Taylor Made Read online

  “Honorable?” Delta queried aloud, hearing Taylor’s soft soles hit the ground below. “Perhaps.” Maybe deep down, Delta wanted her to escape. Maybe she felt the same way about incarcerating Taylor as she’d felt when she saw the caged panthers in the San Diego Zoo. Some creatures simply weren’t meant to be locked up. Maybe Taylor was one of them.

  Then again, maybe not.

  Hearing scuffling sounds below, Delta holstered her gun, ran down the stairs, and into the backyard. Flipping on the outside light, Delta saw Connie holding Taylor in a wristlock.

  “Her! How in the hell did I forget about her?” Taylor yelled, shaking her now uncapped head, revealing her tousled, short black hair.

  Connie tossed a wink to Delta. “Gee, I don’t know. Women have been telling me for years how unforgettable I am. Right, Del?”

  Delta grinned. “I wouldn’t know.”

  “Damn, damn, damn,” Taylor groaned. “But then again, every great player has a contingency plan. Right, Delta?”

  Delta folded her arms across her chest. “This, I gotta hear.”

  Taylor half-turned to Connie. “Uh, would you mind? It’s not like I’m going to outrun you.”

  Connie looked over at Delta, who nodded.

  “Thanks.” Rubbing her wrist, Taylor grinned at Connie. “Nice leg sweep. Took me down before I even knew you were there.”

  Connie shrugged. “Delta said not to hurt you.”

  Taylor looked over at Delta. “Aw, isn’t she just the sweetest?”

  “Plan B.” Delta said without emotion. If ever a woman could charm a snake, Taylor was definitely the one, especially now that Delta had seen the true sky blue color of her eyes.

  “Right. Mind if we go inside? It’s a little chilly out here.”

  Delta shook her head, but stepped aside to let Taylor in. “You’re something else, you know that?”

  “Indeed, I am.”

  As the three women situated themselves in the kitchen, Delta couldn’t help but admire Taylor’s strength and resilience. Perhaps she was right about them being friends in another life. They really were kindred spirits, even if one of their souls lived on the wrong side of the law. “So, what have you got up your sleeve this time?”

  A thin smile played on Taylor’s lips. “I’ve been in town a couple of months, Delta, and I’ve spent endless hours watching you and your life.”

  “T,” Connie muttered, shaking her head. She asked Delta, “When you were in the hospital, someone sent you flowers and just signed the card T, remember?” She asked Taylor, “They were from you, weren’t they?”

  The thin smile grew. “A nice bouquet, I hope.”

  Connie nodded. “The prettiest of the bunch.”

  “Uh, ladies, could we move along, here?” Delta prodded, uncomfortable at the prospect of having someone study her life so closely without her knowledge.

  Taylor nodded. “Sure. I’ve been watching you both, seeing what’s important in your lives.”

  “And?”

  “And, quite frankly, you need me and don’t even know how much. Yet.”

  “What in the hell are you talking about?”

  “Well, it’s not you who need me as much as your friend the DA does.” Taylor paused here for dramatic effect. “Because if someone doesn’t rescue her soon, she’ll be standing in the unemployment line. Isn’t that correct?”

  Delta shrugged, feigning disinterest. “What does she have to do with your Plan B?”

  “Everything. You two have been busting your humps trying to find out who to pin the so-called assassination attempt on, and so far, you’ve come up with nothing.”

  “Go on.”

  “The key to successful gambling, Delta, is to have all of your bases covered. I studied your lives to determine what was important enough to you to make you break the rules in the unfortunate event that you caught up with me.”

  “And what rules do you think I’ve broken?”

  Taylor laughed. “It’s obvious to even the least astute that Alexandria Pendleton is important to you as both a DA and as a friend. Important enough, my friends, that you would pose as federal agents to back Wainwright into a corner.”

  Connie shot Delta a look, but Delta said nothing.

  “As soon as the shooting occurred, I saw my home plate being covered.”

  “How?”

