Next of Kin: A Romantic Suspense Novel

Book 2: Portland Police Bureau Series

by Jae

Genres: LGBT & Pride; LGBT Bisexual; LGBT Lesbian; Romantic Suspense; Romantic Suspense; lesbian romance; Portland Oregon; lawyer; woman lawyer; toaster oven romance; ice queen romance; butch femme

Synopsis

A sexy “ice queen” lawyer falls in love with the police officer trying to save her from a stalker in this lesbian age gap romance

For years, ambitious Deputy District Attorney Kade Matheson has taken case files and law books, not lovers, to bed, ignoring her personal life in favor of her career. When she finds herself with a stalker, she tries to handle the situation the way she always does: on her own.

Lieutenant Del Vasquez has admired the standoffish lawyer for a while, and she’s determined to protect her at all costs.

When Kade’s stalker situation escalates and she and Del have to hide at her mother’s, Kade is finally forced to face her attraction to women for the very first time.

Suddenly, she’s no longer sure which one is more dangerous—the threat to her life or to her heart?

 

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Release date: June 26, 2015

Publisher: Ylva Publishing

Print pages: 390

Sample

CHAPTER 1

“What are you wearing?” a sultry voice purred through the phone.

Aiden closed the file she had been reading and tossed it on top of the others that were scattered across her desk. She pressed the phone to her ear and whirled the desk chair around, trying to obtain a minimum of privacy in a room full of nosy detectives. She cupped a hand around the receiver and lowered her voice. “What am I wearing?”

“Ooooh, Carlisle’s got an obscene caller!” Jeff Okada let out a wolf whistle.

The other detectives looked up from their desks, and she waved at them to go back to work.

“Yeah,” Dawn said through the phone. “Or rather, what aren’t you wearing?”

Aiden tipped her chair back and relaxed for the first time all day. “You’re sexually harassing a sex crimes detective at her workplace? My, my, you’re a daring woman, Doctor Kinsley!”

“Daring? No. Concerned? Yes.” Dawn gave up on her attempts to sound seductive. “I’ve seen neither hide nor hair of you for the last three days, and the mountains of mail in your mailbox tell me that you haven’t made it home since Thursday.”

She hadn’t. Aiden sighed. “I’m sorry—”

“I didn’t call to make you feel bad. You don’t have to apologize for doing your job. I just thought you could use a change of clothes. Unless, of course, the Portland Police Bureau has a new interrogation technique, and you want to get a confession just because the perp can’t stand to be in the same room with you.”

Aiden laughed for a second before sobering. “We have to catch him before we can force a confession, by offensive smell or otherwise.”

“You will,” Dawn said. “It just takes a little time.”

Time his next victim didn’t have. Still, Dawn’s belief in her felt good.

“So, do you want me to drive by the precinct later to bring you a change of clothes?” Dawn asked.

Aiden looked around the busy squad room. It was Saturday evening, but two dozen detectives and police officers were still working on finding a serial rapist. Her relationship with Dawn wasn’t a secret, but she tended to keep work and her private life separate.

When she hesitated, Dawn said, “I could pick up a change of clothes from your apartment and send it by bike courier if that would be—”

“No,” Aiden said more loudly than she’d intended. “I want to see you, not some bike messenger.”

At her outburst, the other detectives gave her curious stares.

Aiden wearily rubbed her face, trying to hide her blush from her colleagues.

“Okay,” Dawn said after a while. “I’ll be over later. I’m having dinner with my mom, and I’ll stop by on my way home.”

Aiden’s stomach growled. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had eaten anything, much less a home-cooked meal. “Tell Grace I said hi.”

“I will. I love you.”

“Uh.” Aiden glanced around the squad room. There goes my tough-cop reputation. “I…”

Dawn laughed. “You don’t have to say it. I know that the boys are probably listening to every word you say.”

“Yeah. They’re a nosy bunch.”

“I’ll let you go now,” Dawn said after a moment of silence. “See you later.”

“Dawn?”

“Yeah? Don’t worry. I won’t bring your sexy undies to work. I’ll search for a pair of sensible granny panties.” Dawn giggled.

