“Who’s your friend,” the man said to Darla in crisp English. He had an accent, but his speech was polished.

“This is—”

“Samantha,” Sandy said quickly, cocking her hips to give him a good look at her legs as the skirt pulled up almost to her crotch. “But everyone calls me Sam. Darla says we’re going to a party. I can’t wait.

I love parties.”

He looked them over for a long minute, then stepped aside and gestured to the rear of the SUV. Sandy looked down the street, but she didn’t see Dell’s motorcycle or anything resembling a cop car. Used to be Frye showed up in her Corvette, but lately she’d been in a standard issue. There was no sign of an unmarked. Which meant no one was going to know where they went. She took Darla’s hand. “Well, come on, honey. Let’s party!”

Sandy slid into the backseat where another man waited on the far side and Darla crowded next to her, as if seeking shelter. Then the door closed and the Navigator pulled out and headed north. Sandy tried to

• 200 •

Justice for All

get a look out the window around the big guy sitting next to her, but all she could see was the sign pointing to the on-ramp to 95 North.

They could be anywhere from Trenton to New York City in an hour.

v

Michael reached out in the dark and switched on the bedside light when she felt Sloan get out of bed. Sitting up, she let the sheet fall to her waist. Sloan stood just inside the bedroom door, pulling on a T-shirt over her boxers. “Can’t sleep?”

“Hey,” Sloan whispered. “Sorry. I thought you were asleep.”

“Drifting. I didn’t drink because I was afraid it might give me a headache, so I didn’t have anything to dull the pain of the evening.”

Sloan laughed. “You too, huh?”

“It did seem endless. I’d forgotten how much I dislike these functions, even if they are for a good cause.” Michael shrugged. “I’m not altogether certain about this particular cause.”

Sloan sat on the edge of the bed. “Don’t like the mayor?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know him, but I’m not entirely certain that he’s really the one making the decisions.” She frowned. “There was a very interesting assortment of people there tonight.”

“Some pretty high-powered ones,” Sloan said carefully, not wanting to alarm her unnecessarily. Even though Michael said she was feeling better, she’d only begun to put in regular workdays and she still seemed pale and fragile. The last thing she needed was to worry about things that might not even involve her. Not when Sloan had a feeling she was the one who really interested Zamora. If he didn’t want her attention, why send those photos to her computer? They had to be a warning. And if they were, then it was Sloan they wanted, not Michael. “Your neighbor tonight—Zamora. I understand he’s pretty influential.”

“Mmm,” Michael said absently. “He owns a great deal of real estate along both sides of the river, as well as major shares in several investment companies.” She reached for the cup of tea she’d left on her bedside table, and sipped it. “It’s funny you should mention him. He contacted me yesterday about a business proposal.”

• 201 •

RADclY fFe

“For Innova?” Sloan asked. Michael’s design company had an international reputation, and Michael was often approached with investment opportunities. She didn’t believe for a second that was Zamora’s true intention, but Michael had no reason to suspect him of anything out of the ordinary, so Sloan forced herself to sound casual.

“What did you tell him?”

Michael leaned back against the pillows and stroked Sloan’s forearm. “Oh, I told him I’d keep him in mind.” She smiled. “But that right now, I wasn’t looking for partners.”

“He seemed pretty friendly at dinner tonight.”

“With men like that, charm comes naturally. He reminds me of Nicholas.”

Sloan wanted to say that Michael’s ex-husband Nicholas, a low-life cheating embezzler, was a choirboy compared to Kratos Zamora.

“Impressed with himself, huh?”

Michael smiled. “He’s certainly self-assured.” She threaded her fingers through Sloan’s and gave her hand a little shake. “I noticed you getting some attention yourself.”

Sloan frowned. “I don’t—”

“The redhead in the very revealing dress.”

“Oh. Her.” Sloan thought about the business card with a telephone number scrawled on the back she’d slid from the front pocket of her pants and stowed in the glove compartment of her car when Michael wasn’t looking. She thought about the fingers grazing the inside of her thigh, drifting over her stomach. “She was just making idle chat.”

“I’ve never seen her before. Who is she?”

“I don’t know. Probably another Society Hill heiress with more money than she knows what to do with. Isn’t that one of the primary requirements for an invitation to fund-raisers like this?”

“Well, the money part certainly is.” Michael sighed. “Will you try to come back to bed tonight?”

