After pulling away and flipping her hair over her shoulder, Megan stared down into Delta’s face. The strength and meaning of her look was so intense, so powerful, Delta thought she would explode right there, and she’d even trust Megan to piece her back together.

  “I want you, Delta Stevens. Since the day Miles showed me your picture, I’ve wanted to know you, to be with you.”

  Skimming her fingertips across Megan’s face, Delta smiled. “Then I should be angry with him for never introducing us.” Her smile grew. The weight of Megan’s body on hers brought such pulsing sensations to her lower body, she wondered if Megan could feel them as well.

  “In a way, he did.” Kissing Delta’s fingers, Megan slowly drew the index finger into her mouth and sucked on the knuckle. Eyes closed, tongue moving slowly about the knuckle, Megan started a fire burning in Delta unlike any she had ever felt.

  Sensuously pulling Delta’s finger from her mouth, Megan lowered her face to Delta’s ear and nibbled on her earlobe. “Does the rest of you taste as good?” Megan’s voice was so husky and scratchy, it sent tremors down Delta’s spine.

  “Oh God,” Delta heard herself say from far off in some other dimension. Running her hands through Megan’s hair while feeling the woman’s tongue explore her ear and neck, Delta gently tugged at Megan’s negligee until it slipped off her shoulders and dropped silently to the floor.

  “You feel so incredible,” Delta murmured, running her hands along Megan’s smooth shoulders and tight back. When her hands reached the soft arch leading to her butt, Delta could feel a velvet line of peach fuzz running the length of the arch. After stroking the tiny hairs, Delta reached for the two fleshy cheeks slowly moving into her. They were the softest things she had ever felt.

  The waterbed moved in sync with their connected rhythm, and Delta braced herself as Megan slid her tongue slowly down her neck, slowly across her chest, and ever so slowly around her breast. Around and around Megan sensuously moved her skilled tongue until finally, when Delta could no longer stand the torment, it slipped up and over her nipple, sending jolts of heated electricity through Delta’s entire being.

  “You’re driving me crazy,” Delta moaned, clutching Megan’s head to her chest.

  “That’s the idea,” Megan whispered between nibbles. “Want me to stop?”

  “No. God, no.”

  Megan looked up and smiled into Delta’s face. “I didn’t think so.” Sliding her body between Delta’s legs, Megan inched her way down Delta’s flat stomach, sometimes biting, sometimes kissing the taut skin leading to the dark patch of inviting hair. Laying her cheek against Delta’s stomach, Megan carefully stroked Delta’s inner thighs, occasionally brushing against the curly mound. Each time she did this, a soft moan escaped Delta’s parted lips.

  “You have one of the most incredible bodies I have ever seen,” Megan whispered, feeling the strong muscles in Delta’s thighs and running her slender fingers over the chiseled stomach.

  Delta couldn’t respond. Her legs were on fire, her stomach singed from where Megan had laid her face, and every inch of the wetness between her legs scorched from the desire burning beneath the surface.

  Slowly moving her face upwards and back toward Delta’s, Megan lingered around Delta’s breasts, allowing her hair to brush lightly across the already hard nipples.

  Arching her back, Delta released Megan’s head and gripped the comforter in both hands in a nonverbal plea.

  Keeping her eyes locked with Delta’s, Megan gently lowered her moist lips and slid her tongue quietly into Delta’s eagerly awaiting mouth. As they kissed like lovers who had known each other forever, their bodies locked like two pieces of a jigsaw. Over and over, Megan’s tongue darted in and out of Delta’s mouth, enticing her, teasing her, sending her to places Delta had only dreamt about. As her tongue plunged once more between Delta’s lips, Megan slowly moved her hand between Delta’s legs and caressed the brown hair.

  Delta’s whole body shuddered as Megan’s slender fingers explored her burning wetness. Stroke after stroke, Delta waited for Megan’s gentle fingers to glide across the special place aching to be touched.

