Not in the Cards Read online

  “Yep.”

  “Well break out the cigars!” Reaching out to hug Connie, Delta squeezed her tightly.

  “Not yet. We’ve been checking out donors versus sperm banks.”

  “I’m so excited! This is great news! I’m going to be an aunt! You’re going to be a mom! We’re going to be parents!”

  Connie threw her head back and laughed. “Easy, Tiger. It’s too early for a pregnancy test, but it’s getting close.”

  “You’ll let us know as soon as the deed is done, right?” The excitement in Delta’s voice rose above the crack of the pool balls.

  “Yes, of course we will. And when we do, the Dom is on me.”

  “A pregnancy party? Ohhh, I like the sound of that.” Waving the waitress over, Delta ordered two glasses of champagne.

  When the champagne arrived, Delta toasted to the health of the not yet conceived child. “To my niece and her moms. May our family always be close and loving and share good times.”

  Tinking the glasses together, Connie sipped her champagne and nodded. “Hear, hear.”

  “Have you decided on a donor?”

  Connie shook her head. “Gina’s done the research and we decided it’s best if we go to the sperm bank.”

  “Why is that?”

  “We don’t want the donor to come back ten years from now because he’s decided he wants to play daddy. Too many women have trusted their donor to stay out of the picture, and then, boom, here he is, taking two lesbians to court for custody of the child. No thanks.”

  Delta nodded thoughtfully. “I see your point.”

  “Gina’s going to have her and I am going to adopt. That way, if anything happens to Gina, God forbid, there’s no problem with me keeping the baby.”

  “I never thought of it like that.”

  Connie gulped down the rest of her champagne and wiped her mouth with the napkin. “There’s lots to consider. We just want to make sure no one can take the baby away from either of us.”

  Delta watched as the pool hustler swaggered out the door. “Sounds like you’ve done your homework.”

  Connie reached out and laid her hand on top of Delta’s. “Maybe now the big picture for our families is a little clearer to you. I want you to experience this with me and Gina. That won’t happen if you keep pushing the edge. Sometime in our lives, Del, we all have to slow down a little. I want you there when this child enters our lives.”

  Delta sipped her champagne and nodded before turning her hand over and squeezing Connie’s fingers. “10-4, Con. I think the tuner on my TV just received your signal.”

  “Good. You’re my best friend, Del. Hell, you’re more than my best friend. You’re my family. I want you there. It’s that simple.”

  Delta finished her champagne as well. “Megan is going to just die when she hears this.”

  Glancing at her watch, Connie jerked her head toward the door. “Well, you just might die if we stay out any later. Let’s keep our beautiful women happy by getting home at a decent hour. God only knows, once you’re off suspension, early nights become a fantasy.”

  Tossing two dollars on the table, Delta stood and waved to Harry.

  “Be careful out there, ladies,” he said, waving with his free hand as he expertly poured a drink with the other.

  “Count on it, Harry. Have a good week.”

  Stepping out into the warm night air, Delta waited for Connie to close the door. “That man has built himself a very profitable business.”

  “He sure has. The guys love all those weapons, don’t they? I’m sure it’s some phallic thing. You know...the bigger the gun, the greater the fun. Something like that.”

  Delta made a face. “God, where do you come up with those lines?”

  “Where else? Mercenary Magazine. Gotta keep up on the latest weapons and spy paraphernalia.”

  “You’re sick.”

  “Actually, come to think of it, I think I heard it on Donahue. Or was it Oprah?”

  “That’s even worse,” Delta chuckled putting her arm around Connie’s shoulders. “Next thing you know, you’ll start seeing a psychic.”

  “Well, there is this Madame Lat—”

  “Don’t even.”

  As they strolled through the parking lot, Delta heard scuffling noises coming from the furthest, darkest corner of the lot. Immediately, her senses came to life and she stopped to get a better bearing on where the noise was coming from.

  “Con, do you hear that?”

  Connie stopped and listened, turning and cocking her head at Delta. “Del—”

  Delta held a finger to her lips. “Shh. It’s coming from over there.”

