Conflict of Interest

By

JAE

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Copyright © 2008 By Jae All rights reserved. 1

eBook ISBN: 978-1-934889-23-7 Paperback ISBN: 978-1-934889-40-4 Audio eBook ISBN: 978-1-934889-24-4

First Edition eBook Format Published September 2008 Print July 2009

This book is Published byL-Book ePublisher La Quinta, Ca. USA Email: info@ L-Book.com Web Site: http://L-Book.com

Editors: Judy Underwood

Cover Design by Sheri graphicartist2020@hotmail.com

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This work is copyrighted and is licensed only for use by the original purchaser and can be copied to the original purchaser’s electronic device and its memory card for their personal use. Modifying or making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, without limit email, CD, DVD, memory cards, file transfer, paper print out or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I’d like to thank my beta reader, Pam, who is in a class of her own. She has been incredibly patient and supportive through every step of the writing process.

Special thanks to Rayne, KC, Lori, Jonel, Lena, and Michelle, who beta read parts or all of the story when I first wrote it, and to Margot and RJ for test reading Conflict of Interest and for their patience and help with finding the right names for these characters.

Thank you to Kristin for patiently answering some of my very complicated questions about the finer points of the English language.

I would also like to thank Roxanne for giving me this opportunity, Sheri for creating a wonderful cover, and Judy for making the copy editing process a pleasant experience.

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Dedication

For all survivors.

Conflict of Interest

CHAPTER 1

“I’M GOING TO throw up,” Dawn Kinsley groaned, rubbing her nervous stomach.

“No, you won’t.” Her friend and colleague Ally just grinned. “Come on, you’re a therapist. You’re used to talking to people.”

“Not to one hundred uninterested cops who would rather be elsewhere and who won’t give me the time of day,” Dawn protested. She knew exactly what each of the police officers sitting on the other side of the curtain was thinking. Most of them would view her lecture as a waste of time.

Ally shook her head with amusement. “A psychologist with glossophobia. I wonder what the APA would say about that?”

“I’m sure the American Psychological Association would be much more concerned about a psychologist with your lack of compassion,” Dawn shot back, now with a grin of her own. She knew she usually didn’t have a problem with public speaking. She had held her own in front of large groups of gum-chewing high school kids, earnest college students, and renowned psychologists twice her age, but cops were a special audience for her. It was almost as if she was expecting to see her father sitting in one of the rows and was trying to impress him. Oh, come on, Doc, this is not the time to start analyzing yourself! she admonished.

“Touche,” Ally finally conceded.

Both of them had to chuckle, and Dawn felt herself relax.

“There are a few techniques that can help in these situations, you know?” Ally pointed out.

“Let me guess… picturing everyone in the audience naked?” Dawn grinned at her friend. “And how would that help with my nervousness?”

Ally shrugged. “Well, maybe it won’t.” She peeked out from behind the curtain, letting her appreciative gaze wander over the men in the first few rows. “But it might be nice nonetheless.”

“Maybe for you, but how would it be nice for me to picture a room full of naked male cops? Hello?” Dawn gave a little wave. “Did you miss the office memo informing everyone about my sexual orientation?”

“Office memo?” Ally repeated. “Is that what they nowadays call kissing your girlfriend in the office’s parking lot?”

“What?” Dawn sputtered. “I never did that!”

Ally rubbed her forehead and pretended to think about it. “No? Must have been Charlie, then.” She pushed the curtain aside to glance at the audience again. “You know there are also a few female officers down there. You could look at them.”

“All two of them?” Dawn joked but stepped closer to follow Ally’s gaze. There were more than two female cops in the audience, she noticed - but not many more.

“Pick one,” Ally said.

Dawn nudged her with an elbow. “I’m here to give a lecture, not to pick up women, Ally.”

Ally rolled her eyes. “Pick one and concentrate on her during your lecture. Ignore the rest of the crowd. It’ll help with the nervousness. So?” She pointed down to the seated police officers.

The mutual teasing and joking was part of their everyday life in the office. Dawn saw no reason not to humor her friend now. She craned her neck to be able to look past the taller Ally. Her gaze wandered from woman to woman, never stopping for long until… “Her!” she said, pointing decisively.

In the very last row, between a tall African American man in his forties and a younger man whose posture screamed “rookie,” a female plainclothes detective was just taking her seat.

“Ooh!” Ally whistled quietly. “Nice choice! Didn’t know you liked them a little on the butch side, though. Maggie isn’t nearly -“

“Compared to Maggie, even you look butch,” Dawn interrupted. “Besides, that detective isn’t butch.”

She wasn’t. Not really. The detective had short, jet-black hair, yes, and the stereotypical leather jacket covered what Dawn could see of her tall, athletic frame, but she also moved with a grace that was definitely feminine.

“Dr. Kinsley?”

Dawn looked away from the detective and turned around. “Yes?”

One of the seminar organizers stepped next to them. “Here are your handouts.” He handed her a stack of paper. “Are you ready to begin?”

Dawn clutched the handouts but gave him a friendly smile. “Yes.”

“Good luck,” Ally said, and behind the seminar organizer’s back, she mouthed, “Remember: picture her naked.”

How’s that supposed to calm my racing heart? Dawn wondered as she stepped out from behind the curtain and made her way over to the microphone with a confidence she didn’t really feel.

* * *

“Where’s your partner?” Detective Aiden Carlisle asked Ruben Cartwright as she slumped into a seat between him and her partner. “Terminal back pain again?” If I have to be here at this law enforcement seminar, so does everyone else, even hypochondriacs like Jeff Okada, Aiden thought grumpily.

Ruben looked up from the paper airplane that had once been his seminar brochure. “Again?” he asked, shoving a strand of brown hair out of his boyishly handsome face.

Ray Bennet, Aiden’s partner, leaned over to him with a grin. He had known Jeff Okada for much longer than just the year Ruben had been partnered with him. “It only seems to act up whenever a continuing ed seminar comes along,” he explained.

“It acts up whenever I have to sit in one of these unhealthy first grader seats,” Jeff Okada corrected as he walked up to them. Gingerly, the Asian American detective eased himself down onto the uncomfortable chair next to his rookie partner.

Aiden sighed and glanced at her watch. She didn’t want to be here any more than her colleagues did. Not that she didn’t believe in the value of further education. It was just that she had a stack of unfinished reports on her desk and thirty open cases, which didn’t get any closer to being solved while she sat here. Furthermore, the seminar prevented her from spending her lunch hour in the courtroom’s gallery, watching her favorite Deputy District Attorney at work. Today, she lied to herself, she would have worked up the courage to ask Kade to lunch.

Sighing again, she wrestled herself into a standing position and pointed to the back of the conference room. “I’m going for coffee.”

“If you want to live long enough to enjoy your hard-earned pension, I’d advise against that, my friend.” Okada raised his index finger in warning. “In more than twenty-five years on the job, I’ve never been to a law enforcement seminar with even halfway decent coffee.”

Ray smirked. “In twenty-five years on the job, you’ve never been to a law enforcement seminar, period.”

Over the top of his sunglasses, Okada directed a brief but withering glance at Ray before he turned back to Aiden. “The lack of drinkable coffee is obviously a nationwide conspiracy from law enforcement brass to make sure nothing distracts their officers from the lectures. For the same reason, you’ll never encounter doughnuts or attractive female lecturers at a law enforcement seminar.”

“Or comfortable chairs,” Ray added.

Okada threw up his hands in triumph. “Finally, someone’s wising up!”

Aiden smiled halfheartedly and sank back into her chair. Giving up on her caffeine fix, she pulled the now crushed seminar program out from under her. The wrinkled paper announced the title of the first lecture: ‘Special Needs and Issues of Male and GLBT Survivors of Rape and Sexual Abuse,’ speaker: D. Kinsley, PhD.

“Great,” Aiden murmured. They hadn’t even hired a cop or someone who knew the reality of handling sex crimes to give the lecture. Instead, some antiquated Freudian in a stiff suit would bore them to tears with his academic, impracticable theories.

A young woman carrying a stack of handouts stepped out from behind a curtain and crossed the podium - the Freudian’s assistant or the poor soul who had the questionable honor of introducing the speaker, Aiden assumed. The woman tapped the microphone to test its volume and nodded. “Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen. I’m Dawn Kinsley, your lecturer for the first part of the seminar.”

Aiden’s head jerked up. That’s D. Kinsley?

Nothing reminded Aiden of the academic Freudian she had imagined except the glasses on the freckled nose. Instead of a suit and tie, slacks and a tight, sleeveless blouse covered a body that was petite, yet not frail, and slender, but not model-thin. The strawberry blond hair wasn’t pulled back into an old-fashioned bun, but cascaded in curls down to softly curved hips.

So, she’s the PhD, not the assistant, huh? That’s my punishment for stereotyping. Of course, looking at her instead of an old man is not exactly a punishment, Aiden thought, eyeing the blond speaker appreciatively. However boring the lecture might be, at least she would have something captivating at which to look.

The lecture began, and to her surprise, Aiden found herself looking away from the pretty speaker and down to her notepad to jot down interesting details about dealing with male rape victims. The lecture turned out to be informative, practice-oriented, and witty. She even caught Okada bending his aching back to take notes. The psychologist spoke with passion and sensitivity, never even glancing down at her notes.

Instead, Aiden felt as if the psychologist was looking right at her, focusing on her as if there were no one else in the room. Oh, come on. Stop dreaming. There are a few other people in the room, you know? Aiden admonished herself. She listened with rapt attention to the rest of the lecture.

Forty-five minutes passed almost too soon.

“Knew I should have tried the coffee,” Ruben mumbled when they began to file out of the room with the last of the seminar registrants. “If there’s an attractive female lecturer, there’s a chance the rest of your seminar conspiracy theory is bull, too.”

Okada stretched and shook his head. “I wouldn’t bet your meager paycheck on it, partner. Some government employee obviously failed to check the lecturer’s picture, but there’s no way they would overlook a bill for Blue Hawaiian beans at forty dollars per pound.”

A chuckle behind them alerted Aiden to the fact that someone had overheard her colleagues’ comments. She turned around and looked down into the twinkling gray-green eyes of Dawn Kinsley, their lecturer. The faint laugh lines at their corners told her that the psychologist was closer to thirty than to twenty as she had first assumed.

“Sorry,” Aiden said, pointing at Okada and Ruben, “they’re not used to being out and about. Normally, we keep them chained to their desks.”

Dawn Kinsley didn’t seem offended. Full lips curved into an easy smile that dimpled her cheeks and crinkled the skin at the bridge of her slightly upturned nose, which made the freckles dusting the fair skin seem to dance. “Don’t worry, Detective, I’ve been called worse things than ‘attractive.’”

Aiden studied the gray-green eyes looking steadily at her. “How do you know I’m a detective?” It was disconcerting to think that anyone, even a psychologist, could see through her so easily.

“Oh, I don’t know, could it be the fact that we’re at a law enforcement conference?” Okada chimed in.

Dawn Kinsley smiled at him, but she spoke to Aiden. “The way you stand, walk, and talk pretty much screams ‘cop’ in capital letters. And the way you dress suggests you’re a detective. Sex crimes unit?”

Aiden nodded. “Aiden Carlisle.” She extended her hand.

“Dawn Kinsley, but I guess you already knew that.” The psychologist nodded down at her name tag. Her handshake was as genuine and warm as her smile.

“Hey, Aiden!” Ray, already halfway out of the door, waved her over. “We’re gonna make a run for the nearest coffee shop before the next lecture starts. You up for it?”

Forty-five minutes ago, she would have jumped at the chance to leave the seminar room, but now Aiden found herself hesitating. “Um… sure.” She glanced down at Dawn Kinsley. “Would you like to come with us?” she surprised herself by asking.

“I don’t drink coffee.” The psychologist laughed at the look on Aiden’s face. “Don’t look so shocked, Detective. I’m a tea drinker, and I’d love to accompany four of Portland’s finest, but regrettably, I’ve got an appointment.”

“Maybe next time, then,” Aiden said noncommittally, knowing they would likely never see each other again. Suddenly not as eager for a coffee as before, Aiden followed her colleagues out of the conference room.

CHAPTER 2

AIDEN RAPPED HER knuckles against the shiny surface of a watermelon, testing its ripeness. Then she decided that a whole melon would only spoil in her single-household and reached for a banana instead.

She looked up from the fruit when a young man entered her personal space. As a cop, she was immediately aware of anyone violating a ten-foot zone around her. His gaze met hers, and he backed away. Scowling, Aiden watched him as he neared another shopper, who was busy nestling her apples into a shopping bag.

Hey! That’s the psychologist from last week. Buying fruit like the rest of us mere mortals - in my grocery store. Aiden forgot about the strange young man as she studied the psychologist. Wearing faded blue jeans and a white button-down shirt, Dawn Kinsley looked - in Aiden’s opinion - at least as good as in the neatly pressed slacks and the blouse from the seminar. Aiden tilted her head and watched as Dawn pushed back stubborn blond strands that had escaped from her ponytail. Should I say hello? Would she even remember me?

She hadn’t made a decision yet when her trained cop eyes noticed a hand reaching into the psychologist’s purse. A second later, the young man fled down the aisle.

Dawn Kinsley seemed to comprehend what had happened almost immediately. She sprinted after him at a speed that would have done any street cop proud and grabbed his shirt before he could reach the door.

The thief whirled around, towering over the small woman. He raised a threatening fist.

Uh-oh! Aiden sprinted toward them before the situation could escalate further. She grabbed the raised fist and turned the man’s arm behind his back in one smooth movement. “That was really dumb, Ms. Kinsley,” she said to the staring woman. “Brave, but dumb. You shouldn’t grab a thief, who outweighs you by at least forty pounds, without even knowing if he’s armed!”

Dawn Kinsley looked steadily back at her. “He outweighs you, too.”

Aiden straightened to her full height. “But I am armed and a trained police officer.”

“Oh, shit!” At the mention of her occupation, the captured thief started to struggle in Aiden’s grip.

The shop owner hurried down the aisle. “Thank you, thank you, Detective!” He wanted to shake her hands, but they were full of struggling thief, so he turned to Dawn. “I’m very sorry, Ms. Kinsley. That never happened in my store before. Would you accept some more fruit as a compensation for the scare?”

“No, thank you, what I have is enough, really.” Dawn shook her shopping bag with two apples and a banana.

The shop owner sighed. “She’s another one of those one-banana buyers,” he said to Aiden.

She’s single, Aiden translated. And probably as straight as they come.

“I might only take one banana, but I buy two packets of cookies every time I come in here,” a smiling Dawn defended.

Aiden waited for two uniformed officers, whom the shop owner had called, to take the thief off her hands before she allowed herself to chat with the patiently waiting psychologist. “So, do you come here regularly?” She winced when she realized it sounded like a lame pick-up line.

“Regularly enough to get a reputation as a ‘one-banana buyer,’ it would seem.” Dawn winked.

Aiden had to smile. She liked the psychologist’s wit. “Been there, done that.”

“I live just a block down the street. You want to come with me and have the cup of coffee I had to decline last week?” Dawn Kinsley tilted her head and looked up at Aiden.

“I thought you didn’t drink coffee?”

“I don’t, but nevertheless I make a mean cup. Just like you cops like it - strong enough to be considered black paint in every other occupation.”

Aiden laughed. “Now, that’s an offer I can’t resist.” Asking me to come home with her, tempting me with coffee… is she flirting? Aiden pondered as she followed Dawn down the street. Ha! You wish. That’s just the natural warmth and friendliness of someone who’s comfortable around people.

Side by side, they climbed the stairs to Dawn’s second-floor apartment. “Make yourself comfortable,” Dawn called over her shoulder, already heading for the kitchen.

Aiden lifted a brow. Cop or not, she wouldn’t leave a stranger unsupervised in her living room. Hesitantly, she stepped across a colorful rug, past overflowing bookcases and shelves full of framed pictures and potted plants.

Orange curtains suffused the living room in a golden light. In the corner was a desk piled high with books, files, and magazines. Above it, a chaotic arrangement of children’s drawings and colorful postcards fought for space with a shelf full of seashells, a piggy bank, and stuffed animals. A recliner, a rocking chair, and two mismatched chairs completed the furnishings.

It was a bit chaotic, in a charming and paradoxically almost soothing way. Aiden thought about her own apartment, which was neat and nearly void of any personal knickknacks. Dawn’s apartment wasn’t overly tidy; it had a cozy, lived-in feel. It felt like a home, not just a place to eat and sleep.

I like it, Aiden decided as she sank down onto the couch.

Within minutes, she heard the gurgling of the coffeemaker. Her hostess returned with a tray and placed coffee, tea, and cookies on the coffee table. “Black, without sugar, right?” Dawn sat in a rocking chair across from her visitor and nodded toward Aiden’s mug.

“Right.” Aiden didn’t ask how Dawn knew her coffee preferences. The psychologist seemed to have some sort of sixth sense concerning police officers.

“So, have you recovered from all those attempts to bore you to death?” Dawn looked at her over the rim of her mug, a smile in her eyes.

“Huh?”

Dawn shook a finger at her. “Oh, come on, Detective. I’m well aware how ‘eager’ most cops are to sit in a chair all day and listen to some theoreticians who want to tell them how to do their jobs.”

“Yeah, we just love it,” Aiden admitted with a grin. “But actually, your lecture wasn’t half bad. You’re not just an academic, are you?”

“No. Maybe I’ll go into teaching someday, but for now, I’m pretty happy with what I do - which is counseling survivors of rape and sexual abuse,” Dawn said.

Aiden looked down into her mug. “That has to be tough.”

Dawn shrugged. “As tough as being a sex crimes detective, I would imagine. But someone has to do it, and sometimes you feel that you’ve made a difference, and that makes it worth it.”

Yeah. I guess she’s someone who would really understand the job, Aiden thought. Silence grew between them, but Aiden didn’t find it uncomfortable.

“I have to admit that I didn’t invite you up without an ulterior motive, Detective.” Dawn didn’t beat around the bush.

Aiden swallowed. “And what motive might that be?” She regarded the psychologist suspiciously.

“I know we hardly know each other,” Dawn said, “and I normally wouldn’t do this, but…”

Aiden’s eyes became wider and wider with every word. It truly sounded like a come-on. She wasn’t sure what she would do if it was.

“…I have a favor to ask,” Dawn finally finished.

Okay, so it’s not a come-on. Aiden laughed at herself. Sleeping with a woman like her couldn’t be considered doing her a favor.

“I’ve searched for someone who could speak to my group, and it seems I found the ideal person for the job.” Dawn looked at her expectantly.

“Your group?” Aiden repeated.

Dawn nodded. “It’s a support group for survivors who’ve gotten pregnant by rape.”

Suddenly, the coffee left a bitter taste in her mouth. For once, she had been relaxed, not thinking about anything job-related, and the question caught her off guard. “I’m in no way ‘ideal for the job,’” she protested, struggling against her rising anger.

“Of course you are.” Dawn rocked forward and touched her hand encouragingly.

Aiden flinched. She didn’t know how or from whom, but she was suddenly convinced that Dawn Kinsley knew about the circumstances of her conception. The thought did not sit well with her. “No!” she repeated. “I can’t give advice to women in that situation. I… I… I just can’t, okay?”

“Okay.” Dawn’s gray-green eyes didn’t hide her disappointment and confusion, but she accepted Aiden’s rejection without pressuring her to change her mind.

Aiden shoved back her only half-empty cup of coffee. “I have to go.”

Dawn rose with her. Her smooth brow furrowed as she followed Aiden to the door. “If I insulted you in any -“

“No,” Aiden held up her hand, “you didn’t. It’s just… You… you haven’t insulted me.”

“All right.” For the first time, it seemed as if Dawn didn’t know what to say.

Aiden slipped past her, forcing herself not to look back. The door closing behind her echoed in her mind for the rest of the day.

CHAPTER 3

AIDEN FUMBLED with the key for a few moments, stiff hands and tired eyes refusing to work together, before she finally managed to unlock the door. Everything was dark and silent when she entered her apartment. Only a wave of stale air, a pile of bills and junk mail, and two parched potted plants greeted her as the door closed, echoing loudly in the silence.

For the last three days, she had slept in one of the precinct’s bunk beds, tucked away in the tiny spare room that looked more like a storage closet than a comfortable place to rest. Today, their hard work had finally paid off. Portland’s inhabitants had one less child molester to worry about.

Exhausted but content, she threw the mail down onto the coffee table and pressed the “play” button on the answering machine, only to be told that she had “no messages” - not that she had expected any since she didn’t have many friends outside of the squad.

With a glance at the clock, which told her it was four a.m., Aiden stepped past the coffee machine and headed for the refrigerator instead. She skipped using a glass and drank directly from the orange juice container. One of the many advantages of being single, she told herself, trying not to think about how nice it would be to come home to a set table, a sympathetic ear, and a warm body in her bed.

She kicked off her shoes and yanked her shirt over her head while she headed to the bathroom. Leaning against the sink, she splashed water onto her face and rubbed burning eyes. The mirror above the sink showed disheveled black hair and lines of fatigue on her face. Her amber eyes were bloodshot. Running her tongue over her teeth and tasting three days’ worth of coffee and Chinese takeout, she decided a shower could wait and grabbed her toothbrush.

She watched absentmindedly as water dripped from the faucet. The sound of the falling drops accentuated the silence in her apartment. Out of habit, she reached up to the place where other people might store their bath radio and turned on her police scanner. She was so used to listening to the radio transmissions of the Portland Police Bureau that it became a soothing background noise while she brushed her teeth. She barely registered a domestic violence callout and two DUIs.

The scanner crackled. “…at 228 Northwest Everett Street.”

“What?” Aiden mumbled around her toothbrush. Not only was the address in her immediate neighborhood, but it also sounded oddly familiar. Convinced that her tired mind made her imagine things, she returned to her brushing and gargling when the dispatcher’s voice came through the scanner again, “I repeat: We have a 10-31 at 228 Northwest Everett Street. Unclear if suspect is still at the scene. Respond code two.”

She spat a mouthful of toothpaste across the sink and mirror as she recognized the address: someone had been assaulted - or possibly raped - in Dawn Kinsley’s apartment building. A sudden surge of adrenaline banished her tiredness. She tried to tell herself that there were dozens of other women living at the same address, that it probably wasn’t even a rape, that she wasn’t on call, but a quivering deep in her gut made her abandon her toothbrush and grab her wrinkled clothes again.

“Dispatch, this is unit one-eighteen. That’s 10-4. I’m en route; ETA two minutes,” a patrol unit responded via radio.

Even knowing help was on the way, Aiden didn’t stop. She had long ago learned not to question her instincts. She dressed with the automatic movements of someone who had been called out at unholy hours of the night a thousand times. Within minutes, she was on her way back into the night air.

* * *

Aiden pulled her car into a parking space beside the squad car, whose blue and red lights were coloring the night. A uniformed police officer stopped her before she reached the door to the apartment building. “Sorry, ma’am.” He blocked the entrance. “Do you live here? Do you have any identification?”

She silenced him by shoving her badge into his face. “Detective Carlisle, Sexual Assault Detail.”

“Wow, you guys are really fast tonight. I’m Officer Trent, patrol district eight-twelve.”

Aiden wasn’t in the mood to exchange any chitchat or to explain her fast arrival at the scene. “You responded to a 10-31. It was a sexual assault?”

“Yeah.” The officer nodded. “It -“

“Which apartment?”

“2B. My partner’s up there.”

Aiden clenched her hands into helpless fists for a second. It was Dawn Kinsley’s apartment. She didn’t wait for the elevator and took the steps two at a time. She stopped in front of the door to 2B, afraid of what she might find on the other side.

A loud knock brought her face-to-face with another uniformed officer staring blankly at her.

“Carlisle, SAD.”

“That was fast,” the young officer unknowingly echoed his partner and stepped aside to allow her entry. Aiden could see his relief at not having to deal with the victim himself. She knew that patrol officers had little if any training in dealing with rape survivors. He followed her back in and pointed over his shoulder while he glanced down at the notebook in his other hand. “The victim’s name is -“

“I know her name,” Aiden interrupted. She took a second to compose herself. Inhaling deeply, she stepped into the apartment.

The half-open bedroom door showed crumpled sheets, a knocked-over lamp, and random objects scattered across the floor. The detective in Aiden began to process the crime scene automatically, but then she stepped past the bedroom door and entered the living room, immediately spying Dawn Kinsley.

Dawn sat on the same couch where she had shared coffee and tea with Aiden just six days ago.

Aiden almost didn’t recognize her: Dawn’s gaze, which had always calmly rested on the person to whom she was talking, now darted around the room. One of her formerly steady hands fluttered across the side of her swollen face while the other hand clung to the blanket someone had wrapped around her shoulders to hide her torn clothing. Dawn’s naturally fair face appeared even paler in contrast to the bruises on her cheek.

The woman on the couch wasn’t the competent rape counselor Aiden had met a few days earlier, but a shattered rape victim.

Aiden cleared her throat to announce her presence and sat down on the edge of the couch, close enough to be an available, soothing presence, but far enough away that Dawn didn’t feel threatened. “Hey, Ms. Kinsley… Dawn.” She made her voice as gentle as she could.

Dawn’s head shot up. “H-hi. I… I’d say it’s nice to meet you again, but under these circumstances…” She looked away, wiping at the tears in her eyes as her body began to tremble.

Aiden swallowed. She had the sudden urge to hold Dawn’s hand or lay a protective arm around her, but she kept her distance, knowing it could do more harm than good at this point. She didn’t want to scare Dawn even further. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“Someone broke into my apartment… a… a man.” Dawn pressed her lips together. “He had a weapon and… he hit me.” Her fingers traced the marks on her right cheek.

Aiden nodded encouragingly but didn’t interrupt.

“He… threw me down… onto the bed, and then he…” Trembling eyelids closed for a second. “He raped me,” Dawn whispered. She looked at Aiden in disbelief. “Detective, he… he…”

“I know,” Aiden murmured. She moved a little closer to Dawn but not yet close enough to touch her. “Did you know him?”

Dawn shook her head.

“Okay. Can you describe him?” Aiden knew she had to maintain a professional distance and ask the standard questions, but it was hard when you knew the person who sat trembling across from you.

“He was tall and muscular and… heavy,” Dawn said, her voice shaky. “Black hair. Angry, blue eyes.”

“Good, that’ll help us look for him.” She touched Dawn’s forearm fleetingly. “I’ll take you to the hospital in a second, okay? Can I get you anything or do anything for you before we go? Should I call anyone?”

“No.” Dawn vehemently shook her head.

“Are you sure?” Aiden asked. She didn’t like the thought of Dawn having no one be there for her. Of course she would try to make the rape kit procedure at the hospital as easy as possible for Dawn, but her primary role was that of a detective, not that of a friend.

“I don’t want my mother to see me like this, and I’d rather tell her in person than scare her with a call. There have been too many of those calls in our family,” Dawn said quietly.

Aiden nodded but asked no questions. She didn’t want to invade Dawn’s privacy any further.

“I’d like to change, though.” Dawn looked down at her torn T-shirt.

Aiden sighed. “You can’t, at least not yet. I’m sorry, but it’s evidence. How about taking a new set of clothing with you to the hospital so you can change after your examination, hmm?”

“I… I can’t go in there.” Dawn pointed a trembling finger at the bedroom.

“It’s all right,” Aiden soothed. “I’ll do it.” She stepped over a fallen chair, shattered ceramic figurines, and books with torn-out pages, careful not to touch anything that might be evidence. Dawn’s glasses lay on the bedroom floor, the frame broken and one lens shattered.

Aiden picked out a comfortable looking sweatshirt, loose-fitting pants, and a pair of warm socks. Adding panties and a bra, she bitterly shook her head. She had fleetingly dreamed about seeing the charming psychologist’s underwear - but these definitely weren’t the circumstances about which she had fantasized. Even harmless flirting with Dawn Kinsley was no longer a possibility. Everything had changed tonight.

She returned to the living room with the bundle of clothes under her arm. Her heart lurched at the sight of Dawn fumbling with her shoes, her fingers trembling too much to manage the laces.

Aiden wordlessly put the clothes aside and knelt down in front of Dawn, tying the laces. “Anything else?” she asked.

“Can I brush my teeth?”

Aiden bit her lip, feeling bad that she had to deny Dawn that simple request. “No, sorry. That could destroy evidence. I have to talk to the officer for a minute, okay? It won’t take long.”

The cop, who had wisely retreated to the kitchen, looked up as she entered. “She give a description?” he asked.

“Tall, muscular, black hair, blue eyes. I’ll have her work with a sketch artist later, but for now give out a BOLO for a suspect fitting that description to all precincts.”

The officer nodded and took a few notes.

“Are there any witnesses, or is Ms. Kinsley the one who called us?” Aiden asked. She looked back to the couch to make sure Dawn was still okay on her own.

“A neighbor called it in,” the officer answered. “He saw her lean out of the open window and thought she was suicidal at first. Turns out she wanted to retrieve her cell phone. The perp threw it out the window. It’s dangling from the fire escape.”

Aiden’s brow furrowed. Breaking into the apartment, ripping out the phone line, throwing away the only other means to call for help… that sounded like a planned attack, but the destruction in the bedroom didn’t speak of a controlled offender. Time to think about that later. Dawn’s the top priority right now. “Secure the premises without destroying possible evidence and take the neighbor’s statement,” she ordered. “I’m taking her to the hospital.”

She crossed the room toward Dawn, making some noise as she approached her to avoid startling the frightened woman. “Are you ready?”

Dawn struggled to her feet without answering.

* * *

Aiden sat next to Dawn in a small, curtained cubicle in the Portland General Hospital emergency room, which was busy even at five a.m. The emergency personnel hadn’t tried to make them wait in the corridor when they saw the gold shield clipped to Aiden’s belt and the grim expression on her face.

“I guess I was really lucky that you were on call tonight,” Dawn said after the nurse had left in search of a doctor. As a rape counselor, she knew that many victims without life-threatening injuries had to wait for their treatment and were often questioned about the rape in the middle of the corridor while nurses and doctors rushed injured patients past them and worried family members paced nearby.

Aiden tilted her head in a vague nod. She didn’t want to discuss the reason why she had caught this case, preferring for the moment to let Dawn believe she had been on call tonight and was here for strictly professional reasons.

“So… I know it’s hard to talk about but…” She found herself uncharacteristically reluctant to question Dawn about something that would be painful for her. “I have to ask you some specific questions about the attack so the doctor will know what kind of evidence he’s to look for. Let’s start with the easy part. I know you didn’t shower, brush your teeth, or change your clothes after the attack, right?”

Dawn nodded.

“Did he penetrate you?” Aiden asked quietly.

Another nod. “Vaginally, nothing else, but he kept trying to kiss me. I don’t think he wore a condom,” Dawn answered, already anticipating Aiden’s next question.

Aiden’s stomach twisted as she heard the clinical response to her question, once again reminded of the fact that Dawn Kinsley normally dealt with rape in a professional capacity, as Aiden did. It seemed as if Dawn was trying to get through this by acting as if she were talking about one of her patients and not about herself.

The nurse returned to their curtained-off cubicle. She handed Dawn a blue hospital gown. “Please stand on this sheet of paper,” she pointed to the floor of the cubicle, “while you undress. Put your clothes in the paper bag on the table.”

Dawn sighed. “I know the routine,” she said, still looking at Aiden. She seemed almost afraid to let Aiden out of her sight.

“I’ll be right here, outside the curtain, waiting for you, okay?” Aiden stepped back but kept eye contact.

Dawn exhaled and closed the curtain behind her.

Aiden turned her back to the cubicle and bobbed up and down on the balls of her feet in an effort not to pace back and forth. She heard the rustling of paper and then, just for a second, quiet sobs. Helplessly, she pressed her lips together.

After a minute, Dawn reappeared, looking even more fragile in the blue paper gown than she had before.

Aiden gazed down into stormy gray eyes. “You okay?”

Dawn nodded.

The nurse guided Dawn to the examination table.

Silently, Aiden took up position beside her.

A doctor with a clipboard came in and started asking questions while the nurse took photographs of the bruises on Dawn’s face and body. “When did you have your last period, Ms. Kinsley?” he asked matter-of-factly.

“Uh… I’m not sure… maybe two weeks ago. It could be three. I’m really not sure.” Dawn shrugged helplessly.

The doctor raised his brows but didn’t comment when he saw Aiden’s warning stare. “Have you had recent sexual intercourse?” he asked.

Dawn laughed bitterly. “That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?”

Aiden touched her hand with a single finger. “He means voluntary sexual intercourse.”

“No.” Dawn bit her lip. “No, I haven’t.”

The doctor scribbled some notes on his clipboard. “What form of birth control do you normally use?”

Once again, the camera flashed, and Dawn closed her eyes. “I don’t use any,” she answered.

Aiden took Dawn’s hand in hers and squeezed it soothingly when she heard Dawn’s defensive tone of voice. It seemed as if the matter-of-fact question had come across as if the doctor had accused Dawn of not properly “preparing” for the eventuality of a rape. Aiden knew that some rape victims read accusations into the doctor’s questions because they couldn’t help wondering whether they could have done anything to prevent the rape. Aiden knew that many rape victims blamed themselves for aspects of their rape, feeling as if they hadn’t been careful enough, hadn’t paid enough attention to their surroundings, hadn’t fought back hard enough, and hadn’t found the right words to stop the rapist. It seemed that Dawn Kinsley, professional background aside, wasn’t so different from other rape survivors.

The doctor put the clipboard away and opened the rape kit.

“We need two oral swabs for a DNA sample,” Aiden explained, holding out the swabs to Dawn. “Do you want to do it yourself?” Aiden knew that many victims experienced the rape kit examination almost like a second violation. Once again, they didn’t have control over their body. It still didn’t belong to them but was a crime scene, a piece of evidence. Being intimately examined by a total stranger while telling him details that you would much rather forget was humiliating. Therefore, Aiden tried to give victims as much control over the examination as she possibly could.

Dawn took the swabs without a word and rubbed them across the inside of her mouth. She handed them back to Aiden, who sealed them into an envelope.

The doctor took Dawn’s hand, and she flinched. Aiden stepped closer to her, both for comfort and to hold a sheet of paper under her hand while the doctor scraped underneath Dawn’s fingernails and then cut them. Her gaze still on Dawn, Aiden put the clippings and scrapings into another envelope and sealed it.

“Okay. Could you lie back and spread your legs a little, please?” The doctor placed a towel under Dawn’s buttocks and combed through her pubic hair, searching for foreign hairs. “It will hurt for a second - I need to pull some of your pubic hair as a control sample,” he explained.

Soon, another envelope was sealed and labeled.

The physician took two more swabs and stepped between Dawn’s bent legs. Dawn jerked.

Aiden enclosed Dawn’s trembling fingers gently in both of her larger hands. She kept her gaze on Dawn’s face, not looking down to watch what the doctor did.

Dawn squeezed her eyes shut and moaned. “I can’t believe this is happening to me,” she whispered. She was used to being the one to help rape victims, not a victim herself.

“Just a little longer,” Aiden murmured, “it’s almost over.” With relief, she watched the doctor step back and make a smear on a glass slide.

The doctor turned off the light. “I need you to open the gown a little bit, please.”

Unsteady fingers wrestled with the laces that held the gown closed.

“Need help?” Aiden asked. She didn’t move until Dawn nodded. Gently, she untied the laces and stepped back. She didn’t look down at the half-naked body but gazed into Dawn’s upset gray eyes. Her thumb rubbed circles over the back of Dawn’s hand.

The doctor turned on the UV light and moved it above Dawn’s abdomen and thighs, showing bright blue fluorescent spots.

Dawn looked down at her bruised body. “Is that…?”

“Seminal fluid,” the physician confirmed and rubbed over some of the stains with a cotton pad.

Dawn groaned in disgust.

The doctor turned the light back on and waited for Aiden to help Dawn close her hospital gown. “Are you allergic to anything?” he asked.

Dawn shook her head.

He handed Dawn two white pills and a small plastic cup of water. “That’s Plan B, an emergency contraceptive pill. You have to take them in two doses - one pill now and one more in twelve hours. You might have some nausea or dizziness after taking them. If you want, I can prescribe you some Dramamine to help with that.”

Dawn took the first pill and swallowed it without comment.

“The nurse will be in shortly,” the doctor continued. “She’ll give you antibiotics to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and get blood drawn from you to test for STDs and HIV. The test results will be back within twenty-four hours. You should be retested in three and six months just to make sure that everything is all right.”

Dawn seemed overwhelmed with the far-reaching consequences of the rape, but she nodded bravely.

“The nurse will also take you to get your hand x-rayed,” the doctor said, pointing at the nurse who had been taking the photos during the examination.

Aiden immediately let go of Dawn’s hand. “Her hand is broken?”

Dawn looked down at her left, then at the right hand as if she hadn’t noticed anything wrong with them either.

“Her right index finger might be broken. It’s hard to tell with all the swelling, so I’d like to do an x-ray,” the doctor answered.

The nurse helped Dawn into a wheelchair - standard hospital procedure - and took her to the x-ray department, leaving Aiden alone with the ER doctor. “What does the evidence tell you?” Aiden asked when Dawn was out of earshot.

The doctor locked the envelopes in the rape kit box, sealed it, and handed it to Aiden. “Bruise marks on her arms and thighs, which might be consistent with restraint, and about the pelvic and pubic area. Teeth marks on her breasts. Evidence of penetration and seminal fluids.”

Classic signs of rape, Aiden translated. She left the rape kit with one of the uniformed officers, with strict orders to take it directly to the medical examiner, and went searching for radiology.

CHAPTER 4

“MORNING, AIDEN,” Ray Bennet said as he entered the squad room on the twelfth floor of Portland’s Justice Center.

At her partner’s greeting, Aiden looked up from the selection of tea bags. “Morning, Ray. Sorry for calling you in on your day off. I hope you’re not in the doghouse with Susan for working on weekends?”

“No, that’s okay. She wanted to take the girls shopping anyway. Now, tell me why I had to miss four whining kids begging me for 150-dollar shoes or a navel piercing.” Ray stepped beside Aiden and poured himself a cup of coffee. “Why did you catch a case when we weren’t on call last night?”

“I heard it on the police scanner when I came home,” Aiden said.

Ray lifted a brow. “And because you didn’t have anything more important to do… like sleep after three 20-hour shifts… you thought you’d help out our brothers in uniform or what? Did they start a bonus program for catching two rapists in one night?”

Aiden didn’t laugh. “Ray, it was Dawn.”

“Dawn?” Ray looked at her, clearly not understanding about whom she was talking.

For the first time, Aiden noticed that she had thought about the psychologist as “Dawn” and not “Ms. Kinsley” since she had found her on the couch three hours ago. Three hours, Aiden thought as she stirred sugar into the tea. An eternity. “Dawn Kinsley - the rape counselor who held the first lecture at the seminar last week,” she explained.

“The vic’s one of her patients?” Ray asked.

Aiden pressed her lips together. “She’s the victim. Someone broke into her apartment last night and raped her.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” She was sure he didn’t know why, but Ray sensed that this was one of those cases that affected her on more than a professional level. “Did you call Okada and Ruben? I’m sure Ruben wouldn’t mind coming in on a Saturday morning for the woman who proved one of Okada’s conspiracy theories wrong.”

“They were here, finishing the paperwork on Barclay, when I came in. I told them we’d meet them at Dawn’s apartment… the crime scene… once we’d gotten a formal statement,” Aiden said as she headed toward one of the interview rooms with Ray in tow.

Dawn Kinsley still sat where Aiden had left her five minutes ago - on the edge of the chair, her hands, with one splinted finger, in her lap.

Ray kept a respectful distance. “Hello, Ms. Kinsley. I’m Detective Raymond Bennet.”

“Hello, Detective.” Dawn spared Ray a quick glance, and then her eyes immediately searched for Aiden. She relaxed when she saw her entering the room behind her partner.

Aiden stepped forward and set the cup of tea in front of Dawn. “Tea, not coffee,” she explained with a small smile. “I hope you like it with a little sugar.”

Dawn nodded, wrapping her uninjured hand around the mug. She inhaled the comforting scent of peppermint but didn’t drink. She just held on to the mug as if it were a lifeline.

Aiden perched onto the corner of the table and studied Dawn. She looked as exhausted as Aiden felt. “We don’t have to do this right now. There’d still be time to take your formal statement after you’ve slept for a few hours,” she offered.

“No, that’s okay.” Dawn bravely shook her head. “I doubt that I’d be able to sleep, anyway.”

Aiden traded a look with her partner before she sat down. She scooted her chair a little closer to Dawn while Ray chose a chair at the end of the table. “I know we’ve been through some of this before, but I need you to tell me what happened from the beginning,” Aiden said.

“Okay. I had just fallen asleep - I think it was around three o’clock - when a noise from somewhere in the apartment woke me. I went to investigate, thinking maybe the cat had knocked something over.”

Aiden nodded encouragingly but didn’t interrupt to ask more questions while Ray, sensing that the victim was more at ease with Aiden than with him, kept silent and took notes.

“There was a man in my living room,” Dawn said, her voice breathless and alarmed as if she was reliving the scary moment. “I opened my mouth to scream, but he pressed me against the wall with his forearm across my throat. He held a gun to my head and told me he’d kill me if I called for help or tried to escape.” Dawn shivered violently.

“It’s okay; you’re here now, safe,” Aiden said, taking her back to the present. She waited a few moments. “What happened next?”

“He dragged me back into the bedroom. On the way, he ripped the phone cord from the wall and threw my cell phone out of the window. Then he… he pushed me down onto the bed.” Dawn bit her lip. “He was a really tall man; he outweighed me, and he had a weapon - I knew I stood no chance to fight him off.”

Aiden swallowed hard. Just a week ago, she had told Dawn how dangerous it could be to pick a fight with someone who outweighed you and might be armed. Had she robbed Dawn of a chance to get away unharmed by telling her that trying to fight was dumb? With suddenly trembling hands, she lifted her paper cup and tried to wash down the ball of emotions in her throat with a mouthful of lukewarm coffee.

“I knew I couldn’t hurt him badly enough to stop him. Maybe I should have tried… if I…” Dawn stopped herself and rubbed tired eyes. “I can’t count how often I told a patient not to blame herself for any aspect of her rape, and now I…” She stopped and sighed. “Anyway, I decided struggling was useless and tried to talk my way out of the situation. After all, that’s what I do for a living - talk,” Dawn continued, smiling bitterly. “I told him he didn’t need to do this, because he was handsome, and there should be a lot of women willing to go out with him… to sleep with him without using violence. I offered him money. I said everything I could think of. I even told him I had a contagious disease.” Dawn looked away from Aiden and stared down at the table. “His answer was to unzip his pants, force my legs apart, and rape me.”

For a second, everything was quiet in the room, even Ray’s pen ceased to scratch over the notepad.

“He held me down with one hand while the other kept pressing the gun against my temple.” Dawn tapped her unsplinted index finger against the side of her head. Aiden could hear her teeth grinding. “I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to turn my head so he couldn’t kiss me, but he slapped me every time I looked away or closed my eyes - he wanted me to see who was doing this to me. I think that’s the reason why he didn’t wear a mask. After a while, I had the feeling of leaving my body as if I looked down at a stranger being raped… I dissociated.”

It was a strange experience for Aiden to sit across from a victim who used the jargon of a sex crimes expert. Aiden wanted to comfort Dawn, but she didn’t dare to use the soothing words that worked with almost every victim, knowing Dawn herself had said them hundreds of times to her patients. This time, she was the victim, and Aiden couldn’t think of anything to say.

“What happened then?” Ray asked, covering his partner’s silence.

Dawn cleared her throat. “He had problems… finishing. Of course, he blamed it on me ‘lying there like a dead fish.’ He shoved the gun under my chin and told me to stop acting as if I wasn’t enjoying it. He told me to moan and act excited.” She closed her eyes, a few silent tears escaping from under her lids. “I know that many rapists who have trouble ejaculating blame their victims and kill them, so I… I did what he told me to do.”

Oh, God! Aiden wanted to close her eyes, she wanted to scream or run out of the room, but most of all she wanted to shoot the monster who had done this to Dawn. She had heard a lot of awful stories in her seven years with the Sexual Assault Detail, but for some reason this one was affecting her on another level.

It was Dawn who was brave enough to break the silence. She appeared to be on automatic pilot. “Finally, he finished, but even that didn’t seem to satisfy him. He slapped me one more time, and then he went berserk on my bedroom furniture. His eyes… as he trampled on my photos and threw my books across the room… He was so full of anger and hate that I thought for sure that he would kill me. But he didn’t.”

Aiden noticed that she didn’t sound relieved about that. Suddenly, tears burned in her own eyes. “What did he do next?” she asked as professionally as she could.

“He kicked a chair out of the way and disappeared through the bedroom door.” Dawn exhaled and took the first sip of her tea, which must have been cold by now.

Aiden exchanged a glance with Ray. “We have to ask you some detailed questions now. Can we get you anything before we start? Something to eat?” she offered.

Dawn shook her head.

Rising from her chair, Aiden reached for Dawn’s mug. “Another tea, then?”

“No, I…” Dawn clung to the handle of the mug. “I don’t need anything, really.”

Ray looked from Dawn to Aiden. “I’ll go,” he offered, a friendly smile on his dark face.

Without further protest, Dawn handed him the mug.

As Aiden watched the door close, she suddenly understood that Dawn simply hadn’t wanted her to leave the room.

“Sorry,” Dawn whispered. “I don’t want your partner to think I mistrust him. It’s just that I don’t know him, and I feel like I know you even when I don’t… not really…”

“It’s okay,” Aiden said with a smile. “Ray makes much better tea than I do, anyway.”

Soon, Ray returned with tea and coffee, and the interview continued.

“You said he didn’t wear a mask, so you did see his face?” Aiden began.

Dawn nodded. “Yes. I had the feeling he wanted me to. He turned on the lamp on my bedside table. I think he broke my finger when I tried to lay a hand over my eyes. He wanted to confront me with the reality that it was him who…”

Aiden didn’t question it. She trusted the psychologist’s assessment. “Could you describe him to a police sketch artist?”

A nod from Dawn.

“And how confident are you that you could identify him in a lineup?”

“I’d know him, anytime, anywhere,” Dawn said without the slightest hesitation. “I’ll never forget that face, those eyes.” She shivered.

“You said he was tall. How tall is that, exactly?” Aiden asked.

For the first time, Dawn looked directly at Ray. “What are you, six feet?” she asked, indicating his tall, lanky frame.

“And half an inch.” Ray smiled gently.

“I’d say he was a bit taller than that… six-two or six-three.” Dawn suddenly hesitated. “I could be wrong, though. I know victims often overestimate the size of their attackers.”

Aiden knew she was right. The rapist completely controlled the situation and overpowered the victim, so it wasn’t unusual for the powerless victim to think he was taller than he really was. Still, it made her sad to hear Dawn talk about herself in such a distanced way. “You said he had black hair and blue eyes,” she remembered. “Is there anything else you remember about his face? Did he have a beard, for example?”

Dawn shook her head. “No beard, just some stubble. He had a small scar on his chin… right there,” she pointed to her own face, “and another one above his right eyebrow. Given his aggressiveness, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a criminal record with assault and battery.”

“We’ll look into it,” Aiden promised. It would make their work easier that their victim was a psychologist who knew how the police worked. “Did he smell of anything in particular? An aftershave or -?”

“He smelled of sweat and cigarette smoke. And I could smell alcohol… beer, I think, on his breath.” Dawn shivered as if she could smell him right now, right there in the interview room.

Aiden rested one elbow on the table and fiddled with the unused pen in her hand. “What about his clothes? You remember what he wore?”

“I didn’t really see that,” Dawn admitted, “but it was nothing extravagant. Just a white, sleeveless T-shirt, showing off his muscled arms.” She rolled her eyes. “His pants were black, I think. I know they were dark.”

“Did he speak with an accent?” Aiden continued with her endless list of questions.

“No accent,” Dawn answered. “He used a bit of slang. He’s street smart, but not a college graduate, I’d say.”

Aiden nodded. “What about his age?”

“A little younger than me. Mid-twenties, I would guess.”

Fairly young, Aiden thought, maybe he’s just starting out? “Did he seem insecure… nervous?”

“Not in the least.” Dawn vehemently shook her head. “He was cold-blooded, angry, and fully convinced that he had every right to do what he did. There was no room for nervousness or scruples. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has raped before.”

Aiden glanced at Ray to make sure he had written down that information. “You said you didn’t know him, but did he say or do anything from which one could infer that he knew you or knew who you are?”

Dawn hesitated.

Aiden looked into the cloudy gray eyes. Dawn had answered every other question without delay. What was it about this particular question that made her think twice? Aiden was sure that Dawn’s reaction was not an attempt to hide something from them. She had seen countless victims, witnesses, and suspects squirming in their chairs, reluctant to admit something damaging or embarrassing to them. What Aiden saw now was not a woman who didn’t want to answer, but a woman who wasn’t sure whether she could give an accurate answer.

“He didn’t say anything like that, and I don’t know why, but somehow, I got the feeling that he didn’t break into my apartment by chance.” The fingers of Dawn’s uninjured hand nervously played with her mug. “But that’s only a feeling; maybe I’m just paranoid.”

Aiden shook her head. “Never doubt your instincts, Doctor. At this point, even a paranoid feeling could turn out to be a valuable lead.”

Dawn smiled timidly. “Thanks.”

“Did anything unusual happen in the last few days?” Aiden wanted to know.

“Unusual?” Another almost-smile from Dawn. “I’m a psychologist, Detective; unusual things happen in my life every day. But if you mean did I notice any strangers lingering around the building or receive any hang-up calls, then no, there wasn’t anything unusual.”

“You didn’t notice anyone who didn’t belong in the building?” Aiden asked again. “Maintenance personnel, meter readers, the cable guy…?”

“Not that I remember.”

“Does your building have a doorman?” Aiden asked.

“Yes, but he leaves at midnight.” Dawn grimaced. “Cost-saving measures.”

Aiden crushed the empty paper cup in her hand. “You said you had just gone to sleep when you heard him… had you been out or did you stay home the whole evening?”

“I’d been out with some friends. I came in pretty late and just fell into bed.” Dawn looked down onto the table as if her decision to go out that night had somehow led to the rape.

“Did anything unusual happen while you were out? A particularly persistent guy hitting on you or anything like that?”

A ghost of a smile flitted across Dawn’s face. “No, nothing like that happened. I didn’t talk to anyone but my friends the whole night, and I’m sure no one followed me home.”

“Did anything look out of place when you came home?” Aiden continued.

“I don’t think so, but I’m not sure. I was so tired when I came home that I really didn’t look around,” Dawn admitted.

“Okay.” Aiden rubbed the back of her neck. “You said something, some kind of noise, woke you up. Any guesses to what it might have been? Was it a door opening or the shattering of glass or…?”

Dawn shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know. Nothing as loud as the shattering of glass, though.”

“Did you lock the door when you came home?” Aiden asked.

A determined nod came from Dawn. “I always do.”

“What about the windows?”

“God!” Dawn moaned and buried her face in her hands. “I opened the damn window! I let him in! I always leave one window open whenever my cat’s not home when I’m going to bed. I practically invited him in!”

“Hey.” Very gently, Aiden touched her shoulder. “You didn’t ‘invite him in.’ Unless you gave him a written invitation, he had no business coming into your apartment even if every door and every window would have been wide-open.”

“Still…” A dozen what ifs stood in the room.

Aiden sighed and decided to break the awkward silence with the next question. “Did he take anything with him? A necklace, a bracelet, rings… anything?”

“He wasn’t interested in jewelry or money, Detective. This was no burglar who came across a sleeping woman by chance and took the opportunity!” Dawn’s voice got louder.

Aiden raised a calming hand. Like a lot of rape victims, Dawn seemed to shift between blaming herself and being angry with the world and its unfairness. “Most rapists take something with them that belonged to the victim. For the most part, it’s not financially motivated, but -“

“A trophy,” Dawn said, a lot calmer now.

“Yes.”

Dawn pressed her uninjured fingers against the bridge of her nose and thought about it. “I didn’t notice anything missing, but it’s hard to say with all the destruction in my bedroom.”

“And did he leave anything behind?” Aiden asked.

“Like what?” Dawn asked warily.

Aiden shrugged. “A piece of clothing, a tool, a weapon…”

“No. He didn’t undress, and he took the gun with him when he left.”

The gun. Aiden threw Ray a quick glance. They both knew how difficult it was to get a reliable, detailed description of weapons from a civilian. “Can you describe the gun? Was it a revolver? Did it have a breech?”

“No, it wasn’t,” Dawn answered without a trace of hesitation. “He had a semiautomatic, a nine millimeter with a grip made of black polymer plastic - a Glock 17.”

Ray and Aiden exchanged incredulous glances. How come a civilian with a nonviolent job can answer a question about weapons with such precision?

Ray finally voiced their thoughts: “How can you be so sure?”

“I come from a family of cops,” Dawn said with a small but affectionate smile. “My father and my older brother were on the job and some of my friends still are. Most of them had Glocks. I grew up around them.”

Were on the job? Aiden noticed her use of the past tense but decided not to ask. Dawn had enough sadness to deal with for the moment.

With a glance at her watch, which read ten a.m., Aiden asked a few more questions about Dawn’s daily routine: Which restaurants, gyms, and clubs did she frequent? Where did she buy her groceries? Which pharmacy and laundromat did she use? They would compare her answers to those of other rape victims. If they were lucky, there might be a connection, a common place where the rapist first noticed his victims.

Finally, Aiden stretched and looked down at a yawning Dawn.

Ray closed his notepad and threw down the pen. “We’ll have the written statement for you by this afternoon. You should read it carefully to make sure everything’s accurate and then sign it.”

Dawn nodded.

“Do you live with anyone?” Ray asked, and when Dawn shook her head, he continued, “Do you have family or friends you could stay with for a few days?”

“I think I’ll stay with my mother for a while,” Dawn answered quietly.

Ray nodded. “Good. We can have a unit drive you there,” he offered.

Aiden stood up and rounded the table. “I’ll drive her home, Ray.”

“That’s not necessary, Detective. I can take a cab,” Dawn protested bravely though it was easy to see that she wasn’t looking forward to driving anywhere with a male stranger.

“It’s no problem. I really don’t mind,” Aiden said.

Her partner studied Aiden for a few seconds before he nodded. “Okay. Meet us at the cr… at Ms. Kinsley’s apartment as soon as you’re finished.”

* * *

Aiden parked her car in front of Grace Kinsley’s house and turned off the ignition. She got out of the car and waited patiently until Dawn had done the same. “A locksmith is going to change the locks in your apartment,” she said, silently wondering how often she had told other rape victims the exact same thing, “and a psychologist will call you to make…” She stopped when she remembered that Dawn was a psychologist, too.

“…an appointment,” Dawn finished for her and smiled sadly. “Standard procedure, right?”

Aiden shook her head. Nothing about this case was “standard” - not for her and certainly not for Dawn. When they stopped in front of the apartment building where Dawn’s mother lived, Aiden took one of her cards, wrote something on the back, and handed it to Dawn. “Those are the numbers you can reach me at - the precinct, my pager, my cell phone, and my home number. Don’t hesitate to call me - anytime, day or night, okay?”

Dawn looked at the card, then at Aiden. “Thank you. For everything.” She took a deep breath and turned to look at the house.

Aiden had seen the same hesitation dozens of times before: Dawn was afraid to go in and tell her family what had happened to her. “I could come with you and talk to your family if you want me to,” she offered quietly.

“No, thanks, I’ll manage,” Dawn said but didn’t sound convincing.

Before Dawn could reach the door, it swung open. “Dawn!” An older, heavier version of Dawn stood in the doorway. “Where have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you the whole…” The woman’s gray eyes widened when she looked at her daughter and saw the bruises on her face. “Oh, my God! Dawn, what happened?”

Dawn stared at her with a mixture of emotions - wanting to be left alone so she could pretend nothing had happened and equally longing to be held in motherly arms. A tear rolled down her cheek as she searched for words.

When Dawn didn’t answer, her panicked mother turned to Aiden and repeated, “What happened, Detective?”

Another Kinsley woman with built-in copdar. Aiden thought absentmindedly. She said nothing, waiting for Dawn to find her voice. She knew how important it was for Dawn, for any rape victim, to say the words on her own. She rested a supporting hand on Dawn’s elbow and waited.

“Mom,” Dawn said, her voice a rough whisper, “I was raped last night.”

Mrs. Kinsley blanched. “What? Oh dear God!” She reached for her daughter.

Dawn’s cool, controlled façade crumbled immediately. Sobbing loudly for the first time, she sank into her mother’s embrace.

Suddenly feeling like an intruder, Aiden stepped back. She wanted to turn her head and give them some privacy but found that she couldn’t look away from the comforting caresses and the consoling whispers. Aiden had loved her mother, and she was sure that her mother had loved her in her own way, but she had never known the level of motherly comfort that she was witnessing now. It was a healing experience and hard to look at, at the same time.

With one last glance, she turned and walked toward her car.

* * *

Aiden ducked under the yellow crime scene tape. She looked around Dawn Kinsley’s apartment, where a crime scene specialist and her fellow detectives were already hard at work. It didn’t appear to be the same cozy apartment where she’d had coffee with Dawn just a week ago. The warmth and innocence had been destroyed.

She crossed the living room and tried to slip on her detective persona along with her latex gloves. “Any luck with prints?” she asked.

The crime scene technician looked up from his work. “I’ve lifted a few from the bedroom door, the phone, and the window,” he said. “Could belong to the victim, though.”

“You should check for prints on the cell phone,” Aiden suggested. “The perp threw it out of the window, so we know he had it in his hands.”

“Will do.” The crime scene tech continued his dusting.

Aiden entered the bedroom, where Ray was busy sealing evidence bags. “Hey, Ray,” she greeted him. “Found anything?”

“The usual - semen stains, hairs, and fibers on the bed. Already photographed and bagged it.” Ray sighed. “Doesn’t look like he left anything else behind, not even a condom wrapper. No signs of a struggle or forced entry in the living room. Ms. Kinsley was right; the window seems to be the point of entry.”

They walked through the apartment to reconstruct the sequence of events. “He must have climbed up the fire escape at the back of the building, found the half-open window, and climbed in. I think in the darkness, he crashed into the side table.” Ray pointed to the piece of furniture half in front of the window. “That’s probably what woke the victim up.”

“Ms. Kinsley,” Aiden corrected. She didn’t really know Dawn, but she couldn’t think of her as just another nameless victim.

Ray nodded. His nostrils quivered as he suppressed a yawn. “Right. So, I’m thinking he’s someone who doesn’t have access to the building and who’s never been to the apartment before, otherwise he would know the layout of the furniture and not bump into it.”

“Hey, boys and girls,” Okada said as he entered the apartment with his partner.

“Neighbors were a complete waste of time - no one saw anything.” Ruben shook his head in frustration.

“Except for Mr. Bundy, the one who called us,” Okada threw in.

Ray looked up. “His name’s really Bundy?”

Ruben shrugged his slim shoulders. “Yeah. Not everyone’s entitled to a nice unique name like Bennet,” he teased. “Some have to share a name with a mass murderer or a shoe seller.”

“Did Mr. Bundy tell you anything other than his name?” Aiden interrupted their joking. She had no patience for it at the moment.

Okada raised his eyebrows. “Someone is missing her beauty sleep,” he mumbled.

“We could all use a few hours of sleep,” Ray intervened before Aiden could answer. “So let’s get this over with, okay?”

“Mr. Bundy was walking around the block with man’s best friend at about four a.m.,” Okada explained. “When Fifi started barking, he looked up and saw Ms. Kinsley hanging halfway out of the window. He begged her not to jump.” Okada curved his lips into one of his cynical half smiles. “Little did he know she didn’t want to end her life but her phoneless state -“

“…until she called down to him to call 911 because she’d been assaulted,” Ruben said.

Aiden rubbed one of her tense shoulders. “He didn’t see our perp?”

Okada shook his head. “Neither hide nor hair.”

“Speaking of hairs…” Ray brushed his hand over the legs of his pants. “There has to be a feline roommate hiding somewhere around here - there are cat hairs everywhere, and I found a litter box in the bathroom.”

“Okay, guys, why don’t you head on home?” Aiden suggested. “There’s nothing we can do until we have some lab results.”

While Okada and Ruben headed for the door without hesitation, Ray didn’t move. “And what are you gonna do?” he asked.

Aiden stripped off her latex gloves with tired movements. “I’m going to catch a few hours too.”

“A few hours?” Ray raised a mocking brow. “You look like you could use a three-month hibernation, not just a few hours of tossing and turning.”

“I could,” Aiden agreed with a sigh. “But seeing as how I’m not going to get three days, much less three months, I’ll take a nap and then head back to the station to let Ms. Kinsley sign her statement.”

Ray studied her. “I get the feeling this one’s personal for you.”

“Yeah. I guess it is.” Aiden shrugged and looked around the apartment as if in search of an explanation. “She works with sex crimes too, Ray. She’s almost one of us. She didn’t deserve this.”

Ray nodded. “No one does.”

Side by side, they trudged down the stairs.

CHAPTER 5

“DETECTIVE? Detective Carlisle!”

Dazed, Aiden rolled around and lifted herself up on one elbow. “Uh?” She blinked at the sudden brightness and peered through sleep-swollen eyes at the young officer standing before her bunk bed.

“There are two women in the squad room asking for you,” Ronny Pratt reported.

Aiden rubbed her eyes and swung her legs out off the cot. A quick glance at her wristwatch showed her that she had slept for four hours. Trotting over to the squad room, she clipped her holster back onto her belt and finger-combed her short hair into some semblance of order.

Dawn Kinsley and an older woman, whom Aiden recognized as Dawn’s mother, sat in front of her desk, two paper cups with teabags in front of them.

“D… Ms. Kinsley, ma’am.” Aiden nodded at the two women as she eased herself down into her desk chair.

“Dawn’s okay, Detective,” the younger woman said. “You’ve helped me through situations that surely warrant a first-name basis.”

Aiden inclined her head and studied Dawn. The bruises on her face and around her throat were more pronounced now, and she looked as if she hadn’t slept for even a minute. Sitting with her back to the noisy squad room full of strangers seemed to make her jumpy.

“Here’s your written statement.” Aiden handed her the document. “Please read it thoroughly, and don’t hesitate to tell me if there’s something wrong or missing in there, okay?”

While Dawn read, Aiden’s glance met Mrs. Kinsley’s over the bowed head of her daughter. Her eyes leaned more toward gray than Dawn’s, and her hair was a little darker, but the family resemblance couldn’t be denied. Neither could the look of sad helplessness in those gray eyes.

Aiden had to look away, and she was glad when Dawn finished reading.

“Everything’s correct,” Dawn said, took the pen Aiden held out for her, and signed the document. “What else?”

“Nothing, for the moment. We have no eyewitnesses, so our hope’s on forensics coming up with something that will help us ID and apprehend the perpetrator. If that happens, we’ll need you to identify him in a lineup,” Aiden said. She could see that Dawn was fidgeting, unable to sit still and do nothing while her rapist was free to roam the streets. “We’ll need your help when the police sketch artist comes in. Is there anything we can do for you until then? Are you okay at your mother’s for now?”

“She can stay for as long as she wants to,” Mrs. Kinsley said.

“Do you need anything from your apartment?” Aiden looked down at her own wrinkled clothes. She had decided that it would be a waste of time to drive home just to sleep a few hours and then turn around and drive back to the station, so she had crashed on one of the bunk beds in the “dungeon,” the small, a little smelly room next to the locker room.

Dawn shook her head. She didn’t seem eager to have anything from her apartment with her. “No, thanks, I have several changes of clothes at my mother’s.”

“There might be something you could do,” Grace Kinsley interjected softly. “Her cat is still in the apartment. I offered to go and get it, but Dawn doesn’t want me to see… and she can’t go back there, not so soon after…”

“I understand.” Aiden looked at Dawn, who glanced down, a little embarrassed at her mother’s implied request. “I could retrieve the cat for you,” Aiden offered. At Dawn’s doubtful look, she added, “It’s no trouble, really, I should go home to change clothes anyway; it’s not a detour.”

Dawn lifted a single eyebrow. “Do you have any experience with cats?” she wanted to know.

Aiden shrugged. “I don’t want to marry it. I’m just going to put it into a transport box. How hard can that be?”

Dawn smiled genuinely for the first time all day. “Famous last words, Detective.”

“Hey, I’m a police officer.” Aiden grinned cockily. She was glad that Dawn had found a little of her sense of humor and wanted to keep the lighter mood for as long as possible. “If it resists arrest, I’ll convince it to comply with my gun.”

The smile disappeared, and Dawn blanched as if Aiden had threatened her with the gun.

Aiden wanted to slap herself. God! You idiot! You don’t joke about that with a woman who has been threatened by a rapist’s gun just a few hours ago! “I’m sorry,” she said hastily, “that was really thoughtless of me. I should know better.” She glanced from Dawn to her uncomfortable looking mother. Nice first impression, you genius!

“No!” Dawn extended her splinted hand pleadingly in Aiden’s direction. “No, it’s okay, really. I don’t want to think about it every second of the day, and I don’t want you to think about it every time you see me. I don’t want to be just another rape victim, okay?”

“Okay.” Aiden inhaled and exhaled deeply. “So, any last-minute advice about handling that tiger of yours?”

Dawn visibly relaxed. “She’s a tigress, and she’s probably hiding under the bed.” She sighed as she thought about that particular piece of furniture. “Maybe I should have tried that.”

“Hey…” Helplessly, Aiden searched for words. Ronny Pratt’s return interrupted whatever she might have said.

Dawn jumped when the young man stepped up behind her to announce, “Picasso’s here now.”

Aiden nodded. “That’s our sketch artist,” she said. “He’ll work with you to create a sketch of the perp so we can send it out to all precincts.”

“If you’d follow me, please.” Ronny Pratt gestured in the direction of a small interview room.

Dawn rose but looked back at Aiden.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Aiden promised. “I just have to look through the stuff in my inbox real fast.”

Reassured, Dawn followed Ronny across the squad room, leaving her mother with Aiden.

“Thank you,” Mrs. Kinsley said.

Aiden looked up from her inbox, embarrassed by the gratitude in the gray eyes. “Just doing my job, ma’am.”

“I know, but she feels safe with you - and that’s worth a lot in a time like this when she doesn’t even feel safe in her own home… or in mine.”

Aiden tilted her head in acknowledgment but couldn’t think of an appropriate answer. “Okay, let’s go and watch an artist at work.”

* * *

Dawn Kinsley’s apartment was a crime scene. The yellow “do not cross” tape announced it, and the fingerprint powder still lingering on the furniture spoke its own language.

Though she had been here before, Aiden found herself hesitating to enter the bedroom, the place where Dawn had lived through such terror. She didn’t have much of a choice, though, because according to Dawn it was the cat’s most likely hiding place.

Cautiously, she stepped over tattered books, knelt down next to the pieces of glass on the bedroom floor, and peered under the bed. Two yellow-green eyes looked back unblinkingly. “Okay.” Aiden rubbed her hands together and remembered that she had forgotten to ask Dawn about the cat’s name. “Tiger… hey, kitty-kitty, come here.”

The cat didn’t move an inch.

Aiden tried again, this time in her gentlest voice, the one that worked with even the most frightened children.

Now the cat moved - but in the opposite direction, hiding even deeper under the bed.

“Great!” At a loss, Aiden went in search of the cat food. The cat hadn’t been fed in almost twenty-four hours, and she hoped that it might succumb to the smell of food if not her charming personality.

* * *

Aiden shifted her weight from foot to foot, causing the transport box she carried to tilt from side to side and the captured cat inside it to let out a long hiss. “Shush! Quiet!” Aiden pleaded. “Do you want them to think I’m torturing you?” She fell silent when the front door of Grace Kinsley’s apartment opened.

“Oh, Detective. You’re bringing the cat already? That’ll cheer her up. Come in, come in.” Grace Kinsley ushered Aiden and her living cargo into the apartment. It was on the first floor, with large windows and a sliding door leading to the deck and the backyard. Aiden could understand why Dawn didn’t feel safe in her mother’s home - of course, Dawn wouldn’t feel safe anywhere at the moment, but being in an apartment with so many unsecured entry points only added to the feeling of being in danger.

