Page 48 of Heat of Justice

Kim was buzzing from the gorgeous admission. Personally, all this: her crazy attraction to Cody, even as they had their first and rather tense meeting at the police station; calling her for help in the middle of the night while in the throes of a terrifying vision; taking the first step to kiss her on the beach, then inviting her into her home, and making hot, fierce love to her… All of it, yes, was a total first for her. And she had yet to share her most intimate secret with Cody. As they ate, Kim enjoyed watching her. She loved her frequent smiles, sparkling blue eyes, and that focused, attentive, and warm expression Cody always fixed her with. Her blond hair was still a little wet, alluringly messed up from the shower. The badge and weapon stowed on the kitchen counter only made her more attractive and desirable. The badge struck Kim as a beautiful symbol of Cody’s commitment to a higher cause. And the gun… Well. In the hands of a cop, it was a safe, good thing, indeed.

“Tell me, Detective,” Kim prompted her softly. “Am I still a suspect in your investigation?”

Cody paused to meet her gaze after spearing a last piece of chicken off her plate. Her expression was probing. Her eyes held a hint of surprise.

“I don’t sleep with murder suspects, Counselor.”

“Of course you don’t.” Kim waved a hand in dismissal at her own question. “Sorry. I guess that’s my clumsy way of trying to find out more about the case. Can you talk about it now?”

“It’s okay. Based on evidence, the victim’s husband is our main suspect.”

“Damn. I knew it!” Kim gritted her teeth. “Do you have him in custody?”

“Not yet. He took off.”

“No way!”

As she slapped a hand on the table, a tiny muscle in Cody’s jaw tightened in response, revealing her state of mind about the situation.

“Sadly, yeah,” she said. “But we’ll get him. I’ve canceled his credit cards, put a trace on his vehicle, and issued a state-wide arrest order for him.” She glanced at her watch and nodded. “I have to get back out there soon.”

“You need to sleep.”

“I’m relaxed enough.” Cody smiled again. “You saw to it.” She offered an open hand across the table, and as Kim laid hers into it, laced their fingers together. “It’s pretty remarkable the way your gift led you straight to the body.”

Kim nodded, even as her heart began to race.

“Yes,” she murmured. “Remarkable is a good word for it.”

“There’s more to these visions than you told me before, isn’t there?” Cody prompted gently.

Kim reached for her glass, noting that her right hand shook lightly as she finished the wine. Cody had not touched hers after the first sip, which made sense if she planned to return to work that night. Maybe she’d like a glass of water. Or something more to eat. Dessert, perhaps. Yes. There was ice cream in the freezer. Kim almost asked if she would like a scoop, then noticed what was happening. Drifting… Her mind’s attempt at staying offthe painful stuff, she supposed.Focus,she admonished herself. Cody squeezed her fingers.

“Are you okay?” she murmured.

“Yes.” Kim nodded firmly. “Fine. And you’re right; there is more I haven’t said.”

It was time, she decided, to tell her the full truth.

???

Quinn stood for a while at the entrance to her building’s private gym, watching her wife kick and punch the living hell out of a training bag. Lia was a swimmer who loved both the fluidity of the sport and the freedom to practice it out in the open ocean. As a teenager on the East Coast, she spent her summers working as a lifeguard. Now, she belonged to Lewiston P.D.’s open-water swim club and specialized in middle-distance events. Though Lia liked to compete, Quinn knew it was the raw and elemental side of the sport that really drew her to it. In the off-season, she had convinced her to start a weight-training program. Lia, naturally gym-phobic to begin with, stuck with it when she noticed that it improved her performance in the water. She was no slouch either when it came to self-defense, but she was not a martial arts practitioner or boxer by choice. The fact that she had decided to hit the gym on her own and was now kicking that bag as if it were a personal enemy of hers for sure got Quinn’s attention. And when the heavy punching bag swung back a little more violently than perhaps expected and almost knocked her down, she wondered how long Lia had been at the exercise. She was covered in sweat and seemed pretty tired too.

“Hello, beautiful,” she said as she stepped forward.

“Hey.” Lia spared her a quick glance. “Not done yet.”

“That’s okay.” Quinn went to stand behind the bag to hold it in place. “Here you go. Now kill it.”

Lia grunted in assent and went on to unleash a fresh series of straight jabs, cross jabs, and sidekicks.

“Harder,” Quinn prompted. “Left, left, right. Kick it. Great! Come on, Lia, all you’ve got.”

Lia redoubled her efforts, punched until it looked like she might fall, then delivered a final searing kick and walked away to collapse on her back in the middle of the mat. Arms spread to the side, tongue out, she lay there with her chest heaving. Quinn stood over her, smiling.

“You are so damn sexy, Ms. Kennedy.”

Lia cracked an eye open and shot her a suspicious stare.

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