Indulgence (336 page)

“Police did nothing. I was Carlos’s bitch at the time and he
was going away. I was pregnant by a gang member. They didn’t want me anywhere
near that courtroom. Can you blame them?”

So the system had let Mia down. Her mother had brought them
here for a better life, and Mia had fallen into the clutches of a couple of
pedophiles.

“You know, Mia, it isn’t your fault. You did nothing wrong.”

“Tell that to my mom.”

“I think she loves you. Armando does too. I think if you
stayed close to them, the life you want for you and the baby, well, you could
have that life.”

“Says the woman who’s going to run money and drugs for
Carlos. You should take your own medicine, Gina.”

You’re so damned right, Mia. Wish I could tell you how
it’s going to play out.

“I’m just doing it for the money,” she decided to say. It
was her job, and she did need the money to live on.

“That’s prostitution, Gina. You doing those things for money
is no different than sucking on a guy’s junk for cash. Only a matter of time.”

If Mia only knew what she and Armando had done. Her face
flushed. A smile crept up to her lips as she remembered he’d be home in two
days. She couldn’t wait.

“You could!” Mia said. “Shut the fuck up. You could totally
do it, couldn’t you? You get off on that kind of stuff, Gina?”

“No. I wasn’t thinking about that.”

“Girl, you are fucked up—”

“No, Mia. You got me wrong.” Gina watched the trees and
front porches of Mia’s now-familiar neighborhood. What would it be like some
day to have a little place like this, if she could afford it, with a white
picket fence and a garden? A couple of kids running in the yard. Taking the dog
to the park. Coming home to a man she loved instead of a sterile apartment
pre-staged to look like someone really did live there. It was all a stage. She
was walking through the life of a person who didn’t exist. Maybe it was time
she revealed something about her feelings for Armando. Maybe it would help
speed up the process.

“I’m a one-guy lady. I don’t do multiple boyfriends or
serial dating. I’m pretty much of a loner.”

“I know who you like, although you won’t let yourself feel
it.”

Gina looked at Mia’s profile as she pulled into the driveway
of the Spanish bungalow she called home. The home Armando had bought for her.

“Who?”

“Sam. I see it in your eyes. You do have a thing for him.
Don’t deny it.”

“Not so. Sam and I are over. Never really began. Was just
sex, Mia.”

“Whoa! We have a winner! Is he that good?”

“No. Definitely not. Not my type.”

They got out of the car. Mia unstrapped sleeping Ricardo
from the baby carrier. After putting him down to bed she came back to the
kitchen.

“So what is his type?” Mia asked.

“You don’t want to go there. Honest. You’re my friend. He’s
bad news.”

“As in he wears black leathers and rides a Harley. I mean,
what does he do for work?”

“Construction.” They’d never talked about what Sam’s story
was going to be. Gina made a mental note to let him know.

“So he works with his tools, then?” Mia’s eyes were
sparkling. She handed Gina a glass of ice water. “That doesn’t sound too bad. I
like a guy with calluses on his palms. Rough and scratchy.”

“He’s into bondage. I don’t go there.” Gina was surprised
she’d finally said it. She watched Mia’s expression go from hopeful to
concerned.

“How far?”

“I never let him show me. I broke it off before we got
there. Something wrong with him, Mia. You should stay away.”

“I’m going to quote a really good friend of mine.” Mia’s
stern face didn’t reveal an ounce of inner conflict. Without smiling, she said,
“I can handle myself.”

Mia took it to the next level when she called Gina up later
on and asked her to babysit Ricardo so she could go out on a date the next
night. It was an encouraging sign, Gina thought, that it wasn’t any of Carlos’s
crowd.

But her hopes were dashed when she found out it was a date
with Sam.

Gina had promised to get the audio download in to her
sergeant, so she went in early without her usual slutty disguise.

Several of the detectives were friendly and talkative. It
didn’t take her long to realize Sam had been telling some tall tales.

“You’re a lucky little lady,” one of the few female
detectives said to her face. “You got a good case, and you get to work with a
great cop who knows the ropes.” The woman was attractive and athletic and would
have been just Sam’s type.