  Connie listened more intently. “Yes, it is. But we aren’t. Come on, Del, let it be. You’re not on duty. Just walk away and let the big guys in blue take care of it.”

  Delta wasn’t listening. Her head was pointed in the direction of the darkened corner, ears straining at the muffled thumps. Squinting in the half-lit lot, she could make out three, maybe four figures in the shadows, moving like strands of a wind chime, sometimes barely touching, sometimes banging into each other and exploding with sound.

  “Con, someone is getting their bell rung over there. We should do something.”

  “There’s no chance in me talking you out of this, is there?”

  “Nope.”

  Connie just shook her head. “I didn’t think so. Damn. All that counseling dough gone to waste. Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

  Already four strides ahead of Connie, Delta knelt behind a huge dumpster. Now closer, she could see four men involved in what appeared to be a major brawl. The all-too-familiar sounds of fists against stomach and jaw bones mutely echoed through the air, as Delta surveyed the surrounding area.

  “Well, Storm?” Connie whispered from over Delta’s shoulder. “Do we go in there or are you waiting for your white charger?”

  Delta nodded. “You ready?”

  Connie held out the hands that made her a master at karate. “I’m always ready. Ready is my middle name. What about you?”

  Instinctively, Delta reached to her ankle for her nine millimeter, and winced when she remembered she left it back on the seat of her truck. “Damn.”

  “Oh, swell,” Connie said, shaking her head. “You’ll never make heroine status now. I’ll bet Robocop never forgets his off-duty weapon in the car.”

  “Very funny.”

  “I don’t have my badge. Do you?”

  Delta bowed her head in mock defeat.

  “Oh, very good. Very, very good. No badge?”

  “No badge.”

  “Wonderful. I just happen to side with a knight who doesn’t have a horse, armor, a sword, or a charge card.”

  “The latter, I have.”

  “Swell. You can beat them to death with it.”

  Delta rose from her crouched position. “Want to stay here?”

  Connie grinned. “And miss all the fun? Megan would tan my lovely hide if anything happened to you while I stood by guarding this dumpster.”

  A wry smile slid across Delta’s face. “Then follow me.”

  Appearing from behind the dumpster like two specters in the moon-light, Delta and Connie emerged to find two of the large beer-bellied pool players holding the young pool hustler, while a third man, the bearded fellow who had just had his wallet cleaned by the youth, stepped up to bury yet another fist in the tight stomach of their captive.

  “I think that’s enough fun for one night, fellas,” Delta said, causing all four men to turn her way. Instantly, she regretted not having her “niner” with her. It would have made a much more impressive sight.

  “Looka that, Stockton. Two dames.”

  The pool player with the beard turned to fully face them. They were a good twenty feet away from Connie and Delta, but she could see they were baked. A little good dope, too much cheap beer, and false bravado was streaming from their pores like the scent of a dead skunk.

  “No shit,” one of the behemoths not
ed. “And it looks like they came to join the fun.”

  “I don’t think I care for your brand of a good time,” Connie retorted.

  “Now why don’t you just let him go and we’ll forget we ever saw you.”

  The man called Stockton spat a wad of tobacco on the ground and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He stood two or three inches over six feet tall and Delta estimated his weight at somewhere close to 200 pounds, maybe 210. He reminded Delta of a California black bear.

  “How ’bout we make it so’s you really never forget us, eh, baby? You and your Chicana friend, eh?”

  Delta cast a look over at Connie, who flinched. Even in the dim light from the parking lot, Delta could see the fire in her eyes and the intensity of her demeanor as she studied and calculated the odds of a successful attack.

  “C’mon, Stockton! Let’s dump this asswipe and have us some fun with these broads.”

  For the first time, the hustler spoke through grit teeth. “Leave the ladies alone.”

  “Ladies?” Stockton mocked. “No lady would have walked over here unless she was wanting some action.” Stepping up to the hustler, Stockton punched him in the stomach again. “And we’re willin’ to oblige ’em.”