Sloan leaned over and kissed her. “I just want to check a few things. I won’t be long.”

Michael cupped the back of Sloan’s neck and held her close for another long kiss. “Wake me when you come to bed.”

v

• 202 •

Justice for All

“That’s our second pass through here,” Rebecca said. “I don’t see her.”

Dell leaned forward from the back seat of the unmarked, craning her neck to see around Watts. This section of Spring Garden was crowded with bars, and foot traffic was heavy. They were almost to Delaware Avenue, and they still hadn’t seen Sandy.

“Maybe she walked up a few blocks. Let’s go around again,” Dell urged.

“Hey, kid, you’re breathing down my neck,” Watts said. “Take it easy. We’ll find her.”

“How?” Dell snapped. “She’s gone already. She could be anywhere.”

Rebecca pulled into the darkened parking lot of a restaurant that had gone out of business and turned off the engine. “We wait for her to call us.”

“I’m going to check the clubs,” Dell said, pushing open the back door. “Someone may have talked to these guys tonight. They might know where the party is.”

“Yo,” Watts yelled, reaching for his door.

“I’ll handle it,” Rebecca said quietly. She slid out of the car and closed her door. “Mitchell. Wait.”

Dell took another few steps, then stopped just short of the street.

Rebecca walked unhurriedly over to her. “Step back from the light.”

Together, they moved into the shadows of the boarded-up building.

“Why is it a bad idea for you to start asking around about Sandy in the clubs?”

Dell balled up her fists, her arms rigid at her sides, and looked past Rebecca at the cars streaming by on the street. She didn’t want to answer the question. She didn’t want to think about why she couldn’t do what she needed to do to find Sandy. To look after her. She didn’t want to have to choose anything over the woman she loved, ever again.

“I can’t do this.”

“Can’t do what?”

“I can’t be a cop if it means I have to put everything else in front of her.” She stared at Rebecca, her eyes hot with tears she refused to shed. “I’m sorry, Lieutenant.”

“What do you think is going to change if you’re not a cop

• 203 •

RADclY fFe

anymore?” Rebecca leaned against the building as if they had all the time in the world to talk.

“I could…”

“What? Spend your time following her around? Checking out her friends? Making sure she doesn’t go anywhere she could get hurt?”

Rebecca laughed. “Sandy would hand you your ass in under a week.”

“I could look for her right now. I wouldn’t have to worry about blowing my cover. That’s what you’re talking about, isn’t it? I’m supposed to be with Irina now. So I can’t go running around trying to find out if Sandy talked to some Russians tonight.”

“It wouldn’t be a very good idea, no. And chances are slim to none you’d find out anything anyhow.”

“But what if it did make a difference,” Dell insisted. “What if I found one of her friends who knew these guys, too, and they could tell me where the party was.”

“What would you do? Crash it? All that would do is probably get both of you beaten up.” Rebecca straightened. “You’ve had a lot thrown at you in a short time. You’re undercover, and that’s always a tough assignment. Sandy is right in the thick of things, and I know it’s hard. Hard and…scary.”

“I let the Army take everything from me,” Dell said hoarsely.

“Everything I thought I was, everything I thought I believed in. The woman I thought loved me. I couldn’t do a damn thing to change it.”

“You’re not alone now. You’ve got help. That’s why we’re here.”

Rebecca gestured toward the car. “Now we’ve got a lot of work to do and it’s gonna be a long night. I suggest you sit your ass down and wait for her to call. She’ll call.”

“I’m sorry I’m not…” Dell pushed her hand through her hair.

“Fuck, I’m sorry if I let you down.”

Rebecca clasped the back of Dell’s neck and rubbed the tight muscles for a few seconds. “You haven’t let anybody down. And you won’t. Not me. Not Sandy. Come on, let’s go.”

Rebecca dropped her hand and walked away, and after a second’s hesitation, Dell followed. As she walked across the cold dark parking lot, she felt the warmth in the back of her neck where Rebecca had touched her. She didn’t understand it, but she wished for that touch to return.

• 204 •

Justice for All

ChAPTER TwENTy

Well, Sandy thought, she was right about one thing. They were in Trenton. She caught a quick glimpse of a sign as they pulled off I-95. She couldn’t see much else with the silent giant next to her blocking most of the window. He hadn’t said anything. He hadn’t touched her, for which she was thankful. Darla had been silent for the entire forty-minute trip too.