Page 30 of Heat of Justice (Duty #3)
It occurred to Kim that receiving the commendation held at least one definite advantage: getting to see her partner in her dress blues for the first time. Cody looked alluringly sharp and commanding in official gear, complete with a crisp white shirt and knotted tie.
“You got a thing for women in uniform, Counselor?” Cody chuckled when she caught her staring in the mirror of the police station female locker room.
“A thing,” Kim smirked in reply. “Yeah, you could say that. When the woman in question is you, definitely. You look good enough to…”
“Eat?” her lover prompted, fiddling with the tie.
“Mm. Yes, I suppose…”
“What were you going to say?”
“If I tell you, you’ll accuse me of winding you up when we have no time to make good on it.”
“That’s okay,” Cody laughed. “I can take it.”
“It’s the tie that does it for me,” Kim mused as she stepped up to do it right for her. “I’m getting hot visions of you on your knees between my legs, being a good girl in nothing but the tie and that sexy smile of yours.”
She was rewarded to see this exact same grin, and a lovely flush across Cody’s cheeks.
“That could be arranged,” she said.
Cody had healed well and quickly from her injuries. Two weeks later, only a little scar remained on her forehead as a reminder of the event. She looked tough most of the time, not a cop to be messed with, and in her uniform, especially; but every smile she aimed at her betrayed her tender spirit and playful attitude. Kim liked it. A lot. She finished tying the knot and stepped back to check it.
“Perfect,” she approved.
“Come here.” Cody reached to pull her back and laced her arms around her waist. “You look so glam and sexy.”
Without a uniform of her own to wear for the occasion, Kim had opted for a combination of sober and chic. She wore a black Armani suit, a fuchsia silk shirt under the fitted jacket, and heels of the same color. Her hair was tied back.
“I was hoping for a kick-ass lawyer look, more like.”
“Yes, you achieved it. But I see the alluring woman under the clothes.”
“This one comes out only for you, you know?”
“I do.” Cody flashed a quick grin. “I’m lucky.”
Kim loved to catch a trace of heat across her eyes. She ran her fingers deeply and possessively through her hair, smoothing back the thick blond strands, and held there for a full-on, slow kiss.
“Hey, Cody—Oops!” Ellie, also looking dapper in uniform, came swinging through the door. “Sorry, ladies. The lieutenant sent me to tell you to move your butts. Her words. Everything’s in place, and the mayor’s about to start his address.”
“Wouldn’t want to miss that, would we?”
“Behave yourself, Detective.” Kim chuckled at her lover’s ironic tone and took her hand. “Come on. The sooner we finish this ceremony, the quicker we can do the tie thing.”
Wisely, Ellie did not ask.
◆◆◆
Despite the fact that she did not like pomp and was against this commendation being awarded to her for just doing her job in the first place, Cody felt the emotion of the event when she stepped on stage with Kim. A firefighter who had risked his life to save a litter of puppies from a burning building was also up for commendation, as was Jim Olson, the construction worker from the train. Mayor Everleigh, trailing in re-election polls by a significant margin, obviously tried to use the event to boost his campaign. Cody tuned him out as he droned on about the importance of keeping the good people of Lewiston safe and how much he valued the guys (and girls, he added almost as an afterthought) in uniform who made sure that this happened. After how he had recently treated Quinn, Cody did not believe a word of what he said was sincere. But she did feel a spike of emotion when she saw her colleagues assembled there, looking proud. Her lieutenant, her partner, the rest of her team… Janet, Demi, Carole. Even Anna and her mom were there. Cody winked at the girl and made her grin. It was good to see her surrounded by her dad’s friends. Armed with a professional camera, Lia Kennedy took photographs of the event for the Lewiston P.D. website and social media page.
“As cops, we take an oath to protect and to serve,” Quinn said in a brief but loaded speech of her own. “But it does take a special breed of courage, when put on the spot, to look death in the face and still do the right thing.”
For sure, she would know, Cody reflected.
“Detective Miller, today we honor you for putting the safety of others above your own and living up to the highest standards of our institution.”
Cody nodded in acknowledgment as Quinn met her eyes and held intensely for a second.
“Some do it even without the oath,” the lieutenant went on, “just because they are an outstanding human being. Mr. Olson, this goes to you.” Last but not least, she smiled at Kim. “And yet others surrender to a higher power in order for lives to be saved, a total sacrifice which I know comes at great personal cost. So, we thank you all for your selfless contributions. You are a credit to this community.”
She could not have said it better, and Cody felt her partner relax imperceptibly as she stood by her side. Kim had been even more reluctant to accept the commendation than she was, but Cody could tell that Quinn’s inspired words also hit the spot with her. Great. They received a standing ovation, and then the official part was over and done with, thankfully. Demi leaped on stage to grab the mike.
“Those of you not on duty, we are going to the beach for drinks and burgers,” she reminded. “Lose the uniforms, people; now’s time to celebrate!”