  The adrenaline surge pumped through her body, feeding blood into her muscles and making Delta’s five-nine frame expand and harden. She loved this feeling; this ride on the razor’s edge. “Oh, we want some action, all right, but not the kind you’ve got in mind.”

  “Get outta here,” the hustler commanded. “I can take care of myself. Go on now—scoot before they hurt you.”

  Connie took a step forward. Having witnessed Connie’s black belt ability in action on numerous occasions, Delta knew when her attack came, it was sure to be swift, brutal, and incapacitating. “Well, it certainly does look like you can take care of yourself, Junior.” Connie took a step closer.

  Delta watched as Connie’s hands opened and closed in fists. Maybe she wouldn’t need her niner after all.

  Stockton stepped closer to Connie. “How about we take care of you first, Señorita?”

  Suddenly, the two men holding the hustler dumped him hard on the ground. Stockton kicked him in the stomach. Delta heard the wind rush out of him as he grabbed his battered body.

  “What say we party, girls?”

  Connie checked with Delta one last time. The fire had intensified into a bright flashing flame, as Connie shifted into fighting mode. Poised, ready, body tight with anticipation, Connie prepared herself for the inevitable clash with the bear. Delta did not worry that they were outnumbered as long as Connie stood by her side with her limbs ready.

  “Storm?”

  Delta slowly grinned. “Let her rip.”

  Before Stockton could take two steps, Connie whirled backward once, leg flying well above her head, and in one bone crunching second, her heel connected with his salt and pepper beard, snapping his head backward with the rest of his body following. In one loud thud, he landed face first on the gravel below, and there he stayed.

  “Holy shit, Lyle, you see that?”

  Delta stepped next to Connie. The energy surrounding the two of them ignited the air. “Nice shot.”

  Connie’s face was granite. “You going to help or just stand there and watch?”

  Before Delta could respond, the man called Lyle stepped forward, a large, ugly scowl drawn across his even uglier face. It was hard to believe this man had ever been an infant in diapers and a crib.

  “I dunno howya did that to Stockton, little lady, but it’ll be a cold day in Alaska before any fluffball spic bitch takes me down.”

  Delta glanced sideways. She’d heard Connie called many things before, but that was a new one.

  “Fluffball?” Connie mocked. As she uttered the last syllable, Lyle rushed them. In a flash, Delta’s left fist struck the third man in the middle of the throat, sending him crashing against a light post. From the corner of her eye, Delta saw Connie take one step and dispose of Lyle with a jump kick to his sternum. The blow knocked both wind and spit from the man as he reeled backwards, hitting the pavement hard on his back. He remained there as well.

  Connie nodded over to Delta. “Nice move, Storm. A shot to the throat? I’m impressed.”

  “I had a good teacher.” Smiling into Connie’s smoldering eyes, Delta rubbed the knuckles on her left hand.

  Slowly rising to one knee, the man Delta hit shook his head as if trying to clear a fog.

  “Stay down, pal, or I’ll turn Fluffball loose on you.”

  The man looked over at Connie, hesitated a moment, and then immediately lay back down. “Ya don’t have to tell me twice.”

  “Should we call it in?” Connie asked, straightening her hair behind her shoulders.

  Delta shook her head. “If pretty boy wants to press charges, then I suppose we’ll have to. What do you say, pretty boy?” Delta nudged him with the tip of her shoe.

  Laying on the ground, still holding his stomach, pretty boy waved them off. “I think I can handle it now.”

  Delta laughed. “Right. Well, I hope you handle it better than you were handling it when we got here. Come on, Con, let’s get out of here.” Turning away, Delta chuckled. Immediately, Connie caught up to her and wheeled her around.

  “If you ever tell anyone what he called me, I’ll poison your coffee. I’ll boil your cats, I’ll—”

  It took everything Delta had to keep from guffawing in her face. Fluffball? It just might be worth a cup of hemlock.

