To Protect & Serve (28 page)

The only visible sign that a woman existed underneath the enormous mound of flesh was a pale gray, lifeless arm dangling off the side of the mattress. Needle tracks marked and discolored the entire arm and the back of the hand.

“Is this bitch dead or what? I want some action here.” The man panted, red-faced from exertion. Turning his attention slightly toward a figure lurking across the room, he continued, “If this is the best you can do, I want my damn money back.”

A silhouetted form shuffled from the darkness and grabbed the woman’s outstretched hand. With expert precision the cigarette-stained, dirty-nailed digits wrapped her upper arm with rubber tubing and forced a needle into her bulging vein.

“Now, that should help. Give the man his money’s worth, Alex.” He laughed and retreated into the shadows.

Did he say
Alex
?
Keri struggled, frozen in place. She anguished in paralyzed silence
.
Could this possibly be
her
Alex? Could it be the gorgeous, statuesque woman she loved, reduced to such desperation? How could this possibly have happened?

One final disgusting grunt sounded as the obese ogre finished his cruel invasion and rolled away from the woman. Her face, though vaguely familiar, was unlike anything Keri had seen before. Lethargic, listless eyes gazed out from bloodshot and bruised sockets. Dry, cracked lips mouthed inaudible words. A once firm and active body lay crumpled in an emaciated heap. Keri’s anger enraged and weakened her as she realized this mass of human degradation was indeed the remains of a once-vibrant Alex Troy.

Simultaneous with her realization, a wicked, gut-wrenching laugh echoed from the corner. A yellowish green haze illuminated the silhouette. Keri’s attention was riveted on a mound of dirt on which the figure stood. She strained to shield her ears from the vile laughter and run from the horrifying image, but she was incapable of motion.

“Welcome to your worst nightmare, pig,” the voice sneered, spraying saliva in her direction. As he spoke the mist cleared around the raised platform and up to his unexpressive face. Sonny Davis stood irreverently perched on her mother’s grave. “I’ve got your mother and your worthless lieutenant at my feet, and you have nothing. Face it, bitch. You’re out of your league.”

The words penetrated Keri’s heart like red-hot steel. The throbbing in her temples neared explosive proportions. Fists clenched, she summoned all her courage and strength and made a crazed dive for Sonny.

“I’ll kill you, you—” Keri yelled.

“Keri, wake up. Honey, you’re having a bad dream.” Alex wiped at the perspiration that covered Keri’s forehead and chest. “Are you okay?”

“What the fuck?” Keri looked around, momentarily disoriented, until she saw Alex beside her in bed.

Reaching for a bottle of water on the nightstand, Alex offered it to Keri. “Have a drink and tell me about it.” She placed the bottle back on the table and snuggled Keri into her arms.

“It was my usual nightmare, chasing bad guys and fighting to arrest them. Superhero type stuff like that.” Keri tried to laugh off the sense of dread that persisted in her gut.

“Do you have nightmares often?” Alex stroked her cheek tenderly.

“Well…” The truth was she never had bad dreams, but this one hit close to home. Her mother and Alex were the two most important people in her life and she’d thought about them a lot lately. Maybe it was all just getting mixed up with the work stuff and coming out as a nightmare. She refused to accept any other possibility. Her mother was safe at home and Alex would never let anything like that happen to her and neither would Keri. Davis would have to kill her first.

“You’re worried about tomorrow?”

“No.”

“You’re a terrible liar, Keri Morgan.”

Keri was overcome with the sweet sensation of being truly known by the woman she loved. She kissed Alex lightly on the lips but the caress instantly deepened into more.

“We should really get some sleep, baby.” Alex tried to employ reason but her efforts failed miserably as Keri’s lips claimed hers again.

“Not now, please, Alex. I need you.”

Alex could not deny Keri. She never had. Tonight would not be different. They made love as if it were their last time—raw and needy, then soft and reverent. Then Alex held Keri as she drifted into sleep, her head against Alex’s breast. She prayed this would not be their last night together.

