To Protect & Serve (29 page)

“What’s your hurry, baby? Why don’t we kick back and get to know each other better? I don’t usually do this myself. But you’re special.”

“Any other time I’d love to,” Keri lied smoothly, “but this is business. I don’t like to mix my business with my pleasures.”

“Well, if you promise to come back for the pleasure part later.” Sonny grinned and signaled Cappy toward the back of the office.

“Oh, you’ll see me again.” Keri managed a sideways glance, trying to appear friendly without puking.

Cappy took a knife out of his pocket, flipped open the blade, and stooped down in the corner of the office space. With a couple of quick wrist flicks, he pried up a loose board and reached under it. When he pulled his hand out, he clasped a brown paper bag in his fist. He offered it to Keri.

She accepted the bag, reached in, and took out one of the tape-wrapped bundles. Taking the pocketknife he offered, she cut a small hole in the packaging and dipped her pinkie in. As she raised the white powder to her mouth, the distinctive acrid taste of cocaine bit her tongue and brought tears to her eyes.

“Yeah, this is good stuff. I’d say we’ve got ourselves a deal,” she said.

Outside, Keri’s words crackled through the receiver. “Okay, guys. That’s the signal. Everybody move in.” Beth radioed the other units. “Go, go, go! Get the ram and pry tool on that door now!”

The hairs on Keri’s neck stood at attention as the stale room swirled around her. Seconds crawled. She suddenly couldn’t think of another thing to say to Sonny Davis besides “you’re under arrest.” Just being in the same room with him made her skin crinkle with loathing. She ached to exact a little cop’s revenge for the despicable atrocities he’d perpetrated on so many innocent people with his drug peddling. If backup didn’t arrive soon, Keri was certain she’d lose control.

“What’s the matter, honey? You look a little stressed. Why don’t we sample that fine nose candy you just bought?” Sonny jeered, easing his slimy tentacle of an arm around her shoulders.

“Police! Open up, search warrant!” a voice announced from behind the door. Heavy pounding accompanied the subsequent demands for entry.

Finally!
Keri’s shredded nerves crystallized into trained, automatic responses. She shoved Davis away and pulled the baby Glock 9mm from her ankle holster, yelling, “You’re under arrest, Davis.” From the corner of her eye, she saw Cappy reach for the holster at his waist. She leveled her gun at his chest. “Freeze!”

He pulled the weapon out.

“Don’t make me shoot you, Cappy.”

He raised the weapon toward her. The pounding continued behind her, followed by three sudden earsplitting booms. Cappy fell in front of her, a crimson stain covering his chest and the floor beneath him.

Sonny Davis’s face paled momentarily, then glowed a brilliant red. His eyes bulged beyond their socket capacity as he lunged toward Keri. “You’re a damn narc, you little bitch. I’ll fucking kill you.”

Keri sidestepped his swinging fists and glanced at Cappy. He didn’t move. Police procedure dictated that she couldn’t shoot an unarmed man, so she reholstered her weapon and set herself for Davis’s next charge. Adrenaline coursed through her system. She felt invincible and so ready to whip his ass.

Davis steadied himself and rocketed a right hook toward Keri’s head. She anticipated well. His fist sliced the air and threw him off balance. Keri locked her hands together and brought them back over her right shoulder. She knew she’d only have one chance. As he lunged toward her again, she stepped forward and smashed him in the face with all the force she could gather. She jolted from the sudden impact and rejoiced in his corresponding wail.

Simultaneously an excruciating pain slammed her chest. The room faded to black.

*

The commotion continued from the surveillance receiver—shouting, cursing, and then three unmistakable sounds, gunshots, followed by flesh pounding flesh. A tremendous crash reverberated off the tin walls of the van and faded into silence.

“Shots fired! Repeat, shots fired,” Beth announced on the radio.

Alex clutched the walkie-talkie in her hand until her fingers ached. She felt the blood drain from her face. Chills racked her body but she was sweating profusely. The possibility of life without Keri flashed before her eyes.

I knew something terrible was going to happen
.
I should never have let her go in there alone. This was my responsibility. If anything happens to her, I’ll…
She couldn’t let herself go there. In a voice devoid of emotion she said, “Steve, get me mobile—now.”