  It had been a longer day than needed. Bad enough she was being dumped into Training Patrol, Delta thought she might have busted a knuckle on her left hand. Unlike most lefties, who had occasional use of their right hands, Delta was the most left-handed person she knew. Heaving a frustrated sigh, Delta longed to sink into one of Megan’s long, loving hugs and hide from the world for a little while. Just the thought of it brought a smile to Delta’s face and erased some of the tension that had built up during the day.

  Opening the door to her house, Delta’s shoulders drooped in disappointment as she pulled her key from the knob. No lights on meant Megan had chosen to stay at her place for the evening.

  Great, Delta thought, as she felt along the wall for the light switch that was placed too far away from the door.

  When the lights flicked on, Delta’s shoulders straightened and a smile found its way to her face as she caught sight of a long, sensuous body laying on the couch in nothing but a red silk teddy—the one she had bought Megan on Valentine’s Day.

  “Hi,” came Megan’s sultry voice.

  “Hi, yourself.” Closing the door behind her, Delta did not move from the entry hall. She preferred, instead, to take in the vision stretched like a contented cat before her. Megan’s long blonde hair cascaded freely down her shoulders, coming to rest at the V of the teddy. Her bare legs crossed at the ankles, Megan slowly moved her right foot up her smooth left leg.

  Gulping down her desire, Delta stepped away from the door. “Been waiting long?” she asked, freeing herself from her jacket. Beneath her shirt, she felt her heartbeat quicken as she forgot all about the pain in her left hand and the ache in her pride.

  “You look fantastic.”

  Megan’s eyes sparkled. “Why, thank you. You look—”

  “Like I’ve had a rough day?”

  “Like you lost your dog.”

  Moving over to the couch, Delta knelt before Megan and laid her head on her chest. Inhaling through her nose, she smelled roses and violets on Megan’s skin. “That’s kind of how I feel.”

  Megan’s long fingers wove their way through Delta’s waves, sending tingling sensations over her scalp and down the back of her neck. “That bad, huh?”

  Nodding, Delta pressed her face more firmly against Megan’s body. “That bad.” Delta wrapped her arms around Megan’s waist and pulled herself on top of her. Suddenly, the fire she’d felt when she walked in cooled to a simmer, as she nestled against the warm, smooth skin of the woman she loved.
“I’m feeling kind of puny.”

  Megan held her tightly and continued stroking her hair. “Puny? I’ve never known you to feel puny, my love. Is there anything I can do?”

  Delta breathed in Megan’s soft scent. She smelled better than any woman had a right to. “Do whatever you think will make me feel better.” Feeling the rhythmic rising and falling of Megan’s chest, Delta closed her eyes and felt the stress slowly seeping out of her body.

  “Let me love you,” Megan whispered into Delta’s hair.

  “It’s been a long time since we made love.” The rose essence wafted around Delta’s nose, teasing her senses and warming her. It had been too long since either of them had had the time or energy for lovemaking. Megan was spending more and more time at the university, hanging around people from her Shakespeare class and going for mochas afterwards. Megan’s entire world had opened up since she stopped hooking, and she was delighting in every second of it. Not only had she hung up her bed, but she’d found a job working at the university bookstore, where she earned about twenty percent of what she had made as a prostitute.

  But along with those changes, came changes in their relationship; suddenly, Megan had other people in her life. Suddenly, she, too, was busy. And while Delta was extremely proud of the adjustments Megan had made, she was deathly afraid of losing her. Delta, wasn’t the easiest person in the world to be with; she put in too many hours, worked when she didn’t need to, kept the job with her even when off duty, and took far more risks than necessary.

  And still, Megan was here.

  Slowly helping Delta off with her shirt, Megan kissed and nibbled Delta’s tight shoulders. “You’re really tense,” Megan whispered, expertly undoing the buttons on Delta’s jeans.

  “I told you. Bad day.”

  “How about we balance the universe with a good night?” Pulling Delta’s jeans off, Megan ran one finger against Delta’s underwear before slowly removing them as well.

  Delta closed her eyes. “Mm. I love the sound of that.”

  “How about the sound of this?” Carefully guiding Delta to the floor, Megan took one of Delta’s nipples in her mouth and gently sucked on it—just enough to make the slightest noise.