Deborah Mello - Reunited By The Badge

Simone disconnected the call abruptly. She took another bite of macaroni and sat in reflection as she polished off the last of her meal. She didn’t have the words to explain to her brother what she was feeling or why they were suddenly acting like fugitives. She honestly wasn’t sure what the hell they were doing. But they were together and she instinctively wanted to do whatever necessary to support Paul. He needed her and it had been forever since she’d felt like she added value to his life. Wanting each other had never been the problem between them. Needing each other, and admitting to it, had been a whole other animal neither had been willing to claim. But now necessity had put them together, if for nothing more than to hold on to each other for emotional support, and Simone had no intentions of failing him.

Paul was now snoring loudly, and she instinctively knew that it had been days since he’d last rested well. She was reminded of those days after medical school, during his residency, when his shifts at the hospital seemed to last for days before he was able to come home and fall out from exhaustion.

She dropped her fork and empty container back into the bag. After reaching for her phone she dialed again.

Her brother Mingus Black answered on the second ring. “What’s wrong, Simone? And why is Parker texting me to ask where you are?”

“I need you. I’m at the Karavan Motel on Cicero Avenue.”

“Karavan? On the South Side? What the hell are you doing there?”

“Someone tried to kill us tonight,” she said, explaining all that had happened since Paul Reilly had called her.

“So, you two check into the city’s seediest motel?”

“We’re not planning to stay, and they take cash,” she continued, hoping to rationalize why the no-tell motel had been a good idea and why Paul felt going to the police was not. Even after saying it out loud Simone knew it sounded like she and Paul had lost their collective minds. And she definitely couldn’t tell any of them that she just needed to be with Paul because she had missed him terribly.

Mingus listened, taking it all in. A private detective by profession, he heard his sister’s dilemma with a different ear than their police officer brother. He didn’t yell or give her orders he knew she wouldn’t heed like Parker did. Instead, when she was done talking, Mingus said, “Sit tight. I need to put some things in place. I’ll be there before breakfast tomorrow. Are you carrying?”

“Yes,” she said, taking a moment to check the weapon in her handbag. The Glock 43 had been a gift from her father, the patriarch ensuring she and her sister both knew how to handle a firearm just as well as their brothers. Regular visits to the gun range kept her shooting and safety skills honed.

“Keep it close, and if you need to use it, don’t hesitate to pull the trigger. You can always ask questions later.”

“What are you going to tell Parker?”

“That I didn’t put your leash on you this morning. That he should check with whoever did.”

“Thank you,” Simone responded, chuckling softly.

“Get some rest. I’m sure you’re going to need it,” Mingus concluded.

After disconnecting the call, Simone moved back to the bed and kicked off her heels. Laying her body beside Paul’s, she eased an arm around his waist and shifted herself close against him. She nuzzled her nose against his back, inhaling the scent of his cologne. The familiar fragrance reminded her of their last trip together, a two-week excursion on the island of Jamaica. They had walked hand in hand along the beaches of Negril, had swum beneath the cascading waters of Gully Falls, and had danced under a full moon in Montego Bay. They’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms and woken each morning making love. It had been as magical as any holiday getaway could possibly be. Weeks later, they were no longer a couple, barely talking to each other about the weather.

Taking deep breaths to calm her nerves, Simone closed her eyes and settled into his body heat. She couldn’t begin to know what he had gotten her into and despite trusting that Paul would have never purposely put her in harm’s way, running from gunfire added a whole other dynamic to his situation. The nearness of him only put her slightly at ease, not enough that she could fully relax.

Sleep didn’t come as quickly for Simone as she lay listening to the occasional sound outside the door and the steady rhythm of Paul’s heavy snores. Simone hated showing any vulnerability, but she was scared. This was bad and had the potential to get worse.

Her mind continued to race as she thought about what she might need to do to help her friend. Thinking how much she had missed him when he’d been gone and being grateful to have him back, even under the dire circumstances they found themselves trapped in. Wondering if she should heed Parker’s advice and run for the security of the police department and shelter with her law-abiding family. Her father was, after all, Jerome Black, the Superintendent of Police, leading the entire Chicago Police Department. Her mother, Judith Harmon Black, was a federal court judge, and both were well respected in Chicago’s judicial system. With two brothers on the police force, another who was an attorney in private practice, the baby boy in the family a city alderman, her favorite sibling a private investigator, and her only sister front and center in state politics, law-abiding protection was a given.

Despite her best efforts she couldn’t turn her brain off. For another two hours she lay pressed against his back, not wanting to disturb his rest and needing him near, even if they weren’t a couple anymore. Thinking about the past and the present, Simone’s thoughts ran the gamut from sane to senseless until sleep finally slipped in and delivered her from her misery.

Outside, the morning sun was just beginning to rise. Paul stood at the foot of the bed staring down at Simone’s sleeping form. Fully clothed, she was curled in a fetal position around a pillow. Her mouth was open, low gasps expelled from her lush lips. Her freckles were like stardust across her nose and her skin shimmered under a layer of light perspiration. Simone was a beautiful woman, but there was something about her when she slumbered, where she seemed most angelic and at peace. In those moments her beauty was extraordinary, leaving him to wonder what he had done to get so lucky.

In that moment though, he was wondering what he needed to do to ensure she was protected. How to get her, and himself, out of the mess he’d pulled them into. He sighed, feeling as if things might implode if he didn’t tread cautiously. But he had neither the time or the wherewithal to play nice with Lender Pharmaceuticals.

The knock on the door pulled him from his reverie and startled Simone out of a deep sleep. She sat upright, clutching at the well-worn spread atop the bed. Bewilderment furrowed her brow. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she threw her legs off the side of the bed as Paul moved to look out the window. He heaved a deep sigh as he sidestepped to the door and opened it, greeting Simone’s brother Mingus. The two men embraced like old friends, an exchange of shoulders bumping and chests grazing.

“You two good?” Mingus questioned as he entered the room, carrying two large duffel bags over his shoulder and a tray of coffees from Starbucks.

“No,” Simone muttered as she flipped her hand at him. “I need to pee, and I want a shower.”

Mingus and Paul exchanged a look, both smirking slightly. Her brother shook his head at her as he extended the duffel bag in her direction.

“Well, I brought you some things from your house. Clothes, your toothbrush…”

“My toothbrush!” she exclaimed, jumping up and down like a four-year-old. “I love you, big brother!”