  “She’s your Achilles’ heel. You care deeply for the women in your life, Delta, whether they’re lovers or not. You care about her so much, both of you are willing to break the law by getting into Wainwright’s house under false pretenses and leaving him a nasty little bug. I’d say that was a pretty big heel, wouldn’t you?”

  Delta and Connie looked helplessly at each other. “How do you know this?”

  “After discovering your weakness, I looked for Wainwright’s. It was fascinating, really. Usually, I just lay by the pool during the days, but since it is winter—”

  “What did you find out?”

  “A great deal, really, and when I’m done, you’ll be glad I did.”

  Delta slid off the stool and towered over Taylor. “Spit it out, Taylor. I’m losing my patience.”

  “Fine. In a sentence, I think I have what you need to nail the person behind the shooting.”

  Delta looked to Connie, but Connie’s mouth hung open as well.

  “I simply used my unequaled abilities to break into his house and plant three tiny cameras—one in his study, one in the bedroom, and one in the kitchen— and waited for him to hang himself.”

  Connie came to her feet. “You did what?”

  Taylor beamed proudly. “I planted cameras.”

  “In the man’s house?”

  “Yep.”

  “But I was there. His security system—”

  “Sucks. I was in and out in no time.”

  Delta rubbed her tired eyes. “Let me get this straight. You broke into his house and planted three cameras, hoping to incriminate him, just in case we caught you?”

  Taylor nodded. “I planted three more in Alexandria’s headquarters and four in Wainwright’s campaign headquarters.”

  Connie whistled. “Impressive.”

  “Not really. I knew that if I could get the information you needed I would become more valuable to you free than in jail.”

  “What do you mean ‘valuable?’”

  Taylor hopped off the counter and walked over to Delta. The air seemed to sizzle as they stared at each other. “I have what you want.”

  “Which is what?”

  “Tapes of Wainwright. In exchange for my freedom, I will hand the tapes over to you.”

  “No way.”

  “Hear me out, Delta.”

  “Look, Taylor, there’s no way I’m going to let you blackmail me into letting you go.”

  “Blackmail? Interesting choice of words. Delta, I never said anything about blackmail. But since you brought it up...”

  Connie came over to Delta and stood beside her. “Describe his study.”

  Taylor did, right down to the teak and brass paperweight on his desk. Then Taylor turned to Connie and grinned. “You remember it, too, don’t you, Agent Rivers?”

  Delta’s mouth moved up and down, but the words were nowhere to be heard.

  “That’s right. I have Connie Rivera on tape impersonating a federal agent. That’s a felony, I believe.”

  “Why you little shi—”

  “Now, now, Delta. I’m not going to play hardball with you, yet. If you bust me, I’ll have no other choice but to mention the tapes and the cameras to the authorities, who will show a definite interest in a certain Latina officer fraudulently passing herself off as an FBI agent.”

  Delta bowed her head at what appeared to be a greater blow than she was prepared for. If her superiors or any other agency got Connie on tape, she wouldn’t just lose her job. She would probably face jail time, and that was something Delta wasn’t going to allow.

  “She’s got us, Del. If I really am on tape, I’m screwed.”
>
  Delta paced across the room. She needed time to think—she needed fresh air. She needed to figure out how to get back in control of this situation.

  Suddenly, Taylor was at her side. “Hey, no need to be so bummed. If you let me go back in and get the cameras, you can have the tapes, I can have my freedom, and we’ll call it even.”

  “Even?” Delta said, shaking her head.

  “Hey, it could be worse. I could have gotten away, and your lawyer friend would find herself with Ms. in front of her name instead of DA.”

  “That could still happen.”

  “Not if you don’t let it. Right now, Delta, two careers are in your hands.” Taylor took one of Delta’s hands in hers. “Think about it. I haven’t really hurt anybody. Alex, however, puts away those who do. Connie, on the other hand, may be sitting in a cell next to mine. Our lives are literally in your hands.”

  Delta pulled her hand from Taylor’s grasp and walked over to Connie. “Con?”