Aiden’s tense features relaxed into a smile. “I love you,” she said before ending the call.

Ray leaned across his desk. “How’s the li’l doc?”

Aiden looked up, a sharp retort on her lips, but when she saw nothing but sincerity in her partner’s eyes, she leaned back. “She’s fine.” She picked up the file again.

“Don’t you know that file by heart now?” Ray asked.

Aiden stared at the crime scene report until the print became blurry. “There has to be something we’re missing.” She threw down the file and trudged across the squad room to the coffeemaker. By now, only coffee, adrenaline, and stubborn determination were keeping her awake.

“Why don’t you lie down in the dungeon for an hour or two?” Ray said. “If we’re really missing something, you won’t find it while you’re this exhausted.”

Aiden put down her mug. He was right. The cots in the claustrophobically small room called the dungeon weren’t the most comfortable, but any rest would do. “Wake me the moment there’s a new lead.”

“You’ll be the first to know,” Ray said.

With a tired nod, Aiden headed for the nearest cot.

* * *

Dawn stepped off the elevator, surprised to see the precinct’s hallway still busy even on a Saturday night. Carefully balancing her armful of bags and containers, she pushed through the glass doors that announced Sexual Assault Detail.

She had visited the squad room before but under very different circumstances. Six months ago, she had been one of the victims whose pictures hung on the dry-erase board. A shiver raced across her skin. Clutching her packages more tightly, she stepped farther into the room.

A young plainclothes detective blocked her way. “Can I help you, ma’am?”

“I’m looking for Detective Carlisle.” She pointed at Aiden’s desk.

Aiden was nowhere to be seen, but Ray Bennet stood from his desk and greeted her with a warm smile. “It’s all right, Moreno. She’s welcome here anytime.”

The reassurance was probably meant more for her than for the young detective, and she appreciated it.

“Hi, Dawn,” Ruben called from across the room. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, especially after I had to stare at my partner’s ugly mug all day.”

Okada ignored him. “Hello, Doctor.” He stepped closer and peered into Dawn’s bags. “Do you come bearing gifts?”

“Yes. My mother and I combined forces to make sure Portland’s finest won’t go hungry tonight.” Dawn set the bags on the closest desk and handed out containers of still-steaming food.

The door to Lieutenant Swenson’s office opened. “What’s going on?” She frowned as she glanced at her detectives, who were crowding around Aiden’s desk. “Is there a new lead?”

Dawn froze. Not only was she a civilian who shouldn’t be here, but Aiden had also taken a lot of criticism from her superiors for starting a relationship with a former victim.

“No, just an upstanding citizen bringing us nourishment,” Okada answered, digging into his food.

The group of cops around Dawn parted as the lieutenant stepped closer, giving her a direct view of Dawn. The frown on Swenson’s face deepened. “Doctor Kinsley, right?”

Dawn swallowed and nodded.

“She’s just here to drop off a change of clothes for Aiden,” Ray said.

“Yeah, and having done that, I’ll go and leave you to your work.” Dawn started to retreat.

“Dr. Kinsley.” The lieutenant’s voice made her turn back around. “I think she’s back there, taking a nap. I’m sure she would kill her partner if he let you leave without seeing her, so why don’t you go and wake her up before her dinner gets cold?”

Dawn stared at her.

Astrid Swenson’s blue-gray eyes softened as she gave Dawn an encouraging nod. “Go on.” She pointed to one of the doors down the hall.

“Thank you.” Dawn pressed one of her home-cooked dinners into the lieutenant’s hands and hurried down the hall before Swenson could change her mind. She opened the door the lieutenant had indicated.

The room beyond was dark, so she paused in the doorway to let her eyes adjust. Finally, she could make out a single form huddled under a blanket. The way the person slept—on her back, facing the door—was typical for Aiden. She was tossing and turning, one of her hands clutching the blanket.

Dawn didn’t need her PhD in psychology to know that Aiden was stressed. This case, like so many others, was getting to her.

Quietly, taking care not to stumble in the darkness, Dawn inched closer. She sat on the edge of the cot and peered down at her sleeping lover. Aiden’s short, black hair was disheveled. A frown marred her face and her athletic body seemed tense, even while she slept.