  As the two women melded together, moving in unison, communicating in the universal language, in one beautiful and engaging moment, Delta’s entire being flooded with fiery liquid that blasted through her veins like an erupting volcano. Like heat from an inferno, Delta’s body and spirit glowed.

  She wanted to say something, wanted to tell Megan how wonderful it was, but she couldn’t find the words. Instead, she rolled over, on top of Megan, and buried her face in her long, slender neck. For what felt like hours, she nuzzled Megan’s neck and shoulders while her hands cupped the perfectly round breasts and tenderly squeezed them.

  Raising her head from Megan’s lilac-scented shoulders, Delta looked down into the beautiful face beaming up at her.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Delta whispered, staring down into eyes that were bluer than she had remembered.

  Caressing Delta’s cheek with the back of her hand, Megan leaned up and gently kissed her. “Then don’t say anything. Show me.”

  Returning Megan’s kiss with renewed passion, Delta did just that.

  * * *

  Delta reached across and held Megan’s hand as they sat at each end of a small brass and glass table. They looked at each other over two steaming cups of coffee. The steam swirled and rose, entangling as each line met halfway. Two slow grins crept across their faces, illuminating the room under their knowing smiles, as if all that needed to be communicated had already been shared. For Delta, it was a peacefulness that slowly moved in and around her battered heart, making reparations and healing the wounds. It was the much needed tenderness her broken spirit had yearned for.

  “Thank you,” Delta said above the steam from the coffee.

  “For what? Doing something I’ve laid in bed dreaming about?”

  Delta shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. I mean thank you for being here—for caring.”

  Megan reached across the table and held Delta’s hand. “You’re even more special than Miles said you were. Caring about you is easy.”

  Delta grinned. “I’m so glad. This morning was incredible.”

  Megan donned a grin that matched Delta’s. “It was, wasn’t it?” Raising Delta’s hand, Megan lightly brushed her lips across her palm.

  Suddenly, the grin faded from Delta’s face, replaced by knitted brows. “Megan—”

  Before Delta could finish, Megan reached forward and placed a finger over Delta’s lips. “No, Delta, that isn’t how it is when I work. You had all of me; my mind, my emotions, my spiritual energy — all of it.”

  Delta looked away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to say anything.”

  Megan left her chair and kneeled down in front of Delta, taking both hands in hers. “I understand. But I need you to understand as well. You and I made love, Delta. We shared a part of each other’s souls. When you kiss me or touch me, there’s a delight, a passion for you that consumes me. Work isn’t like that. I don’t feel anything. It’s all an act. But with you, all I did was feel. I felt your desire, your hunger, your--”

  “Love?”

  A gentle smile curved on Megan’s face. “Yes.”

  Delta said nothing. Looking down into Megan’s crystal eyes, Delta knew she had felt it, too.

  As Megan rose, she stepped on the files Delta had brought in from the truck. Picking up one of the reports, Megan studied it carefully before setting it down and shaking her head.

  “All those codes would be enough to drive me crazy. Wouldn’t it be easier to call it a murder instead of a — what is it? A 187? That’s so impersonal.”

  Delta sipped her coffee and nodded.

  “And it never ceases to amaze me how you cops can see these tiny license plate numbers from so far away. I mean, do you have bionic vision or what?”

  Delta’s eyebrows suddenly lifted. “What did you say?”

  “I said, I don’t see how you can tell these letters from so far away.” Delta grabbed the report and looked over it. Quickly spotting what she had been looking for, Delta lowered the report and smiled at Megan.

  “That’s it.”

  “What?”

  “There were some things about his report that have been gnawing at me, but I wasn’t able to get a grip on it.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s really been bugging me that the killers didn’t dump that van.”

  Megan nodded, “I’ll say. They’re just asking to get caught.”

  Delta stared down at the report. “It looks that way, doesn’t it?”

  “So what’s your point?”

  Delta handed Megan the report. “Look at the third paragraph. What time does it say Hammond and Larson responded to the drugstore call?”