“Go on in, Detective,” Mrs. Kinsley said. “Dawn’s is the second door on the left.”

Aiden knocked softly. “Dawn? It’s Detective Carlisle.”

The door inched open, and Dawn’s pale face peered out. When she saw Aiden, the transport box with the cat in one hand, a bloody scratch on the other, she swung the door open.

Aiden entered the room in which Dawn had apparently lived as a teenager. Posters of movie and pop stars were still plastered to the walls, but other than that, it was furnished in the same chaotic-cozy style that dominated Dawn’s apartment.

She set the transport box down next to a bright red desk. “Please don’t say ‘I told you so,’” she pleaded with a lopsided grin.

Dawn laughed, a wonderful sound in Aiden’s ears. “Didn’t cross my mind. I was too worried to be a smart-ass.”

Embarrassed, Aiden rubbed her scratched hand. “Ah, don’t worry, it’s nothing.” It burned like hell, but you couldn’t have one of Portland’s finest whining about a tiny little scratch.

“About my cat,” Dawn continued with a smile.

Aiden couldn’t help answering the smile with one of her own. Sometimes, it was hard to remember that she was dealing with a rape victim. She sensed an inner strength and a unique sense of humor in Dawn that was a little shaken but basically unbroken.

“Where has she been hiding?” Dawn asked, opening the transport box. The two women watched as the cat shook its long-haired coat, stretched its pale body, and strode majestically away from its prison. A bushy, chocolate-colored tail twitched, and sapphire eyes glowered at Aiden. The cat let out a complaining “Mrrrow!” and circled Dawn’s legs once before disappearing under the small bed.

“She was under the bed, just like you said.”

“You didn’t try to wrestle her out from under there, did you?” Dawn asked, nodding down at Aiden’s hand.

Aiden snorted. “Oh, no. Even I know enough about those furry demons not to try that. It all started out pretty promising. We had a nice bonding moment over a can of cat food, but the harmony was destroyed when I tried to put her into the transport box. That’s when I became closely acquainted with those three inch claws.”

Dawn smiled for a moment before she became serious and pointed to the still lightly bleeding scratch across the back of Aiden’s hand. “Did you wash that out?”

“No.” Aiden waved dismissively. “Like I said, it’s just a scratch.”

Dawn shot her an exasperated glare. “A scratch that could become infected like any other untreated wound. It’s not like Kia sterilized her claws because she knew a police officer would come and try to put her behind bars.” She left the room and returned with the first aid kit, taking out a wad of cotton wool and soaking it in hydrogen peroxide.

Aiden grimaced.

“What? Don’t tell me you’re squeamish, Detective.”

“I’m not!” Aiden protested and let Dawn take her scratched hand. The fingers cradling her own were soft and warm. The touch sent a tingle through Aiden’s hand, and she jerked back.

“Sorry,” Dawn whispered, obviously thinking her careful treatment of the scratch had caused the twitching.

Aiden shook her head. “It wasn’t you. Must be the loss of blood making me weak in the knees.” She hid her true feelings behind the joke, something the majority of cops was very adept in.

The comment enticed another smile from Dawn, who looked as though she was ready to say something, but then thought better of it.

A knock on the door interrupted them, and Mrs. Kinsley peered around the doorway. A surprised but pleased expression appeared on her face when she saw the smile curving her daughter’s lips. “Can I interest you in a cup of coffee, Detective?”

Aiden hesitated. Normally, she would politely decline anything a victim’s or witness’ family offered, preferring to draw a clear line between her professional and her personal life. Come on, girl, she mentally rolled her eyes, it’s a cup of coffee, not a marriage proposal. It’s well within the bounds of professionalism. Officially, she wasn’t even on duty, and the lab results wouldn’t be back until the next day. It wasn’t as if she had anything pressing to take care of, so she finally nodded.

“Black, no sugar?” Mrs. Kinsley asked.

Aiden nodded again and watched Mrs. Kinsley’s retreat. “So, you got it from your mother, then? Correctly guessing people’s coffee preferences, I mean.”

“Maybe,” Dawn gave her a mysterious smile, “or maybe we’re both just too stingy to offer our guests sugar and milk.”

Aiden grinned and then studied Dawn closely. Behind the thin layer of joking and smiles, Aiden could sense constant pain and fear. She knew the rape was ever-present in Dawn’s mind, playing itself over and over again. “We’ll get him,” she said.

Dawn pressed her lips together. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Detective.” Her troubled gray eyes gazed directly into Aiden’s. “It’s not that I don’t trust you or the police in general, but I know the statistics. I know that most rapists will never spend even a single day of their lives in prison.”

Aiden knew she couldn’t argue with that. She looked into the depths of the black coffee that Mrs. Kinsley set down in front of her. “Then I’ll simply promise that we’ll do the best we can.” She could only hope that it would be enough.

CHAPTER 6

AIDEN LOOKED UP from her computer screen and rubbed her burning eyes when Ruben strode into the squad room. “Rape kit findings finally in?” she asked him.

A few rebellious strands of brown hair fell into Ruben’s eyes as he shook his head. “The lab is backed up from here to Afghanistan. DNA tech said results won’t be in until tomorrow.”

“Great!” Aiden grimaced and went back to comparing the police sketch from Dawn’s rapist with photos of registered sex offenders. She knew it was a rather hopeless attempt, but with no other leads, she was determined to try anyway.

“Hey, Aiden, check this out.” Ray pointed to the screen of his own computer. He had accessed the sex offender database to make the same comparisons. “This one seems like a perfect match: Caucasian, six-three, muscular build, black hair, blue eyes. Even the scars on his chin and forehead are mentioned.”

Aiden rounded her partner’s desk and glanced down at the photograph on Ray’s screen. Cold blue eyes seemed to look right back at her. He resembled the police artist’s sketch. Was this the man who had raped Dawn?

“The MO’s similar, too,” Ray said. “He broke into apartments at night, but he usually wore a condom.”

“He could still be our guy. The smart ones change MO just to throw us off stride,” Aiden pointed out.

Ray grinned. “I haven’t told you the best thing yet. He’s out on probation, so it won’t be difficult to bring him in for a lineup.”

“Do we have a current address for him?” Aiden asked.

Ray scribbled something on his notepad. “Yeah.”

“Let’s go.” Aiden took her service weapon from a desk drawer and clipped it to her belt.

Ruben reached for the phone. “I’ll call DDA Matheson and the victim down for a lineup.”

* * *

Ray and Aiden took positions to the right and left of Ross Wade’s apartment door and exchanged a quick glance.

“Mr. Wade?” Ray shouted. He raised his fist and knocked on the door. “This is the police. Answer the door!”

Every muscle in Aiden’s body tensed as she heard steps nearing the door.

The door opened slightly. A tall man looked down at them. “What do ya want?”

Aiden forced herself to remain polite. She tried not to think about the fact that she might be face-to-face with Dawn’s rapist. “Would you mind telling us where you were Saturday night between three and four a.m.?”

“Why you cops harassing me?” Ross Wade folded his muscular arms across his chest.

“You call it harassment; we call it investigation. There’s been a rape in your old hunting grounds. So, where were you Saturday night?” Ray repeated.

“In bed, asleep. I didn’t rape nobody, man!” Ross Wade began to move back into the apartment.

Aiden slapped her hand against the door to prevent him from closing it. “Right, you’re the picture of innocence. Then I’m sure you won’t mind accompanying us to the station for a lineup, would you?”

Ross Wade smirked. “Right after I call my lawyer.”

* * *

Aiden stood patiently at Dawn’s side, their shoulders almost touching. They were looking through the one-way mirror into a still empty room. “Are you ready?” Aiden asked. She ignored the other people in the small observation room with them, concentrating only on Dawn.

Dawn tightened her shoulders. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

The opening door interrupted their concentration. Aiden looked up, annoyed. She knew how emotionally draining the confrontation with her possible rapist was for Dawn, and she didn’t want to drag it out unnecessarily. Her annoyance vanished when she saw Kade Matheson entering. She hadn’t seen the Deputy District Attorney all week.

Aiden stepped forward, meeting Kade halfway, and gestured back to Dawn. “Dawn Kinsley, this is Kadence Matheson, our DDA.”

She watched as the two women shook hands and couldn’t help comparing them to each other. If anyone had wanted proof that Aiden had a particular type she was attracted to, these two would have refuted the theory. Dawn was at least four inches shorter and more curvaceous than the slender attorney whose regal bearing often made her appear taller than her five foot eight inches. Dawn’s blond locks were in disarray because she had been running nervous hands through them for the last few minutes while Kade’s straight red hair fell to her slender shoulders in perfect order.

Dawn didn’t appear as calm and collected as Kade - which wasn’t surprising considering it wasn’t Kade’s rapist waiting in the next room but Dawn’s. Under these circumstances you would have expected her to look small and insecure next to the confident DDA, but she didn’t. In Aiden’s eyes, Dawn possessed her own strength, a strength that didn’t resemble Kade’s cool confidence in the least. Somehow, Dawn appeared more down to earth, more approachable, more real than Kade.

Flanked by Kade and Aiden, Dawn stepped back to the window.

“We’ll bring them in now, okay? You just identify him by number,” Aiden said.

Dawn nodded. She sucked in a breath when a cop opened the door and six men walked into the adjacent room in a single-file line.

Aiden turned to face her, blocking Dawn from the one-way glass and the men behind it for a moment. “Don’t be afraid,” she said softly. “They can’t see you. Just take your time.” She moved back to stand beside Dawn. “Do you recognize anyone?”

“Move away from the witness, Detective!” Wade’s defense lawyer demanded.

Aiden held up her hands and took another step back.

Visibly irritated by the sudden distance between them, Dawn turned to look at her.

Aiden nodded at the window, gently bringing Dawn’s attention back to it. “Do you recognize anyone?”

Dawn exhaled and stepped forward. She still avoided touching the glass and kept a careful distance. Her gaze flitted from face to face. “He’s not in there!” She let out a trembling breath.

“Are you sure?” Aiden asked. Her tired mind wandered back to countless other rape victims who, like Dawn, had been so sure that they would know their rapist anytime and anywhere, but when confronted with a lineup, they hadn’t been able to identify him.

“Yes. Yes, I’m sure.” Dawn’s voice was a little shaky, but she met Aiden’s gaze steadily. “He’s not here.” Relief and disappointment were warring with each other on the pale face. Finally, fear won out. “Which means he’s still out there, free to roam the streets of my neighborhood and rape anyone he wants.”

Aiden stepped back to her side. “We’ll get him when the lab report comes in. He can’t get to you again,” she said fiercely. Just the thought of someone hurting Dawn made her blood boil. She hid any trace of her anger behind a calm expression, knowing that open displays of violent emotions would not help Dawn but scare her even further.

She followed a triumphant defense attorney out of the room, making sure to stay close to Dawn as they walked across the busy squad room. Aiden searched the room for Mrs. Kinsley’s friendly face but came up empty. “Your mother’s not here?”

“No. I have some errands to run after this… buying new glasses,” Dawn pointed to the empty place at the bridge of her nose, “going to the hospital for my HIV and STD test results, making an appointment with Victim Services.”

Aiden lifted her brows. “You have to do all this on your own? Can I drive you anywhere?”

“No, thanks. I… my mother and a few close friends have been very supportive, but…” Dawn stepped a little closer to Aiden when two detectives dragged a cuffed and swearing suspect through the squad room. “…to tell you the truth, they’re not really helping so much as trying to take over. I know they mean well by trying to spare me from dealing with all this stuff, but by making my decisions, they’re taking control away from me, and I can’t stand that right now.”

Aiden nodded. She admired Dawn for knowing her own needs and feelings so well so soon after the rape. She wondered whether it was her professional background that made Dawn so insightful or whether it was her introspective nature that had made her choose her profession. Then she rolled her eyes at herself. Philosophical thoughts before lunch? she mocked herself. You better get back to work, Carlisle!

“Aiden?” Ray called from across the room. “Ruben and Okada are about to make an arrest in the Perez/Munos case, and they want us for backup. You coming?”

Aiden reached for the leather jacket that hung over the back of her desk chair. Grabbing her keys, she looked back at Dawn, a question in her eyes.

“I’m fine,” Dawn said, reading the question as clearly as if she had asked it out loud. “Go on, Detective, serve and protect.” She forced a smile onto her lips.

It wasn’t Juanita Perez she wanted to serve, and it wasn’t Angela Munos she wanted to protect right this moment, but Aiden was a professional. She squared her shoulders and walked out of the door without looking back.

CHAPTER 7

“AND?” AIDEN LOOKED up from the report on her desk when Ray returned from the crime lab.

“Forensics confirmed the presence of fluids. They also found prints that didn’t belong to the vic or her family,” Ray reported.

“Who do they belong to?” Aiden steepled her fingers to avoid strangling her partner in her impatience.

Ray sat down at his desk. “CODIS came up empty. They ran the prints and DNA through every available database, but they don’t match anyone in the system. Our perp has no prior criminal record.”

Ruben wandered over with a cup of coffee. “So he’s a first time offender?” he asked the more experienced detectives. “Someone completely new in the business?”

“Hard to believe if you ask me. Ms. Kinsley got the distinct feeling that he had done it before.” Ray looked down at the notes he had taken during Dawn’s formal statement. He had circled some of the words: Has raped before? Criminal record/assault?

Aiden shrugged. “Maybe Dawn’s just the first victim willing to press charges. You know how many rapes go unreported.”

“Or he changed MO, and this was the first time he hasn’t used gloves and a condom. Maybe he got overconfident and careless, thinking we couldn’t get him even with DNA evidence,” Ruben suggested.

Aiden’s teeth ground against each other. “If that’s what he thought, then it seems as if he was right on target. We have nothing on him, not a single lead.”

Ray tapped some words on his notepad. “Dawn said he smelled of smoke and booze - maybe he had himself a little liquid courage in one of the neighborhood bars?”

Ruben shook his head. “Nope, already checked. We’ve shown the police sketch around the neighborhood, including bars. No luck so far. No one remembers seeing a guy like him.”

“Same with the tapes from security cameras around the neighborhood. They didn’t show anything related to the rape,” Aiden reported. “Did Okada have any luck with cross-checking Dawn’s personal information before he took off for court?”

“We cross-checked every rape victim who used the same hair salon, dry cleaner, grocery story, or whatever,” Ruben answered. “Some of them had one or two places in common with Dawn Kinsley, but their rapists are either still in prison or had a completely different MO.”

Ray looked down at the lab reports. “The fibers CSU found on the sheets and Dawn’s clothing were white cotton, which tells us a whole lot of nothing. Seems we’re totally out of leads.”

“Hmm.” Aiden leaned her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. “Why didn’t the bastard use a condom? Why did he leave such a ridiculously large amount of evidence behind? I mean, come on, guys! Every first grader in the country knows to wear gloves and not spread around his DNA like free candy.”

“Good old plain stupidity?” Ruben suggested. “Not every perp’s a criminal mastermind, Aiden.”

Ray shook his head, agreeing with his partner. “No, there’s something more behind it. Dawn said he wasn’t exactly Einstein, but he seemed street-smart.”

“Why don’t you ask our resident shrink if he agrees with the assessment of his esteemed colleague?” Lt. Astrid Swenson, leader of Portland’s Sexual Assault Detail, said as she entered the squad room.

Dr. Albert Renshaw followed closely behind the stocky lieutenant. The bearded psychiatrist looked down at the file in his hands. “Are you sure that the perpetrator is a stranger who just chose his victim by chance?” he asked, looking at the detectives. “He literally attacked not only the victim but also her bedroom furniture, her books, and her personal belongings. He seems to harbor some kind of personal anger toward her.”

“Dawn Kinsley, the victim, clearly stated that she didn’t know him,” Aiden said. “And he bumped into furniture and didn’t seem to be familiar with the layout of the apartment.”

“Okay, so we can rule out old boyfriends, but what about a fleeting acquaintance or a neighbor she doesn’t remember?” Renshaw took off his reading glasses and glanced at each detective. “Or he’s the rapist of one of her clients… someone she testified against in court. Someone who hates her enough to hurt her and to let her know it was him who did it.”

Aiden shrugged. “I’ll ask her about it when I call to update her on the investigation.”

* * *

Aiden turned her desk chair for a little privacy, sitting with her back to the rest of the squad room. She pressed the phone to her ear and dialed the number she already knew by heart.

She wasn’t surprised when she heard Grace Kinsley’s voice at the other end of the line instead of her daughter’s. Since the rape, Dawn seemed to avoid answering the phone or opening the door. “Hello, Mrs. Kinsley,” she said. “It’s Detective Carlisle. Could I talk to your daughter, please?”

“Oh, sorry, you just missed her, Detective,” Grace Kinsley answered. “She went out, trying to buy a new bed and find someone willing to take the old one off her hands.”

Aiden could feel her brows rising in surprise. It had been three days since the rape, and Dawn was already throwing herself into solving the practical problems the assault had caused. She could understand the need to distract herself from constant thoughts of the rape and try to “get on with her life,” but she knew that it was just a temporary solution.

“Her childhood bed is too small if you have to sleep in it for more than a night, and she said she couldn’t even close her eyes in the bed from her apartment anymore.” Mrs. Kinsley sighed. “I worry when she leaves the house on her own, and I know she’s afraid all the time, but she’s too stubborn to accept any help. I think she wants to protect me from the reality of her… attack.”

“Most women in her situation feel the need to make their own decisions, to control their own lives,” Aiden explained without betraying that Dawn had confided in her about how overwhelmed she felt by her family’s attempts to help. “Did she take a car?” she asked, not really knowing why.

“Yes. She hasn’t used the MAX or the bus since the attack,” Dawn’s mother answered.

It seemed, despite her courage and her professional background, Dawn was afraid of some of the same things other rape victims avoided. Nevertheless, she had forced herself to leave the security of her mother’s home on her own.

Aiden said good-bye to Mrs. Kinsley with the promise to call back later. A glance at her watch made her decide to clock out and head home. With no new leads, there was no need for overtime.

She turned up the collar of her leather jacket when a light rain began to fall. Settling herself into the driver’s seat of her car, she stared out of the windshield. She jingled the key and finally stuck it into the ignition, starting the car but not leaving the parking lot. She knew that she should head home and catch some much-needed sleep, but she also knew that she would find no peace until she had looked after Dawn. You’re a cop, not a babysitter. You’re responsible for catching her rapist, not for holding her hand. Nothing good will come of it if you keep crossing that line. As much as she wanted to be Dawn’s friend, she was the detective investigating her case, first and foremost.

The rain outside was getting heavier now, drumming against the windshield. Across the street from the station, a lone woman was trying to heave a large TV set out of a moving van and reach the safety of an open front door.

A picture of Dawn flashed across her retina - a crying Dawn alone in her bedroom; trembling hands trying to take down the bed in which she had been raped and then dragging a bloodstained mattress across the yard while rain drenched her clothes and mingled with her tears.

Aiden pressed her lips together and put the car in drive.

* * *

Aiden hadn’t been sure if she would end up in front of Dawn’s apartment building or her own until she parked the car. Five minutes, one short look around to make sure everything’s all right, then it’s back to your own place, she bargained with herself.

She was halfway across the street when she discovered Dawn sitting in a small car parked in front of the building. Dawn was staring at the front entrance as if it were her mortal enemy.

As Aiden walked on, she could see dark shadows under her eyes, evidence that Dawn probably hadn’t slept well in days. The small hands clinging to the steering wheel were shaking. Twice, she saw Dawn reaching for the driver’s door as if to open it, but each time she hesitated at the last second.

No considerations of professionalism could hold Aiden back now. She bridged the remaining space between them in two long strides and knocked softly on the driver’s side window.

Dawn jumped, almost going through the roof of the car. She shrank back from the window, needing a long minute to discover that it was Aiden and not an attacking rapist standing before her. Visibly shaken, she rolled down the window but stayed in the safety of the car. “Detective Carlisle.”

Aiden found herself searching for words. “Sorry for scaring you.”

Dawn didn’t try to claim Aiden hadn’t. “I’ve been sitting here for almost an hour,” she said, staring back at the apartment building. “Ten minutes ago, I had almost talked myself into going in when I saw a tall man with black hair walking down the street. I couldn’t leave the car.” She pinched the bridge of her nose, on which a new pair of turquoise-rimmed glasses rested. “Is there anything new in my… case?”

Aiden looked into hopeful gray-green eyes and bit her lip. “Sorry, no good news. DNA didn’t match anyone with a prior criminal record, but we’re not giving up.”

Dawn was silent for a moment. “Thanks for telling me in person,” she said quietly. She obviously believed Aiden had come only to tell her the bad news.

Aiden bounced on the balls of her feet in front of the car. So, this is your chance to say “You’re welcome” and leave. You certainly fulfilled your duties as a cop. But, truth be told, she wasn’t here as a cop. She saw Dawn stare at her apartment building, clearly intimidated by it. Aiden had no doubt that she would sit in her car and fight her fears until the sun went down. Only then would she leave, too afraid of the darkness and what it might bring to stay any longer. Could she turn her back and leave the scared woman behind like this, just because she was a police officer? Didn’t she have duties beyond that of a cop - the duties of a human being providing simple comfort to a scared soul?

Hesitantly, she cleared her throat. “I’m not trying to take over your life or make your decisions for you, but I heard you were going bed hunting, and I thought you could use a silent, nondeciding companion in your quest for a new bed.”

Dawn stared at her.

“You’re free to tell me to go to hell, you know,” Aiden pointed out when Dawn remained silent.

That shook Dawn out of her paralysis. “No,” she said quickly. “No, I don’t want that. I’d really like to have some company.”

“Okay.” Aiden found herself smiling at Dawn. “How about a trip to a furniture store? I think we should leave removing your old bed for another day.” Here you go again, Carlisle, she reprimanded herself. That was practically an offer to help her again. What happened to “one short look around, then back to your own place”? But then she looked down at Dawn’s trembling hands. It wasn’t safe to let her drive through the city on her own, Aiden told herself. “Why don’t I drive?” she suggested. “I’ve got the bigger car.”

With obvious relief, Dawn grabbed the lever to open the car door - only to be met with resistance. She had forgotten that she had locked herself in the car. Blushing, she grabbed her keys, hit the lever, and opened the door.

Aiden didn’t comment. She could only imagine how frightening even everyday things in her life suddenly were for Dawn. She led Dawn back to her car and opened the passenger side door for her. “So, where to?” she asked. She would be careful to let Dawn make all the decisions.

Dawn gave directions to a furniture store but otherwise remained silent during the short trip.

Half an hour later, they were strolling along rows of beds. Dawn kept her shopping restricted to the part of the store that presented the single beds, obviously not intending to share her bed with anyone in the foreseeable future. Dawn sat down on the edge of a small single bed, carefully testing its mattress. “What do you think?” She looked up at Aiden.

Aiden smiled down at the softly bouncing woman and shrugged. “Shopping advice isn’t really my forté,” she admitted. “The decision is all yours.”

“Really helpful, Detective.” Dawn bounced some more in her attempt to test the mattress.

A young furniture salesman approached.

Aiden assessed him with a trained glance. With his confident stride and rakish grin, he was well aware of his effect on women and not afraid to use it. God, I hope he doesn’t try to come on to Dawn, she thought. She knew that Dawn would most likely be overwhelmed even with light flirting from this stranger.

“We have some newer models in the back,” the salesclerk said. He tried to take Dawn by the elbow to lead her to another part of the store, but she sidestepped his grip and took refuge in Aiden’s closeness.

The salesclerk blinked in surprise and directed his glance to Aiden for the first time, now looking her up and down. “Ah.”

It took a few seconds until Dawn brought her automatic reaction under control, but then she stepped back from Aiden and nodded at the salesman.

“I don’t think that’s really what you’re looking for,” the salesclerk said, pointing at the bed at which Dawn had been looking. “If you would follow me, please.” He kept a respectful distance from the two women as he led them away from the single bed Dawn had tried out. He stopped in front of a comfortable looking king-sized bed. “That,” he pointed back to the row of single beds and winked at Dawn, “may be long enough for a small thing like you, but I doubt it would be very comfortable for her.” He nodded his head in Aiden’s direction, then at the larger bed in front of them. “This is more like it.”

Jesus! He thinks we’re a couple buying a bed together, Aiden realized. She swallowed her embarrassment and held back a sharp reprimand, waiting for Dawn’s reaction instead.

Dawn, however, seemed blissfully unaware of the clerk’s assumption. “Oh, no, no, it’s not for her, I’m the one who’s buying the bed.”

“Oh, sorry.” The salesclerk looked down at his shoes. “I thought… so, the bed’s just for you?”

Dawn looked up, sensing that she had missed the undertones of their conversation. Her gaze wandered from the salesman to Aiden. Suddenly, she laughed, a surprised but not shocked sound. “Yes, I’m the one who will be sleeping in the bed,” she confirmed. “The only one. She’s just along to do the heavy lifting.”

So, whatever Dawn Kinsley is, Aiden thought while Dawn decided on one of the single beds, she’s not a homophobe. Not that it matters for the investigation.

Neither of them commented on the salesclerk’s assumption as they left the furniture store.

“Have you eaten yet?” Dawn asked when Aiden started the car.

Aiden busied herself with looking into the rearview mirror before she pulled out into traffic. She hadn’t taken the time to eat, but going to dinner with a victim in one of her cases… No, she decided, this has to stop right now.

“I’d really like it if you would accept an invitation to dinner as a thank-you for all of your help,” Dawn continued before Aiden could voice her answer.

Aiden started to shake her head when she heard the faint rumbling of Dawn’s stomach. “Sounds like I’m not the only one who hasn’t eaten yet.”

“I didn’t have much of an appetite lately,” Dawn confessed quietly.

God! Aiden groaned inwardly. How can I say no now? A quick glance to her right showed Dawn’s hopeful gaze directed at her. It was obvious that Dawn felt safe in her company and wasn’t ready to let go of that safety line and return home alone yet. It would be a business dinner, Aiden told herself. You could ask her about Renshaw’s theory over dinner and determine whether the rapist might be a forgotten acquaintance of hers. “Dinner it is, then,” she decided.

* * *

“It’s not much,” Aiden warned, shifting the pizza box into her left hand so that she could open the door to her apartment, “but I’m rarely at home, so it’s enough for me.” She had sensed that Dawn wouldn’t feel at ease in a public place like a restaurant, and she didn’t want to question Dawn about her rapist in front of her mother, so she had decided on takeout in her own apartment.

Hastily, she cleared a few files from the coffee table. “Have a seat, please. You want something to drink?” She looked into her almost empty refrigerator. “Orange juice, mineral water, beer… I think we should avoid the milk, though.”

“Orange juice, please.”

Aiden took the juice container and reached for a bottle of beer before stopping herself. Not a good idea. She said she smelled beer on the perp’s breath. You don’t want her to have a flashback, do you? And besides, this is business, remember, so no drinking.

“How long have you lived here?” Dawn asked, taking the glass Aiden handed her.

Uncomfortable with what she suspected to be the first of many more personal questions, Aiden busied herself with opening the pizza box. “A while.”

Dawn continued looking around the apartment. She pointed at the sculpture next to the couch and at the painting above it, admiring the rich shades of red. “Are you a fan of Robyn Carlisle? You’re not related to her, are you?” she asked.

Aiden suppressed a sigh. Keeping this at a strictly professional level seemed to be impossible. She gave a short nod. “She was my mother,” she said, hoping to leave it at that.

Dawn looked up from the slice of veggie pizza that Aiden had put on her place. She studied Aiden’s face. “Are you uncomfortable with my being here?”

She seemed to respect Aiden’s unspoken wish not to talk about her mother, but instead she had openly addressed another issue. Why did I think dinner with a psychologist was a good idea? Aiden asked herself. She felt as if Dawn could look right through her and read her like a picture book - a feeling she didn’t like. “It’s not that.”

“But?” Dawn sensed the unspoken part of the sentence.

“This is business.” At least, it should be, she mentally added. “There are a few questions I have to ask you.”

“Okay,” Dawn said cautiously. She pushed back her plate, obviously no longer hungry.

A sharp stab of guilt shot through Aiden. You have to be professional, but do you also have to be an asshole? In her attempt to draw a clear line between her job and her private life, she had denied Dawn a rare opportunity to relax and not think about the rape. “I’m sorry.” She rubbed her temples, feeling the onset of a headache. This was clearly a catch-22 situation.

“Don’t apologize for doing your job.” Dawn sounded sincere, but there was an emotional distance between them that hurt.

“I’m not.” Aiden had been the one trying to stake out the boundaries of this acquaintance, and now she was the one who couldn’t stand them. “It’s just -“

“Detective,” Dawn interrupted softly, “if anyone can understand the need to separate the job from… friendships, it’s a psychologist. In my profession, meeting a patient in a nontherapeutic context is a big no-no.”

“I’m not your therapist,” Aiden protested.

Dawn tilted her head in agreement. “No, you’re not. You’re a detective and a good one at that. I grew up surrounded by cops, so I know the requirements of the job. I apologize if I made it difficult for you.”

Aiden had a sudden urge to bang her head against the coffee table. She felt like an insensitive bastard trying to reduce a wonderful and complex woman to the role of a rape victim. She couldn’t find the words to make Dawn - or herself - feel better. If she tried to speak the comforting words of a friend, this whole conversation would be in vain. Damn, what a mess.

“Hey.” For a second, Dawn’s hand covered her own. “What was it you wanted to ask me?”

Aiden put the rest of her pizza back into its box. She couldn’t help admiring the woman across from her. I should be the one to make her feel better, not the other way around. “My colleagues and I are working with Dr. Albert Renshaw, a forensic psychiatrist,” she said, trying hard to hold on to her professional role. “He thinks your attacker might be someone you know, a passing acquaintance or something.”

“Because of the way he wrecked my apartment?” Dawn immediately understood her colleague’s reasoning.

“Yes. Dr. Renshaw thinks it might be something personal he held against you. Are you sure you don’t know him?”

Dawn tugged at her lower lip with her teeth. “I had the feeling he knew me better than the other way around - or at least he thinks he does. If I have seen him before, I’m sure it was as nothing more than a stranger on the street, a cabbie who drove me home once, or a cashier who wrapped up my tomatoes or bananas for me.”

“Banana,” Aiden mumbled before she could stop herself.

There was sadness in Dawn’s smile as if their conversation in the grocery store around the corner had happened in another life, to another person.

And perhaps it had. No rape victim would ever be the same person again, and at the moment Aiden felt as if she wouldn’t either. She sighed. “Come on, I’ll drive you home,” she suggested, suddenly not knowing what else to say to Dawn anymore.

Dawn stood without hesitation and followed Aiden to the door.

CHAPTER 8

RAY GLANCED AWAY from the heavy traffic for a moment, looking at Aiden in the passenger seat of the unmarked car. Something was going on with his partner. Aiden had been silent for the whole drive uptown. Not that she was a regular chatterbox otherwise, but she seemed to be downright moody today. He was sure that every single sex crimes detective had heaved a sigh of relief when they had left the station to visit Dawn Kinsley’s office.

Determined to find out what troubled his partner, Ray tried to bring her out of her shell with their usual teasing. “You’re really slipping in your old age, partner.”

“I forgot, okay?” Aiden snapped and then stopped and rubbed her neck.

Ray didn’t believe it for a second. It was not like Aiden to forget asking a witness a question that could be essential to solving the case. Ray lifted both hands in a calming gesture before gripping the steering wheel again. “Hey, don’t take my head off! It’s no big deal. Since we can’t find Dr. Kinsley for the moment, we’ll just ask one of her partners if they remember any cases with similar rapes, all right?”

Aiden didn’t answer. She stared out the window.

I wonder if there’s a connection between her bad mood and her sudden “forgetfulness”? Ray knew Aiden had met with their victim last night, and she had asked Dawn Kinsley about some of Renshaw’s questions - but then had supposedly forgotten to ask her if the perp could be the rapist of one of her patients. Ray would have simply attributed it to stress and frustration, but then Aiden had balked at calling Dawn for further questions. “Did something happen between you and Dawn?” he asked as casually as possible.

Aiden’s head jerked around. Her amber eyes flashed. “What are you getting at? There’s nothing between Dawn and me!”

Ah! Everything became clearer to Ray now. That’s what’s tying her cuffs into knots. I knew she liked that little shrink. He abstained from grinning. “I’m not implying that. I just thought… you seemed to have a really good rapport with her. What happened?”

“The job, what else?” Aiden sighed. “She’s a victim and the key witness in one of our cases, Ray.”

“And that means you can’t interact with her?” Ray kept his tone neutral. He knew Aiden didn’t need him to make her decisions, but she could use his help in trying to clear up her muddled feelings.

Aiden shot him a sharp glance. “Not in anything other than a professional manner. It could hurt the case; you know that as well as I do.”

Who’s she trying to convince - me or herself? Ray wondered. He could understand the need not to become too friendly with a victim, but he wasn’t sure if that was really what was troubling his partner, or if it was Aiden’s usual reluctance to let people get close to her. Finding herself becoming friends with a psychologist, a “head shrinker,” had to have her running for cover.

Or is it more than friendship? Ray eyed his partner. He had known for years that Aiden was gay or at least bisexual although he had never seen her with a woman. They had never talked about it. He knew and was sure she was aware of that; that was enough. The two of them had their own “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, not because Ray was a homophobe or Aiden didn’t trust her partner, but because it didn’t matter between them. She was his partner, and that was all he needed to know to support her. Hell, it would cause more of a problem between us if she ogled Ruben’s ass or one of the slimy defense lawyers. Trying to sneak a peek at Kade Matheson’s long legs is something every cop in the precinct would understand, even old, married ones like me.

“Pulling away from her like she has a contagious disease or bad breath could hurt the case, too,” Ray said gently. In fact, seeing as we’re hunting for information we should have had three days ago ‘cause our victim is nowhere to be found, I think it already has, he silently added.

“I know, I know.” Aiden rubbed her eyes. “I’m sending her mixed messages, and it’s confusing her. Hell, it confuses me.”

Ray gave her a side-glance. “Mixed messages?”

“Yeah. One minute, I’m telling her she can trust me no matter what, she can call me day and night, and I’ll be there for her… and when she takes me up on it, I play the ‘it’s just the job’ card.”

“No one says you can’t get to know her,” Ray said, allowing himself a grin, “as long as it’s not in the biblical sense.” He dodged the punch Aiden threw at him. “Okay, okay, just kidding, Aiden. I know she’s not up for anything like that. You should be okay as long as you keep it on a friendly, supportive basis, at least till the investigation is over. That doesn’t mean you have to play the emotionless detective. You’re a human being, Aiden, not Robocop.”

That finally got him a laugh. “Thanks, Ray.”

Ray waved her away. “Hey, maybe I should ask those shrinks what the usual fee is for such great advice.” Not waiting for an answer, he pulled into a parking space in front of Dawn Kinsley’s office and got out of the car.

Next to a student union office from the nearby Portland State University, a discreet sign announced the joint practice of A. Barry, PhD, C. Rosenbloom, MD, and D. Kinsley, PhD.

“Normally, wild horses couldn’t make me go in there,” Ray announced, shuddering dramatically but nevertheless opening the door.

* * *

The reception area of the psychologists’ office looked like any other doctor’s office Aiden had ever seen. Tasteful watercolors and photographs showing soothing landscapes were hanging on white walls. An open door led to a waiting room with a pink plastic table and toys in one corner and a rack with magazines in the other.

On closer inspection, Aiden detected what she believed to be Dawn’s touch on the room: a group of crooked Play-Dough animals, made by some of the children she treated, was proudly displayed on the reception desk. Colorful cartoons and psychologist jokes adorned one wall, and instead of a coatrack, patients could hang their jackets on a wooden cactus next to the door. It was exactly the bizarrely creative but cozy jigsaw-puzzle style Aiden had come to associate with Dawn.

“Can I help you?” A gray-haired secretary looked up from her computer.

Ray stepped toward the reception desk. “Are any of the doctors in?”

The secretary nodded. “They’re all in today. But I suppose you’re the police, wanting to talk to Doc Kinsley and not a couple here for marriage counseling, are you?”

“Are we, darling?” Ray’s shining white teeth flashed against his dark skin as he shot a grin at Aiden.

“We’re not.” Aiden flashed her badge instead of a smile. She wasn’t in the mood for jokes, too occupied with staring at the secretary in surprise. Dawn’s already back at the office, counseling rape victims, when it hasn’t even been a week since she herself has been raped? Aiden didn’t need to have a PhD in psychology to know that Dawn was either punishing herself for any self-perceived contribution to her rape or in deep denial, trying to forget about her own problems by dealing with someone else’s. Aiden knew all about that. Firsthand.

“I can’t comprehend how someone could do something so terrible to someone as sweet as Doc Kinsley.” The secretary leaned across her desk and looked right and left as if to make sure no one could overhear her words. “I work for all three of the doctors, but she’s my favorite. Don’t tell the others, though. Psychologists’ egos, you know?”

One of the doors leading to the psychologists’ offices opened, and a visibly upset woman stepped out, only stopping at the reception desk to make a new appointment with Dr. Kinsley.

A minute later, the door opened a second time, admitting Dawn Kinsley, who looked only marginally better than her patient. Her blond hair was tousled as if she had run nervous hands through it, and the dark circles under her eyes had become even more pronounced.

Aiden hadn’t seen her since their rather abruptly ending dinner three days ago. She couldn’t help wondering if Dawn would have fared as badly as she seemed to have if Aiden hadn’t cut her last safety line by trying to distance herself from the situation.

The smile that appeared on Dawn’s face when she saw the detectives almost reached her eyes.

Aiden found herself walking toward Dawn without conscious thought. “Hey,” she said, not knowing what else to say after their less than spectacular last meeting.

“Hi.” This time, Dawn didn’t help her out by filling the awkward silence.

Aiden shifted her weight. Her fingers played with the pager on her belt. “I tried to call you at home. I didn’t know you were already back at the office, treating patients.” She was careful to keep any form of judgment from her voice.

Dawn shrugged. “I’m not treating patients per se; I just came in to finish some reports, but a client called for an emergency appointment. Her rapist is up for parole, and she wanted some support before the parole hearing.”

Aiden nodded. She respected and admired Dawn for her professionalism and her willingness to help her patients, but that didn’t keep her from worrying. Who counsels the counselor? Who’s there for her? she wondered. “It’s good to have someone who supports you in situations like that,” she commented.

“Yes, it is.” Dawn studied Aiden, probably wondering whether she was talking about the patient with the parole hearing or Dawn’s own situation.

“Someone who can really be there for you because he or she isn’t a close friend, all tangled up in his own emotions.” Aiden stepped closer so no one would overhear her. “Did you think about seeing a therapist?”

Dawn smiled sadly. “I am a therapist,” she reminded.

“Yes, of course, but you’re also human and the victim of a violent crime. When it concerns ourselves, all the experience, all the knowledge about rape becomes meaningless. Even if you know all the symptoms, you can’t prevent them. We react like any other victim.” Aiden was speaking from experience. She couldn’t think about her mother’s rape like a detective.

“I’ll think about it,” Dawn promised. She squared her shoulders. “Now, what brings you to my humble workplace?” She opened the door to her office and beckoned them to follow her.

It didn’t resemble the austere doctors’ offices to which Aiden was accustomed. Behind a desk, where a small toy served as a paperweight for a pile of folders, Dawn’s diploma hung side by side with a photograph showing two men in the dark uniforms of the Portland Police Bureau.

Aiden circled two yellow beanbags and stepped closer to study the photograph. The older man seemed to look back at her with calm, gray-green eyes. His tanned face held a serious expression, but there were deep laugh lines around his eyes and mouth. The family resemblance to Dawn couldn’t be missed. The younger man beside him grinned rakishly, one hand proudly resting next to the gold shield on his belt. A rookie, Aiden assessed, still thinking that nothing could ever hurt him as long as he wears that uniform. But obviously something or someone had since Dawn had spoken of her father and brother only in the past tense.

Aiden turned back around and sank down onto one of the chairs when Dawn gestured toward them. She glanced at Ray, who silently took the chair beside her, resting one foot on the edge of a beanbag. He made no move to take over the questioning. “I’ve forgotten to ask you something concerning Dr. Renshaw’s theory,” Aiden finally said.

“That would be the theory about him… the rapist… being someone I’ve met before?”

The two detectives nodded.

“It’s clear that he’s not a close acquaintance, but could he possibly be the rapist of one of your clients? Someone you testified against or someone who saw you holding the hand of a victim at a parole hearing or something like that?” Aiden asked.

Dawn shook her head. “I don’t think so. Most of my patients do one-on-one and group counseling with me at least once or twice a week, often for years at a time. I spend a lot of time with these women, and I care about them. I wouldn’t forget the face of one of their rapists if I saw it.”

Dawn spoke with such conviction that Aiden believed it without further question. “Then perhaps one of those you never saw? One that never even got caught.” If the rapist had not been registered in any of their databases and the victims didn’t know him, he could still know them. Perhaps he had followed them after the rape, basking in his power to destroy their lives, and had learned of their weekly appointments with the therapist. “Did any of your patients ever describe a similar rape? A rapist who broke into the apartment at night and…” Aiden stopped and bit her lip. Dawn didn’t need to be reminded of the details; she knew them better than anyone else.

Dawn shook her head.

“No? Think about it carefully,” Aiden pleaded. Their investigation was at a dead end, and this was the only possible lead they had.

“Even if I could remember a similar case, I wouldn’t tell you.” Dawn glanced at the detectives, who looked at her with disbelief. “I want to catch the bastard as much as you do,” she told them bluntly, “and I’ll do anything I possibly can to help you with the case, but I cannot disclose my clients’ confidences. I can’t give you a list of my patients, and I can’t disclose anything they might have told me in one of the sessions. I have to protect patient confidentiality. You know that.” For the first time the usually gentle woman met them with unshakable determination and an iron will.

So, there’s steel under all that velvet if need be. Aiden wanted to be annoyed with her, but she couldn’t. She was frustrated and disappointed, but she had to admire Dawn’s selfless determination to protect her vulnerable patients no matter what the personal costs to herself might be. “We’re at a dead end,” Aiden admitted.

“I know.”

Dawn seemed to accept it calmly, but Aiden could see the shadows darting across her eyes, making them appear like gray rain clouds. She couldn’t leave Dawn like that. Not again. “Do you need a ride home?”

“I have my car.” Dawn said it almost regretfully.

Aiden grinned. “That little sardine can?”

Dawn shrugged. “You know what my colleagues say about people who drive big cars?”

“Please, come in, my fee is three hundred dollars an hour?” Aiden joked.

Dawn laughed, her eyes now appearing more green than gray. “That they feel the need to compensate for something,” she corrected.

Ray was still laughing when the two detectives left the building. “You’re good for her.” He studied her over the roof of their car. “You can make her laugh even when I’m sure she feels like her whole world is crumbling. Don’t give that up. At least not totally, okay?”

Aiden looked back at the small car parked in front of the psychologist’s office. “I’ll try.”

CHAPTER 9

AIDEN PUSHED through the double doors leading to the courtroom. She noticed that she was early. The judge hadn’t taken his seat on the bench yet, and the two attorneys were just unpacking their briefcases.

Kade seemed to sense Aiden’s gaze on her. She looked up from her pretrial rituals and smiled at her before putting on her courtroom poker face again.

Aiden swallowed the last bite of the sandwich she had wolfed down on her way to the courtroom. The gallery was still relatively empty, so she had her choice of seats. She decided for a seat on the prosecution’s side of the courtroom. This way, she could show her support for the People and had a better view of Kade when she sat down at her table.

She leaned back in anticipation of the Kade Matheson show. Some popcorn and a cold pop, and this would be perfect, she thought with a grin.

Someone sat down in the seat next to her, annoying Aiden because there were still a lot of other unoccupied seats. She was here to watch Kade at work, not for small talk with whoever had just sought out her company.

“Hello, Detective Carlisle.”

Her annoyance vanished and was suddenly replaced with worry when Aiden looked up and recognized the woman next to her. “Dawn! Have you been looking for me?” Her heart started to pound. “Did something happen?”

“No.” Dawn calmed her worries with a quick smile. “Nothing happened. I wasn’t looking for you, but I’ll surely be glad for the company in a few minutes. I’m here for the trial.”

The trial… Aiden attempted to remember which case was being tried today. She wasn’t particular when it came to her Kade fix; she wasn’t really here for the legal aspects of the cases. Wasn’t it that pizza boy raping three women? Or is that tomorrow’s case?

Aiden couldn’t come up with the right case, so she studied Dawn instead. She looks good, Aiden decided. There were still shadows under her eyes, but the bruises on her cheek and throat were fading. Dawn had traded the jeans from the week before in favor of a dark gray pantsuit, the matching blazer folded over her lap. A silver silk blouse, buttoned to the very last button, made her eyes appear more gray than green.

Aiden suspected that this was not Dawn’s usual style. She remembered a vivacious psychologist at the seminar, her charmingly freckled collarbone exposed by three undone buttons. Being raped changes everything, Aiden reminded herself, even the way you dress.

“Are you here supporting a patient?” Aiden asked, suspecting that nothing but her sense of duty could get Dawn to stay in the same room as a rapist.

Dawn nodded. “I promised I’d watch at least the opening statements for her. Was this one of your cases, or are you here for another reason?”

Regretfully, it hadn’t been her case. Aiden was at a loss, searching for an answer that was a little more appropriate than “I’m here to ogle a beautiful lawyer without her or anyone else noticing.” “No,” she admitted, “but you know how it is.” Aiden gestured to the cuffed defendant sitting behind his table. “Just showing a little police presence to make sure he doesn’t try anything stupid.”

Dawn’s gaze never moved away from the rapist. “Good idea.”

They both fell silent when the judge took his place and the trial began.

Kade Matheson rose to give her opening statement, patiently walking the jurors through the timeline of events.

Dawn watched for a while and then leaned toward Aiden, who had to hold herself back from breathing in Dawn’s enticing scent. “She’s good, isn’t she?” Dawn whispered.

Aiden nodded proudly. “Yes, she is.” Kade was confident without appearing arrogant, cool without being uncaring - and to Aiden’s surprise, unable to distract Aiden’s attention from the woman next to her. She blinked in disbelief and cleared her throat. “Ahem… you know a lot about law?” She distracted herself by wondering how Dawn could assess Kade’s abilities as a lawyer so quickly.

“I know a lot about body language.” Dawn leaned toward Aiden again as she spoke, making Aiden want to loosen her collar because of the sudden rise in her body temperature.

You wanted to keep your distance, remember? Seems like you managed to do the complete opposite.

Thankfully, Dawn seemed to be unaware of Aiden’s internal debate and her bodily reaction to Dawn’s nearness. “She makes constant eye contact with the jurors, and she chose the perfect distance to the jury box - close enough to draw them in but not so close that she would be encroaching on the jury’s comfort zone.”

“Trials by jury have a lot to do with psychology,” Aiden agreed, glad to be in control of herself once again.

Dawn nodded and watched as Kade sat back down and the defense attorney began his opening statement. “See how she isn’t even fidgeting when opposing counsel points out the weaknesses of her case?”

“After two years with the Sexual Assault Detail, I’m sure she could listen to the graphic biography of a serial killer without fidgeting,” Aiden said, watching Kade lean back as if she didn’t have a care in the world, almost bored with the defense attorney’s opening statement.

Dawn inclined her head. “She learned it earlier than that. I think she had the kind of mother who had her sit down with the grown-ups at boring dinner parties. I’m sure building paper planes out of a napkin wasn’t very popular with Mrs. Matheson. I can practically hear her: ‘Stop fidgeting! You are making a nuisance of yourself, young lady!’”

Aiden’s eyes widened. She had met Kade’s mother only once. Mrs. Matheson was elegant, organized, and cultured. She was pleasant company, and Aiden had liked her but thought she was lacking the passionate fire her daughter possessed. She could hear her say the same thing Dawn had just said. “Do you know Mrs. Matheson?”

“I know body language,” Dawn repeated with a smile.

Aiden looked down her body, wondering what her own body language might tell the psychologist. She sat still for a minute, folding her hands on her knees before she noticed that trying not to have any body language was impossible. The stiff posture resulting from her attempt spoke loud and clear. She let her body have its freedom again and leaned toward Dawn so she would understand her against the background of defense counsel’s opening statement. “So, what would your mother have said to your building paper airplanes out of napkins?”

Dawn smiled. “There weren’t any napkins at our dinner table. My mother was happy if she could get us to keep still long enough to eat dinner while sitting down. My family was never very big on formalities.”

“Growing up free and unrestricted, huh?”

“Unrestricted?” Dawn opened her green-gray eyes comically wide. “Are you kidding? My dad was a cop. We had to play by the rules, believe me.”

Aiden thought back to the last Thanksgiving dinner she had spent with Ray and his family. His kids were free to express their opinion with the adults, but there were unspoken boundaries that mustn’t be crossed.

“What about your family? Were you the napkin-at-dinner kind?” Dawn asked.

Defense counsel’s opening statement had ended by now, and the courtroom was almost silent for a few moments while he sat down. Judge Gilmartin’s annoyed glance in the direction of the whispering women saved Aiden from telling Dawn that her family dinners had consisted of vodka for her mom and cornflakes for Aiden.

With a quick glance at her wristwatch, Aiden gestured to Dawn that she had to go and slipped out of the courtroom.

Dawn followed silently. “I don’t think I’m quite ready to listen to the detailed description of another rape,” she said in explanation.

Aiden turned up her jacket’s collar when they left the building, gazing critically at Dawn’s thin blazer, which couldn’t protect her from the cool October wind. You’re not her mother or her lover, she reprimanded herself. It’s not your business to make sure she doesn’t get cold.

Indecisively, they stood facing each other on the steps of the courthouse.

“So, are you off to serve and protect, or is this your day off?” Dawn stopped two steps above Aiden so they could talk face-to-face.

“It’s back to work.” Aiden stuffed her hands into the pockets of her coat. “And you? Going back home?”

Dawn nodded. “When you get back to the precinct, maybe you could take care of something for me.”

Anything. For a moment, Aiden wasn’t sure if she had said it out loud. “Yes?”

“My address is going to change soon. You should probably make a note in your records or something.”

“You’re moving out of your old apartment.” It didn’t come as a surprise for Aiden. Sooner or later every victim who had been raped in her home had searched for a new place, never again feeling safe in the old apartment.

A curt nod from Dawn. “It doesn’t feel like a home anymore, and I don’t want to stay at my mother’s for much longer. I love her, but I’m twenty-eight, and I don’t want to live with her for more than a few weeks. I’m looking at some apartments this afternoon.”

Another crossroad opened up in front of Aiden. Should she just nod and promise to write down the change of address or offer to help Dawn find a new home where she could feel safe? Are you out of your damn mind? You want to go apartment hunting with her? What’s next, wanting to move in with her? After a few seconds of hesitation, she allowed herself to compromise. “Listen. I’m not sure if your old apartment has been released yet or if it’s still taped off as a crime scene. If you need any help with that or you want someone to go with you when you go to the old apartment to get some of the furniture…” It would only be for security reasons, she told herself. Sometimes, offenders do come back to the crime scene.

“Detective, I don’t expect you to -“

“Please do,” Aiden said before she could talk herself out of it. “Please expect me to be there for you when you need me to, okay?” A part of her was glad that she had said it, another part wanted to take it back immediately.

For a long time, Dawn looked at her without saying anything. Perhaps she sensed Aiden’s hesitancy, her conflicting emotions, because she appeared to be equally hesitant in accepting the offer. Then she drew her blazer tighter around her small shoulders and nodded. “Thank you.”

CHAPTER 10

“HELLO, PLEASE come in, Detective.” Grace Kinsley opened the door wider. “Dawn’s still on the phone with the electric company.”

As Aiden entered, she wondered what Dawn’s mother might think about her continuing visits in her home. Did she find it odd that a Portland police detective was helping her daughter move into her new apartment? Did she sense Aiden’s attraction to Dawn just as she had immediately known Aiden was a cop?

Without many words, Grace Kinsley led her into the kitchen, handed her a cup of black, unsweetened coffee, and leaned against the kitchen counter, studying her.

“How did you immediately recognize me as a cop when you first saw me?” Aiden asked to distract Mrs. Kinsley from her scrutiny and to assess if her powers of observation were restricted to copdar or if they included gaydar, too.

“I was married to a cop for almost twenty years; I should know a cop when I see one,” Grace Kinsley said, smiling wistfully.

Aiden kept her questioning gaze directed at her.

Grace shrugged. “It’s the body language.”

“Body language?” Aiden snorted into her coffee. What is it with those Kinsley women and body language? she wondered.

“Yes.” Dawn’s mother stared pensively into her own cup of coffee. “I think my husband used to call it command presence: You walk with a purposeful stride, your head held high, always aware of your surroundings; you speak in a strong voice, and you stand in a wide stance, not afraid to appear unfeminine by commanding the space around you. And you stand to the side of my apartment door when you’re knocking to be safe from any bullets that might be fired at you from inside the apartment.”

Aiden stared at her. “I do that?”

“You do.” Grace Kinsley smiled almost affectionately. She gestured toward Aiden. “You also stand facing the door to get a good view of the dangerous criminals that might inhabit my home.”

“Sorry,” Aiden said.

Grace shook her head. “Don’t apologize. It’s what keeps you alive in your job, and after a while, it becomes instinct.”

Twenty years of marriage had taught Mrs. Kinsley a lot about police officers and the dangers they faced, and Aiden was sure that she would never want to see her daughter in a relationship with a cop.

“Hey.” Dawn entered and laid the cordless phone on the kitchen table. She smiled at Aiden. “You’re very punctual, Detective.”

Aiden almost told Dawn to call her by her given name but held herself back from crossing that line.

The doorbell rang, making Dawn jerk. She didn’t move to open the door but let her mother do it.

Grace came back with a slightly overweight woman in her mid-forties in tow. “Hey, girl.” The stranger headed immediately for Dawn and gave her a gentle hug. “How are you?”

“I’m fine… considering the circumstances.” Dawn stepped back after allowing the hug for a moment. “I’ll be better when this day is over and I never have to see that apartment again.” She wasn’t afraid to express her feelings, and Aiden admired her for that. “Oh, Ally, this is Detective Carlisle. Detective, this is Allison Barry, one of the psychologists I’m sharing my office with. She offered to help me move, too.”

If Allison Barry wondered whether the Portland Police Bureau offered moving services now, she never showed it. She nodded and took Aiden’s hand in a warm grip. “Offered?” The other psychologist raised a brow and grinned at Dawn. “More like I was being roped into helping by the offer to cook me dinner afterward. You know I can’t resist your cooking, Dawn Kinsley.” She turned to Aiden and explained, “She can cook like a goddess.”

“Goddesses don’t cook,” Dawn objected. “They have their people do it for them.”

The ringing doorbell interrupted them once again. A thin man with a receding hairline and laughing blue eyes was led into the apartment by Grace Kinsley. The newcomer didn’t try to hug Dawn, earning him Aiden’s immediate respect. He gently squeezed Dawn’s shoulder and asked the same question Allison Barry had: “How are you?”

Aiden - and any other cop - would have answered with a joke about writing the answer to that question down on a big piece of paper so she wouldn’t have to repeat herself, but Dawn answered with the same honest words as before.

“Detective, this is my other colleague, Charles Rosenbloom. Charlie, this is Detective Carlisle.”

Aiden shook his hand with increasing discomfort. God, I’m going to spend the day with three psychologists. I’m doomed!

If Dawn’s male colleague wondered about Aiden’s presence, he didn’t show it either. Aiden really would have liked to know what Dawn might have told them about her.

Grace Kinsley started packing thermoses of coffee and tea, giving out work gloves, and herding helpers out the door.

Everyone seemed enthusiastic and in a good mood during the drive uptown, but when the cars stopped and they walked up to Dawn’s apartment building, they all grew quiet and shortened their steps, not knowing who should enter the apartment first as a pale Dawn rummaged in her pocket for the key.

Aiden stepped closer and leaned down so that no one but Dawn could hear. “Do you want to stay outside, maybe drive to the new apartment while we -“

“No,” Dawn interrupted. “It’s kind of you to offer, but I think this is something I need to do. If I dodge the last opportunity to enter the apartment, I’ll never know if I could have done it.”

Aiden nodded and wanted to step back, but Dawn’s fingers closed around her wrist. “Stay close, please?”

“I’m right beside you,” Aiden promised, practically plastering herself against Dawn’s back while Dawn opened the door.

No one spoke while they climbed the stairs. Dawn squared her shoulders as she opened the apartment door and strode inside.

Aiden saw Dawn’s colleagues exchange worried glances. Seems like they think Dawn’s throwing herself into things a little too fast and not dealing with all the emotional stuff, too, huh?

In the middle of the living room, her resolution seemed to leave Dawn, and her steps faltered. Her glance wandered to the bedroom door.

“Okay.” Aiden slapped her work gloves against her thigh. “How about you and your mom pack the dishes and the other household stuff, and we take care of dismantling the furniture?” That way, Dawn didn’t need to enter the bedroom if she didn’t want to.

A hard, impatient knock on the front door made Dawn jump and take a step back.

“Do you expect anyone else trying to earn one of your home-cooked meals?” Aiden asked.

Dawn shook her head. She nervously eyed the door.

Aiden stepped past her. Her right hand moved to her hip, only to find the place where her gun normally rested empty. She stood to the side of the door and gestured for Dawn’s colleagues to move back before she opened it.

A tall man with windblown brown hair glowered down at Aiden. “Who the hell are you?” he shouted. “Where is Dawn?”

Aiden kept blocking the door, never moving an inch. “Who are you?” she demanded to know.

“I’m her husband.”

Husband? Dawn is married? Aiden could only stare at the angry man.

A small hand softly touched her back. “Ex-husband,” Dawn corrected. “What do you want, Cal?”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I had to hear it through the precinct grapevine. I’ll kill the goddamn bastard who did this to you!” Dawn’s ex-husband was raging uncontrolled, making Dawn take another step away from him.

Three things suddenly occurred to Aiden: Dawn’s ex was a cop, and he had just now heard about the rape, and now he was scaring Dawn with his righteous anger. “Can I talk to you for a minute? Outside.” She directed an unyielding stare at him.

“Who is she?” The ex demanded to know, pointing a finger at Aiden.

Aiden stretched herself to her full five foot ten inches. Her leather jacket creaked as she squared her shoulders. Down, girl, she stopped herself. This is not a pissing contest between two cops trying to mark their territory. This is about Dawn - or at least it should be. She held herself back and let Dawn decide if and how to answer.

“This is Detective Carlisle.” Dawn looked at Aiden before she added, “A friend of mine.”

Aiden knew that she would always be proud to be called friend by a woman like Dawn, but at the same time Dawn’s words started the guilty internal debate about acceptable professional behavior again. Knowing she wouldn’t resolve this particular dilemma anytime soon, she turned back to Dawn’s ex-husband.

“Caleb Montgomery,” he grudgingly said. “What’s going on in here?” He looked from Dawn to Aiden.

“I’m moving into a new apartment,” Dawn said.

“Hmm.” Caleb Montgomery assessed the four women and the skinny Charlie Rosenbloom with a critical glance. “Looks like you could use a little help.”

“Sure, we could use the help,” Dawn answered, looking him right in the eye, “but we can do without the patronizing comments.”

Damn, I like this woman. She doesn’t take shit from anyone. Aiden bit her lip to keep from laughing or applauding the feisty psychologist.

Caleb Montgomery wordlessly picked up one of the screwdrivers lying around and looked at Aiden. “Bedroom, you and me?”

“Ha! In your dreams,” Aiden mumbled under her breath but nodded. This way, she could at least talk to him without Dawn overhearing every word.

They moved into the bedroom, and Aiden watched him take in the room where his ex-wife had been raped. Clenching his jaw, he threw off the mattress and started to work on taking down the bed’s headboard. His movements were angry and uncontrolled, making the screwdriver scratch over the wood.

“She lived through enough violence that night,” Aiden said softly but with a steely resolve. “Don’t scare her any further, okay? She doesn’t need your anger or your hateful tirades of revenge against an unknown rapist. She needs your support.”

Caleb Montgomery looked up from his work. “You with the Sexual Assault Detail or something, Carlisle?”

Aiden nodded and held his gaze. “You have something against that?”

“No. We can’t all be real cops.” His grin took the sting out of the words.

“Not only a real cop but a real comedian, too, huh?” Aiden took off her leather jacket and pushed up the sleeves of her old PPB sweatshirt. She started loosening the screws on the other side of the headboard.

“So…” Caleb’s hazel eyes were close to her own, both of them leaning over the headboard so they could see the screw heads. “How do you know Dawn?”

Is that “real cop” speak for “Are you sleeping with my ex-wife, Detective?”? Aiden wondered. “I met her at a seminar a few weeks ago. My partner and I, we’re investigating her rape case.” She was hesitant to admit it but didn’t want to lie.

Caleb Montgomery straightened. He looked down at Aiden with an incredulous expression. “You’re the investigator in her case, and you offered to help her move into a new apartment? Wow! Me and my colleagues, we wouldn’t help a lady we’re busting for speeding buy a new car.”

Now it was Aiden who found herself becoming angry. “Your lead-footed ladies are breaking the law, but Dawn’s not a perp. She’s the victim. Don’t you think she deserves a little help?”

“Okay, maybe it’s not the best analogy I could have chosen,” Caleb conceded, shrugging broad shoulders.

Silently, they both grabbed a side of the headboard and lifted it clear of the rest of the bed. It banged against the slatted frame already lying on the floor.

“No need to be careful with the bed,” Aiden said. “I don’t think she cares or even wants to know what happens with it.”

“Goddammit! How could this happen to Dawn?” Caleb stared down at the half-dismantled bed. His frustrated helplessness channeled itself into anger. “Do you know who…?”

Aiden held up her hands. “I can’t talk about an ongoing investigation; you know that.” She might have crossed a few lines of professionalism in her effort to help Dawn deal with the aftermath of her rape, but she wasn’t willing to break or bend the rules for anyone or anything else.

“I expect you to get him.” The street cop pointed his index finger at Aiden. “We may be divorced, but I still care for her.”

It was almost a declaration of love coming from a cop. Most of her colleagues weren’t big on public displays of affection or eager to discuss their emotions. Aiden wondered why they had gotten a divorce. Or why they got married in the first place. She supposed he was a decent guy when his anger calmed down, but he didn’t seem like a perfect match to Dawn. Oh, yeah? And who would this perfect match be - you? Aiden mocked herself.

Caleb moved to one of the bookcases and grunted when he tried to push it to the side. “Three damn shrinks in the house, you’d think one of them could shrink all this heavy furniture we have to heave down the stairs into a more maneuverable size.”

Laughing, Aiden went to help him with the bookcase.

* * *

Aiden stood next to Dawn on the sidewalk in front of her old apartment building, her arms limply hanging down at her sides. The muscles in her arms and back protested the heavy lifting she had done all day long - not that she would ever admit that. They had just carried down the last of the packed boxes while the rest of the moving team took another trip to Dawn’s new condo.

Aiden had checked out Dawn’s new home thoroughly, testing out the two locks on the door and experimentally shaking the bars in front of the windows. Finally, she had nodded in satisfaction. The fifth-floor apartment had recently been renovated and was up to the newest security standards. It also didn’t hurt that the new apartment was close to the Justice Center, which housed the Portland Police Bureau headquarters, the central precinct, and some offices of the Multnomah County District Attorney, ensuring a constant police presence in the neighborhood.

Dawn closed the door of the van. “I’m sorry about Cal trying to back you into a corner when he first arrived.”

“Hey, it’s all right. I think we’ve come to an understanding.” Aiden studied the tired face. “I just didn’t know you’d been married.”

Dawn shrugged. “Not for very long. It just didn’t work out between us. We got a divorce after less than two years.”

“Yeah, old story. We cops don’t make the best spouses, being married to our jobs and all.” It was one of many reasons why Aiden wasn’t in or searching for a relationship.

“That may have been part of our problems, but mainly, it wasn’t him, it was me. I…” Dawn sighed, kicking against the heap of dismantled bed parts they had stacked on the sidewalk. “He was an old friend of Brian, my brother. I’d known him for years, but there was never anything but friendship between us. Then Brian died, not long after my father’s death and… I thought I had come to love him, but I guess I just needed someone to hold on to. Should have known myself better than that.”

“You know now,” Aiden said gently.

Dawn snorted. Suddenly, there were tears in her eyes. “A little late for that insight. I’m not exactly good relationship material right now.” She looked down at the bed lying in ruins at her feet. The bed she had been raped in. Raped. Silent sobs shook Dawn.

Aiden had known that it would come to this at some point. Dawn had thrown herself into taking care of the practical things, making calls, looking at apartments, trying to resume a somewhat normal life. She had kept herself too busy to think about what had happened. She had tried to be strong, holding herself up to higher standards than her patients whom she told that they were allowed to cry, scream, and mourn.

Now that the moving out of and into apartments had almost been completed and there was nothing else to do, everything caught up with her, and she was falling into a black hole.

Aiden watched uncomfortably as the dam broke and tears began to fall. She wished Dawn’s psychologist friends or her mother were here, but they weren’t. It’s up to you to comfort her or just stand there like some dumb cop and let her cry her eyes out, just because you have to be a professional.

When she saw Dawn’s shaky attempts to hastily dry her tears or hide them behind her sleeve, she finally stepped forward. Hesitantly, her arms came up and wrapped Dawn into a gentle embrace.

Hot breath danced across the skin of her neck when Dawn let out a shaky breath, immediately accepting the embrace and burrowing herself deeper into Aiden’s arms. “I’m sorry,” she said after a minute. “It’s just that I feel like he took everything from me… destroyed my whole life, left no part of it unsullied.”

Aiden let her talk it out, not offering advice or asking any questions. In her job, she had learned when to talk and when to listen. She kept one supporting arm around Dawn’s trembling shoulders when Dawn took a step back.

“I can’t look at any male stranger without wondering whether he’s a rapist or even the one who raped me. My family and friends can’t look at me without pity or sadness. I even lost some friends who told me to ‘hush up’ the rape and ‘just get over it.’”

“What kind of friends are those?” Aiden shook her head.

“Not really close ones, but it hurt nonetheless,” Dawn answered. “I don’t need other people to make me feel guilty or doubt myself. I do that well enough on my own. He took my self-confidence, my trust in people, my friends, and my job. I don’t know if I can ever work with victims of sexual assault again. I have to pay attention to them and not to my own feelings. What if I keep having those flashbacks when one of them tells me about her rape?” Dawn shook her head in desperation.

“Hey, don’t stress yourself out.” Aiden caressed a thin shoulder blade. “You’ll cross that bridge when you come to it. It’s too soon to be thinking about going back to work. Even if you can never work with rape victims again - and we don’t know that yet - I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who need your help. I bet you’d be good with children, family therapy, maybe.”

Dawn looked up, blinking back tears with long, blond lashes. “Have you ever considered a change of careers for yourself? You should be a therapist.” A small smile trembled on her lips.

Aiden felt herself blush. Her ears started to burn under Dawn’s grateful gaze. “I’m quite happy with the job I have, thank you very much.”

“I’m quite happy that you have this job, too,” Dawn said softly.

Aiden bit her lip, unable to come up with an appropriate response.

“Come on.” It was Dawn who finally broke the awkward silence. “Let’s hurry up before the others start gorging themselves on pizza or Chinese takeout without us.”

* * *

“Hello, Detective.” Once again, it was Grace Kinsley who answered the door and walked her into Dawn’s new apartment. “You’re the last one in. All the other helpers are already waiting impatiently for you… or rather for the entrée Dawn refused to serve before your arrival.”

“Sorry.” Aiden took off her jacket and hung it on the coatrack she had assembled yesterday. “Ray, my partner, kept pushing unfinished reports onto my desk.”

“Yeah, the dangers of being a desk jockey,” Caleb Montgomery said from his place at the dining table.

Aiden stopped directly in front of him. “Do I sense some deep-rooted jealousy, here? We can’t all be detectives, pal,” she repeated his words from the day before. From time to time, she could sense a jealous hostility toward her, but she wasn’t sure whether it was because of their different positions within the Portland Police Bureau or because he suspected her sometimes more than friendly feelings toward his ex-wife.

Not waiting for an answer, Aiden rounded the table and greeted the other guests.

“Dawn’s still slaving over the stove,” Grace Kinsley said when Aiden directed a questioning gaze toward her.