Dawn couldn’t resist. She bent down and gently touched her lips to the corner of Aiden’s mouth.

“What?” Aiden jerked upright. She stared at Dawn, blinked, rubbed her eyes, and then looked at her again. “If this is a dream, please don’t wake me.”

Dawn ran a hand through Aiden’s hair, combing the tousled strands into some semblance of order. “If this were a dream, I wouldn’t bring you fresh underwear. I would be in my underwear.” When Aiden didn’t react to the joke, Dawn wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug.

Warm breath washed over Dawn’s neck as Aiden exhaled.

They held each other for several minutes, silently reconnecting. Finally, Dawn felt Aiden’s tense muscles relax against her. “Come on. Your dinner is getting cold.”

Aiden moved back a few inches. “You brought me dinner, and you left it with the twenty famished cops in the squad room? Do you honestly think they’re above petty theft just because they’re supposed to uphold the law?”

“Don’t worry. I brought enough to feed the hungry hordes.” Dawn grasped Aiden’s hand and pulled her up from the cot.

Aiden arched her tall body in a catlike, sensual stretch, which Dawn watched appreciatively. When their gazes met, Aiden murmured, “Sometimes I think this can’t be for real.”

“The case?”

“You.” Aiden touched Dawn’s cheek with a single finger. “Us.”

Dawn put her hand over Aiden’s and pressed it against her face, solidifying their contact. “It is real.”

“Yeah. But you waiting around for me, playing second fiddle to my job, and instead of complaining when I don’t call you for three days, you come and bring me food and clothes. It just seems too good to be true,” Aiden said in a whisper.

“My dad, my brother, and my ex-husband were cops,” Dawn said. “I knew exactly what I was getting myself into when I made a play for you.”

“You made a play for me? Excuse me, Doc, but that’s not the way I remember it.”

Dawn was glad to feel Aiden’s mood shift, and she answered her smile with one of her own. “Oh, you mean that lame attempt to ask me out to dinner?”

“Lame attempt? If I remember correctly, you agreed quite willingly.”

“Aiden!” Ray burst into the tiny room, nearly running them over. “Deming called. There’s DNA evidence on the last victim. We got a name and an address.”

Aiden transformed from gentle lover to determined cop within a second. She picked up her badge and service weapon from their place next to the cot, and when she attached them to her belt, her amber eyes were filled with steely determination. “Let’s go.”

A quick thank-you and one last glance to Dawn and they were gone.

Dawn listened to their retreating steps and sighed. “Be safe,” she whispered into the darkness of the empty room.

 

CHAPTER 2

The underground garage was almost empty. At this time on a Saturday night, most other attorneys and paralegals had long since gone home. Kade Matheson’s high heels clacked on the concrete, sounding eerily loud.

The creepy feeling of being watched accompanied her as she crossed the parking level.

She clenched her fist around her car keys and strode toward her BMW as fast as her skirt and elegant pumps would allow.

A sound echoed through the garage, and she whirled around.

Nothing. The garage was still empty.

“You’re becoming paranoid, Kadence Matheson,” she murmured. This wasn’t the first time she had felt as if somebody was watching her, but whenever she glanced over her shoulder, no one was there.

Reaching her car, she settled into the driver’s seat with a sigh of relief. She stared at the car keys and remembered a very similar situation that had happened in the same underground garage.

Five months ago

After another long day in court and an even longer evening poring over witness statements, crime scene reports, and evidence lists, Kade left the office and headed toward her car.

A sound echoed through the underground garage behind her.

She turned around, expecting to see one of the DA’s interns hurrying after her with just one more document she had to review before tomorrow.

Nobody was there.

Kade shivered and lengthened her stride. Leaving the office on her own and walking to her car alone in the darkness had never been a problem for her. Even after working with the sex crimes unit for two years, she was not one to be particularly afraid of being attacked. With the pepper spray in her purse, she was confident she could chase off any attacker.

But during the last few weeks, that feeling of safety had somehow vanished. There had been no threats—at least not more than usual—but lately, she often felt as if she was being watched.