  Megan read from the report. “Approximately Oh four eleven. See what I mean? You don’t even tell time like regular people.”

  Delta grinned at Megan’s perceptiveness before returning her gaze to the report. “Okay. So they respond at Oh four eleven. When does it say Hammond was shot?”

  “According to Officer Larson, he was shot at Oh four sixteen.”

  “Five minutes later.”

  Megan nodded, her eyes lighting up.

  “When did Larson call for help?” Delta tapped the bottom of the report with her index finger.

  “The call started to come through at Oh four sixteen and ten seconds.”

  “Ten seconds after he heard the shot?”

  Megan nodded. “I guess so.”

  Delta grabbed the reports and jammed them all back in the envelope. “Are you busy after class?”

  Megan smiled. “Well . . . gee—are you asking me out?”

  Delta grinned back at her. “Not exactly. I need your help.”

  Megan leaned over and kissed Delta. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  * * *

  Pulling up to the drugstore where Hammond was killed, Delta and Megan exchanged curious glances. It was a small, one story square building attached on either side to two larger buildings. It was not, as Delta had believed, a solitary, single standing building. Instead it stood the second from the corner, looking abandoned with its barred windows and padlocked front door. Delta estimated the total footage in front of the three buildings to be at least eighty yards, maybe more. Added to another eight plus yards running down the side of the building, the total distance between front and back spanned over one hundred and fifty yards.

  “The report says that Hammond dropped Larson off at the back of this building before making his way to the front by car.”

  Megan looked out at the grey structure. “He must have really burned some rubber if he made it around this building in ten seconds.”

  Delta nodded. “My thoughts exactly.”

  “You don’t think he made it, do you?”

  “Drop me off in the back and let’s find out. When you get to the front, honk the horn and time how long it takes me to get there.”

  Megan eyed the building. “More than ten seconds, even if you are in good shape.” Reaching over, Megan stroked Delta’s inner thigh. “And believe me, you’re in great shape.”

  Delta hopped out of the truck and walked to the back of the store. As soon as she rounded the corner, she heard the blast of her truck’s horn and took off running in a dead sprint. It felt as if she had been running forever by the time she reached the corner and turned toward the front of the building.

  “Hhhow long?” she asked, winded by her all-out run.

  “Twenty five.”

  “And that’s in tennis shoes.” Leaning into the truck, Delta set the trip timer to zero. “Let’s try the same thing. Only this time, after honking the horn, wait five seconds and take off down the street. Keep going until the clock hits twenty, then stop. Wait a few seconds before coming back.”

  Megan nodded, her face veiled in seriousness.

  “Enjoying yourself?” Delta asked, resisting the urge to kiss her full lips.

  Megan winked at her. “Having the time of my life.”

  “You’re a cheap date,” Delta cracked, taking off down the alley.

  “Only for you, honey.”

  When the horn honked again, Delta started off quickly. When she rounded the corner, her truck was nowhere in sight.

  A few seconds later, Megan pulled into the parking lot.

  “He never could have seen the van,” Megan announced, moving over for Delta to get in.

  “He said he not only saw the van, but read the same plate.”

  “Not possible.”

  “It doesn’t appear so.’’

  “I was well out of sight, even in the ten second range. You didn’t stand a chance of telling which direction I headed, let alone read my license plate. Which, by the way, if I had already killed a cop, I wouldn’t have.”

  “Then Larson’s lying.”

  Megan stared at Delta. “But why?”

  “I wish I knew.”

  “You think this has something to do with Miles?”

  “I’m beginning to think there’s a connection. I mean, his partner had just been blown away. Did he imagine he saw the van, or is he purposely trying to throw the investigation astray?”

  “If he imagined the van, Delta, then he also imagined seeing the license plate as well.”

  Rubbing her chin, Delta stared down at the report. “I’d bet a year’s paycheck that the van is under the river somewhere and that Larson never saw the plates or the van.”

