Justice for All (41 page)

Rebecca kissed her. “Then I have everything I need.”

One Week Later

“Hey, kid.” Watts clapped Dell on the shoulder as he reached for a doughnut from the box Sloan dropped into the center of the conference table. “I hear your squeeze is gonna be packing heat before long.”

Dell stared at him. “Gimme a minute while I translate caveman-speak.”

Watts laughed. “Sandy. The academy. Cop. Gun. Jesus, there’ll be no stopping her then.”

“Oh yeah,” Dell said. “Like there ever was.”

“True,” Watts said around a mouthful of jelly. He leaned back, a happy smile on his face. “Man, it feels good to be on top once in a while.”

Across from him, Jason sniggered.

“What?” Watts demanded.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Sloan cut Jason a look. “Don’t tease the infirm.”

“Aww, I never get to have any fun.” Jason placed a Boston crème on a napkin next to his computer.

“It sounds like you’ve been having plenty of fun,” Sloan said. “Don’t you have a little something to share with us all?”

Jason turned red. “I guess Sarah called you, huh?”

“About time too,” Sloan said.

“What?” Watts looked back and forth between Sloan and Jason.

“Sarah’s pregnant,” Jason said, referring to his partner.

After a second of silence, Dell gave a cheer.

“Nice work,” Watts said, then frowned. “So if you’re gonna be a daddy, what does that make Jasmine?”

Jason grinned. “You better ask her.”

Watts’s laughter broke off suddenly when Rebecca appeared in the doorway of the conference room. The look on her face had him sitting up straight in his chair. “Hey, Loo.”

Rebecca walked to her customary spot at the end of the table but she didn’t sit down. “I just got a call from Clark.”

Everyone stared at her. The air in the room grew heavy and still.

“At five fifteen this morning, Gregor Zamora was shanked in the breakfast line. He’s dead.”

“Holy fuck,” Watts whispered.

“At six thirty when Ali Torveau was making rounds, she found Olik with his throat cut in his bathroom.”

Dell bolted upright. “Irina!”

“Irina and Mika are fine. I just talked to the federal marshals. They’re en route to the safe house right now. Ali said Irina was okay to travel.”

“Talia Ballenger?” Sloan asked.

“Status unknown.” Rebecca shrugged. “The concierge at her building says she’s out of the country. Maybe he’s right. Apparently she has residences on several continents.”

“What about the other Russian prisoners?” Dell asked, settling back into her seat.

“We’ve doubled the guards on them. They probably don’t know enough to be a threat to anyone important.” Rebecca pulled out a chair and sat down.

“Kratos Zamora’s doing?” Sloan asked.

“That would be my guess, yes,” Rebecca said.

“His own brother,” Jason murmured.

“What do we do?” Dell asked.

“Nothing,” Rebecca said. “The crimes will be investigated. Someone may even be found accountable. But as to who really gave the order? We’ll never be able to prove it.”

“What’s the point, then?” Dell demanded angrily. “Everything we did. The people we put in danger. For what? Is this justice?”

“Justice is fleeting,” Rebecca said quietly. “But we did our jobs. That’s what counts. Irina and her sister have new identities, a chance for a new life. The other girls aren’t being abused anymore. We put a big hole in the Russian operation.”

Dell stared at the table. “We’re always one step behind because we have to play by the rules and they don’t.”

“You’re absolutely right. We play by the rules, at least all the ones that matter, because if we don’t, we’re no different than them.” Rebecca looked around the table. “Anybody want out? Because this is just the lull between innings.”

Sloan looked at Jason, who nodded sharply.

“We’re in,” Sloan said.

“Fucking A,” Watts said.

“Yes ma’am,” Dell declared.

“Good. We got close to Zamora once, and we can do it again.” Rebecca’s eyes gleamed fiercely. “And I promise you this. When this game is over, we will be the winners.”

Radcly
f
fe
is a retired surgeon and full-time award-winning author-publisher with over thirty lesbian novels and anthologies in print. Five of her works have been Lambda Literary finalists, including the Lambda Literary winners
Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments
ed. with Stacia Seaman and
Distant Shores, Silent Thunder
. She is the editor of
Best Lesbian Romance 2009
(Cleis Press) and has selections in multiple anthologies including
Best Lesbian Erotica 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009; After Midnight; Caught Looking: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists; First-Timers; Ultimate Undies: Erotic Stories About Lingerie and Underwear; Hide and Seek; A is for Amour; H is for Hardcore; L is for Leather;
and
Rubber Sex
. She is the recipient of the 2003 and 2004 Alice B. Readers’ awards for her body of work and is also the president of Bold Strokes Books, one of the world’s largest independent LGBT publishing companies.

Her latest release is an all-Radclyffe erotica anthology,
Radical Encounters
(Feb 2009), and her forthcoming 2009 romances include
Secrets in the Stone
and
Returning Tides.

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