*

Alex left for work twenty minutes after Keri. When she arrived she slipped up the back steps of Vice/Narcotics and made her way to the conference room without being seen. The room was filled to capacity with agents from the other task force agencies. There was one notable exception: Helen Callahan. Everyone was focused on Beth, who stood at the front explaining the raid plan.

Alex spotted Keri’s curly chestnut top and her legs threatened to give way as she watched Keri assume center stage. Blood pounded in her veins and grew warmer. Her mouth and lips felt parched as she remembered the soft eagerness of Keri’s mouth last night, Keri’s hands caressing her face and filling her most private places. She experienced anew Keri’s voracious appetite as they made love into the early hours of the morning. Her back stung from the nail marks Keri had left when she screamed to climax. Alex’s insides boiled with a passion she’d never imagined. She felt herself grow damp as she watched Keri discuss questions. Her demeanor was one of honest humility; she was open and willing to learn. There wasn’t the slightest indication of arrogance or ego. The more Alex watched, the more she wanted Keri, in her arms, in her bed, in her life.

Keri detailed the layout of the warehouse and surveillance area she’d drawn on the worn chalkboard. She thought of Alex’s commitment and derived strength from the visual. Her presentation covered all the necessary details of location, time, quantity of purchase, and procedure regarding the anticipatory search warrant.

“Will you be wired?” This question came from one of the DEA agents.

“Yes. I’ll have the cell phone transmitter. Sergeant Price and Steve Alston will be monitoring. If I get in trouble the abort signal is ‘I’m outta here’ and they’ll call in the backup team. The signal to move in will be when I say the dope ‘looks like good stuff and we have a deal.’ Is there anything else?” Silence greeted her last question, so Keri sat back down.

Alex opened the door and stepped into the room. All eyes focused on her, waiting for final instructions. She visually acknowledged each person.

Keri’s pulse raced and her palms dampened. If only she could look into Alex’s confident brown eyes, she knew she’d be all right. The bad dream had shaken her confidence and concentration. Making love with Alex had helped relieve some of the anxiety, but the nagging images from the dream seemed almost prophetic. Today’s tasks only compounded her nervousness. She had to appear confident and in control at the briefing, and more importantly she had to
be
in control for the buy. But pride and something stronger filled her chest as Alex moved to the center of the room. She didn’t try to stop the smile that burst across her face, just thinking about lying in her arms.

“Folks, you’ve worked hard to get to this point and tonight it pays off for us. All I ask is that you remember our three main priorities—everybody goes home safely, Davis goes to jail, and we get the dope. We’ve got a good operational plan, let’s work it.” Alex nodded to Beth.

Beth gave out the team and location assignments she’d prepared. “Everybody be in position by eight o’clock tonight. The buy is scheduled for ten.”

Keri felt Alex’s eyes on her as she secured the cell phone transmitter to her belt. When she looked up, the cinnamon brown warmth covered her like a caress. Her hand went automatically to her midsection to calm a nagging hunger that had nothing to do with skipping lunch. She inhaled deeply to steady her breathing, her eyes never leaving Alex’s. Worry transformed Alex’s face; her gaze darkened, lines creased her forehead, and her eyebrows knitted closer together.

Keri smiled, gave a mock salute and said, “Don’t worry, boss. And take care of Sarge, will you?” She walked out of the room.

Alex felt part of her insides unravel as Keri disappeared through the doorway. Her sixth sense tugged at the back of her mind. Something bad was going to happen tonight. Her instincts were never wrong about that. She wanted to throw herself between Keri and danger, to confess her love and beg for a chance to explore the feelings this young woman aroused in her. Instead, she watched her one chance for love walk away, ready for the deadly situation that Alex herself had approved.

Keri hated dealing with informants, especially Chad. He’d always been just a petty thug, but there was something unnatural about a guy who’d sell his mother for a buck. He was barely a step above Sonny Davis on the ecological hierarchy. At least he didn’t sell drugs to schoolkids and pimp women’s bodies for his own amusement. She just wanted him to hold it together long enough to meet Davis. She’d handle the rest.