Being familiar with the layout of the apartment, Aiden went in search of their hostess. “Hi,” she greeted her from the doorway, careful not to startle her. “Thanks again for the invitation. It smells really nice in here. Anything I can help with?”

“Hi.” Dawn’s smile lit up the kitchen. She appeared to be a lot better than she had been the day before. “I still haven’t found the serving tray,” she answered Aiden’s offer to help.

“Ah.” Aiden entered the small but functional kitchen. “I think we put it somewhere on the highest shelf.” A quick glance told her that Dawn wouldn’t be able to reach it, so Aiden stretched her body and reached over Dawn for the serving tray. For a second, she breathed in the scent of honey and almonds from Dawn’s hair when their bodies came into close proximity, then she hastily stepped back and handed Dawn the tray. “Voílà.”

Dawn smiled. “Thank you, Detective.”

Aiden was glad that Dawn accepted her boundaries without question, never once trying to call Aiden by her given name. I’m not even sure she knows my first name. Speaking of names… “I just noticed the name of the street you’re living on now when I was searching for a parking space.”

“Great name, huh?” Dawn grinned.

Aiden shook her head. “I’ve lived here in Portland for my whole life, but I never knew there’s a Carlisle Street.”

“Maybe it was named after one of your great ancestors; maybe they rendered outstanding services to the city, too,” Dawn suggested.

Aiden looked at her in amazement. She knows one of my closest ancestors is a man of violence, a rapist, and yet she doesn’t seem to think anything but good things about me or my family? Wish I could share her attitude. She helped Dawn carry salad, bread, and spinach soufflé to the table where she noticed that the only unoccupied seat was right beside Dawn’s.

She sat down and looked about the spacey living room. The setting sun was filtering in through orange curtains, giving the room a soothing quality. Where only one day ago just the bare furniture had stood, Aiden could already detect clear signs of the Dawn Kinsley decorative style. All around her were small trinkets, stuffed animals, colorful drawings, and photos - memories of people and events Dawn obviously held dear. It felt like a home, not just an apartment.

“Help yourself.” Dawn gestured toward the soufflé. “Like I said, we’re not very big on formality.”

Aiden pointed to the place next to her plate. “But you do have napkins.”

Dawn inclined her head and smiled. “My one concession to a house full of guests.”

Aiden waited until the others had filled their plates and then took her first bite. She loved leaf spinach but with her limited cooking talents had never tried a spinach soufflé. Her eyes widened, and she licked her lips. She held back a joking “Marry me!” and said “It’s really delicious” instead.

“Have a little white wine with it,” Grace offered, extending the wine bottle in Aiden’s direction.

With a glance at the clear, sparkling liquid in Dawn’s glass, Aiden shook her head. “Mineral water’s fine, thank you.”

Dawn set down her fork. “You’re not on call, are you?”

“No, I’m not,” Aiden said. She would have liked a glass of wine but preferred red wine anyway, and she was determined to avoid any alcohol as long as Dawn still couldn’t stand the smell of it. “And even if I was, I’m not sure I could leave while there is still food on the table. It’s not often that I get to eat like this. I’m not much of a cook, myself.”

“Doughnuts don’t need any cooking,” a grinning Allison Barry pointed out.

Caleb set down his beer. “Hey, no doughnut cop jokes, please. Us law enforcement personnel are very sensitive when it comes to our main food group.”

Not bothering to ask in the relaxed, informal atmosphere, Aiden helped herself to a second helping of the soufflé. “Actually, I can’t stand the stuff.”

Grace poked her in the shoulder with the blunt end of her fork. “I’m sure you didn’t admit that in your entrance interview with the Police Academy.”

“Dad didn’t like doughnuts, either,” Dawn reminded with an affectionate smile. “He always said that white-powdered doughnuts and blue uniform shirts are not a good combination.”

Aiden wanted to know more about her father and what had happened to him, but she didn’t want to introduce a sad topic into an otherwise relaxed evening.

“He died in a traffic stop ten years ago,” Dawn said, sensing the unasked question. “He stopped a car because of a busted headlight, and the driver, a man with an active warrant out on him, panicked and pulled the trigger.”

“I’m sorry,” Aiden said sincerely and looked from Dawn to her mother.

Grace gave her a pat on the arm. “It’s an honorable but dangerous profession. I knew that when I married Jim. I just never thought I’d lose one of my kids to it too.”

Aiden looked down at the table, suddenly almost feeling guilty just because she was a police officer.

Dawn cleared her throat and lifted her glass of mineral water. “To Portland’s finest. May they all be safe tonight.”

The toast was echoed all around the table.

That woman’s really got style, Aiden thought, sipping from her water glass. When she first met Dawn, she had admired her good looks and then - when she had started to interact with the visitors of her seminar - her charm and her easy way of relating to people. Now that she had experienced Dawn in many different situations, she found that she wasn’t just attracted to Dawn as a woman, but she really started liking her as a person.

She spent her first relaxed evening in what seemed like forever in the company of Dawn Kinsley and her friends. She was pleasantly surprised by the three psychologists, who were not at all as she had imagined psychologists to be. Not once did she have the feeling of being under constant scrutiny, the object of appraisal and analysis. Their job is hard enough. Why would they want to do it in their free time, too? Aiden reminded herself.

Finally, every last bite of the meal had been eaten, and the dishes had been done. One after the other, the guests said goodnight and left. When only Dawn and her mother remained, Aiden stood, too, and reached for her jacket. “Thank you for a very nice evening and a wonderful meal. I haven’t eaten so well since my partner had to take me to a five-star restaurant on a lost bet.”

“Has the Portland Police Bureau added another zero to those generous cop pay checks? My husband’s and son’s bets never consisted of more than who would spring for a hot dog and a coffee to go,” Grace said.

Aiden laughed. “No sudden enlightenment on part of the PPB, I’m afraid. We usually bet for hot dogs, too, but this one was a bet we both were really confident to win.”

“Do I even want to know?” Grace chuckled.

“No, you don’t. I have a certain image to uphold, ma’am,” Aiden declared with a dignified expression. She slipped on her jacket and turned to go.

“Detective?” Dawn’s voice made her turn around again. “Could you maybe stay for a few minutes longer? I’d really like to talk to you about something.”

Aiden nodded and swallowed, almost afraid of what Dawn might want to talk about. She slipped her jacket back off while Mrs. Kinsley hugged and kissed her daughter goodnight. Watching the warm interaction between mother and daughter always left Aiden with a vague feeling of longing.

“Let’s try out the new couch,” Dawn suggested after her mother had left. She had given away her old couch, not wanting to be reminded of the devastation she had felt sitting on that couch just after the rape.

Dawn brought coffee and tea, and they sat down on the comfortable new couch. Aiden watched as Dawn put one socked foot onto the coffee table while the other rested on the couch, both arms wrapped around her knee.

Dawn’s cat, which they hadn’t seen all evening, strolled into the living room and sniffed on every chair leg that had come into contact with one of the strangers invading her territory. The cat stopped in front of the couch. The slanted pupils of the amazingly sapphire eyes widened when she spotted Aiden. Promptly, the cat sat down and ignored the humans. She licked her bushy tail and used her paw to wash behind chocolate-tipped ears. When she looked up after a minute and the stranger still sat on the couch, she let out a complaining “Meow!”

Aiden looked down at the cat, feeling decidedly unwelcome. “Am I sitting in her favorite spot?”

“She’s a cat, every spot in the whole apartment is hers, and the one place that she can’t have because it’s occupied just now is always her favorite,” Dawn explained.

“Cat psychology, huh?” Aiden shifted to the side when the cat hopped up onto the couch between them and eased her body into a sphinxlike position. Feeling reassured by Dawn’s expert supervision, Aiden reached out a single finger and scratched the cat behind one ear. “What kind of cat is she?” she asked, reasonably sure that there were different breeds of cats.

Dawn rubbed the cat’s belly, making her purr and lie down more fully. “Kia’s a Balinese; that’s a long-haired version of the Siamese. Remember when you said you didn’t want to marry her? What changed your mind?”

“Huh?”

“You told me you didn’t want to marry my cat when you had to put her into a transport box, but yesterday you were the one who carried Kia over the threshold. Guess you’re a closeted romantic, huh, Detective?” Dawn teased.

Aiden laughed and leaned back against the soft cushions, sipping her coffee. This is nice. She usually spent her days in the company of men and had few, if any, close female friends.

Even her one-night stands and the partners in her usually short-lived relationships were mostly men although she was more attracted to women. Men were safer because there weren’t so many emotions involved for Aiden. Men didn’t expect her to give them insight into her heart and soul. They didn’t want to hear her life’s story on the first date and meet her parents by the end of the first month. With women, Aiden was afraid to feel too much, to lose control, to be consumed by her fears and desires. She was convinced that it would be just a matter of time before she would hurt a female partner. It was her inheritance; it was in her genes. So she rarely allowed herself more than a one-night stand with a woman, always hiding behind affairs with men or secret attractions that couldn’t go anywhere because the object of her admiration was straight, unavailable, or totally unaware of Aiden’s feelings - or all three, to make sure nothing of any significance could ever happen between them.

She had put Dawn firmly into the straight/unavailable/unaware category. Most of the time, she didn’t even think about sharing anything more with Dawn and was content with just being friendly acquaintances. Sometimes she even thought that it was only Dawn’s unavailability that made her so attractive for Aiden. If Dawn hadn’t been raped, if she had been gay and interested in a relationship with her, Aiden was sure that she would have run the other way as fast as she could.

“So,” Aiden interrupted her own, dangerously introspective thoughts, “what did you want to talk about?”

Dawn moved the cat into her lap and turned around to face Aiden. “Well, now that I moved into a new apartment and live all alone again, I want to do everything I can to make myself feel a little safer.”

“Okay. How can I help?”

Dawn shrugged. “I thought about buying a gun.”

“A gun…” Aiden rubbed her neck.

“Not a good idea?” Dawn watched Aiden’s reaction closely.

“No, I didn’t necessarily say that. It just depends. A weapon doesn’t always keep you safe. If you depend on an external object for your protection, you need to keep in mind that it could be taken away from you and used against you.” Aiden studied the gentle woman next to her. “And a gun won’t do you any good if you don’t use it. Are you sure you could aim it at a human being and pull the trigger?” Twice, she had shot someone in the line of duty, and she knew that it came with a price.

Dawn looked down at her hands. “I always thought that I could never kill anyone, but that Saturday night… I think I could have.”

Aiden was still ambivalent about the thought of Dawn owning a weapon. “What about enrolling in a self-defense course?” she suggested. “That doesn’t have to mean we’re completely ruling out the possibility of buying a gun.”

Dawn looked doubtful. “I’m not terribly coordinated.”

“Technique is only a small part of self-defense,” Aiden said. She knew that self-defense classes could be an invaluable part of the healing process for a rape survivor. “You won’t learn how to hit an attacker in the face after a 360-degree spin kick, but how to be aware of and react to your surroundings. We’re not talking about Hollywood kung fu. We’re talking about a simple, yet effective poke in the eye or a kick to the groin. They teach you the self-confidence to know you’re worth defending, and they give you the means to do it.”

“That sounds like a really good thing,” Dawn said, the now green eyes shining with the determination to try it out. “Do you teach self-defense? You sound like you know a lot about it.”

In her mind’s eye, Aiden already saw herself instructing Dawn in self-defense, wrapping her arms around her and pressing her body against Dawn’s from behind as she simulated an attack. “I know someone who does,” she said quickly. “I’ll give you his number.”

“His?” Dawn repeated, looking unsure about the concept of taking classes with a male instructor.

“Who better than a man to teach you how to hurt a man?” Aiden half joked. “He’s the best, and I promise you’ll like him. And he works with a female partner.”

Finally, Dawn nodded. “Okay, I’ll try it out. Can’t hurt, right?”

“Not if you follow instructions and don’t try that 360-degree spin kick,” Aiden joked, rising from the couch. She walked toward the door. “Thanks again for the invitation.”

“No, thank you,” Dawn corrected. “I know lugging furniture around is not part of a detective’s job description.”

Aiden didn’t answer, not wanting to emphasize the fact that she had helped Dawn in anything other than a professional capacity.

“Wait a minute.” Dawn disappeared in the kitchen and came back with a small plastic container, which she handed Aiden. “Here. That’s some leftover coconut chicken and rice. I would have given you the recipe, but you said you don’t really have the time to cook.”

“Or the talent,” Aiden added. She hesitantly took the plastic container, feeling like a husband who was being handed his lovingly prepared lunch at the door before being kissed good-bye. She shook her head at the thought and reached for the door handle. “Thanks. Goodnight.”

* * *

Ray leaned back, put his feet up onto the corner of his desk, and took a bite of his tuna sandwich. “And then this guy looks down and says…” He paused to swallow and to keep his listeners in suspense for a moment longer.

“Uh-huh,” Aiden mumbled.

Irritated, Ray gazed across the desk at his partner. She was sitting behind her own desk, shoveling food into her mouth with one hand while the other leafed through a stack of reports. This had been the third time that she had mm-hm’ed or uh-huh’ed at the wrong point of his tale about the guy two of their colleagues had arrested this morning. “Are you even listening to me?”

Aiden didn’t look up from her food or her reports. “Yeah.”

“Okay, so they’re chasing him up the stairs, and when he has nowhere else to go, he looks down at them…”

“Mm-hm.”

Ray stopped his tale and folded his arms across his chest. “You didn’t hear a word I said, did you, Aiden Carlisle?”

“Sure.”

“So, you did hear that I told you Okada is going to get married again?” Ray asked.

Aiden nodded, head still bent over the reports and her lunch.

“To Kade Matheson,” Ray continued.

The dark head lifted. “What?”

“Ah, that finally woke you up, didn’t it?” Ray threw his crumbled sandwich paper at her.

“Sorry, Ray, it’s just…” Aiden gestured down at her desk.

Ray craned his neck, trying to glance into the bowl she had brought to lunch. “What’s this?”

“I think I should give our friends from narcotics a call because you’re practically inhaling that stuff, whatever it is,” Ruben commented from his desk.

“I think our dear colleague is holding out on us, my friends,” Okada threw in. “She won’t even share a small sample of her lunch with us.”

“It’s ‘serve and protect,’ not ‘share and protect,’ guys,” Aiden mumbled around a mouthful of rice and chicken.

Ruben peeked into Aiden’s bowl on his way to the coffeepot. “Is that home-cooked?”

“Are you dating a chef or something like that?” Okada asked.

Every cop who had ever been invited into Aiden’s home had seen the impeccably clean kitchen, and those who had been invited to stay for lunch or dinner knew the kitchen was so spotless because it didn’t see much action. Therefore, Okada’s suggestion that someone must have prepared the home-cooked meal for Aiden made a lot of sense to Ray. But unlike Okada, he knew that there was no chef in the picture.

Ray wasn’t sure whether Ruben and Okada knew that Aiden’s romantic interest wasn’t confined to men. He had heard rumors that Ruben’s brother was gay and that one of Okada’s many ex-wives was now living with a woman, but even if that was true, he had no idea how his two colleagues felt about homosexuality.

“Aiden…” Ray directed a concerned glance at her. Aiden had only been interested in two women lately, and both were completely inappropriate partners. Having an affair with either a victim or their Deputy DA could be devastating for Aiden’s career. He looked around and lowered his voice, making sure that their conversation couldn’t be overheard. “Is there any chance that this lovingly prepared meal was cooked by someone you really shouldn’t exchange recipes or anything else with?”

Finally, Aiden set down the empty bowl. “It’s not what you think. This was just leftovers from a thank-you dinner.”

“Okay.” Ray had no choice but to trust his partner’s word. “But if you ever want to talk about it…”

Aiden nodded and stood, grabbing a stack of files. “I’ll know where to find you.”

CHAPTER 11

DAWN’S INDEX finger hovered over her phone before she reluctantly pressed the button for the last digit. Holding her breath, she listened to the phone ring. Maybe I should wait until Monday. I bet she works too much as it is. She doesn’t need me to interrupt her at home on the weekend.

She lifted the phone away from her ear to end the call, but before she could do it, Aiden’s indistinct voice came from the receiver. The phone almost slipped from her hands before she held it to her ear again.

“Hello?” Aiden’s impatient voice came again.

There was no way back now. “Hi, Detective,” Dawn said. “It’s Dawn Kinsley.”

“Hey, Dawn. What can I do for you?” Aiden seemed surprised but still willing to help Dawn with whatever she needed.

Dawn took a deep breath. I can’t do this over the phone. She shook her head at herself. This was a bad idea. “Um…”

“Dawn? Hey, everything all right?” Aiden’s voice went from surprised to concerned.

“I’m fine,” Dawn said quickly. “I just… There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Yes?”

“On Monday,” Dawn added. “This is not something I want to discuss on the phone.”

Aiden was silent for a moment. “Do you want me to come over?” she asked.

“No, Monday is fine,” Dawn said. “I don’t want to interrupt your weekend.”

“Dawn, you wouldn’t have called if this wasn’t important. You’re not interrupting anything of importance. I’m just lazing around, reading a little. I can leave anytime. Or you could come to my place,” Aiden offered.

Dawn only hesitated a few more seconds. If she was honest, she didn’t want to wait until Monday to get this off her chest. “If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

“Then I’ll come over,” Dawn decided. She didn’t want to interrupt Aiden’s weekend any more than necessary by having her drive halfway across the city.

“Do you still remember where I live, or do you need directions?” Aiden asked.

“I’ll find it.”

“Then I’ll see you soon,” Aiden said and ended the phone call before Dawn could change her opinion.

Half an hour later, Dawn parked her car in Aiden’s neighborhood. She was searching for the right words to say to Aiden while she got out of her car and walked down the street. She quickened her stride, crossing to the other side of the street when a black-haired man came a little too close for her comfort. Since the rape, she felt as if she couldn’t trust her instincts or judgment where people were concerned anymore and had to think of every stranger as a possible attacker. She could no longer allow herself the luxury of being careless.

She stopped in front of Aiden’s apartment building and, after a quick glance back over her shoulder, started searching for the right buzzer. She lifted her index finger, but then hesitated one last time.

Dawn jumped when the door to the apartment building suddenly opened. An older man exited and held the door open for her. Feeling as though her decision had been made for her, Dawn ducked past the man and climbed the stairs.

After a few seconds of yet another internal debate, she finally knocked on the door.

The door swung open without delay. “Hi.” Aiden smiled down at her. “Come in.”

Dawn followed her into the apartment. She looked around, glad to postpone an explanation for another minute or two. The apartment was as neat as it had been the last time she had seen it. She didn’t see a TV set, and there were no signs of any hobby Aiden might have. To Dawn, it was painfully obvious that this was the home of a workaholic. The only personal object was a framed photograph of Aiden with an older woman. The woman’s blond hair, blue eyes, and her facial features didn’t resemble Aiden much, but Dawn had a feeling that this was Aiden’s mother. Aiden probably looked like her father, Dawn assumed but couldn’t find a photograph of him.

Aiden threw the Afghan from the couch and gestured for Dawn to sit down. Dawn noticed that she was barefoot and held a forgotten book in her hand. She tilted Aiden’s hand to read the title and then raised an eyebrow. “Not getting enough crime at work, Detective?” she tried to hide her nervousness behind a joke.

Aiden shrugged. “Well, I can’t really relate to romance novels, and this one is very well written. Can I offer you a cup of tea?”

“No, thanks. I don’t want to interrupt you for long,” Dawn answered.

“So what is it that you didn’t want to discuss on the phone?” Aiden asked, sitting down in an easy chair across from Dawn.

“I busied myself with cleaning my office while I can’t see patients and… maybe I’m paranoid and just imagining things, but…” Dawn took a deep breath. “I came across a file of a patient whose story resembles mine.”

“Resembles it how?” The amber eyes were now fixed on Dawn’s. “I know you said that you wouldn’t disclose patient confidentialities, but -“

“It’s okay, Detective,” Dawn said. “I’ve just spoken to that particular patient, and she released me from my duty to maintain confidentiality.”

Aiden nodded. “Good. So, what are the parallels between her case and yours?”

Dawn hesitated.

“I know it can be hard to talk about the details of -“

“It’s not that,” Dawn said. What she had to tell Aiden had nothing to do with the details of her rape. She trusted Aiden, had trusted her from the very first moment and still did even when her trust in other people had been thoroughly shaken. Something about Aiden Carlisle made her feel safe. She didn’t really fear Aiden’s reaction; she had the feeling that Aiden would understand. But her revelation would interrupt the status quo they had, and that was one of the reasons that made her hesitate. “Detective… Aiden… perhaps I should have told you before, it’s just… I didn’t think that it had any bearings on the case.”

“What?” Finally, after much rambling from Dawn, even the ever-patient Detective Carlisle had enough. “Just tell me, please.”

Dawn took a deep breath. “I’m gay.”

Aiden just blinked.

Dawn stared at her in concern, suddenly unsure if she had misjudged Aiden so badly.

“You… you’re gay? Are you sure?” was the first thing the surprised detective managed to say.

Dawn had to laugh. “Yes, Detective, I am sure; trust me.” She saw Aiden’s gaze. “I know, I know… I’ve been married, right?” Dawn voiced the unspoken question. “But that’s not a guarantee for heterosexuality, is it? It was one of the many problems in our marriage.”

Aiden nodded in understanding.

“So, you’re okay with it… with me?” Dawn asked.

“Of course,” Aiden said, not missing a beat. “It would be pretty hypocritical of me if I wasn’t.”

Dawn had suspected that Aiden might be gay or bi when they first met but had immediately reprimanded herself for the assumption. Being a confident woman with short hair, a purposeful stride, and a successful career in a typically male job was just a sign of a strength that didn’t depend on any man, not a sign of lesbianism. But the subtle impression had stayed with Dawn when she had met Aiden again in the small grocery store.

Then she had been raped and Aiden had become her lifeline, the one thing linking her to reality in her state of numbness and chaos. All thoughts about Aiden’s sexual orientation - or her own - were gone. All that mattered were Aiden’s compassion and the aura of calm and safety she projected.

Aiden didn’t say anything more on the subject, but it was clear enough to Dawn that she was either a lesbian or bisexual. Dawn was curious. She wanted to know how her private and her professional life mixed and how a lesbian police officer was treated by her peers, but she decided not to ask any personal questions.

She had sensed from the beginning that Aiden felt uncomfortable discussing herself. It hadn’t come as a surprise. From early childhood on, Dawn had known a lot of police officers and had later even counseled some of them. She had found most of them slow to trust and reluctant to reveal personal information. She wasn’t sure if it was their work experience which made them distrust people or if their preexisting emotional reserve and discipline were what made them choose a career in law enforcement and be successful in it.

Perhaps it wasn’t even the cop-typical reluctance to talk about herself that she felt from Aiden, but her attempts to keep a professional distance from the victim in one of her cases. In her interactions with Aiden, she had sensed more than once that Aiden wanted to show her more than a strictly professional compassion and offer her the help of a friend. But the detective had held herself back, afraid to hurt the investigation and reluctant to step out of the familiar role of an officer and interact simply as a human being. Dawn had resigned herself to accepting the limits that Aiden had set for their acquaintance.

Aiden cleared her throat. “Okay, now that we’ve got that all cleared up… you said this had something to do with the case?”

“I’m not sure. Sometimes everything I see and hear seems to be connected to the rape; every little noise in the apartment sounds like someone trying to break in, and every stranger in the street looks like him.” Dawn swallowed against a dry throat and rubbed clammy hands on her jeans. “I’m not sure if I can trust my own judgment, but I’d rather sound like a paranoid fool than risk him never getting caught just because I was too proud or too scared.”

Aiden turned to her, amber eyes sincere. “Just tell me. I promise I won’t think you’re a fool.”

“He… he told her… he told a patient of mine that…” Dawn’s hands started to shake, and she wrapped her arms protectively around herself to hide it. “He hit her and said she shouldn’t just lie there and act as if… as if she didn’t enjoy… being fucked by a real man.” She was fighting for breath now, feeling as if she couldn’t get enough air. For a few seconds, she was back in her old apartment and his weight pressed her into the mattress.

Then she felt a strong, warm hand take her own - a touch so gentle that her body couldn’t mistake it for that of the rapist. Finally, she looked up into compassionate eyes.

“You okay now? Do you want a glass of water?” Aiden asked.

Dawn shook her head. Her mouth was dry, but she didn’t want to lose the safe feeling of Aiden by her side, and she still needed to finish telling her about the parallels between the two cases. “He told me the same thing when he raped me. This patient… she’s a lesbian and so am I. Do you think that’s a coincidence?”

Aiden studied her thoughtfully. “I don’t want to make rash assumptions, and I can’t make any promises without further investigation, but this could very well turn out to be our first solid lead. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me.” The long fingers gently squeezed her hand once more before letting go.

Dawn smiled, grateful that Aiden knew exactly how hard it had been for her - or for any rape survivor - to trust someone enough to make herself vulnerable. She had taken a risk by telling the officer investigating her case that she was gay. Dawn had heard enough stories from gay and lesbian patients to understand why most didn’t out themselves to the doctor doing the rape exam or the investigating detectives. They simply didn’t want to do anything that could rob them of the help they needed after a rape. Some of her lesbian clients had told the ER doctor who asked about their usual form of birth control that they didn’t use any because they were gay. Sometimes their coming out had resulted in an even more awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere during the examination and led to police officers who hadn’t exactly busted a gut trying to solve the case. Dawn was sure that she didn’t need to fear that.

“I’ll need the name and the address of that patient,” Aiden said. “Did she file charges?”

“No, she didn’t call the police. She never even told anyone but her partner,” Dawn said.

“Do you think you can get her to talk to us?”

Dawn shrugged, unsure if she wanted to drag her patient through all the questions she’d had to go through when she had given her statement. “Maybe, but it’s been six years since her rape. The statute of limitations has run out, and I don’t want to make her go through this again if you can’t use it in court anyway.”

“We have to catch him before we can go to court,” Aiden said, “and that’s what your patient can help us with. If this rapist really is targeting lesbians, we need to investigate how he finds out about their sexual orientation. I don’t know your patient, but you, for one, are not exactly a leather-clad dyke with a rainbow bracelet.”

“You’re not stereotyping, are you, Detective?” Dawn teased.

Aiden rubbed her neck. “No, I don’t mean to, but I’m asking myself how he could have known. I’m sure he couldn’t tell just by looking at you.”

“Are you sure?” This was something that Dawn had asked herself over and over again since she had found the patient’s file with the case resembling her own. If she had to think that every stranger in the street could pick her out as a lesbian and attack her because of it, she would never feel safe again. It wasn’t that she felt much safer now, but it was easier to think that her attacker had just picked the first open window he had come to. Windows and doors could be locked to make sure that no one else came in. It was the feeling of being targeted that she couldn’t stand. The thought that someone may have been following her, watching her, and attacking her with no more provocation than who she was just made the violation that much stronger.

Aiden looked at her with compassion. “Even I couldn’t tell if you were a lesbian or not, and I’m supposed to have gaydar,” she said. “How well-known is your sexual orientation?”

“I haven’t made a public announcement or anything, but it’s not a big secret. My mother, my colleagues, and most of my friends know. My ex-husband knows but prefers to ignore it. I’m sure that none of them would discuss my sexual orientation with a stranger.” Everyone Dawn knew accepted her sexual orientation or at least would never hurt her because of it.

“I’ll look into some of our old cases tomorrow,” Aiden promised, “and try to find victims who could have been targeted because of their sexual orientation.”

“Tomorrow’s Sunday,” Dawn reminded.

Aiden shook her head. “Justice doesn’t observe Sundays.”

“Don’t I know that.” Dawn sighed and smiled at the same time as she remembered her childhood. “Sometimes it was as if I was growing up with a single parent. There were times that I didn’t get to see my father all week. With night shifts, overtime, and interrupted holidays, my mom was practically a married single.”

“I always wondered how Ray, my partner, makes it work. He’s married with four kids,” Aiden said.

Dawn tilted her head. She could see Detective Bennet as a family man. “He must have found a way to make the time they spend together count. Maybe he’s good at sharing his work experiences, not excluding her from this important part of his life like most cops do.”

Aiden shook her head but didn’t say anything, clearly unwilling to discuss relationships and what made them work with Dawn.

Yawning, Dawn stood up from the couch. “Okay, I should go now.” Then her gaze fell on the window behind the couch, and she noticed with a sudden start that it had gotten dark outside.

Dawn swallowed. Since the rape, she avoided going out alone at night, but she had forgotten the time, and now she had no choice but to make her way to her car in the dark. She bit her lip when she remembered how far away she’d had to park.

“You look really tired.” Aiden stood up from the couch.

That’s the understatement of the century. For the last three weeks, she had been in a constant state of alert, always on guard. It was physically and mentally exhausting. “I haven’t slept for more than a few hours at a time since the rape,” she admitted. “Being alone in my apartment… or anywhere… at night is really difficult for me.” She felt as if she could be honest and vulnerable with Aiden and didn’t need to put on a show.

“Want me to drive you home?” Aiden offered immediately.

“No, thank you.” In all honesty, Dawn wanted nothing more than to be in the company of someone with whom she felt safe, but she knew how difficult the situation was for Aiden. As much as Aiden wanted to help, she couldn’t do it without risking her objectivity as a police officer. “I think I’ll drive downtown and wake up my mother. I don’t think I can be alone tonight.” Perhaps it didn’t make sense, but now that they had a possible lead and the rapist’s motive, he suddenly appeared to be a more substantial threat than before.

Aiden lingered between Dawn and the front door, visibly debating something with herself. “Stay here tonight.”

Dawn stared at her.

“It doesn’t make sense for you to drive all the way downtown while you’re this exhausted,” Aiden reasoned. “I might think of more questions you need to clarify before I go through old case files tomorrow, and I would hate to wake up your mom by calling early, so you sleeping on my couch would be the logical choice.”

Dawn knew that Aiden was reasoning more with herself than with Dawn. She looked through the window to the darkness outside. Finally, she glanced back at Aiden. “Thank you. I’ll stay if it really doesn’t bother you.”

Aiden shook her head. “I’ll lay out something for you to sleep in. Pajamas okay?”

Dawn nodded. The thought of Detective Aiden Carlisle in her nightclothes seemed almost surreal to her. Look behind the gold shield, she reminded herself. She needs to sleep just like any other human, and she doesn’t always wear her detective clothes. She looked at the faded jeans and the button-down shirt that Aiden was wearing.

Aiden gave her a pair of silk pajamas that looked brand new and pointed her to the bathroom. “There should be a spare toothbrush somewhere in the cupboard.”

Closing the door behind her, Dawn debated with herself whether to lock the door or not. Finally, she decided she didn’t want to insult her hostess by implying that she wouldn’t respect a closed bathroom door or couldn’t protect her from any intruder and left it unlocked. The pajamas were a little too big on her, and with her splinted right index finger, she fumbled with the buttons.

By the time she left the bathroom, Aiden had already moved the coffee table out of the way and made up the couch for her. Aiden, now wearing sweatpants and a tank top, handed her a glass of water. “Do you need anything else?”

Dawn swallowed her pride. “Can we leave one of the lights on?” She hadn’t been able to sleep in total darkness since the rape.

“Sure.” Aiden turned on a lamp sitting at one end of the couch. “Is this one enough?”

Dawn nodded and slipped under the covers. “Goodnight. And thanks.”

“Goodnight.” With one last glance over her shoulder, Aiden walked into the bedroom.

Dawn lay with her eyes open, listening to the little noises in the apartment: the creaking of bed springs, the jingling of some coins when something metallic - Aiden’s watch, Dawn imagined - was dropped on top of them. In her own apartment, every sound tended to scare her, but now they had a soothing quality because she knew they were produced by someone who could protect her.

For a while, Dawn thought she could sleep tonight, but then she really noticed the position of the couch on which she was lying. The bedroom and the living room were practically one big room, but the back of the couch separated them, making it impossible for her to see Aiden. Above her, at the head end of the couch, was a window, and she was looking directly at the front door. Suddenly, she had the feeling of being trapped between two possible entryways into the apartment.

Trying to calm down, she reached for the book Aiden had forgotten on the coffee table. She knew the book, had only read it a month before and knew it was good, but it couldn’t capture her attention now. She almost didn’t feel like the woman who had read the book just four weeks ago.

“Hey, everything okay?” Aiden said from the bedroom. “Can’t sleep?”

Dawn sat up. “Maybe I should just drive home.”

“What?” A few seconds later, Aiden was kneeling down in the space between the coffee table and the couch. “Why? Aren’t you comfortable here?”

“No… yes… it’s…” Dawn pointed between the door and the window at either end of the couch.

“Ah.” Aiden rubbed her neck as she seemed to understand that Dawn felt like easy prey between the two entry points into the apartment. “Why don’t you sleep in the bed? I’ll take the couch, and believe me, I won’t even let a housefly pass through to the bedroom.”

Dawn shook her head. “I can’t make you sleep on the couch.”

“Most nights I just stumble into the apartment and crash on the couch, anyway. I’ve slept out here hundreds of times before,” Aiden said. “Come on.”

Reluctantly, Dawn rose and followed her into the bedroom.

Aiden took the cordless and her cell phone from the nightstand. “Do you want fresh linens?”

Dawn shook her head and wished her a “good night” again. Slipping under the still warm covers, she exhaled and relaxed. The bed was in the corner of the room that was farthest away from the front door, which Aiden was blocking from any intruders. A small bedside lamp lit up the room around Dawn.

The pillow she laid her head on was obviously Aiden’s own, and she inhaled the soothing scent deeply. For the first time in three weeks, Dawn felt safe enough to close her eyes without sheer exhaustion forcing her.

* * *

Aiden lay in the semi-darkness of her living room, listening to the deep breathing of her surprise guest.

Internally, she had berated herself for her offer to let Dawn sleep over as soon as she had made it. She could only imagine what Ray or the rest of her colleagues would say when she told them that a victim had stayed at her apartment overnight. But when she listened to Dawn’s peaceful breathing, knowing it was the first good night’s sleep she had gotten in weeks, it was hard to regret her decision.

So Aiden was lying awake, scolding herself, and watching over Dawn’s sleeping form. She tried to keep her thoughts on the investigative steps she would take tomorrow, but her mind kept wandering back to Dawn’s revelation. She still couldn’t believe that Dawn Kinsley, the woman who had caught her eye from the first moment she saw her, was gay. That doesn’t change anything. She remains just as unattainable for you. She’s a rape victim, and she needs the professional Detective Carlisle, not the infatuated Aiden.

A sudden scream from the bedroom interrupted her brooding thoughts. With a curse, Aiden threw the covers off and raced to Dawn’s side. The blankets were twisted around Dawn, practically tying her to the bed. She tossed around wildly and woke with a cry just as Aiden reached her. Tears ran down Dawn’s cheeks as she blinked up at Aiden. Her breath was coming way too fast, and Aiden could see her pulse hammering in the carotid artery at the side of her neck. Dawn looked around like a scared animal, needing a few seconds to remember where and with whom she was.

Aiden looked down at the frightened woman, hesitant to hold or touch her without any indication from Dawn that such comfort was welcome. “Hey, it’s just me. No one’s going to hurt you here. Were you dreaming?” she asked as she sat on the side of bed, careful to leave some space between herself and her panicked guest.

“Nightmare,” Dawn rasped.

Aiden couldn’t watch her suffer bravely without offering comfort. Not wanting to frighten her with an unexpected touch, she decided to ask for permission. “Want a hug?”

Dawn didn’t answer, at least not verbally. Her silent tears turned into sobs as she threw her arms around Aiden and buried her face against her neck, finally letting the tears fall without trying to be strong and brave.

Aiden held her carefully as though she would hurt Dawn by holding on tighter.

“I can’t stop thinking about it,” Dawn whispered against Aiden’s skin. “My thoughts are going in circles even when I sleep.”

“It’s okay.” Aiden stroked the blond head. “Just relax and breathe now. It’s all right; you’re okay. Nothing can hurt you now.” She knew that she couldn’t offer more of a comfort. The rape had been real, and its effects would probably last for quite some time, maybe even forever.

Finally, Dawn’s sobs quieted, and the tears dried on her cheeks. “Sorry.” She moved away from Aiden’s soothing embrace; only one hand remained in contact with Aiden’s arm. “I didn’t intend to go all weepy on you again.”

“You’re allowed to ‘get weepy,’” Aiden emphasized. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You wouldn’t think of a crying client as weepy, would you? Why do you hold yourself to a different standard?”

Dawn sniffled. “Maybe I’m just not ready to accept what has happened to me and to think of myself as a victim.”

“Then think of yourself as a survivor,” Aiden suggested.

“You’re really, really good at your job. Has anyone ever told you that?” Dawn dabbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her pajamas.

“Sure, my partner tells me every time he wants me to question a witness or a suspect he can’t stand,” Aiden joked, trying to hide the fact that this, being here with Dawn, was not just a job for her. “Do you want to stay up for a while or try to go back to sleep?”

Dawn brushed a few damp strands of hair from her face and looked up at Aiden. “Well, that depends…”

Aiden swallowed hard. Oh, please, please, please, don’t let her ask me to sleep in the bed with her to keep the nightmares away. I can’t seem to say no to her, and I want to help her, but I really can’t do that! “Depends on what?” she asked cautiously.

“On whether or not you have ice cream in your freezer, Detective.”

And that was how Detective Aiden Carlisle found herself sitting on her couch, eating ice cream at three a.m.

* * *

Aiden tiptoed into the bedroom. She smiled and leaned against one wall for a moment, watching Dawn sleep.

Dawn was sprawled across the length of her bed, not rolled up into a frightened little ball as she had been last night. Sunlight danced across creamy skin and blond hair, making it shine like gold. For the first time in weeks, Dawn looked totally at peace.

It had been years since Aiden had watched another person sleep. She hadn’t been celibate by any means over the last few years, but she never stayed in bed long enough to watch her bed partners sleep. Usually, she preferred to slip out of bed and out of their lives as soon as possible. Now, although she had shared nothing but a pint of ice cream with Dawn, she wanted to stay and make her breakfast.

She had decided that she would forgo her usual Sunday morning run because she didn’t want Dawn to wake up alone in the unfamiliar apartment. So, bringing back pastries, croissants, and rolls from the bakery down the street was out of the question. Aiden tiptoed back into the kitchen and searched her cupboards and the fridge for breakfast ingredients.

“Morning.”

Aiden jumped, startled by the sudden voice behind her, and slammed her head against the refrigerator door. Rubbing her head, she turned and regarded Dawn, who had already changed into the pair of snug-fitting low-rise jeans from last night. Aiden had secretly decided that she liked seeing Dawn in jeans almost better than seeing her in elegant skirt suits. “Hey, up already? I hope I didn’t wake you?”

“Not at all. I’m surprised I slept as long as I did. Sorry for surprising you,” Dawn said, indicating Aiden’s head.

Aiden gave her a grin. “No harm done,” she said. “Ray always says my head’s the thickest part of me.”

Dawn smiled and studied the things Aiden had arranged on a tray. “Are you making breakfast?”

“Don’t sound so skeptical, please,” Aiden demanded with a smile. “I’ll let you know I can make breakfast with the best of them. It’s not considered cooking, so you’re in no danger of food poisoning.”

Laughing, Dawn helped her set the table. “You’re an only child, aren’t you?”

“You know that from the way I like my eggs or what?” Aiden looked at her in amazement.

“No, I know it from the way you set down the cornflakes within easy reach of me. When I grew up, I had to grab the cereals first or risk having to watch my brother eating the last of them. To this day, I tend to keep the cereal box on my side of the table,” Dawn explained with a self-ironic grin.

Growing up not only without sisters or brothers but also without cousins or friends that spent a lot of time at her home, Aiden had never really understood sibling rivalry. She had often regretted not having a sibling. But who knows, she thought with a bitter smile, maybe I just don’t know about them. Maybe there’s a litter of offspring that bastard fathered somewhere out there. “You and your brother, were you close?”

“Brian was five years older than me, so I got on his last nerve when he was a teenager and I would follow him around like a puppy, but other than that, we were close, yes.” Dawn sighed. “Sometimes, I’d give everything to be able to see him now, to see the man he would have become. He was only twenty-three when he died and in some respects still very much a kid.”

Aiden counted quickly. God, she lost her father and her brother within one or two years. “Did he…?” She stopped and looked down into the pan in which their scrambled eggs were frying.

“…die while he was on duty?” Dawn continued for her and nodded. “He was shot when he and his partner ran after some drug dealers. Brian loved being a cop, and he threw himself enthusiastically into every patrol, every investigation, and every drug raid. Even after Dad’s death, he never considered that he could die doing his job, too. It was very hard on my mom.”

And on you. Aiden decided to change the topic when Dawn fell silent. She sprinkled a little salt and pepper across the eggs and put equal parts of them onto the two plates.

Dawn smiled when a cup was set in front of her from which the tag of a tea bag was dangling. She put the orange juice back into the refrigerator before they both sat down.

Aiden had never liked to share her morning routine with anyone. Except for Ray, she hadn’t looked across a breakfast table at another person in years, but now she found that she didn’t mind Dawn’s presence in her home in the least.

Despite telling her about her brother’s death, Dawn was smiling this morning, obviously not one of those people who wouldn’t even exchange a halfway polite greeting before their second cup of coffee. Nothing reminded Aiden of the sobbing woman who had clung to her in desperation just last night. In the light of day, Dawn appeared to be strong and full of life.

The smile vanished from Dawn’s face when Aiden set a plate with eggs, bacon, and toast in front of her. Dawn stumbled from the table and disappeared into the bathroom.

Aiden skeptically tried a forkful of her scrambled eggs. “Hey, they’re not that bad,” she defended, shaking her head. She wrinkled her brow when she heard Dawn gagging and retching behind the bathroom door.

Abandoning her own food, she crossed the room to lean against the bathroom door. “Dawn? Are you sick?”

It took a few moments for Dawn to answer. “I… I’ll be out in a second.” Her voice sounded shaky.

Aiden waited a second, then a minute. Still, Dawn was in the bathroom, not saying a word. Only occasional gagging and heaving could be heard. “Dawn?” Aiden knocked on the door to announce herself. “I’m coming in, okay?”

“No!” Dawn protested. “Stay out there. I don’t want you to always have to take care of me. I’ll be fine in a second.”

“Dawn…” Aiden shook her head with frustrated helplessness. “Cut the macho superhero routine, please. It’s reserved strictly for cops.”

“Stay out,” Dawn repeated weakly. “I don’t want you to see me like this.”

Aiden hesitated, but then another round of retching started behind the bathroom door. When she opened the door, Dawn was kneeling on the bathroom tiles, holding on to the toilet with trembling hands. Her skin was ghostly pale and glistening with cold sweat.

Hastily, Aiden ran water over a washcloth and handed it to Dawn while she gently brushed back limp strands of hair from her face. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner that you didn’t feel well?”

Dawn shuddered, obviously fighting against another bout of nausea. “I didn’t. I was perfectly fine until I smelled the bacon or the eggs or something.” She wiped her mouth and stood.

Concerned, Aiden watched as she stood on legs that were still a little shaky. Not wanting to take the risk of Dawn falling and hitting her head in the small bathroom, she wrapped a supporting arm around her and tried to lead her out of the bathroom.

“Wait,” Dawn protested. “I’d like to brush my teeth first.”

“Oh. Of course.” Aiden quickly let go of her. “Want me to wait outside?”

“If you don’t mind. I promise I’ll be fine on my own,” Dawn said when she saw Aiden’s concerned glance.

Aiden stepped outside and waited right next to the door. When Dawn emerged from the bathroom, she led her to the couch, away from the smell of food. She spread the Afghan across Dawn’s lap and retrieved her cup of tea for her. “Better now?” she asked when she knelt down in front of her.

“Yes, thank you.” Dawn leaned back, still a little pale.

“Do you think you could eat a little? I can make you something else if you want,” Aiden offered.

Dawn swallowed. “No. I think my stomach is too upset right now. But you should have breakfast.” She pointed to the table where Aiden’s breakfast was getting cold.

“Later.” Aiden studied her in concern. “Seems like all those stressful things we talked about last night and this morning were a little too much for your stomach, huh?”

“Maybe,” Dawn said vaguely. She didn’t seem to believe in the explanation Aiden had offered.

What is it then? Aiden wondered. Can’t be my cooking. No one’s ever gotten sick before taking a bite of it. Suddenly, her eyes widened when another common cause of queasiness and throwing up occurred to her. “Dawn…” She looked at her in alarm.

Dawn bit her lip. Tears shone in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. “I don’t know how it’s possible. Well, I know how… but… you know what I mean. I think I might be pregnant.”

Aiden took a deep breath. She forced herself to be objective and to hide any of her personal feelings. “Pregnancy in spite of taking emergency contraceptives is not very likely, but it’s still possible. You didn’t do a pregnancy test?”

Dawn shook her head. “I stalled since I missed my period last week. I didn’t have the courage to do the test. I don’t know what I would do if I’m really pregnant.” She looked at Aiden as if searching for an answer.

Almost a little panicky now, Aiden shook her head. She could feel a dull throb developing and pinched the bridge of her nose in a futile attempt to ward it off. This was quickly becoming more than she could handle, and she could only imagine what it must be like for Dawn. She was determined to make things easier for Dawn, but this was one decision she couldn’t make for her. “I told you before; I’m not the best person to ask. No one who was conceived through rape can ever be objective when it comes to such a decision.”

“What?” Dawn sat up on the couch.

“I said no one who was -“

Dawn wildly shook her head. “I heard you the first time. Do you mean to say that you’re… your mother was raped and…” Dawn seemed to be speechless.

Aiden furrowed her brow. “You didn’t know?”

“No!”

Now, Aiden was confused. “But you asked me to speak to your group, remember? The one with the women who’ve gotten pregnant through rape.”

“I asked you to speak to the group because you’re one of the very few women working with the Sexual Assault Detail,” Dawn explained. “I knew the women in the group would feel more comfortable talking with you than with one of your male colleagues. I wanted them to meet someone who has to deal with rape every day of her life and can still relate to people with compassion.”

Aiden rubbed the back of her neck. “I thought you knew.”

Dawn rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why people always think psychologists are mind readers. I’d just met you when I asked you to speak to the group; how could I have known such a personal thing about you?”

If Aiden thought about it, it was a really stupid assumption, but when confronted with this particular issue, she tended not to think, too busy with building walls to protect herself. “You wouldn’t have told me about your possible pregnancy if you’d known about… the way I was conceived, would you?” she asked with sudden insight.

“I don’t know. I didn’t plan on telling anyone until I’d made a decision.” Dawn pinched the bridge of her nose, unconsciously mirroring Aiden’s earlier action, and looked down at the carpet. “I love kids, and I’ve always known that I’d have at least one someday, but I imagined having a loving co-parent and not… this… this whole situation.” She closed her eyes.

Aiden nodded in understanding. “I can’t make that decision for you, but I’ll support you, no matter what you decide to do.”

Dawn’s gray-green eyes searched Aiden’s own. “You’d hold my hand in the waiting room of an abortion clinic if that’s what I wanted?”

“Of course,” Aiden said without hesitation. “Just because I was conceived through rape doesn’t necessarily mean that I’d make the same decision my mother made all those years ago. I don’t know what I’d decide. But if anyone knows how hard it can be to bring up a child being aware every day that it was his or her father who brutally raped you, it’s me. I saw the effect it had on my mother.” She sighed and looked down at her watch. “I really have to go now if I want to catch my partner before he leaves for the kids’ baseball game. Are you okay on your own?”

Dawn nodded and set her empty cup down, preparing to leave with Aiden.

Aiden rose and started for the bedroom to retrieve her gun and badge. After two steps, she stopped and turned back around. “Call me if you need to talk to someone.”

* * *

Dawn watched as Aiden prepared for her unofficial shift. As she buckled on the holster with her duty weapon and clipped her gold shield to her belt, the soft, almost vulnerable side she had shown Dawn just a few moments before seemed to disappear. The detective’s face was a picture of concentration. She was already planning her investigations.

Dawn’s gaze never left Aiden as her long legs crossed the room with a confident stride, one strong hand reaching for her car keys while the other grabbed the ever-present leather jacket.

There was no doubt in Dawn’s mind that Aiden Carlisle was a good detective, a wonderful friend, and an amazing person. How could any mother not be proud and love a child like her, regardless of how she came to be? Then she shook her head, reprimanding herself for judging Aiden’s mother. Tell me you wouldn’t feel conflicted if you have a child and he or she grows up to be the spitting image of their father even if only physically. How would you handle seeing the face of a man you hate on your own child every day?

Still deep in thought, she followed Aiden to the door. And if you decide to have an abortion, how would you handle the thought of violating your body again, killing an innocent child? A child who may have had the potential to grow up into a compassionate person, someone who helps and protects people instead of hurting them? Someone as wonderful as Aiden Carlisle?

Aiden held the door open for her. Side by side, they made their way to the elevator. “Come on, my car’s right here,” Aiden said when they left the apartment building. “Where did you park yours? I’ll give you a lift over there.”

Dawn nodded and slipped into the passenger seat, glad not to be left alone with her thoughts for another few minutes. She knew she’d have a lot of thinking to do in the very near future.

“There it is,” Aiden said when she detected Dawn’s small car down the street. She stopped next to it and turned off her ignition.

Dawn turned to her, reluctant to just say “see you” and slip out of the car after everything Aiden had done for her, after the way she had held her after her nightmare and had taken care of her while she battled nausea.

She had intended for it to be just a quick hug good-bye, a little squeeze around the shoulders to show how grateful she was. But when she wrapped her arms around Aiden and smelled the mixture of leather and Aiden’s perfume, a scent she had come to associate with comfort and safety, the embrace lasted longer than appropriate between mere acquaintances. After a few moments, Dawn felt the strong muscles of Aiden’s shoulders move uncomfortably under her hands.

A little embarrassed, Dawn pulled back and reached for the door. “Be careful,” she said and got out of the car. When she closed the door behind her, it occurred to her that there was now another cop in her life that she had to worry about.

CHAPTER 12

WHEN RAY BENNET entered the squad room on Monday morning, an unexpected sight greeted him. “I could have sworn it was a stack of unfinished reports I left on my desk Saturday, but now it seems to have morphed into my sleeping partner.”

“It will take you months to get the drool marks sleeping beauty left behind off of your desk,” Okada predicted.

Ruben looked down at their colleague, who was sprawled across the files, reports, and photos she had laid out on Ray’s desk while her own desk was covered with crime scene photos. “What’s she doing here this early?”

“I assume she’s indulging in every detective’s favorite hobby: becoming overly involved in one of our cases,” Okada commented sarcastically.

Ruben nodded. “Wanna bet she spent the weekend scaring the cleaning ladies when they came in to clean up all the doughnut crumbs around your desk, Jeff?”

“They’re not just doughnut crumbs, my friend. They’re directional devices I use to find my way back to my apartment after our usual marathon shifts,” Okada defended his sweet tooth.

Ray studied his sleeping partner. “She tried to call me yesterday and left a message on my answering machine that we may have a break in the Kinsley case, but it was already too late to call her back when we returned from visiting the in-laws.”

“The Kinsley case,” Okada repeated. “I may have been blowing smoke before but on a more serious note, she really is throwing herself into that case.”

Ray shrugged as casually as he could manage. He knew that Okada was right, but he didn’t want to betray his partner’s confidence. “Oh, come on, this is Aiden we’re talking about. It’s almost normal for her. I’d start to worry if she didn’t become overly involved in one of her cases every now and then. We all do.” Only this time, it isn’t just the case she’s becoming overly involved with, and that’s the problem, he silently added.

Aiden stirred, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. “Huh?” She blinked in the bright lights of the squad room and looked up at the three men surrounding her. “What time is it?”

“It’s seven thirty.” Ray sat down at Aiden’s desk and swung his feet up onto the corner. “I didn’t get your message until midnight. There’s a break in the case? A DNA match on another rape?”

“No.” Aiden stretched, combing through her short, slightly curly hair with one hand while the other was busy organizing the stacks of files on the two desks. “I don’t think this is as random as we first thought. I think we’re dealing with a hate crime here.”

“Hate crime?” Ray rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and picked up some of the files. “You mean he picked Dawn… he picks all his victims because they’re… gay?” He looked at his partner doubtfully. Isn’t that just wishful thinking on your part, Aiden?

Apparently, Aiden could read the unvoiced question in his eyes. “It was Dawn who pointed out the parallels between her case and that of one of her patients. They’re both lesbians, and the perp told them not to, and I quote, ‘act as if they didn’t enjoy being fucked by a real man.’”

“And you think there are more than just those two cases, or is this an early spring cleaning?” Okada asked, pointing to all the files.

Aiden smiled and rubbed the back of her neck, which was stiff after falling asleep at the desk. “I’ve searched for lesbian rape victims, but that’s not as easy as it sounds. Many of them never call 911, and even if they do, they’re hesitant to come out to the detectives working the case.”

“So we’ll never know if there might be other victims with the same MO,” Okada said.

“You really think I’d spend the whole night in here only to come up empty?” Aiden shook her head. “I had to dig through a whole lot of reports, and I went through hundreds of crime scene photos, but eventually I found two other women who are either lesbians or have very eclectic reading interests.” She pointed to pictures of chaotic crime scenes. Books, magazines, and other objects were scattered across the floor just as it had been in Dawn’s apartment.

Ray studied the photographs. “Could be the same MO, but what makes you so sure the victims are lesbians?”

“This,” Aiden held up a crime scene photo and pointed to one of the objects the rapist had vented his rage on, “is a lesbian magazine. And this victim,” she lifted the other file, “had three dozen books in her bookcase that you would never find in your grandmother’s collection, including The Joys of Lesbian Sex.”

Ray clapped her lightly on the back. “Well done, partner.” They both knew that discovering the motive and background of the crimes could be instrumental in leading them to the perp. He noticed that none of the other detectives asked Aiden about her vast knowledge of lesbian literature, simply accepting that she would know about such a thing.

“So we have a total of four cases with a number of similarities.” Aiden looked down at her notepad. “One, the victim’s a lesbian or bisexual and in her twenties or early thirties. Two, the perp breaks into the apartment at night, always between three and four a.m. Three, the perp’s always described as tall, dark-haired, and muscular. And four, he never wears a condom.”

“What about DNA evidence?” Ray asked hopefully. “We could at least prove that these cases are linked to each other.”

Aiden sighed. “No, we can’t. Dawn’s patient never reported the rape, and the statute of limitations ran out last year. Victim number two, Melanie Riggs, hesitated a week before calling us, and Jayne Matthews took a shower, so no DNA evidence from any of them.”

Dr. Albert Renshaw entered the squad room and headed directly toward the detectives. “You called me about a case?”

“Yes.” Aiden handed the files to the forensic psychiatrist. “I think you should have a look at these. We’ve discovered three other cases that seem to be connected to Dawn Kinsley’s.”

Renshaw read quietly, never even blinking an eye when he read about the victims’ sexual orientation. “Seems like you found the reason why his attacks appeared somehow personal,” he said when he looked up from the files. “We’re dealing with a rapist who’s expressing his hatred against lesbians through this kind of violence. That’s why he never uses a condom. He wants them to experience his masculinity. In his mind, he’s showing them how good ‘sex’ is with a man so that they can understand what they really need and repent their ‘unnatural ways.’” Renshaw tapped the files he still held. “You’re searching for a man who has been abandoned or rejected by a lesbian.”

“Maybe a former girlfriend left him for a woman?” Ray suggested.

Renshaw tilted his head. “That’s a possibility, but if that was the case, he’d be more likely to simply take his revenge and his anger out on that specific woman instead of transferring it to other lesbians. Unless she humiliated him in public.”

Ruben grinned. “By standing him up at the altar or something like that?”

“Perhaps.” Renshaw shrugged. “But maybe we’re looking at something deeper here. It’s more likely that he faced repeated or more profound rejection in some form. Something happened that made him hate lesbians. He’s hunting these women.” The psychiatrist studied the files again and scratched his beard. “Were all the victims single?”

Ray looked at his partner, who shrugged, “Uh, I think Dr. Kinsley is. I’m not sure about the others. Does it matter?”

“It might. I think he might be targeting single, white lesbians in their twenties and thirties,” Renshaw answered.

“Why singles? Does he fantasize about starting a relationship with them?” Ray wondered.

Renshaw shook his head. “To him, a single lesbian is a threat, more likely than a lesbian couple to take something away from him. He’s clearly a power-reassurance rapist - he rapes to assert power over his victims and to reassure himself of his masculinity.”

“So he is likely to rape again?” Aiden asked.

Renshaw nodded and handed her the files. “Yes. And he will escalate if we don’t stop him. If the rape doesn’t live up to his fantasies, he’ll get frustrated. He’ll get more violent. Sooner or later, he could end up killing someone, especially if the victim tries to resist.”

Aiden’s grip around the files tightened. What if Dawn had tried to fight him off?

“Any suggestions how we can find this nutcase?” Okada asked. “We can’t very well question every man who’s ever been given the old heave-ho because of another woman.”

“He has probably committed some minor hate crimes - spraying homophobic slogans on front doors, harassment, assault - before he advanced to rape,” Renshaw suggested.

Ray shook his head. “Even if he has, it’s next to impossible to find him that way. Most of the victims of hate crimes never file charges.”

Renshaw nodded in agreement. “He knows that most victims of hate crimes hesitate to call the police, and he exploits that. That’s why he can take the chance and leave his DNA behind. I’m sure he never thought Ms. Kinsley would report the rape so soon after it happened, if at all.”

“How do we find him?” Aiden asked.

“You need to find his hunting grounds,” Renshaw said. “None of the victims remember meeting him before, so they didn’t tell him their sexual orientation. There has to be a place where he sees them and can conclude their sexual orientation just from them being there… maybe a lesbian club, bar, or bookstore.”

Ruben scratched the back of his neck. “That’s a lot of places. We can’t take them all under surveillance.”

“Then start with the clubs and bars,” Renshaw suggested. “Bookstores don’t give him the time or opportunity to observe the victims and their interaction with other women. It’s either a mixed gay/straight place or he works there; otherwise his continued presence would raise some red flags.”

Aiden twirled her pen through her fingers. “Dawn said in her formal statement that she had come home late that night. Maybe she was out in a lesbian nightclub or something.”

“Call her,” Ray ordered. “We’ll try to reach the other two victims.”

* * *

Grace Kinsley didn’t ask why Aiden was calling or how she had known that she would find Dawn in her mother’s home.

“Could I talk to Dawn, or is she lying down?” Aiden asked, careful not to reveal how sick Dawn had been Sunday morning in case she hadn’t told her mother about her possible pregnancy yet.

“Lying down?” Grace laughed. “No, she’s up and running around my kitchen like a whirling dervish. I think she was even able to sleep a little the last few nights.”

Aiden held her breath for a moment, waiting for further comments, but they didn’t come. Apparently, Dawn hadn’t told her mother where she had slept Saturday night.

“Here she is now.” Grace gave the phone to her daughter.

“Detective?” Dawn sounded out of breath from “running around the kitchen,” Aiden assumed.

“Hi,” Aiden said, hesitant to interrupt Dawn’s good mood. “How are you?”

“A lot better,” Dawn said. It sounded sincere. “And officially not pregnant. My doctor said it was probably just all this stress and tension I’ve been under and the emergency contraceptives that threw my cycle off and upset my stomach.”

Aiden almost dropped the phone. She hadn’t been prepared for that particular personal revelation. “Wow! That’s… good news, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Dawn’s voice was a whisper. “I think it is. It spared me from having to make a decision that I really didn’t feel up to making.”

Aiden cleared her throat, not knowing what else she should say on the topic. “Listen, there’s something I need to ask you. You said that you had been out and came home late that Saturday night. Was it by any chance a lesbian club or bar you’d been to?”

“Yes. How did you know? Do you have a new lead? Do you know who…?”

“Calm down,” Aiden ordered, not unsympathetic to Dawn’s excitement. She felt her own adrenaline rising at the thought of catching the perp. “You know I can’t talk to you about the specifics of the case. We’ll tell you when we know for sure, okay? Now, can you give me the address of that club?”

* * *

Aiden leaned back in the passenger seat of the unmarked police car, sipping her coffee and watching the people in front of the club.

“How are we going to play this?” Ray asked from the driver’s seat. “Looks like it’s not a mixed gay/straight club, so I can’t go in undercover.” They had only seen women heading into the club. “Or do you think I could pass as a lesbian?” Ray fluffed his short, frizzy hair and grinned.

Aiden backhanded him across the chest. “No, you can’t, smart-ass. But maybe I could if I try hard enough, huh?” She winked.

Ray laughed. “Who’s the smart-ass now?”

“How about you flash the badge at the back door and ask to talk to the manager while I stand in line like a good little lesbian and keep an eye on any man I encounter in there?” Aiden suggested.

Ray hesitated. “I don’t like this, Aiden. If you go in there as a customer, you could become a target.” His dark eyes looked at her in concern.

“And if I go in there as a cop, we won’t get the answers we’re after,” Aiden said. “Besides, him coming after me might be a good thing. At least it’ll give us a reason to arrest him without a warrant.”

“Okay.” Ray sighed and checked his weapon one last time. “We’ll do it your way.”

Aiden waited until he had crossed the parking lot and disappeared behind the building before she got out of the car. She strolled toward the front door and joined the back of the line. She looked around as she waited, pressing her right elbow against the gun hidden under her half-open leather jacket so no one in the waiting crowd could detect or try to grab it. Through the open door, she could see into the club. The blinding strobe lights that flashed across the large dance floor and a thick wall of smoke made it hard to see clearly, but she could tell that it was already crowded inside. Aiden was a little concerned about that.

She was almost sure now that the rapist had spotted Dawn and the other victims here. The smoke and beer Dawn had smelled on him told her that the rapist had been in the club, perhaps as one of the male bartenders she could detect behind the three bars covering the walls.

Aiden had reached the front of the line and glanced up in disbelief when the bouncer asked for some form of ID. She hadn’t gotten carded in many years. No one could mistake her for a twenty-year-old.

“You’re holding up the line, lady,” the bouncer pressed.

Aiden looked up into the annoyed face and froze. In front of her stood the man who had raped Dawn Kinsley and at least three other women. There was no doubt in Aiden’s mind. The police sketch artist couldn’t have gotten his picture any better if he had sat for his portrait. Dawn had described him to the last little detail like the scars on his chin and above one eyebrow. The bouncer! Of course! He cards them to get their addresses. That way, he doesn’t even have to follow them but can wait until the club closes and his shift ends.

“Hey! If you don’t want in, step aside!” he barked at her.

Aiden hesitated but knew she couldn’t arrest him without an arrest warrant and without her partner as a backup. She mumbled something about forgetting her ID and returned to the car.

Ray came back five minutes later. “Aiden!” he hissed when she leaned across and opened the driver’s side door for him. “Where have you been? I thought you wanted to look around?”

“One look was all I needed,” Aiden answered. “We have the bastard, Ray!” She pointed to the only male figure in front of the club.

“The bouncer?” Ray’s eyes widened. He looked down at the papers he had in his hands. “When I told the manager we could come back with a bunch of uniformed officers to search his club and interview his customers, he was friendly enough to give me a list of his employees. The bouncer’s name is…” Ray looked down at the document. “…Gary Ballard.”

Aiden reached for her cell phone and pressed the speed dial for Kade Matheson’s home. “Kade? Hi, it’s Aiden. Sorry to interrupt you at home, but we need an arrest warrant. Right now would be great.”

“On whom?” Kade wanted to know.

Aiden looked down at the club’s payroll Ray held out for her. “One Gary - or Garett - Ballard. He’s the man who raped Dawn Kinsley and three other women, probably more.”

“Allegedly raped,” Kade corrected.

Aiden was not in the mood for political correctness. “Yes, he allegedly broke into their homes, allegedly held them down at gun point, and allegedly raped them. Come on, Kade. I know he did it. I’m looking at him right now. He matches the police sketch to a T, and he works as a bouncer in the club all the victims frequented, so he had easy access to their addresses.”

“Okay.” Kade had worked with Aiden and her partner long enough to trust their word and know they had probable cause for a warrant. “I’ll go and make myself unpopular with one of the judges and then meet you at that club.”

Relieved, Aiden gave her the address. “Kade is on her way with a warrant,” she said when she put down her cell phone.

They sat in the car without speaking, never letting the suspect out of their sight. It was a very long hour until Kade arrived and handed Aiden the folded blue document.

Trading one last quick glance with her partner, Aiden unsnapped the catch on her holster and strode toward the club’s entrance again, this time without patiently standing in line first.

When the bouncer saw her coming, he smirked. “Finally found the ID, huh?”

“Yes, in fact I did. Good enough for you?” With a sneer that matched the bouncer’s, Aiden opened her leather jacket wider to reveal the gold shield now clipped to her belt. “Garett Ballard, you are under arrest for -“

“Bitch!”

The fist that connected with her face interrupted Aiden before she could read him his Miranda rights.

“Hey!” Ray sprang forward, drawing his gun. “Don’t move! Hands above your head! Aiden, you okay?”

“Yeah.” Aiden regained her balance and pulled her gun from its holster, aiming it at Gary Ballard. For a second, she almost wished he would attack her again and give her a reason to use it.

“Put your hands on the wall!” Ray patted down their suspect and drew a gun from the back of Ballard’s jeans.

“A Glock?” Aiden asked, touching the left side of her face. It hurt, but she was determined not to give Gary Ballard the satisfaction of letting it show.

Ray shook his head and pocketed the weapon. “SIG Sauer.” He snapped his handcuffs around Ballard’s wrists, but Ballard continued to struggle, hitting Ray in the stomach with his bound hands. Grunting, Ray tightened the cuffs and grabbed Ballard’s arms to hold him still. “Wanna try again for the Miranda, now that we have Mr. Ballard’s undivided attention?”

Aiden nodded. Her jaw hurt, but she wouldn’t miss this for all the pain in the world. “Garett Ballard, you are under arrest for the rape of Dawn Kinsley, Melanie Riggs, and Jayne Matthews. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney and to have that attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights?”

Gary Ballard spat in her direction.

“Looks like he does,” Ray commented and dragged him toward the car.

* * *

Aiden was sitting on the steps leading to the Portland Community College’s sports hall where Dawn’s self-defense course was being held.

Finally, the door opened and a stream of women filed out of the building. Dawn was the last one out, one hand holding on to the strap of the backpack she had slung over her shoulder while the other gesticulated to the two women to whom she was talking.

Dawn quickly said good-bye to her companions when she saw Aiden sitting there. “Hi,” she greeted, surprise clearly written on her face. “Are you waiting for me?” She sat down on the steps next to Aiden.

Aiden nodded. “Your mother said I’d find you here. How’s the self-defense class going?”

“Great. I think it’ll really help. I’ve even forced myself to leave the house after dark. It’s -” Dawn stopped when she got her first good look at Aiden’s face. “Oh my God! What happened to you? Maybe you should go right in and sign up for a refresher course.” Dawn’s joke couldn’t hide the concern in her eyes. Her gaze wandered up and down Aiden’s body as if searching for more injuries. She reached out a hand to touch Aiden’s face, which was swollen and discolored around the left side of her jaw.

Aiden grabbed the hand before it could reach her face, held it for a few moments, and then awkwardly let go. She wasn’t sure how she’d react to Dawn’s touch, and this was not the time to find out. “It’s nothing.”

Dawn rolled her eyes. “Standard police answer for everything from a paper cut to a chest wound.”

Aiden smiled through her hurting jaw. “I’m fine, really.” She was silent for a few moments, not knowing how to start. “Dawn, we arrested someone tonight.”

“What?” Dawn grabbed Aiden’s forearm. Her whole body seemed to vibrate. “You caught him? Are you sure it’s him?”

“Easy, easy.” Gently, Aiden pried Dawn’s fingers from her arm, surprised by the unexpected strength of the slender fingers. “I can’t tell you that. You have to tell us. If I influenced you in any way, the lineup would be inadmissible in court.”

“Another lineup.” Dawn bit her lip.

“Yes.”

Dawn looked up at her. “For the last time?”

Aiden laughed. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you asking me if it’s him only in different words.”

Dawn smiled ruefully and stood. “I can’t get anything past you, can I? Okay, let’s get it over with.”