Maybe it was just the trial that had started the week before. On top of her usual determination to win, Aiden seemed to have a somewhat personal connection to one of the victims, Dawn Kinsley, and that put Kade under even more pressure to get a conviction.

A steel door banged shut somewhere behind her. She fished for her car keys, not only so she could make a quick escape into her car should it become necessary but also to have some kind of weapon.

Steps sounded behind her, quickly coming closer.

She looked over her shoulder again.

When she pressed the key fob, the flash of the BMW’s blinkers revealed a dark figure jogging after her. The person called something, but with the steps echoing on the cement floor, Kade didn’t catch the words.

She froze.

The tall person headed directly for her, the face still shrouded in darkness.

Kade’s fight-or-flight reflexes took over. Her Matheson genes weren’t much for running away, so she thrust her keys into the attacker’s side and used the seconds while he was cradling his ribs to duck under his arm and grab the BMW’s door handle.

But her attacker was faster. A long-fingered hand prevented her from opening the door. “Ouch. Is that how you usually say hello, Counselor?”

Kade whirled around. The voice was distorted with pain but definitely female. In the grayish light down here, she could make out the features of a Latina woman of about forty. She seemed familiar, but Kade was sure they had never been introduced. “Who are you?”

The tall woman reached into the pocket of her jacket.

Expecting her to pull out a weapon, Kade reached for the pepper spray in her purse.

The woman lifted her hands, palms out. “Don’t worry. I’m a cop. I just want to show you my badge.”

Kade’s tension vanished as she stared at the gold shield and ID identifying her “attacker” as Lieutenant Delicia Vasquez Montero. “Detective Carlisle said you’d be in touch, but the police usually come to my office to meet with me. They don’t ambush me in dark and lonely places.”

Lieutenant Vasquez gave her a sheepish grin. “Sorry. Not the best way to introduce myself. But your assistant said I’d just missed you and I might still be able to catch you in the underground garage. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Kade put her car keys away. “You didn’t scare me.”

“Of course not.” Lieutenant Vasquez smiled and then sobered. “Listen, can we talk?”

“Sure. If you make an appointment with my assistant, we can talk all you want.”

The lieutenant didn’t remove her hand from the driver’s side door. “There’s no time to make an official appointment. You’re already in the middle of the trial I need to talk about.”

Kade looked at her through narrowed eyes. “You’re not with the Sexual Assault Detail.”

“No. I’m with the homicide unit.”

“The case I’m trying is not a homicide.” If this lieutenant continued to waylay her, it could very well become one.

“I know. My connection to the case is not a professional one.” Vasquez’s dark eyes bore into Kade’s, sending a message of urgency.

Kade tilted her head and looked up at her. “What’s that supposed to mean, Lieutenant?”

“It means my connection to the case is a personal one. That’s why I’d prefer not to discuss it in the middle of a parking garage,” Lieutenant Vasquez said. “Have you had dinner yet?”

Kade suppressed an unladylike snort. She hadn’t even had lunch. “Not yet, no.”

“Let’s go to that little Italian place right around the corner. We can grab a bite to eat, and I can explain my connection to the case.”

Kade hated being surprised in court, so that sounded sensible. She locked her car and gave Vasquez a curt nod. “Lead the way, Lieutenant.”

* * *

“So?” Kade said without even having tasted her salad.

“Well, with what I’m about to tell you, I think I should start with a proper introduction. I’m Lieutenant Del Vasquez with the North Precinct.” She offered her hand across the table.

Kade returned the handshake with confidence.

Surprise flashed in Del’s eyes, as if she’d expected a limp handshake, just because Kade was picking at a salad while Del devoured her three-thousand-calorie pasta.

It wasn’t the first time someone had made wrong assumptions about her based on her appearance or her family. “So, what’s your connection to one of my cases?” Kade didn’t want to waste any more time exchanging pleasantries.

Del set down her fork. “I went to the club with Dawn Kinsley on the night she was raped. I want you to call me to the stand so I can testify that she never spoke to Garret Ballard.”

