Kay David: The Partner

“That’s good advice, but I have a feeling I can dig to China and I still won’t find the truth.”

“Well, you’d better find it,” her father warned. “Your life depends on it.”

He was right, of course, but suddenly the situation seemed overwhelming. She’d lost everything. The world felt upside down, with her father helping her and Grady kissing her. She couldn’t think straight, much less creatively.

Behind the garage the dog barked once then quickly fell silent, as if remembering where he was. She spoke quietly. “What happens if I can’t?”

“That’s not an option. You’re a Taylor and Taylors don’t fail.”

The connection Risa had felt between them shriveled. Her throat went tight as he stared sternly at her.

“Now, pull yourself together,” he ordered.

Dear Reader,

The Partner is the first in a series of six related Superromance books. Set in Houston, Texas, the stories center on the deep and abiding friendship of the heroines, a relationship that springs from their shared experiences at the Houston Police Academy. When tragedy strikes in the life of my heroine, Risa Taylor, their rare sisterhood, so precious and valuable, is thrust into jeopardy.

I’ve heard it said that friends are the family we pick for ourselves. That is certainly the case with me. I have a lot of acquaintances, but there are only a few people I think of as true friends, and as such I hold them very dear. They’re too hard to come by to be treated any other way.

As the perfect example, I’ll tell you about one of my closest friends. She’s a writer, too, and we met fifteen years ago through a writing organization. She was already published, but had stepped back from her career to care for her two babies. I was a wanna-be newbie. The common thread of reading and writing drew us together. Something deeper pulled us even closer. We see the world through a similar prism, and things that are important to me are also important to her. At the same time, we’re different enough to keep ourselves entertained. We started talking at that long-ago meeting…and we haven’t shut up since!

Losing any valued relationship is traumatic, but my heroine’s experiences go beyond that. In one irreversible moment she loses her partner, her friends and her career. Then she meets Grady Wilson. He seems determined to deepen her losses, yet in the end he does just the opposite. He fills the holes in her life and helps her recover. In the hidden parts of her heart, however, Risa continues to miss her friends. Can the rift ever be repaired? Will the six women regain their closeness?

I’m sure you’ll enjoy The Partner and the five stories that follow it, but in addition, I hope these books help us all realize the importance of our friends. Like the old saying goes, they double our joys and halve our sorrows. Treasure your relationships and work hard to keep them.

Kay David

www.millsandboon.co.uk

This one is for Leroy. He was a great partner and a loyal friend who will stay in our hearts forever.

Thanks go to Sherry, Anna, Linda, Roz and K.N. for allowing me to join them in this project. It was a pleasure to work with such a wonderful group of professionals.

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“HAVE YOU BEEN DRINKING?” Risa Taylor glared at her partner, Luke Rowling, as they stood in the underground parking garage, the glow of a nearby light bathing them in orange.

They’d left headquarters only minutes before but Risa was already sweating, rivulets of moisture gathering between her shoulder blades and running down her back. August was not a good month for Houston and she’d started out the shift in a bad mood. She didn’t need Luke out of it, too. She had enough to handle tonight.

When he didn’t answer, she repeated her question. “I said, have you been drinking?”

“What’re you gonna do if the answer’s yes, Risa?” Leaning his elbows on the roof of their unmarked ride, a five-year-old Crown Victoria that had seen happier times, Luke gave her a lopsided grin. “Spank me for being a bad boy?”

She narrowed her eyes and stared at him.

When she’d joined the Sex Crimes Division at HPD, Risa had heard a lot of rumors about Luke Rowling and his successes. According to some, his promotions had come too fast and too easily. Risa had been so thrilled to get her assignment in the prestigious unit that she hadn’t cared, one way or the other.

Given that kind of success, though, she’d prepared herself for someone cocky and obnoxious, someone who’d be free with the constant teasing and sexual innuendo that were standard fare in the police department. She’d vowed ahead of time to dismiss any problems. Crap like that was part of working in a man’s world, and you handled it and went on. But Luke had surprised her. Rumors aside, he hadn’t come on to her even once, and more important, he’d turned out to be a much better cop than she’d ever expected.

Until lately.

Over the past few months, Risa had felt as if she were watching a car wreck in slow motion. The top-notch officer with the arrest record she’d envied had started to disappear, one piece at a time.

First, he’d come to work unprepared and confused, his clothing disheveled and his face unshaven. His hours had then become erratic and his behavior unpredictable. Last Friday, she’d thought she caught a whiff of alcohol when she brushed past him in the hall. This morning, when she smelled it again, she was sure.

“No, I’m not going to spank you.” Slamming her car door, Risa walked around the rear of the vehicle and came to where he stood. Up close, the fumes were really strong and she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“I’m not going to do anything with you, Rowling, including work. You’re a disaster waiting to happen.”

He put his hand on her shoulder and leaned closer. She had to hold her breath. “It’s been a bad day, ’Isa. Gimme a break and I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

She looked into his red eyes, the refusal she’d been about to voice dying on her lips along with her anger. The sudden and unexpected hopelessness in his gaze shocked her, but Risa hid it.

“What’s up, Luke?” She spoke calmly, as if talking to an upset child. “What’s wrong? You haven’t been yourself for weeks.”

He laughed, but the sound had a hollowness to it. “I haven’t been myself?” he said. “What the hell is myself? Where am I? Who am I?” He was leaning so heavily on her that Risa had to brace her hip against the fender to maintain her balance. “Tell me how to be who I am, and I’ll be happy to act like I’m supposed to.”

The sound of voices echoed over the concrete and Risa looked up to see a group of uniformed officers spilling out of the elevator. She could feel their stares across the hot, steamy garage, and she tried to back away, but Luke held her fast. Someone snickered then laughter rang out.

“Tell me who I am, Risa.” His pleading voice held a quality she hadn’t heard before. “Tell me who I am ’cause I’m balancing on a thin line here, baby.”

Risa lifted his hands off her shoulders and dropped them, his rambling discourse too strange to understand. “Go home and sober up, Luke. I’ll call everyone and cancel tonight.” She started to walk away, but his answer stopped her.