* * *

Ray leaned against the edge of the table, crossing his arms as he waited for the six men in the lineup to be led into the adjoining room. Normally, he would have stepped up to the one-way mirror to flank Dawn on the side his partner didn’t occupy. But as he read this victim’s body language, he saw that with Aiden by her side Dawn was as comfortable as she could be being only one room away from the man suspected of raping her.

He looked at Aiden, reading her protective stance as easily as he would his own in a mirror. What is it between those two? Ray wondered. He had seen his partner show a total disinterest in women - and men - who had been more attractive, wealthier, and a whole lot less complicated than Dawn Kinsley.

Ray’s thoughts were interrupted when a police officer opened the door to the adjoining room and six men filed into the room. “Do you recognize any of these men?” Ray asked when they had all taken their positions.

Dawn didn’t even hesitate for a second. “Number four.”

Bingo! Ray directed a triumphant smile at the defense attorney Gary Ballard had immediately hired. “Where do you recognize him from?”

“He’s the man who broke into my apartment and raped me,” Dawn said clearly. Her gaze never wavered, never turned away from the one-way glass.

While the other two victims hadn’t been as sure, Ray knew that this positive identification was above reproach.

Kade nodded in the direction of Dawn and the detectives before she turned on her heels and strode out of the room, tossing a “See you at the arraignment, Mr. D’Aquino” over her shoulder.

The defense lawyer grimaced and followed her out of the room.

Dawn turned away from the one-way glass. “I picked the right one, didn’t I? It’s him.”

Aiden nodded.

Dawn sank down onto the edge of the table. “What now?” she looked up at the detectives with green eyes that held equal parts relief and fear.

“Now you go home and let us worry about burying him in evidence.” Aiden directed her to the door with one hand lightly resting on her elbow. “You can sleep tonight, knowing that he’s enjoying our hospitality.”

CHAPTER 13

AIDEN STARED AT the man sitting at the small table across from her. They had been at this for hours, but still no confession from Gary Ballard. His lawyer was earning his money by sitting there and studying the interrogation room’s walls with feigned interest.

“So, let me sum up the vast information your client has given us in the last four hours: he’s as innocent as a newborn babe,” Aiden said, getting impatient with the relaxed suspect.

“Got that right, Officer.” Gary Ballard flashed a smile at her.

Ray, who had leaned against the wall behind Ballard, stepped forward and leaned over his shoulder. “It’s Detective, but I guess that’s really hard for you to remember seeing as how you couldn’t even remember ever meeting Dawn Kinsley, Melanie Riggs, or Jayne Matthews. Maybe the results of the DNA test we’re running on your blood sample will refresh your memory, huh?”

Gary Ballard shrugged coolly. “Maybe I did meet them; maybe I didn’t. Never heard their names, though. You know how it is with one-night stands; you don’t stay around long enough to learn the life story.”

One-night stands? For a few seconds, Aiden couldn’t hear anything else Ballard said; the blood was rushing through her ears too loudly. She clenched her teeth until her jaw began to hurt again.

In the adjacent observation room, Dr. Albert Renshaw stepped back from the one-way mirror and shook his head. “He’s not going to give us anything. Not like this.”

Kade, who was watching the interview next to him, nodded in agreement. It didn’t take a degree in psychology to see that the interrogation was going nowhere. “Should I tell my detectives not to waste their time with him?”

“No.” Renshaw turned and looked into Kade’s eyes. It always amused her a little that he had to look up to do so, and she wondered if there was a Freudian complex that matched the situation. “I want you to go in there,” Renshaw said.

“Me?” Kade was skeptical. “If two experienced detectives can’t get him to agree on the time of day, I hardly think that I’ll scare him into talking.”

Renshaw just smiled. “It’s not fear I’m after; it’s anger and hate, which seem to be his most dominant emotions. He’s confident and cocky, but he’s not dumb. He won’t give us anything as long as he’s able to control his anger. We know it’s there; just think about the way he hit his victims and destroyed every symbol of lesbianism in sight. His anger is always lurking just beneath the surface. We only have to trigger it and get him to lash out, like he did at Detective Carlisle when she arrested him.”

Kade had to admit that it sounded reasonable. If Ballard lost his cool, maybe he would let some details slip that she could use against him in court. “How do we do that? Short of going in there and slapping him in the face, what can I do to provoke his anger?”

A grim smile formed on the psychiatrist’s lips. “You have to grab him by the balls.”

“I hope you mean that in a figurative sense,” Kade murmured.

“You have to hit him in his weak spot and reject his manhood, his masculinity,” Renshaw said. “His motive, the whole reason why he commits those rapes, is the urgent need to validate his masculinity and to prove his superiority.”

Kade shrugged. “Why is that so urgent for him?”

“Not only does he hate lesbians, I suspect that deep inside, he fears that he might have inherited the ‘gay gene’ from his mother,” Renshaw said.

“His mother?” Kade didn’t understand about what he was talking.

Dr. Renshaw nodded and handed over a slim file.

Kade quickly opened it and skimmed the report. “His mother is a lesbian?”

Renshaw nodded. “Yes, but for a long time, she didn’t live openly gay, so Ballard might secretly be afraid that there’s a latent homosexuality in him, too. He has to have total control over a woman, a homosexual woman, to counter these fears,” Renshaw said. “If you take away that control, his superiority, he has to do something to reestablish it.”

“How do I do that?”

Renshaw ticked it off on his fingers. “First, you send Ray out of the room - and don’t be nice about it Order him around as though men are inferior.”

Kade grinned. “No problem. I can do that. What’s next?”

“You ignore Ballard for as long as you can get away with it,” Renshaw said.

Kade raised an eyebrow. “What do I do instead? There aren’t exactly a lot of distractions in there.” She pointed to the bare, sterile interrogation room.

“Detective Carlisle is in there,” Renshaw said, his baby blue eyes twinkling over the rim of his glasses. “You pay attention to her - only her. Look at her; smile at her; touch her. Give Ballard the impression that you’re more than colleagues. He can’t stand it if two women only have eyes for each other and don’t spare him even a fleeting glance. If you ignore him in favor of a woman, especially a woman he thinks might be a lesbian, he has to do something to get your attention.”

Kade stared at him for a moment, but she had to admit that his plan certainly seemed logical. “Shouldn’t we explain the plan to Detective Carlisle first if we expect her to play the role of my lesbian lover?”

The psychiatrist just grinned. “No, that would grant Ballard a breather that we don’t want to give him. I’m sure Detective Carlisle is experienced enough to play the game and improvise if you give her the right cues.”

“Okay, let’s do it.” Kade squared her shoulders and strode out of the room.

* * *

Aiden glanced up when the door opened and Kade entered without a knock.

The DDA didn’t look at Ballard or his lawyer. She gave Ray a curt nod. “You’re needed elsewhere, Detective,” she told him in the condescending tone that was normally reserved for low-life criminals, “doing something more important than this.” She pointed at Ballard, and her facial expression seemed to add “like scraping chewing gum off the underside of your desk.”

Ray lived with five females; he knew when it was safer for him to leave the room.

Aiden had just started to speculate about the source of Kade’s bad mood when the DDA turned to her. A warm smile lit up Kade’s features. “Hi, Aiden.” Her voice was an intimate purr, and she threw back her red hair in a gesture that was pure seduction.

Aiden? Aiden knew that Kade rarely called her by her first name. She watched with growing astonishment as Kade perched on the edge of the table directly in front of her, turning her back on Ballard and his lawyer. Aiden’s eyes were involuntarily drawn downward to the long, slender legs when the suit skirt slid up and revealed more of them than usual.

Instead of addressing Ballard, Kade leaned forward, her body almost touching Aiden’s, and began to chat. “So, Aiden, how have you been since this morning?”

Since this morning? Kade knew as well as she did that they hadn’t seen each other that morning. Puzzled by the DDA’s behavior, she studied her face and the twinkling blue eyes. What the hell is going on here, Kade? Then her gaze fell on Ballard, and suddenly, she understood what Kade was trying to do.

For the first time since his arrest, Garett Ballard’s face showed something other than cool arrogance. His eyes were glowing with an almost unnatural rage.

“Sadly, the day didn’t continue as exciting as it began, Counselor,” Aiden answered. She let her voice caress the last word, making it sound like a lover’s pet name. “Just sitting around, wasting my time listening to a bragging liar.”

Kade half turned toward Ballard as if noticing him for the first time. Her cool gaze slid up and down his body and then turned back to Aiden, dismissing him. “What’s he lying and bragging about?” she asked Aiden as if Ballard weren’t sitting right there.

“He’s claiming to have slept with three lesbians.”

Again, Kade turned. She looked at Ballard with a pitying smile. “I can hardly believe he slept with three women in his life, much less three lesbians.”

Ballard sprang up. His chair clattered to the floor. “You fucking dykes! I should -“

Aiden started to rise, but Victor D’Aquino, his lawyer, was already dragging Ballard back from the table and the two women behind it.

“Get your hands off me!” Ballard towered angrily over his attorney. “I’m going to show -“

“Garett! Don’t say another word! Sit down, and don’t open your mouth again, no matter what they say. They’re only trying to provoke you.” He straightened the chair and sat the red-faced, glowering Ballard onto it.

Shit! Aiden traded disappointed glances with Kade. They both knew that his lawyer had successfully prevented Ballard from incriminating himself. They wouldn’t get anything else out of him now. It might not have been a total waste, though. There was still the trial to think about, and if Garett Ballard could be provoked once, they could do it again.

A knock on the door got Aiden’s attention. Roughly, she pushed her chair back from the table, signaling Kade to leave the room with her.

Ray slipped past them into the interrogation room, determined to try another tactic.

Out in the hallway, Aiden drew a few deep breaths.

Jeff Okada studied her silently. “Mr. Ballard still exercising his Fifth Amendment rights?”

“For the most part.” Aiden nodded grimly. “He’s a smart little bastard. He’s denying he knew their names or addresses but admits a remote possibility that they may have been ‘one-night stands,’ just in case DNA results come back positive. Got anything from the lab?”

“Fresh from the press.” Okada held up a piece of paper as they headed toward the squad room. “Ballard’s blood sample is a perfect match to the semen from the rape kit done on Dawn Kinsley. And the prints found in her apartment are his, too.”

Aiden nodded in satisfaction. While that didn’t disprove his allegations of a one-night stand, it was a start, making it impossible for him to deny any knowledge of the victims. “Anything on the Glock? Does he have a concealed handgun license for it?”

“No license, no signs of the Glock,” Okada said.

“No Glock? Damn.”

Kade’s heels echoed down the hallway as she caught up with them. “No worries, Detectives,” she said. She showed them her sharklike lawyer smile. “That’ll give us a reason to search for it in his apartment.”

Aiden looked up hopefully. “We have enough for a search warrant, right?”

“With the DNA match, a positive identification in a lineup, plus motive and access, we have enough for Judge Gilmartin to offer to search the apartment himself,” Kade emphasized.

Aiden smiled. “No, thanks, I think I’d rather do it myself. His signature will suffice.”

Ray came out of the interrogation room.

“Did he cop to anything?” Aiden asked.

“No, I just left to petition the pope to confer sainthood on Mr. Ballard since he’s such an innocent,” Ray commented dryly.

Chuckling, Aiden shook her head. “Canonization will have to wait; we have an apartment to search. Kade said she can get us a warrant for Ballard’s apartment.”

“Can I talk to you for a second?” Ray pointed over his shoulder, farther down the hallway, where they would have more privacy.

Aiden followed him. She frowned at him, impatient to get going and search Ballard’s apartment. “What is it?”

“Why don’t you take a nap in the dungeon and let Jeff and Ruben search Ballard’s apartment?” Ray suggested, nodding toward the small room that they sometimes used to catch an hour of sleep during long shifts.

“What?” Aiden turned so she was facing him fully, going into confrontation mode. “What is this crap, Ray? I don’t need a nap, not when we’re this close to -“

“What you’re this close to is either a breakdown or a complaint in your personnel file.” Ray stared at her. “You haven’t really slept since Sunday, and it’s not only the lack of sleep that’s affecting you. You’re emotionally involved in this case.”

Aiden fixed him with an angry glare. “Now wait a minute, Bennet! If memory serves me correctly, it was you who told me just a few weeks ago that it was okay if I got to know Dawn. It was you who told me not to give it up.”

“Yes.” Ray nodded calmly. “I did tell you that because I could see that there was only one person who could help Dawn through this, but there’s more than one person who’s able to search his apartment.”

Aiden ground her teeth. She knew he was right but was loath to admit it and leave this case in anyone else’s hands.

“Aiden,” Ray said, a lot gentler now, “I know you never behaved improperly toward Dawn, but you and she… You’ve become friends, and if the defense attorney learns about that, he’ll try to use it against us. Even the appearance of impropriety could hurt the case, you know that.”

“Okay, okay.” Aiden rubbed her neck and sighed. “I’ll stay out of it.”

Ray nodded and turned to inform Okada of the change in plans.

“Ray?” Aiden called, waiting until she looked into her partner’s compassionate eyes. “Thanks for looking out for me.”

He smiled. “Hey, that’s what partners are for: reminding you to sleep, eat your vegetables, and keep a healthy emotional distance.”

“Well,” Aiden returned the smile and caught up with him, “two out of three ain’t bad.”

CHAPTER 14

“NEXT CASE.”

Aiden slipped into the courtroom where the arraignments were held just as Judge Stenton banged his gavel. Dawn’s case was number fifteen on today’s docket, and Aiden had timed it so that she arrived just before the case was called. She wanted to seek out one of the free seats in the back row of the courtroom, but Kade waved her to the front.

“Sit in the first row, please,” Kade whispered to her. “Can’t hurt for Judge Stenton to see the gigantic bruise on your jaw.”

Aiden grimaced, but then had to smile. “Thanks a lot for the compassion, Counselor.”

Kade shrugged. “I’ve got no choice but to use what I have.”

“Bad news?” Aiden furrowed her brow.

“Okada did a background check on Ballard. Seems his grandparents left him a nice amount of money. If I can’t get Stenton to decide on remand, he’ll be out before lunch. Unfortunately, Stenton likes to release defendants on their own recognizance or set minimum bail,” Kade told her.

Shit. Aiden turned her head, pointing her colorful jaw in the judge’s direction. “The grandparents?”

“Looks like they disinherited their daughter when she left the family to move in with her female lover,” Kade said.

Aiden raised a brow. “So, Renshaw was right, huh? At least in part. It wasn’t a girlfriend but his mother who left him for a woman.”

“Docket number 79608, the People versus Garett Ballard,” the bailiff called out, interrupting their conversation. “The charges are three counts rape in the first degree, three counts possession of stolen property, one count unlawful possession of a firearm, one count resisting arrest, and two counts of assaulting a public safety officer.”

Kade is going after him with both barrels. Aiden smiled. The search of Ballard’s apartment had brought to light not only a Glock 17 but also various bracelets, key-ring pendants, and pins with symbols of lesbianism that Ballard had taken away from his victims as trophies.

“Victor D’Aquino for the Defense, Your Honor,” the defense attorney announced.

Kade stood when an officer led Ballard in front of the judge. “Kadence Matheson, representing the People.”

“Is the defendant ready to enter a plea?” Judge Stenton asked.

Ballard’s lawyer nodded. “Yes. Not guilty on all counts, Your Honor.”

The judge turned toward Kade. “Recommendations on bail, Ms. Matheson?”

“Your Honor, the People request remand,” Kade said with a stern expression. “The defendant has no significant ties to the community, and we just learned that he has the financial means to flee the jurisdiction of this court. The risk of flight is blatant.”

“If it pleases the court, we ask that the defendant be released on his own recognizance,” Victor D’Aquino objected. “My client has no prior criminal convictions; he’s lived in the area for the last six years and holds down a steady job. He’s not a flight risk.”

“A job which provides him with continuing access to his victims,” Kade pointed out.

The defense attorney raised his index finger. “Alleged victims. Your Honor, my client has a spotless record, not even a traffic ticket!”

“Your client isn’t charged with a parking offense!” Kade countered. “The defendant has brutally raped and beaten at least three women.”

“My client is a first time offender. Remand is ridiculous.”

Judge Stenton nodded. “Hold your horses, Mr. D’Aquino. While I’m loath to order remand on all cases other than homicides, I must agree with Ms. Matheson that the defendant does pose a flight risk. Bail is set at two hundred thousand dollars, payable in cash or bond.” He raised his gavel.

“Your Honor,” Kade interjected, “the People request no contact as a condition of bail.”

Stenton looked down at his files. “So ordered. Mr. Ballard, you cannot have any form of contact with Ms. Riggs, Ms. Matthews, or Ms. Kinsley. That includes in person, by phone, by letter, or through a third party. In addition, for the duration of this trial, you will no longer be an employee of the Rainbows club. If you violate this order, I’ll be very happy to revoke your bail. Is that understood?”

While an almost bored looking Gary Ballard just shrugged, his lawyer answered for him, “Yes, Your Honor.”

“Next case.” The gavel banged, and the court clerk began to read out the next charges.

Aiden slipped from the room and waited outside until Kade had shouldered her briefcase.

“Sorry,” Kade said when she caught up with the detective, “I had a feeling Stenton would deny remand. At least we’ve gotten him away from the club, so he can’t scout for new victims there.”

Aiden suppressed a sigh. She wasn’t looking forward to telling Dawn that her rapist had been set free for the time being. “Good thinking on the no-contact order,” she tried to console the DDA. Not that it’ll do us any good. A man who brutally attacks and rapes defenseless women is not very likely to be impressed with a simple court order. Hmm. Maybe I can get the lieutenant to assign a protective detail to Dawn and the others.

“Ms. Matheson?” Victor D’Aquino, the defense attorney, called from behind them. “One minute of your time, please. I’d like to discuss a deal.”

Aiden watched as Kade stepped away from her and began to talk to Ballard’s lawyer. A deal? Kade, no! No deal for this bastard!

“I’m not interested in a plea bargain, Mr. D’Aquino.”

Yes! Aiden resisted the sudden urge to stick out her tongue at the defense attorney.

“Come on, Counselor, spare the taxpayers the expense of a trial, yourself the public humiliation of a loss, and the alleged victims the cross-exam. It’s a he said/she said on the rapes, and you know I’ll take them apart on the stand,” D’Aquino threatened. “You’ve got no eyewitnesses, no prior record, and no confession. You’ve got nothing.”

Aiden felt her throat constrict at the thought of Dawn being mercilessly questioned on the witness stand, having to relive the rape again and again. Maybe a deal isn’t such a bad idea after all.

“I wouldn’t call DNA evidence ‘nothing,’ Mr. D’Aquino,” Kade said coolly.

The defense attorney shrugged. “My client admits he had sexual relations with Ms. Kinsley - it was consensual. So, how about a deal?”

Consensual? Yeah, right. Lying bastard! Aiden changed her opinion on a deal again.

“You want a deal, Mr. D’Aquino? Here’s a deal for you: he pleads to the rapes and the assault, and I’ll drop the other charges,” Kade offered.

“That’s laughable, Ms. Matheson. The other charges are mere misdemeanors. Take the felonies off the table,” D’Aquino demanded.

Kade held his gaze. “I could charge your client with a hate crime since he selected his victims based on their sexual orientation. That would add another five years to his sentence.”

Victor D’Aquino hesitated. “Sexual misconduct, he does six months.”

“Sexual misconduct? You mean he’s admitting he did something wrong? No deal, Mr. D’Aquino. Garett Ballard is a menace to this city, and I’m going to put him behind bars. See you in court.” Kade strode away without another word.

Aiden grinned and watched Kade stride away. I think that was the Kade Matheson version of “Kiss my ass”!

“Hey, Aiden!” Ray climbed the stairs to the court building just as Aiden walked out the front entrance. “Arraignment over already? How’d it go?”

“Stenton was handling arraignments today,” Aiden answered.

They began to make their way back to the Justice Center, walking the two blocks side by side. “Damn. That means Ballard’s out on bail, doesn’t it?”

Aiden nodded. “Afraid so. The judge issued a no-contact order, but we all know that this won’t impress a law-abiding citizen like Mr. Ballard.”

Ray stopped for a moment and studied her. “You’re worried about Dawn, huh?”

“I’m worried about all of them,” Aiden emphasized, “Ms. Matthews and Ms. Riggs, too.”

Ray smiled. “Don’t bother to hide it. I know that you worry about Dawn most of all.”

“She’s the one who’s most endangered since she’s not only his most recent victim but the only one who could indisputably ID him and the only one we have any DNA on,” Aiden told Ray, and herself, in an attempt to make her worries sound professional and logical. “If Ballard can prevent her from testifying and we have to rely on the others, the case will be pretty shaky.”

“So, what are we gonna do?”

Aiden smiled at him, grateful for the support the simple “we” showed. “Maybe we can get the lieutenant to detail a few uniforms or two detectives to watch Dawn’s building at night.”

* * *

“Forget it, you two,” Astrid Swenson said with vigor. The stocky blonde leaned back in her desk chair and looked at her detectives with a steely expression.

Ray had already expected this answer, but his partner didn’t seem ready to give up.

Aiden stepped closer to Swenson’s desk. “But Lieutenant, Ms. Kinsley -“

“I know that she would sleep better at night if she had a unit at her front door; we all would, but I can’t spare the people,” the lieutenant said. “Most of my people are already doing maximum overtime - including you.”

“If we could just put one unit on her for a few nights…” Aiden tried again.

Lieutenant Swenson shook her head. “Ms. Kinsley is in no concrete danger. Ballard didn’t threaten her in any way. He doesn’t even know her new address.” She looked between her two detectives and then fixed her gaze on Aiden. “Is there something going on here that I’m not aware of? What’s so special about this case when you have three dozen others waiting for you? Ms. Kinsley isn’t a friend of yours or something, is she?”

Aiden’s shoulders drooped. “No, not really,” she mumbled.

That’s not a lie, Ray thought, but it sure as hell isn’t the truth either.

Swenson seemed to sense it, too. The gaze of her blue-gray eyes drilled through Aiden.

Sometimes, Ray was equally astonished and impressed that their lieutenant always knew what went on in her squad room even when she spent most of her time in her own office.

“Aiden, I don’t want anything to compromise this case. There can be no conflicts of interest,” Swenson warned. “I like for my detectives to show some zeal and compassion for the victims, but you can’t hurt your credibility by becoming too emotionally involved.”

I know that, Aiden knows that, but at this point, does she really have a choice? Ray wondered. If she tries to distance herself from Dawn, it would rob Dawn of what little safety she has at the moment. She would be insecure, confused, maybe even angry. It could affect her testimony and hurt the case as badly as any further involvement Aiden has with her.

“I met Ms. Kinsley, and while I’m sure she would make a good friend,” Swenson continued, making Ray wonder if she suspected the true nature of Aiden’s interest in Dawn Kinsley, “there are plenty of other fish in the sea.”

Yes, there are, Ray thought. Problem is, it’s this little goldfish that she likes, not some other scaly creature.

Aiden pressed her lips together. “Come on, Ray, let’s go back to work. There are three dozen other cases waiting.”

* * *

“Want me to call her?” Ray offered.

Aiden looked away from the phone on her desk. She knew exactly whom her partner meant. “Nice of you to offer, but I think I’ll do it myself.”

“Okay.” Ray wandered off in the direction of the coffee machine to give Aiden some privacy.

Aiden glanced at her watch. She should be back from having lunch with her mother, and it’s still two hours until self-defense class starts. She grabbed the phone and then stopped and shook her head at herself when she became aware of the fact that she already knew Dawn’s daily routine by heart. Shoving the unwelcome revelation back into the deepest recesses of her mind, she dialed Dawn’s new home number. “Hey, Dawn, it’s -“

“I know your voice by now, Detective,” Dawn interrupted. Aiden imagined, from the sound of her voice, that Dawn was smiling. “How are you?”

“Um…” Aiden was thrown off balance by Dawn’s friendliness, not prepared for the simple question when all she was thinking about was how she could tell Dawn that her rapist was free again without scaring her to death. “I’m fine,” she finally managed to say. “How are you?”

“Hanging in there, telling myself that it’ll all be over soon - at least the trial part of it,” Dawn answered.

“Yeah… about that, Dawn…” Aiden rubbed the back of her neck. “Ballard was arraigned this morning.”

Dawn exhaled. It sounded like a sigh of relief. “Good.”

“Not entirely, I’m afraid.” Aiden hated to bust her bubble. “There are enough charges to put him away for a long, long time if we win, but we had a little bad luck with the arraignment judge. He set him free on bail.”

“He’s free?” Dawn repeated. Disbelief colored her voice.

Aiden had to clear her throat. “Yes.”

“But he’s the right one this time. I’m sure of it. I’ll swear on a stack of Bibles that he’s the one who raped me.”

“I know it’s him. No one is doubting your identification,” Aiden soothed. “But the judge at arraignment doesn’t decide over guilt or innocence, he just makes the decision about bail. Listen, why don’t you think about leaving the city until the trial starts?”

There was a moment of silence at the other end of the line. “No. I won’t run away. Ballard has already taken away enough of my life; I won’t let him interrupt it again.”

Aiden could understand that. “Okay, but how about moving in with your mother for a few days?”

“No.”

Aiden sighed. “Dawn, we don’t have the resources to protect you should he try to find you.”

“I suppose I could stay at my mother’s for a while, but she won’t even be home until the day after tomorrow. She’s in Spokane because my grandmother’s in the hospital,” Dawn said.

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Aiden didn’t know what to say. She was unaccustomed to family emergencies because it had always been just her mother and her.

“It’s nothing too bad,” Dawn said. “She’ll be back at her beloved poker night in no time.”

Aiden had to smile as a picture of an older version of Dawn appeared before her mind’s eye. “I don’t suppose you’d consider staying with your ex for a few days?” He was a police officer, too, and one that wasn’t expected to keep an emotional distance.

“Which one?” Dawn quipped.

“Huh?”

“Which ex?”

Aiden waited a few moments until she was sure she could answer without stuttering. She was curious but didn’t want to think about any other men or women with whom Dawn might have been in a relationship. “Your ex-husband. You’ve only got one of those, haven’t you?”

“One’s more than enough, thank you very much, and no, I won’t stay with him. I still haven’t recovered from living under the same roof with him when we were married,” Dawn joked. “Don’t worry, Detective. I’ll be fine on my own.”

Aiden had no choice but to give up. It seemed they were evenly matched with regard to their stubbornness. “All right, but promise that you’ll call me immediately if you get scared or see something suspicious.”

“I will. Thank you.”

Aiden said good-bye and hung up.

Ray handed her a cup of coffee. “How is she?”

“Stubborn and trying to be brave, but I think she’s pretty scared.”

“The chances that he’ll find her - if he even tries to - are very slim,” Ray tried to comfort her.

Aiden bit her lip. “Any chance at all, even if it’s slim, is too much.”

* * *

Aiden shivered and wrapped her hands tighter around her cup of coffee. The warmth in her car had begun to dissipate long ago, and she didn’t want to call attention to herself by letting the engine run, but at least everything was quiet in Dawn’s neighborhood.

When a tall figure appeared at the end of the street, Aiden put the paper cup down and unclipped her holster. She rested her right hand on the gun as the stranger walked toward her.

She couldn’t see his face in the darkness, but something about the way he moved seemed familiar to Aiden. She shifted a little so that the steering wheel wouldn’t get in the way if she had to draw her gun. Finally, the man stepped under a streetlight, and she could see his face. “Ray!” She let go of her gun and opened the door for him. “What are you doing here?”

Ray strolled up to the car and leaned against the open door. “Same as you, it would seem.”

“Let me guess, you were in the neighborhood and decided to enjoy the view at this lovely little street for a while?” Aiden raised an eyebrow at him.

“Actually, I stopped by to remind you of rule number one.” Ray rounded the car and slid into the passenger seat, setting a thermos full of coffee down on the dashboard.

Aiden gave him a skeptical look. “And that would be?”

“No surveillance without backup,” Ray said seriously. “You’re a cop, not a one-woman army.”

Aiden looked down at the steering wheel. She knew he was right. “I didn’t want to drag you into this. You won’t get paid for it, and if the lieutenant ever gets wind of this, she’ll probably make us walk the beat and write up parking tickets for the rest of the year.”

The chirping sound of Aiden’s cell phone interrupted whatever Ray was about to say. Giving him a quick glance, she pulled the cell phone from her belt. “Carlisle.”

“Detective? Hi, it’s Dawn Kinsley. I’m really sorry to disturb you, but…”

“Dawn, hi.” Aiden looked up at the still brightly lit window on the fifth floor of the building and tried to imagine what Dawn was doing right now. “Is everything all right?”

“I’m probably just being paranoid, but there’s a car parked right in front of my apartment building. It’s been there for hours. It’s too dark to really see, but I think there’s someone sitting in it, watching the building,” Dawn explained, her hastily spoken words betraying her fear.

Aiden looked around. There was no one sitting in a car, except for her and Ray. “God, I’m sorry!” She groaned. Instead of protecting Dawn, she had scared her even further. “Dawn, you don’t have to be afraid. That’s me.”

“You?”

A figure appeared in the fifth-floor window, and Aiden turned on the light in the car and waved.

“What are you doing in front of my apartment at ten p.m.?” Dawn asked, the fear now replaced with surprise.

Aiden tugged at her bottom lip. “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drive by and make sure everything’s all right,” she tried Ray’s old excuse.

“So, you’ve been ‘driving by’ for two hours, with your engine turned off?” The excuse didn’t work any better for her than it had for Ray.

“Well, with the price of gas, I decided to do a poor man’s drive by instead,” Aiden said, glad that Dawn couldn’t see her blush.

Ray laughed and began to cough when she shot him a glare.

“Come on up,” Dawn invited.

Aiden shook her head even if Dawn couldn’t see it. “No.”

“Come on up, Detective,” Dawn repeated patiently.

“No, really, we’re quite comfortable down here. We even have coffee.” Aiden had bargained with herself to sit in front of Dawn’s apartment building so she could protect her and still keep the emotional distance that was expected of her.

But Dawn was relentless. “I don’t care if you have a whole coffee shop in the car. I want you to come up.”

“Dawn…” Aiden pinched the bridge of her nose.

Ray laughed again. “God, the woman’s more stubborn than my motherin-law. Can you imagine being married to her?”

Aiden could, and that was the problem. She felt so drawn to Dawn that she was in a constant internal debate with herself. She was determined not to cross the line she had always kept between her personal and professional life. She would never allow herself to become involved with Dawn while her case was still open, but sometimes she found herself thinking about the time after the trial was over - and that scared her because she had never planned for the future in any of her relationships with another woman.

“You’re here to keep me safe and make me feel better, right?” Dawn argued when Aiden kept silent.

Aiden slumped against the back of the driver’s seat. She couldn’t deny the obvious. “Yes.”

“Well, I would be safe, and I would feel better if you came up instead of freezing your stubborn ass off down there in the car,” Dawn told her.

Aiden sighed in defeat. “I’m not alone. Ray’s here, too.”

“The more the merrier. Come on up,” Dawn said one last time before she hung up.

Ray grabbed his thermos. “If you’re going up, I think I’ll go home to my own stubborn woman.”

“She’s not my stubborn anything,” Aiden protested sharply.

Ray shrugged. “You won’t need backup while you’re drinking coffee with her, will you?”

Aiden wasn’t sure if he was talking about backup or a chaperone. She rubbed her eyes. “I think I can handle it, Ray. Give my best to Susan and the girls.”

“Will do.” Ray disappeared into the night.

Hesitantly, Aiden crossed the street and was immediately buzzed in when she pressed the buzzer for apartment 5D.

“Come in and thaw out,” Dawn greeted her at the door. “You must be half-frozen.”

“It’s not that bad,” Aiden lied, rubbing her cold hands as she followed Dawn into the apartment. She stopped abruptly when she saw the woman sitting on Dawn’s new couch. “Sorry to interrupt. I didn’t know you had company.” She looked awkwardly from Dawn to the stranger.

“Introduce yourselves while I make coffee,” Dawn ordered and left them alone.

Aiden had seen her fair share of beautiful women in her life, but this stranger definitely made the top five, maybe even topping them all, she decided. The woman had arranged her slender body into a pose of casual elegance on the couch, one long leg crossed over the other. Ebony hair contrasted with startling blue eyes and flowed in carefully coifed waves down to her narrow waist. The stranger was stylishly dressed in a designer skirt suit that Aiden suspected cost more than her entire wardrobe put together.

The woman practically screamed money, style, and Ivy League education - and Aiden should know. She had spent enough time around Kade to recognize the signs. Aiden instantly felt inferior. Hey, what’s up with that, Carlisle? She reprimanded herself. Who told you this was a beauty contest? You’re here to protect Dawn, not to compare your clothes, your looks, or your bank account to some woman who just happens to be in her apartment at this hour of the night.

The stranger stood with graceful movements, extending an elegant hand in Aiden’s direction. “Hello, I’m Maggie Forsyth.” Her voice was soft, almost sensual.

Aiden shook the offered hand, careful not to grip it too hard. “Aiden Carlisle.” Not knowing who the woman was in relation to Dawn made her a little uncomfortable, but their hostess was still busy in the kitchen and obviously in no hurry to clear up the stranger’s role in her life.

“Carlisle?” Maggie Forsyth repeated. “You’re not by any chance related to Robyn Carlisle, the artist?”

The question made Aiden even more uncomfortable, but she didn’t want to be impolite to Dawn’s guest, so she answered, “I’m her daughter.”

“Robyn Carlisle’s daughter…” Maggie looked at her with new respect. “Do you paint, too?”

“No,” Aiden said. She tried but couldn’t keep herself from becoming defensive.

“You sculpt, then?” Maggie asked. Apparently, she couldn’t imagine Robyn Carlisle’s daughter not having any artistic talent whatsoever.

Aiden bit her lip. “No. I’m a detective. Drawing crime scene sketches is as far as my artistic talent goes.”

“Oh.” Maggie seemed almost disappointed.

Yeah, well, she’s not the first. Aiden had always been convinced that her mother had been disappointed to discover she shared none of her talents. Aiden had been disappointed, too, because not being like her mother meant she resembled her father.

“So, you’re the stalker who just scared us to death,” Maggie said with a smile.

“Sorry about that.” Aiden felt herself blush.

“Oh, I don’t mind,” Maggie said. “It’s not like I had a fearless reputation to lose. Dawn called me to keep her company, but I doubt very much that she really expected me to be able to protect her in hand-to-hand combat.”

Kia, Dawn’s Balinese cat, strolled into the living room and circled Aiden’s legs with a welcoming “Mrrrrow” before disappearing into the kitchen. Aiden stared after her in surprise.

“Looks like you know each other rather well,” Maggie commented.

Aiden looked up sharply, not sure if Maggie was talking about the cat or its owner. Just wonderful! She mentally rolled her eyes. Now she thinks I’m Dawn’s live-in girlfriend just because the cat suddenly acts like I’m her long lost mouse-hunting buddy. “She never did that before,” she hastened to say. “The only two times I saw her, she scratched my weapon hand and then proceeded to treat me like an intruder into her territory.”

Maggie smiled. “Cats and women, the two last unsolved mysteries in the universe.”

No woman who doesn’t have to live with one ever thinks women are anything other than perfectly logical and understandable creatures. So, she’s gay? Aiden would have never guessed that. Is she Dawn’s girlfriend or something? Not that I’d care. Yeah, right, Carlisle.

Dawn returned from the kitchen, a cup of coffee in her hands and the cat in tow. “Please, have a seat, Detective.” She handed Aiden the coffee and sat down in her rocking chair, leaving Aiden to sit down next to Maggie. Dawn studied Aiden over the rim of her mug. “Didn’t you just tell me this afternoon that your department doesn’t have the resources to have a protective detail watch my apartment?”

Aiden shrugged as casually as possible. “Some last-minute resource distributions made it possible.”

“Resource distribution?” Dawn repeated. “If your precinct is anything like my dad’s, that means you distributed your time from your private life to more overtime.”

“No overtime,” Aiden promised. She didn’t even have to lie.

Maggie rose from the couch, smoothing invisible wrinkles out of her skirt. “I think I’ll take my leave, now that you have a more suitable protector. Detective.” She nodded at Aiden, who merely nodded back.

Dawn stood and followed her to the door.

The front door lay in full view of the couch, and Aiden couldn’t help watching them say good-bye.

“Will I see you at our exhibit next week?” Maggie asked, one hand resting on Dawn’s arm.

Sounds like Maggie is either the owner of an art gallery or some kind of artist. Almost against her will, Aiden was impressed. She herself didn’t have one artistic bone in her body and not much interest in art.

“I’ll be there,” Dawn promised. She leaned over to give Maggie a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight.”

Aiden quickly looked away when Dawn turned and came back into the living room.

Dawn, however, looked right through her pretended disinterest. “That,” she said, pointing over her shoulder, “was the other ex I mentioned this afternoon.”

Her ex comes over to keep her company? When a man and a woman break up, they usually hate each other’s guts and never want to see each other again. When two women end their relationship, they become part of the big ex-girlfriends network.

“Very lesbian of us, isn’t it?” Dawn laughed, easily guessing Aiden’s thoughts.

It almost scared Aiden how easily Dawn could read her. Didn’t she say psychologists weren’t mind readers? “She seems great,” she commented lamely. Maggie Forsyth was elegant, sophisticated, rich, and completely untouched by all the things that made Aiden lie awake at night. She was everything Aiden was not.

“She is great,” Dawn confirmed. “But we’re better off as friends. We’ve always lived in different worlds, just paying each other’s lives a quick visit instead of really sharing it. Maggie couldn’t relate to my life. She never understood the things that are most important to me.”

Aiden found herself fascinated. She wanted to know about all the things that were important to Dawn but was reluctant to talk about relationships with her at the same time, so she kept silent.

“Maggie didn’t share my love for kids, always making herself scarce when I was babysitting. And she never understood my job.” Dawn shrugged. “It’s not that I don’t know how irritating it can be to have a romantic evening interrupted by the call of an upset patient who needs to see you right then and there, but like it or not, that is - or was - a part of my job, a part of my life.”

Aiden knew exactly what she was talking about. A lot of her dates had been interrupted, never to be picked up again, when she had been called away to a case. Finally, there’s a woman who would understand, and I’m not allowed to really befriend her, much less anything more.

“I liked sharing art, literature, wine-tastings, and haut cuisine with Maggie, but I also like having a hot dog at a baseball game or a beer in the cozy little bar around the corner, and I like ice-skating or romping around the park with my niece.” Dawn shrugged, a little embarrassed. “Nothing special, I know, but I like the simple things in life.”

Sounds like the perfect woman, Aiden mused, but then shoved the thought away. “You have a niece?” she asked instead. “I thought your brother…?”

“Jamie, my niece, was just a baby when Brian died. Now she’s almost ten, going on thirty.” Dawn smiled affectionately. “Brian and Eliza, Jamie’s mom, were never married.”

“Jamie,” Aiden said in sudden recognition. “She’s named after your father, right?”

Dawn nodded. “I always planned to name my first child after Dad, but Brian was quicker than I was. Now, I think I’ll name the first one after my brother - Brian for a boy and Brianna for a girl.”

“Sounds good.” Aiden didn’t know what else to say, being no expert on family naming traditions or family planning. Dawn’s openness regarding her private life astonished her, and she wondered whether Dawn was always so open and willing to share information about herself or whether she had somehow earned a special trust.

“Have you ever thought about having kids?” With unerring precision, Dawn found one of the topics with which Aiden was most uncomfortable.

“Not really,” Aiden said.

Dawn’s blond eyebrows lifted. “No? Something about you tells me you’d be great with kids.”

“Being good with children is part of a sex crimes detective’s job,” Aiden pointed out.

“I’m not talking about the job.” Dawn didn’t accept the cop-out.

Finally, Aiden relented. “I like kids, and under the right circumstances I could see myself living with a child or maybe even more than one.”

The carefully phrased answer couldn’t distract Dawn from what Aiden hadn’t said. “You would like to live with a child but not have one.” It wasn’t a question but a statement.

Aiden shrugged. “I don’t need to give birth to a child to be able to love it.”

Dawn looked at her with her open, attentive gaze.

“I don’t think having a child that’s biologically mine, passing on my genes, is a good idea,” Aiden finally admitted the heart of the matter.

“Why’s that?” Dawn looked her up and down. “From what I can see, your genes are working perfectly fine. No club foot, no hunchback, and no overbite.”

Aiden knew that Dawn was aware of the genes to which she was referring. Dawn seemed to intuitively know everything else about her, why should this be the exception? “You know what I’m talking about.”

“I do.” Dawn didn’t try to deny it. “I once had a patient exactly like you.”

“Exactly like me?” Aiden repeated. Except for the odd suspect here and there, she had never before met anyone else who had been conceived through rape. She had never really wanted to, but now she felt a spark of curiosity.

Dawn smiled a little. “Well, maybe not exactly like you. You’re a pretty unique individual, Detective. I can’t go into detail, but the issue of having children has been the same for him. He didn’t want to pass on the genes of a man he knew nothing about other than that he was a violent rapist.”

“Dawn…” Aiden sighed, not wanting to wade deeper into an emotionally turbulent topic of which they had only just scratched the surface. “I’m sure you’re a wonderful psychotherapist, but I’m not searching for one, and I don’t see why we should talk about any of this.”

Dawn regarded her calmly, but for a moment Aiden thought she could detect something like hurt or disappointment in the gray-green eyes. “I’m not offering you psychotherapy,” Dawn said quietly. “I’m offering simple friendship.”

And I can’t accept the offer, Aiden thought. Not officially, at least not until after the trial. And even then… Aiden had always kept a safe distance from women she found not only physically attractive but who appealed to her on an emotional and intellectual level, too. Dawn was getting maximum points in all three departments, so she normally would have stayed away from her anyway.

Dawn bit her lip when Aiden didn’t answer. “I apologize if I went too far and -“

“No,” Aiden said. As uncomfortable as she was, she didn’t want Dawn to apologize for showing a little interest and friendliness toward her. “No apology necessary. I just don’t like to talk about this and feel like I shouldn’t talk about it with you, anyway.”

“You don’t want me to know about your father because I’ve been raped? Do you think I can’t separate the act through which you were conceived from you as a person?” Dawn looked at her incredulously.

Some days, even Aiden couldn’t think about herself independently from the circumstances of her conception. But now they were back at the topic about which she didn’t want to talk with a psychologist, not even this psychologist.

“You’re nothing like Gary Ballard, and I’m sure you’re nothing like the man who raped your mother.”

The conviction in Dawn’s voice, the sureness in her eyes astonished Aiden. “That’s not the reason why I can’t talk to you about any of this,” she said, her mind reeling with the words Dawn had spoken. “I’m the detective working your case.”

“And that means I’m not allowed to see the person behind the badge?” Dawn asked. “I’m not allowed to be a little curious about her… to like her?”

Aiden’s eyebrows lifted. Do you? Do you like the person you see behind the badge? She wanted to ask but didn’t. “You’re allowed to,” she said instead.

“But you aren’t,” Dawn voiced what Aiden hadn’t said. “You’re not allowed to see me as anything other than a victim… a witness for the prosecution.”

Aiden studied the fine features. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this conversation was like an iceberg - just the tip of it was visible, but there was an enormous subtext lurking just beneath the surface. Was Dawn asking her if she would ever be interested in her when she wasn’t a witness any longer? Or were they still just talking about the possibilities of a friendship?

Angry voices from the staircase interrupted the moment. Aiden stood, crossing the living room while her right hand reached for the gun at her side. She glanced through the peephole and listened for a while. “Just your neighbor and his loving wife exchanging some pleasantries,” she told Dawn.

“They do this every day. Maybe I should offer them some marriage counseling so I can finally have some peace and quiet, huh?” Dawn was being a good sport, not insisting on a topic about which Aiden couldn’t and wouldn’t talk.

Aiden smiled in an effort to help Dawn lighten the mood. “Or maybe you could just sic the cops on them.”

“Speaking of cops… where has your partner disappeared to?” Dawn sat down in the rocking chair and gestured toward the couch for Aiden to sit, too. “Don’t tell me you left him in the car.”

“Hey, I even cracked a window,” Aiden defended herself.

Dawn laughed. “I’m sure he’d appreciate that - if he was a dog.”

“Okay, okay, he went home to spend some quality time with the family.”

Dawn studied her. “He’s a good man and a good partner, huh?”

Aiden thought about the way Ray had shown up in front of Dawn’s apartment building tonight without her even telling him that she planned to watch over it. He’d known the only thing it could earn him was a reprimand from their lieutenant and Aiden’s gratitude, but he’d packed a thermos of coffee and driven downtown anyway. “Best I ever had and the best I’ll ever work with,” Aiden confirmed.

“I bet you could tell a lot of stories. There are still some cops who don’t react kindly to being partnered with a woman.”

Aiden nodded. “True. But most of the detectives with the Sexual Assault Detail know that there are some things a female officer is better equipped to handle than a male one. If you’re good at your job, you get the respect you deserve.” She leaned back against the couch, more relaxed now that they were back on the safe topic of her work.

“The Sexual Assault Detail is… well… special,” Dawn confirmed. “I, for one, was very glad that it was you who held my hand during the exam in the hospital and not one of your male colleagues.”

Aiden inclined her head. She understood the sentiment but didn’t want to bring the conversation back to a more personal level.

“My dad’s last partner was a woman, too,” Dawn said, going back to the original topic as if she had sensed Aiden’s unease. “At first, I think my mother had some doubts about him spending so much time with a female partner. But after Dad invited her home for dinner a few times and she saw that they interacted more like siblings, Mom was okay with it.”

Aiden thought back to the first dinner she had shared with the Bennets. She had sensed Susan’s gaze resting on her all the way from the entree to dessert. Slowly, they had gotten to know each other. Aiden knew that Susan respected her and trusted her to keep her husband safe. From time to time, she could still sense some jealousy from Susan, but that was not because she suspected them of having an affair but rather because the overprotective Ray refused to share his thoughts and feelings about his job with his family, only talking about them with Aiden.

“She’s still a very close friend of the family,” Dawn continued. “She was my maid of honor when I married Caleb and the first person I came out to.”

Aiden wanted to ask a thousand questions, curious about Dawn’s friend, her marriage, and her coming out, but once again she held herself back. “I think I’ll go now,” she said with a glance at her watch.

Dawn rocked forward in her chair, directing a piercing glance at her. “So you can sit down there in the car for the rest of the night?” She shook her blond head. “There’s no sense in that when I have a perfectly fine couch here. Or is there some rule demanding a police officer has to be cold and uncomfortable during surveillance?”

“Not that I know of,” Aiden admitted hesitantly.

“Okay, it’s settled, then. You sleep on the couch,” Dawn decided in a voice that left no room for objections. She measured the couch, then Aiden with a long gaze. “Unless you’d be more comfortable in the bed?”

“No!” Aiden said so quickly that she almost choked on her own tongue. “No, the couch will be fine, thanks,” she added a little more politely.

Dawn lifted the cat from her lap and stood. “The couch it is, then. I’ll see if I can find you something to sleep in.”

Sleep sounded really good to Aiden because she hadn’t gotten much since the break in the case. Without further protest, she took the pillow and the blanket Dawn handed her. She heard Dawn rummage around in her closet while she made her bed on the couch. Like the week before, when Dawn had stayed at her apartment overnight, she found that she liked Dawn’s presence, liked hearing her in the background while she did everyday things. This is not an everyday activity, she strictly reminded herself. You’re here to protect her, not to play house with her.

“This okay?” Dawn had returned from the bedroom, holding out an oversized T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants for her.

Aiden turned. Immediately, her gaze fell onto the long-sleeved shirt into which Dawn had changed. Two of the buttons were done incorrectly, showing a hint of skin. Aiden bit her lip, hesitant to point it out to Dawn.

“Something wrong with my choice of nightclothes?” Dawn asked.

Aiden quickly looked up, not wanting her to think that she had been staring at her chest. “No, no. It’s just…” She gestured in the general direction of the shirt. “You left a button out.”

Dawn looked down. “Oh. That happens frequently since… since I had my finger broken.” She reached up and clumsily started to undo the buttons without the use of her splinted index finger.

Without thought, Aiden stepped closer and reached out a hand to help, then stopped when she noticed what she was doing. “Sorry.” Quickly, she drew back her hands.

“It’s okay,” Dawn said. “I’m not too proud to accept a little help.”

Aiden had no other choice now. She took another step toward Dawn and reached out her hands, willing them not to tremble. This close, she couldn’t help noticing the elegant curve of Dawn’s collarbone and the charming freckles that dusted the fair skin until they disappeared under the shirt.

Dawn stood still. She looked down and watched Aiden’s fingers button the shirt properly.

Aiden had undressed her fair share of attractive women in her life, but somehow the innocent buttoning of a shirt was the most erotic thing she had experienced in some time. “There,” she finally said, her voice rough and uneven in her own ears, “all done.”

“Thanks.” Dawn licked her lips and stepped back, looking a little flustered herself.

No more sleepovers with this woman, Aiden ordered and busied herself with checking the door and the windows. If I have to do this again, I’ll park the car a few buildings away.

* * *

A small sound woke Aiden, but she kept her eyes closed, orienting herself to her surroundings by sound alone at first. The quiet breathing of another human being told her that she was not alone in the room. When she felt the warmth and the subtle movements of another body against her abdomen, she quickly opened her eyes, almost afraid of what she would find.

She exhaled sharply. It was only the cat that had joined her on the couch somewhere during the night.

“I hope she didn’t disturb you?” Dawn’s voice came from directly behind her.

Aiden sat up, one hand automatically making sure that the cat wouldn’t fall off.

Dawn was leaning next to the window behind the couch, already dressed in a sweatshirt that didn’t require buttoning. Her hair, still damp from her shower, was combed back and accentuated the attractive angles of her face.

How long has she been standing there? Aiden wondered. She was surprised that her finely honed senses hadn’t alerted her to Dawn’s presence in the room but blamed it on the exhausted sleep into which she had fallen after she had lain awake for hours.

“Um… no, she didn’t,” Aiden answered belatedly, giving herself a mental slap against the back of her head. “I’m a little surprised because I had the impression she couldn’t stand me.” She stroked the lazily stretching cat, glad to have an excuse to look away from its owner.

“Well, by trying to put her into the hated transport box you probably didn’t leave a stellar first impression, but once she gets to know you, Kia tends to be a certified cuddleholic,” Dawn said.

Aiden climbed out from under the purring cat and gathered her clothes. When she came back from the bathroom, Dawn was still standing next to the window, but there was a cup of what Aiden suspected to be tea in one hand and a second cup in the other.

Aiden stepped next to her and silently accepted the mug of coffee Dawn held out for her. Taking careful sips of the hot liquid, Aiden looked out of the window. It was dawning outside; the light not yet reaching the small street on which Dawn lived.

Aiden found herself thinking about Dawn - not the one lighting up the streets of Portland but the woman carrying the same name, standing beside her at the window. Their shoulders were touching, but Aiden was hesitant to step back, afraid that this would draw unnecessary attention to the innocent touch.

“I have to get going,” she finally said when her cup was almost empty. “I have to be in court at nine.”

Dawn turned away from the window to face her. “How long until I have to be there? In court?”

“Last I heard from Kade, probably not before the end of next week. Kade will call you for trial preparation.”

Dawn nodded thoughtfully. “She’ll handle my case, won’t she?”

“Yes, she will.”

“Good,” Dawn said. “I like her, and I think I’ll feel comfortable with her.”

Aiden lifted her head to study Dawn. She found herself wondering whether it was the competent lawyer Dawn admired or the woman behind it. Jealous, Carlisle? She smirked at herself but didn’t want to take a closer look and discover who it was she might be jealous of, Kade or Dawn.

“She has this air of confidence,” Dawn continued, “like nothing can touch her. I’d like to have that for myself.” Dawn looked down into her cup.

Aiden admired Kade’s regal bearing, too, but it was Dawn’s honest openness, her easy, approachable way, and the hint of vulnerability that she was strong enough to show, that she valued most about Dawn.

“Nothing can touch you,” she promised Dawn. “Kade, Ray, and I will be there to make sure of that.”

“Have I ever really thanked you for -?”

“No,” Aiden didn’t want to hear the words of gratitude, “and you don’t need to. I’m just -“

This time Dawn interrupted her. “If this is going to be the ‘Just doing my job, ma’am’ speech, you can save it for the next victim because I know for sure that hand-holding and tear-drying are not in your job description, Detective.”

“They are,” Aiden insisted. “Right there on page ninety-seven, somewhere between paper-pushing and political ass-kissing.”

“Ah.” Dawn chuckled. “So I belong to the highlights of your day, huh?”

Starting the day to the sound of Dawn’s voice and the smell of coffee that someone else had prepared for her had been a highlight, but she would never admit that to Dawn, so she just smiled and carried her empty cup to the kitchen. Not wanting to take the risk of being hugged again, she slipped out of the door with a quick good-bye.

CHAPTER 15

AT FIRST SIGHT, this case seemed to be a pretty ordinary one. A man breaking into apartments at night and raping women in their own bedrooms was nothing Kade Matheson hadn’t seen before in her two years with the sex crimes unit. But whenever she had entered the squad room, she had gotten the feeling that the Kinsley case was somehow personal for the SAD detectives. Kade had to admit that she was beginning to take it personally, too - she didn’t take kindly to suspects hitting one of her detectives.

Murphy’s Law dictated that they had to draw Judge Ruth Linehan, the strictest judge in the city, as the judge who would hear the case. Kade hoped that the evidence they had would prove to be solid and that no witnesses would begin to waver, because she knew that Linehan wouldn’t let her get away with anything. On the plus side, Linehan wasn’t likely to go easy on her opposing counsel either.

“Mr. D’Aquino, Kadence.” Judge Linehan nodded at the two lawyers entering her chambers for the motions hearing.

Only her mother and Ruth Linehan ever called Kade by her full first name - and she didn’t particularly like it from either one of them. Kade kept quiet nonetheless, preferring not to alienate the judge who would soon decide what evidence she would be taking into trial.

The judge leaned back in the chair behind her desk and motioned for the two attorneys to take a seat in front of it. Linehan pointed to the pile of written motions the defense attorney had submitted. “I hope this is not just your contribution to deforestation, Mr. D’Aquino.”

Kade suppressed a smirk, glad to know that Linehan’s no-nonsense behavior wasn’t limited to her.

“No, Your Honor, it’s a little more than that.” Defense counsel was experienced enough not to let the comment fluster him. “Defense moves for a dismissal of all charges.”

“On what grounds?” Judge Linehan asked.

Yes, I’d like to know that, too. Kade could see no reasons for a dismissal. She had won cases with less evidence.

“The warrants to arrest my client and to search his home were obtained based on information that had been received in violation of patient-doctor confidentiality,” D’Aquino stated. “Any evidence obtained thereafter is fruit from the forbidden tree and has to be excluded, leaving the DA’s office with nothing to link my client to any crime.”

Linehan turned to look at Kade, a stern expression on her face. “Ms. Matheson?”

“That’s a clear misinterpretation on Mr. D’Aquino’s part, Your Honor,” Kade answered. “Dr. Kinsley, one of the victims and a rape counselor, noticed the resemblance of her own case to that of one of her patients, but she obtained a waiver of client-doctor confidentiality before she approached the detectives. Here’s her affidavit and that of her patient confirming it.” Kade handed the papers across the table. She had prepared herself for the possibility of this particular motion.

Linehan scanned the documents. “The motion is denied.”

“Then I move to dismiss the charges for failure to properly mirandize my client,” D’Aquino said.

“Did the arresting officers read Mr. Ballard his rights, Ms. Matheson?”

Kade nodded vigorously. “I assure you, the arrest and the reading of his Miranda rights were by the book - except for the interruption caused by the defendant’s assault on Detective Carlisle and Detective Bennet. You’re not trying to blame the detectives for that, are you?” She directed a sharp gaze at the defense attorney.

“I’d be thankful if you could leave the posing of questions to me, Counselor,” Linehan interrupted.

Kade held her gaze for a second and then nodded.

“The arresting officers are experienced detectives, and I believe them when they say that they resumed the reading of his rights as soon as they had Mr. Ballard under control.” The judge tapped the arresting reports Kade had provided. “You’ll have a chance to question them about the arrest during cross. The motion is dismissed. I trust that you have a motion of some value, Mr. D’Aquino, and you’re not just wasting my time.”

“Of course, Your Honor. Defense moves to suppress the bracelets, pins, and key-ring pendants found in my client’s apartment,” D’Aquino said. “They weren’t in the scope of the search warrant.”

“They were in plain view, Your Honor,” Kade objected as confidently as possible, “no warrant needed.” She knew that it didn’t matter anyway. Because of the evidence she had presented to Judge Gilmartin, including the positive ID by not one, but three victims, there had been no limits specified in the search warrant. The warrant had covered anything related to the crime.

The defense attorney laughed sarcastically. “Plain view? You want me to believe your detectives have x-ray vision? They unlawfully removed the objects from a box in my client’s closet, Your Honor.”

“Is that true, Ms. Matheson?” Linehan’s piercing brown eyes looked at Kade over the rim of her glasses.

“The items could have been wrapped in a blanket and shoved into a drawer; it still wouldn’t have mattered. Mr. D’Aquino’s client is facing multiple rape charges and has been positively identified by the victims. As such, the police were well within their rights to search Mr. Ballard’s home for any evidence linking him to the crimes, as stated in the warrant signed by Judge Gilmartin.” Kade defended her detectives.

“Alleged crimes,” the defense counsel just had to put in.

Linehan read through a copy of the search warrant and shook her head. “Mr. D’Aquino, this is not the time for semantics. I find that the police detectives on the scene were justified in searching for any personal items of the previous victims. The motion to suppress the objects in question is denied.”

“Then I move to dismiss the -“

Linehan held up her hand in a clearly irritated gesture. “Mr. D’Aquino, so far we’ve gone through three motions that have clearly been without merit, and I’m loath to continue, so let me make this short. Your remaining motions are denied as they have no basis in the facts presented to me. However, I am dismissing the second count of assaulting a public safety officer.”

“Your Honor, with all due respect -” Kade began to protest.

“Ms. Matheson, while I concede that Mr. Ballard did assault Detective Carlisle, Detective Bennet didn’t sustain an injury nor suffer significant pain. Now, is there anything else?”

Kade shook her head and saw Victor D’Aquino do the same.

“All right. Jury selection in my courtroom, tomorrow at nine a.m.,” Linehan said, dismissing them.

Sparing D’Aquino a cool glance, Kade strode past him and left Linehan’s chambers.

“Kade!”

The DDA slowed her stride when she recognized Aiden Carlisle’s voice. “Loitering in the courthouse hallways, Detective?” she teased Aiden. It had taken them a while to get comfortable with each other, mainly because the detectives had seen Kade as a political opportunist who didn’t care about the cases or the victims - and maybe at the beginning, they had been right. But now, dozens of cases and a few shared sandwiches later, Kade couldn’t keep an emotional distance from her cases or her detectives anymore. She now considered Aiden one of her best detectives. She appreciated Aiden’s strength because it had helped pave Kade’s way without her having to prove time after time that a woman could be successful in their line of work. And after having to deal with testosterone-laden cops all week, she was usually grateful to work with another woman for a change.

“Not with criminal intent,” Aiden answered her joke. “I just wanted to see how the motion hearing on Ballard went.”

Kade didn’t ask how Aiden knew about the time the hearing had been scheduled. She had learned long ago that rumors traveled faster than a patrol car with lights and sirens. What did surprise her, though, was that Aiden had made her way to the courthouse just to ask about the motion hearing in person. “Why the sudden interest? Don’t you trust me to do my job?”

“Of course I do.” Aiden was quick to assure her, probably well aware of the consequences it could have to doubt a Matheson’s abilities in his or her chosen line of work. “It’s just that…”

Kade had to smile at the awkward shrug, reminding her of the teenager the confident detective must have once been. “You want to keep tabs on proceedings on the man who graced you with that lovely bruise,” she guessed, pointing at the fading marks on Aiden’s jaw.

Automatically, Aiden’s hand went up to her jaw. “Um… yes, something like that. So?”

Kade resumed her fast clip, her high heels echoing down the hallway. “We’re going to trial. Linehan denied the motion for dismissal.”

Aiden nodded with satisfaction and followed. “Good.”

“It’s a start,” Kade said a little more cautiously. “My favorite judge also threw out the second assault charge because Ray didn’t sustain an injury when Ballard hit him in the stomach.”

“But the charge for assaulting me is solid, right?” Aiden asked, pointing to her jaw.

Kade nodded. “If I can prove that Ballard knew you were a police officer on duty when he hit you. That knowledge is a condition of the ‘assaulting a public safety officer’ charge.”

“He knew who I was and why I was there.”

“You know that and I know that, but my job is to make sure the jury knows it, too,” Kade said. “I’m sure his lawyer will come up with an idiotic, but plausible sounding explanation.”

Aiden frowned. “And that would be?”

“You were standing in line in front of a lesbian club, and excuse me for saying so, but you don’t exactly look out of place.” She directed a rare full-blown Kade Matheson smile at Aiden.

Aiden stared at her.

Kade suppressed another smile. She knew they had never openly discussed Aiden’s sexual orientation, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t aware of it.

“Are you saying I look butch?” Aiden asked when she had recovered from her surprise.

“Are you saying you don’t?” Kade shot back.

Aiden had to laugh. “I shouldn’t try to argue with a woman who does it for a living.” Then her expression turned serious again. “Are you worried about the case?”

Kade shrugged and then absentmindedly prevented her briefcase from slipping off her shoulder with one hand. “I really want to nail this guy for everything I possibly can. We have a pretty solid case if the witnesses hold up. D’Aquino has already filed motion after motion. He’s going to do whatever he can to stall us so he can buy himself more time to dig up dirt on our victims.”

Aiden grimaced and stopped to hold the courthouse door open for Kade.

Kade stepped outside and smiled, knowing Aiden didn’t even notice that she was mirroring her male colleagues’ gentlemanly gestures. “Are you going back to the precinct?”

“Yeah.”

“Do me a favor and see if you can find someone to bring Ms. Kinsley a copy of her written statement. She needs to review it today so I can meet with her for trial prep tomorrow.”

“No problem,” Aiden said immediately. “Consider it done.”

* * *

Aiden rang the doorbell for the fifth time, bouncing on the balls of her feet when once again no one opened the door. She knew Dawn was home. She had seen the lights in the living room and the bedroom before she had slipped into the building with one of Dawn’s neighbors.

Increasingly concerned, she reached for the cell phone clipped to her belt. It almost fell to the floor when Dawn’s apartment door was belatedly cracked open, the chain latch still in place.

Instead of Dawn, a girl of maybe nine or ten years peeked at her through the small gap between the door and the doorframe. What was visible of the child - red-blond hair, light skin, and intelligent green eyes - was enough for Aiden to be reasonably sure that she was face to face - or rather face to belly - with Dawn’s niece. “Hi. You must be Jamie, right?”

The girl stared at her through the narrow gap left by the safety chain and nodded suspiciously.

Aiden noticed with satisfaction that she left the door latched, not letting the stranger into the apartment. “And who are you?” Jamie demanded to know, one tiny fist on her hip.

Aiden bit her lip to hide her amusement. She could clearly see the resemblance to her feisty aunt. “My name is Aiden. I’m a police officer.”

“Really?” The girl looked interested but still didn’t open the door. “My dad and my grandpa Jim were police officers, too. Did you work with them?”

“No, regrettably I didn’t, but I know your aunt.” Aiden tried to get a peek into the apartment, hoping to see Dawn and be let in, but she could only see the empty hallway behind Jamie.

The girl hesitated. “Do you have a gold shield?”

Aiden handed over her badge through the narrow gap. “Can I come in now?”

After a thorough examination of the gold shield, Jamie lifted herself up onto her tiptoes to pull the chain back from the door.

“Where’s your aunt?” Aiden asked, not seeing Dawn as she entered the apartment.

Jamie shrugged. “Don’t know.”

“You don’t know where she is?” Aiden became instantly alert. She was sure that Dawn would never leave a child alone in her apartment without an emergency.

“We’re playing hide and seek. You can help me find her if you want,” the nine-year-old offered. She had the same friendly way of relating to people that her aunt had.

Aiden smiled down at the girl. “Thanks, I’d like to.” She wanted to find Dawn, if only to make sure that everything was all right and to give her the formal statement she had promised to deliver.

“I’ll search in the bathroom,” Jamie announced, already running toward it. “Maybe Auntie Dawn is hiding behind the shower curtain again.”

Aiden waited until the girl had closed the door behind her and then moved to the bedroom, which she assumed to be the most likely hiding place. “Dawn?” she asked loudly, not wanting to startle her with her sudden appearance.

There was a small sound behind the bedroom door. Was that a whimper? Without further hesitation, Aiden entered the bedroom.

Dawn was sitting on the floor, her trembling back against the wall and her head between her knees. Aiden could hear her desperate panting even from five steps away. She quickly closed the door behind her and crossed the room to kneel down beside Dawn.

“Dawn, hey. It’s Detective Carlisle… Aiden…” She hesitated to touch the trembling woman, but then the urge to see her face, her eyes, to make a connection and find out what was wrong was too strong. Gently, she touched her shoulder, noticing that the shirt was wet with perspiration. “Dawn?”

Finally, Dawn lifted her head and looked up at her with wide, scared eyes. Beads of sweat were running down her pale cheeks.

“Easy, easy!” Aiden tried for her most soothing voice even though Dawn’s state scared her, too. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“P-p…” Dawn was still fighting for breath. “Panic attack.”

Aiden stared down at her helplessly. “What can I do?”

“H-hold me.”

Aiden sank down onto the floor. She closed her arms around Dawn and protectively drew her against her body. She could feel Dawn trembling and panting against her. “What happened?” she whispered when she felt Dawn calm down a little.

“I was playing with my niece,” Dawn said, her voice rough and shaky, “and I had the glorious idea of hiding under the covers of the bed… where I had a flashback. My niece!” Suddenly, the body in Aiden’s arms tensed again. “God! Can you make sure she’s okay?”

“She’s okay,” Aiden said. “She probably thinks you found the world’s best hiding place.”

“Would you go and look after her, please?”

Aiden hesitated. She didn’t want to leave Dawn.

“I’m okay now. I’ll be out in a minute,” Dawn promised. “I just need to change my shirt.” She tugged at the damp garment. “Please, I don’t want my niece to see me like this.”

One last squeeze, and then Aiden loosened her embrace and stood. “You sure that you’re okay?”

“Yeah. It just took me by surprise. I thought the worst of those flashbacks were behind me. But I’ll be fine.”

Aiden stepped backward, not lifting her concerned gaze from Dawn until she reached the door. Just when she reached to open it, the door began to move. Aiden quickly prevented it from opening fully and slipped outside, blocking Dawn’s niece from entering the bedroom.

“I can’t find her anywhere. Is Aunt Dawn in there?”

Aiden nodded, not knowing what to tell the child. “Yes, I found her.”

“Is she okay?” The girl stared up at Aiden with concerned eyes.

Her compassion and the intuitive understanding that something wasn’t quite all right with her aunt reminded Aiden once again of Dawn. “Yes, she is. She’s just a little tired from all the hiding and seeking. She’ll join us as soon as she’s rested for a bit, okay? How about we set up the Parcheesi board so we can play when she comes out?” She had seen the game board lying on the table when she came in.

Jamie hesitated to leave her place next to the bedroom door. “Auntie Dawn isn’t very good at that.”

Aiden grinned. “All the better for us, don’t you think?”

Now the girl giggled and joined Aiden at the table. “Do you know how to play?”

“I used to, but it’s been a long time,” Aiden answered, trying to keep the bedroom door within her sight without Jamie noticing. “You may have to remind me about the rules.”

“I can do that,” Jamie eagerly agreed. “I’ll take the red ones. You can have green or yellow.”

“What about blue?” Aiden asked. “Why can’t I have those?”

“Because they’re mine,” Dawn said from the doorway.

“Aunt Dawn!” Jamie jumped up from the table, raced across the room, and hugged her aunt around the waist. “Are you sad again?”

Dawn caressed the red-blond hair. “How can I be sad when my favorite niece is here? Although I won’t be very happy if I lose at Parcheesi again.” She smiled at Aiden over the head of the giggling child, conveying her gratitude in silence.

Aiden admired her self-control. If she hadn’t seen her trembling and hyperventilating just minutes before, she would never have believed that this was the same woman.

“What are you doing here?” Dawn asked while she took the blue pawns. “And how did you get in?”