“I think the operation is going well. I think I’ve got
enough here to bring in a bunch of the Scorpions’ upper leadership.” She held
up her mini recorder encased in a baggie.

“You and Sam. He just told me the same thing.”

Gina looked up and saw Sam seated in front of Kozinski’s
desk. The sergeant motioned for her to join them.

“Nice work, you two,” he said as he closed the glass door
behind her. The scene was so totally civil and calm, so far removed from the
one a week ago, that Gina was shocked.

“Thanks.” She darted a glance at Sam, who had crossed his
legs and was leaning back on his chair with a cat-that-ate-the-canary look.

Something was up.

“Sam was just telling me he found Carlos’s bookkeeper and
the lady has started spilling everything to him.”

I’ll bet.

“Got a whole notebook full of details,” Sam said in a husky
voice. The double meaning hit Gina in the gut. Her blood ran cold. His eyes
were smiling but he still looked mean and dangerous. Something was unraveling.

“Well, that’s good, Sam. I imagine that will help out a
lot.”

“Enough to put him away for a while, I think,” Sam
countered.

She turned to Kozinski, clearing her voice, “I’ve brought in
the audio I told you about, Sergeant.”

She fished a sealed plastic bag from her purse, containing a
mini audio recorder. “In here he talks about his couriers, and he even told me
where he keeps some of the drugs.”

“Good work.” Kozinski grabbed the bag, placing his initials
and date on the white square at the top for the chain of custody.

“Hold on a second,” Sam spoke up. “I’d like to make a copy
of this. By the time they analyze this over at the lab and get a transcription,
days could go by. If we’re gonna jump on this gang, we gotta act quickly.”

Kozinski was still gripping the plastic between his fingers.
Gina had a bad feeling in her stomach.

“I can order a copy made and you’ll get it tomorrow,”
Kozinski said.

“Yup, but I can have one in an hour, and then I’ll return it
to you. Gina and I have worked pretty hard on this case, sir. Let’s not put the
brakes on now.”

Kozinski handed the plastic over to Sam, who tucked it in
his parka front pocket. He patted his stomach and gave Gina a smug smile like
he was hatching a baby.

More like hatching an evil plan.

“Sam, you make sure and wear gloves. Take precautions.”

“Sure thing.”

“Just for the record, sir, I’m uncomfortable with this
arrangement,” Gina said.

“Noted. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get ready for a
briefing.” Kozinski was all business. He picked up his briefcase and motioned
to the door, exiting his office behind Gina and Sam. He quickly passed them and
sped on his way to the elevator.

Sam caught up to the sergeant and whispered something in his
ear. They both laughed. Gina knew her boss was too trusting, and Sam had just
told that joke to make Kozinski laugh unwittingly. It was the appearance Sam
was after, and Kozinski didn’t have a clue what was really going on. But Sam
knew exactly what he was doing.

He wanted to be sure Gina knew she was on the outside. Not
part of the A-Team. Just in case she thought she could do a better job.

It was intended to put her in her place. She knew the
download would never see the light of day.

Good thing I made my own copy first.

When Gina showed up at the house the next evening, Mia
looked like the bad girl she truly was. She wore her four-inch stilettos, a
scooped neck, form-fitting dress that was sure to get Sam all hot and bothered.
She should have just worn a sign,
Fuck Me Now
, on her back.

As if she was Mia’s mother and not her girlfriend, Gina
greeted Sam at the door while Mia was putting the baby down. Sam’s grey-blue
eyes were clear and penetrating. He had been a handsome man in his youth, and
women would naturally be attracted to the older detective because of his huge
frame and arms from heavy workouts. Though he was nearly forty, he’d still be
attractive to the twenty-somethings, especially if they liked sex on the kinky
side.

She didn’t feel an ounce of attraction for him. She knew
that face could change, turn dark and menacing in a heartbeat. She didn’t trust
his motive for taking Mia out. She knew it had something to do with her, as had
the conversation in Kozinski’s office earlier today.

“Hello, Gina. Nice of you to give Mia and I a little alone
time together.” He flashed his winning smile, but Gina didn’t take the bait.

“All part of the job. Yours, and mine,” she whispered.