◆◆◆
“So, she came,” Quinn said, spotting Brooke on the beach a split second before Lia did.
“Yeah.” Lia eyed her former partner, dressed in flowy white linen pants and a tank top, barefoot, who sat on her own a short distance away. “I wasn’t sure she would when I invited her, but I’m glad she did.”
A couple of cops from the station walked past Brooke. One of them almost gave himself whiplash glancing back, then forgot his original destination in favor of going for a chat. Lia could tell from the body language, coming through loud and clear, that he was flirting with her.
“Barking up the wrong tree,” Quinn snorted.
Lia looked at her. Quinn always looked amazing in her uniform, but even better now, she decided, in her usual beach attire of board shorts, Nike swim top, and Oakley sunglasses. She looked drop-dead gorgeous with her sculpted physique, surfer-blond hair, and traces of salt on her tanned skin from an earlier dip in the ocean.
“I’ll go talk to her, okay?”
“Sure. Take your time.”
“Thanks for letting me do this.”
“Of course.” Quinn shrugged. “You’re a free woman.”
“I love you, baby.” Lia punctuated this with the kind of kiss that made her wife, always so strong and emotionally reserved in public, shiver and grin like a mesmerized rookie.
“Don’t be too long,” Quinn advised.
“Be right back,” Lia promised.
She joined her former fiancée, who drank Perrier in the hot sun.
“Hey there.”
“Hi, Lia.”
“You’re looking well.”
Brooke had caught a bit of sun since the last time Lia had seen her at the rehab center. She was still a little too thin, but she looked more like herself.
“Thanks,” Brooke nodded. “Thank you for inviting me here today.”
“It’s okay. You said you wanted to talk.”
“I wanted to apologize to you face to face.”
“I have a few things to say to you as well.”
“Okay.” Brooke visibly steeled herself in anticipation of a hard time. “You go first.”
Lia did not hesitate. She looked her in the eye and spoke clear and sharp as a blade.
“You went after my wife, Brooke. Quinn was hurt because of you. This, I find extremely hard to forgive.”
“I understand. All I can say is I’m sorry, Lia. Truly sorry for hurting you both.”
Though this came in a hushed tone, the words did not feel any less heartfelt when Brooke uttered them. Lia noted genuine regret in her grey eyes and the sort of humility Brooke did not display very often in the past. When Lia first met Quinn, she had been struck by the difference between them. Though the two women were close in age, Quinn had felt much older, wiser, and more grounded at the time. A lot more mature. It was obvious that she had gone through the fire. Now it sounded as if Brooke had also fought and survived her own painful battles.
“I love Quinn more than life,” Lia said.
“Understood.”
“I hope you do.”
“Yes. I see your bond, Lia,” Brooke said. “I will never, ever do anything to hurt you or your wife again. If you can’t find it in you to forgive me, at least I hope you can believe that.”
Once again, Lia looked at her and saw how much she meant it. Oh, hell! Brooke had paid enough, had she not? Who was she to make it harder on her after all she had already gone through? Without another word, Lia reached for her and pulled her into a hard, emotional hug.
“It’s over now. I don’t want to fight with you, Brooke.”
“I don’t either. I never wanted to.”
You still mean a lot to me.”
“You too.”
“So let’s be friends again, okay?”
“Oh God, Lia, there’s really nothing I want more!” Brooke exclaimed. She held her tight for a second longer. Her brilliant eyes shone with a layer of tears when she pulled back, but her smile made her look ten years younger. “Friends.”
“Definitely.”
“Thank you so much. Really. It means the world.”
“It’s okay. No more tears now,” Lia instructed. She stood up, smiled as well, and offered Brooke a hand up. “Come on, let me introduce you to the rest of my people.”
◆◆◆
Kim looked around as she relaxed beside her partner with a cool drink. Ellie and Janet sat nearby with their arms around each other, in easy conversation with Demi, Carole, and Brooke. Lia and Quinn had picked a spot on their own a few feet apart. The serious lieutenant lay relaxed in her wife’s arms, laughing at something Lia was saying. Not for the first time, Kim noticed the loving and easy vibe between the two of them.
“I really like your friends,” she declared.
Now at ease in denim shorts and a Lewiston P.D. tank top, Cody looked at her long and deep. “They are like family. So are you, Kim.”
Kim returned her glance, just as intense.
“I love you, Cody,” she said fiercely.
“You mean that?”
“You need to ask?”
“No, I’m pretty sure.” Cody laughed, and then her expression softened and grew tender. She looked at her the exact same way Quinn Wesley looked at her wife. “I love you too, Kim. It’s going to be okay, you know? With the psychic stuff.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“And I’ll be here for you, no matter what.”
“You mean that?”
“You need to ask?” Cody grinned.
“No…” Smiling, too, feeling deeply happy, Kim leaned over to brush a hot kiss on her lips. “I’m pretty sure.”
THE END