“Kade wanted me to bring you a copy of your statement. Your niece let me in,” Aiden said, very aware that the girl was listening to every word she said.

Dawn directed a reproachful glance at Jamie. “Jamie, we talked about this before. Letting strangers in can be dangerous even if they look nice,” she added with an almost imperceptible smile in Aiden’s direction.

“But, Auntie Dawn, she had a gold shield,” Jamie protested.

“Which could be fake,” Dawn said.

Jamie stared at Aiden with wide eyes. “Is it?”

“No. It’s real, but your aunt is right.”

“Okay. Next time, I won’t let her in,” Jamie promised her aunt.

Dawn gave her a gentle nudge to the chin. “You can let Aiden in since she’s not a stranger anymore. Everyone else has to stay outside and wait until an adult lets her or him in, okay?”

Jamie nodded. “Can we play now?”

Half an hour later, Aiden watched as Jamie walked her fourth and last piece around the game board. “Do something, Dawn,” she demanded. “Your niece is about to win my paycheck.”

“We’re not playing for money,” Dawn reminded, “and even if we were, I can’t influence how the dice fall. My field of expertise is psychology, not telekinesis.”

The ringing doorbell interrupted before Dawn could throw the dice.

“Uh-oh!” Jamie looked up reluctantly.

Dawn nodded. “I think that’s your mom, rug rat,” she said with affection.

“Can’t I stay just a little longer?” Jamie whined. “I was winnin’!”

“You can beat us again next time, okay?” Dawn opened the door, unaware that she had included Aiden in her plans for future Parcheesi games.

Aiden busied herself with clearing the game board, one eye on the two women greeting each other in the hallway.

Jamie’s mother was a tall brunette, with the telltale energetic voice of a mother and the warm smile of a true friend. When she stepped back from the hug she had shared with Dawn, Aiden could see that she was balancing a baby on her hip.

The baby, who Aiden guessed to be less than a year old, immediately held his little arms out in Dawn’s direction.

Dawn didn’t hesitate in taking him from his mother, cuddling him against her body as she walked back into the living room. “This is Eliza, the little cheater’s mother,” she announced with a smile.

Jamie giggled. “I didn’t cheat, Aunt Dawn!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Dawn laughed. “Eliza, this is Detective Aiden Carlisle.”

“Ah.” Eliza stepped past Dawn, her gaze resting on Aiden’s face. “Very pleased to finally meet you.”

Aiden shook her hand, wondering what Dawn might have told her almost sister-in-law about her.

“And this little guy here is Tim, my nephew.” Dawn leaned down to press a soft kiss against the baby’s head.

Aiden finally understood. So, Eliza has a new partner and a new baby - and Dawn accepted both willingly into the family. Amazing.

Eliza studied the woman softly bouncing her son. “Are you okay? You’re looking a little -“

“Everything’s all right,” Dawn said. “Your daughter just ran her favorite aunt a little ragged, that’s all.”

God, she’s gotten really good at hiding her feelings. Aiden knew that this was something at which most rape and abuse survivors were very adept.

“Her only aunt,” Eliza corrected.

“Details, details,” Dawn teased back.

Eliza stepped forward and softly touched Dawn’s arm. “Thanks for agreeing to babysit her.”

“Mom!” Jamie protested. “I’m not a baby.”

Her mother smiled. “Oh, sorry, your ladyship. Must have been a momentary confusion on my part.”

Jamie nodded in satisfaction. “I’m almost a teenager now.”

Eliza crossed herself. “Yeah, God help me. Maybe your aunt can keep you a little longer…” she looked at Dawn. “…until she’s say eighteen or nineteen.”

Aiden had to laugh. In moments like this, she really regretted having no family and no close female friends.

Dawn handed Jamie’s backpack to her mother but kept the baby until the very last second. It was easy to see that she loved him as much as she loved her niece even if he wasn’t related to her by blood. “Listen, if you and Rick want me to take the kids overnight, just give me a call.”

“Like you don’t already have enough on your plate without a nine-month-old and a nine-year-old vying for your attention.”

“My plate will never be too full for them,” Dawn objected.

Eliza nodded. “You’ll call us when you know the court date, right? We want to come.”

Dawn hesitated, playing with her nephew’s tiny foot. “I’m not sure about that.”

“About the date?”

“About you coming to watch the trial,” Dawn admitted.

Eliza shook her head energetically. “All these years you’ve been so supportive of us; now let us support you for a change.”

Dawn sighed, but there was a smile on her lips. “Guess I can’t stop you, huh?”

“No, you can’t.” Eliza hugged Dawn again and took her son from her.

Aiden watched as Dawn got hugs and kisses from her niece. To her surprise the girl turned and hugged her, too, before she followed her mother out the door.

“Friendly girl, your niece,” Aiden commented to Dawn when they were alone.

“Yes, she is.” Dawn smiled. She walked to the door and locked it. “If she likes you, that is. She can be a little devil if she can’t stand someone, though. I think Maggie would rather wrestle a cobra than stay in a room with Jamie ever again.”

Aiden remembered Dawn had told her that her ex didn’t really like children. Sounds like the whole family knew her ex-girlfriend. Aiden wondered how her own mother would have reacted if she had ever brought a woman home with her. She studied Dawn. “Are you okay after that flashback?”

“I’m all right now,” Dawn said without hesitation.

“Really?” Aiden didn’t want to be one of the people for whom Dawn had to put up a strong front.

Dawn squeezed Aiden’s arm for a moment. “Yes, really.” This time, she looked her in the eyes, and Aiden believed her. “Sometimes, I’m pretty out of it for hours or even days afterward, but being with somebody always helps me to orient myself to the here and now quickly.”

“You have those flashbacks often?” Aiden asked in concern.

“No, not often, but sometimes. Mostly when I’m under a lot of stress and a situation reminds me of that night. Today, it was trying to hide, half-trapped under the covers. Suddenly, I was back in my old apartment, with him.” Dawn closed her eyes as she remembered, her breath once again becoming fast and shaky.

Aiden covered Dawn’s hand with her own for a moment, rubbing her thumb over the clammy fingers. “You’re not,” she said softly. “You’re here.” With me.

Dawn opened her eyes and looked directly into Aiden’s own.

Uncomfortably, Aiden cleared her throat and looked away. “I came by to bring you a copy of your formal statement. Kade Matheson wants you to read through it and refresh your memory before you meet with her tomorrow.”

“I can do that,” Dawn agreed. She took the document Aiden held out to her.

“Okay.” Aiden moved toward the door, suddenly in a hurry to get far away from Dawn and her growing feelings for the younger woman.

“Why don’t you stay a little longer?” Dawn suggested. “The apartment always seems so empty after the children are gone.”

Aiden shook her head. The more time she spent in Dawn’s company, the more fascinating she found her, and that was dangerous. “I can’t. I still have to review my reports on your case.” It was a lie. She would look through the reports and statements again tonight, but she already knew them by heart.

Dawn nodded. “Will I see you before the trial?”

“Sure. We’ll see each other in the witness room. I have to testify, too, remember?” She only realized after she had said it that Dawn had probably meant to ask whether she would see her in more private surroundings than the courthouse.

“Do you think you’ll have to testify before I have to?” Dawn’s question came without hesitation, making Aiden doubt if her former assumption had been correct.

She nodded. “I’m pretty sure that Kade will call me as her second or third witness. She likes to keep a somewhat chronological order of witnesses to avoid confusing the jury. And she usually saves her strongest witness for last.”

Dawn swallowed audibly. “And that… that would be me?”

Aiden saw the nervousness in the green-gray eyes. “Kade believes in you. And so do I.”

“I’m scared,” Dawn admitted.

Aiden was tempted to pull her into a protective embrace but held herself back. “It will be over before you know it,” she promised instead.

“You’re not scared or nervous at all, are you?” Dawn looked at her with admiration.

“It’s not the same for me. I’m just the detective working the case, not the victim here.” Aiden was nervous, not so much about her own testimony but about Dawn’s and what effect it could have on her. Having to face her rapist and the defense attorney’s questions had reduced many rape survivors to tears on the stand.

Aiden pushed back the intense wave of protectiveness flooding her and walked to the door. “I have to go.” She reached for the door handle and pushed it down. “Keep your chin up, huh?”

“I’ll try to,” Dawn murmured.

Aiden left, dissatisfied with herself and the situation.

CHAPTER 16

“THAT’S IT.” Kade leaned back in her desk chair and nodded at the woman across from her. It had only taken two repetitions of the questions and answers game until Kade was confident that Dawn Kinsley could handle herself on the witness stand.

Kade wished for a witness like that for all of her cases: a woman who was confident enough to look you right in the eyes while she told you what had happened to her, yet who also possessed a trace of vulnerability that resonated with many jurors. It also didn’t hurt her credibility that she was a psychologist and a rape counselor.

“It was okay like that?” Dawn asked.

“Absolutely,” Kade said. “Just look at me and answer as directly and with as many details as you can. You’ll be fine.”

Dawn nodded. “I heard jury selection was this morning. Do you have a good feeling about the group?”

Surprised, Kade studied her. Except for the occasional victim who worked in law enforcement or in a legal profession, this was clearly the best-informed witness she had ever encountered. Taking an active interest in her case was usually a good sign, but Kade wanted to make sure that there would be no surprises during the trial. “You have an inside source hidden somewhere?”

Dawn blushed. “No, I was a little early for our appointment, and I heard two of the potential jurors you had excused from jury duty talk about it.”

Kade leaned back again. “It was the most extensive jury selection I’ve had in quite some time.”

“Why’s that?” Dawn asked.

“I tried to unearth prejudices against lesbians and exclude the homophobes while the defense attorney sought to keep them in the panel because he hopes they’ll sympathize with his client. D’Aquino tried to use his peremptory challenges to exclude everyone he suspected to be gay or have gay friends or family members.”

Dawn looked up alarmed. “He can do that?”

“Theoretically, no. The law prohibits exclusions of jurors based upon their race or other criteria that make them belong to a cognizable group,” Kade explained.

“And sexual orientation is such a criterion?”

Kade nodded. “According to People v. Garcia, yes. But when counsel can give a group neutral explanation for his challenge and I can’t prove that it was not the real reason for excluding that juror, the judge has to overrule my objection.”

Dawn rubbed her forehead, sighing. “Was I too naïve in thinking that my sexual orientation wouldn’t be an issue in this trial?”

Despite what had happened to her, Dawn seemed to have an optimistic outlook on life, but Kade didn’t find her to be naïve at all. “Not naïve, no. Normally, the sexual history of a rape victim is not admissible in court. No defense attorney is allowed to parade a dozen witnesses before a jury who testify to the victim’s reputation as a slut. But in this case, I think we have to be the ones who bring up your sexual past.”

“Is that really necessary?” Understandably, Dawn didn’t seem enthusiastic about the idea.

“Yes. Your sexual orientation is the motive in our theory. If you testify that you identify as a lesbian, it contradicts Ballard’s claim that you consented to have sex with him,” Kade said.

Dawn nodded in understanding. “What are our chances for a conviction?”

There it was - the million-dollar question. Kade shrugged. “Normally, I would say they’re more than good - we have DNA evidence, a solid identification in a lineup, and the Glock we found in his apartment.”

“But?” Dawn prompted.

With any other victim, Kade probably would have left it at the more optimistic assessment, but she knew that this woman didn’t want to be spared from the truth. “With the evidence we have, Ballard and D’Aquino are up to their necks, and a desperate lawyer is a dangerous lawyer. He’ll use whatever he can get his hands on, and he’ll try to discredit every single witness I call. If he can get enough jurors to buy Ballard’s ridiculous story, we might be in trouble.”

A rapid knock on the door interrupted them.

“Yes?” Kade called. A quick glance at her watch showed that it was already time for her appointment with the next victim. Getting lunch will have to wait again, she noticed with regret. Her mother and whatever man would accompany her to the next fund-raiser or another social event would be thankful for it, but her stomach, at the moment, wasn’t.

The door swung open, revealing Aiden Carlisle, who gently led a nervous looking Melanie Riggs into the office. The young woman had been raped six months before and still couldn’t leave the house on her own, so Kade had asked Aiden to drive her to the trial prep appointment.

“Hi, Kade, Dawn.” Aiden nodded at the two women while she guided Melanie Riggs to the chair next to Dawn.

Kade observed how Dawn immediately turned and directed a few encouraging words toward the pale woman, getting her to relax a little. She looked away from the two women when she saw Aiden setting something down onto her desk out of the corner of her eye. It wasn’t the stack of reports she had halfway expected but a mixed salad and a big sandwich.

Surprised, she looked up at Aiden. “For me?”

Aiden nodded. “With jury selection and trial prep, I figured you probably hadn’t eaten yet.”

“Thanks.” Kade picked a piece of tomato out of her salad and chewed it contently. “That was really nice of you.”

Aiden shrugged casually. “Ah, we can’t have our DDA wasting away. Would be too much trouble to break in a new one just when we finally have the old one housebroken.”

Kade waved her fork at Aiden in mock anger. “I think that’s your cue to leave before I decide that I need a search warrant executed at two a.m. tonight.”

“I’m not on call tonight,” Aiden declared triumphantly.

Kade smiled. “You would be, on my special request. After all, why should I work with another detective when I finally have the old ones housebroken?”

Aiden laughed and held up her hands. “Touché, Counselor. Back to work, it is.”

Dawn stood. She leaned back down to Melanie Riggs, squeezing her hand. “You’ll be just fine, believe me,” she assured the nervous woman. “You’re working with the best Deputy DA in the city.” She smiled at Kade and nodded her good-bye.

* * *

Dawn closed the door to Kade Matheson’s office behind her and strolled down the hallway, noticing how Aiden slowed her strides and matched them to her own shorter ones.

“Maybe she would have shared the sandwich if I had complimented her like that instead of calling her housebroken, huh?” Aiden joked, pointing back to the DDA’s office.

Dawn studied Aiden. “You like her,” she observed. She found the gesture of bringing Kade lunch really sweet.

“Kade? Yeah, of course. Like you just said, she’s the best DDA in the city.”

Dawn could have predicted that Aiden would say something like that, intentionally misunderstanding and interpreting Dawn’s words in the context of her job. She knew that she should have just nodded and let her get away with it, but it was getting more and more difficult for her to just think of Aiden Carlisle as the detective working her case. It seemed like such a waste to look only at the surface when the woman behind the badge was so much more fascinating. After years of not letting her patients hide behind masks and roles, she couldn’t let Aiden do it. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

Aiden glanced back at her. “She’s a nice person,” she added.

“Ah, ah, ah!” Dawn playfully waggled her finger at Aiden. “That’s not what I meant either. I was speaking of another kind of ‘like.’”

“And what kind of like would that be?” Aiden asked.

Dawn rolled her eyes and smiled. Oh, come on. As if you don’t already know. “The ‘I’d like to kiss her senseless at that two a.m. search warrant execution or any other time’ kind of like,” she answered frankly. A mental image of Aiden and the DDA in a passionate embrace appeared before her mind’s eye, and although she had to admit that the two attractive women would make a striking couple, she found the picture strangely disturbing. This is not the place or time to be jealous - or the person to be jealous about. She reprimanded herself. Even if she wanted to have a relationship with you, her job wouldn’t allow it and even after the trial… you can’t give a woman like her what she needs. Not after what has happened.

Aiden took her time answering. She opened the entrance door for Dawn and waited until they had both reached the parking lot before she spoke. “Well, that’s not exactly what I thought, but…” Aiden shrugged. “…yeah, she’s pretty attractive. I mean, come on, anyone with a pulse would notice Kadence Matheson. I admire her; that’s all.”

“No, it’s not,” Dawn insisted, not really knowing why she was so intent on arguing this issue with Aiden.

“Okay,” Aiden threw up her hands in a half-playful gesture of surrender, “so maybe it’s more than just pure, innocent admiration. A bit of good old-fashioned lusting may be thrown in, too.”

But once again, Dawn wasn’t satisfied with the answer. “Why do you always play down your feelings?”

“I don’t do that!” Aiden protested. Her voice rumbled a bit, sounding like a warning peal of thunder.

Since the rape, Dawn had always shrunk back from people displaying signs of anger, but now she found that she wasn’t afraid in the least. She knew instinctively that she had nothing to fear from Aiden. “Yes, you do,” she calmly insisted. “You can admit professional respect and even lust but no deeper feelings. You pretend that your job and sex is all that’s connecting you to people.” It made her sad that a woman as wonderful as Aiden Carlisle robbed herself of any meaningful relationship in life.

Aiden swirled around. Her amber eyes seemed to glow and hurled angry golden flashes at Dawn. “Stop playing the psychologist with me!”

Dawn bit her lip. “I don’t play the psychologist; I am a psychologist.” She looked down at her hands and added in an almost whisper, “But not when I’m with you.”

Aiden froze. Angrily gesticulating hands fell limply back to her sides. The flashing eyes softened as they searched out Dawn’s face. “Dawn…” Aiden breathed deeply and then straightened her shoulders. “Can we agree not to have a conversation about things like that again, please?”

Aiden had said it before, had signaled her before that she wasn’t able or willing to discuss her private life with her. Dawn had understood it every time even when she found it hard to accept. But for some reason, it felt like a personal rejection this time, and it hurt. “Okay,” was all she could say through a constricting throat.

“At least until the trial is over,” Aiden added in a low voice.

Dawn’s head lifted, but Aiden was looking anywhere but at her. Does that mean…? She searched Aiden’s face. The detective mask was firmly in place, not revealing any feelings. “Okay,” Dawn said again.

“Come on.” Aiden led her toward the parking lot. “Let’s get out of here.”

* * *

Kade threw her pen down onto the legal pad and leaned back with a groan. It had been a long day, and now all she wanted was a nice glass of Chardonnay, a bath with four inches of bubbles, and eight hours of sleep. Come on, Matheson. One more trial prep and you can go home to both wine and bath. At least this time, it’s Aiden and not a victim. She knows the drill, and you’ll be out of here in half an hour.

A knock on the door interrupted her momentary daydreams. “Yes?”

Aiden’s head appeared in the doorway, the black hair ruffled after a long day. “Hey, you all right?” Aiden asked. “You look kind of beat.”

After dealing with three rape victims in a row, Kade felt beat. Interacting with victims had never come as naturally to her as it did to Aiden. “Nothing a glass of wine and a hot bath wouldn’t cure,” she said.

Aiden stepped into the office and closed the door behind her.

Is that a blush I see on her cheeks? Kade held back a chuckle. She investigates horrible sex crimes for a living but blushes when I mention a bubble bath? Mercifully, she chose not to comment on it. She had dealt with the innocent and not-so-innocent crushes of coworkers and detectives before, had seen it too often not to recognize the admiration in Aiden’s eyes.

While not exactly used to the admiring gazes from a woman, Kade didn’t feel uncomfortable or threatened by them. Whatever Aiden felt or thought when she blushed like that, Kade knew that she was a dedicated police officer and a professional first and foremost - and someone she had come to think of as a friend.

“I’d suggest we take a rain check and do the prep another time, but seeing as the trial starts tomorrow…” Aiden shrugged.

Kade rounded her desk and sank down onto the small couch she had in her office. With a relieved sigh, she slipped out of her high heels. “It won’t take long. You already know most of the questions I’ll ask you on the stand. ‘Detective Carlisle, you were called in by the responding unit on the night in question, correct?’ et cetera, et cetera. We can skip the standard questions for now.”

Aiden cleared her throat, intently studying the floor of Kade’s office. “I should probably tell you that those questions aren’t as standard as usual.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kade gestured for Aiden to sit down.

“I wasn’t called in by the responding unit,” Aiden said. “I heard dispatch report a 10-31 in my immediate neighborhood and decided to drive over.”

Kade stared at her detective. “You listen to your police scanner at three a.m.?” You really need to get a life, my friend. And so do I.

“I’d just come in from the precinct. It was the night of the Henderson arrest,” Aiden explained.

“A 10-31…” Kade took off her glasses, playing with them with the fingers of one hand. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a sexual assault occurred, does it? It could have been something a SAD detective wasn’t needed for.”

Aiden tilted her head. “Could have, but I had this feeling. And I recognized the address.”

Kade sat up. “What’s going on here, Aiden?” she demanded to know. “You knew the victim before this whole case started? Ever heard of conflict of interest?” She felt her temper rise. “You should have excused yourself from the investigation. God, D’Aquino will rip us apart on cross!”

“Oh, come on, Kade.” Aiden stood and began to pace in the small space between the couch and the door. “I spent a total of twenty minutes in her company before she was raped. It’s not like we were best buddies. I went to a lecture she gave, and when I met her the week after, she invited me to her apartment because she wanted me to talk to her support group for rape survivors - that’s all. Do you really expect me to turn my back on a rape victim just because I’d seen her before?”

Kade sighed. She knew that Aiden would never turn her back on a victim; it was part of who she was. “No, of course I don’t. But I expected you to tell me.”

“I’m telling you now.”

“Not that it does me any good now.” Kade looked at the ceiling, shaking her head. “I already turned in my witness list, and you’re on it. I can’t call Ray to the stand instead of you.”

Aiden looked down at her, her amber eyes a little anxious. “What are we gonna do?”

Kade shrugged. “What we always do: hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”

CHAPTER 17

DAWN LOOKED UP at the Multnomah County Courthouse. The huge building occupied the entire block. With its massive Corinthian columns and the somber gray concrete, it intimidated Dawn a little. The steps leading to the large portal seemed endless. With a deep breath, she started toward them, the loyal horde of her companions following silently behind her.

Her mother, Caleb, and Eliza and her husband were there. even her colleagues, Charlie Rosenbloom and Ally Barry, had taken the day off to hear the opening statements with her. Dawn was grateful for their company, but as she slowly made her way toward the courthouse entrance, she looked around, wishing for the reassuring presence of a certain detective.

She stepped through the heavy doors, her footfalls on the marbled floor echoing loudly through the columned hall. There, by the metal detector, leaned a familiar, dark-haired figure. It wasn’t the police officer Dawn had been on the lookout for, but she would certainly do. “Lieutenant Delicia Vasquez Montero!” she called and enjoyed the look on the tall woman’s face when she turned around.

The annoyance on the coffee-colored face turned into a smile. With three quick steps, the powerful legs had crossed the space between them, and Dawn found herself engulfed in a warm embrace. “Don’t call me that, grasshopper. You’ll ruin my reputation.”

The words and the familiar nickname rumbled through the chest against which Dawn’s cheek rested, and she closed her eyes for a moment, relaxing into the comfort provided by the only aunt she had ever known. “Hi, Del.”

“Hey, sweetie.” Dawn felt a kiss being pressed onto the crown of her head. “How are you?”

“Hanging in there.” Dawn stepped back a little to study the woman in front of her. Only a few gray hairs at the temples showed in the short, jet-black hair, but other than that, Del Vasquez was still the same strong woman Dawn had known growing up.

Del had studied her, too, and now she shook her head with a sad but affectionate smile. “You look more like your dad every day.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Dawn said.

“It is a compliment,” Del emphasized. “He was the best damn partner I ever had. The young cops these days…” She shook her head and trailed off, looking at something to her right. “Speaking of young cops… one of them is staring at us right now.”

Dawn turned in the direction in which Del was pointing.

Aiden Carlisle was leaning against one of the hall’s columns. She was wearing neatly pressed black slacks and a formfitting crème-colored turtleneck. The leather jacket Dawn had come to love had been traded in favor of a more conservative blazer, and the detective’s badge dangled proudly from its breast pocket. Aiden didn’t smile or move any closer when she saw Dawn looking at her; she just gave her a curt nod.

Great! Is that kind of cool, overly professional behavior what I have to look forward to until after the trial? Or is she just keeping her distance because Del’s standing next to me? Dawn wondered.

“She a secret admirer or your protective detail or what?” Del asked from behind her.

“Uh… no, not exactly.” How could she explain to her old friend what Aiden was to her when she wasn’t sure herself?

Del’s brow lifted. “‘Not exactly’ to the admirer or to the protector part?”

Dawn looked down at her feet. “I don’t know. To both, maybe.”

“Ah.” Del stepped next to her and looked at Aiden with renewed interest.

“She’s the detective who arrested Ballard,” Dawn hastily added, wanting to interrupt the close scrutiny Aiden was under.

“Then I definitely want to meet her.” Del resolutely waved to the younger detective.

Dawn groaned. “You’ve gotten used to ordering cops around since your promotion, huh?”

“You bet.” Del grinned. “One of the perks of my job.”

Dawn noticed that the ordering around seemed to work as Aiden approached them. “Lieutenant Vasquez.” Aiden nodded at the older officer. “Dawn.”

Del folded strong arms across her chest and looked the other detective straight in the eye. Dawn noticed that they were about the same height. “Do we know each other?” Del asked. Aiden had correctly addressed her with the first, not the second part of her last name.

“Not really. I worked with some of your detectives on the Swanell case last month. Detective Aiden Carlisle, ma’am,” Aiden said respectfully.

“God, don’t ma’am me.” Del groaned. “Bad enough that the grasshopper here shouted my dreadful first name across the whole courthouse. Carlisle… you’re with the Sexual Assault Detail, right?”

Aiden nodded. “Yes, Lieutenant.”

Del scrutinized her closely. Her black eyes looked at the younger detective with the same piercing gaze Dawn’s father had always used when he’d met a person who might someday become important to his daughter. In some regard, Del had taken over her father’s role in Dawn’s life after his death.

Aiden held her gaze, managing not to look too uncomfortable.

Finally, Del relented and held out her hand. “Call me Del.”

Surprise flickered over Aiden’s face for a moment, then the detective mask was back, and she shook Del’s hand with a nod.

“Excuse me for a moment, grasshopper.” Del softly clapped Dawn on the shoulder. “I have to go say hello to Gracie. Take care of her, Detective.”

A little embarrassed, Dawn shook her head, watching as Del hugged her mother.

“What was that?” Aiden asked, not appearing as distant as before. She allowed her confusion to show.

“That,” Dawn turned back to Aiden, “was my overprotective aunt.”

Aiden stared at her. “Lieutenant Vasquez is your aunt? Excuse me if I sound politically incorrect, but you don’t look like a Latin girl to me.”

“What, you mean I don’t have that kind of exotic, vivacious sex appeal?” Dawn pretended to pout.

“Uh…” Aiden was clearly caught off guard by the comment. She kept silent, not wanting to reveal whatever opinion of Dawn’s sex appeal she might have.

Dawn laughed. She had needed that to distract herself from the trial that would soon start. “She’s my aunt in spirit,” she explained. “My dad’s partner, the one I told you about.”

“It’s good that you have her,” Aiden said. The amber eyes showed that she understood what Del meant to her.

“Yeah.” Dawn nodded. “We almost lost her once. After Dad died, Del stopped coming around. She felt guilty that she hadn’t been able to save him, that she had survived while Dad died. She felt like she had failed us.”

Aiden nodded in understanding. “I wouldn’t know how to face Susan and the kids if anything should ever happen to Ray.”

“Survivor’s guilt,” Dawn murmured. “One day, Mom had enough of Del avoiding us. There was some shouting and screaming from Mom, some tears from both of them, and Del has been coming to see us at least once a week since then.”

She watched as Del wrapped one arm around her mother’s shoulder and steered her down the hall toward Dawn and Aiden.

Aiden stepped back as the whole group, with Dawn in the middle, started to move toward the courtroom. Del wrapped her free arm around Dawn and only let go when they reached the double doors leading to the courtroom.

Del stepped through the doors first, leading the group to the prosecution’s side of the gallery. Dawn sat down between her mother and Del. She almost giggled, in spite of her tension, when she saw Del once again using her patented lieutenant wave to get Aiden into the seat next to her. God, Del, please don’t scare her off. The poor woman has to feel like some high school boy meeting the parents of the girl he wants to take to the prom.

All thoughts of Del and Aiden fled from her mind when she saw Garett Ballard being led to his place behind the defense table. She felt her heart begin to hammer and forced herself to calm down and look at him as objectively as she could. In the light of day he appeared human, like someone with whom she would share polite conversation over tea. Then his head lifted and he looked directly at Dawn. She shuddered under the gaze of the cold blue eyes.

“You okay?” Aiden and Del asked at the same time, looking at her with concern, then at each other. After a second, both officers leaned back, giving the other precedence to talk to Dawn.

“What is it with those two?” Grace whispered from the other side. “Is there some bad blood between them?”

“No, Mom. Let’s talk about it later,” Dawn whispered back. Much later, like never. Her mother, while shocked but supportive after her coming out, had never been a big fan of Maggie. After Dawn’s first and only relationship with a woman had ended, Grace seemed to prefer thinking that it had just been a phase and Dawn would turn to a man for her next relationship. Dawn had never told her otherwise. It was a moot point when she herself hadn’t been sure of the gender of the next person with whom she would fall in love. Now it was looking more and more as if that person was a woman, and Dawn didn’t want to complicate an already complicated situation any further by telling her mother about it.

“All rise!” the bailiff called out, interrupting any other thoughts. “This court is now in session. The Honorable Judge Ruth Linehan presiding.”

The black robes rustled as Judge Linehan took her place behind the bench. “Be seated,” she said, scanning over lawyers, jury, and audience. The judge was tiny and looked almost dwarfed by her robes and the tall mahogany bench, but from what Aiden and Kade Matheson had told Dawn, she made up for it with a sharp tongue and a huge ego.

The judge addressed the jury and gave instructions Dawn had heard in many of her patients’ trials before and therefore didn’t really listen to, too busy trying to control her churning nerves.

“Ms. Matheson,” Linehan’s voice caught her attention, “are you ready to deliver your opening statement?”

Kade Matheson rose, smoothing her skirt with a practiced gesture. “Yes, Your Honor.” Calmly, she rounded the prosecution’s table and strolled toward the jury box. “Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen.” She nodded at the jurors as if she knew each and every one of them by name - and perhaps she did. Dawn had heard that good attorneys memorized the jurors’ last names, and Kade Matheson was certainly impressive.

“The case you were chosen to hear is a case about hate,” Kade began and took another step toward the jury box. “You are here today because of a man’s primitive, uncontrolled hate against lesbian women. On the night of October 6th, this man broke into the apartment of Dawn Kinsley.” Kade paused to turn toward Dawn, giving the jurors ample opportunity to look into the face of one of the victims and see the fear in her eyes.

Dawn didn’t have to act to give the jury the impression of a frightened victim. As Kade began to describe the circumstances of her rape, she was afraid, not only of her memories and the presence of her rapist in the room, but also because she feared having a flashback right here in the courtroom, in front of all these people. She squared her shoulders, determined to pretend it was someone else about whom they were talking.

“He ripped her phone line out and threw away her cell phone, leaving her helpless and without any chance to call for help. He pressed a gun against her head,” Kade held her index finger against her temple and let her gaze wander over the rows of jurors while she did so, “he threatened and hit her, and then he brutally raped her in her own bed.” The DDA’s voice was clear and confident, painting a vivid picture for the jurors.

Dawn distracted herself by gazing around the room, looking at anything but Garett Ballard or the prosecutor telling the story of her rape. She glanced to her right, where Del and Aiden sat side by side, both looking calm and collected but with an intense, righteous anger in their eyes. Dawn looked down at their hands, the strong, competent hands of trained protectors, which rested in the exact same positions against their thighs - ready to draw the duty weapon they’d had to leave behind at the courthouse entrance.

“He moved fast; he had a plan, and he acted without any scruples,” Kade continued her opening statement. “Dr. Kinsley, who is also a psychologist and rape counselor, will testify that he wasn’t nervous at all - because, like the police later discovered, he had committed this heinous crime before. The same man had raped Melanie Riggs and Jayne Matthews.” Another pause from Kade to let her words sink in and to point to the two other victims.

“The People will prove during this trial that it was this man,” Kade extended her slender arm, pointing in a meaningful gesture toward the man sitting next to the defense attorney, “the defendant, Garett Ballard, who brutally raped these women. You will hear not only how the victims identified Mr. Ballard in a lineup, but you’ll also see DNA evidence that will prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that no other man could have committed the crime.”

Kade directed an ironic smile toward the defense table. “The defense will try to tell you that the defendant’s semen was found on Ms. Kinsley because they had unprotected consensual sex. But that’s not what the ER physician or Ms. Kinsley will testify to, and I want you to ask yourselves: Why would she lie?” Kade looked at the jurors questioningly. “Because she hates Mr. Ballard? Because she wanted revenge? For what? Keep in mind, before that night, she had never seen Mr. Ballard before nor had Ms. Matthews or Ms. Riggs. We have not one but three witnesses, three victims who accuse Garett Ballard of raping them. Why would all of them lie?”

Turning toward the gallery for a second, Kade’s gaze searched out the detectives sitting there. “In addition, police officers will testify how they found the gun used to threaten Ms. Kinsley in the defendant’s apartment - a gun he wouldn’t have needed for consensual sex, would he?” She shook her head. “It is not the victims that are the ones with plans of hate and revenge. The defendant is. Because his mother left the family for another woman when he was a child, he developed a pathological hate against lesbians. He sought employment as a bouncer at a lesbian club for the sole reason of gaining access to the addresses of lesbian women which he then used to break into their apartments.”

As the opening statement went on and on, Dawn felt herself grow anxious. Had she been sitting next to Aiden, she would have taken her hand to try and calm herself down even if she wasn’t sure how Aiden or anyone else in the courtroom would react to it. Instead, another strong hand, that of Del, covered her own and gave her fingers a soft squeeze. Dawn squeezed back before returning her attention to Kade Matheson.

“So, Mr. Ballard has motive, opportunity, and the means to commit these hateful crimes.” Kade counted it off on her fingers. “At the conclusion of this case, we believe that you will be able to find beyond any reasonable doubt that Garett Ballard raped three women and, well aware of his guilt, tried to resist arrest by assaulting a police officer.” She nodded at the jury members with conviction. “I ask you to weigh all the evidence that is presented, without hate and prejudice against the victims or the defendant, and then return with a verdict of guilty. Thank you.”

Dawn took a few deep breaths as the DDA returned to her table and sat back down.

Judge Linehan leaned forward. “The prosecutor has completed her opening statement. Does defense counsel wish to give his opening statement now?”

“Yes, Your Honor.” The defense attorney rose from his seat, buttoning his suit jacket. “Victor D’Aquino representing Mr. Ballard. Your Honor, Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, the prosecution wants you to believe this is a case about hate, but it’s not. My client is not a hateful man.”

Dawn glanced toward Ballard, who sat behind the defense table with his hands folded, looking to the world as if he couldn’t even hurt a fly.

“Garett Ballard is just a man who supports himself with hard work as a security specialist. In this line of work, he’s used to protecting and helping people, to prevent danger and harm, not to cause it,” D’Aquino continued to paint his client in glorious colors.

Dawn shuddered with disgust. He’s equating that bastard with honest cops who are out there every day, risking their lives to protect innocent people?

“Mr. Ballard has no previous criminal record; he never caused anyone any problems, and his employer will testify that he held no ill feelings toward lesbians. So, what this case is about is an innocent man wrongfully accused of crimes he didn’t commit.” D’Aquino gesticulated as if he had just uncovered a conspiracy against his client.

“As Her Honor instructed you, an opening statement is not evidence. The prosecution simply told you their theory about what happened on the night of October 6th, but the problem with the prosecution’s case is - they don’t have one. There - never - was - a - rape,” the defense attorney emphasized every word. “Mr. Ballard had sex with consenting, adult women, which is not a crime. All so-called evidence to suggest otherwise is circumstantial at best. The prosecution has neither eyewitnesses nor substantial pieces of evidence to prove a rape. The only thing they’ve got is the testimony of the alleged victims - the unverified accusations of women who decided to sleep with my client despite their self-claimed identities as lesbians and then, after the heat and passion of the moment was over, were too embarrassed to admit to a heterosexual affair, claiming it a rape instead.”

Dawn stared at him in disbelief. Since when is it embarrassing not to be gay?

“You heard the prosecution mention how Mr. Ballard allegedly tried to resist arrest,” D’Aquino addressed the other charge against his client. “What it actually was is a man just doing his job, like those police officers did, too. What Ms. Matheson failed to tell you is that on the evening of his arrest, two plainclothes detectives - not uniformed police officers - came up to my client at the front door of the club he had been assigned to watch over. And that was exactly what he did. He didn’t recognize them as police officers but thought of them as troublemakers trying to get into the club, and he acted accordingly.”

Troublemakers? Dawn looked at Aiden, then at Ray Bennet, who sat somewhere behind his partner in the second row of the gallery. Every inch of them spoke of dedicated police officers. No one could mistake them for troublemakers trying to get into the club without paying.

Victor D’Aquino held up his index finger. “Remember, my client is presumed innocent until proven otherwise. I am confident that, after hearing all the evidence and testimony in this case, you’ll agree with me that the prosecution has not been able to prove Mr. Ballard’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and find him not guilty. Thank you.”

Judge Linehan lifted her gavel. “Before we hear the case for the prosecution, we’ll take a ten minute recess so that all witnesses who will be called later can leave the courtroom.”

Dawn immediately stood, glad to leave the courtroom and the whole trial behind her for as long as she could.

* * *

Ruth Linehan waved to her clerk. “Bring in the jury, please.” She waited until all the jurors had taken their places and then nodded at Kade. “Call your first witness.”

Kade rose, glancing back toward the double doors. “The People call Officer Jonathan Riley to the stand.” She watched in dissatisfaction as the young officer walked toward the witness stand. His more experienced partner, Officer Trent, was out with the flu, leaving Kade with the rookie at the last minute. She wasn’t looking forward to his cross-exam by D’Aquino, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

Kade waited until Riley had been sworn in before she rounded the prosecution’s table and stepped in front of the witness-box. “Officer Riley, you are a police officer with the central precinct, responsible for the area Dr. Kinsley lived in, is that correct?”

Riley fiddled with the tie of his uniform. The nervousness he displayed didn’t bode well for his testimony and the impression he left with the jurors. “Yes, that’s correct.”

“On the night of Saturday, October 6th, you and your partner, Officer Trent, responded to a call at 228 Northwest Everett Street, did you not?”

“Yes, ma’am, we did. The call came over the radio at approximately three thirty-five. Dispatch reported an assault at that location.”

Kade nodded. “When you arrived at the crime scene -“

“Objection, Your Honor!” The defense attorney sprang up from his seat before Kade could finish her question. “Assumes facts not in evidence. Ms. Kinsley’s apartment is not the scene of any crime that’s been proven yet.”

Kade looked at him over the rim of her glasses. Nitpicking and bickering like that won’t bring you any points with the jury or with Linehan, you little idiot, so by all means keep it up. “I’ll rephrase, Your Honor,” she offered before Linehan could rule. “Officer Riley, would you please tell us what you encountered when you arrived at the location in question?”

“The apartment was a mess,” Riley blurted out. “Through the bedroom door, I could see a knocked-over chair and a lamp, I think. There were some objects - books, figurines, a pair of broken glasses and such - scattered across the floor.”

Kade turned and lifted a photograph from the prosecution table, carrying it to the witness stand. “I’m showing you what’s been marked as People’s exhibit one for identification. Can you tell the jury what is pictured in this photograph?”

“It’s a photograph of Ms. Kinsley’s bedroom. It was taken on the night in question.”

Kade carried the photograph to the jury box, letting the jurors see the destruction in Dawn’s apartment with their own eyes, before she returned to her witness. “What about Dr. Kinsley? How did she appear?”

Officer Riley fingered his tie again. “Her clothing was torn, and a bruise was forming on her cheek.”

Kade held up two transparent evidence bags. “Officer Riley, have you ever seen these exhibits before?” She laid the evidence bags down in front of the young officer.

“Yes,” Riley answered. “I believe this is the clothing Dr. Kinsley wore on October 6th.”

Kade turned, showing the torn T-shirt and panties to the jury members. “What conclusions did you draw from the state Dr. Kinsley and her apartment were in?”

“Objection!” came the expected interruption from the defense table. “Your Honor, she’s calling for a conclusion on the part of the witness.”

“Overruled,” Linehan said as Kade had thought she would. “The witness is a trained police officer. I want to hear his conclusions. Please answer, Officer Riley.”

“I thought it likely that an assault had occurred,” the officer answered.

Kade nodded in satisfaction. “Thank you, Officer. No further questions.” She sat down and watched defense counsel rise for his cross-examination.

“Officer Riley,” D’Aquino stepped close to the young cop so he would tower above him, “how long have you been a police officer?”

Kade had seen it coming. She held back a grimace.

“Since last year,” Riley answered.

“Just last year,” D’Aquino repeated, in case one of the jurors hadn’t caught it the first time. “And how long have you been working in the field?”

Riley seemed a little embarrassed now, well aware of his inexperience. “Two months.”

“And in those two months, have you ever been summoned to the site of a sexual assault before?” the defense lawyer continued his questioning.

“No, sir,” the young officer had to admit, “this was my first.”

D’Aquino nodded. “Have you ever met Ms. Kinsley before that night?”

“No, of course not.”

“Is it safe to say then, Officer Riley, that you have no frame of reference to assess her appearance or her behavior?”

Jonathan Riley hesitated. “I guess not.”

“In your direct examination, you said that you saw the objects on the floor through the open bedroom door, so you weren’t actually in the bedroom, were you?”

“Ms. Kinsley didn’t want me to,” Riley stammered. “She was pretty shaken, and we were waiting for a female detective -“

“A simple yes or no, please,” the defense attorney demanded. “Were you or were you not in the bedroom?”

The officer’s shoulders slumped. “No, I wasn’t.”

“So, not having seen the evidence at close range, how could you be sure that the objects scattered about the bedroom floor hadn’t simply gotten there by two people having passionate sex, tumbling into the apartment, kissing and tearing each other’s clothes off?” D’Aquino asked.

“It didn’t look like that,” Riley answered weakly.

“From the distance,” D’Aquino muttered.

Kade stood. “Objection! Is there a question?”

“Withdrawn. No further questions.” The defense attorney returned to his seat.

The judge looked at Kade. “Redirect, Ms. Matheson?”

“Yes, Your Honor.” Kade knew she couldn’t leave it like that. D’Aquino had destroyed Riley’s credibility. “Officer Riley, how did the living room of Dr. Kinsley’s apartment look when you arrived?”

“Tidy, ma’am. No signs of a struggle,” the man sweating on the witness stand answered.

“How would you expect a living room to look if two people having passionate sex, tumbling into the apartment, kissing and tearing each other’s clothes off, had stumbled through on their way to the bedroom?” Kade asked, consciously quoting the defense’s argument. She hoped that even the inexperienced officer had caught on to what she was trying to get him to say by now.

“If that was the case, there would have been some scattered objects in the hallway and the living room, too,” Riley answered.

“Thank you. Nothing further.” Kade sat back down.

* * *

“I call Detective Aiden Carlisle to the stand.”

Aiden strode into the courtroom, careful to hide any trace of her nervousness as she placed her left hand on the Bible the bailiff held out for her. She hadn’t been this nervous before her testimony since her very first time in court as a rookie fresh from the academy. She swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth and took her place on the witness stand.

“Would you please state and spell your name for the record?” the bailiff asked.

“Aiden Carlisle. A-i-d-e-n, C-a-r-l-i-s-l-e,” she spelled out for the court reporter.

She watched as Kade moved close to the witness-box and gave her a small nod. “Tell the jury your profession, please.”

“I’m a detective with the Sexual Assault Detail of the Portland Police Bureau,” Aiden answered, keeping her head up and her shoulders squared.

“How long have you been a police officer, Detective?” Kade obviously wanted to establish Aiden’s experience after the defense had poked holes into Officer Riley’s credibility.

“Nine years,” Aiden answered.

Kade nodded with an impressed expression on her face as if she hadn’t known the fact before. “How many of those years have you spent investigating sex crimes?”

“Seven years.”

Another impressed nod from the Deputy DA. “For comparison, what is the average time a detective works with the Sexual Assault Detail before transferring out?”

“The average’s two years,” Aiden answered patiently. Okay, now everyone should have noticed that I know my stuff.

“Detective Carlisle, would you please describe for the jury what you found when you arrived at Dr. Kinsley’s apartment on the night in question?” Kade asked, purposely leaving out why Aiden had been present at the apartment in the first place. They both knew that the jury would assume she had been called in by Officers Trent and Riley.

“In the bedroom, furniture had been knocked over, and a series of broken objects and trampled books were scattered across the floor,” Aiden answered. “In the living room, nothing was out of order, except for a wide-open window and a ripped-out phone cord.”

Kade nodded. “Did you actually enter the bedroom?”

“Yes, I did.”

Kade directed her gaze at D’Aquino for a moment, silently emphasizing for the jury that this witness had seen the damage up close. “Where was Dr. Kinsley when you arrived?”

Aiden knew this was her cue to report the physical and emotional state in which Dawn had been since Kade couldn’t ask directly without drawing an objection from D’Aquino. “She was sitting in the living room, too scared to return to the bedroom.”

“How do you know she was scared?” Kade threw the ball back to her.

“She was very pale - except for the bruise on her right cheek - and trembling, obviously in a state of shock,” Aiden said. There were days where she couldn’t get that picture out of her head.

“What did Dr. Kinsley tell you -?”

“Objection, hearsay!” D’Aquino interrupted.

Linehan nodded. “Sustained.”

Aiden pressed her lips together for a moment. The defense had just successfully prevented her from explaining to the jury how Dawn had immediately told her she had been raped.

“Detective Carlisle, you were the lead investigator in Dr. Kinsley’s case, correct?” Kade moved on to the next question.

“My partner, Detective Bennet, and I, yes.”

“Tell us a little about the investigation, please,” Kade said.

Aiden looked at the jury members, speaking directly to them. “The first solid lead came when we noticed similarities between the cases of Ms. Kinsley, Ms. Matthews, and Ms. Riggs.” She decided to leave out their useless attempts to get a DNA hit in one of their databases because it would only draw attention to the fact that Garett Ballard had no previous criminal record. “All of them frequented a lesbian club known as Rainbows.”

“And after that discovery, what was the next step in your investigation?”

“We went to the club to show around the sketch our police artist had drawn from Dr. Kinsley’s description of her rapist.” Aiden fixed a steely gaze at Ballard. “But that didn’t prove necessary because before I even reached the front door, I identified the defendant, Mr. Ballard, as the man we were searching for. Dr. Kinsley had described him in detail, right down to the scars on his chin and above one eyebrow.”

Kade turned and regarded Ballard for a second, giving the jury the opportunity to do the same, before she held up a sheet of paper. “Is this sketch, which I’ve filed as People’s exhibit four, the sketch you’re referring to, Detective?”

“Yes, it is.” The resemblance of the portrayed man to Ballard was obvious.

Kade walked the sketch over to the jury for closer inspection. “What happened next?”

“We waited for a warrant, as the law requires, and then went to arrest Mr. Ballard. As I started to read him his rights, he called me a ‘bitch’ and hit me in the face with his fist,” Aiden reported.

Kade handed her a photograph, taken the day after the arrest when the bruise on her jaw had been the most colorful. “I’m showing you what’s been marked as People’s exhibit five. Detective Carlisle, is this the injury you sustained during the arrest?”

“Yes, it is.” Aiden gave the photograph back so Kade could show it to the jury.

“Detective Carlisle, how many suspects have you arrested during your career?”

Aiden shrugged. “I don’t know the exact number; must have been hundreds, though.”

“And how many times has a suspect hit you during an arrest?” Kade asked.

“Most don’t try to resist, but I’ve been hit, kicked, spat on, and sworn at more times than I can count.” Aiden looked across the courtroom at Ballard. You’re nothing special, you bastard.

Kade stepped closer. “And how often have you been hit, kicked, spat on, or sworn at by a suspect whose innocence was later established?”

D’Aquino shot up from his seat. “Objection!”

“I withdraw, Your Honor,” Kade announced casually. The jury had heard what she had meant to imply anyway. “Detective Carlisle, when you and your partner arrested the defendant, did you wear your badge, identifying you as a police officer?”

“Yes, I did. I showed it to Mr. Ballard right before I began to read him his rights,” Aiden answered.

Kade looked at the gold shield proudly displayed on Aiden’s breast pocket. “So, how likely is it that Mr. Ballard thought you were, as Mr. D’Aquino said in his opening statement, ‘troublemakers’ who wanted to cheat their way into the club?”

Aiden allowed a sarcastic smile to show on her lips. “Highly unlikely. He knew who we were and why we were there when he hit me.”

“Was Mr. Ballard armed when you arrested him?” Kade asked.

“Yes, he was. He had a Sig Sauer tucked in his waistband, covered by his shirt, although he doesn’t have the necessary license to carry a concealed weapon,” Aiden emphasized.

“You and your partner, Detective Bennet, were the officers who questioned Mr. Ballard after he was arrested, is that correct?” Kade moved on to her next question.

“Yes.”

Leaning one hand onto the edge of the witness-box, Kade half turned to look at Ballard. “What was the result of that interrogation?”

“Mr. Ballard was not very cooperative. He claimed not to know any of the victims, at least not their names. In the course of the interview, he became increasingly agitated, even aggressive. He jumped up and called me a ‘fucking dyke,’” Aiden reported, satisfied that she finally had an opportunity to portray Ballard as the homophobe he was.

“Detective Carlisle, another question while I have you here as an expert… part of your training as a police officer were lessons in officer safety and weaponless self-defense, right?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve also been the Academy’s kickboxing champion, right?” Kade asked.

Aiden nodded in confirmation. “That’s right. Twice,” she emphasized. This was not the time for humbleness.

“And despite all that training, the defendant was able to hit you?”

Aiden gritted her teeth and swallowed her pride, trusting that Kade was aiming at something other than humiliating her in front of her fellow detectives in the gallery. “Yes, he was.”

“Then, with firsthand knowledge of the speed and force of his attack, would you expect an untrained woman to be able to defend herself against the defendant?”

Ah, this is where she’s going with this. Aiden almost had to smile.

“Objection, Your Honor!” The defense attorney stood once again to give voice to his protests. “Counsel’s asking for an opinion.”

“Sit down, Mr. D’Aquino. As Ms. Matheson established, Detective Carlisle is a trained police officer. The jury is entitled to hear her opinion. Objection overruled,” Linehan decided.

Kade turned back toward Aiden, giving her a nod.

“No, there’s not a doubt in my mind that an untrained woman would have no chance defending herself against him,” Aiden answered clearly.

“Thank you, Detective. No further questions at the moment.” Kade walked back to her table.

Aiden straightened and squared her shoulders as Victor D’Aquino approached the witness stand. “Detective Carlisle, you just told us that you’ve been hit by a suspect during arrest more times than you can count, correct?”

“Not literally, but it’s been a few times, yes,” Aiden agreed, warily wondering where he was going with this.

“Has anyone ever tried to draw a weapon and shoot you to resist arrest?” D’Aquino wanted to know.

Aiden nodded. “Once or twice.”

“On the evening you arrested him, did Mr. Ballard carry a weapon?”

“Yes, although he -“

“A simple yes or no will suffice, Detective,” D’Aquino interrupted before she could tell the jury again that Ballard had had no permission to carry a concealed firearm.

Aiden forced herself to answer calmly. “Yes, he did carry a weapon.”

“But he didn’t try to use that weapon against you, did he?”

“No,” Aiden had to admit.

“Detective Carlisle, you mentioned in your report that you didn’t arrest my client immediately when you saw him at the club, is that correct?” the defense lawyer asked.

Aiden gave a nod. “Yes. After I recognized him, I had to wait for backup and an arrest warrant.”

“Is it not true that you came up to Mr. Ballard, not revealing yourself as a police officer but undercover as a customer who wanted to enter the club?” D’Aquino questioned her.

“I wasn’t undercover,” Aiden protested.

D’Aquino lightly tapped the witness-box in front of Aiden. “But your clothing and your behavior was such that Mr. Ballard could have assumed you were a customer?”

“That’s possible the first time I approached him,” Aiden admitted, “but -“

“Thank you, that answer is enough for me,” the defense attorney interrupted, leaning against the witness-box. “Isn’t it true that you first arrested another innocent man for the alleged rape before you set your sights on my client?”

Oh, now he’s trying to make it sound like we arbitrarily arrested Ballard because we didn’t like the color of his socks! Another innocent man? Come on! “We followed a lead and arrested a known sex offender whose description somewhat resembled that of Mr. Ballard, that’s true, yes.” D’Aquino was not happy with the answer, she noticed with satisfaction.

“Okay, let’s back up a little, Detective. Were you assigned to the case initially?”

Shit! Although Aiden knew that she hadn’t done anything wrong, she had hoped it wouldn’t come to this. “I was the detective working the case from this first night on, yes,” she answered, hoping D’Aquino would be satisfied with that.

“And on that evening, were you on duty?”

“No.”

“You were called in for backup, then?”

“No.” Aiden fought the urge to grind her teeth together.

Victor D’Aquino dramatically raised his eyebrows. “How come you appeared on Dr. Kinsley’s doorstep on that night, then?”

“I heard about the assault on my police scanner, and since it was in my immediate neighborhood, I went to see if I could help,” Aiden said, hoping he would leave it at that.

D’Aquino, of course, had other plans. “So, your eagerness to respond to that call had nothing to do with the fact that you knew the alleged victim, Ms. Kinsley, before that night?”

Aiden forced a wave of anger and panic back down. “No, it hadn’t. If you had investigated that a little more thoroughly, you would know that dispatch never announces the name of the victim on the radio,” she attacked the defense attorney. “I had no way of knowing who the victim was even if I had known her.” It was the truth even though she’d had a bad feeling when she had heard the address of Dawn’s apartment building.

“But you did, didn’t you?” D’Aquino insisted. “You knew Ms. Kinsley before the alleged attack?”

“I heard Dr. Kinsley’s lecture at a law enforcement seminar the week before her rape,” Aiden answered, “together with almost every other SAD detective.” She hoped the defense didn’t know about her short visit in Dawn’s apartment after their chance meeting at the grocery store even if their conversation had mostly been limited to their jobs.

D’Aquino nodded. “So Ms. Kinsley gave a lecture about rape?”

Aiden’s brow furrowed. Where is he going with this? It looked as if D’Aquino had given up on making her look biased and was now trying to impeach Dawn’s credibility. “Yes, she did,” she answered cautiously.

“She makes her living dealing with rape?”

Aiden clenched her hands into fists behind the witness-box. Are you accusing her of anything here, you bastard? “So do I, Counselor,” she pointed out, practically daring him to tell her there was anything wrong with how she earned her money and trying to draw his expected attack away from Dawn.

“You do…” Thoughtfully, the defense attorney tapped his finger against his chin as if he had just now remembered that he was questioning a sex crimes expert. “Then, with a professional background like yours - or that of Ms. Kinsley - you’d know what kind of behavior to look for in a rape victim?”

“Yes, I do know that - it was exactly the kind of behavior Dr. Kinsley showed when I found her in her apartment that Saturday night.” Aiden knew now what he was trying to do - implying that Dawn had faked the “symptoms” of a rape victim.

“And Ms. Kinsley also knows what kind of behavior a sex crimes detective would expect her to display if she had been raped, correct?”

“Objection!” Kade threw her pen onto the table and jumped up. “Defense counsel is trying to put the victim on trial, here. Your Honor, I respectfully request that you admonish Mr. D’Aquino for this behavior.”

Aiden hid a smile. Kade looked like an avenging angel, her blue eyes glaring at D’Aquino in indignation.

“Approach the bench,” Linehan ordered, clicking off her microphone so the jury couldn’t hear what she said to the attorneys.

With various degrees of enthusiasm, Kade and D’Aquino made their ways toward the front of the courtroom.

Aiden let her gaze wander around the courtroom while she waited. Dawn’s mother still sat in the first row, her face pale and her hand clamped around that of Lieutenant Vasquez. Aiden was glad that Dawn hadn’t had to witness D’Aquino’s implied accusations.

Finally, Victor D’Aquino returned to the witness stand. “Detective Carlisle, you testified that you heard Ms. Kinsley give a lecture, right?”

“Right.” Aiden nodded, wondering what he was trying now.

“A lecture you were impressed with?” D’Aquino asked.

“Yes. Dr. Kinsley seemed very competent in her field of work.” Aiden knew the defense lawyer wouldn’t dare to pick up his line of questioning about Dawn’s professional knowledge again after Linehan’s admonition.

D’Aquino nodded. “So already knowing Ms. Kinsley and being impressed with her, wouldn’t you say you were predisposed to believe her accusations against Mr. Ballard?”

Kade shifted onto the edge of her chair, ready to jump up and object again should the opportunity arise, but Aiden remained calm. “I would say that I’m predisposed to believe every woman who sits there trembling and beaten and tells me she has been raped.”

“What happened to innocent until proven otherwise?” D’Aquino muttered loud enough for the jury to hear.

“Objection!” Kade stood, one hand on her hip. “Is there a question for this witness or is defense counsel already delivering his closing argument?”

“Withdrawn. No further questions, Your Honor.”

Kade rose. “Redirect, Your Honor?”

The judge nodded.

“Detective Carlisle, as defense counsel just pointed out, you saw Dr. Kinsley before the night of October 6th, correct?” Kade laid her hand onto the smooth wood of the witness-box.

Aiden stared at her for a second. Now she’s drawing attention to the same fact we wanted to distract D’Aquino from? But she trusted Kade and her abilities as an attorney, so she nodded willingly. “Yes.”

“Then unlike Officer Riley, who had never met Dr. Kinsley before and therefore had no frame of reference, as defense counsel pointed out, how would you describe your ability to assess Dr. Kinsley’s appearance or behavior?” Kade asked.

Ah. Brilliant, Kade. Beating D’Aquino with his own weapons. “I would say that I should be able to assess her behavior fairly well,” Aiden declared with confidence.

“And compared to that first meeting, how did she behave on the night of October 6th?”

“Completely different,” Aiden said. “Her confidence and her sense of humor were gone. Something had scared and upset her deeply.”

The defense attorney rose from his table. “Objection, speculation, Your Honor! I move to strike. The witness has no personal knowledge of whatever did or did not happen that night.”

Kade turned toward the judge. “The People are not attempting to show precisely what transpired that night, Your Honor, but merely to determine that, in Detective Carlisle’s expert opinion, something occurred which had a negative effect on Dr. Kinsley.”

“Overruled. You may proceed, Counselor,” Linehan ruled.

“Thank you, Your Honor. Detective, it has been stated that you did not reveal yourself as a police officer on your first meeting with Mr. Ballard. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Was it your intention to arrest him on this occasion?” Kade asked.

Aiden shook her head. “No. I was merely attempting to gain access to the nightclub as part of an ongoing investigation.”

“I see. And, on the second occasion, when you were actually attempting to arrest him, did you reveal yourself as a police officer?”

“Yes, I showed him my badge and the arrest warrant and proceeded to inform him that he was under arrest,” Aiden said firmly.

Kade nodded. “And it was at this point that he hit you?”

“That’s right.”

“Detective Carlisle,” Kade paused for a second, letting the jury know with a meaningful glance that one last, important question was to follow, “having made, in your own words, ‘hundreds of arrests,’ do you believe that there is any way Mr. Ballard would not have known you were a police officer at the time of his arrest?”

“No, I don’t see how.”

With a brief nod, Kade stepped back from the witness stand. “No further questions, Your Honor.”

“Thank you, Detective, you are excused,” Linehan told Aiden.

On legs that felt as if they were stuffed with cotton, Aiden stood and walked out of the courtroom.

CHAPTER 18

“DETECTIVE Carlisle?”

Aiden looked up from the witness statement she had read and closed her highlighter when she saw that Dawn’s mother and her quasi aunt were standing in front of her desk. “Mrs. Kinsley, Lieutenant.” She gave the first woman a smile and the second a respectful nod. “What can I do for you?”

“We’d like to have a short update on the trial,” Grace said while her police officer friend kept herself in the background. “How is it going in your opinion?”

Aiden rubbed the back of her neck, scanning the room behind the two women to see if Dawn had come with them. She hadn’t seen Dawn since the beginning of the trial. While that might have been good for her job and her sanity, she had begun to miss her whenever her work left her time enough to think. “Well, Officer Riley’s testimony didn’t help our case - D’Aquino made him look like an absolute greenhorn, so the jury won’t give much weight to whatever he testified to. Detective Okada’s testimony about the execution of the search warrant guarantees us a conviction on the possession of stolen property charge but doesn’t help much with the other charges.”

Aiden knew that her own testimony had been a mixed bag, too. She was sure that the jury would believe her that she had no doubt that a rape had occurred, but with D’Aquino’s continuing implications that Dawn would know exactly how to make her believe that…

“What about the DNA analyst and the fingerprint expert? Their testimony was good for us, right?” Grace fixed hopeful eyes on Aiden.

Aiden cleared her throat. “Well, not really, no. Ballard’s fingerprints and his semen don’t rule out the possibility of consensual sex, and that’s what Ballard claims.”

“What about the other two girls?” Grace asked.

“We have no DNA evidence on them, and their lineup identification of Ballard was a little shaky, but the fact that there are two other women who accuse Ballard makes the defense’s theory that the victims are just too ashamed to admit to an affair with him a little less likely.” Aiden knew that a lot rested on Dawn. Her testimony could be the deciding factor.

Del Vasquez nodded grimly. “So, a lot will depend on Dawn,” she came to the same conclusion Aiden had.

Grace sighed and sank into the chair Aiden had moved out for her. “When Dawn decided not to become a cop, I always thought that at least my daughter would be safe from this kind of crime.”

Del, who had silently taken position behind her, squeezed her shoulder.

Another deep sigh, and then Grace straightened and looked up at Aiden with a small smile. “At least she was lucky having you as the detective working her case… and as a friend. I know how comforting having one of those strong cop shoulders to cry on can be.” She affectionately patted the hand resting on her shoulder.

“Oh, yes, that’s us boys and girls in blue, always ready to lend a hand or a shoulder.” Del smiled down at her.

Grace turned so she was facing her old friend. “Well, I’m glad that this time it was a girl in blue offering her shoulder. The last thing Dawn needs now is to fall in love with another cop. It would break her heart to lose another loved one to this job, to worry every time he goes to work, to jump every time the phone rings when he’s out in the field. I wouldn’t wish that for her.” Grace’s gray eyes were clouded over as she remembered her own pain.

Aiden bowed her head, understanding Grace’s pain and sorrows. What she didn’t understand was why Grace automatically excluded her, but not a male cop, as a possible love interest for Dawn. Either she’s not as aware of her daughter’s sexual orientation as Dawn thinks, or she’s deeply in denial. Or she just knows that you’re so not the woman for Dawn and is trying to warn you off, Aiden Carlisle.

“Hey, Aiden!” Ray called from the glass doors leading to the squad room. “I’ve got the warrant on McPherson. You coming?”

Aiden stood and reached for her jacket, directing an apologetic gaze at her two visitors. “I have to go.” She hesitated for a second and then added, “Give my best to Dawn.”

* * *

Kade rounded the prosecution table and looked down at the bald man on the witness stand. “Doctor Van Hayden, would you tell us your profession, please?”

“I’m an emergency room physician at Portland General Hospital,” the witness answered.

“How long have you been practicing medicine?” Kade asked, determined not to let the defense undermine the credibility of one of her witnesses again.

“It will be twenty years in December,” the doctor said.

Kade nodded respectfully. “And how many women who have been raped have you treated in that time?”

Doctor Van Hayden shrugged. “A lot, but I don’t know the exact number.”

But Kade did. She looked down at the paper in her hand. “Would it surprise you to hear that you were involved in the treatment of two hundred eight rape victims?”

“Not at all. That sounds about right.”

Now that the vast experience of the witness had been established, Kade moved on. “Did you also treat Dr. Kinsley?”

“I did.”

“What were the findings of your medical examination?” Kade asked neutrally, not giving D’Aquino any opportunity to object.

“I found bruises on her upper arms, thighs, on the right side of her face, and in the pelvic region. There were bite marks on her breasts and a hairline fracture on her right index finger,” the ER doctor explained.

“Your Honor, I move People’s exhibits nine, ten, eleven, and twelve into evidence. Doctor, are these the photographs that were taken during your examination?” Kade laid the pictures out in front of the physician.

Van Hayden nodded. “Yes, they are.”

Kade walked the photographs over to the jury box and handed them to the juror closest to her. She watched the faces of the jury members while they saw the victim’s injuries for the first time. When dealing with a jury, Kade knew that the old saying was true: A picture was worth a thousand words.

Finally, she turned back to her witness. “In your professional opinion, Doctor, what has usually been the cause of injuries similar to those you found on Dr. Kinsley?”

“Objection!” D’Aquino tried to prevent the doctor from answering. “Counsel is asking for a personal opinion.”

Linehan looked at him like a mother reprimanding her toddler. “Opinion testimony is admissible in the area of specialized knowledge that an expert witness is qualified in; you know that, Mr. D’Aquino. The objection is overruled. Please answer, Doctor Van Hayden.”

“The bruises on arms and thighs are consistent with restraint, and the bruise on her cheek was most likely caused by a backhanded slap to the face,” the doctor answered.

“What about the bruises around her neck?” Kade asked.

The doctor looked down at the photo Kade held out for him. “The pattern was not consistent with manual strangulation. I think someone pressed down on her throat with a forearm.”

“You also did what is called a rape kit or sexual assault evidence collection kit on Dr. Kinsley, is that correct?”

“Yes, I did. The examination revealed seminal fluid and vaginal lacerations at the six o’clock position,” Doctor Van Hayden answered.

“When you say six o’clock position, what exactly do you mean?” Kade asked for the sake of the jury. She knew how important it was that every juror understood the vaginal clock because it helped to prove that it had been rape and not rough consensual sex.

The ER doctor turned toward the diagram they had prepared to help illustrate his testimony. “When we do a rape examination, we mentally divide the vagina into areas. The upper part,” Van Hayden pointed at a certain point of the diagram, “is the twelve o’clock position while the lower part is the six o’clock position and so on.”

“And what practical relevance do these positions have?”

“Injuries at the lower portions, the five, six or seven o’clock position, imply rape while small injuries near the twelve o’clock position are generally attributed to rough but consensual sexual activity,” the physician explained.

Kade circled the lower part of the diagram. “So your medical findings corroborate that Dr. Kinsley had been raped?”

“Objection, Your Honor! Leading!” D’Aquino shouted across the courtroom.

Linehan nodded. “Sustained. Rephrase, Ms. Matheson,” she demanded.

Kade quickly formulated a nonleading question. “In your professional opinion, what conclusions can be drawn from your examination of Dr. Kinsley?”

“It seems very likely that she’s been raped,” Van Hayden gave the answer Kade had been waiting for.

“Thank you, Doctor. No further questions.”

D’Aquino stood. “Doctor Van Hayden, isn’t it true that bruises can not only be caused by rape but by rough, consensual sex, too?”

“Yes,” the doctor had to agree.

“And isn’t it also true that pressure against the throat to cut off the air is sometimes used to enhance sexual pleasure?”

The physician nodded again. “Yes. The lack of oxygen can heighten sexual excitement.”

“So, bruises around the throat don’t necessarily show intent to kill or seriously hurt someone, do they?”

“Not necessarily, no.”

Kade gritted her teeth. The defense attorney was keeping his questions general and wide enough that the doctor had to agree because the statements were generally true even though they didn’t apply to Dawn Kinsley’s case.

“Is it correct that there are other common signs of rape, for example…” D’Aquino looked down at his notes, “…injuries to the vaginal fourchette and the perineum?”

The doctor inclined his head. “In some cases, yes.”

“And did you find lacerations at the fourchette when you examined Ms. Kinsley?”

“No, I didn’t.”

D’Aquino nodded with a grave expression. “What about injuries to the perineum? Did you find that?”

“No, I didn’t,” Van Hayden had to admit once again.

“We heard that you’ve been a doctor for twenty years,” D’Aquino changed the topic. “In this time, have you ever encountered injuries you believed to be caused by rough but consensual sex?”

The doctor smiled wryly. “After twenty years in the ER, there’s not much I haven’t encountered.”

“So, that’s a yes?”

“It is.”

“And did the patients usually tell the truth and give rough sex play as the cause of their injuries?” D’Aquino asked.

“Only when it was so obvious that they couldn’t get away with any other explanation,” Van Hayden answered.

The defense attorney rubbed his chin. “Other explanations… such as?”

“Falling out of bed or household accidents.”

“Did someone ever try to claim she had been raped even though the injuries were caused by rough sex?”

