To Protect And Serve Part 1

TO PROTECT.

AND SERVE.

by VK Powell.

Acknowledgments.

My first book would not have been possible without the following wonderful women: "Red," Mate, Vern, Doc, Pat, and Nancy. Your love, friends.h.i.+p, support, and guidance sustained me during this project and continue to ll my heart.

To Len Barot and Bold Strokes Books, my heartfelt appreciation for taking a chance on an unknown author and helping to make my dream come true. Your vision for the future of Bold Strokes Books and your dedication to the development of its writers make me proud to be a part of this wonderful family of professionals.

Senior consulting editor, Jennifer Knight, you are brilliant! I am forever grateful for your keen instincts, knowledge, and guidance.

You're a gifted teacher with a wonderful sense of humor. You make me sound like the writer I hope to be. To Stacia Seaman, your meticulous attention to detail is awe inspiring and greatly appreciated. To Sheri, BSB graphic artist, my thanks for wrapping my baby in such gorgeous clothes for her debut. Because of your amazing work, Bold Strokes Books readers know they can judge a book by its cover.

No writer could survive without the valuable a.s.sistance of competent beta readers and proofreaders. For your untiring hours of careful scrutiny and input, I give special thanks to beta readers JM, Ev, and Linda. You kept me on track. To the dedicated BSB proofreaders, my grat.i.tude for your efforts on my behalf.

And to all the readers who support and encourage my writing, thank you for buying this book, visiting my Web site, sending e-mails, and showing up at signings. You make writing fun!

Dedication.

For TLS- nally.

TO PROTECT AND SERVE.

CHAPTER ONE.

Lieutenant Alex Troy wondered what could be important enough for the chief to pull her from high-priority surveillance. Her cop's intuition smelled trouble. As she mentally ipped through possible scenarios, she punched the elevator call b.u.t.ton again. Like everything else in this central North Carolina munic.i.p.al building, the lifts moved at the pace of the bureaucracy housed within the beige walls.

When she pushed the b.u.t.ton again, a woman approached, head down, sorting a le of papers as she rushed. She collided headlong into Alex. Numerous pages burst from her le and uttered through the air, landing around Alex's feet.

"d.a.m.n, I should watch where I'm going." The woman did not even bother to look at Alex directly. She dropped to her knees and swept the scattered pages together with her hands, offering Alex a view she was not expecting.

A silky red tank top hung loosely on her braless body, leaving nothing to the imagination. A pair of unenc.u.mbered b.r.e.a.s.t.s, the rmest, most perfectly shaped olive mounds she'd ever seen, were centered by erect dark-chocolate nipples that beckoned invitingly. Alex's pulse quickened. She still couldn't see the woman's face. Soft waves of chestnut hair brushed her bare shoulders and fell loosely into place as if nger-combed by a lover. As the woman crammed her doc.u.ments back into the le, she offered an apology that was at best routine, then stood.

"You." Shocked cobalt blue eyes lifted to Alex's. Almost immediately a hint of challenge entered her gaze. "Lieutenant, I wasn't expecting to see you."

* 13 *

Alex gave herself a moment to take in the simple beauty before her. Perfectly shaped lips parted to reveal teeth so white against the olive complexion, they seemed to glow. An oval face was highlighted by eyes that brimmed with curiosity and something else, a hint of barely restrained pa.s.sion that beckoned to Alex.

She wouldn't normally explain herself to a subordinate, but Keri Morgan was ustered and Alex decided to cut her some slack. "I've been in Vice/Narcotics for a while."

She extended her hand, half expecting it to be ignored. Keri had walked away from the simple courtesy the last time they'd encountered each other. When a cool palm nally slid brie y against hers, Alex's nerves sparked with a jolt of excitement she hadn't experienced in far too long. "You look well," she said.

"Thank you." Keri folded her arms across the le, which she held to her chest as if suddenly self-conscious of her questionable attire.

Her guilty demeanor made Alex curious, and she paid closer attention to the color-coded folder. "I a.s.sume you're authorized to have 'eyes-only' doc.u.ments pertaining to a known drug lord." The information originated in the Vice/Narcotics of ce and had to be released by someone at the rank of captain or above.

"My captain told me to review it." Keri's tone was polite, but it was obvious that she yearned to tell Alex to go intimidate someone else.

Alex found it hard to believe three years had pa.s.sed since the excessive force interview in her downtown of ce. The of cers involved, one of them Keri, were not her direct reports, and under normal circ.u.mstances she would not have been involved in the investigation. But the incident had occurred in an af uent area of town and the evaluation had to be above reproach. The chief had requested she handle the distasteful task personally.

Keri had been angry about the violation of her usual chain of command and the investigation itself, proclaiming the innocence of her partner. Their interview had rapidly degenerated into scathing looks and heated comments, until she accused Alex of conducting a witch hunt and stormed out of the room. The same heat sparked from her eyes today. Evidently three years had done little to temper her resentment.

