. (My favorite line in the book is when the captain asks her why she didn’t put her royal status on her job application she says, “There was no box to check for princess.”) Did you like that she was so tough in her work? One thing I’d guess you didn’t like is her distancing of her colleagues, especially Ty. But can you blame her? She made a mistake getting close to another cop, a married man, and look where it got her. But she is vulnerable and Ty is determined to break through her shell.
Wasn’t Ty wonderful? I tried to give him faults, really I did, but he simply turned out great. He’s a stellar cop, a good friend, an excellent colleague. I think he knew right away that Frankie was the woman for him, but it takes a long, long time to get there. And how he is with his mother? Didn’t you just sigh? Finally, when Frankie tells him about Lou, he doesn’t berate her. He says she made a mistake, and mistakes can be forgiven.
Which brings me to the adultery thread in the book. Some readers reject a storyline if there’s any trace of that behavior, even in the past. If you read my work regularly, you’ll know redemption and forgiveness are major themes. Yes, I can understand this aspect of her. Once she’s out of the situation, she’s horrified at what she did. I used Lou Bacardi as a foil for her. He’s selfish, unworthy and doesn’t even think he made a mistake. When Ty calls Frankie honey in the last scene in front of him, I could just picture Lou’s reaction and laughed my head off.
Finally, the book has a police department setting. I tried hard to be careful that the hero and heroine were ethical in their actions (no kissing in the locker room!) but also, I wanted to show them as good cops. I set up a fictional district and station house in Baltimore because writers often don’t use the real ones for a variety of reasons. I’m most proud of the scenes where they go on calls. I hate books where a profession is stated, but the people are never shown doing the job. So we have several police calls of differing content. They’re all researched but any mistakes are mine.
I’m sure you liked seeing Lexy and Ryder and all the princesses again, but what about revisiting Gabe and Nick Marino, from their books in my To Serve and Protect? I had a great time getting reacquainted. Hope you did too.
As always, I hope you read the rest of the series and let me know what you think.
Best,
Kathy
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Don’t miss the rest of the books in
THE GENTILESCHI SISTERS Series
I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU, Book 1
Lexy Marcello Gentileschi may be a princess, brought up in a sheltered world, but she knows how to fight Ryder Reynolds in negotiations for her book contract. However, falling in love with the boss is a very different thing!
CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE, Book 3
When Evangelina Gentileschi is hit by a stray ball at a Major League baseball game, the batter, Mike Jagielski leaps over the dugout and climbs into the stands to help her. Neither knows that the entire course of their lives are about to change.
HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE, Book 4
The last thing grade school teacher Gabriella Gentileschi wants is a man in her life, especially not one who makes her flash back to the worst thing that happened to her. But gym teacher Dante Federico is determined to make Brie like him—and maybe more.
LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER, Book 5
Widowed at twenty, Mariella Gentileschi Moretti came to the U.S. to get her law degree and plans to return home to help her father run the country. But Dr. Jordan Dubois, one of her professors, threatens all that when he takes an interest in her that is anything but ethical.
I THINK I LOVE YOU, Book 6
Ravenna Marcello Gentileschi badly wants a show at the prestigious Parkers, a top-notch art gallery in Baltimore. But can she put up with stiff and starchy Blake Parker, the owner, long enough to have her paintings displayed before the world?
Take a look at Chapter 1 from the next book in the series, CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE:
“I’m so glad you came for a couple of days.” Brie made the statement as she dressed for the last day of school in her bedroom. Evangelina sat on her sister’s bed. “But I’m sorry about the baby.”
A preemie had been born in the neonatal unit at the Children’s Care Center yesterday and died three hours afterward. Since Evvie had tended to the infant and was suffering over his death, she’d come to D.C. to stay with Brie to grieve...and to escape. “Thanks for letting me hang out here. I usually lay this all on Frankie, but she’s out of town.”
“I wish you’d come to me more.” Brie smiled. “I’m not that fragile, you know.” Her sister had had a tough winter last year.
Evvie’s smiled broadly. “I will, then.”
“Your guys are here in D.C.”
Baseball was Evvie’s go-to thing to cheer herself up and today, the Baltimore Lions, her favorite team, would compete against the Washington Raiders in an away-game matinee. “They are. For their yearly rival game.”
“That’ll certainly distract you.”
“Yep. And the atmosphere of any baseball park soothes me.”
“All those screaming fans?”
“I imagine your classroom resembles them sometimes.”
“Nah.” Her sister loved teaching in a low-income school. “I’ll be home by four but don’t rush getting back.”
“I’ll get dinner ready before I leave so you don’t have to do anything later.”
After Brie left, Evvie made an easy marina sauce, cooked up some meatballs and assembled lasagna. The spicy scent reminded her of home in Casarina, an island off the coast of Italy. Deciding to wait on the salad, she dressed in white shorts and a blue sleeveless top, as she’d left her Baltimore jersey with Luke Prescott’s name on the back at home. After tying her hair back in a ponytail, she looped it through the back of a cap and headed out to the Metro which would take her to the game.
A half hour later, as she walked up the concrete ramp into the stadium, she noted the slick touches on their brand-new arena:
the well-padded seats in bright blue, the Raiders colors, sparkled in the sunlight. The iron railing caught the rays, too, and Evvie would bet her Baltimore memorabilia that weeds didn’t dare spoil the impeccable field. Like all baseball stadiums, the advertisements on the billboards along the perimeter of the field glared garishly at the spectators, but she liked the readability of the scoreboard. All in all, she preferred Lions Field, of course, but this space was acceptable.
Surrounded by the scents of popcorn and beer, she climbed the steep steps up to one of the top rows because she’d gotten her ticket at the gate. For her season pass to the Lions games, she’d snagged a seat between home plate and first base. But she wasn’t complaining about today. Just being here lifted her spirits.
Evvie settled into her spot, and the pregame festivities began. The announcer introduced the Baltimore players and then the home team, led by their captain Mike Jagielski, jogged onto the field. Rumor had it that he was a womanizer, but the crowds loved him. Of course, his batting was phenomenal. The average in Major League Baseball for 2016 was .255, and the all-time league average was between .260 and .275. However, The Jag might even come close this season to Ty Cobb’s superb career high of .366. She clapped politely.
When play started, she watched the Lions strike out, three up, three down. The Raiders took the field, and the first batter strode to home plate. Jagielski cut an imposing figure out there as he swung at the first pitch, popping it foul. He totally missed the second, and she hid a smile. He was rather...disappointing.
The announcer talked over the loud speaker; she tuned in when he said, “Look at those pitches, Pete. They register 103 miles per hour.”