Kade was on her feet in a second. “Objection! Your Honor, this is another attempt to accuse the victims of lying and put them on trial here.”

“Sustained,” Linehan decided. “Mr. D’Aquino, I have spoken to you on this matter already. Cease that line of questioning or you shall be held in contempt of court. You will have the opportunity to question Dr. Kinsley’s credibility when she takes the stand. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Your Honor.” Victor D’Aquino straightened his tie and turned back to the witness. “Doctor Van Hayden, did you run a toxicological analysis on the blood sample taken from Ms. Kinsley?”

“No, that’s not part of standard procedure. The blood is taken to test for sexually transmitted diseases.”

“So there’s no way to prove whether or not Ms. Kinsley had been drinking?” the defense lawyer wanted to know.

The doctor furrowed his brow. “I didn’t notice -“

“Yes or no, please: can you prove if Ms. Kinsley had been drinking or not?” D’Aquino interrupted.

“We can’t determine the blood alcohol level, no,” the physician had to concede.

“Thank you, nothing further.”

Kade rose for her redirect examination. “Doctor Van Hayden, how close did you stand to Dr. Kinsley while you examined her?”

“Objection, relevance?” D’Aquino said immediately.

“The relevance will become clear with my next question, Your Honor,” Kade promised.

Linehan fixed her with a strict gaze. “It had better, Counselor. Overruled. Continue, Doctor Van Hayden.”

“I had to stand very close to Dr. Kinsley,” the doctor answered.

“Close enough to potentially smell alcohol on her breath if she had been drinking heavily?” Kade asked.

“Objection, leading and speculation!” D’Aquino threw in.

“Your Honor, we have already established the witness’ credibility as a medical practitioner for twenty years. During this time, he has surely dealt with intoxicated patients, and he is experienced enough to recognize such a state.”

Linehan nodded. “Overruled.”

“Other than the injuries you already told us about, was there anything else you noticed about Dr. Kinsley’s condition?”

“She was in shock.”

“Anything else?”

Van Hayden shook his head. “Not that I can remember.”

Kade looked to the jury for a moment, hoping they understood that this meant he hadn’t noticed the smell of alcohol on her breath or any behavior that could be attributed to intoxication. “Doctor, is the lack of injuries to the perineum or the fourchette proof in itself that the alleged victim is lying and no rape has occurred?”

“No, not at all. Only some rape victims show injuries to the fourchette, and injuries to the perineum are rather rare,” the doctor answered. “The majority of rape victims don’t have signs of genital trauma.”

“Nothing further, thank you.” Kade was glad to sit down. Her feet were starting to hurt after a full court day in high heels.

“Thank you, Doctor Van Hayden. That will complete your testimony. You may step down. I suggest we break for the day and reconvene tomorrow.” Linehan raised her gavel. “Court is adjourned.”

* * *

Dawn was stiffly sitting in the busy waiting area of Portland General Hospital, her back pressed against the uncomfortable plastic chair in an attempt to make herself feel more grounded. She had never liked hospitals, but now, after being raped just six weeks ago, the somber walls and the smell of disinfectant made her heart race and her breathing catch. She realized that she wasn’t that far off having a panic attack, and that knowledge did nothing to help her relax either.

“Hey,” a voice said right next to her.

Dawn’s head jerked around. Startled, she glanced up - and felt herself relax for the first time all day as she looked into eyes the color of warm honey. “Detective Carlisle!” Her voice trembled with relief at having her personal guardian angel suddenly show up.

“Hello,” Aiden said, running long fingers through her unruly black hair before wrapping her fingers around the gold shield on her belt. She looked down at Dawn in concern. “What are you doing here? Everything all right?”

“Yes,” Dawn said even though she hadn’t been all right just a minute ago. “I’m just here to get this splint removed and my finger x-rayed to see if it’s all healed up.” She held up her right index finger. “And you? Everything okay?” She let her gaze travel over Aiden’s long legs, her trim waist, and up a muscular yet still feminine upper body. Aiden certainly seemed to be in perfect health and not here to seek medical attention.

“I’m here on a case,” Aiden said.

“Oh.” What did you expect? Dawn reprimanded herself. Did you think she somehow sensed you needed her and showed up just to hold your hand? You are a victim in one of her cases to her - just one of many. She bit her lip. “Then I shouldn’t keep you.”

Aiden eased her tall frame down onto the plastic chair next to Dawn’s. “I have a few minutes,” she said.

“Are you sure?” As much as Dawn needed Aiden’s company, she knew there was another rape survivor who needed it more. Aiden’s presence had been the only thing that had made her rape kit examination halfway bearable, and she didn’t want to deprive anyone else of that soothing presence.

Aiden nodded. “I’m sure. The victim…” She hesitated. “She’s in a coma, and the doctors aren’t sure if she’ll ever wake up.”

Dawn closed her eyes for a moment. “Maybe,” she said when she opened them again, “maybe I’ve been lucky.” She didn’t really feel lucky, but compared to a woman who might spend the rest of her life in a coma…

Aiden said nothing. She sat next to Dawn, silently keeping her company until a doctor called Dawn into the examination room. Aiden stood, too, and nodded down at Dawn. “Take care.”

“You, too, Detective.” Dawn watched her disappear down the hall before she turned and followed the doctor into the examination room.

CHAPTER 19

AIDEN ADJUSTED the Plexiglas safety glasses and the earmuffs that she wore and moved the target back from the 15-to the 25-yard line. She spread her feet for balance and gripped the butt of her Glock, one hand supporting the other.

In rapid succession, she fired center-mass at the black silhouette at the end of the lane. When she had pulled the trigger the five times that were required from this distance, Aiden stepped back and pressed the button to retrieve the target for closer inspection.

She smiled with satisfaction. Not only had all five rounds hit the black paper, they had all landed in the target’s center and head.

“Would you look at that, boys?” came Jeff Okada’s voice from behind her. “Is this part of your evil plan to humiliate your colleagues?”

Aiden laughed. “Oh, you don’t need me for that. You manage it all on your own.”

“Don’t listen to Jeff,” Ray said, clapping her on the back. “He’s just jealous because he wants to have a partner who scores ninety-eight, too, instead of one who has barely passed the requalification with seventy-nine.”

“I had something in my eye.” Ruben rubbed the eye in question.

“Yes - the female range instructor who stood there, trying not to laugh,” Okada teased.

Ruben squared his shoulders. “She wasn’t laughing; she was ogling me. She even agreed to go out with me.” Triumphantly, he waved a piece of paper with her phone number.

“Some women will do anything out of pity,” Okada commented.

“If this is how you shoot when you take pity on these guys, I’d like to see your score when you shoot without mercy,” another voice said from behind Aiden.

Aiden hastily took off her safety glasses when she recognized Lieutenant Del Vasquez.

The three men exchanged glances. “I think we’ll try the outdoor range. There’s still hope that we can beat you there, Aiden.” Ray dragged his colleagues from the room.

“Do you have a minute, Detective?” The lieutenant pointed at the door.

Nervously, Aiden followed her outside. She had never directly worked with the homicide lieutenant and knew of no active cases that would require their cooperation. The only thing they had in common, other than their work, was Dawn. After what Grace had said about her wish that Dawn should never again become involved with a cop, Aiden dreaded the conversation Del Vasquez wanted to have with her.

“I’ll get straight to the point,” Del said when they reached the front of the building.

Aiden nodded in agreement, preferring not to suffer for long.

Del looked her right in the eyes. “I want you to hook me up with your Deputy DA.”

Aiden almost swallowed her tongue. She stared at the lieutenant with wide eyes as she coughed. Good to know my gaydar’s still in full working order, but… Kade? What the hell?

Del rolled her eyes and laughed, a dark, husky sound. “Let’s make it clear right now - I may be many things, but two things I’m not: heterosexual or blind. Yes, I noticed that Kadence Matheson is not only a brilliant lawyer but also a beautiful woman. But please get your mind out of the gutter, Detective. The hookup I requested was meant in a strictly professional capacity.”

“Oh.” Aiden rubbed her neck, trying to look as if she had never assumed anything else even for a moment. “Yes, of course. What… what should I tell Ms. Matheson?”

“I want her to call me to the stand,” Del demanded.

Aiden looked down at her black boots. “Lieutenant… I know you want to help Dawn; we all do. But in a criminal case, character witnesses are usually called only for the defendant, not for the victim.”

Del’s dark eyes narrowed. “You’re trying to explain a job to me that I’ve done longer than you, Detective!” she growled. “I don’t want Ms. Matheson to call me as a character witness. That Saturday night, I accompanied Dawn to the club.”

What? Aiden stared at her.

“The club is not really my scene, but Dawn had never been there before, and I knew that those girls she went with would disappear from her side as soon as an attractive butch waved a beer at them, so I went with them,” Del said.

“You drove her home?” Aiden guessed, knowing by now how protective the older officer was of Dawn. “Then you can testify that she never took Ballard home with her.”

Del’s strong jaw clenched. “No. I didn’t, and I can’t. I left before Dawn did because all those flashing lights and the smoke were giving me a frigging headache.” She closed her eyes. “God, I’ve wished a thousand times that I’d insisted she come with me or talked her out of -“

“It wouldn’t have done you any good,” Aiden stopped her from blaming herself. “Dawn’s too stubborn to be ordered around. And even if you’d taken her home, Ballard knew her address by then. It wouldn’t have made a difference.”

Del sighed. “What I can testify to is that Dawn never talked to Ballard while I was there.”

“I don’t want to appear disrespectful, but why didn’t you offer to testify before?” Aiden asked.

“I wanted to, but you’re right: Dawn is stubborn, and she vehemently refused my offer. She didn’t want to drag me into it when I didn’t really see anything. I didn’t like Dawn’s decision, but I respected it because I know how important it is to give her complete control over her life right now.” Del poked the toes of her boots into the gravel. “But now that it all comes down to whether or not the jury believes Ballard’s story about consensual sex and so much rests on Dawn’s shoulders, I want to testify.”

Aiden nodded thoughtfully. “You know this would mean outing yourself in open court -“

Del stopped her with a raised hand. “I’ve known that girl since she was knee-high to a grasshopper and came to the station with pigtails, begging me to let her ride in a police cruiser. I couldn’t love her more if she was my own daughter, okay?” She stared at Aiden with intense, dark eyes. “So, if it would help get the bastard who raped her behind bars, then I would out myself in front of the police commissioner by propositioning his wife if need be!”

Aiden held back a chuckle and looked at Del with silent admiration. God, I could have used a friend like that when I grew up. “Understood. I’ll tell Kade to expect a call from you.”

Del nodded curtly and turned to go.

“So, did she ever get it?” Aiden called after her.

Del turned, raising one black eyebrow. “Did who get what?”

“Dawn,” Aiden said. “Did she ever get that ride in a police cruiser that she begged you for?”

The lieutenant folded muscular arms across her chest. Her face was expressionless, not betraying her thoughts and feelings. “You’re not implying that I misused police property for the entertainment of a little girl, are you, Detective?”

Aiden held her gaze. “I’m implying that you would do anything for that girl, Lieutenant,” she said softly.

Del Vasquez didn’t answer immediately. Gravel crunched under her boots as she stepped back toward Aiden. She stopped only one foot away to study her face intently.

Aiden’s back straightened, and her muscles stiffened. She wasn’t sure if this was the calm before the storm and Del would soon explode into a sharp reprimand.

After long moments of scrutiny, the laugh lines around Del’s eyes deepened, and she allowed a smile to play around her lips. “You’re all right, Detective.” She clapped the surprised Aiden on the shoulder. “Treat her right, and we won’t have a problem with each other.”

Aiden stared after her as Del turned again and disappeared around the building. Only then did she remember that the lieutenant still hadn’t answered her question about Dawn and the ride in the police cruiser.

Ray came strolling along the gravel path. He pointed in the direction in which Del had disappeared. “So, did she give you the ‘Stay away from my baby’ or the good old ‘If you hurt her, I’ll hunt you down and kill you’ speech?”

“I think you’ve watched The Godfather once too often,” Aiden mumbled, still a little dazed. “Why would Lieutenant Vasquez say something like that?”

Ray only smiled at her attempt to play dumb and innocent. “Because that’s what I would do if one of my girls ever came home with a cop.”

Aiden shook her head. “For a cop, you don’t seem to hold your brothers in blue in very high esteem.”

“Oh, I like my brothers in blue just fine,” Ray said, “but not as a son-in-law. Being married to a cop can be hell, and that’s not what I’d want for my girls.”

Aiden crossed her arms across her chest. “What would you have done if Susan’s parents had said the same thing when you asked for her hand?”

“They did,” Ray answered. After a second, he smiled. “Not that it was of any use.”

“But of course your daughters are so much more obedient than Susan ever was,” Aiden deadpanned.

Ray snorted. “I can’t even get my daughters to keep to their curfews. I can only try to keep them away from the likes of you.”

“The likes of me?” Aiden pointed at her chest in a gesture of innocence.

Ray laughed at her. “Yes, you, Casanova.”

“Hey, Aiden Crockett,” Okada shouted from the outdoor shooting range, “want to join us mere mortals and show us how it’s done?”

“Only if you guys lay off these historical nicknames,” Aiden called back.

* * *

Aiden watched as their forensic psychiatrist took his place on the witness stand. Renshaw was wearing his glasses, she noticed. Probably to appear more intelligent to the jury. Kade had once told her that this was the reason why she chose to forgo contact lenses or corrective operations. Aiden could have told her another reason. Women with glasses are really sexy! For a moment, she thought about the new turquoise-rimmed glasses Dawn wore, but then forced her attention back to the trial.

Kade had just established Renshaw’s experience as a forensic psychiatrist and profiler. “Doctor Renshaw, can you tell us about your involvement with the investigation in this case?”

“Detectives Carlisle and Bennet contacted me to look at the crime scene photos. I noticed right away that the perpetrator, who had attacked not only the women but also their personal belongings, was not a total stranger. He knew his victims and seemed to harbor personal anger toward them,” Renshaw explained.

Kade tacked enhanced photographs of the chaos in the victims’ bedrooms to a board.

“He mostly destroyed books, magazines, and DVDs with lesbian content, but we only discovered that later,” the forensic psychiatrist continued.

“What were your conclusions when you discovered the connection between the cases of Ms. Kinsley, Ms. Riggs, and Ms. Matthews?” Kade asked.

“I came to the conclusion that we were dealing with a rapist who had a homophobic motive. Rape is not about sexual satisfaction. It’s about control and power. The perpetrator wanted to exert control over lesbian women. He wanted them to experience and go back to a heterosexual life,” Renshaw said.

Kade looked at him questioningly as if she didn’t already know the answer. “Why would he want them to do that?”

“Because he had been left behind by a lesbian and, at that time, had no power to prevent it,” Renshaw answered.

“How does this theory relate to the defendant?”

Renshaw looked over at the red-faced man who was angrily staring at him from the defense table. “Mr. Ballard’s mother left the family when he was eight years old to live with another woman. In his eyes, he has been abandoned by a lesbian.”

“Can you offer an explanation as to why Mr. Ballard didn’t use a condom?”

“Objection!” D’Aquino called. “Irrelevant and no personal knowledge.”

Kade turned toward the judge. “I’m not asking for personal knowledge but for the professional opinion of an expert, Your Honor.”

“Overruled,” Judge Linehan decided. “The jury will keep in mind that this is only one possible explanation, and you’ll later have enough opportunities to offer alternative explanations, Mr. D’Aquino.” She nodded at Renshaw to answer.

“He had to reestablish his manhood,” Albert Renshaw explained. “He wanted these women to experience his masculinity without barriers. He wanted them to see how good ‘sex’ with a man could be. For the same reason, he hit the women and broke Dr. Kinsley’s finger when they tried to look away from him. He wanted them to know that it was him, a man, they were with, not leaving them any room to fantasize about being with a woman.”

“That sounds like a man who is blinded by hate. Would you say that the defendant’s mind was clear enough to know right from wrong?” Kade asked.

Aiden nodded in satisfaction. Kade was covering all the bases. They didn’t want to give D’Aquino an out by portraying Ballard as a poor man who had been abandoned by his evil lesbian mother and had become an insane victim as a result.

“He knew what he was doing was wrong. He knew what consequences his actions could have - he threatened one of the victims, Ms. Riggs, that he would kill her if she called the police,” Renshaw reminded. The jury had already heard that there hadn’t been much evidence in Ms. Riggs’ case because she had hesitated a week before reporting the rape, and now they knew why. “He was methodical. He got a job which would allow him to not only observe his victims without drawing notice to himself but also to have access to their personal information when he examined their identification. Despite the personal anger and hate he harbored, the defendant was clear enough to get the victims’ addresses and to enter and leave their apartments without being seen.”

“What about Mr. Ballard’s contention that the sex was consensual and the victims are lying?” Kade asked.

“I have had an opportunity to interview the three women, and I highly doubt that they agreed to have sex with Mr. Ballard. The two earlier victims had never been in any form of a relationship with a male before, and while Dr. Kinsley had been married, her relationships since then have been strictly with females. In addition, at least one of the victims was almost completely in the closet at the time of the attack and would have had no reason to cover up sleeping with a man.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” Kade passed D’Aquino on her way back to her own table. “Your witness.”

The defense attorney straightened his tie and looked down at the bearded psychiatrist. “How long have you worked with the Sexual Assault Detail?”

“Almost a year now,” Renshaw answered.

“Have you written any books or journal articles or done any studies on sex crimes?”

“No, not yet.”

Aiden gritted her teeth. D’Aquino had an uncanny talent to make Kade’s experts sound like inexperienced bunglers.

“How many diagnostic interviews did you do with my client before forming your theories about the alleged homophobic rape motives?” D’Aquino wanted to know.

“Mr. Ballard refused to talk to me.”

The defense lawyer rested his hands on the witness-box and leaned forward. “So, that would be ‘zero,’ right?”

“Yes,” Renshaw had to admit.

“Thanks, nothing further.”

Kade stood. “Redirect, Your Honor?”

“Mr. D’Aquino didn’t give you much scope to work within, Ms. Matheson,” Linehan warned.

“I’ll stay within the scope of the cross, Your Honor,” Kade promised. “I have just one question.”

Finally, the judge nodded. “Proceed.”

“Doctor Renshaw, how could you form an opinion of Mr. Ballard if you couldn’t interview him?” Kade asked her one question.

“Interviews are not the only sources of information for a trained psychologist or psychiatrist,” Renshaw answered. “I could rely on observation, physical evidence from the crime scenes, the police report from his interrogation, which I witnessed, and I talked at length with a social worker who had contact with the Ballard family during the divorce of Mr. Ballard’s parents. Mr. Ballard’s father managed to get sole custody, and he prevented any further contact between his ex-wife and his son, so the only thing Garett Ballard knows about lesbians is the hate-filled image he learned from his father.”

Kade gave a curt nod. “No more questions.”

Ruth Linehan excused Renshaw and then looked down at the young DDA from her bench. “Are you ready to proceed with your next witness, Ms. Matheson?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Kade said from the prosecution’s table. “The People call Lieutenant Delicia Vasquez Montero to the stand.”

Aiden, still sitting in the first row of the gallery, held her breath. Kade had told her that Linehan could easily deny the lieutenant’s testimony this late in the trial. She didn’t have to wait long for a reaction.

Victor D’Aquino jumped up from his seat. “The defense objects, Your Honor! Lieutenant Vasquez Montero has never been identified as a possible witness.”

“It was brought to my attention just yesterday that she might have information relevant to this case, Your Honor,” Kade defended.

Linehan looked at Kade over the rim of her glasses from her place on the bench, like a hawk looking down at a field mouse from its aerie. “Counselor, approach.”

Kade stepped to the bench and listened to whatever the judge had to say.

From her place in the gallery, Aiden couldn’t make out what Linehan told the DDA, but from Kade’s facial expressions it was easy to see that the judge wasn’t very enthusiastic about new witnesses appearing out of nowhere and told her so in no uncertain words.

Kade returned to her seat, and Linehan waved to the bailiff. “Lieutenant Vasquez may testify.” The judge looked at D’Aquino when he started to protest. “We’ll take a recess after the direct examination, leaving you ample time to prepare for your cross-exam.”

Del entered and strode toward the witness stand without looking left or right. Her posture and her voice when she swore to tell the truth were confident, and Aiden had to admire her professionalism in this personal situation.

“Lieutenant Vasquez.” Kade nodded at her witness, and Aiden’s mind flashed back to her misunderstanding that Del had requested a hookup of the nonprofessional kind with the DDA. Then Kade began her questioning, and all other thoughts disappeared. “You are a decorated police officer, right?”

“Right,” Del agreed matter-of-factly.

“How do you know Dr. Kinsley?”

For a second, Del’s gaze wandered to the gallery, where Grace Kinsley sat. “I was partnered with her father, James Kinsley, for ten years. I’ve known Dr. Kinsley for twenty years.”

“Do you see her a lot?” Kade asked.

“Once a week, I would say. I’m invited to all of the family dinners,” Del said.

Kade nodded. “And did you see Dr. Kinsley on the evening of October 6th?”

Del never hesitated. “Yes, I did. I went with her to the club.”

“Why did Dr. Kinsley go to the club on this evening?” Kade asked.

“Objection, speculation!” came the protest from the defense table. “The witness is not a mind reader; she can’t know Ms. Kinsley’s thoughts.”

“Withdrawn,” Kade said before Linehan could force her to do it. “Why did you go to the club, Lieutenant?”

Del shrugged. “To kick back after an exhausting week, have a drink, dance, talk to Dr. Kinsley and some other friends… the usual.”

“The usual,” Kade repeated. “So, picking up men wasn’t a part of your plans for the evening?”

“Objection!”

“Overruled,” Linehan said before D’Aquino had even finished voicing his objection. “I want to hear this.”

An ironic half smile flitted across Del’s face. “We wouldn’t have gone to a lesbian club if it had been.”

“Did Dr. Kinsley talk to a man during the evening?” Kade asked.

“There weren’t that many to talk to, and no, she didn’t. She never talked to anyone other than me and the two friends who came with us.”

“Did she talk to anyone when you entered the club?” Kade asked, driving the point home that Dawn had never spoken with Ballard.

Del shook her head. “No. She gave her ID to Mr. Ballard when he requested it, but she didn’t give him a second glance, nor did she talk to him.”

Kade nodded in satisfaction. “Thank you, Lieutenant. Nothing further.”

The hour of recess Linehan had granted the defense to prepare for Del Vasquez’s cross-examination seemed to drag by slowly. Aiden was glad that she had taken the whole day off because otherwise, the unplanned witness would have caused her to miss Dawn’s testimony that would come later today.

Finally, sixty long minutes were over, and the bailiff called them back into the courtroom.

“On the evening in question, did you leave the club with Ms. Kinsley?” the defense attorney began, taking position right in front of the witness stand.

“No,” Del had to admit. “I left an hour or two before she did.”

“Oh?” D’Aquino looked at her in fake surprise. “Then it is possible that Ms. Kinsley talked to my client and you just hadn’t seen it because you’d already left the club?”

“Objection! Speculation! The witness has no personal knowledge and can’t testify to what might or might not have happened during her absence,” Kade said before D’Aquino could force Del to admit that Dawn could have spoken to Ballard.

“Sustained.”

D’Aquino gave up that line of questioning. He had already shown that Del hadn’t been a witness to the whole evening. “You said that you’ve known Ms. Kinsley for twenty years?”

“Yes.”

“And in this time, have you ever known Ms. Kinsley to sleep with a man?” D’Aquino fired the question at Del.

Aiden clenched her hands to fists, and from the tensing in her shoulders it wasn’t hard to guess that, hidden by the witness-box, Del was doing the same.

“Objection, Your Honor!” Kade leaned across the prosecutor’s table to fix D’Aquino with an indignant stare. “Dr. Kinsley’s sexual history is inadmissible.”

“Your Honor, Ms. Matheson opened the door to the question by asking about Ms. Kinsley’s plans to pick up men on the night in question,” D’Aquino countered.

Linehan nodded almost regretfully. “The objection is overruled. The witness will answer the question.”

Del took a moment before answering. Probably to unclench her teeth, Aiden thought grimly. “She was married, but -“

“A simple yes or no, please,” D’Aquino demanded.

Del’s strong shoulders slumped. “Yes.”

The defense attorney smiled. “No further questions.”

Kade stood for the redirect before D’Aquino had reached his own table. “Lieutenant Vasquez, to your knowledge, does Dr. Kinsley regularly frequent nightclubs?”

Del shook her head. “Not regularly. Work kept her busy a lot, but she would find the time now and then.”

“And how often did you accompany Dr. Kinsley on these evenings out?”

“A fair number of times.”

“On those occasions, did you see Dr. Kinsley flirt with any men?” Kade asked.

Aiden relaxed her tense muscles. There was no way that Kade was going to let D’Aquino get away with manipulating all her witnesses. Aiden knew that it was imperative that Kade got the jury to see Dawn in a good light since her testimony came next.

“No,” Del answered, her conviction clear in her voice and her expression.

“Lieutenant Vasquez, is it safe to assume that you know Dr. Kinsley well?”

“Like my own daughter, yes.” Del looked toward the gallery for a moment.

“So it would also be safe to assume that she confides in you?” Kade asked.

“Yes, she does.”

“Did she ever confide in you that she brought a man home for the night?” Now that D’Aquino had poked into Dawn’s love life, Kade had no choice but to do the same.

The corner of Del’s mouth twitched in amused disbelief as if she didn’t know whether she should become angry or laugh at the mere suggestion of Dawn having one-night stands. “No, as far as I know, Dawn has never had a one-night stand with anyone, male or female. It’s just not her thing.”

Aiden looked away for a moment. Wish I could say that for myself. If I ever have a relationship with Dawn, I hope she doesn’t hold it against me.

“Then can you tell us about her romantic interests in the last few years?” Kade continued to inquire into Dawn’s love life.

Aiden turned her head and looked at Grace, who was sitting two seats down the row. She looked pale, her lips pressed together.

Del looked at Grace for a moment, too, before she answered. “She hasn’t been in a relationship with a man or shown any interest in a man for the last five years.”

Aiden noted with relief that Del had only told them the most important details for the case and protected Dawn’s privacy otherwise. Still, she was glad that Dawn didn’t have to witness this dissection of her private life.

“Nothing further.” Kade sat back down.

Linehan raised her gavel. “We’ll break for lunch now and reconvene in two hours. Court is adjourned.”

CHAPTER 20

AIDEN LENGTHENED her stride when she saw the now familiar figure of Grace Kinsley standing in the courthouse hallway. “Where’s Dawn?” she asked, looking around for the younger Kinsley woman. For the last two hours, nervousness had hummed through her every vein, and she wasn’t sure if she was nervous because Dawn had to testify soon or because this would be the first time in a week she’d see her.

“In there.” Grace directed a concerned glance at the door of the ladies’ room.

“Is she okay?”

Grace sighed. “She has hardly eaten or slept in two days. I hope it’ll all be over soon.”

Aiden nodded. She couldn’t agree more. “I’ll go and see how she’s doing,” she offered.

When she entered the bathroom, it was empty except for one person. Dawn stood hunched over one of the sinks, leaning heavily on it with both hands. Her head hung down, and when she finally lifted it, Aiden could see the water Dawn had just splashed into her pale face. At least she hoped they were drops of tap water and not tears rolling down her cheeks.

Dawn’s eyes searched out Aiden’s in the mirror.

“Hey. What are you doing here?” Dawn asked, straightening up.

Aiden shrugged. “I took the day off to watch the trial and offer a little support.”

A small smile formed on Dawn’s lips. “That’s really nice of you. Thank you.”

“I built up so much overtime that my lieutenant was breathing down my neck to take some time off anyway,” Aiden said. She didn’t want Dawn to think she was behaving unprofessionally and giving her special treatment even though she was.

“Still, I’m not too proud to admit I need all the support I can get.” Dawn exhaled shakily.

Aiden stepped closer and gently touched the small back. “You okay?”

“I’d be in there,” Dawn pointed to one of the stalls, “chucking up my lunch if I’d eaten anything.” She didn’t try to play the unaffected hero, a refreshing change from all the macho cops Aiden knew. “I just hope I don’t have a flashback right there on the stand or freeze up and -“

“It’ll be all right,” Aiden said, her hand moving in small, soothing circles over Dawn’s stiff back. “If you need a break, just ask for one. Linehan will grant it.”

Dawn took a deep breath and turned to her, away from the mirror. “Okay.” Her gray-green eyes searched Aiden’s face. “Can I have a good-luck hug?”

Without hesitation, Aiden opened her arms. Dawn needed the reassurance, and she didn’t care who might walk in on them. She wrapped her arms around the trembling body and inhaled deeply. “I’ll be right there, sitting in the first row, okay?” she whispered into the blond hair.

Dawn said nothing; she just rested against Aiden for a few seconds before she stepped back and squared her shoulders. “Let’s go,” she said with a sigh.

“Dawn?” Aiden said when they stepped out into the hallway and joined Dawn’s mother. “Did you ever ride in a police cruiser?”

Now a small smile formed on Dawn’s lips. “Isn’t it a little late to find out if I’ve ever been arrested?”

Aiden returned the smile. “That’s not why I’m asking.”

“Ah, then is it an offer to spring me out of here with lights and sirens?”

Aiden chuckled. “Sorry, no, it’s not. Just something a curious cop like me would like to know.”

“Once around the parking lot of patrol district eight-nineteen - without lights and sirens, though,” Dawn admitted, smiling fondly at the memory.

“Did she get into trouble over it?” Aiden wanted to know.

Dawn looked back at her. “She?”

“Your driver.”

“What makes you think it was a she?” Dawn asked innocently.

Aiden shrugged and grinned at her. “Let’s just call it detective’s intuition.”

All joking and conversation ceased when they reached the dark oak doors that separated them from the courtroom. “Want me to wait with you in the witness room?” Aiden offered even though that would mean that she wouldn’t be able to hear Dawn’s testimony.

“No, you two go on in.” Dawn gestured for her mother and Aiden to enter the courtroom. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.” A quick hug from Grace and a nod from Aiden and Dawn walked down the hallway.

They followed her with their gazes for a few seconds, and then Aiden held open the double doors for Grace, entering behind her.

* * *

A court clerk opened the doors for her, and Dawn took her first steps into the courtroom. Her gaze immediately fell onto Garret Ballard, who had turned in his seat and was looking at her with a smirk.

Dawn looked away and took another step. She faltered when her vision blurred and a wave of dizziness overcame her. She pressed a hand against her heaving chest. For a moment, she was afraid that she would faint.

Then her vision cleared a little, and she looked at the gallery, where her friends and family were looking at her in concern. Forcing a small smile, she nodded at them and resumed her way toward the witness stand.

Dawn felt the smooth, cool leather of the Bible under her palm as she was sworn in. Somehow, it had a calming effect, perhaps because it reminded her of Aiden’s favorite jacket.

“Would you please state your full name and spell it?”

“Dawn Amanda Kinsley. D-A-W-N, A-M-A-N-D-A, K-I-N-S-L-E-Y,” Dawn said, glad to be distracted by the mundane task of spelling her name for a few seconds.

“Doctor Kinsley.” Kade Matheson stopped next to the witness-box and set down a glass of water in front of Dawn, receiving a nod for the thoughtful gesture, “can you tell us what happened on the night of October 6th?”

Dawn’s mouth went dry, and she took a sip of water. “I had been out to a club called ‘Rainbows’ that evening with three friends. I had come home alone. Around three o’clock, a loud noise woke me up. At first I thought it had been my cat jumping in through the window I always leave open for her, but when I went to investigate, there was a man standing in my living room.” She remembered that moment of terror and fright clearly. She had stood there, frozen, for a second not sure if she was really awake or still dreaming.

“Go on,” Kade Matheson encouraged her.

“He had a gun. He pressed me against the wall with his forearm across my throat and pointed the gun at my temple while he told me that he would kill me if I tried to escape or call for help.” Dawn looked straight at Kade, avoiding even a fleeting glance at Garret Ballard, afraid that she would lose her composure. “He ripped the phone cord from the wall and threw my cell phone out of the window. Then he dragged me back into the bedroom.”

Kade nodded grimly. “What happened in there?”

Dawn took a few careful breaths, trying not to hyperventilate. This time, she avoided looking at the gallery. She hadn’t told her mother any details about the rape, and she didn’t want to see the expression on her mother’s face when she heard them for the first time. “He pushed me down onto the bed and ripped my clothes. He forced my legs apart with one hand while the other kept pressing the gun against my head.” Dawn knew that she had to paint as detailed a picture for the jury as she could even if it was hard for her. “Then he raped me.”

“Did he say anything?” Kade asked.

Dawn’s fingers tightened around her water glass. “He told me to look at him - and he hit me anytime I tried to turn my head away. He broke my finger when I laid a hand across my eyes. He wanted me to see who was doing this to me.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“H-he…” Dawn shook her head to clear it when her vision began to blur. “He ordered me not to ‘lie there like a dead fish’ and to ‘stop acting as if I didn’t enjoy being fucked by a real man,’” Dawn spat the words out and then emptied her glass as if they had left a bad taste in her mouth.

Kade waited for a few seconds. “What happened next?”

“When he finally… ejaculated, he backhanded me one last time and then started to throw things from my bookcase around and trample them,” Dawn finished.

“Can you tell us what things specifically?” Kade asked.

Right after she had been raped, Dawn hadn’t noticed on which of her belongings her attacker went berserk. She had lain there, trying to remove her mind from the present and not notice anything he did. But she had looked at photos of her bedroom a few weeks later. “Some books with lesbian characters, a few lesbian movies, the photographs of my ex-girlfriend, and a few other things that were in the way.”

“Doctor Kinsley, had you ever seen the man who raped you before that night?”

“Well…” Dawn cleared her throat. “I thought I hadn’t, but it turned out I just hadn’t paid him any attention. He was the doorman of the club I went to that evening.”

“Did you ever talk to that man before?” Kade asked.

Dawn shook her head emphatically. “No, never.”

“Is the man who raped you here in this courtroom today?” Kade stepped to the side so Dawn could get a clear view of the courtroom.

For the first time, Dawn was forced to look directly at the defense table and Garett Ballard. She wondered how he could return her gaze so coolly. “Yes.”

“Would you point that man out for the jury, please?”

Slowly, Dawn raised her hand and pointed an accusing finger at Ballard.

“Your Honor, may the record reflect that the witness identified the defendant, Mr. Ballard, as the man who raped her,” Kade said in the direction of the bench.

The judge nodded. “Let the record so indicate.”

“Dr. Kinsley, you said the man threatened you with a gun… could you describe it?”

The matter-of-fact question was easy to answer for Dawn. “It was a Glock 17, a nine-millimeter semiautomatic pistol.”

Kade held up a transparent evidence bag with a red seal. “Have you ever seen this weapon, indexed as People’s exhibit seven, before?”

Dawn looked down at the black gun. “It’s the Glock he held against my temple.”

“Objection, Your Honor!” D’Aquino’s voice boomed through the courtroom, making Dawn jump. “Move to strike. The witness is a psychologist, not a weapons expert. She can’t identify individual weapons.”

Linehan looked from him to Dawn. “Overruled. You can impeach her ability to identify the weapon in your cross-examination, Counselor.”

“Doctor, you were able to help the police with their investigation; how so?” Kade began her next line of questioning.

“I work as a rape counselor, and I noticed the similarities of a patient’s case to my own. After the patient agreed to waive patient-doctor confidentiality, I alerted Detective Carlisle to the fact that the rapes might have a homophobic motive,” Dawn told her, feeling more confident now that her testimony resembled that of an expert witness, not that of a victim.

“And after they arrested Mr. Ballard, did the police ask for your help again?”

Dawn looked over to the gallery, catching the intense gaze of Aiden’s amber eyes for a second. “They asked me to come to the station for a lineup.”

“What were the results?” Kade asked.

“I was able to identify Mr. Ballard as the man who had raped me.”

Kade nodded, looking back over her shoulder at Ballard. “How sure of that identification were you?”

“One hundred percent,” Dawn said without hesitation.

“Thank you. No further questions for now, Your Honor.”

Dawn pressed her lips together as she watched Kade sit down and the defense attorney approach.

“Ms. Kinsley, do you own a gun?”

Dawn studied him suspiciously. Where is he going with this? “No, I don’t.” After much consideration, she had decided not to buy a gun after all.

“So, you’re not a weapons expert?”

Now Dawn knew what he was trying to achieve with the question. He wanted to poke holes into her identification of the gun Ballard had used. “Not in the strictest sense of the word, no.”

“Did you know that Smith &&nbsp;Wesson is being sued by Glock because Smith &&nbsp;Wesson’s Sigma series is very similar to the Glock?” D’Aquino asked her.

Dawn had to suppress her annoyance. She had to answer truthfully even if the question had nothing to do with her ability to identify Ballard’s weapon. “No, I didn’t know that.”

The defense attorney held up another evidence bag with a gun in it. It had the same black polymer plastic grip the Glock had. “I submit Defense’s exhibit one, a pistol produced by Smith &&nbsp;Wesson, into evidence.”

“Received.”

He turned back to Dawn. “Ms. Kinsley -“

“Doctor,” Dawn said. She wouldn’t let him get away with his attempts to make her look less than she was.

Victor D’Aquino nodded. “Dr. Kinsley, do you think someone who is not a weapons expert could tell the difference between a Smith &&nbsp;Wesson and a Glock?”

“I can -“

“Answer my question, please,” D’Aquino interrupted.

Dawn bit her lip. “Most probably couldn’t,” she admitted. She hoped Kade Matheson would pick up the question in her re-examination.

D’Aquino stepped closer to Dawn, and she almost began to fear his next question. “Dr. Kinsley, you said you’d been out to a club on the night in question?”

“Yes.”

“How much did you have to drink?” D’Aquino demanded to know.

Now he’s trying to show that I drank too much and that had lowered my inhibitions, Dawn noticed incredulously.

Kade’s objection saved her from having to answer. “Objection, relevance? Even if Dr. Kinsley had been drunk - which she wasn’t - engaging in sexual intercourse with a person who is incapable of consent because of intoxication is still rape.”

“Don’t lecture me on the law, Ms. Matheson!” the judge warned her. “Overruled. Please answer the question, Doctor Kinsley.”

“I had one low-alcohol cocktail, nothing more,” Dawn answered.

“Did you limit yourself because you’re not used to alcohol?” D’Aquino asked.

Anger and annoyance began to replace the fear Dawn felt. “I limited myself because I was the designated driver and still had to drive home.”

“Still, isn’t it true that you don’t drink a lot and are not used to alcohol?”

Has that suddenly become a bad thing? Dawn wondered.

“Objection!” Kade stood again. “Already asked and answered. He’s badgering the witness.”

Linehan fixed the defense attorney with a glare. “Sustained. Move on, Counselor.”

“You said you are a rape counselor?”

Dawn nodded, gladly answering the more neutral question. “Yes. I do one-on-one and group counseling of survivors of rape and sexual abuse… or rather, that was what I did before I was raped.” It hurt to admit that perhaps she would never work with those patients again.

“You only worked with rape victims?” D’Aquino asked.

Dawn became increasingly irritated with him. “There’s no ‘only’ about it, Mr. D’Aquino, but yes, I work… I worked exclusively with rape and sexual abuse victims.”

D’Aquino stepped closer. “Are you obsessed with rape, Doctor? Is every man automatically a rapist for you?”

Kade was on her feet before he had uttered the last word. “Objection! Your Honor…!”

“That is enough, Mr. D’Aquino,” Ruth Linehan ordered sharply. “You have been warned repeatedly to cease that line of questioning. I am hereby imposing a fine of two hundred dollars for contempt of court. Make one more attempt and you will be enjoying the hospitality of the county tonight. The jury is instructed to disregard Mr. D’Aquino’s question, and it shall be stricken from the records.”

Breathing heavily, Dawn watched as the defense attorney got an earful from the judge. Linehan had stricken D’Aquino’s questions, but the jury had heard them and what they implied. The damage had been done.

She looked at Kade and then across the courtroom at Aiden, Del, and her mother. All of them gave her reassuring nods, helping her to regain her composure.

Finally, D’Aquino returned to his position in front of the witness stand. “Ms. Kinsley, when Mr. Ballard took you to the bedroom,” he began, deliberately choosing words that could imply that she had willingly followed him as easily as they could imply the use of force, “did you do or say anything to him that he could have misunderstood as a sign of consent?”

“No!” Dawn answered with force.

“You didn’t compliment him?” D’Aquino rested one hand on the witness-box, leaning toward her.

Dawn wildly shook her head. “I didn’t.”

“Then it is not true that you told my client that he’s handsome?”

Dawn opened her mouth for another vehement “no,” but then closed it again. Oh, dear God! He’s trying to use that against me? She hadn’t been prepared for it.

“Ms. Kinsley?” D’Aquino pressed.

She bit her lip and laid a hand over her eyes. “I…”

The defense attorney turned to the judge. “Your Honor, please instruct the witness to answer the question.”

“Doctor Kinsley,” Linehan’s voice was gentle but firm. “You have to answer.”

“I told him -“

“A yes or no answer is enough,” D’Aquino interrupted.

Dawn clenched her teeth. “Yes,” she admitted grimly.

“And did you not also tell my client you were sure that there were a lot of women who found him attractive and would like to sleep with him?” the defense lawyer fired his next question at her.

Dawn looked down at her hands in defeat. She knew that her words sounded like the compliments of a lover even if they had been a victim’s desperate attempts to talk her way out of a rape. “Yes, but -“

“And is it not also true that, while you were in bed with Mr. Ballard, you never sounded scared?”

“I tried not -“

Once again, D’Aquino didn’t let her finish the sentence. “Yes or no?”

Dawn sighed. “Yes.”

“Nothing further.”

Dawn heaved a sigh of relief when the defense attorney moved away from her and sat back down. Anxiously, she looked at Kade, who was still appearing calm and collected as she stood again.

“Doctor Kinsley, is there a reason why you told Mr. Ballard things that sounded complimentary?”

“Yes!” Now that Dawn could finally say it, the words were practically shooting out of her. “I was trying to talk him out of raping me. I told him he didn’t have to resort to violence to get a woman to sleep with him.”

“Did you have the impression that he took that to mean you would sleep with him out of your own free will?” Kade asked.

Dawn didn’t get to answer. “Objection!” D’Aquino called. “Prosecution is calling for an opinion.”

“Your Honor, Doctor Kinsley is not only a victim, she’s an experienced psychologist specializing in rape cases,” Kade countered. “Her opinion is more than the mere speculation of a lay witness.”

“Objection overruled,” Linehan decided. “Doctor Kinsley, please summarize your impression for the jury.”

“Mr. Ballard knew that I wasn’t consenting,” Dawn emphasized. “He didn’t listen to a word I said. He told me to ‘shut up’ and hit me. He threatened me with his gun the whole time. I submitted to him because I feared for my life, but that doesn’t equal consent.”

Kade pointed back toward the defense table. “Mr. D’Aquino mentioned that you didn’t sound particularly scared that night. Is there a reason for that?”

“Yes. In my professional experience, begging and crying sends a weak psychological message,” Dawn answered as matter-of-factly as she could. “Studies have shown that people who sound like victims have a higher probability of becoming victims, so I tried to reason with him instead.”

Kade nodded in understanding. “One last question. Why is it that you’re so sure regarding the weapon Mr. Ballard used during the attack?”

“My father, my older brother, my ex-husband, and at least a dozen of my friends were or are police officers. I’ve seen their duty weapons a thousand times, so I could identify a Glock anytime. And,” Dawn swallowed, “you never forget a weapon you had to stare at for half an hour while you lay there and feared for your life.”

Kade returned to her table. “Nothing further, thank you.”

“Recross, Your Honor.” D’Aquino approached her again. “Ms. Kinsley, is there any possibility that a man, blinded by attraction, could misread signals and misinterpret words as compliments even if the woman didn’t mean it like that?”

“Yes, but -“

“Thank you,” D’Aquino interrupted, “no further questions.”

Long after Kade had announced “The People rest” and Linehan had decided to adjourn until the next day, Dawn sat in the witness-box, numbly staring straight ahead.

CHAPTER 21

AIDEN LOOKED UP as Dawn slipped into the courtroom a few minutes before the trial was set to continue. She hadn’t been sure if Dawn would be there to watch her rapist’s testimony. Aiden stood and moved down the row, vacating her seat for Dawn so she could sit between her and Del, where she seemed to feel safest.

“Thanks.” Dawn’s half smile was genuine but tense.

“How are you?” Aiden asked, studying her.

Dawn’s gaze flitted from the still empty witness stand to Aiden’s face. “I hate being here and having to listen to all the lies Ballard’s undoubtedly going to tell, but I hated the thought of sitting at home and imagining what might go on in here even more.”

Aiden nodded sympathetically. “Just two or three more days and it’ll all be over,” she tried to comfort Dawn.

“Not everything will be over,” Dawn corrected grimly, but then squeezed Aiden’s forearm with a somewhat milder expression. “But I know what you mean, and that’ll probably help me with getting my life back to some level of normality.”

Aiden gazed down at the clammy hand on her arm. She hesitantly lifted her own hand to cover the smaller fingers, but before she could, the defense attorney called his first witness, and Dawn grabbed the edge of her seat with both hands as Garett Ballard strode toward the witness stand.

Ballard didn’t blink an eye when he swore to tell the truth even though Aiden was sure that every word coming from his lips would be a lie.

“Garett,” Victor D’Aquino used his client’s first name to make him appear more likeable to the jury, “can you tell us where you were on the evenings of June 4th, 2005, April 21st and October 6th, 2007?”

“At work,” Ballard answered, looking very much like the honest, hardworking man he had never been. “I work as a security specialist for a club on Gansevoort Street.”

“What kind of club is it exactly?”

Ballard shrugged. “All kinds of people frequent the club, but mostly it’s lesbians and bisexual women.”

D’Aquino smiled. “So, there’s not a lot of workplace romance going on, huh?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” Ballard showed pearly white teeth as he grinned. “I’ve had women come up to me and ask me straight out to come home and have a one-night stand with them.”

“Objection, Your Honor!” Kade took off her glasses to look at Ballard and his attorney with unveiled disgust. “Is there any relevance to this line of questioning or does counsel just want to give his client an opportunity to brag about his alleged conquests?”

Aiden suppressed a grin. Go get him, Kade!

A few people in the audience somewhere in the row behind Aiden were giggling, and Linehan sustained the objection, ordering D’Aquino to move on. “Under what circumstances did you get to know Melanie Riggs, Jayne Matthews, and Dawn Kinsley?” the defense lawyer asked his client.

“I never knew their names, but I knew them in the biblical sense.” Ballard’s answer garnered a few laughs.

Aiden didn’t find it funny in the least. Gritting her teeth, she looked at Dawn out of the corner of her eye and saw her getting even paler than she had been before.

Judge Linehan fixed the defendant with a disapproving stare, and D’Aquino quickly asked the next question before she could reprimand his client. “How did you meet them?”

“They came to the club and struck up a conversation with me. They sent me drinks, and when the club finally closed, they asked me to come home with them,” Ballard claimed.

“Why did you accept these invitations if you knew they were lesbians?” D’Aquino wanted to know.

Ballard looked directly at Dawn. “They were attractive, and I knew it would be sex without emotional entanglements. They wanted this one night and nothing else from me, and that was just what I wanted.”

He almost made it sound believable; Aiden had to give him that.

“What happened when you reached the apartments you had been invited to?” D’Aquino continued his questions.

“They didn’t invite me in to drink coffee, so we usually stumbled straight to the bedroom. The last one,” Ballard pointed to Dawn, “even ripped the phone line out to make sure that we wouldn’t be interrupted.”

Aiden clenched her hands into fists and saw Del and Grace on Dawn’s other side do the same. Dawn was trembling, but Aiden couldn’t tell if it was with fear or anger or maybe a mix of both.

D’Aquino nodded. “And how do you explain the bruises and bite marks the ER doctor described?”

“Some of them were into pretty wild stuff,” Ballard said with a grin. “Bondage, domination, sadomasochism, sex games. They told me they liked it rough and demanded that I do it ‘harder’ and ‘make it hurt.’ I just went along with what they wanted.”

Aiden stared at him, disbelief, anger, and disgust warring within her.

“No,” Dawn whispered next to her, “that’s not true! I didn’t… that bastard!”

“I know.” Aiden wanted to reach over and take Dawn’s hand in her own to ease Dawn’s fear that Ballard would be believed over her, but she knew it was not a good idea. She didn’t want the defense attorney to think she was anything but the detective investigating her case to Dawn. “I know he’s lying and everyone here is going to know it by the end of the day; just wait for Kade’s cross,” Aiden said.

“Can you tell us why you didn’t use protection with any of these women?” D’Aquino asked.

Ballard held up his hands. “I had some with me, but they didn’t want me to use ‘em.”

D’Aquino pretended to be puzzled. “Did they tell you why?”

“Oldest story in the book: they’re lesbians wanting to get pregnant by having a one-night stand with a good-looking stranger,” Ballard said, carefully holding back any hateful or derogatory words against lesbians.

His lawyer must have drilled him to appear as a tolerant, lesbian-friendly man who was kind enough to donate his sperm, Aiden thought grimly.

“Did any of them indicate that they wanted to stop at any time?”

“No, never,” Ballard answered with conviction.

D’Aquino looked at the jury, making sure everyone had heard it. “Why would they file a police report and falsely accuse you of rape, then?”

“I don’t know, but I guess their girlfriends must have found out that they had slept with a man and reacted none too pleased,” Ballard said with a shrug. “Trying to make it look like an assault was the only way to save them from the embarrassment.”

“Did you clear up that misunderstanding when the police came to the club?” D’Aquino asked.

Finally, Kade found a reason to object. “Defense is leading his own witness, Your Honor.”

“Sustained. Rephrase that question, Mr. D’Aquino,” Linehan demanded.

“What happened when the police came to the club?”

“I would have tried to clear up the misunderstanding,” Ballard used his lawyer’s words, “had I known that they were police officers, but I didn’t know that. The female cop stood in line like every other customer, and when she suddenly stepped close to me, I expected an attack and had to fight back.”

D’Aquino nodded at him. “Thank you, Garett. Nothing further for now.”

Kade strode toward the witness-box, closing in on Ballard like a tigress going after its prey. “Mr. Ballard, you just mentioned that you had to ‘fight back,’ implying that Detective Carlisle attacked you. How do you explain the fact that a dozen witnesses saw you attack her, not the other way around?”

Ballard shrugged. “I guess it was a misunderstanding. I felt threatened.”

Kade raised her brows, silently looking at the big, muscular man. “You also claim you didn’t know that Detectives Bennet and Carlisle were police officers even though they testified that they had shown you their badges?”

Ballard smiled coolly. “People say and do all kinds of crazy things to get into the club… claiming they’re celebrities, showing fake ID.”

“Did anyone ever start to read you your Fifth Amendment rights to get into the club?” Kade asked sarcastically.

“No,” Ballard had to admit.

Kade wandered over to the jury box, forcing Ballard to half-turn to keep her in his sight. “How do you usually react when someone tries a trick to get into the club?”

“I tell ‘em that their trick was already old when Methuselah was a boy and send them on their way,” Ballard said with a grin.

“What does ‘send them on their way’ include?” Kade wanted to know. “Do you resort to violence?”

Ballard shook his head. “That’s usually not necessary.”

“So, you don’t hit them, spit at them, or call them a bitch like you did with Detective Carlisle?” Now Kade was in her shark-attack mode.

“Objection!” D’Aquino shouted. “Already asked and answered. My client already explained that he doesn’t normally use violence.”

“Sustained,” Linehan decided. “Ms. Matheson.”

Kade nodded. “I’ll move on.”

Aiden knew that she could afford to let it go. Ballard’s feeble attempts to make the jury believe that he hadn’t known they were real cops were easy to see through. Proving rape beyond a reasonable doubt was the more difficult part.

“Mr. Ballard, you do know what the word ‘lesbian’ means, don’t you?” Kade asked in a condescending tone meant to provoke Ballard. She obviously wanted to have another go at the tactic they had used during the interrogation.

“Yeah,” Ballard spat out, but a warning glance from his lawyer prevented him from saying more.

Kade fixed the defendant with her cross-exam stare. “Then you know that the scientific definition is not ‘a woman who’s never been fucked by a real man’ like you told Ms. Riggs, Ms. Matthews, and Ms. Kinsley?”

“Objection! Your Honor, she’s badgering the witness,” D’Aquino complained.

“Counselor.” Linehan didn’t raise her voice - she didn’t need to; the expression of her dark eyes was threat enough.

Kade nodded, silently promising that she would tone it down. “A lesbian is a woman who is physically and emotionally attracted to women, and you are a man, aren’t you?” She smiled down at Ballard, a grin that was anything but friendly.

A vein pounded on Ballard’s forehead. Aiden wanted to cheer Kade on and encourage her to further provoke Ballard, but at the same time, she was afraid that Kade would go too far and Ballard would attack her.

This time, D’Aquino didn’t even have to object. Linehan spoke before he could. “Drop this attitude right now! Another question like that and I’ll hold you in contempt and let you enjoy the hospitality of my holding cell!”

Kade raised a placating hand and took a half step back. “How do you explain that three women who identify as lesbians, not as bisexual, allegedly slept with you when they could have picked any of the attractive women from the club?” she asked, a little tamer now.

“There’s some things they still need a man for,” Ballard told her arrogantly.

“And that is…?” Kade asked as if she truly didn’t know why any woman would need a man.

Ballard glared at her, looking as if he would love to show her. “Making babies, for one thing.”

Kade tapped her finger against her leg. “You said it was the women’s decision not to use a condom?”

“That’s right,” Ballard readily agreed. “They told me they wanted a baby.”

Kade looked doubtfully at him. “All three of them?”

“Yes.”

Aiden noticed with triumph that it sounded pretty unlikely. Unless the club put some hormones into the cocktails that activate the need to reproduce.

“And all three of them chose you as the father?”

Ballard grinned cockily. “Guess they wanted my good looks for their kids.”

“Did you know that according to scientific studies most lesbian couples who want to have a baby choose an anonymous donor from a sperm bank or a donor who is related to one of them?” Kade asked him.

Aiden raised a brow. Seems like our Kade is full of information about lesbians, huh?

“Not these three,” Ballard insisted.

“Tell me, Mr. Ballard, are you capable of fathering children?”

Ballard’s head jerked around, and he stared at Kade with eyes that were burning with indignant anger. “Of course I am!”

“You’re sure of that?” Kade had perfected the skeptical glance, looking at Ballard as though he couldn’t even manage to raise a pencil, much less anything else.

“Sure I’m sure,” Ballard blustered. “There ain’t nothing wrong with me!”

“Well, if all of them only slept with you to become pregnant, and there’s nothing wrong with you, how do you explain the fact that none of them is pregnant today?” Kade asked, moving back to the witness-box to stare down at the defendant.

Ballard shrugged. “I suppose sometimes it takes more than one time.”

“And how do you explain the fact that Ms. Matthews and Ms. Kinsley took the morning-after pill when they were treated in the hospital? Why would they do that if they wanted to get pregnant?” Kade fired her questions at Ballard, who was visibly beginning to sweat on the stand.

“Maybe they changed their minds,” he answered weakly.

“Both of them?”

D’Aquino stood. “Objection, Your Honor, asked and answered.”

“Sustained,” Linehan agreed.

Kade had already proven what she wanted and moved on. “It’s your theory that Ms. Riggs, Ms. Matthews, and Ms. Kinsley accused you of raping them because their girlfriends found out and reacted negatively to their alleged one-night stand with you, is that correct?”

“Exactly.”

“Wouldn’t you say it disproves your little theory when I tell you that none of them had a girlfriend or a partner at the time?” Kade rested both hands on the stand, glowering down at Ballard.

“No!” Ballard’s voice was getting louder, less controlled. “Then there must have been other people that they didn’t want to know about a heterosexual affair, their families and lesbian friends.”

Kade shook her head. “Why should they try to hide it? If they would have gotten pregnant, surely no one would have believed it was from a lesbian affair,” she commented dryly.

“That is why they lied and accused me!”

“Why would they choose such a complicated lie, then? Why not just tell their families they had gone to a sperm bank and used an anonymous donor?” Kade asked logically.

Ballard’s mouth opened and closed, but he didn’t answer.

“Did you understand the question, or do you want me to repeat it, Mr. Ballard?” Kade asked in a condescending manner that made Aiden smile. Go, Kade! Rip him to shreds!

Ballard stared at Kade as if he was only seconds away from calling her a bitch, too.

Kade remained unimpressed; she didn’t move an inch. “You don’t want to answer my question, do you?”

“Objection, Your Honor,” D’Aquino came to his client’s help. “Mr. Ballard is not a psychologist. He can’t answer questions about the motive and reason for these women’s behavior.”

“Not being a psychologist didn’t prevent your client from offering us his theories about why the women allegedly had sex with him,” Kade countered coolly. “He was not afraid to speculate about reasons and motives then.”

Linehan nodded at her. “The objection is overruled. Mr. Ballard, please answer the People’s question.”

Ballard glowered at Kade. “What was the question?”

“Why did none of the three women choose a simpler lie to hide their alleged one-night stand with you? Why choose a lie that would result in a police investigation and a trial, where the truth could easily be discovered?” Kade folded her arms and looked down at Ballard along the line of her aristocratic nose.

Aiden grinned triumphantly when Ballard hesitated. She hoped that it was as obvious to the jury as it was to her that Ballard was running out of feeble excuses.

“I guess they didn’t think that far ahead,” Ballard finally said.

“You want us to believe that they were intelligent enough to think up an elaborate conspiracy to frame you for three rapes but not clever enough to think about the consequences? Not one of them?” Kade asked doubtfully.

“Objection, my client has already answered that,” the defense attorney called.

Linehan spared a glance in the direction of the defense counsel. “He has not. Overruled. Mr. Ballard?”

“Uh… I guess they weren’t as smart as they thought.”

Kade took a step closer to the witness stand so she could look down at Ballard more effectively. “They weren’t or you weren’t, Mr. Ballard?”

“Objection, Your Honor! She’s badgering my client.”

“Withdrawn.”

Aiden knew that it didn’t matter, because the jurors had heard Kade’s question and would be drawing their own conclusions.

“No further questions, Your Honor,” Kade announced and strode away.

Victor D’Aquino stood. Aiden watched as he fiddled with his tie for a few seconds. Does it feel like the noose around your neck is getting a little tight, buddy? she thought with a grin.

“Garett, having seen Ms. Riggs’, Ms. Mathews’, and Ms. Kinsley’s apartments, what assumptions would you make about their finances?” D’Aquino asked.

Kade shot up from her seat. “Objection, Your Honor! The question is exceeding the scope of the cross-examination.”

“No, it’s not,” D’Aquino protested. “It is meant to show why some of the women preferred a one-night stand to get pregnant instead of using a sperm bank.”

“Overruled - for now,” the judge emphasized. “I’ll give you a little rope, Mr. D’Aquino. You better not hang yourself with it. You may answer the question, Mr. Ballard.”

“Well, I guess the first one, Ms. Matthews, I think, was not too well off. She hardly had any furniture, and the whole apartment building was pretty run down.”

You mean easy to break into, you bastard! Aiden thought grimly.

“Do you think she could afford to use a sperm bank to get pregnant?” D’Aquino asked.

Visibly relieved at having been shown a possible explanation for his allegations, Ballard shook his head. “Definitely not.”

“Garett, do you have any proof that the women slept with you because they wanted to have babies?” D’Aquino asked his client.

“The strawberry blonde,” Ballard pointed to Dawn, making her jerk, “had pictures and photos of kids everywhere, like she was obsessed with them.”

“Thank you, nothing further.”

Kade stood again. “Recross, Your Honor? Just two or three questions.”

Linehan nodded.

“Mr. Ballard, would you describe the apartment of ‘the strawberry blonde,’ as you put it, as being run down?”

“Well, not really but -“

“Would you expect a successful psychologist and a history professor to make enough money to afford artificial insemination?” Kade asked point-blank, not allowing him the opportunity to finish his last statement.

“I suppose,” Ballard was forced to admit.

“Did you know that the children in the photos in Dr. Kinsley’s apartment are her niece and her nephew?”

Ballard began to fidget. “No,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Would you call it an obsession with babies to have a few pictures of your niece and nephew in your apartment?” Kade asked her last question.

“She wanted to have a baby!” Ballard protested.

Dawn blanched. “Not with him,” she whispered.

“That was not what I asked you, Mr. Ballard,” Kade told him sharply.

Ballard shrugged. “I guess it’s not directly an obsession, but -“

“Thank you, Mr. Ballard,” Kade interrupted. “One more thing. You testified that Dr. Kinsley ripped the phone cord out herself even though Mr. Jenkins, the fingerprint expert, testified that your prints were found on the cord?”

“She did,” Ballard stubbornly insisted.

“How did her cell phone, on which your prints were also found, get tossed out the window? Did she also do that herself?”

“Yes.”

“Because she didn’t want to be interrupted?” Kade didn’t bother to hide the disbelief in her voice.

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t she just turn it off? Are you saying that she was so overwhelmed by your being a ‘real man,’” Kade formed quotation marks with her fingers, only a few inches away from Ballard’s face, “that her common sense deserted her and she tried to throw a perfectly good phone down to the street?”

The defense attorney stood again. “Objection! Your Honor, counsel is badgering the witness.”

“Withdrawn. No further questions.” Kade sat back down with one last, cold stare at Garett Ballard.

The judge looked at D’Aquino. “Do you have any other witnesses?”

“Yes, Your Honor. The defense calls Janice Cahill,” D’Aquino announced.

A tall woman with short blond hair walked in and took the stand. Who’s she? Aiden wondered. Ballard’s character witness?

“Ms. Cahill, what is your occupation?” D’Aquino asked after the witness had been sworn in.

“I’m the manager and co-owner of a club called Rainbows,” the blonde explained.

“How long has the defendant been your employee?”

Janice Cahill thought for a few seconds. “Five, almost six years now.”

“And during that time, has Mr. Ballard ever acted in a hostile manner toward any of your customers?” D’Aquino wanted to know.

“No, never.”

“And in your conversations with Mr. Ballard, did he ever indicate any negative feelings toward homosexual people?”

The club owner shook her head again. “No.”

“Have you ever heard of affairs between members of your male staff and some of the customers?” the defense attorney asked.

“Not often and I certainly don’t encourage it, but yes, it has happened before,” Janice Cahill confirmed.

D’Aquino turned back toward the defense table with a satisfied smile. “Thank you. That will be all.”

“Ms. Cahill,” Kade paced in front of the witness-box, “tell us what would have happened if you had ever heard derogatory remarks against lesbians from Mr. Ballard or seen him act hostile toward a customer.”

The club owner straightened. “I would have fired him immediately.”

Kade stopped her pacing to look directly in the witness’ eyes. “Did Mr. Ballard know what the consequences would be should his homophobic attitudes become apparent?”

“Yes. All employees are informed of the club’s policies before their first day at work.”

“Mr. Ballard testified that your clientèle consists mainly of lesbians and bisexual women. Is that correct?” Aiden noticed that Kade’s voice was not as cold as during Ballard’s cross. Her gestures were softer, and she had taken a step back, not encroaching on the witness’ personal space as she had done with Ballard.

“Yes, it is,” the nightclub owner answered readily, reacting to Kade’s friendly approach.

“Generally, how well do you know your customers, Ms. Cahill?”

“I know most of the regulars pretty well.”

Aiden couldn’t tell where Kade was going with this. She knew that Dawn hadn’t been a regular at ‘Rainbows’ or at any other club, but she trusted Kade’s abilities and kept listening in silence.

“These affairs between male staff members and some of your clientèle, were these women regulars with whom you were familiar?”

“Yes.”

“And did they identify as lesbians?” Kade wanted to know.

The club owner shook her head. “No, in each case the woman in question was bisexual.”

“Did you ever see a lesbian customer flirt with Mr. Ballard, buy him a drink, or ask him to go home with her?”

Cahill shook her head again. “I never witnessed that, no.”

“No further questions, Your Honor.” Kade was through with the last witness of the trial.

Victor D’Aquino stood again but didn’t make the effort to walk to the witness stand to ask his last question. “Is it possible that Mr. Ballard had affairs with customers without your knowledge?”

“Objection!” Kade didn’t want to allow him to have the last word. “That’s beyond the personal knowledge of this witness. The answer would be a mere speculation.”

Ruth Linehan inclined her head. “Sustained.”

“No further questions, Your Honor. The defense rests,” D’Aquino declared.

“Very well.” Linehan nodded and excused the witness. “We’ll reconvene on Monday, nine a.m., to hear the closing arguments. Court is adjourned.”

The gavel banged, and everyone rose while the jury and the judge filed out the side entrance.

* * *

“Is the defense ready to proceed with its closing argument?” Ruth Linehan asked.

“Yes, Your Honor.” Victor D’Aquino took position in front of the jury box. “Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, when I stood before you a little over a week ago, I told you this case was about an innocent man who was wrongfully accused of crimes he didn’t commit - I still feel that way.” D’Aquino shifted his weight and let his gaze wander along the rows of jurors. “As in every criminal case, the prosecution has the burden of proof, and in the case against Garett Ballard, they could not keep their promises and prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. During this trial, the prosecution presented no concrete evidence to support their allegations of rape.”

No evidence? Aiden snorted. Give me a break, you jerk!

“The only evidence they have is circumstantial and can be interpreted in many ways. According to the law, you have to adopt the interpretation in favor of the defendant because he has the presumption of being innocent.” D’Aquino raised his index finger and gazed at the jurors with a serious expression.

“The prosecution presented an inexperienced police officer who would not know a real crime from a staged one. Next, they called a detective who was predisposed to believe anything the alleged witness said because of their previous acquaintance. Their physical evidence - fibers, semen, and fingerprints - proved nothing more than that my client had been in the apartments and had sex with these women, a fact that he readily admitted to. The People didn’t prove a homophobic motive. Just the opposite, in fact: a lesbian woman, who worked closely with Mr. Ballard for years, told you he has always acted with respect and tolerance toward lesbians.”

D’Aquino moved along the first row of jurors. “Even their own expert witness, Doctor Van Hayden, admitted that patients rarely confess that their injuries were caused by rough sex because they’re too embarrassed to. And that is exactly what happened on the nights in question. Therefore, I ask that you acquit my client and find him not guilty. Thank you.”

Linehan scribbled something down on her legal pad. “Are the People ready for their closing argument?”

“Ready, Your Honor.”

Aiden’s eyes were on Kade as she rose and strode over to the jury box, appearing calm and focused. “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is not a case resting on circumstantial evidence as the defense wants you to believe. Every possible testimony you heard in the last week - except for the defendant’s - pointed to the fact that three brutal rapes had been committed by the defendant, Garett Ballard. While some of the evidence may blur the line between rough consensual sex and rape, there is more than enough to prove the latter: torn clothing, bruises, broken bones, vaginal tears at a position consistent with rape, a gun that has been found in Mr. Ballard’s apartment, his fingerprints on a ripped out phone line and on a cell phone that had been thrown out of the window.”

Kade counted it off for the jury with her fingers and then shook her hands to emphasize her next words. “Every single piece of evidence tells us that these three women have been raped, just like they said. The defense’s attempt to come up with a motive as to why they should accuse an innocent man of rape has been less than convincing. Why should they be embarrassed or ashamed about having a heterosexual affair when many families of lesbian women would throw a victory party should that ever happen?” Kade looked intently at each juror in turn.

“When Mr. Ballard tried to explain why three women, who had never spoken to him or to each other, should first sleep with him and then accuse him of rape, he got entangled in his own web of lies. All of the testimony - that of an experienced ER doctor and a detective with the Sexual Assault Detail, for example - indicates that Melanie Riggs, Jayne Matthews, and Dawn Kinsley were raped by the defendant, and Dr. Renshaw explained his motive: a pathological hatred against lesbians that the defendant developed after having been left by his lesbian mother and raised by his homophobic father.” Kade half turned toward Ballard, who was staring at her with angry eyes.

“The crime, the motive, and the perpetrator have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. I ask that you seek justice for the victims, make the defendant accountable for his actions, and return a verdict of guilty on all counts,” Kade demanded, intently looking at every juror who would make eye contact. “Thank you.”

