Hunter's Way (25 page)

Tori stood at the edge of the bed, watching Sam. She looked peaceful. Tori hated to wake her. She pulled the covers back and sat down next to her, lightly rubbing Sam’s shoulder until she groaned. Sam finally rolled onto her back, releasing Tori’s pillow that she had been clutching. Sam’s eyes opened slowly, finding hers.

“Hey.”

“Mmm,” Sam sighed as she stretched.

“Amy is here.”

Sam closed her eyes again. For one second, she had forgotten why Tori was here, in her bedroom. But reality suddenly hit. She liked her dreams much better. She reached out and grasped Tori’s hand, pulling it under the covers with her.

“I don’t think I woke up once during the night. Thank you for staying with me.”

Tori nodded and leaned down on her elbow. “I can’t remember the last time I slept this long. Maybe I should be thanking you.”

When their eyes locked, Sam tightened her grip on Tori’s hand. Whatever fantasies she had been having about this woman, she knew at that very moment that she wanted them all to come true. She shivered as her eyes dropped briefly to Tori’s lips. Then she closed her eyes, relaxing back against the pillow.

“You’re leaving?”

“Yes. I need to go in. They’re going to want a statement. Amy will be here with you.”

Sam nodded, but she still held Tori’s hand captive. She didn’t want her to leave. She finally loosened her grip, feeling Tori’s hand slip away from her own. She watched as Tori stood, pulling shorts over long legs. Then Tori straightened up, watching her.

“You were going to tell me something?”

Sam nodded. Reality. It sucked.

“He’s got two guys on the inside,” Sam said. “Captain Mabry.”

“In Narcotics? Captain Mabry? No wonder the guy just slips through the cracks.”

“He also said he had someone in the Mayor’s office. Jenkins.”

“Holy shit! You’re fucking me.”

Sam smiled. “No.”

“Jenkins?”

“He felt that the bust we did, one of them set him up. He kept calling them a traitor and he wanted to know which one had tipped us off.”

“So he was… trying to get you to talk?”

Sam nodded.

“I’m sorry. If I’d never seen that damn thing going down, none of this would have happened.”

“Tori, it’s our job. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I feel like I’m to blame,” she said, voicing her thoughts for the first time. Robert had implied as much last night.

“You listen to me, I don’t blame you for anything. If it was left up to CIU, I’d probably be dead. I owe you so much, Tori. Don’t you dare blame yourself.”

“They’re probably going to send someone over for a statement. Especially when I tell them this,” Tori warned.

“I’ll be fine. Amy will stay with me today.”

“Okay. I should probably get going.”

“Will you come back?”

“Yes.”

“Will you… will you stay with me again tonight?”

“Of course. If you want me to.”

Sam nodded.

“Okay. I’m going to grab a shower and head out. I’ll call you if I learn anything.”

Sam nodded again. Tori paused at the door then walked back to Sam, sitting beside her again. She pulled Sam into her arms and held her, feeling the other woman cling to her.

“It’ll be okay, Sam. We’ll get through this.”

“Thank you for… everything.” Sam pulled away, but she couldn’t resist smoothing the hair over Tori’s ear. Their eyes locked for a moment and Sam let her hand fall away. Tori leaned forward and lightly brushed her lips across Sam’s cheek, then stood and walked purposefully from the room.

Sam sat staring, her hand going slowly to her cheek, touching where Tori’s lips had rested.

Chapter Thirty-one

Tori strolled into the squad room, not at all surprised to see Detective Travis waiting for her. Sikes and Ramirez both looked up, then Sikes walked over.

“How you doing?” he asked quietly.

“Better.”

“How’s Sam?”

“She’s going to be okay.” Tori touched his arm briefly. “Listen, thanks for being there last night, John.”

“No problem.”

“Detective Hunter, glad you could grace us with your presence. You’re quite the hero this morning, aren’t you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, in one night, you managed to do what Narcotics has been unable to do in three years-take Sanchez Gomez out,” Travis said.

“Yeah. About that… I need to speak to my Lieutenant.”

“I need a statement, Hunter.”

“Yeah, I know. Hang on a second, would you?”

Lieutenant Malone stood in his doorway, watching. He motioned for Tori. “How is she?” he asked quietly.

“She’ll be fine. She’s got a friend staying with her today.”