As they skirted along Phillips Avenue toward the industrial district in Chad’s old rusty Chevy truck, Keri solicited more information about Davis’s operation. She knew Steve and the backup teams were listening and could adjust for any new intelligence she obtained.

“Will Sonny be alone or will he bring his entire crew?”

“He usually takes Fletch or Cappy with him wherever he goes. It depends on his mood. He does some sick shit when he’s in a dark mood.” Chad took a long pull on his cigarette and blew the stream of smoke out the driver’s window.

“Does he usually have a lookout when he does business?”

“At least one of his guys is there, sometimes two.” Chad was about as helpful as a paper fan in a heat wave.

“Does he carry a weapon?” Keri rubbed her feet together, feeling the cool leather of her ankle holster, comfortable it was sufficiently stocked and concealed.

“No. He leaves the dirty work to his goons.” Chad scratched his head nervously and blew cigarette smoke out the window.

“Okay, when we get there, let me do the talking. Stay close but don’t interfere unless I tell you to do something. Got it?”

“Sure, sure, I got it.” Chad’s upper lip glistened with perspiration.

“We’re pulling up to the building now, guys. There’s a white BMW out front, license GPR-4371, two occupants. No other vehicles or subjects in sight,” she said for the waiting officers.

Keri looked at the huge warehouse and a shiver ran up her spine. “Hey, guys, wasn’t Tiffany’s body found near this warehouse?”

The building was surrounded by similar-sized structures, all dark and apparently empty. Surveillance wouldn’t be easy. Any cars or people in a place like this would seem suspicious. She hoped the advance teams had found good cover and close by.

Two blocks away behind another empty warehouse, Alex, Beth, and Steve Alston were positioned in the surveillance van, monitoring Keri’s transmissions. At Keri’s last comment, Alex turned in her seat and stared at Beth.

Oblivious to Steve Alston behind the steering wheel, she said, “We’ve got to get her out of there. These bastards probably
did
kill that girl, and Keri’s next.”

Beth shifted her eyes toward Steve. With her calmest expression, she said, “She knows the abort code and she knows how to take care of herself. She’ll be fine.”

Alex lowered her voice. “You’d better be right about this.”

As Keri and Chad exited their vehicle and approached the BMW, Chad’s forehead beaded with sweat despite the mild temperature. Keri regarded him impatiently. “Will you chill? You’re going to blow this whole deal.”

Davis opened the passenger door and stepped out. Cappy unfolded himself from behind the wheel, his jacket hiked up over an automatic weapon. Keri was immediately glad Chad was with her, bad habits, sweat, and all. Davis’s usually clear eyes were bloodshot and leering, as if she stood before him nude. Bile rose in her throat.

“Hey, baby, come on in.” He motioned toward a small door leading into what appeared to be an office space of the warehouse.

Cappy ran ahead, fumbled with a key, unlocked the door, and held it open. “You watch our back,” he yelled over his shoulder to Chad, then slammed and locked the heavy metal door behind them.

Keri’s cop intuition sensed serious trouble. Alone with two thugs, one of whom was obviously armed, in an abandoned building without backup was definitely not good. She scanned the area for escape routes, telephones, and potential weapons. There were no weapons in sight and no one else in the room that she could determine by sight or sound. The only point of entry was the door they’d come in through, not even a window. Keri remained wary and cautious as she stepped farther into the space.

Cappy started toward her. “I gotta search you.” If he found the ankle holster, it was all over.

“What? You don’t trust me even now, Cappy? I’m hurt.” Keri paused for effect. “I get it. You just want to cop another feel, right?” She walked toward him with her arms outstretched in resignation. “Feel away, if you’re that hard up.”

Davis waved Cappy off. “F’get about it. She’s clean.” He slid an arm around Keri and directed her to a dark-stained sofa in the center of the otherwise empty room.

Keri contained her disgust. “This isn’t my idea of a fun party place. I’ve got the cash.”