  Connie shrugged. “It’s your call, Storm.”

  There it was. The decision of doing what was right versus what was best. Time and time again, she’d been forced into deciding between the two. This gray area had threatened her relationship with Megan, put her life on the line more times than she dared count, and caused her more pain and anguish than any other single element in her life.

  Like at this moment.

  She was painfully aware that the right decision was to arrest Taylor and hope that Alexandria and Connie survived their own professional potboilers.

  The best decision, on the other hand, was that which hurt the least people even though it meant breaking their own codes of conduct. The best decision was to ignore what was right.

  Again.

  “You really haven’t left me much of a choice, have you? Tossing aside two careers to arrest an international jewel thief would really be a waste.”

  “Quite.”

  Delta looked at Connie with apologetic eyes, then focused her attention back on Taylor. “How do we know you won’t just take off?”

  Connie spoke up. “We’ll tape her confession to all the crimes she’s committed. If she bolts, we’ll have her picture sent to so many agencies that she won’t be able to board a bus.”

  Taylor looked up into Delta’s green eyes. “That works for me. At the end, we’ll trade a tape for a tape.”

  “That presupposes we trust you.”

  Taylor grinned. “Do you have any other choice?”

  Delta shook her head.

  “No copies?”

  “None. You’ll have to trust us as well.”

  “Then I guess we’ve made a deal.” Taylor stuck her hand out and took Delta’s. “After I come out with Wainwright’s stuff, you make no calls, no tips, no nothing for twenty-four hours. You have to give me a head start. Deal?”

  Delta looked over at Connie. She was wearing a poker face that even Delta couldn’t read. She hated this; hated being backed into a corner. Letting an international criminal blackmail her into submission left an unpleasant taste in Delta’s mouth, yet there seemed to be no way out.

  Inhaling a bitter breath, Delta nodded. For the first time since she could remember, Delta had been had. She had been outmaneuvered by someone more cunning than she. The weird part was, she didn’t quite know how to feel about that.

  Taking Taylor’s hand, Delta shook it. Well, if she were going to be beaten by someone, at least it was by another woman.

  A beautiful woman at that. “Deal.”

  Holding the newly-made videotape up to Taylor’s face, Delta shook her head. “Burn us, Taylor, and I swear that you’ll be locked up faster than you can say three Hail Mary’s.”

  Taylor grinned. “Didn’t know you were Catholic.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Look, Delta, there’s no need to threaten me. I may be a thief, but I’m a woman of my word. We made a deal and I intend to abide by it.” Taylor hooked her arm through Delta’s and led her to the kitchen. “You know, you really do need to lighten up. You take yourself way too seriously. In the overall scheme of the universe, my arrest would mean nothing.”

  “Not to me.”

  “How sweet. You’d worry. But trust me—”

  Delta laughed as she shook her head. “You keep saying that, Taylor. But it’s impossible for me to trust you. You’re a criminal!”

  “Are you trying to hurt my feelings? Try not to look at me in that dark light, Delta. Look at me as a woman who would do anything to meet the great Delta Stevens.”

  Delta couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across her face.

  “See?” Taylor said, pointing to Delta’s smile, “There really is a human being beneath that uniform. Oh...and a very shapely one at that.”

  Connie shook her head as they walked toward the front door. “You’re going to give her a big head.”

  Taylor cuddled up to Delta’s arm. “Not my Delta. She’s as humble as they come.” Checking her watch, Taylor sighed. “Well, I’d love to hang around and party with you animals, but the sooner I get my equipment out of his house, the sooner I can fly off to some exotic place. Jamaica sounds intriguing. Ever been, Delta?”

  Delta shook her head.

  “Want to come?”

  “I’m taken.”

  Taylor’s eyes suddenly lit up. “That means you’d think about it if you weren’t already committed! Now isn’t that just about the best news a girl could have?”

  “I meant—”

  Connie laughed. “Forget it, Del. You’ll only get in deeper.”