Linehan leaned forward to instruct the jury and then excused them to the jury room for deliberations. She raised her voice to be heard over the whispered conversations that started in the gallery. “This court is adjourned.”

Aiden finally leaned back. She looked at Dawn, who was sitting next to her on the edge of her seat with a pale face and a white-knuckled grip on Del’s hand.

“God, I think I need a drink,” Dawn whispered, leaning her head back tiredly.

“Then let’s go and have one,” Aiden suggested spontaneously. “I’m off duty, and Kade will page me when the jury returns.”

Dawn hesitated. She looked to her left, where her mother and Del sat.

“Ah, you go with her, grasshopper,” Del Vasquez encouraged her. “Your mom and I can manage to get smashed on our own.”

“Del!” Dawn and Grace slapped her on the shoulder from both sides.

Aiden smiled, grateful that Del’s comment had lightened the mood and made Dawn laugh. She waited patiently for Dawn’s decision.

“Okay, let’s go.” Dawn rose and followed her out the courtroom’s double doors.

Aiden shortened her stride, remaining protectively at Dawn’s side. Her warning gaze and the gold shield she wore made sure that no one in the busy hallway strayed too close to Dawn. Soon, they descended the steps leading to the courthouse building. “Where do you want to go?” Aiden wanted to let Dawn decide in which bar or restaurant she would feel safe.

“You know what…” Dawn stopped on the step above Aiden so she could gaze into her eyes without looking up. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather take a rain check on that drink.”

Directly face-to-face now, Aiden studied the other woman. Dawn seemed edgy and exhausted. “You’re tired, huh?”

“I’m still not sleeping very well on some nights,” Dawn admitted. “The trial brought back a lot of memories. And I don’t want to be falling down drunk when the jury comes back with the verdict, no matter what it’s going to be.”

Aiden pushed back her disappointment about parting ways so soon and nodded in understanding. “Kade said it could be a while before the jury gets back, and your place is just around the corner. Why don’t you go home and take a nap?” she suggested.

“I’d like that - but not alone.”

She wants to take a nap with me? Aiden was suddenly glad that she had already reached the last step, sure that she would have tumbled down the stairs otherwise.

Dawn had to laugh when she saw the look on Aiden’s face. “Come home with me, Detective,” she invited, almost matter-of-factly, “for coffee and company, nothing more.”

Fool! Aiden scolded herself. Sharing a bed with you, even platonically, is probably the last thing on her mind. “Nothing more? Does that mean I don’t get cookies with my coffee this time?” She tried to hide her embarrassment behind a joke.

Dawn smiled. “Hmm, maybe I can scare up a few.”

They strolled along the treelined Fourth Avenue and finally took the elevator up to Dawn’s apartment in companionable silence.

“Is coffee okay?” Dawn asked when they crossed the threshold. “Or do you want something stronger? You can still have a drink.”

“No, coffee’s good,” Aiden said. “I’m off duty, but still… I promised myself I would never depend on alcohol to make myself feel better or to help me forget.” To her astonishment, she had told Dawn before she could censor herself. She’s just too easy to talk to.

“Your mother?” It was more a statement than a question. Dawn seemed to know the answer intuitively.

Aiden nodded. “My mother and a lot of good cops who end up drunk every night to forget about the evil they had seen that day.” She leaned against the doorframe and watched Dawn as she prepared coffee and tea.

The small, slender hands moved efficiently, giving the everyday activity of boiling water an easy grace.

When the green-gray eyes lifted and glanced at her questioningly, Aiden looked away and let her gaze wander around the rest of the apartment instead. She affectionately took in the methodically cluttered desk and the new children’s painting that was pinned to the living room wall.

“When did you decide that you wanted to be a cop?” Dawn suddenly asked.

Aiden blew out a breath. She wasn’t keen on playing “twenty questions” with a shrink, but at the same time she found that she couldn’t refuse to answer the questions of this particular psychologist. “I don’t know. On some level, I think I always knew.”

“You never considered other careers?” Dawn wanted to know.

“Not really, no.”

Dawn stretched, reaching for the cookie box on the top shelf, and for a moment, the blouse that was stretched taut across the lithe body distracted Aiden. “And you always planned to join the Sexual Assault Detail?”

Aiden forced her gaze away from Dawn. “I didn’t plan it from the start; that’s just the way it happened. Guess it’s my fate, huh?” Her facial muscles began to hurt from the effort it took to keep her face calm and expressionless. Normally, it wasn’t too hard to talk about the way she had been conceived in an almost matter-of-fact way - it was something to which she had grown accustomed, and she had learned to keep a certain emotional distance. But somehow, staying emotionally uninvolved was difficult when she was dealing with Dawn Kinsley.

Dawn’s hands stilled on the cookie box, and she turned around. “If you were destined to work with rape survivors, it’s because of your strength and compassion, not because you have anything to atone for. The sins of your father are his own, not yours.”

Aiden swallowed helplessly. A whirlwind of thoughts was racing through her mind, and she didn’t know what to say. “What about you?” she asked when she couldn’t stand the silence any longer. “Why did you become a psychologist instead of following family tradition and becoming a cop?”

“Well, I thought about it when I heard that there are some lesbians who have a thing for women in uniform,” Dawn said with a grin. “No, seriously, I considered going into the ‘family business’ for a while. There are some things about being a cop that really appeal to me.”

Aiden took a step forward and leaned against the kitchen cupboard. She didn’t want to miss a word that Dawn said. “What things are those? Apart from the attention-getting uniform,” she added with a smile.

“Helping people, protecting people…” Dawn shrugged. “But I quickly realized that ‘protecting and serving’ is not really the main focus of police work. Investigations and legal proceedings are about the perpetrators, not about the victims.”

“So you became a psychologist,” Aiden concluded, “and you love your job.”

Dawn poured hot water into the mug with her tea bag. “Some days I want to chuck everything and move to the Bahamas, but overall, yes, I love my job… even if it’s not a chick magnet like yours.”

Aiden reached for the tray before Dawn could and carried it into the living room. It surprised her how at home she already felt in the cozy apartment. “How did your parents react to your career choice?”

Dawn shoveled sugar into her tea and stirred thoughtfully. “My dad died before I had my degree, but he was always very supportive of me.”

“And your mom?” Aiden found herself wanting to know all the details of Dawn’s life even if she was reluctant to reveal personal information about herself.

“My mom was relieved when I chose not to attend the Police Academy. She almost burst with pride when I got my PhD. I think she called me ‘Doctor’ for a week.” Dawn chuckled around a mouthful of cookie.

Aiden laughed, too. She was glad that Dawn had a parent who was not reluctant to show her love and pride.

“At first, she wasn’t too keen on my idea to specialize in counseling rape survivors. She wanted me to go into family therapy or any other field of work where I wouldn’t be confronted with all the violence and the crimes that my dad and Brian had to deal with on a daily basis,” Dawn continued.

Aiden shrugged. “She wants to protect you from the ugliness of the world. That’s what mothers do.”

Dawn studied her over the rim of her mug. “Did yours?”

“Sometimes.”

Dawn didn’t pressure her to explain, but Aiden felt it wasn’t fair to pump Dawn for information about her family and then give her one-word answers in return. “There were times when she just wanted to forget everything that had happened to her, including me,” she told Dawn, closing her hands tighter around her mug without drinking. There was already a bitter taste in her mouth, even without coffee. “When she was drunk, she didn’t care about other people.”

Dawn took the unused mug out of Aiden’s grip and replaced it with her own hand. She silently squeezed Aiden’s fingers.

Not wanting to be pitied, Aiden squared her shoulders but did not dare to break the connection between their hands. “She did care when she wasn’t drunk,” she belatedly defended her mother. “She was proud when I became a police officer, but she hated that I joined the Sexual Assault Detail. At least once a week, she begged me to transfer to homicide, narcotics, or any other unit.”

Dawn closed her other hand around Aiden’s and looked down at their tangled fingers. “She hated it because she knew it had the potential to hurt you. But I’m sure she loved you for doing it anyway.”

Aiden’s gaze followed Dawn’s, taking in the contrast of Dawn’s fairer, smaller fingers against her own. She noticed that her thumb had been drawing circles over the back of Dawn’s hand again, and she wasn’t sure if the gesture was meant to sooth Dawn or herself.

The pager that suddenly went off on her hip made her jerk back from Dawn. Quickly, as if she had been caught doing something forbidden, she disentangled their fingers and grabbed her pager to look at its display. “It’s Kade,” she announced. “The jury’s back.”

CHAPTER 22

DAWN NERVOUSLY took her seat next to Aiden. She clutched the edge of her seat and leaned toward Aiden. “They didn’t take long to reach a verdict, did they? Is that a good or a bad sign?”

“Let’s hope it means that they saw right through Ballard’s feeble defense,” Aiden said with an encouraging nod.

Dawn felt her already tense body stiffen even more when Garett Ballard turned in his seat to stare at her. She looked away and directed her gaze toward Kade Matheson, who looked calm and secure behind the prosecution’s table, as if any verdict other than “guilty on all counts” was not even a possibility. Once again, Dawn envied her cool confidence.

Judge Ruth Linehan settled her black robe around herself on the bench and looked down at the jurors. “Has the jury reached a verdict?”

The jury foreman stood. “We have, Your Honor.”

Dawn watched anxiously as the bailiff walked a folded piece of paper over to the judge, who read it and then handed it back. Linehan’s expression revealed nothing. “Will the defendant please rise.”

Garett Ballard and his attorney stood.

“On the first count of the indictment, the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm, how does the jury find?”

The jury foreman looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. “We, the jury, find the defendant guilty.”

Dawn nodded stiffly. That was the easy one. Proving he was carrying a concealed weapon even though he didn’t have a permit was all it took.

“On count two, possession of stolen property, how does the jury find?” Judge Linehan asked.

“We find the defendant guilty.”

Another easy one, Dawn thought with growing tension.

“On count three, resisting arrest, how do you find?” the judge asked in a voice that didn’t betray any personal feelings.

“We find the defendant guilty,” the foreman said again.

“On count four, assaulting a public safety officer, how does the jury find?”

Dawn turned her head to look at Aiden, who sat with a neutral expression, as if she hadn’t been the assaulted officer in question.

“We find the defendant guilty.”

Dawn breathed a sigh of relief but felt her muscles stiffen all the same. Her heart began to pound. The remaining charge was the only one that really mattered to her.

“Regarding three counts of rape in the first degree, what is your verdict?” Linehan asked.

“We find the defendant…” The jury foreman cleared his throat. “…guilty.”

Dawn’s whole body had been on edge from the moment Aiden’s pager had gone off, and now all the tension fled her body in a rush, leaving her with weak knees and a dizzy head. She numbly fell back against the back of her seat. She heard the bang of the gavel and Linehan’s “This court is dismissed” as if from a huge distance.

“Hey.” Aiden leaned over and looked down at her with concern. “You okay?”

Dawn exhaled shakily. “Yeah, I think so.”

“It’s over now,” Aiden assured her. “He’s been found guilty, and he won’t be out on the streets again for a long, long time. If I know Kade, she’s going to push for the maximum.”

Still a little numb, Dawn let herself be hugged by both her mother and Del, peering over their shoulders as a struggling and shouting Ballard was dragged from the room.

“We should celebrate,” Grace suggested.

Dawn nodded even though she didn’t feel like celebrating. She was glad that she, and every other woman in Portland, would be safe from Ballard, but no punishment imposed on him could undo what he had done to her and the others.

“You and your partner are invited, of course,” Grace told Aiden.

Dawn looked over at the prosecution table where Kade was calmly gathering her things. “Should we ask Ms. Matheson if she wants to join us?” She was grateful to the Deputy DA who had won the case and didn’t want to exclude her from the celebration.

Aiden’s eyes widened into the classical “deer in the headlights” look. For a moment, she appeared almost afraid to answer the simple question.

Dawn, well aware of Aiden’s harmless infatuation with Kade, could almost hear her panicked thoughts: Is this the point where I have to decide between a possible relationship with Dawn, which would not be easy, and the safe admiration for Kade?

“It’s a simple, honest question, no trap, no encrypted message, no ulterior motive. I just want to know if you think Kade would be interested in joining us for a drink,” Dawn told her.

“You’re the mind reader, not me. Why don’t you decide for yourself if she wants to accompany us or not?” Aiden suggested with a smile.

Dawn slowly walked across the courtroom. She stopped right in front of the prosecution’s table and waited until Kade looked up. “Hi,” she began. To her surprise, she found herself a little shy now that she was facing the object of Aiden’s infatuation. Kadence Matheson was beautiful, confident, and secure, the way only a person whose feeling of personal safety had never been violated could be. Dawn knew she could never hope to match up to that in Aiden’s eyes. “My family is planning to go out and celebrate. Would you like to join us?”

Kade snapped her briefcase shut and started to politely shake her head.

“Oh, come on, Counselor!” Ray Bennet shouted from the gallery. “Live a little!”

The DDA hesitated and glanced down at her watch.

“Come with us, Kade,” Aiden said from behind Dawn. “It’s too late to get any real work done anyway.”

“All right.” Kade shouldered her briefcase as a soldier would his rifle. “But remember: I’m a woman with expensive tastes,” she warned them with a smile.

Aiden, who appeared utterly content now that she was flanked by Dawn on one side and Kade on the other side, just laughed. “Who said this was an all expenses paid invitation?”

* * *

I should have known we would end up in some cop bar, Kade thought with a wry smile. Being surrounded by beer-drinking, laughing, boasting cops didn’t bother her in the least. She knew exactly what horrors they had to face every day. She knew that for each time they went out for a celebratory drink, there were at least two other times that they sat here staring broodingly into their beer glasses, seeking comfort in each other’s presence.

Kade contentedly sipped her wine and leaned back in her chair at the head of the table. Over the rim of her glass, she watched her companions.

Mrs. Kinsley was visibly relieved to have left the trial behind her. She laughed cheerfully at the story Ray was telling about his four daughters.

Her silent friend, the intriguing Lieutenant Vasquez, smiled too, but half her attention remained on Dawn. As a police officer, she was much more aware that winning the trial didn’t automatically stop the torment the victims had to go through.

Kade followed her gaze and studied Dawn. Her key witness was deep in conversation with Aiden, their heads bent closely together because of the loudness of their surroundings.

Now that’s interesting. Kade raised her brows. Everyone else at the table would probably think nothing of it, but years of examining witnesses on the stand and watching suspects through the one-way mirror had honed Kade’s skills of observation. In addition, she knew Aiden’s body language. Like most cops, Aiden preferred to keep a certain distance between herself and whomever she was talking to - unless she happened to be attracted to her conversation partner. That was what had ultimately tipped Kade off about Aiden’s possible feelings for her.

Aiden and Dawn weren’t touching, and the topic of their conversation was probably just small talk, but Kade could feel a connection between them anyway. Something was developing between them, something more than just the relationship of a victim and the detective working her case. Well, well, well… Kade took another sip of her wine. I guess I’ll have to do without the company of one Detective Aiden Carlisle in the courtroom during her lunch breaks from now on.

She had long since suspected that Aiden was not immune to the charm of an attractive woman, and Dawn Kinsley was both charming and attractive. Away from the tense atmosphere of the courtroom and the presence of her rapist, Dawn’s smile was warm and genuine, and the wine had lent a little color to her pale cheeks.

Kade noted with mixed feelings how her gray-green eyes shone when Dawn looked at Aiden. She wasn’t jealous, nor did she view herself as being particularly narrow-minded. Despite her awareness of Aiden’s admiring gazes, she had never really considered a relationship with her or any other woman. Work had always come first, but you couldn’t be a Matheson and not be even a little regretful to lose the flattering attention of an admirer.

Kade’s thoughts and the conversation between Dawn and Aiden were interrupted when one of the men who’d sat drinking at the bar tapped Dawn on the shoulder. “Hey, beautiful lady. How about a dance?” He offered her his none-too-steady hand.

Dawn looked over her shoulder toward the dance floor, which was the general size of a postage stamp. No one was dancing. “No, thank you,” she declined politely.

“A game of pool, then?” the man offered, nodding at the pool tables.

“No, thanks,” Dawn said again.

Her admirer wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Oh, come on, just one -“

A low growl from Aiden interrupted him. She pressed tense hands against the table and started to rise.

On the edge of her vision, Kade could see that Del Vasquez had taken up a similar position.

Dawn’s fingers on her forearm held Aiden back. Their gazes crossed for a second, and Dawn shook her head almost imperceptibly. “I can handle it, thanks,” Kade heard her whisper.

To Kade’s surprise, the protective Aiden obediently sank back onto her chair without any protests.

Dawn turned toward the waiting man. Kade could see that she had to force herself to hold his stare without flinching back from the smell of beer on his breath. “I’m here with my friends and my family, so I don’t want to dance with you, play pool with you, or do anything else with you, okay?” Her voice was soft but firm.

For a second, the man stood frozen as if he couldn’t believe that he had been shot down until one of his buddies called from the bar, “C’mere, and leave her alone, Sim. I know these guys. They’re with the SAD.”

While the half-drunk man stumbled back to his friends, Kade watched Aiden squeeze Dawn’s now trembling fingers under the table.

It was her first confrontation with a man after her rape, Kade suddenly understood. She wanted… needed to prove to herself, and to Aiden, that she could handle it on her own, without the help of her knight with the shining badge. Aiden, my friend, I think you’ve found your match. Kade raised her wineglass in a silent toast to the courageous woman.

* * *

In over twenty years on the job, Del had seen a lot of cases that never went to trial or were lost by a helpless DDA for lack of evidence. She had dealt with victims who hadn’t been able to identify their attacker but couldn’t understand why he was acquitted, more times than she could count. Her relief at not having to deal with any of those things in Dawn’s case was profound.

They had won, and Del fully intended to buy the victorious DDA a beer or two. She turned to look at Kade Matheson and found her talking and laughing with Carlisle.

“And to think that you managed to win in Linehan’s court without her holding you in contempt. Not even once!” Aiden teased, obviously familiar with Kade and her past courtroom experiences.

“Being held in contempt is not half as bad as losing the keys to your handcuffs,” Kade answered haughtily, but a small, playful wink took the sting from her words.

“I didn’t lose them,” Carlisle protested. “I just said that to scare the perp into confessing.”

Kade gave her a sarcastic nod. “Oh, yes, of course.”

“Yes,” Carlisle insisted. “That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.”

“Uh-huh. And do you lose the keys to your handcuffs very often, Detective?”

Del leaned back and watched them. Are they flirting? The DDA and the detective were obviously at ease with each other, and Del wondered if Carlisle’s reaction to her request to be “hooked up” with Kade Matheson had held a hint of jealousy. I certainly couldn’t blame her. Matheson’s a looker, and she pulls that arrogant no-nonsense attitude off better than any other woman I know. If even an old warhorse like me is impressed, there’s no way in hell that Carlisle could be left cold. But where does that leave my little grasshopper?

She turned her head to look at Dawn, who sat silently staring into her wineglass, not attempting to interrupt or get involved in the conversation between Carlisle and Kade Matheson. She didn’t try to redirect Carlisle’s attention back to herself.

Dawn looked up, as if sensing Del’s gaze on her, and smiled.

Del raised a questioning brow. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Dawn said.

Del looked back at Matheson and Carlisle, who were still teasing and laughing. I bet you’re not fine with that. Having known Dawn for almost all her life, she had sensed Dawn’s interest in Aiden Carlisle from the start, but she knew that Dawn didn’t feel in a position to pursue a relationship with her just yet. I just hope she doesn’t waste her trust and feelings on a woman who’s not really available.

“Dawn…” Del started. She had never interfered with any of Dawn’s relationships before, even when she’d known from the start that neither Caleb Montgomery nor Maggie Forsyth had been right for her. Now, though, Dawn was so vulnerable that she couldn’t help trying to warn her. “Are you really sure that Carlisle is available for a relationship?”

Dawn leaned over the table, making sure that no one could overhear them in the loud bar. “I’m not even sure if I’m available for a relationship just yet,” she answered honestly. “For now, I just want to be her friend.”

For now, yes. But will Carlisle have the patience to wait until you’re ready for more when she could have a woman like Kade Matheson right now? Del rubbed her chin and watched Carlisle interact with Kade again. “But -“

“Stop worrying about me, Del,” Dawn said with her trademark kind smile.

“I can’t,” Del confessed. “It’s my job to worry about you; I inherited it from your dad.”

Dawn reached across the table and patted her hand. “And you do a great job, really. But in this case, it’s not necessary. I’m well aware that Aiden likes Ms. Matheson.”

Del eyed Kade Matheson’s elegant lips, her aristocratic nose, and the slender legs. “Well, what’s not to like?” she muttered.

“I thought you had a thing for Latinas?” A teasing grin made the gray-green eyes sparkle.

Del’s lips echoed the smile. “I’d make an exception for her.” Dawn’s laugh warmed her heart, and she watched as Carlisle turned her head at the sound of her laughter. The detective’s eyes searched out Dawn’s face, and she grinned when she saw the smile on it.

When Carlisle turned back to her own conversation, Dawn leaned toward Del again. “Aiden likes Kade. She admires her, but I don’t think that she would want to start a relationship with her. It’s more like one of those worshiping from afar things - safe because you know that it will never become reality. Besides, Kadence Matheson doesn’t swing that way.”

“Ah.” Del waved dismissively, but in her mind she wasn’t so sure. Kade Matheson may have never “swung that way” in the past, but she didn’t strike Del as the type to vehemently oppose the possibility. “When you start to sound like a shrink, I know it’s complicated.”

Dawn laughed again. “There are some things that even the gold bar on your uniform couldn’t change, hmm? You cops just love psychologists.”

Del grinned. Let’s hope that a particular one of us will learn to.

CHAPTER 23

“GOOD GOD!” AIDEN groaned as she bent down to peer at the report on her desk more closely. “Is that a ‘g’ or a ‘b’?” She turned the file and threw it onto the desk in front of hers.

Ray studied the words for a while. “Hmm. Could be an eight, too. Maybe even an ‘h’.” He threw the file back to Aiden.

Frustrated, she gathered her files and emptied her cup of coffee.

Ruben looked up from his own work when she stood. “You’re not going to jump from the roof because you can’t read the memo the lieutenant tacked onto your last report, are you?”

Aiden snorted. “Hardly. I think I’ll go down and try to find someone from the hieroglyphics department to help me read this.”

“Well, I have this theory.” Okada ignored the groans of his colleagues at the word “theory.” “It’s not a coincidence that the guys and gals with the sloppiest handwriting always get promoted fastest. No one wants to spend hours trying to decipher their reports anymore.”

“I’m sure the lieutenant would be very happy to hear what you think about the qualifications that got her this job,” Aiden commented dryly.

Ray leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms behind his head. “You going to pay our friends from ballistics a visit?”

Moving toward the double doors, Aiden nodded. “We won’t get any further on Powell until the lab confirms a ballistics match. And it’ll be good to get out and take a break from all this reading.” She rubbed her burning eyes.

“Could you bring me back a salad?” Ray asked.

“Sure.” As Aiden left, she heard the other detectives tease him about being put on diet by his wife. At least he’s got someone who cares about his health. Aiden had dedicated her life to her job. It was the one thing that she could really be proud of, the only time she felt good about herself without reservation. But still there were times when she realized that maybe there was more to life than the job. Ray had a beautiful wife and four kids; Ruben had a girlfriend and his whole life ahead of him, and even Okada had three or four ex-wives - Aiden had lost count a long time ago - to whom he paid alimony. Aiden was the only one who didn’t have a bond with any living human being. Thinking about significant others, relationships, and her lack thereof conjured up a mental picture of Dawn, and Aiden violently shook her head to chase away these thoughts.

Aiden dropped their bullet off for analysis at the crime lab, but instead of heading straight back to the precinct, she decided to use her lunch break for a little walk through Waterfront Park, just two blocks from the Justice Center.

She strode along the Willamette River, breathing in the cold November air until she slowly felt her tension fade. She slowed her pace and took the time to look around. The wind was tugging at the flag that was flying over the Portland Police Memorial at the end of the park, and Aiden mentally saluted the colleagues who had lost their lives in the line of duty.

Slowly walking closer, she could make out the circular form of the memorial and the red cobbles that formed a star. A woman was standing in front of the memorial wall, her blond hair blowing in the wind.

Aiden stopped to look at the woman. She looks like Dawn, she thought and then rolled her eyes at herself. Oh, great! Now everyone you see reminds you of her. Cut it out, right this instant.

Try as she might, she couldn’t help herself. Her gaze wandered back to the Dawn look-alike, who had her back to her. She had the same blond hair and the same petite, lithe body.

Stop it! Her hair isn’t even as long as Dawn’s. She shook her head at herself and resolutely walked on.

The path circled around the memorial, and Aiden still found herself sneaking glimpses at the solitary woman. Finally, she was able to see her in profile. “Dawn?” she called before she could stop herself.

The woman whirled around. It was Dawn Kinsley. A smile lit up her features when she saw Aiden. “Hi!”

Aiden walked over to her. “You cut your hair,” she noticed with surprise. The blond hair didn’t reach almost all the way down Dawn’s back any longer. The ends now just brushed her shoulders.

Dawn nodded self-consciously and tugged the blond strands back on one side, revealing a cute ear. “Yes, I… I wanted a little change,” she said quietly.

Aiden knew that it wasn’t uncommon for rape victims to change the way they looked. In addition, pulling her long hair had been one of the ways in which Gary Ballard had tried to keep Dawn under control during the rape. “It looks good,” Aiden said and meant it.

“Thank you,” Dawn answered with a hint of a blush. “What are you doing here?”

Aiden stuffed her hands into her coat pockets. “Um… I was dropping something off at the ballistics lab, and now I’m taking my lunch break. You?”

Dawn bit her lip. “Visiting my dad.” She smiled sadly and touched one of the names on the memorial wall. James Kinsley. “I always come here on his birthday. I think he’d like it better than me going to visit his grave.”

Aiden watched her lovingly trace every letter on her father’s plaque, one of twenty-six that represented Portland police officers who had been killed in the line of duty. She watched the emotions play across Dawn’s face. She could almost feel the connection between Dawn and her dead father, and it was painful to realize that she would never share a similar bond with either of her parents.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, taking a respectful step back, “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“You didn’t.” Dawn stopped her retreat with a touch on Aiden’s arm.

Aiden studied her. Dawn’s face was flushed from the wind and the cold, and her eyes were red-rimmed from crying or from lack of sleep. Aiden found her beautiful nonetheless. Maybe it’s some kind of withdrawal symptoms, she thought wryly.

She hadn’t seen Dawn or heard from her since the trial had ended the week before - not because she hadn’t wanted to, but because she was unsure how to behave around Dawn now that the familiar role of detective had been taken away. “How are you?” she finally asked, lacking another topic to introduce.

“Getting there.” Dawn nodded almost to herself. “And how are you?”

Aiden grinned. “Same as always - up to my neck in cases.”

“No vacation in sight, huh?”

“Vacation?” Aiden playfully scratched her head. “Hmm… that sounds familiar. What was that again?”

Dawn smiled ruefully. “I think it’s the very thing I’m getting too much of right now. It’s getting really boring to sit at home and do nothing, but I’m still not up to going back to work with rape victims.”

Aiden nodded understandingly. She’s got too much time on her hands, huh? This could be my chance to ask her out. She hesitated. I don’t think she’s ready to date anyone, least of all a woman who has as much baggage as I have. And I’m not even sure that I’m ready to be in a relationship.

She was still debating with herself and trying to work up enough courage to ask Dawn out when she remembered that she had promised to bring back lunch for Ray. She was still on duty and had work to do. This was not the right time to arrange dates. “Well, I think I’d better get back to the precinct.”

Dawn said nothing; she just looked at her.

For a moment, they both stood in silence. Finally, it was Dawn who spoke first, “Yeah, I’d better get going, too. It’s getting a little cold out here.” She rubbed her arms.

Aiden nodded, unusually tongue-tied.

“See you.” Dawn waited for a few seconds, but when Aiden just returned the good-byes, she turned and walked toward the path.

Disappointed and irritated with herself, Aiden watched her walk away. Dawn had almost reached the path when Aiden finally moved. “Dawn! Wait!” She jogged across the square to catch up with her. When she stopped in front of Dawn, she nervously licked her lips. “Do you… do you want to do something this weekend?”

Dawn studied her. “You mean… go out on a date?”

“I’d like that, yes.” Aiden held her gaze. “There’s this French restaurant Kade told me about… so?”

Half a dozen different emotions flickered across Dawn’s face too fast for Aiden to identify them all. Was there… disappointment? “It’s really nice of you to ask, and normally I’d love to, but… I can’t.”

“Oh, that’s okay. It was just a spontaneous thought,” Aiden said, trying to act indifferent. I told you; going out with her is not a good idea. She’s not ready or interested. That didn’t prevent her from feeling disappointed, though. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around.” She turned, clenching her hands in her pockets as she strode away.

“Wait!” This time it was Dawn who was running to catch up with her. “It’s not that I don’t want to go out… go to this restaurant with you, it’s just…”

Aiden stopped and looked down at her. “You don’t have to explain.” Accepting a simple “no” from any woman under any circumstances was the most important rule in Aiden’s book.

Dawn threw her hands up. “Yes, yes, I do. I want you to know the truth,” she insisted.

“Okay. I’m listening.”

“I’m still not working and…” Dawn looked down at the red cobbles. “…money is getting a little tight. An expensive restaurant is just not within my budget right now.”

Aiden stared at her for a moment and then smiled in relief. “That’s not a problem. I invited you; of course I’m going to pay.”

“No.” Dawn vehemently shook her head. “I can’t accept that.”

Dismayed, Aiden folded her arms across her chest. Her eyes narrowed. “So, you’re not going to go out with me because you’re too proud?” She couldn’t believe it. It seemed a very childish reason compared to Dawn’s normally mature behavior.

Dawn didn’t waver under Aiden’s stare. “This has nothing to do with pride,” she said. “Okay, maybe it has to do with pride, but that’s just to a very small extent. This is about equality.”

“Equality?” Aiden repeated.

“Equality,” Dawn said with a decisive nod. “We met at a very low point of my life. Until now, you were the strong detective, and I was the helpless victim - and those are not roles we can build a friendship on, much less a relationship. I need to feel like I’m your equal, and we can’t do that if we keep on adding other inequalities. I don’t want to be a kept woman. Can you understand that?”

Aiden looked at her for a little longer. She had to admit that not many women had stood up to her like that. Even in her relationships with men, she had often been the dominant one, the one to make the decisions, to start and end the affair when she got bored with the weaker partner. “Yes,” she finally said with a grudging respect. “Yes, I can. So, you’re not going out with me?”

“Not used to rejections, are you?” Dawn teased instead of answering.

“It doesn’t happen often, that’s for sure,” Aiden grumbled, intently studying the patterns of the cobbles under her feet.

Dawn smiled. “Listen, why don’t we do something else instead?”

“You mean, instead of going out on a date?”

“Instead of going to an expensive restaurant,” Dawn answered. “I don’t need you to spend half your pay check to have a nice evening.”

So, low-maintenance women really do exist. “Okay,” she said, in a much better mood. “What do you suggest?”

“How about an afternoon of ice-skating?” Dawn suggested.

Ice-skating? Aiden gave her a skeptical glance. Helplessly stumbling around at the edge of an ice-skating rink was not her idea of romance, and she didn’t think that falling on your ass again and again was the best way to impress a woman. “You want to go ice-skating? With me?”

“Yeah!” Dawn confirmed enthusiastically. “It’s fun; it’s not that expensive, and it’s not your usual first-date activity, so it doesn’t put as much pressure on us as a restaurant setting would.”

Well, that sounds really reasonable, Aiden had to admit. “You’re right, but there’s still one problem… um… I don’t know how to ice-skate.”

Dawn looked at her incredulously. “You’ve never been ice-skating? Never? Not even once? That’s a sacrilege! But fortunately, we can remedy it - I could teach you,” she offered.

“Hmm…” Aiden scratched her nose.

Dawn laughed, her eyes twinkling with delight. “You’re not scared, are you, Detective?” she teased. “Don’t worry. I’ll catch you when you fall.”

Are we still talking about ice-skating? Aiden wondered. “Okay.” She gave in with a sigh.

“Then it’s a date?”

Aiden studied her. “Yes. That is… if you want it to be.” She was well aware that it might take Dawn more time to be ready to begin dating again. “Or do you want to invite your niece to go with us?” she offered in an effort to make Dawn feel more at ease. She loves to spend time with her niece, and maybe Dawn would be more comfortable if we have a chaperone.

Dawn blinked, clearly astonished and pleased that Aiden had thought to include a member of the family who meant so much to her. “It’s nice of you to think of Jamie, but for now I want it to be just the two of us. Even a stellar teacher like me can’t take on more than one student at a time,” Dawn joked.

“Okay. One ice-skating date, you’re on.” Aiden glanced down at her watch with regret. “I really do have to go now.”

Dawn laughed. “Tomorrow, four p.m.?”

Aiden nodded without further hesitation. “I’ll pick you up.”

“Why don’t I pick you up?” Dawn suggested, clearly in another attempt to establish equality.

“Because you drive a sardine can, and I need to have two functioning legs if I want to attempt ice-skating,” Aiden said.

Dawn thought about it. “You can drive if I get to pay the admission at the ice-skating rink.”

Aiden wondered if it would always be like this and then decided that she would like a partner who could stand up to her for a change. “You drive a hard bargain, Doctor Kinsley.”

“Take it or leave it, Detective.” Dawn held out her hand.

“Okay, okay, it’s a deal.” Aiden shook the offered hand. One last squeeze of her fingers, and then Aiden departed. I think I’m gonna join Ray and eat a salad today. I’ll need the vitamins if I want to keep up with Dawn Kinsley.

* * *

“Is this size okay?” Dawn was kneeling in front of Aiden, both of them looking down at the rented skates covering Aiden’s feet.

“I think so.”

“Okay, then let’s get going.” The indoor ice rink on the first floor of the mall was beginning to get crowded, and Dawn didn’t want to risk a collision between other skaters and her inexperienced skating partner. She wanted this date to go as smoothly as possible. She finished strapping on her own pair of ice-skates, stood, and offered her hand to Aiden to help her up.

Holding on to Dawn’s hands and forearms, Aiden hobbled the few feet to the shiny surface of the ice. She stopped at the very edge of the rink. “Okay, how do I do this?”

Dawn held back a smile. Aiden was clearly uncomfortable at being confronted with something in which she had no experience, in a domain not her own. The few dozen onlookers, watching the ice rink from the food court above, didn’t help either. For Dawn, it was a perfect first-date situation after her rape - she was the one in control. “Hold on to my hand, distribute your weight evenly on both skates, and just try to glide,” Dawn instructed. “We’re gonna stay near the rail on the outside, away from the more experienced skaters and the rowdies.”

Dawn stepped onto the ice, easily keeping her balance because she had done it hundreds of times before. Aiden followed with more hesitation, one hand clutching Dawn’s, the other holding on to the railing around the rink.

Dawn guided her around the rink, patiently looking on as Aiden began a one-legged shuffle in her effort not to lose her tight grip on the railing. “Let go of the railing,” she ordered after a while.

“I can’t fall while I hold on,” Aiden protested.

“Yeah, but you also can’t skate that way,” Dawn reminded. “You won’t hurt yourself even if you fall. Everyone falls.”

Aiden still held on to the bar. “I don’t see anyone in danger of falling, except for me.”

Dawn laughed. “That’s because you keep looking at your feet. You can’t see anyone else and you can’t keep your balance this way, so keep your head up. Trust me, I won’t let you fall.” Dawn knew it was difficult for Aiden to give up control.

Millimeter by millimeter, Aiden loosened her grip on the railing and lifted her head while her other hand held on tighter to Dawn’s.

“Yes, that’s it!” Dawn encouraged even as Aiden started slipping and sliding around the ice. “You’re doing great! Now turn one foot sideways and use it to propel you forward on the other foot. Don’t be afraid to take your foot off the ice.”

Slowly, they made their way around the rink, once and then twice. “Want to try on your own?”

Aiden’s gloved hand hesitantly let go of Dawn’s. Dawn watched proudly as her student cautiously skated away from her. She did well enough until, out of the corner of her eye, she detected two preteens who where doing effortless spins right next to her.

Afraid of a collision, Aiden leaned to one side to correct her course and skate around them, but she overcompensated and fell.

Dawn dug the edge of one blade into the ice and raced toward her, stopping in a tight spiral right next to her fallen skating buddy. “Hey, you okay?”

Aiden looked up at her. “Yeah. I fell on my butt. The only thing hurt is my pride.”

“Want to try again?” Dawn asked hesitantly. She loved ice-skating, but she knew that some people could never get up any real enthusiasm for it. She didn’t want to force her hobby onto Aiden if she really didn’t like it.

“You bet!” Aiden got to her feet with determination.

A few rounds and three falls later, Aiden was gliding over the ice with much more grace and had even tried a few spins. Dawn was skating backward next to her so she could keep an eye on Aiden. Aiden’s cheeks were red from the cool air and the exertion; her short hair was disheveled, and her eyes were sparkling.

They were a little out of breath when they finally stopped, leaning next to each other against the railing. The ice-skating rink had gotten crowded and loud voices drifted down to them from the food court - this was not the time or the place to hold a lengthy conversation.

Both a little reluctant to end their afternoon, they changed into their shoes and trudged through the freshly fallen snow toward Aiden’s car. “Come in for a minute to warm yourself up,” Dawn invited when they reached her apartment building.

She noticed with satisfaction that Aiden followed her up and sank onto the couch without much hesitation. Groaning, Aiden stretched her legs and waggled her feet. “I think it’ll take a while to get my land legs back.”

“I hope you still had fun despite a few rather unfriendly encounters with the surface of the ice?” Dawn said when she pressed a cup of coffee into Aiden’s cold hands.

“I had a lot of fun,” Aiden answered, meaning it. “Well,” she added with a smile, “maybe not as much fun as all those preschoolers had, watching me hobble around the ice like a drunken penguin and fall on my ass while they did effortless pirouettes all around me.”

Dawn laughed. “That’s the advantage of youth, Detective.”

Aiden set down her mug and studied her for a moment. “Why don’t you call me by my first name?” she suggested. Dawn had been waiting for this offer since the trial had ended. “You can’t call someone who spent an entire afternoon humiliating herself in your company by an honorable title like Detective.”

“Okay, Aiden.” The name felt a little strange as it came over her lips even though Dawn had already called her that in her mind for a while. “And for your information, you weren’t that bad, and you certainly didn’t humiliate yourself.”

“Well, I won’t give up my day job to train for the Olympics either, that’s for sure.” Aiden chuckled. “But it was fun and… I’d like to do it again.”

Dawn shifted forward onto the edge of her seat. She had a hard time holding back her delighted grin. They both knew that Aiden wasn’t just talking about ice-skating. Guess I didn’t scare her off, huh? “I’d like that, too.”

Aiden swallowed her last sip of coffee. Now that their mutual interest had been established, she retreated. “I’d better go now. The snow’s still falling.”

“Drive carefully,” Dawn said, following her to the door.

Aiden nodded. “I always do.” She reached behind herself to open the door but still faced Dawn.

Dawn felt her hesitate, both of them a little unsure about what a proper good-bye between them should be. Dawn had liked the necessity of holding Aiden’s hand during her ice-skating lessons, but no further touches had been exchanged. She felt her body stiffen without conscious thought as Aiden leaned down, suddenly sure that she was not ready for anything more than a quick peck on the cheek. Her worries eased when Aiden made no attempt to kiss her but enclosed her in a quick but warm embrace.

“Thanks for the lesson and the company,” Aiden said when she stepped back.

“You’re welcome.”

Dawn stood by the door long after it had closed behind Aiden.

CHAPTER 24

FOR THE THIRD time, Aiden circled the coffee table, where her telephone lay. Finally, she sat down on the couch and studied the device as if she could make it ring just by looking at it. No such luck. Should I call her, or do I wait until she calls me? Will she call me or does she expect me to? If I call too soon, she’ll think I’m clinging, smothering her. If I wait too long, she’ll think I don’t care. Aiden groaned. God, I really hate this dating stuff. It’s more complicated than understanding the science behind PCR and STR-testing.

It had been a week since their ice-skating adventure - Aiden still wasn’t sure if she should call it a date - and she hadn’t heard from Dawn since then.

After another minute of internal debating, Aiden gave herself a mental slap and reached for the phone. She almost dropped the cordless phone when it suddenly began to ring in her hand. Jesus! She fumbled for a bit until she found the right button. “Carlisle.”

“Hi, it’s Dawn.” A short silence on the other end. “You sound a little breathless, did I interrupt anything?”

“Dawn! Hi! No, no, you’re not interrupting anything. I was just about to call you.” Great! That sounds like the lamest excuse in the history of dating even if it is the truth.

“Yeah?”

Aiden curled her legs under her. “Yes. I wanted to hear how your week is going.”

“It’s been great so far,” Dawn announced with enthusiasm. “I met an old friend from college. She’s a child psychologist and a family therapist, and she suggested that I work as her co-therapist for a while. I’d mainly work with kids and with teens and young adults who have trouble coming to terms with their sexual orientation.”

“Sounds wonderful.” Aiden was glad. She knew that going back to work would be another step toward healing for Dawn. “Do you think you’ll do it?”

“Yes, I will. Working with kids is something I always wanted to try. Maybe I’ll go back to working with rape survivors in a few months, but for now, working with kids will pay the bills, and it’ll give me a chance to expand my professional horizons. How’s your week been?” Dawn asked.

Three dead bodies, two brutal rapes, and a five-year-old who’s been molested by her own father, but I don’t think you need to hear that. “Oh, the usual… a lot of paperwork, a few search warrants, and a suspect who puked all over my shoes.”

“Ruined shoes? Then the suggestion I have comes at just the right time,” Dawn said with palpable satisfaction.

Aiden leaned back. “What suggestion is that?”

“Go shopping with me today.”

Aiden scratched the back of her neck. She had been looking forward to spending the day with Dawn, but shopping?

“You already have other plans,” Dawn concluded when Aiden failed to answer. The disappointment was clear in her voice.

“No! No, that’s not it. It’s just… well, I’m not exactly Portland’s shopping queen.” She looked down at her blue jeans and the tight-fitting T-shirt. “It’s not that I don’t like fashion. I do, but I don’t really have the patience for marathon shopping sprees. Before I’m even through the first clothing store, I always begin to wish that I had my service weapon with me to clear the crowd - or at least to put me out of my misery.”

Dawn laughed. “Oh, now I understand. You’re shopaphobic!”

Aiden chuckled into the receiver. “If that’s your professional diagnosis.”

“It is,” Dawn agreed gravely. “And it sounds like a severe case.”

“Do you intend to cure my shopaphobia, Doctor?” Aiden smiled to herself.

“Of course,” Dawn said with mock seriousness. “Letting a disorder like that go untreated is against professional ethics, not to mention bad for our city’s economy.”

“So, what’s the treatment plan?”

“I’d suggest you join a self-help group, but I fear you won’t find another woman who hates shopping in the whole city, so I think I’ll try confrontation therapy with you,” Dawn decided.

Aiden lay back on the couch, taking the phone with her. “Confrontation therapy? What exactly does that entail?”

“The patient is confronted with the phobic stimulus until the fear disappears,” Dawn explained, sounding like a textbook, but then added, “or, in your case, until we reach the limit of your credit card; whichever comes first.”

Aiden laughed.

“Come on, say yes. I’ll even throw in an added incentive: you help me find the perfect dress for my cousin’s wedding, and I’ll help you pick out the rest of your Christmas presents that you haven’t bought yet.”

“The rest?” Aiden repeated with a laugh. “In view of that generous offer, I should probably tell you that I haven’t bought any Christmas presents yet.”

“Not even one?” That concept was clearly foreign to Dawn.

“Let me guess. You’re one of those people who start looking for Christmas presents in September.” Christmas had never been big in the Carlisle household, and since her mother’s death, Aiden had only bought small gifts for Ray and his family.

“No - I start looking in January.”

Aiden smiled. She could see Dawn doing that. Dawn was clearly a person who loved giving presents to other people. “Okay, when and where does my first therapy session start?”

“Right now?”

Aiden didn’t hesitate. “Okay. Should I come pick you up?” She fully expected the offer to be rebuffed.

“I won’t say no to that this time,” Dawn said to her surprise. “We’re gonna need the bigger trunk of your car.”

* * *

“Want me to carry some of that?” Dawn nodded down at the shopping bags Aiden held in both hands.

Aiden grinned. “No, that’s okay.” She knew that the offer would be short-lived, anyway. All it would take was one more store and Dawn would pass the bags back to her because she’d need both hands to examine the goods on sale.

On their way to the exit, they passed the art and handicraft supplies section of the department store. Aiden kept her eyes on Dawn and, as she had expected, saw that Dawn looked back over her shoulder as they walked past. This was the third set of art supplies at which Dawn had thrown longing glances and then quickly walked on with one last, regretful look at the price tag. “Is that a hobby of yours? Painting and drawing?” Aiden asked. She recognized the glances immediately. Her mother had never been able to walk past art supplies without stopping to take a closer look either.

“Yes, it is… or rather it used to be,” Dawn answered. “I haven’t picked up a pencil or a brush since… the rape.”

The word was like an electric shock to Aiden’s system. She had to force herself not to jerk, not wanting Dawn to think that she had anything to be ashamed of. Sometimes it was hard to remember that Dawn had been raped just two months ago, because most of the time, she seemed so carefree and full of life. Aiden made a mental note to go back later and buy the art supplies for Dawn as a Christmas present.

“Is the shopping anxiety already easing up some?” Dawn asked when they left the store. They strolled side by side down the street.

“Well, Doc, all these heavy shopping bags have successfully held my flight reflex in check; that’s for sure,” Aiden said with a grin. To be honest, their shopping spree had been surprisingly painless for her. She hadn’t felt the urge to turn around and head home as she usually did. From time to time, a crowded store would get to be too much for Dawn, who still couldn’t stand to be bumped and jostled from all sides by strangers, and she would hold on to Aiden’s arm until they reached the closest exit. Aiden found that she didn’t mind those moments of closeness at all.

“That’s good, because we still haven’t found a dress for me.” Dawn directed them into yet another clothing store. Strolling along the racks, she found two dresses that she liked and that had a reasonable price. “I think I’ll try these on.”

Aiden didn’t want to be left standing in the middle of the store, where the saleswomen would undoubtedly try to talk her into buying something, so she followed Dawn into the general direction of the dressing rooms.

With a small smile, Dawn closed the curtain between them.

Aiden waited with her back to the dressing room so she could give Dawn some added privacy. She could also observe the other shoppers and direct anyone who was heading for the small room to another, unoccupied cubicle.

“Aiden?” Dawn’s voice from behind the curtain made Aiden turn around.

“Yes?”

“It seems I’ve lost a little weight. Could you please bring me the blue dress one size smaller?”

Aiden had noticed the weight loss. There were days when Dawn just had no appetite or her stomach was too upset to eat. Aiden was worried but had decided not to say anything for now. She knew it was important to let Dawn have complete control over her body, even in this. “Sure, I’ll be right back,” she said. Within a minute, Aiden returned to the cubicle with the smaller dress. She lifted her hand and then hesitated. She wasn’t sure if Dawn would be comfortable with being seen half-naked, and she didn’t want to push things. “Uh… Dawn? Here’s the dress you wanted.”

The curtain moved back a little, and Aiden averted her eyes while she handed Dawn the new dress and received the bigger one in exchange. She waited patiently until Dawn opened the curtain again. She had never seen Dawn in a dress before and couldn’t help staring. “Wow, Dawn, that’s…” Aiden gesticulated, searching for a fitting adjective and finding none that could convey how she felt.

Dawn checked out her image in the full-length mirror and tugged at the hem of the dress that ended slightly above her knees. “You don’t think it’s a little too tight or maybe a bit too short?” She eyed herself critically.

“No! It’s really nice. It brings out the green of your eyes.” The color of her eyes was not the only attribute that the dress accentuated nicely, but Aiden didn’t think that she should comment on that.

Dawn was still looking down her own body when a woman ambled up to them. For a moment Aiden thought that it was the saleswoman wanting to encourage Dawn to buy the dress, but then the woman addressed her, not Dawn. “Well, well, well… if it isn’t Aiden Carlisle out and about with her girlfriend. How domestic!” The stranger eyed Dawn with contempt. “And here I thought you didn’t do relationships.”

God, please, not now! Aiden groaned internally when she finally recognized the woman. She had picked up the blonde in a bar a few months ago and had promptly forgotten her the next day. Unfortunately, it was apparent that the woman whose name she couldn’t remember hadn’t forgotten her.

“Could you help me with the zipper, darling? You’ll have to excuse her for a second. She’s needed elsewhere,” Dawn unexpectedly came to her rescue, directing a sweet smile at the blond woman before she tugged Aiden into the dressing room with her.

Aiden sank down onto the small stool the second the curtain was closed behind them. “God, I’m so sorry, Dawn!” She rubbed her forehead where a dull throbbing had begun.

Dawn looked down at her. She didn’t appear upset. “It’s okay. We all have a past. I didn’t expect you not to have had relationships before we started… whatever this is between us.”

Aiden shook her head. “I haven’t, not really.”

“Huh?”

“I haven’t been in a relationship for about five years, nothing long-term at least,” Aiden admitted. “With my job and everything, it’s easier to have one-night stands and short flings without the emotional entanglements.”

When Dawn kept silent, Aiden looked up at her. The psychologist was nibbling on her lower lip. “Dawn?”

“I can’t do that.” Dawn sadly shook her head. “I was never one for one-night stands, and I’m sure as hell not up for it now.”

Aiden had known that from the start. “Good, because that’s not what I want from you.”

Dawn’s head lifted. She studied Aiden’s face. “What do you want from me?”

For a moment, Aiden thought about answering with a joke that would lighten the mood, but then decided against it. Dawn needed her to be honest and express her feelings now even if it was hard for her. “Well, I want to get to know you for a start… everything about you. Can we leave it at that for now?” There were still so many insecurities, and she wasn’t ready to allow herself to commit yet.

Dawn nodded, her eyes and lips smiling once again. “Now, unless you want to watch me change, you should go and try to get rid of your stalker.”

Heat shot through Aiden’s cheeks at the thought of watching Dawn change. She was sure that she hadn’t blushed so much since puberty. She quickly turned to go. “Okay, I should probably go and tell her that my ‘girlfriend’ has anger issues, and she tends to take them out on my former… uh… romantic interests.”

When Dawn left the dressing room, Aiden stood alone. Her “former romantic interest” had disappeared. “I’ll take the blue one,” Dawn announced, waving Aiden toward the check desk. “March on, Sherpa.”

Half an hour later saw Aiden navigating her car through heavy traffic. “Home now, or did you already think up another torture for me?” she asked with a quick glance at Dawn.

Dawn laughed. “No further tortures… for now,” she promised. “But we should drop most of these bags off at my mother’s; otherwise Jamie will find her presents when she stays at my apartment. That girl is like a gift-seeking missile.”

Dawn unlocked the door of her mother’s apartment while Aiden waited behind her, balancing half a dozen shopping bags in her arms. Aiden stopped in the doorway when she saw Grace coming out of the kitchen. She wasn’t sure how Dawn’s mother would react to her continued presence in her daughter’s life, now that the case was resolved and she lacked an official reason for keeping in contact with her.

“What’s all this?” Grace pointed to the bags and parcels both of them were carrying. “Are you moving back in?”

Dawn laughed. “No. I went out to buy a dress for Tommy’s wedding and a few more Christmas presents, and I managed to con Aiden into helping me.”

Aiden saw Grace’s eyebrows arch at the use of her first name. “That was nice of you, Detective,” Grace said, her tone carefully neutral.

Detective, huh? Aiden repeated. I guess she doesn’t want me to be just “Aiden” to her daughter.

“Are you staying for dinner?” Grace asked, mainly in Dawn’s direction. “It’s almost ready.”

“Yes!” Dawn enthusiastically set her bags down and moved to take Aiden’s from her. “I’m starving. You’ll stay, too, won’t you?”

Grace nodded. “You’re welcome to eat with us,” she offered with a little more warmth than before, now that she had recovered from her surprise at seeing Aiden in her home again.

Aiden shook her head. She wasn’t ready to deal with Dawn’s mother yet, especially since she wasn’t sure exactly where she stood with her. “I think I’ll head home now. I still have a few reports to go through.” Suddenly, she remembered that running off now would leave Dawn stranded at her mother’s. “Should I come back later to drive you home?”

“No, that’s okay,” Dawn said. “If I can still move after the tons of dinner I intend to consume, I’ll wrap the Christmas presents and just stay here tonight. If you don’t have other plans, maybe you could pick me up tomorrow and we could have breakfast or brunch?”

Aiden looked forward to spending more time with Dawn but felt awkward discussing their plans in front of Grace, so she just nodded mutely.

Dawn climbed over the shopping bags blocking her way and stepped closer to Aiden. She softly touched her forearm. “I had fun today.”

“Me too,” Aiden agreed, uncomfortably looking back and forth between Dawn and her mother. She did not dare to hug her under the watchful eyes of Grace Kinsley. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Dawn nodded. “Tomorrow.”

* * *

With a satisfied sigh, Ray let the last report of the day sail down into his outbox. “Hey Aiden, want to come home with me?” he said across his desk.

“If this is your subtle way of trying to pick up a woman, it’s been too long for you, Bennet,” Jeff Okada commented from his own desk.

Ray grimaced but ignored him and continued to look at his partner, who was still bent over her work. “The girls told me to ask you. Susan is trying out a new recipe, and they don’t want to suffer through it alone.” He grinned invitingly. “So? You’ll come?”

Aiden sat back and looked at him. “As promising as that sounds, I can’t.”

“You’re not on call, are you?”

“No.” Aiden signed her report and threw it into the outbox on her desk. “I have previous plans.”

Ray felt his eyebrows climb upward. This was the third time in the last two weeks that he’d heard that particular answer when he had asked his bachelor partner to join him for a drink or family dinner. “Do these plans include anyone I know?” he asked, studying her face.

“Perhaps.”

It was clear to Ray that she didn’t want to lie to him but was equally uncomfortable discussing it. He would respect that. For now.

Okada knew no such restraint. “Please tell me it’s not that mama’s boy from the public defender’s office that’s been sniffing around you for the last few months.”

“C’mon, get serious!” His partner Ruben rolled his eyes. “She’s got better taste than you.”

Okada smoothed back his hair. “I’ll have you know that -“

“Cool down, guys!” Aiden ordered. “And please find something else to discuss other than my private life.”

The simple fact that Aiden even had a private life was amazing enough to Ray, but he kept quiet and trusted that his partner would confide in him when she was ready to.

CHAPTER 25

THE SHRILL RINGING of her phone almost made Dawn fall from the couch. In her haste to reach the phone before it stopped ringing, she stumbled over her nephew’s building blocks. “D…” She caught herself just in time as she remembered that she had underage company. “Dumb toys.” She snatched up the receiver. “Kinsley.”

“Hi, Dawn,” Aiden’s cheerful voice answered. “How’s the kiddie shrink business?”

Dawn laughed and sank back onto the couch. They had talked on the phone at least every other day and as a result were much more at ease with each other. Dawn was happy about that and hoped that this easy, comfortable interaction would eventually transfer to their face-to-face meetings. “It’s going really well, thank you. Are you done with playing the bad cop for today?”

“What makes you think that I haven’t been the good cop?” Aiden teasingly objected.

“Call it a hunch.” Dawn grinned. “So, are you through with your shift?”

“That’s why I’m calling,” Aiden answered. “I’m about to go wall climbing at my gym, and I thought maybe you’d like to come with me and try it?”

Dawn let her forehead sink onto her knee. Shit. The first time she suggests an activity, without me prompting or asking her first, and I have to tell her no. “I’d love to try it sometime, but right now isn’t good for me. I’m babysitting Jamie and Tim.”

“Oh.”

For a few seconds, Dawn could hear only Aiden’s breathing. She sighed. “Sorry, it’s just bad timing.”

“No. No, it’s not. I mean, I don’t want to intrude or anything, but if you still want the company - my company - I could come over and help with the babysitting,” Aiden suggested.

Dawn stared at the phone for a moment and then over at her nephew, who was busy rearranging every piece of living room furniture that he could reach. Her niece had just planted another sticker tattoo on her arm. Her ex, Maggie, had always preferred to flee the premises whenever Jamie and Tim were around. Either that or she acted as if she was making a huge sacrifice on behalf of world peace by spending half an hour in the company of two kids. Now here was Aiden Carlisle, who was offering to postpone her own plans and help her babysit after a stressful shift.

“Dawn?” Aiden asked when the silence grew between them. “Hey, it’s okay if you don’t want -“

“But I do!” Dawn said hastily. “I do want you to come over.”

“Okay. Can I bring anything?”

Dawn looked around the living room. “A cleaning lady?”

Aiden’s laugh made Dawn smile. “Sorry, can’t help you there. Anything else?”

“No. Just yourself and a healthy appetite - we’re ordering pizza,” Dawn decided.

“Yeah!” Jamie almost hit her aunt in the face while pumping her fist in a victory gesture. “I want pepperoni and mushrooms.”

“Me too,” Aiden announced with a chuckle.

After hanging up, Dawn called her favorite pizza place, and then she and her niece spent the next thirty minutes out-fidgeting each other, waiting impatiently for the ringing of the doorbell. I’m not waiting for a pimple-faced delivery boy, though. Dawn knew there was a great big smile on her face in anticipation of Aiden’s visit.

When the doorbell finally buzzed, Jamie jumped up.

“Ah, ah!” Dawn shook her head at her. “No running around in socks!” The way to the door was an obstacle course of toys, and she didn’t want Jamie to hurt herself. When she peeked through the peephole, Dawn’s smile grew brighter. Standing in front of the door, bouncing on the balls of her feet, was Aiden.

Dawn directed a quick gaze down her own body, skeptically inspecting the baggy sweatpants that she wore and the results of Jamie’s beauty contest: each and every finger-and toenail had been painted in a different color nail polish, and sticker tattoos of dragons, horses, and flowers covered both of her arms. If this doesn’t scare her off, nothing will, Dawn decided and opened the door.

“Don’t touch her!” Jamie screeched before they could even say hello.

Dawn stopped and turned, throwing an irritated glance back at her niece. When Jamie waved her hands, she finally understood and turned back around with a smile. “Don’t worry, she’s not homophobic or anything. She’s just afraid that I’ll smear the nail polish she so artfully applied.”

Aiden bent down to inspect first Dawn’s and then Jamie’s toenails. “Artistic talents seem to run in the family, huh?”

Disappointment and relief warred within Dawn when she returned to her place on the couch. She liked the warm, protective hugs Aiden gave, but their greetings and good-byes were often a little awkward, each of them not really sure where the other’s limits lay. “Seems like you’re on your own; I’m not allowed to play hostess until my nail polish is dry.”

Dawn looked on as Aiden took off her leather jacket. I wonder if she suspects my secret - or maybe not so secret - addiction to her leather jacket?

“I brought dessert.” Aiden held up two boxes. “Ice cream for us and cookies for Tim since I wasn’t sure if he could have ice cream.”

As if recognizing his own name, the ten-month-old crawled across the rug, grabbed one of Aiden’s jeans legs, and pulled himself up into a half-standing position. “Mom-ma!”

Dawn laughed as she watched Aiden blush. “Don’t worry, he doesn’t want you to adopt him. He calls every woman he likes ‘Mom.’ Sometimes, he even does it to men.”

Aiden chuckled. “And here I thought I was special.”

“You are,” Dawn said quietly.

Aiden looked up from the little boy holding on to her leg, and their gazes met and held.

The ringing of the doorbell interrupted the moment.

“Pizza!” Jamie shouted and raced to the door.

Aiden lifted an eyebrow. “Didn’t you feed her today?”

“Feed her? Let me put it this way: my refrigerator looks like yours every time Jamie leaves after a visit,” Dawn said over her shoulder, looking for her wallet. Every time she had visited Aiden’s apartment, the fridge had been empty except for yogurt, leftover takeout, and various beverages.

When she returned with the pizza and her niece in tow, Aiden had picked up Tim and was bouncing him up and down on her hip.

“I could put him in his high chair while we eat,” Dawn offered even though her nephew didn’t look as if he wanted to be taken away from this new, interesting person so soon.

“No, it’s okay for the moment.” Aiden sat down on the couch and settled the baby on her lap. “If you think it’s okay, of course. I don’t have much experience with babies.”

Studying the content ten-month-old on Aiden’s lap, Dawn found that hard to believe. “It certainly doesn’t show.” She began to put slices of pepperoni and mushroom pizza on plates for Jamie and Aiden, whose hands were busy with the bouncing baby. She watched with astonishment as Jamie sat down next to Aiden and shared pizza from her own plate with her.

“Are you Auntie Dawn’s new girlfriend?” Jamie asked around a mouthful of pizza.

Aiden almost choked on a mushroom and directed a wide-eyed gaze at Dawn, who preferred the silent approach since she was very interested in what Aiden would answer. “Uh… well, I’m a girl, and I’m her friend, so I guess that makes me her girlfriend, doesn’t it?”

“No, silly!” The nine-year-old girl laughed at her. “I mean her real girlfriend, with kissing and everything.”

Aiden stalled, taking a moment to rescue a slice of pizza from being grabbed by eager baby hands.

“Aiden is a really, really good friend,” Dawn finally came to her rescue, “but she’s not my kissing buddy, so don’t even think about starting with that annoying little song, rug rat.” She poked her giggling niece into the side. Not yet, at least.

Later, with the pizza long gone, Dawn leaned back on the couch, an indulgent smile on her lips as she watched Aiden. The tall woman lay stretched out on the floor, letting the ten-month-old crawl all over her while she gently tickled him. The boy giggled and squealed as she lifted him up with both arms, making him fly above her head.

Jamie shook her leg to get Aiden to look away from her brother and toward her. “Me too, me too!” she demanded.

Before Dawn could protest that Jamie was much too big to be picked up, Aiden set the baby down and stood, sweeping the girl up and around the living room in circles.

God, it would be a crime if this woman never raises a child. She’s so good with them. “You didn’t have to do that,” Dawn said to Aiden as she finally fell back onto the couch next to her. She tried not to notice the slight sheen of sweat above the two open buttons on her polo shirt and the way the shirt clung to Aiden’s damp skin.

“I could paint your nails for you,” Jamie offered, gracing Aiden with a smile. “It’s really pretty.”

Dawn had to force herself not to laugh out loud at the expression on Aiden’s face. She looked positively panicked. She had never seen Aiden wear anything other than clear nail polish.

“I never paint my nails. They’re too short for it,” Aiden said.

Jamie didn’t let that discourage her. “Then I’ll paint your toenails.” She tugged at Aiden’s shoes.

Aiden looked down at the girl with rising alarm. “Uh…”

Dawn laughed. “What’s the matter, Detective? Afraid that this could hurt your reputation? Rough, tough cops don’t have purple toenails?”

“Well, it’s not exactly part of our standard uniform, that’s for sure.” Despite her protests, she slipped off her shoes and socks and wiggled her toes at Jamie. “I surrender. Just no pink, please.”

Dawn leaned down to help her nephew crawl into her lap and took the opportunity to study Aiden’s feet. She has cute feet. She watched the bare toes curl into the carpet. Somehow there’s something almost intimate about sitting next to a barefoot woman.

Half an hour later, Aiden put on her socks and shoes, covering her green, red, blue, and silver toenails. “I’ll head out now,” she announced. “Thanks for the artful pedicure, Jamie.” She nodded at the girl, scoring major points with Dawn’s niece for not trying to tousle her hair as many adults did.

Dawn watched as Aiden stood, slipped on her coat, and then turned back to her. This time it was the sleeping baby in her arms that prevented Dawn from hugging Aiden. “If you want, we could go wall climbing tomorrow,” Dawn offered. She didn’t want to overwhelm Aiden, who was used to spending most of her free time on her own.

“Well, after that pizza, I could certainly use a little training,” Aiden agreed. She buttoned up her coat, and then there was nothing else to do but to say good-bye, turn around, and leave.

“Should I call you tomorrow morning?” Dawn asked in an attempt to stall a little.

“Around nine?”

Dawn grinned. “I’m not sure I’ll be up by then. I tend to sleep in on Sundays.” She could see Aiden as an early riser, someone who couldn’t be kept in bed past eight, and she absentmindedly wondered if that would ever be of any importance between them beyond the planning of joint activities. “How about ten?”

“Ten, it is. See you tomorrow.” Aiden leaned down, careful not to wake the sleeping boy in Dawn’s arms.

Dawn’s breath caught, very much aware of Aiden’s closeness and the air of insecurity lingering between them. The warm but quick hug that had become their usual greeting was impossible since Dawn’s arms were held captive by her nephew.

After a few seconds of hesitancy on both sides, Dawn decided that it was up to her to establish any form of contact between them. She leaned forward and quickly pressed her lips against Aiden’s cheek for a fleeting peck before she sank back against the couch again. “Thanks for keeping us company.”

“Oh, you’re welcome,” Aiden answered with a smile, moving backward toward the door. “It’s not every day I get my nails done.” She winked at the giggling Jamie, and then she was gone.

A few minutes later the doorbell rang again. Dawn cautiously slipped out from under the still sleeping baby and settled him onto the couch.

“Hi, Dawn.” Her sister-in-law hugged her and then looked down at her fingers, arms, and toes. “What happened to you?” Eliza asked with a laugh.

“Your daughter,” Dawn answered dryly.

Jamie ran forward and wiggled her toes at her mother. “I did mine and Aiden’s, too!” she announced proudly.

Dawn grimaced. She hadn’t wanted to tell her family about her friendship - and certainly not the possibility of more - with Aiden just yet.

Luckily, Eliza just nodded, obviously assuming Aiden was the name of one of Jamie’s countless dolls or stuffed animals that she housed at Dawn’s. “Okay, sweetie, why don’t you start packing up your things; your dad’s waiting at home.”

It was still a little strange for Dawn to hear Eliza referring to Rick, her husband of two years, as Jamie’s dad, a title that would have been her brother’s had he lived. But she pushed back her feelings, knowing that Rick was the only father Jamie would ever know - and a good one at that.

She watched as Jamie pouted a little but obediently went to pick up her things from the bedroom. “I could watch her again next weekend,” Dawn offered. She knew that Eliza and Rick hardly got to spend any time together as a couple.

Eliza smiled down at her sleeping son, but then looked up at Dawn with a frown. “Not that I don’t appreciate it, but I really don’t want to impose. Don’t you need a little time for yourself right now?” She looked at Dawn in concern.

“You think Jamie is just a distraction for me?” Dawn bit her lip. It hurt when other people reduced all her feelings to those related to the rape as if she didn’t have other things that were important in her life anymore.

“No, I don’t think that at all,” Eliza rushed to tell her. “I know that you love my kids. I’m sorry if -“

Dawn sighed. Her anger still stirred too easily whenever she felt she was treated like a victim. “No, it’s all right, really. And I was serious about next weekend. We want to take Jamie ice-skating if it’s okay with you.”

“Jamie would love that… wait a minute! Did you just say ‘we’?” Eliza studied her curiously.

Dawn wasn’t eager to discuss something that she wasn’t too sure of herself, but she didn’t want to lie about anything that had to do with Aiden either. She was proud to call the detective her friend. “Um… yes, I suppose I did.”

“I know you psychologists are supposed to be a bit wacky yourselves, but you’re not referring to yourself in the plural, are you? So, who else might that ‘we’ include?” Eliza’s dark eyes glittered with curiosity.

Dawn knew that there was no sense in trying to deny anything. She had no doubt that all Eliza would hear from her daughter on the drive home would be “Aiden did this” and “Aiden did that.” “I’ve spent a little time with Aiden lately,” she told Eliza.

“Aiden?” Eliza repeated, finally figuring out that “Aiden” was a real person. Suddenly her eyes widened. “You’re dating Detective Carlisi?”

“Carlisle,” Dawn corrected automatically. “And I’m not dating her. Not really.”

Eliza studied her through narrowed eyes. “She seems to be a nice woman, but starting a relationship with the detective who investigated your case… that could get really complicated.”