Shortly after the investigation, Alex was transferred to the Vice/ Narcotics Division satellite station. Keri had remained on the graveyard * 14 *

s.h.i.+ft housed in the central munic.i.p.al building and their paths had not crossed since. Time had been kind to Alex, allowing her to forget the tug of attraction she'd once felt to the younger woman, or that's what she'd believed. Seeing Keri now, an uncomfortable feeling settled in her chest.

"The elevators in this building are always so d.a.m.n slow." Keri's gaze was xed straight ahead at the unyielding steel doors.

"Yes, they are." As Alex mashed the lift b.u.t.ton a third time, she made another covert visual evaluation. Nice, very nice indeed.

The past three years had only improved Keri. Her body was sleek and well-muscled, and her honey-colored skin shone with healthy radiance. She appeared a little thinner, and signs of premature graying showed in a few strands of the wavy brown hair that fell recklessly across her forehead. But now as then, her expressive eyes pulled Alex into their depths. Though the re still burned in them, she seemed to be able to contain her emotions and remain civil. Alex smiled to herself.

Perhaps the young of cer was maturing.

She was surprised when Keri asked bluntly, "Lieutenant, do you like Vice/Narcotics?"

"Yes, it's actually my favorite a.s.signment so far. Why?"

As soon as she'd spoken, Alex regretted inviting more discussion.

She was well aware that the guys on her squad warned everyone about the ambitious female lieutenant. They described a superhuman cyborg able to regurgitate procedures verbatim, arrest eeing felons, and defend the rights of the downtrodden, all while spooning out bitter doses of discipline to the deserving. If Keri needed any more reason to dislike her, she would nd it the first time she sat down for a beer with anyone in the division.

"I've always had an interest in narcotics work and do a lot of street-level enforcement. I'd like to take it to the next level someday."

The cool blue of Keri's eyes turned dark. The intensity of her words hinted at something deeper than a simple career move. She seemed to ponder her next statement. "I was wondering, if you don't mind my asking, is it important to insulate yourself from people on the job in order to do the job at your rank?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I'm sorry. Is that too personal?" Keri paused, enjoying the icker of discomfort on Alex Troy's face. She recognized the look: suspicious, * 15 *

untrusting, and perhaps...lonely. Curious to know if anything besides blue lights and sirens got this woman's pulse racing, she asked, "I just wonder if it's dif cult and how much of a toll it takes."

A trace of con ict in Alex's eyes told her she wasn't going to get an answer. Aware that she was treading on Alex's toes, Keri said quickly, "Lieutenant, with all due respect, I was only trying to...never mind."

Alex regarded her evenly. "Do you always say what's on your mind? That can get you in trouble around here."

"I'll remember that." Keri held her gaze, eyes steady.

G.o.d only knew what lay behind those cool pools of innocence.

Trouble, Alex decided. Mentally adding "still sensitive and emotional"

to her growing list of adjectives to describe Keri Morgan, she said, "Morgan, it was just a suggestion. You don't have to take it personally."

The minute she said the words, she wanted them back. She'd said something very similar in that room with Keri three years ago and the response had been swift and emotional. She held her breath.

"I take everything personally. Otherwise what's the point?" Keri tried for a ippant tone, but the criticism stung.

She caught a mental ash of the two of them staring across a table at each other during that unforgettable interview. Thankfully, she could hide her feelings better now and had learned to think before she opened her mouth. She wished she'd made a better impression, but the formidable lieutenant would not be easily impressed. Keri glanced down at her skimpy top. It was just her luck that she was dressed for a night on the town. She and her best friend had partied until early morning and she hadn't had time to go home before work. She was going to change the subject but she realized they were still standing in the middle of the hallway in front of the elevators, oblivious to the people maneuvering around them. The steel doors were nally open.

Alex was moving with the crowd.

"It was nice to see you again, Morgan," she said as she followed a man into the con ned s.p.a.ce. "Keep up the narcotics work."

"I will." Keri stepped aside as the doors swished closed. She had no plans to ride the elevator jammed up next to Alex Troy.

Irritated, she hurried toward the stairway exit. It was almost time for lineup and she wanted to review the con dential le before her s.h.i.+ft.

She knew she shouldn't have allowed Alex's stoic att.i.tude and criticism * 16 *

to get under her skin. She wondered why she cared what that woman thought. Hadn't she lost all respect for Alex Troy a long time ago?

v Alex stared straight ahead as the elevator ascended a few oors.

She felt unsettled by the surprise encounter with Keri Morgan, and irrationally annoyed that Keri had avoided taking the lift at the last minute. Obviously she'd interpreted Alex's comment as another criticism. Alex reminded herself that she didn't have time to baby-sit an angry of cer with a chip on her very lovely shoulder. Of cer Morgan's tender feelings were not her responsibility. Her intentions hadn't been malicious, and if Keri could get over herself perhaps she would have seen that. All the same, Alex was reluctant to end their brief conversation on a sour note. Three years had pa.s.sed. It was time for both of them to move on.