Steve gunned the gas pedal and headed toward the warehouse.

Beth grabbed the mike. “Any unit on the scene yet, advise.”

No response. Alex’s fingers tightened around her walkie-talkie as if she could squeeze some life from it. Keri had to be all right. The universe wouldn’t play such a cruel joke—give her hope only to have it shattered. Every muscle and nerve in Alex’s body contracted as time dragged like a slug.

Police and ambulance sirens wailed in the distance. Alex’s anxiety about the operation and her fear for Keri skyrocketed.

“Hurry!” Alex urged Steve, her nerves raw.

The drive seemed to take an eternity. Worst-case scenarios horrified Alex for the remainder of the trip. Skits of torture, forced drug use, rape, and mutilation violated her logic and challenged her training and procedural knowledge. Visions of Keri bruised, beaten, and bleeding scrolled through her mind like a bad movie, ending only as Steve sounded their horn and tugged on the wheel to miss a patrol car that braked suddenly in front of them.

Police cars and two ambulances already littered the lot when they arrived, their flashing lights casting ominous shadows across vacant buildings. The scene reinforced Alex’s worst fears. So many emergency vehicles in the same place meant only one thing—something had gone terribly wrong and Keri was in the middle of it.

She scrambled out of the van and sprinted to the warehouse door just as an officer pried the metal frame off its hinges. Alex drew her weapon, crouched, and scanned the interior of the building. The main facility was empty. She focused on the small enclosed office in the back and motioned for officers to cover both sides. Moving directly to the door, she violated the first rule of entry procedure by standing in front and kicking it open. Procedures be damned. Keri was in there and she could be hurt.

When the door flew back, Alex’s worst nightmare flashed before her eyes. No one was moving. The space reeked of gunpowder residue and blood. Keri was lying on the floor. Fresh red blood pooled under her head and streamed into the center of the room. Panic choked Alex’s first attempt to call out and hot tears stung her eyes. She forced down the bitterness in her throat and tried again. “Medic!”

Alex ran to Keri and cradled her head in her lap. “Keri, Keri, talk to me.”
Oh God, please don’t let this be happening. I’ll do anything, just let her be okay.
She checked for injuries, feeling Keri’s scalp and body to determine where the blood had come from. “Keri.” No response. Alex felt her own life draining away as she felt the weak pulse in Keri’s neck.

Paramedics rushed to her side. “Lieutenant, we need to take her now.” Alex didn’t move. “Lieutenant, let us help her.”

Beth knelt down beside Alex and placed her hands over Alex’s where they rested on either side of Keri’s neck. “Alex, you need to let these guys get Keri to the hospital. Now.”

It was as if Beth had slapped her. Alex’s head snapped up. “Right, of course.” She moved away but watched the medics closely as they assessed Keri’s condition and loaded her on the ambulance. “How is she?”

One of the attendants responded, “I’m not sure, but I can’t find any obvious injury. I don’t think the blood is hers. We won’t know anything further until we get her to the hospital.”

“Go now,” Alex ordered and started toward a marked patrol car. Then she stopped and looked back at Beth. “Will you take care of things here?”

“Of course, get going. Keep us posted.”

*

As Keri lingered between consciousness and oblivion she heard a familiar voice but couldn’t focus. She drifted back into the darkness.

“Here you go, Officer.” The nurse directed Alex to a small exam room. “She’s right in there. You can go on in.”

Alex watched her own trembling hand reach for the door. Weakness consumed her body and rendered her almost incapable of movement. She was usually impervious to the unmistakably rich smell of blood mixed with antiseptic scents of Betadine and alcohol, but today her stomach lurched into spasms and she moved the door far enough to step inside. She fought the desire to rush to Keri’s bedside and gather her in her arms. Her next impulse was to find Sonny Davis and kill him in the most painful and humiliating manner possible.

Keri’s beautiful olive complexion was pale and ashen. Red, bloodshot circles surrounded the unopened eyes and deeper crimson splotches formed on her cheeks and arms.

“How is she?” Alex asked.

