Page 75 of Heat of Justice

“And just to be clear,” Quinn added, “I trust my wife. Our marriage is solid. I’m all okay, Jan.”

“Finally!” Janet rolled her eyes, grinned, and punched her playfully on the shoulder. “Thank you! This does answer all my questions.”

“Well, halleluiah.”

“Drop the attitude, Lieutenant; you know you don’t need it with me.”

“Correct. Thank you for making sure I was okay.”

“You’re welcome.” Janet pulled her into a hug, then flashed a mischievous wink. “If you’ll excuse me now, I’ve got to go kiss my sexy girlfriend.”

“Alright.” Quinn laughed. “You’re dismissed.”

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Kim enjoyed meeting her lover’s friends and colleagues. She got a little psychic tingle from some of the people at the party, which she supposed was to be expected. With no other choice, she relaxed and went with the flow. Cody’s lieutenant, a tall, athletic blonde who carried herself with the self-assurance and authority of command, was the first to come and say hello to her. When she shook her hand, a set of ethereal impressions floated across Kim’s brain.Lia. Duty. Grief.In that order.

“I don’t talk shop at summer parties, or Demi tends to get upset with me,” Quinn said to her in a friendly way. “But thank you for your help with the recent case, Ms. Reed.”

“I won’t say it was a pleasure, Lieutenant, but I am glad I was able to help,” Kim answered her with a smile.

Her gaze was assessing and inquisitive, but the lieutenant was true to her word, and she did not ask any questions about her gift. Kim liked her for it. When she met her friend after that, the dark-haired, good-looking surgeon, there was a flash of sexual heat and the cooling scent of the ocean. Kim was not surprised to hear from Quinn’s wife, the filmmaker, that both she and Janet were members of an open-water swim club.

“And this is my partner, Detective Ellie James.”

The young woman, with jet-black hair and piercing grey eyes, was all smiles as Cody introduced her.

“Hello, Kim. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“You too, Ellie.”

At first glance, the squared-away detective and the notably older, swashbuckling neurosurgeon seemed like an odd pairing. But when Ellie pulled her into a friendly hug, Kim intuitively sensed a lot more bubbling just under the surface: a fierce spirit. Plenty of toughness. Clearly, her youth and apparent sweetness hid a much more solid, resilient core. Kim mentioned it to Cody during a moment alone as they sat on the grass enjoying a beer and a piece of cake.

“I like Ellie as your partner. She’s got plenty of fire.”

“She sure does.” Cody smiled in approval. “Though I didn’t want a partner at first. I was used to working on my own, you know? Especially after… what happened in New York.”

“Yes,” Kim said gently. “But your lieutenant decided to put you together anyway. So Ellie could acquire a little seasoning, and you could get over your reluctance.”

“That’s right. How did you know?”

“Simple observation. You like working with her now.”

“I do, yes. She’s a great kid.”

“And she doesn’t like when you call her that.”

“Oh.” Sheepish, Cody chuckled. “It’s an affectionate term… I’ll stop, though, if she dislikes it that much. She must do if she told you about it, huh?”

“She didn’t,” Kim said softly. “It just came to me when I hugged her.”

chapter 24

Granted, this sudden surge of sensitive ability was not entirely welcome for Kim. But she put it down to a consequence of her rapidly unfolding relationship with Cody and the significant emotional opening associated with that. She had no intention of fighting it. Looking back on the last few years of her life, she could not dispute the fact that she had totally shut down after the sexual assault. Understandably, of course… She had moved –actually, fled– all the way to Lewiston, buried herself in a different kind of work, and become a wounded recluse. If not outwardly, at least definitely within her own mind. Now, Kim understood that she was being given a chance to move on from this. Her bond with Cody was too rare and precious, too much of a gift, to resist embracing completely. The connection was also tremendously healing. Given the option to remain as she was, Kim would not want to. Being with Cody was both exciting and reassuring in equal measure. The sex was amazing. Cody was kind and thoughtful, naturally charming, with a romantic streak a mile wide. Simply beautiful. If she happened to be called out on a job in the middle of the night, which occurred often enough, Kim would wake up to discover a little note on the fridge or the kitchen table. Either sending good wishes for whatever sensitive work meeting she may have scheduled later or just reminding her to take time to eat a proper breakfast. Cody enjoyed looking after her. Kim liked to reciprocate. She messaged her at oddtimes during the day just to check in and say hello. Cody sent her flowers at the office. Gladys got a kick out of that.’I know they are for you, Ms. Reed,’she would chuckle,‘but they brighten the whole office and warm my heart just as much.’

When Cody picked her up for an impromptu lunch in town, when they both could spare the time, she delivered the flowers in person. Kim had met her young friend, Anna; the kid was a delight. They went out for dinner with her and her mom. There was a beach party with the usual gang, and they had Ellie and Janet over for dinner one night. All good personal breaks in between periods of intense work. Kim was used to that. Before meeting Cody, she used to spend seven days a week at the office and did not think anything of it. But now, the two women made sure to take at least one day per week for rest and each other. As Kim continued to come out of her shell, she felt behind her the reassuring weight of a community. She was, as Cody told her, a part of her cop family now. It meant a lot. Kim relaxed into the feeling, and the joy of starting a new life with a woman she was falling more and more in love with everyday. She blossomed. When the nightmares started, they were easy enough to dismiss at first. Sadly, as time went on, not so much… and the joy of starting a new life with a woman she was falling more and more in love with every day

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