  Taking Taylor ’s arm, Connie escorted her to the van, and Delta followed a few paces behind, wondering how this woman seemed to get to her every time.

  “Here they come,” Connie said, pointing to a patrol car slowly coming up the street.

  Delta walked over leaned in the window when it stopped at the end of the drive.

  “How’d it go?” Tony asked across Sal, who was wearing a wig in the same style as Delta’s curly brown hair.

  “Uh, better than expected. But there have been some complications.”

  “Complications? Did you catch her or not?”

  “Sort of.”

  Tony and Sal looked at each other like one might be able to explain or interpret Delta’s ambiguities. “You ‘sort of’ caught her?”

  It took Delta ten minutes of explaining before they finally had the whole picture.

  “Need anything else from me?” Sal asked, opening the passenger side door.

  “Not really, Sal. You were great. Thanks.”

  “You sure? Sounds to me like you could use one of my Ladybugs.”

  Delta grinned. “Ladybugs?”

  “Sure. Just like the transmitters we used in the Camaros for the porn case, only smaller. That way, you can be sure she won’t bug out on you.”

  “Sal, you’re a genius.”

  Sal blushed and ran her hands over her hair. “Not me. But the Ladybugs are. Wait here, and I’ll throw one together for you. Shouldn’t take a minute.”

  Delta could only shake her head as Sal headed for the door of the house. “She’s something, isn’t she?”

  Tony nodded. “I’ll say. Man, have you heard the story about her dad saving those guys in ’Nam?

  “Pretty incredible. They take great care of each other, too.”

  “Sounds to me like she’s set for life. You know, if she didn’t look like a little boy...”

  “Yes?”

  Tony turned from Delta, but she could still see his blush. “Nothing. Forget it.”

  “Why, Carducci, I think you have a little crush.”

  “Do not.”

  “If you say so.”

  “Besides,” he continued, lowering his voice some, “I don’t know if I could go out with a woman who could kick my ass.”

  “Why not? You’re partnered with one.”

  Tony rolled his eyes. “That’s not what I mean. Isn’t she...” He lowered his voice and whispered, “One of you?”

&n
bsp; Delta busted out laughing. “I haven’t a clue.”

  Tony looked like he’d just been slapped. “You don’t? But I thought you could tell.”

  “I could in the old days, but we come in all shapes and sizes, Carducci. I honestly wouldn’t know.”

  Tony eyed her suspiciously. “You wouldn’t play the same gag on me twice now, would you?”

  “Yes, I would. But I’m not. I really don’t know. Ask her out and see what she says.”

  “What who says?” Sal asked, approaching the car. Delta turned and appraised her new friend once more. Delta could see how a man would be attracted to her. She spoke their language; guns, cars, motorcycles, boats, and every major league baseball player’s average.

  But Carducci? Master of the superficial?

  Delta wondered if maybe she had really rubbed off on him. There was only one way to find out. “Sal, Tony was wondering—”

  “Delta!”

  “...If you’re gay.”

  Sal grinned. “Sort of.”

  Tony sighed. “That seems to be the answer of the month.”

  “Not really. I’m an omnivore.”

  “A what?”

  “She goes both ways, Carducci. She’s bisexual.”

  Sal snickered as she handed the Ladybug to Delta. “Lately, it’s been more like asexual. Here you go, Delta. She’s set and ready.”

  Taking the device from Sal, Delta winked at Tony. “Be careful, Carducci. I hear she wears fatigue undies as well.” Turning on her heels, Delta walked back to the van.

  Omnivore? Indeed.

  Half an hour later, Delta, Connie, and Taylor pulled into the road before Wainwright’s estate. The street was well-lit, and the quarter moon assisted the newly-installed street lights. When Tony pulled in behind them, Delta got out.

  “Okay, Carducci, one more time. You hear any calls to this address for alarms, prowler, etcetera, you call dispatch and tell them you’re on it. If Henry wants to know why we’re so far from our beat, just tell him you were returning a lost kid.”

  Tony nodded. “Gotcha.”