“Good. Did you stay last night?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now talk. Travis has been browbeating me all morning to call you. The guy hasn’t even been home yet.”

“Sanchez Gomez had two on the inside,” she said.

“Dirty cops?”

“Captain Mabry in Narcotics and Jenkins in the Mayor’s office.”

Malone sat back, speechless. “You have got to be kidding.”

“Can we trust Travis with this?”

“Yes, of course. I’ve known Travis for years. He’s by the book.”

Tori nodded. “Okay. Then let’s do it.”

“You know they’re going to want to talk to Sam about this.”

“Yeah, I told her. She’ll be okay.”

Malone stared at her for a long moment. “How are you holding up, Tori?”

“I’m fine.”

“I mean, with the shooting.”

“What about it?”

“Five men, Hunter,” he said.

“Are you asking if I feel remorse? Should I?”

“You know the procedure, Tori.”

“I don’t need to talk to a goddamn shrink about this, Lieutenant.”

“Well, you have to. Get it over with and make it good. I don’t need you on desk duty for a week.”

Malone got up and opened his door, motioning for Detective Travis to join them. They all sat, then Malone looked at Tori and nodded.

“Last night, I was really surprised that no one was checking out the warehouse district. Narcotics was in East Dallas and CIU was asking around Little Mexico. But no one bothered to check where the bust had gone down. I mean, obviously they knew the area enough to know which ones were vacant. They had keys to this one. When we went inside, we heard her screaming.” Tori shrugged. “You know the rest.”

“Yes. You’re damn lucky they all carried pieces or you’d have Internal Affairs all over your ass.”

“Like I stopped long enough to ask.”

“I know. Anyway, it’ll go down as a clean shoot. Don’t worry about that. I’m more interested in how you managed to find them and Narcotics didn’t. It just doesn’t make sense.”

“Actually, it makes perfect sense,” Tori said. “Sanchez Gomez felt he was set up. The drug sting was supposed to go unobserved. He’d been told as much.”

“What the hell are you suggesting?”

“Detective Kennedy said that Sanchez Gomez had two men on the inside. He felt one had betrayed his trust. He wanted to know which of the two tipped us off.”

“Come on, Hunter. You want me to believe he had men on the inside that could keep him so well informed that he’s managed to avoid Narcotics for three goddamn years?”

“Yes, I do. When you’ve got the lead investigator on your payroll, that wouldn’t be hard. Toss in someone in the Mayor’s office and you’ve got it made.”

Travis leaned forward. “You’ve got names?”

“Yes. Mabry and Jenkins.”

“Captain Mabry?”

“Yes.”

“Goddamn pansy-assed Jenkins?”

Tori allowed a hint of a smile. “Yes.”

“Shit. And Kennedy will confirm this?”

“Yes. She told me that Sanchez Gomez referred to one of them as a traitor, and he wanted to know which one had tipped us off.”

Travis shook his head. “Well, I’ve got to notify Internal Affairs about this.” He started to rise, but Tori grabbed his arm.

“Wait a minute. Don’t you think we need to get some evidence before you notify the brass and everybody starts covering their ass?”

“This is the procedure, Hunter. I’m fairly certain you don’t know the meaning of that word.”

“Fuck the procedure. Don’t you think the Mayor’s office will be the first one notified? Jenkins will be covering his ass so deep we’ll never dig him out.”

Travis looked to Malone, then back to Hunter. “Who else knows about this?”

“Just us and Kennedy.”

Detective Travis stared at her for the longest moment, then down at his notes. “This goes against my better judgment, Hunter, but you may be right. The problem is, how do we investigate someone as high up as Captain Mabry without arousing suspicion? Jesus, not to mention Jenkins.”

“What about the DA’s office?”

“Not without Internal Affairs being involved.”

“Then CIU has to do it. You guys have the power, right? That’s what you keep telling us anyway,” Tori said.

“I’ll see what I can do. But Jenkins has his hand in CIU. It’ll have to be very discreet,” he said. “I’m going to need a statement from Kennedy. Is she up to it?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. God, I hate days like this.” He stood. “My Captain is going to have my ass if nothing checks out.”

“How are you holding up?” Amy asked.