As she exited the elevator and entered the chief's of ce, she made a concerted effort to clear Keri from her thoughts. Glancing around the reception area, she marveled that instead of memorabilia of the chief's career, the walls were lined with photographs of of cers who had been recognized for their accomplishments. The collection continued into the chief's private of ce.

Chief of Police Rudy Lancaster rose from behind his vertically enhanced desk, towering over Alex as he greeted her. Framed by the light pouring in through a bank of windows opposite the door, he seemed even larger than his six-foot-four. Alex liked this amiable African American man and had come to respect him as a boss since he took up the position a year ago.

"It's good to see you, Alex." He shook her hand and motioned her to a chair. "How are you holding up?"

Alex's jaws clenched. "It's still hard to believe they're both gone, but I'm doing okay, sir. Thanks for asking."

"If you need anything, let me know."

His sincerity touched her. Blinking back tears, she said, "Thank you, Chief. How're Carol and the kids? Do they like it here?"

"They love it. I wasn't sold on the move, as you know, but Carol's family is here. It's convenient for vacations, too. Four hours from the coast and four hours from the mountains."

* 17 *

Granville, North Carolina, was a midsized town with a small-town mentality. Alex had lived here since college and it felt like home.

She'd attended UNC and had decided to stay on because of the know-your-neighbor feeling. And there was enough nightlife to keep an experimenting lesbian in playmates. The thought made her frown. She could hardly remember when she'd last enjoyed either. The occasional one-night stand made little impact. Her parents' deaths a year earlier, coupled with the end of a painful relations.h.i.+p, had led to months of self-imposed solitude. To return to work without falling apart, she had exercised all the emotional self-restraint she was capable of. She still wasn't back to full steam, and frequently skipped meals and restless sleep hadn't helped her health or state of mind. But she'd accepted the personal price as a necessity.

The chief slid the family photos on his desk to one side and pulled a piece of paper toward him. "I don't get to see much of you, but your name crosses my desk often. You and Wayne are doing good work."

"We try, sir."

Alex thought about her supervisor and mentor, Wayne Thomas.

He and Alex's father had been best friends, and when her parents died, Wayne had become like a surrogate father and kept her from falling apart, personally and professionally. She owed him so much and wanted to make him proud. But she was surprised he wasn't here. It was unusual for him to miss a meeting with the chief unless something more important came up.

Chief Lancaster got to the point. Handing her a single sheet of Granville Police Department memo paper, he said, "Alex, I've got a special a.s.signment for you. Wayne and I discussed it earlier and agreed on the basics."

Alex scanned the memo and her pulse quickened. This was the opportunity she'd been waiting for ever since making lieutenant ve years ago. When she looked up, the chief was smiling.

"I take it you have no objections to heading up a multijurisdictional task force to target our most notorious and elusive drug dealer?"

The multijurisdictional aspect sent a s.h.i.+ver up Alex's spine and she took a deep breath. "I have no problem whatsoever, Chief. I'd love to make life h.e.l.l for Sonny Davis."

"I know I don't have to tell you this, Alex, but the series of deaths recently from drug overdoses on college campuses has the community * 18 *

in an uproar. We've got ve inst.i.tutions of higher learning in this town.

You and Wayne have been to enough of the meetings to know what the citizens are saying about-" Lancaster paused as the phone at his elbow rang. "Excuse me a second."

Alex watched his brow furrow with what could only be bad news.

He was silent for a few seconds before asking, "Any ID on the victim yet?" He covered the mouthpiece with his hand and murmured to her, "Another overdose."

They needed to get this creep off the streets, Alex thought. Sonny Davis had been on their radar since he ran a gang of drug dealers in high school, but he'd never been convicted of anything. He dealt every drug that came down the pipeline and often used brutality to keep his people in line. They'd sent several of his cronies to prison but Davis's hands were always clean.

"Thank you for calling," the chief said. "I'm going to send Alex Troy down there right now. She'll be running the Sonny Davis task force, and I want her to take a look at what you have. Keep me posted."

He hung up and turned back to Alex. "The MO's not quite the same as the others. This one is off campus, but I'd like you to take a look anyway." He scribbled the address on a piece of notepaper and handed it to her. "Come back by when you nish, if it's not too late, and we'll wrap up the task force details."

"Will do, sir."

Alex was halfway to the door when the chief added, "Whoever is bringing this poison into our town is turning it into a death trap for our young people. I want it stopped, Alex. Whatever it takes, make it happen."

v The drive to the crime scene in the low-income housing area of town took only ve minutes. Captain Ted Joyner, the evening watch commander, met her in the parking lot of the complex, handed her a pair of latex gloves, and led her into a modestly furnished apartment.

"She's back here in the bedroom. We still don't know who she is, didn't have an ID on her. We're canva.s.sing the other members of the group."

"What group?"

* 19 *