  “So what now?”

  Opening the door for Megan, Delta felt a ball of fear well up in her stomach. “Now we try to figure out what Larson is trying to cover up.” As Delta jumped in the cab, a light rain started falling.

  “Must we do so this afternoon?”

  Delta turned to find Megan’s eyes sparkling. “What did you have in mind?”

  Megan leaned in and lightly kissed Delta’s ear before whispering, “Oh, I can think of about one hundred and twelve things I’d rather do, and about one hundred of them are illegal.”

  Delta suppressed a grin. “Is that so?”

  “So, Officer Stevens, if we do the one hundred, are you going to arrest me?”

  Delta turned to Megan and smiled. “I guess you’re going to have to find out.”

  * * *

  “Have you got anything for me yet?” Delta whispered into Connie’s ear as she sat glaring into the monitor.

  Connie looked around before answering. “Maybe. Eddie thinks they may be a combination of numbers. Just what that combination is, we don’t know yet. I say give him a few more working hours, and we might be able to come up with it. What have you got on your end?”

  “Not here.” Delta left Connie and made her way to the bathroom.

  Connie followed, letting the door swing closed behind them before speaking. “What are you up to?” Delta replayed for Connie her findings from the afternoon’s investigation.

  “Storm, what in the hell is going on?”

  “I don’t know. I’m telling you, Con, Larson never saw that van.” Connie stared down at the computer paper in her hand.

  “How do these numbers tie in to this?”

  Delta shrugged. “We know that Miles was keeping track of cop activity at the Red Carpet. How Hammond’s death and Larson’s lie fit with the rest of this, I haven’t a clue. I’m hoping those numbers tell us something we don’t already know.”

  “So . . . where do we go from here?”

  “You and Eddie keep at those numbers. I’m going to go through some recent files and see what sort of activities Larson and Hammond were bringing down.”

  Connie looked hard at Delta. “If Larson is lying about the van—”

  “Then God knows what else he’s covering up.”

  “Cops who cover up are dangerous, Delta. You watch where you stick your nose before you go storming your way into an informal investigation.”

  Delta nodded. If Larson had purposely tried to throw the investigation into Miles’s death askew, she would have a whole lot more to worry about than just her nose.

  * * *

  The questions pounded at her relentlessly, and Delta could not push them aside any longer. Why had Larson lied?

  Delta did not believe he saw the van. She did not believe the same vehicle with the same plates had been used in the second murder. So, were the killers in a different vehicle and Larson knew it? Did he purposely wait to call for backup and that’s why they escaped the net? Did he know who the killers were? The questions came to her much faster than any hint of an answer. So Delta decided if the answers wouldn’t come to her, she would go to them.

  Riffling through the files, trying to be inconspicuous, Delta pulled eight of Larson and Hammond’s reports and four of hers and Miles’s. Skimming over the reports, she realized that most of Hammond and Larson’s activities centered around traffic citations and auto theft. In the past month, no hard collar crimes, and no drug busts of any kind.

  “That’s odd,” Delta mumbled to herself. How could they have no drug related busts when the activity surrounding their beat had increased dramatically? They had just as much drug activity as she and Miles did, yet they’d reported no arrests? It made no sense.

  In her and Miles’s files, Delta counted a number of drug related busts and one big collar in the past month.

  Delta grinned, remembering the major bust they made only a few weeks ago. She and Miles got a hot tip on a crack house that was getting ready to close in their area. With a little information and a lot of luck, they were able to collar the owner and five of his main dealers. It had been so exciting.

  Just looking at all the crack that would never make the streets had been their own personal high. A little over 160 pounds was wrapped up for the evidence room, and taken well away from the grasp of children and teens. Busts like these reminded her why being a cop was so rewarding.

  Shaking the memory away, Delta flipped the report over. At once, Delta stared, dumbfounded at the evidence tag stapled on the reverse of the file. “What in the —?” Bringing it closer to her face, Delta studied it carefully.