“Surprisingly, I feel okay,” Samantha said. She left the window and sat beside Amy on the sofa. It had been easier giving her statement than she would have thought. The nightmare was fading somewhat and if not for the bruises and her aching muscles, she could almost think it was all a bad dream. But it wasn’t. She had been kidnapped, assaulted and… raped. She didn’t want it to be true, but it was. But she felt so disconnected from the person who had been tied to that bed. She kept telling herself that it wasn’t a sexual rape. They had only wanted information from her. They were simply using a form of torture on her. And she had survived it. They hadn’t. Thanks to Tori.

“You know, you’ve got to talk to Robert sometime. He’s called three times.”

“Why is he doing this, Amy?”

“Because he cares about you.”

“Technically, I broke up with him. Why does he act like we’re still a couple?”

“What do you want me to say? He loves you and he still wants you to be a couple. I guess he doesn’t believe that you really want to end things. Hell, I don’t know. It’s not like I’m an expert in relationships.”

“If I tell you something, you won’t freak out?”

Amy’s eyes widened. “Oh my God. You slept with her?”

Sam smiled. “Well, yes, we slept together, Amy.”

“You know what I mean. On the boat?”

“No.” Sam wrapped her arms around herself and looked away. “Last night, when she was holding me, for the first time, I fell asleep with someone not wishing I was alone.”

“What do you mean?”

“With others, with Robert, sleeping was always so… personal. I didn’t want to share that with them. I actually hated sharing my bed with him. That sounds so awful, but I always wished I were alone. I didn’t want to wake up with him.”

“You were practically living together.”

“No, not really. Weekends, sure. I didn’t really have a reason not to stay with him. I could never understand why I felt that way, Amy. But last night, when she was holding me… and this morning… I’m sorry, I know you don’t want to hear this.”

“Samantha, I do want to hear it. I want to understand what you feel for this woman.”

“When I’m with her, I feel… happy. It’s like, there’s this light that goes on inside me when she’s around.”

“Are you… are you falling in love with her?”

“I think I may be,” Sam whispered, meeting Amy’s eyes.

“But you still haven’t talked to her about this?”

“No.”

Amy reached out and took her hand. “Are you sure about this, Samantha? I mean, maybe…”

“I know you don’t understand this, Amy. I told you, I’m not sure I understand it myself.”

“Well, she’s definitely attractive. I mean, that body, God. I nearly fainted when she stood there in nothing but her T-shirt.”

“Try sleeping next to that body,” Sam said quietly. She wouldn’t admit this to Amy, but Tori’s body excited her more than anyone she’d ever met. She was powerful, yet soft. Muscular, yet feminine. Then she smiled. Tori would probably be offended by that description.

“Samantha, you should tell Robert. Until you do, he’s going to continue thinking that he has a chance.”

“I can’t tell him that, Amy. He would never understand. He wouldn’t believe me. I mean, after two years, he’s not going to believe that I’m gay.”

“Do you really think you are?”

Sam stared at Amy, unafraid to meet her eyes. “Yes, I do. I
want
her, Amy.”

“Okay. But just promise me one thing. Before you do anything, say anything, please be certain of that. I don’t want you to rush into anything just because she’s… attractive to you. Don’t screw up your life if it’s not for certain, Samantha.”

“I know, Amy.”

“And like you said, you’ve not even talked to her about this.”

“No.” But there was something about the way Tori looked at her. Her eyes were always so gentle on her, so different than they were with anyone else. There was a light tapping on the door and they both looked up. “It’s going to be Robert,” Amy warned. “You want me to leave?”

“Are you kidding? No, don’t you dare.” Amy got up, opening the door to a smiling Robert. He greeted Amy with a quick hug, then walked into the room, bending to kiss Samantha’s cheek. “Are you feeling better?”

“I’ve not been sick, Robert,” she said lightly. “I feel fine.”

“Well, I’ve come to take you to dinner. I’m sure you’re sick of being stuck inside all day.” Sam met Amy’s eyes across the room. He just didn’t have a clue. “Robert, I don’t feel up to going out.”

“Samantha, you need to get out. You can’t hide in here forever.” Sam stared at him, speechless. It was Amy who spoke up. “Robert, you’re out of line. She was assaulted, just yesterday. I doubt she feels like mingling with people.”

“I’m just trying to help. It won’t do her any good to stay closed up in here. The sooner she gets back out there, the better it’ll be.”

“Why are you speaking as if I’m not in the room?” Sam asked.

“I’m not going out to dinner, Robert. In fact, why are you here?”