Kade took a moment to unfold her napkin and put it on her lap. So Del Vasquez was a lesbian—or a straight woman who liked spending time in gay bars. She studied her. With her sturdy, athletic build, angular features, and short, black hair Del Vasquez wasn’t exactly the picture of the feminine, heterosexual woman. Don’t stereotype.

“You can just ask,” Del said.

“What?” Kade stared at her.

Del grinned. “You’re wondering whether I’m a lesbian. If you want to know, you can just ask me.”

Kade wasn’t used to so much openness. Polite silence and spreading rumors behind other people’s backs were the norm in her circles. She quickly recovered and pierced Del with a direct gaze. “Okay,” she said, forcing herself to keep eye contact. “Did you visit the gay bar with Dawn Kinsley because you are gay?”

“I went to the gay bar because I wanted to spend some time with Dawn,” Del answered. “But, yes, I am a lesbian.”

A brief flash of admiration for Del’s casual frankness went through Kade, but she forced her thoughts back to the case. “And what’s your connection to Dr. Kinsley?”

“If that’s your politically correct way of asking if we’re lovers, the answer is no. I’m an old friend of her family. Her father was my partner on the force before he died.”

Kade leaned forward. “If I call you to the stand, opposing counsel will dig into Dr. Kinsley’s love life—and into your own. Are you prepared for that?”

Del squared her shoulders. “I’ll do whatever is necessary to put that bastard behind bars.”

Her loyalty was admirable, but it also left Kade with more questions than answers. “If you’re this determined to help put Ballard away, why didn’t you offer to testify before?”

“I offered a hundred times before. Dawn always refused. She didn’t want to drag me into this messy trial, and I respected her wishes.”

“So why come to me now?” Kade asked.

“Well, with the way the trial is going… No offense, I think you’re doing a great job as a prosecutor, but still… Too much rests on Dawn’s testimony for my comfort.” Del looked at her, the concern unveiled in her dark eyes.

Kade accepted the explanation with a nod. “Did you visit the club with Dr. Kinsley on a regular basis?”

Del shook her head. “Neither of us is a regular. Some friends of hers talked her into going that night, and I went with them to make sure they wouldn’t abandon Dawn for some hotties with beer.”

“Did they?”

“No. I did.” Del took a healthy gulp of wine as if trying to wash away a bitter taste in her mouth.

“What do you mean?” Kade asked with the tone she used to coax reluctant witnesses into talking.

“I left the club before Dawn did because all that smoke and the flashing lights were getting on my nerves.” Del emptied her wineglass with jerky movements.

“Even if you had personally seen Dr. Kinsley home, it wouldn’t have changed a thing,” Kade said, giving in to the sudden urge to comfort her.

Del stabbed at her pasta. “I know.” She sighed. “But at least I could have told the jury that Dawn never talked to Ballard the whole time she was in the club. Now I can’t attest to that.”

“We can work around that,” Kade said. “A witness who can testify that Dr. Kinsley never talked to Ballard when she entered the club is better than nothing. And if you are an old friend of the family, you can also testify to the fact that Dr. Kinsley identifies as a lesbian and would never consider a one-night stand with a man.”

Del nodded.

“All right.” Kade pushed her almost untouched plate away and laid down a legal pad in its place. “Then let’s go over the questions I’ll ask you on the stand.”

When they left the restaurant an hour later, Del insisted on seeing Kade to her car.

Kade settled into the driver’s seat and gave her a nod before reaching out to close the door.

“Oh, Counselor?” Del waited until Kade looked up. “Next time,” she said, pointing at the car keys dangling from the ignition, “aim for the eyes.”

* * *

A light tap on the driver’s side window brought Kade back to the present. She jumped and whirled around, clenching her fingers around the car keys that were still in her hand.

A security guard stood in front of her car. He gestured for her to roll down the window. “Everything okay, ma’am? I saw you sitting there without moving and—”

“I’m fine,” Kade said, embarrassed at having been caught daydreaming.

“All right.” He took a step back. “I just wanted to make sure.”

“I appreciate it. Good night.” She rolled her window back up and shoved the key in the ignition. “There’ll be no next time, Del Vasquez,” she said and started the car.