Renee Siler rose from the chair beside Keri’s gurney and stepped back as Alex approached. “She’s going to be all right, Lieutenant. There’s a possibility of a concussion. She hasn’t regained consciousness yet.”

Alex made eye contact with Renee. “Why did it take so long to get into the building?”

“Lieutenant, we were there within seconds. The minute Keri gave the signal we were on that door with the battering ram and a pry tool. No one knew it was a reinforced metal door. By the time you arrived, we’d already been working on it for a while.”

Alex carefully studied Renee’s face for any indication of deception. Seeing none, she relaxed a bit. “I just hate it when we miss details like that, details that get someone hurt. Sorry. Didn’t mean to jump you.” She looked at Keri’s pale face again. “Renee, would you mind waiting outside?”

When she heard the door close quietly behind her, Alex dragged the aluminum and plastic chair closer to Keri’s side and took her hand, relieved to feel the warmth. She caressed the helpless fingers, bringing them to her lips for a single, lingering kiss. Her heart pounded hard against her chest, each beat more painful the longer Keri remained unresponsive.

Keri struggled to open her eyes. A warm, soft hand held hers. “Keri…” a feminine voice whispered. “Please…” There was a definite sense of urgency in the tone. Alex’s face came into focus.

“I’ve never been so happy to see anyone in my life.” Keri managed a weak smile. “What happened?”

“Don’t worry about that,” Alex said. “You got him. You were all three out cold when we got in. You had the wind knocked out of you, maybe a concussion. It took forever to break down the metal door.” She still held Keri’s hand, stroking the smooth skin, unwilling to release her grip.

“So I did okay, huh?” Keri grinned, her eyes never leaving Alex’s.

“You did great.” Alex paused. She couldn’t contain her feelings.
You have to know. I’ve waited too long already.

“What’s wrong, Alex? We got the bad guy, the drugs, and I’ll be fine.”

“I need to tell you something. This probably isn’t the best time or place, but it can’t wait.” The tightness in Alex’s chest began to loosen as she looked into Keri’s eyes and prepared for the most important words she’d ever say. “I’m—”

The door of the small examining room burst open and Bobby Morgan hurried to his daughter’s bedside. “Are you okay, girl?” He was oblivious as Alex released her hold on Keri’s hand, rose from the chair, and back stepped out of the room while Keri’s eyes begged her to stay.

Keri’s pulse pounded in her temples. Was it her injuries or the simple knowledge that Alex was about to say something that would change both their lives? Torn between her desire for Alex and the need to reassure her father, she watched Alex fade from the room like a fantastic dream she prayed would never end.

“What happened? Are you going to be all right?” Bobby self-consciously patted her hand while surveying her face and arms. “Who did this to you?”

“Daddy, it’s going to be fine. It was just a little scuffle, no major damage. Trust me, he’s worse off than I am. You taught me to take care of myself, remember?”

Bobby Morgan’s face seemed to darken and the well-worn lines of his face thickened. “Yeah…” He looked away, unable to meet her eyes. “I’m sorry about that. I’ve been trying to tell you for a while now.”

Keri had never seen her father look so vulnerable and ashamed.

“I should’ve never laid a hand on you. It takes a sorry man to beat a woman, especially his own child. And I should’ve been there for both of you when your mother was…” Bobby’s eyes grew misty and he lowered his head, stuffing his hands into worn jeans pockets. “Can you ever forgive me?”

Keri rubbed her father’s flannel-clad arm. “Dad, we all do things we regret. It’s important to learn from them and do better. You’ve done way better.”

Bobby bent down and hugged her awkwardly. Keri felt the moisture of his tears against her neck. She knew he was sincere, but it would take a long time to rebuild her trust completely.

After a few seconds, he straightened. “Well, guess I better go fill out the paperwork. I wouldn’t do anything until they let me see you. Besides, there’s a bunch of cops out there waiting to get in here. I’ll be back soon.”

When he opened the door, most of the task force came pouring in, everybody talking at once. Keri half listened, responded periodically, and constantly watched for Alex, but the lieutenant didn’t return. After offering congratulations and a few jabs about how to take down a suspect, everyone except Steve and Beth left.