“With wonderful benefits,” he winked and walked past her,
lightly grazing fingers against her thigh.

Mia made her entrance. “What benefits?”

Sam stepped back, bringing his palms out to the side. “Holy fuckin’
cow, Mia. You’re one gorgeous babe.”

Mia blushed and returned a smug smile to Gina.

“I was just telling her how beautiful you were, that you
had, well, a lot of benefits a guy could get lost in, right Gina?”

Right.

“Enjoy the movie. I’ll sleep on the couch if it gets too
late.” Gina couldn’t wait for them to leave the room.

Sam had already fondled Mia’s ass by the time they made it
out the door. Gina hoped his weaknesses were not as strong as his charge to
protect and serve. She still wanted to believe in him. She knew good was
stronger than evil.

Eventually.

Gina woke up on the couch. Early morning sunlight shone
through the miniblinds in Mia’s living room. She checked the street and didn’t
see a car she recognized. She worried that Mia had never made it home and
internally cursed herself for not staying awake.

She tiptoed to the closed door of Mia’s bedroom and opened
it a crack. Mia was there, tangled in sheets and naked. Next to her was Sam, on
his back, sheet draping his naked body low, exposing his enormous chest and
shoulders. One of his socks was still on.

Gina sighed and began to close the door, but not before she
saw Sam’s eyes open, underlined by a wide grin.

So let Sam change the baby when he wakes up.
Sam
could make her breakfast. What was she anyhow, a maid?

Gina slipped on her canvas shoes and picked up the purse
that she’d tucked under the pillows on the couch. She checked her gun and made
sure her badge was stowed down low enough not to be easily visible.

She double-checked the room to make sure she wasn’t leaving
anything. The door opened and Sam stepped out in his shorts.

“You taking off so soon?” he whispered. “It’s early.” His
hair stuck out in multiple directions.

“I’ve got paperwork to get caught up on.”

Sam leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms on
themselves.

“Kozinski said the audio was blank.”

“What?”

“I guess you’d never make it in the recording industry. It
was blank, even Kozinski tried it. Nothing there.”

“Like hell. You erased it.”

“Now, why would I erase evidence?”

“You can tell it to the jury when your time comes. Sam, I’ve
had about all of this I can stand.”

“You upset about me banging the little nympho?”

Gina knew Mia was anything but that based on their
conversation the evening before.

He continued, “If you can do it, I guess I can. She might
not be as much fun as that SEAL brother of hers, but I think if we made it a
threesome it could get real hot, just like you like it, and you’d forget all
about him.”

“Not interested.” She reached for the door and then stopped
herself. “Sam, what about our conversation a few days ago don’t you understand?
I told you there was to be no ‘us’ anymore. What’s Kozinski going to think when
I tell him you screwed Mia to get even with me?”

Sam shrugged. “Don’t flatter yourself. Besides, he’ll never
believe you. And you’re wrong, babe. I screwed her because she wanted to be
taught how to do it right.”

That actually sounded like the first truthful thing Sam had
said all morning.

“She wants to try it all. And I’m not kidding about the
threesome. I think she’d be open to it.” He began to walk slowly toward her.
“That way you don’t have to feel left out.”

Gina was furious. “Never going to happen. You are wasting
your time, and mine.”

She left through the front door and ran down the red walkway
bisecting two green patches of lawn. Everything on the street looked like the
Cleavers lived there. The yards were nice; most the places were freshly
painted. For some reason, the normal scene brought tears to her eyes.

Get a grip.

She knew she wasn’t jealous. What was going on?

Gina went home and showered, changing into some jeans and a
large yellow sweatshirt. She put her canvas slip-ons back on and took off for
the office. Kozinski was bent over something at his desk when she knocked on
the glass door separating them.

“Come in,” he said without looking up.

“Sir. I spoke to Sam about an hour ago, and I understand
there was a problem with my audio recording?”

“As in it was completely blank.”

“I saved a copy to disc. You can have this one.”

“How do I know—”

“Just listen to it first, sir, and then you decide what you
want to do with it. I told you I wasn’t comfortable with Sam getting access to
it. If that recording was blank, then I’m telling you Sam erased it.”