Dawn couldn’t deny that. It’s even more complicated than you realize. She knew, from dozens of patients, exactly how hard it could be to establish trust and intimacy in the first new relationship after facing a trauma like rape. Her reservations and doubts about being in a relationship with a cop didn’t make it easier, and Aiden’s own issues certainly didn’t help either. But still… I think it could be worth it. “I’m not trying to start a relationship with the detective,” she said seriously. “I’m trying to get to know the woman.”

“And she’s interested in getting to know you, too?”

“I think so, yes.” Dawn looked at her sister-in-law with pleading eyes. “We’re taking it real slowly, though, so please keep it to yourself for now, okay? If my mom gets wind of it… what she’ll put Aiden through would make the Spanish Inquisition look like a relaxation cure.”

Eliza laughed. “Oh, come on, your mom’s not that bad. She welcomed me into the family with open arms.”

“Yeah, but you’re not a cop, and you don’t want to start a lesbian relationship with her only daughter,” Dawn grumbled.

Eliza’s smile dimmed. “Okay, I’ll keep quiet about it. But you could bring your sweetie over for dinner next Sunday. I want to get to know her.”

“You will,” Dawn promised, ignoring the “sweetie” comment. “But not next Sunday. It’s too soon.” She knew that Aiden was not accustomed to big families. She had a feeling that under the right - or rather wrong - circumstances, it would be Aiden rather than her who would become overwhelmed by too much closeness and intimacy and run away scared.

“Then invite her to the house at Christmas,” Eliza suggested. “There will be so many people around that she won’t feel like she’s under a microscope.”

Celebrating Christmas with Aiden. It wasn’t the first time she had thought about it, but up until now, she hadn’t found the courage to ask if it was what Aiden wanted too. “I’ll ask her,” she promised vaguely.

* * *

Aiden watched indulgently as Dawn extended both arms to the sides and twirled around in circles, without caring that she got snow all over herself.

“God, it’s been a while since I’ve done this,” Dawn said, nodding down at the sled that Aiden dragged behind her.

A while? Try twenty-five years. Not that I went sledding very often, even as a child. Despite bitter thoughts about her own childhood, Aiden had to smile as she watched Dawn playing in the snow. Dawn had an almost childlike love of life, an enthusiasm that was contagious. During the last few weeks, she had spent a lot of time with Dawn - and that inevitably meant taking part in her Christmas preparations. She had bought more presents than she ever had before, had taste-tested Dawn’s cookies, and had even agreed to put up a small, potted Christmas tree on a side table in her living room. For the first time in many, many years, the excitement of Christmas had come back to her. The holidays had always been something she dreaded because everything spoke of happy families - and she had none.

This morning, she had even let herself be talked into going sledding with Dawn. She put her head down against the cold wind and the softly falling snow and stopped next to Dawn when they reached the top of the hill.

Dawn turned to her, and Aiden grinned at the blond locks sticking out from under the bright red woolen cap. Dawn turned the sled around and straddled it. “I think it’s better if you sit in the back since you’re taller than me.”

“Okay.” Aiden took her place behind Dawn. Sitting this close to Dawn, feeling her body pressed against her own, even through thick layers of clothing, made her heart jump. Carefully, she settled her gloved hands around Dawn’s waist. “Is this okay?”

“Yes, of course.” Dawn half turned to look at her and had a slight smirk on her face. “I know it’s not meant to be sexual.”

Aiden bit her lip. She hadn’t expected such openness. Absurd as it might seem, more often than not, Dawn was the one who was forcing herself to talk about the rape and the effects it had on her more openly. Meanwhile, Aiden found herself dancing around the issue and trying to avoid anything that might remind Dawn of it.

“Hold on!” Dawn shouted. “Here we go!”

They pushed off and accelerated down the hill, leaning right or left sometimes or sticking out a leg to steer the sled around obstacles. Dawn hollered and cheered, making Aiden chuckle. When the sled bumped over a snow-covered molehill, she grabbed Aiden’s knees for balance. All too soon they glided to a stop at the bottom of the hill.

Dawn’s eyes glittered, and her cheeks were red from the cold and the excitement. She grabbed the rope on the sled to pull it back up the hill. “Again!”

A few rides later, Dawn stopped at the top of the hill. “You want to sit up front for a change? You have to steer, though. I can’t see around you.”

Aiden took the offered seat in the front. She sharply inhaled a lungful of the crisp winter air when she felt Dawn’s arms snake around her and her hands settle against her stomach. Suppressing the impulse to cover the smaller hands with her own, she grabbed the sled’s rope instead and felt Dawn tuck her thighs behind her own as she pushed off the edge. Soon, they were gliding down the hill again.

“I think we should stop for the day,” Aiden said when they reached the bottom. Dawn’s pants, like her own, were covered with snow up to the knees and were beginning to get wet as it thawed. The last thing she wanted was for Dawn to get sick during the holidays.

Dawn sighed and let her gaze wander over the snow-covered hills one more time. “I guess you’re right, but it’s just so peaceful out here, like we’re a thousand miles away from the city and everything that happened there.”

Aiden was not eager to leave either. She had enjoyed seeing Dawn’s more carefree side. “We can come back here whenever you want to,” Aiden promised.

A little later she parked her car next to Dawn’s “sardine can,” which was faithfully waiting for Dawn in front of Aiden’s apartment building. They stomped their feet to relieve their boots of as much snow as possible before entering the building. Aiden was shivering; her nose was running, and her toes felt as if they would soon fall off, but it had been fun, and she decided that spending time with Dawn was worth a few lost toes.

Aiden made a beeline for the bedroom, changing and searching for a pair of sweatpants and socks that Dawn could wear. When she returned with those articles of clothing, she found her guest in the kitchen. The coffee machine was happily gurgling away, and water was heating on the stove while Dawn was picking through the collection of teas that Aiden had bought for her. Dawn had turned on the CD player, and the Christmas CD that Dawn had insisted she buy was playing Christmas carols, with Dawn humming along.

Aiden watched her from the doorway, happy to see how obviously at home Dawn already felt in her apartment. It had never felt so much like home as right now to Aiden. She loved having Dawn in her apartment but hesitated to tell her that, not wanting to put any pressure on her to stay. “Hey, I brought you something to change into,” she said when Dawn turned and saw her leaning in the doorway.

“Thanks.” Dawn took sweats and socks and firmly closed the bathroom door behind her. They still hadn’t quite reached a stage in their relationship where Dawn felt entirely comfortable changing in front of Aiden.

“Will I see you again before Monday, or should I give you your present now?” Aiden asked as they settled down on the couch, sipping their respective hot beverages.

Dawn put her mug of tea down and turned toward Aiden. Her knee grazed Aiden’s and sent a tingling sensation up her leg. “About that… I thought it would be nice if we could exchange presents on Christmas Day.”

“Are you sure that you’ll have the time to come over?” Aiden asked. She knew that Dawn would spend Christmas with her mother, her sister-in-law, her niece and nephew, and a horde of other relatives while she would treat herself to her favorite Chinese takeout and go over to Ray’s house for a while if she wasn’t called out to a crime scene.

Dawn fiddled with the string of her teabag. “Well, actually… why don’t you come over? I would really like it if you would spend just a little time with me and my family, maybe have dinner with us.”

Aiden stared at her for a moment, not sure how to answer. “I’m on call.”

“On Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day?”

Aiden nodded.

Dawn’s brow furrowed. “Isn’t it a little unusual that the same detective is on call for both days? My dad always had one of the days off.”

“Your dad had a family - and I don’t. I actually volunteered since I never really had anything worth celebrating anyway,” Aiden said with a shrug.

Dawn’s delicate throat moved as she swallowed and looked down. “I understand.”

Shit! Now she thinks that I don’t want to spend time with her. “I suppose I could come over for a while anyway. I’ll just bring my pager with me.”

“Not if you don’t want to.” Dawn studied her intently. “I don’t want you to do anything that you don’t feel comfortable with.”

Comfortable? Comfortable would be ordering Chinese takeout and praying for a call to rescue me from all the happy-family Christmas movies on TV. I think I’ll opt for a little discomfort this year. Just thinking about sitting at the dinner table with Dawn’s mother and the overprotective Del while a horde of strangers and a dozen kids were running around, spreading Christmas cheer, made Aiden’s stomach clench. But if it made Dawn happy, she would at least try it for a while. “I’ll come over,” she promised, not bothering to pretend she would be completely comfortable doing it. Dawn could see through her too easily.

“Okay. I’ll call you with the exact time. I should head home now. It’s still snowing pretty heavily outside.” Dawn emptied her mug and stood, grabbing her half-dry pants on her way to the bathroom.

Aiden slipped on her boots and leather jacket to accompany Dawn to her car. Another few inches of snow had fallen, and Aiden picked up her snow shovel to make a path to Dawn’s car for her.

She was leaning down to shift another shovelful of snow to the side when she felt a smack against her arm. Narrowing her eyes, Aiden turned toward Dawn, who stood with an expression of innocence, quickly hiding another snowball behind her back. With a playful warning glance, Aiden went back to work when another snowball hit her in the middle of her back. Aiden turned back around. “You’re not by any chance trying to start a snowball fight with one of Portland’s finest, are you?” She gave her voice a threatening quality.

Dawn grinned brightly. She scooped up two handfuls of snow and fashioned them into a ball. “Is it working?”

Aiden gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to react to the challenging twinkle in Dawn’s eyes. “No.”

“No?” Dawn raised her hand and aimed a snowball at Aiden.

Aiden made no move to defend herself and lob a snowball of her own against Dawn. Very early in their friendship, she had taken a thousand oaths never to hurt Dawn, and she was afraid to lose control and cross the line. Aiden knew that she tended to be competitive and intense, even in a friendly measuring of strength. She was afraid of what Dawn might see in her eyes if she responded with aggression even if it was in a playful context. She didn’t want to take the risk of scaring Dawn. “No,” she repeated firmly and then, with effort, formed a small smile. “Department rules don’t allow me to shoot at civilians, not even snowballs. Plus I don’t want you to get snow all over your clothes again.”

Dawn looked at her for another few seconds, and then she relented and threw her last snowball into the tree next to Aiden, spraying her with snow from the branches.

“Hey!” Aiden shook herself. She squirmed as a load of melting snow slipped past her collar and began to glide down her back.

“C’mere, I’ll help get it off, you big baby.” Dawn slipped off her gloves and tugged a resistant Aiden down.

Aiden stiffened when she felt Dawn’s warm fingers slide down her neck, slipping under her sweatshirt to fish out the snow.

The fingers stopped abruptly, and Dawn’s eyes widened as she suddenly noticed her position and Aiden’s reaction to it. “Sorry, I…” She quickly stepped back.

Aiden closed her eyes for a moment as she felt the rest of the snow slide down her back, melting against her skin. “Hey, relax, okay?” She stepped up to Dawn and handed her the glove that had fallen to the ground. She let her fingers linger on Dawn’s for a moment to emphasize her point. “If we’re trying to build a relationship, I want you to feel comfortable enough to touch me. Unless you don’t want that?” she asked, meaning both - the relationship and the touching.

“I want it. I want you, but…” Dawn gesticulated helplessly. “Sometimes I’m okay, and I don’t think about it… about the rape… for hours or even days… and then… there are times when I jump whenever someone comes near me. I think I’m getting better, and then I freeze when I’m touched even though I know that it’s a perfectly innocent, friendly touch. My body just can’t always make that distinction, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to.”

Aiden’s own emotions reflected the helplessness and frustration she could clearly see on Dawn’s face. “What can I do to make it easier for you?”

“You’re already doing it,” Dawn said. “You always let me be the one to establish any physical contact, and I want you to know how much I appreciate that. I know it’s not easy for you to give up control either.” Dawn stepped toward Aiden, wanting to be close but still a little hesitant to touch her or maybe just scared of being touched in return. Her fingers began to play with the leather of Aiden’s jacket.

Aiden looked down her own body, watching the fingers that were tangled in her jacket. Somehow she found someone else touching the jacket that she wore almost every day as intimate as an embrace. “So, I’ll see you on Christmas Eve?”

“Unless you want to come over tomorrow and help me pick out the perfect Christmas tree for my apartment?” Dawn invited tentatively.

Aiden laughed. “Picking out the perfect Christmas tree… is that as exhausting as finding the perfect shoes for you?”

Dawn slapped her on the arm and then intentionally let her fingers rest there. “More,” she threatened. “I want a seven-foot tree.”

“Well, then I better accompany you to make sure it’ll fit into your living room,” Aiden decided. Except for the small potted tree that Dawn had convinced her to buy, she hadn’t bothered to put up a tree for years, but she was determined that Dawn should have her “perfect tree.”

“Thanks… uh, do you mind if we take your car?” Dawn indicated her tiny car.

Aiden smiled. Do we ever take anything else? “No problem. I’ll pick you up at… ten?”

“You’re learning,” Dawn complimented with a grin.

Aiden bowed. “Never should it be said that you can’t teach an old detective new tricks.”

“Until tomorrow.” Dawn hugged her, intending for it to be quick, but her hands slipped under the leather jacket and came to linger on Aiden’s waist for a few seconds.

Aiden gently squeezed back, careful not to use too much force or draw Dawn too close.

“I won’t break, you know,” Dawn whispered, close to Aiden’s ear.

Maybe I’m afraid that I will. Aiden said nothing and just concentrated on the feeling of holding Dawn for a few more seconds.

Finally, Dawn stepped back and broke their embrace.

Aiden watched until the sardine can’s taillights had disappeared in the distance. God, what have I gotten myself into?

* * *

Dawn took a deep breath when she saw how crowded the parking lot was getting and how many people were wandering around to pick out a Christmas tree. Being around too many people made her feel helpless and out of control, but she was determined not to let her fears prevent her from getting her perfect Christmas tree.

Just a few weeks ago, she couldn’t imagine wanting to celebrate Christmas, but somehow she had found a new determination not to give up on life and all the little joys it had to offer. She turned her head to look at Aiden, knowing she had been a big part of it.

This was the third place where they had stopped in search of the perfect Christmas tree. Aiden had patiently followed her from tree to tree, only smiling indulgently when Dawn declared yet another tree “not perfect enough.”

“Over there,” Dawn said, pointing at a tree. “This one looks good.”

“Don’t you think it might be just a little too big?” Aiden grinned down at her.

Dawn studied the tree through narrowed eyes. “You think so?”

Aiden stepped next to the tree and gripped it with both hands, getting it into a more upright position. She looked up to the treetop. “Seven-foot apartment, eight-foot tree - you do the math.”

Dawn circled Aiden and the tree, studying both of them. “Darn,” she muttered. “It really looks perfect otherwise.”

“Doctor Kinsley?” someone called.

Dawn flinched at the sudden voice from behind her. She took a step back and turned around.

Linda Harrison, bundled up in a bulky parka, stood in front of her, staring at Dawn with an expression that Dawn couldn’t read right away even though she had gotten to know the older woman quite well in the six months she had counseled her. “Hello, Linda,” she said with a friendly smile, trying not to let her former patient know how unsettled she was by the sudden encounter. It was the first time since her own rape that she had met one of the rape survivors she had counseled. “How are you?”

“Fine,” Linda answered. Dawn hadn’t seen her so guarded and distrustful since their first session. “How are you?” There was no friendliness or concern in the question. Instead, Dawn discovered something that looked almost like hostile reproach in Linda’s eyes.

What’s going on here? Dawn silently wondered. Linda had never been hostile toward her in any of her sessions. She had been depressed and had felt helpless and abandoned, but never had she been anything but respectful toward Dawn. “I’m fine,” Dawn said, very used to never bringing her own issues into her interactions with a patient.

Linda nodded stiffly. “That’s what I thought.” She turned and began to walk away.

Dawn looked at Aiden. “Sorry,” she said. “I have to -“

“Go.” Aiden gave her an understanding nod. “I’ll wait here.”

Dawn quickly ran after Linda. “Linda!” she called. “Hey! Wait up, please. What’s going on?”

Linda finally stopped and whirled around. “Your secretary called and canceled our sessions, saying you couldn’t see me anymore. She implied that there was some health issue going on, but here you are… and you’re obviously fine and…”

Dawn sighed. And your abandonment issues kicked in at full force, she silently finished Linda’s sentence. Linda’s husband had left her after she had been raped, unable to handle the strain on their marriage, and Linda had struggled with self-worth and abandonment issues ever since. Dawn had never asked her secretary what reason she had given for having to cancel her sessions. Damn. I should have handled it myself, she thought but knew that she hadn’t been up for it back then.

Even if she had, she wasn’t sure what she would have told Linda. She had never planned on telling her patients she had been raped. Maybe because she had thought it wasn’t professional to bring up her own problems; maybe because she hadn’t wanted to take away the safe setting of their sessions by revealing that even their therapist wasn’t safe from rape, or maybe because she had wanted to hold on to her role as a therapist and didn’t want to see herself as just another victim.

“Actually,” Dawn said, taking a deep breath, “I’m not fine at all. I wouldn’t have referred you to another psychologist without a good reason, Linda. I promise it had nothing to do with you.”

Linda still looked guarded but not so hostile anymore. “Then why?” she asked. “Why did you cancel our sessions all of a sudden?”

Dawn knew there was only one answer now: the truth. “I was raped,” she said quietly.

Linda gasped. “What?”

Dawn didn’t repeat it. She pressed her lips together and looked Linda in the eyes.

“Oh, Jesus! I’m sorry. I… I didn’t know. If I had known, I would never have -“

“It’s all right,” Dawn said. She tried hard to reestablish her emotional equilibrium and find her way back into her role as a therapist. “There was no way for you to know, and I’m sorry if the way I handled it caused you any -“

“No.” This time, it was Linda who interrupted her. “Don’t apologize. You don’t have to feel guilty about any of it - that’s what you taught me, right?” Linda gave her a small, tentative smile.

“Right,” Dawn said, returning the smile.

Linda shuffled her feet. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. Just promise me you’ll continue with another therapist. You made so much progress, and I’d hate to have it all be destroyed just because I… I couldn’t be your therapist any longer.”

Linda nodded immediately. “I promise.” She bit her lip. “Do you… um… do you have any… help… for yourself, I mean?”

Dawn half turned and looked back at Aiden, who was gesticulating and explaining something to the vendor while at the same time keeping an eye on Dawn. “I do,” Dawn said when she turned back around.

“Good,” Linda said. “That’s good.”

A little awkwardly, they said their good-byes, and Dawn slowly made her way back to Aiden’s side.

“Everything okay?” Aiden asked.

Dawn nodded. “I just had to clear up something with a former patient.”

Aiden studied her. “You told her.” It was a statement, not a question.

Dawn didn’t ask how she knew. Aiden was a trained observer, and she knew Dawn well enough by now to guess what had happened. “Yes,” she answered.

Slowly, Aiden reached out and took Dawn’s hand. “That took a lot of courage. You’re an amazing woman, Dawn Kinsley.” She softly squeezed Dawn’s hand before letting go.

Dawn had felt neither courageous nor amazing when she had been talking to Linda, but under Aiden’s admiring gaze, she began to feel better about her decision and herself. Absentmindedly, she rubbed her fingers over the hand Aiden had squeezed. “Why is your hand so sticky?” she asked, feeling the residue on her own skin.

“Oh. Sorry.” Aiden wiped her hands on her jeans. “That’s resin from the tree.”

Dawn looked around. “Where is it?” Her perfect if too tall tree was gone.

“I got the vendor to take off a foot from the bottom so it would fit into your apartment,” Aiden said. “I hope that’s okay?”

“Okay?” Dawn grinned up at her. The way Aiden was there for her and tried to take care of her felt more than okay. “It’s perfect.”

“Well, that’s what you wanted - the perfect tree, right?”

Dawn smiled. “Right.”

CHAPTER 26

AIDEN TIGHTENED HER fingers around the carefully wrapped presents in her hands. Why on earth did I agree to come here? I’ve felt more at ease at the front door of serial killers.

The door opened, and Aiden came face-to-face with the one person she had hoped to avoid for a little bit. Grace didn’t seem surprised to find Aiden on her doorstep. “Please come in. Dawn said you’d stop by.”

Stop by? Is that wishful thinking on her part, or did Dawn forget to mention that she wants me to stay for dinner? Aiden wondered. She awkwardly followed Grace into the apartment.

“Aiden!” Nine-year-old Jamie raced through the living room. Aiden barely had time to put down the presents before Jamie threw herself into Aiden’s arms.

Aiden grinned. Well, at least one Kinsley woman is happy to see me.

“Hi,” Dawn said over the head of her niece. Her eyes were twinkling with delight.

Okay, make it two Kinsley women. Aiden set the girl back down and stepped closer to Dawn to admire the formfitting corduroy pants and the soft woolen sweater she wore.

“I’m so glad you could make it. C’mon, I’ll introduce you to everyone.” Dawn grabbed her by the hand, both of them very aware of the simple touch, and dragged her enthusiastically to the living room.

Aiden took everything in with growing astonishment. Grace’s apartment looked like something she had thought only existed in picture books and movies. Her mother had always had a present for her, but she had never done a lot of decorating and to Aiden’s knowledge had never even bought a tree.

The Kinsley family was the exact opposite. In one corner of the living room, a Christmas tree extended its branches to all sides, decorated with colorful lights and ornaments that must have been owned by the Kinsleys for generations. Aiden could see an angel with Dawn’s clumsily scribbled name across its chest and a star with the carefully stenciled name of her brother, Brian, on it.

More presents than Aiden had ever seen in one place rested under the tree, and half a dozen red stockings hung over the fireplace. The room smelled of hot chocolate, freshly baked cookies, and pine needles.

Dawn introduced her to uncles, cousins, friends, and colleagues, but Aiden was sure that she would never remember the names of all these strangers. Just when she began to feel really overwhelmed by the big family and all the Christmas cheer, Del Vasquez appeared at her side. “Do you know anything about electronics?”

“Sure.” Aiden would have answered “yes” even if she had been asked if she knew anything about rocket science, just to escape the awkward situation.

“Sorry, grasshopper, I have to borrow her for a second,” Del announced, leading Aiden out onto the deck where half a dozen kids stood around a glowing reindeer. “We have a problem with Santa.” Del pointed to the plastic figure next to the reindeer. “He refuses to shine.”

Aiden fumbled with the wires for a minute before she stepped back from the now brightly glowing Santa. “Just a loose connection.” She had a sneaking suspicion that the competent lieutenant could have fixed Santa on her own but was too grateful for her intervention to call her on it. That she was now the hero of the assembled children didn’t hurt her position in the Kinsley household either. Single-handedly rescuing Santa had to count for something.

“Hey.” Dawn stepped out onto the deck, looking between Del and Aiden. “Problem solved?”

The two other women nodded.

“Do you want eggnog or hot chocolate?” Dawn asked Aiden.

“Hot chocolate, please. I’m still on call.”

“Coming right up.” Dawn turned and headed back inside.

Del watched her retreat and then fixed Aiden with an intent stare. “You’re on call on Christmas?”

To Aiden’s ears, it sounded almost reproachful… as if she should have made sure that she would be able to spend the whole day with Dawn. Or maybe the accusation lay not so much in Del’s words but in her own guilty conscience. “I’m always on call during the holidays. It’s some kind of Christmas tradition with the SAD,” she said, trying to smile.

“The single, lesbian detective volunteers for duty because she doesn’t have anywhere else to be anyway,” Del mumbled. “Been there, done that, and was stopped from doing it again by one determined Kinsley woman. So, you better prepare yourself for experiencing the same.”

“Are you trying to warn her off, Del?” Dawn reappeared, handing over the mug she carried to Aiden, so she could bump Del with her shoulder.

Del looked at her, her dark eyes wide and innocent. She pressed her palm against the left side of her chest. “Would I do something like that, grasshopper?”

“The last cop who got on her bad side is probably still scrubbing the precinct bathroom with a toothbrush,” Dawn explained to Aiden.

Del stretched her sinewy body with dignity. “I don’t have a bad side. And now you’ll have to excuse me - I’m thirsty and someone, who shall remain nameless, failed to bring me something to drink.” With one last smile, Del left them alone on the deck.

Aiden leaned against the railing that separated the deck from the backyard and looked down into the mug that warmed her hands. The hot chocolate was topped off by whipped cream and marshmallows. Aiden couldn’t remember when someone had last taken the time to prepare cocoa with all the extras for her.

“You’re not hiding out here, are you?” Dawn closed the sliding door that separated them from the apartment. “I know my family can be a bit much.”

“No, no, they were all very friendly to me,” Aiden said. “It’s not them. It’s me. I’m not used to having a house full of people. It’s always been just my mother and me. I needed a breather, but I’m okay. You don’t have to stay with me. I’m sure there are a lot of relatives in there that you haven’t seen all year.” She nodded toward the living room.

Dawn leaned her hip against the railing next to Aiden. “Yeah, but I’ll have time to talk to them later. I don’t know how long I’ll have you.”

Is she talking about today… the fact that I could be called away anytime? Or is she unsure whether I’ll stand by this relationship for very long? “You go on in. We’ll have the time later, too,” Aiden said.

The glass door slid open. “Girls?” Dawn’s mother stepped out onto the deck. “What are you doing out here in the cold?”

Girls? Aiden wasn’t sure if she should be amused, flattered, or annoyed. Does she want to believe that I’m just Dawn’s kindergarten playfellow or what? She still didn’t know how to take Dawn’s mother. She liked Grace, but the certainty that she would not be a big fan of her relationship with Dawn made her suspicious about everything Grace said.

“Come inside,” Grace continued when neither of them answered. “Dinner is served.”

Aiden followed the two Kinsley women inside. Half of the guests were already sitting around the large dining table while the others were busy placing bowls, pots, and plates on the table or helping the kids into their chairs. Aiden lingered behind, not sure where her place in the seating arrangements might be.

A small hand grabbed hers. “Aiden is sitting next to me!” Jamie announced for everyone to hear.

“Jamie!” Her mother, Eliza, raised her voice to be heard above the commotion. “Maybe Detective Carlisle doesn’t want to sit next to you? I’m sure she wants to sit next to your aunt.”

“It’s Aiden, and lucky for you I have two sides.” Aiden winked at the girl and barely held herself back from calling her “grasshopper.”

Jamie’s mother nodded. “Then it’s Eliza. And this is my husband, Rick.”

A slender man with friendly brown eyes looked up from his attempts to put his son into a high chair. “Hi. I don’t suppose your child-whisperer skills extend to my youngest kid, too?” He pointed to the ten-month-old who was kicking his legs, making it impossible to put him in the high chair.

“Oh, for God’s sake, Rick!” Eliza took over the task.

Youngest kid… Aiden mentally repeated. That means he considers Jamie his kid, too.

Rick grinned apologetically at his wife while he continued talking to Aiden. “I hear you’re on the job?”

Aiden allowed herself to be dragged into the chair next to Jamie and answered over her head. “Yes. I’m a detective with the Sexual Assault Detail. And you?”

“I’m a dispatcher -“

“No shop talk today,” Grace ordered and handed Aiden a carving knife. “Would you be so kind?” She nodded down at a giant turkey.

Aiden raised startled eyes. Me? She wants me to carve the turkey? She would have thought that honorable task would fall to Grace herself or maybe to Dawn, Rick, or Del.

Her face must have shown her surprise because Grace smiled at her. “You’re part of the reason why my daughter is able to sit here today and celebrate Christmas with her family, safe in the knowledge that her rapist is behind bars. Therefore, you’re my guest of honor and get to carve the turkey.”

Aiden turned her head to look at Dawn, who gave her a somewhat watery smile and a nod. She carefully started her appointed task, a little clumsily in her eyes since she didn’t have a lot of practice.

Finally, everyone settled down at the table. Even the children were quiet as a circle was formed as everyone joined hands. Jamie’s small hand wrapped around Aiden’s fingers on the left, and Dawn softly squeezed her right hand while Dawn’s mother said grace.

As soon as she said “amen,” the laughter, the chatter, and the clinking of plates and glasses started again. It was a family moment that Aiden had never experienced before, and she watched numbly as Grace heaped large amounts of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, and gravy onto her plate. “Thank you, ma’am,” she said belatedly. “I think that’s enough.”

“It’s Grace,” the older woman corrected while she added cranberry sauce to Aiden’s dinner.

“Aiden.” She nodded, much more at ease with Dawn’s mother and the rest of the family now. She picked up her fork and tried a bite of turkey with gravy. “Wow, that’s delicious!”

“Yeah,” Del agreed, still chewing. “My mamá always told me that if I didn’t bring home a Latina girl, I should at least pick someone who could cook. But alas, it was not to be - for some incomprehensible reason, she chose my partner over me.” She blinked her lashes at Grace.

Grace reached over the table to slap her on the arm. “I was already married to Jim when he got partnered with your rookie Latina ass, Delicia Vasquez Montero. And your mother never told you to bring home any girl.”

“She would have if she ever tasted the arte culinario of the charming Kinsley women,” Del insisted with a bright grin.

“Dawn, no more wine for your aunt,” Grace ordered, making everyone laugh.

By the time dessert was served - pumpkin pie, Christmas pudding with brandy sauce, and pastries filled with dried fruit - Aiden’s fear of being overwhelmed or not fitting in had all but vanished. Jamie was chatting her ear off, half a dozen toddlers had tried to climb on her lap, and even Grace had gone out of her way to make her feel welcome.

Finally, she leaned back and pressed her hands against her stomach. “God, I’m stuffed!”

Dawn patted her leg. “Want to come outside with us and build a snowwoman?”

“A snowwoman?” Aiden gave her a lopsided grin.

“Yep, it has to be a snowwoman, nothing else for me.”

Aiden grinned and resisted the urge to look up and see if Grace had heard the comment. “All right. Let’s build a snowwoman.”

Half a dozen children, bundled up in warm jackets, scarves, and woolen hats, followed them outside and began to roll growing balls of snow along the driveway. Aiden helped the small hands lift the snowwoman’s head onto the torso and watched as Dawn formed two smaller snowballs. “What’s that going to be? A snowbaby?” she teased.

“We’re building a snowwoman; you figure it out.” Dawn mischievously attached the two snowballs to the figure’s front.

“Ah, it’s an anatomically correct version of a snowwoman - and a very nicely endowed one at that.”

Dawn stepped back to study her work and then looked down at her own chest. “You think that’s a life-size replica?”

Her breath condensed in front of her as Aiden barked out a surprised laugh. “Well, a woman can hope, can’t she?” She winked at Dawn but didn’t delve any deeper into a comparison of the snowwoman’s endowments with that of anyone else around.

A snowball that pelted Dawn from behind interrupted the conversation before it could steer into that particular territory. Dawn whirled around. “Jamie! You’re throwing large, icy, hard snowballs at your favorite aunt?” She stared at the girl in exaggerated outrage.

Another snowball hit Dawn on the shoulder, dusting her with cold particles as it burst on impact. “My only aunt!” Jamie shouted back.

A few of the other giggling kids started to fling snowballs in Dawn’s direction, too.

“Aiden! Help me!” Dawn took cover behind her taller friend.

“Hey, hey, hey! Leave me out of this.” Aiden bent down to dodge snowballs and tried to step around Dawn, out of the line of fire, but Dawn held on to the back of her coat and followed each of her movements.

“I thought you’re on call today?” Dawn panted behind her. The hot breath on her neck made Aiden shiver. “Well, there’s a female citizen being attacked by a horde of hoodlums, so why don’t you try to earn your paycheck and start protecting me? Now!” Dawn squeaked as one of the kids circled them, and another snowball hit her in the back.

Right at that moment, the pager at Aiden’s hip went off. She opened her coat and unhooked the pager from her belt to look at its display. Shit. She pressed her lips together. “I have to go.” Being on call had been a safety line for her, a refuge should she become overwhelmed and feel uncomfortable with Dawn’s family. She hadn’t expected to feel regret when she was called away, but she did.

Dawn looked equally disappointed that their time together was coming to an end, but she didn’t try to get Aiden to shirk her duties or even to keep her for a few more minutes. Growing up among cops hadn’t made her enthusiastic about sudden interruptions, but she understood the necessity. “Do you have time to say good-bye to everyone, or should I tell them you had to go?”

“No, I have the time to say good-bye.” The victim was already dead, so two minutes more or less wouldn’t matter.

Silently, they strolled back to the apartment side by side, some of the children following behind them. Dawn opened the front door for them.

“Aunt Dawn!” Jamie cried excitedly.

Both adults stopped and looked back at the gesticulating girl. “What?”

“You’re under the mistletoe!” Jamie jumped up and down, pointing at the twig hanging above them in the doorway.

“So what?” Aiden tried to ignore the obvious meaning.

“You have to kiss.”

Aiden tugged the girl closer and bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek while Dawn did the same to Jamie’s other cheek. “Voílà, one kiss. Can we enter now?”

“No!” The girl stomped her foot. “You have to kiss each other, not me. I’m not under the mistletoe.”

Aiden’s gaze flitted to Dawn’s face and then back to the girl. Dawn looked as indecisive as she felt. Beyond a quick peck on the cheek, they hadn’t exchanged kisses, and Aiden didn’t want Dawn to feel pressured to take the next step in their relationship just because of a Christmas tradition. “Jamie, look, I’m in a bit of a hurry right now. Can’t I kiss her later?”

“No, that’s not allowed,” Jamie insisted.

“How come a nine-year-old girl knows so much about the rules of kissing under the mistletoe?” Aiden wondered.

Dawn rolled her eyes. “I think we have Del to thank for that particular pearl of wisdom. Del told her that if an unmarried woman is not kissed under the mistletoe, she’ll remain single for the next year. But that doesn’t help us now, so…” Dawn rested one hand against Aiden’s shoulder and lifted herself up on her tiptoes.

Aiden forgot to breathe as Dawn’s face came closer to her own. In return, all of her other systems went into overdrive. She held still as Dawn’s lips touched her own for one beat of her thudding heart. Then it was already over, and Aiden had to blink a few times to break her rigor. I thought a kiss was what woke Sleeping Beauty from her spell, not what put her under it.

Aiden stepped back when she saw Grace come out of the living room. She thanked the hostess, said good-bye to the rest of the family, and then walked toward the door again, this time careful not to step through it at the same time as anyone else.

Dawn followed her silently, stopping when Aiden did, right in front of the apartment. She raised a hand and tugged Aiden’s scarf more tightly around her neck. “Be careful, please.”

A nod and a quick glance back, and Aiden was on her way.

* * *

Del entered the kitchen, balancing a stack of dirty dishes in her hands.

The kitchen was empty except for Grace, who stood in front of the sink, her back to Del.

“Hey.” Del set the stack of dishes down next to Grace. If she hadn’t known the woman for twenty years, she probably would have missed the slight jump and the tension in the slender shoulders. “You okay? You look a little tense.”

“It’s just all these dirty dishes.” Grace busied herself with scrubbing cranberry sauce from another plate. “Remind me next year to accept all offers to help with cleaning up.”

Del stepped closer. She could sense that all the dirty dishes were not really what was upsetting her old friend. She picked up a dish towel and began to dry. “Do you need to talk?”

A plate sank into the soapy water as Grace let go of it and turned to look at Del. “You know me so well,” she said with a sigh.

Del smiled. “We had some of our best talks over piles of dirty dishes,” she reminded her. It had been in the kitchen where Grace had cried endless tears over the loss of her husband in Del’s arms; it had been the place where Grace had convinced Del that she should be the one to walk Dawn down the aisle; and here Del had patiently answered questions when Grace had first suspected that her daughter might be gay. “So, you better start talking before the last plate is clean.”

Grace laughed but just for a second. “It’s about Dawn…”

That didn’t surprise Del, but she felt a glimmer of concern rise in herself anyway. Sometimes it felt as if they had raised Dawn together as co-parents. “Don’t worry about her.” She slung the dish towel across her shoulders in order to lift her hands to Grace’s tense neck. “Dawn is doing well, considering it hasn’t even been three months since -“

“This is not about… the rape.” Grace leaned into the touch of Del’s gently kneading hands.

Del began to rub stiff shoulders and felt Grace lean back into her. “What is it then?” she asked and ducked her head to look into the familiar face. Suddenly, she understood. “You’ve seen her with Carlisle.”

“Why do you cops always pretend not to have first names?” Grace’s complaint was two decades old.

“Probably because not all of our parents had such good taste in naming their offspring as yours did,” Del answered with a grin.

Grace’s head fell back onto Del’s shoulder. “Charmer,” she groaned when Del’s hands worked on a particularly tense spot. “I’ve tried to ignore it for a while, but when I saw her saying good-bye to Aiden tonight…” Grace dried her hands on the towel and then tossed it on the counter with a sigh before she turned around to face Del. “Dawn told her to be careful, and I had a sudden déjà vu of me standing in the same place, telling Jim that very same thing.”

Del closed her eyes, and for a moment they shared their pain in silence.

“Dawn cares about her,” Grace finally said.

“And that’s a bad thing?”

Grace shrugged. “It could be. It would kill Dawn to lose another person she loves to the job.”

“You can’t choose who you love, Gracita,” Del pointed out. “You just… do.”

A sigh came from Grace. “I know. I just wish…”

“That the object of your daughter’s affections wouldn’t be a cop.” Del nodded in understanding. Both of them knew firsthand how difficult a relationship with a police officer could be.

“Yeah, and being male wouldn’t hurt either,” Grace added quietly.

Del studied stormy gray eyes. “And here I thought I had cured your homophobia.”

“I’m not homophobic,” Grace protested.

Del knew that to be the truth. Grace had never been uncomfortable with having a lesbian best friend.

“As far as I’m concerned, love is love. It’s just that being with a woman has so much potential to hurt her.” Grace sighed. “I don’t want my daughter to go through life as an outsider… to be stared at, or spit on, or laughed at by total strangers, to be hurt simply because of who she loves. Dawn has already been raped just because some homophobe didn’t like her sexual orientation. That’s not the life a mother would choose for her daughter.”

“That’s just it - it’s not your choice,” Del reminded. “It’s not even Dawn’s really. Being gay isn’t a choice at all but a part of Dawn like the color of her eyes or her shoe size. The only choice is whether or not to have the courage to be open and honest about that part of her life. Living a lie, always hiding who she is, will hurt her, too.”

Grace’s hand came up and tugged at a few still blond locks in desperation. “I know, and if she’s really gay, I don’t want her to feel like she has to hide it from me.”

“If she’s really gay?” Del repeated with an incredulous laugh, reaching out to comb Grace’s hair back into some semblance of order. “Darlin’, I hate to point out the obvious, but she has lived in a lesbian relationship for over a year.”

Grace stubbornly shook her head. “There was no real chemistry between Maggie and Dawn.”

Del had to give her that. She had always suspected that the attraction between Dawn and the gallery owner had been more aesthetic than sexual, but that had more to do with Maggie’s personality than with her gender. “The way she looks at Carlisle… at Aiden… doesn’t leave much doubt about her sexual orientation either,” Del said.

“Dawn is going through a very hard and emotionally confusing time. How can we be sure that she’s not just clinging to the first person who’s been there for her and protected her?” Grace raised anxious eyes to search her friend’s face for the answer.

Del shook her head. “I don’t think so. Sure, going through the aftermath of a rape may have changed the way Dawn looks at herself, at relationships, and at potential partners, and it intensifies every emotion, but I think whatever they have between them, it would have developed anyway. It happened despite Dawn being raped, not because of it.”

Grace sighed in defeat and let her forehead rest against Del’s shoulder for a second. “You’re right. It’s just… I find myself thinking about Jim, about what he always wanted for his daughter.”

Through endless hours of patrol duty and surveillance, Del had gotten to know her partner really well, so she spoke without hesitation, “What he wanted first and foremost was for her to be happy - and I don’t think she’ll find that happiness with a man. He would have accepted any person Dawn wanted to spend her life with as long as he or she honestly loved and respected her.”

Grace picked her head off Del’s shoulder to look into her eyes. “I know you’re right, but he wanted her to experience motherhood, too - and so do I. I’ve been looking forward to having grandkids from Dawn since the day she married Cal.”

The picture of a lively little girl with blond pigtails appeared before Del’s mind’s eye. Her lips curled into a wistful smile. “Yeah, I’d love to bounce a little grasshopper junior on my knees, too,” she admitted. “But Dawn being in a relationship with a woman doesn’t have to mean that that won’t happen someday. Just because Maggie had a major panic attack at the thought of smelly diapers or a toddler with crayons anywhere near her white designer couch doesn’t mean that other lesbians don’t want children. It looks like Aiden is really good with kids.”

“That doesn’t mean she wants to have her own. She seems like one of those cops who are really only married to their jobs.” Grace couldn’t stop worrying.

Del winked at her. “Oh, I think she’s about to get a divorce. Our daughter is not a woman who would let herself be kept as a mistress.” She felt heat rise up her chest and color her cheeks as she suddenly became aware of what she had just called Dawn. “I-I mean -“

Grace’s soft hand on her arm stopped her. “It’s okay, Del, really. In many regards, she’s as much your daughter as she’s mine. You were always there for her even when I couldn’t because I was too caught up in my own grief. Have I ever thanked you for that?”

“You don’t need to,” Del said seriously. “Whatever I did for her, I didn’t do it because I felt obligated to, but because I love her. I love both of you.”

“Hey,” Dawn’s blond head appeared in the doorway, “are you sure that I can’t help with the dishes?”

Del grinned at her. “Well, if you’ve finished pouting about your sweetie’s absence, you’re welcome to help.”

Dawn’s eyes widened, and her gaze flitted to her mother.

“It’s all right,” Grace said, handing her a dish towel. “I’m well aware that Aiden hasn’t been slaving as your shopping Sherpa, Christmas tree advisor, and wall climbing trainer because the Police Bureau is paying her to.”

Nervous fingers fiddled with the dish towel. “And you’re okay with that?”

Grace’s eyes flickered to Del’s for reassurance and then focused on her daughter. “If you’re sure that it’s what you want?”

“I’ve never been so sure of anything in my whole life, Mom.”

“Then I’m okay with it,” Grace decided.

Visibly more relaxed now, Dawn picked up a washed plate and dried it. “What were you doing in here? Discussing my love life? Is that why you always decline any help in the kitchen except for Del’s, so you can gossip without interruption?”

Her mother gently pinched Dawn’s cheek. “I decline any help except for Del’s because I learned the hard way that everyone else just wants to stay in the kitchen to sneak some more dessert.”

“Yeah, and I concentrate on drying the dishes because I want to keep my girlish figure.” Del patted her slender hips with a grin. “And just for your information, your mother and I are perfectly able of conversing over doing the dishes without your name ever coming up, grasshopper.” That’s not to say that it didn’t this time.

Dawn looked skeptical but nodded. “Hand me another plate to dry, Del. I have to work on my figure.”

* * *

Aiden leaned her head against the back of Dawn’s couch and tried to sit still. It wasn’t an easy task because she could feel Dawn sitting very close to her, so close that her breath warmed Aiden’s skin whenever Dawn turned her head to talk to her but still not close enough to touch her. That’s progress, huh? Last month she would have sat down in the easy chair or left at least a foot of space between us.

Her body wanted to reach out and establish some kind of contact, but she forced herself to let Dawn be the one in control and distracted herself by looking at the Christmas tree. It was fully lit, making the decorations and tinsel hanging from its branches shine. It’s not seven feet, but it’s perfect nonetheless.

“In case you’re wondering about that lonely present under the tree,” Dawn interrupted the comfortable silence, “it’s yours, so if you want to open it…”

Aiden reached down to pick up the bigger box resting next to the couch. “It just so happens that Santa left a little something for you, too.”

With a grin, Dawn studied the size of the present. “Seems like I’ve been really good this year, huh?”

“It’s not the size that counts, Doc,” Aiden teased. She gently set the box down onto Dawn’s lap. “Open it.”

Dawn didn’t have to be told twice. She ripped into the red and green striped paper, tearing it from the box with childlike enthusiasm.

Aiden looked on nervously. She didn’t have much experience with buying gifts, and so she had spent hours searching for the right… the perfect present for Dawn.

Dawn’s impatient fingers stilled as she lifted the top off the box. She ran her hand along oil, watercolor, and acrylic painting brushes, over sketching chalks and tubes of color until her fingers finally closed around a drawing pencil. “Aiden! That’s a complete set of art supplies! It must have cost -“

“Hush.” Aiden touched her index finger to Dawn’s lips, drawing back when she saw Dawn flinch at the unexpected touch. “The price isn’t important. Do you like it?”

“Yes, of course.” Dawn’s fingers lovingly brushed over badger-hair bristles. “And what I like most of all is that you remembered how much drawing and painting means to me. I really missed it, and this will give me a reason to start again. Thank you.” She leaned forward and placed a quick peck on Aiden’s cheek.

Aiden relaxed a little. “Buying these…” She pointed to the contents of the box. “…was a rather confusing experience. I told the salesclerk that I wanted art supplies, brushes and the like, and he asked me if I wanted hog hair, squirrel hair, badger hair, or a synthetic brush, and if it should be a 25-millimeter landscape brush or a 50-millimeter background brush.” It had been embarrassing to realize how little she knew about something that had been her mother’s biggest passion. To tell the truth, she had never really tried to learn more about it because she had felt that she would always fall short of her mother’s expectations. “I didn’t even know if you preferred oil, pastel, acrylic, or watercolors,” Aiden admitted. “So I bought a little bit of everything.” Standing in the art supplies store, she had felt like an idiot, but the smile on Dawn’s lips made everything worth it.

“I like a little bit of everything, so your present is just perfect,” Dawn said. The tip of her finger carefully tested the pointed end of a pencil. “I’ll have to draw you sometime. And now, you open yours.” She handed Aiden a light blue envelope.

Aiden pointed to the single present under the tree. “I thought that one was mine?”

“It is,” Dawn confirmed. “What’s in the envelope is only partly from me. It’s from Del and Mom, too.”

“They bought me a Christmas present?” Aiden felt herself blanch. “But I didn’t buy them anything.” She had never needed to buy more than half a dozen presents at Christmas, and having to think of gifts for Dawn’s family was a little scary.

“That doesn’t matter. They wanted to give you this. Now open it!” Dawn urged.

Slowly, hesitantly, Aiden slipped her index finger under the envelope and opened it. A gift certificate fell out. A tandem skydive? She arched a brow. “They want me to throw myself out of an airplane at ten thousand feet? Didn’t you say that your mother approved of our relationship?”

Dawn laughed. “She does. You’ll have a parachute and an experienced tandem instructor. We thought that it was something that might interest you…?”

Now Dawn sounded insecure, and Aiden hastened to answer. “I am interested. I’ve wanted to try it ever since Okada told me about his parachuting experiences.”

“Okada?” Dawn rubbed a finger over her chin. “Isn’t that the Asian American detective with the dry sense of humor? He doesn’t look like an adrenaline junkie.”

Aiden smiled. “He claims that it’s where he met his third ex-wife.”

“The third?” Dawn’s eyes widened. “How many ex-wives does he have?”

“Nobody really knows, except for Okada and his accountant.” Aiden chuckled. She looked down at the gift certificate again. “It’s great. Thank you.”

Dawn crossed the room, reached under the Christmas tree, and returned with the second present. “Merry Christmas.”

Aiden looked down at the present, studying it for a few seconds before she patiently loosened the ribbons and bows and began to remove the wrapping paper.

“It’s much more fun if you just tear the paper,” Dawn advised her.

Aiden loved seeing the childlike wonder and anticipation in Dawn’s eyes, but she preferred a more controlled approach for herself. She folded the paper and set it to one side before she opened the small box. With trembling fingers, she lifted a silver necklace from the box. She’s already buying me jewelry? Aiden had never bought or received jewelry from anyone with whom she had been in a relationship, and it made her a little anxious.

“Relax,” Dawn said as if reading her thoughts. “It’s not a ring or anything like that. It’s just a lucky charm.”

More relaxed now, Aiden studied the small, oval pendant. “Hey, that’s Saint Michael, the patron saint of law enforcement, isn’t it?”

Dawn nodded in confirmation. “It was my father’s.”

Aiden’s head jerked up. She’s giving me her father’s good luck charm? “I can’t take this.” She tried to press the necklace into Dawn’s hand. “It should be yours.”

“It was mine,” Dawn said, refusing to take the necklace. “My father gave it to me a few weeks before he died. And now I want you to have it.”

Aiden took a deep breath. She didn’t know what to say. “Thank you,” she finally whispered. She looked down at the necklace in her hand. She wasn’t one to wear much jewelry. Usually one ring and a pair of studs was all she wore, but she would definitely wear the necklace, knowing how much it meant to Dawn. “Will you help me put it on?”

She turned around and felt the couch dip behind her. Dawn’s elbows came to rest on her shoulders for a moment, and the warm breath on her neck made Aiden shiver. Then Dawn closed the necklace’s clasp and moved back.

“There.” Dawn touched the pendant resting on Aiden’s chest with one gentle finger, making Aiden’s breath catch even though she hadn’t been touched at all. “It looks good on you.”

“Thank you,” Aiden said again. She knew that Dawn was still a little tight financially, but this meant more to her than anything Dawn could have bought. Slowly, she leaned forward, making her intentions obvious to Dawn so she would have the opportunity to draw back.

Dawn didn’t move away.

Aiden pressed a gentle kiss on Dawn’s lips. She drew back a few inches. Their eyes met, and Aiden couldn’t read anything but trust and affection in the gray-green eyes. Leaning in again, she kissed Dawn with a little more passion. “Thank you,” she whispered one last time. For the pendant and for your trust in me.

“You’re welcome,” Dawn answered quietly.

They settled back onto the couch. Half an hour later, Aiden watched with amusement as Dawn yawned for the third time in a row. “I hope it’s not the company,” she commented with a grin.

“What?” Dawn looked up and blinked. “Oh, no, no, of course not. It’s just… I didn’t sleep so well last night.”

Aiden watched her blush. God, she’s adorable. “Couldn’t sleep because you were waiting for Santa to come down the chimney and leave presents in your stocking?”

“Nothing quite as pleasant, I’m afraid.” Dawn sighed. “I stayed in my mother’s guest room last night, with Jamie...”

“Tell me,” Aiden encouraged her when Dawn hesitated.

“Jamie tends to cuddle up to me, and I woke in the middle of the night with her weight pressing me down, unable to move for a second.” Dawn looked down. Her trembling fingers busied themselves with picking lint from the couch. “I came very close to having a full-fledged panic attack and stayed awake for the rest of the night.”

Aiden fought the urge to enfold Dawn in comforting arms, not sure if any touch, innocent as it might be, would be welcome right now.

“So no, it’s not the company,” Dawn said, sounding more composed. “I’m just a little tired.”

“Then I think I’ll go now so that you can get some sleep,” Aiden offered even though she was reluctant to leave just yet.

Dawn shook her head. “No, I can get some sleep later. I want to spend a little more time with you.” She couldn’t hide another yawn, though.

Dawn’s emotional openness astonished Aiden again and again. It inspired her to try and be more open about her own feelings with Dawn, but it was not something that came naturally to her. “Then at least lie down for a while,” Aiden suggested. She had been glad when she had seen the dark shadows under Dawn’s eyes disappear during the last few weeks, and she didn’t want to see them reappear.

“Only if you keep me company and promise not to leave,” Dawn bargained.

“I promise.” Aiden started to rise from the couch to make room for Dawn’s whole body.

“No, no, stay.” Dawn reached out a hand, laying it on Aiden’s thigh to press her back down. She licked her lips and stared down at her own hand. “I want to… I want to try…”

Aiden’s eyes widened. A thousand assumptions and speculations about what Dawn might want to try raced through her mind, and she mentally slapped herself.

Dawn swallowed and finally looked up. “I want to try and be a little bit… closer to you tonight.”

Aiden could feel her heartbeat pick up at these words. Her body was reacting to Dawn’s suggestion of closeness even though she knew that it didn’t imply anything sexual. “Okay.” She fought to keep her voice calm, never showing her rising nervousness. “How do you wanna go about it? Anything that you want is okay with me.”

“I thought… I could lie down right here,” Dawn pointed to the couch, “and you could just… stay where you are right now.” She looked at Aiden with questioning eyes.

“Sounds nice,” Aiden said. She moved back to one end of the couch and watched patiently as Dawn stretched out on her side, facing Aiden and settling her head on Aiden’s lap. Aiden held still until she could feel Dawn’s stiff muscles relax, and then she lifted her hand and rested it protectively along Dawn’s shoulder. “Is this okay?”

“Mmm… very okay.” Dawn brought one hand up and rested it on Aiden’s thigh, just above her knee. Her index finger began to move, tracing lazy circles through the thick material of Aiden’s jeans.

Aiden let her head fall back against the couch. Keeping her gaze on Dawn’s face, she began to let her fingers slide through smooth, blond strands.

After a few seconds, Dawn finally exhaled and closed her eyes.

CHAPTER 27

“HEY, AIDEN.” Ray shrugged out of his coat and perched on his partner’s desk. He set a microwave container down next to the file on which she was working.

Aiden looked up. “What’s that?”

“Since you missed Christmas dinner, Susan insisted that I bring you some leftovers. My wife is obviously afraid that you’ll starve,” Ray teased. Truth be told, he was a little concerned about his partner, too. She had never really celebrated Christmas, but at least he had always managed to convince her to stop by for dinner. But this year, she had refused to even take off her coat when she brought her presents for the kids over to his house.

Aiden snorted. “Hardly. I think I put on a pound or two over the holidays.” She patted her flat stomach.

Ray settled down in his own chair, swinging his legs up onto the desk to study Aiden. “You treated yourself to dinner in a fancy restaurant?” He tried to sound casual and hide his curiosity about what his partner might have been up to over Christmas.

“No.” Aiden signed her report and threw it into the outbox. “I was invited to a home-cooked meal, with dessert and all.”

Ray patiently waited for her to say more. He had long since learned that Aiden refused to talk if he pressured her with too many questions.

Aiden busied herself with sharpening a pencil and then slowly raised it to her lips to blow away the wood chips from the point. Only then did she look up. “Dawn’s mother is a really great cook,” she said, trying for the same casual tone that Ray had used.

She spent Christmas with the Kinsley clan? Ray suddenly realized that Aiden was serious about the brave young woman. To his knowledge, Aiden had never met the family of any of her dates before. “So, this is really serious between the two of you, hmm?”

“Between Grace and me?” Aiden grinned. “No, don’t worry. I don’t get involved with older women. I only want her for her cooking skills.”

Ray threw his eraser at her. “Smart-ass. You know who I’m talking about.”

Aiden sobered. “I really like her, Ray.”

Ray felt a satisfied smile form on his lips. He had waited for years for Aiden to find someone who held her interest beyond a few dates. “Why don’t you bring her to our New Year’s Eve party?” he suggested.

“So you can interrogate her for hours or tell her embarrassing stories about me?” Aiden shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Bring her,” Ray insisted. “It’ll be good for her to feel like a part of the group, and I even promise not to tell her the story about the search warrant, the bottle of tomato juice, and one Aiden Carlisle.”

Aiden grabbed the next report. “We’ll see.”

Astrid Swenson’s office door opened. “Carlisle, Bennet! They found the missing girl down at the piers.” The lieutenant’s grave expression told them all they needed to know.

Damn. All thoughts about New Year’s Eve parties disappeared from Ray’s mind as he rose and grabbed the car keys.

* * *

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming!” Dawn called to the ringing phone. She kicked the door closed with her heel, slid her grocery bags onto the couch, and snapped up the receiver. “Kinsley.”

“It’s me.”

Dawn felt her smile broaden. “Hi, Aiden. If you want to, you can come over a little earlier. Dinner isn’t ready yet, but you can keep me company while I cook.” She looked down at the ingredients of what would soon be a veggie lasagna.

An awkward clearing of her throat told Dawn that she would not see Aiden so soon, if at all this evening. “Listen, Dawn… about that… I can’t come over right now.”

“Still at work?”

“No, I’m at home, but… I’m just too tired.” Aiden’s voice sounded hoarse.

Sounds like she had a really tough day. “How about I come over and cook dinner at your place?” Dawn offered, ready to pamper her friend a little. “You don’t have to move a finger, except for lifting the fork to your mouth.”

“I’m not hungry,” was Aiden’s short reply.

Now Dawn was starting to get really worried. Aiden had always been eager to see her, no matter what. “You have to eat something, Aiden.”

“Believe it or not, I didn’t starve before I met you,” Aiden snapped.

Dawn’s legs started to tremble, and she plopped down onto the couch, not caring if she squashed the vegetables.

“Sorry! God, I’m… I’m really sorry, Dawn. I didn’t want to…” Aiden’s exhale sounded as if she was trembling, too. “That’s exactly why I don’t want to come over. I’m just not good company right now.”

Now that the first shock of Aiden talking to her in anything but soft tones was over, Dawn felt anger stir, too. “I don’t care. You don’t have to entertain me. I just want to sit with you for a while.”

“Not tonight, Dawn, okay?”

“Okay,” Dawn mumbled even if it was anything but. She sat with the phone in her hand long after they had said good-bye and the call had been disconnected. Finally, she threw the cordless phone down next to the tomatoes that had fallen from their bag. You should have known that it would come to this eventually. She’s a cop, so what did you expect? That she would come to you as soon as something job-related bothered her and talk about her emotions for hours? You know better than that. She had known from the start that a relationship between them would not be easy. Apart from her own intimacy issues that had developed after the rape, Aiden brought her own emotional baggage with her - including Aiden’s fear of letting someone close and getting hurt or hurting others in the process.

So what do I do? Do I allow her to distance herself from me and let her suffer in silence? Dawn looked down at the grocery bags. After eight hours of counseling upset teens, she was hungry, and cooking had always had a calming effect on her. Let’s cook lasagna.

* * *

“Go away, Ray!” Aiden grumbled when the doorbell rang again. “Leave me alone, goddammit!”

But the visitor at her door was as stubborn as she was. Finally, Aiden marched over to the door and threw it wide open. But it was not her partner who was standing at her door but Dawn, who was looking up at Aiden’s towering form with almost scared eyes. Immediately, Aiden was ashamed of her own behavior and hastened to make her stance more nonthreatening. “Dawn…” She was at a loss at what to say. “I didn’t know it was you.”

“I figured as much when you hurled obscenities at the door,” Dawn said with a small smile.

“What are you doing here?” Aiden didn’t want to sound harsh, but she wasn’t equipped to deal with another person’s vulnerabilities and emotions right now - it was more than enough to deal with her own.

Dawn nodded down at the ovenproof dish that she was holding in front of herself like a protective shield.

She made lasagna, just because I mentioned that it was my favorite dish. God, don’t I feel like an ass now! Aiden was still reluctant to let her in - literally and figuratively, but she stepped back with a sigh. “Come in.”

She watched in silence as Dawn put the lasagna into the oven and set the table for the two of them. After lighting a candle, Dawn turned toward her. “The lasagna will need at least half an hour, so why don’t you sit down for a while and take that off?”

Aiden stared at her without moving. She was only wearing jeans and a simple shirt, so there wasn’t much to take off here. “Uh… what?”

“That weight on your shoulders. You would feel better if you took it off.”

Aiden smiled sadly. “It’s not that easy.”

“I know, but it’s sure as hell not going to get any easier if you continue to keep everything to yourself,” Dawn insisted.

Aiden sighed. She had always told Ray how wrong it was to exclude his wife from the job part of his life. She had never been in a relationship long enough for it to become a problem for herself, but now she understood for the first time why he insisted on not bringing the job home with him. Dawn and their relationship were the only good things in her life, and she didn’t want to taint them by telling her about all the gory stuff that went on at work. She wanted to protect her from the graphic reality of her job even if it meant excluding her from a large and important part of her life.

“Don’t you want to tell me what happened?” Dawn tried again.

Aiden bit her lip. “Nothing happened.”

Gray-green eyes darkened like angry thunderclouds. “Don’t lie to me, Aiden Carlisle!”

“Then don’t ask me questions that I don’t want to answer!” Aiden shot back. “I don’t want to talk about it. Why can’t you accept that? She’s dead, and no amount of talking will change that!”

“But it might change how you feel about it.” Dawn shook her head with a sigh. “I don’t know why police officers, who dedicate their lives to helping others, find it so difficult to accept help for themselves.”

“I don’t need any help.” All Aiden wanted was to be left alone.

It was obvious that Dawn had no intention of granting that wish. “You’re not invincible, Aiden. I know that you’ve always been self-contained and that you need to show a professional demeanor and stifle your feelings while you’re on the job, but if you continue to allow that to trickle into your private life, too, it’ll hurt you - and it’ll hurt our relationship.”

Aiden was too upset to listen. She started to pace. “Stop trying to psychoanalyze me!” she growled in a desperate attempt to get Dawn to back off. She wasn’t used to dealing with someone who was unwilling to respect the protective barriers she had erected around herself. Dawn had managed to slip behind all her defenses from the start, and Aiden knew that they would completely crumble if she let Dawn in right now.

Dawn threw her hands up in frustration. “Why do you have to make this about my job?”

“Why do you have to make it about mine?” Aiden looked around like a caged animal. She wanted to lay her hands over her ears and either tell Dawn to shut up or throw her out of the apartment, but she knew that Dawn wouldn’t leave voluntarily. Suddenly, a wave of intense fear rose - not of Dawn but of herself and what she might do to get Dawn to leave her alone. Without another word, she turned on her heels and stormed out, relieved when she heard the apartment door close between her and Dawn.

When she finally calmed down enough to think clearly again, she was out on the street, two blocks away from her apartment… where I left Dawn, who will probably never talk to me again - not that I could blame her. God, how did I fuck this up so fast?

Slowly, she made her way back to the apartment building, half hoping and half fearing that Dawn would be gone. The apartment was silent when she hesitantly unlocked and opened the front door. Shit, she left. Then Aiden detected the delicious smell that wafted up from the kitchen, where the lasagna was still sizzling away. Aiden stepped into the kitchen and turned off the oven. The sight of the dish that Dawn had lovingly prepared for her and then abandoned almost brought Aiden to her knees.

“I’m sorry,” said a small voice from the living room.

Seeing Dawn standing in front of the couch was the most wonderful and the scariest thing Aiden had ever seen.

“I’m sorry,” Dawn said again when Aiden just stared at her. “You’ve always been so patient with me, and here I am - pressuring you to do something you’re obviously not ready for. I’m so sorry.”

“I-I’m the one who needs to apologize.” Cautiously, Aiden took a step toward Dawn, relieved when she didn’t flinch back from her. “I know you’re right. I know that I have to learn to communicate and express my feelings to you. It’s just that… it’s really hard for me.”

Dawn didn’t hesitate. “Come here.” She opened her arms in invitation, offering one of her warm hugs.

Aiden hastily stepped back instead of forward. “I can’t. I’m barely holding it together as it is. I can’t fight this and you.” Her voice was a hoarse whisper.

“You don’t have to fight me. I need you to need me, too.”

Something about Dawn’s honest words resonated with Aiden. She crossed the room in three long steps and engulfed Dawn in a crushing hug.

Dawn’s arms wrapped around her without hesitation, pulling her even closer against her body.

Aiden rested her cheek against the blond hair, closed her eyes, and exhaled shakily. “A little girl disappeared last week, probably kidnapped right out of her own backyard. They found her this morning. The medical examiner says she’d been abused and tortured for a week and then slowly strangled.” Once she started talking, Aiden couldn’t stop herself. “She was just five years old, Dawn. Five! She’ll never celebrate Christmas again, and her parents… we can’t even tell them who did this to their daughter. He didn’t leave a damn trace!” The anger threatened to rise again.

“That’s really awful, but it’s not your fault. You did everything you could,” Dawn tried to soothe her.

Aiden sighed. “Sometimes, it’s just not enough.”

“I know.”

The simple answer and the fact that Dawn didn’t try to invalidate her feelings of guilt and anger took a part of the burden from Aiden’s shoulders. She stood resting against Dawn until she felt her legs stiffen and her feet get numb. When she began to pull back, Dawn quickly brushed her lips against Aiden’s before she stepped back.

Only when she tasted the salt on Dawn’s lips did Aiden notice that Dawn had been crying - and so had she.

Still holding Dawn to her with one arm, she stumbled to the couch and sank down onto it. Suddenly, she felt exhausted. She didn’t want to talk or to think, and most of all, she didn’t want to fight anymore.

“Why did you run away?” Dawn asked, squeezing Aiden’s fingers to show her that she was not trying to assign blame for their fight. She was simply trying to understand.

“I was afraid.” It was hard to admit, but if Dawn was willing to give her a second chance, Aiden was determined to learn how to trust and to share her feelings with Dawn.

Dawn’s eyes widened. “Of me?”

“Of myself. Of the anger I felt burning inside of me,” Aiden said. She had been desperately afraid that she might do or say something that would hurt Dawn. “All the other people in my life know to leave me alone when I’m feeling like this, but you… you stood up to me. I’m not used to that.” Running away had always been her response to personal confrontations. She had never learned to confront people when she was angry because she had always been afraid that her rage would overwhelm her, and so she had preferred to keep her distance until she was once again in control of her emotions.

Dawn’s thumb stroked across the back of Aiden’s hand. “When you walked out on me in the middle of our… discussion, it made me so stark raving mad that I almost threw out the lasagna. I’m a psychologist; I want to talk it out,” she said with a hint of self-irony.

“And I’m a cop; I want to avoid talking about it,” Aiden answered in the same tone.

Dawn smiled at her. “I guess we have to find a compromise, then. How about this: next time something happens while you’re on the job, don’t try to tell me that you’re too tired or not hungry. Simply tell me that something happened to upset you, but that you’re not ready to talk about it just yet.”

“Sounds like a deal,” Aiden said with satisfaction.

“Good. Because I’m serious about wanting… needing to be there for you, too,” Dawn emphasized. “If you’re not willing to learn to trust me and to let me in, I can’t be your… your partner. A relationship is not only about sharing the good things. Ray is your partner at work, and he watches your back while you’re on the job. At home, I’m your partner, and I intend to do the same.”

Aiden sighed. What Dawn said not only made sense, she also liked the sentiment of thinking of Dawn as her partner, who would watch her back as Ray did in job-related matters. But still… “I can’t promise that I’ll always be able to open up and talk to you.”

“Can you promise to at least try?” Dawn asked.

“Yes,” Aiden agreed wholeheartedly. “I can promise you that.”

Dawn sank back against Aiden’s shoulder. “Good.”

That’s it? That’s all? Aiden stretched her legs out and tangled her fingers loosely into blond hair. Suddenly, she wasn’t sad, angry, or brooding anymore. She felt relieved, almost giddy now. A part of her had always thought that the first time she lost her composure and showed insecurities or anger toward Dawn, their relationship would be over. But here they were - just minutes after their first fight - in each other’s arms, and the respect and affection she felt for Dawn were stronger than ever. “Is our first fight officially over?” she asked with a sheepish grin.

Dawn laughed. “Definitely.”

“Then, if I read my copy of the relationship rulebook right, we have to take care of the ‘kiss and make up’ part now,” Aiden suggested with a wink.

Blond eyebrows lifted. “There’s a rulebook?”

“Sure, didn’t you receive a copy?”

Dawn grinned. “My secretary probably threw it out because she thought it was porn.”

God, I love that sense of humor, Aiden thought. “Okay, then I’ll recite the relevant passage for you: said rulebook specifically states that, after a heated discussion, both parties involved are obligated to take part in a tradition called ‘kiss and make up,’” Aiden said, trying to adopt an official court clerk expression.

“Does this mysterious rulebook also state what might happen if one or both parties fail to comply with that particular rule?” Dawn asked with a smirk.

“Well, I didn’t read that far, but it sounds like a really serious offense, so I imagine grave consequences.”

Dawn inclined her head. “Then we better abide by the rules, huh?” She moved closer to Aiden, their hands still linked.

“Dawn, I was just joking,” Aiden said quickly. “You’re not obligated to do anything.”

“I want to,” Dawn answered. “I’m a law-abiding citizen, after all.”

Aiden held her breath, never moving an inch, as Dawn drew closer. Only at the very last moment did she lower her head to meet Dawn’s lips. Her eyes never left Dawn’s until she saw them flutter closed at the soft contact. The kiss was as gentle as Aiden could possibly make it. She didn’t try to escalate the kiss or to touch any part of Dawn’s body except for the hand she still held in her own.

When they finally broke apart, Aiden was breathless, not so much from the physical exertion of the kiss - for she had kissed her dates with much more passion than this - but because of the emotions the gentle kiss had evoked in her. “Was that okay?” She lifted her head so she could see Dawn’s face.

“It was nice,” Dawn confirmed.

“Nice?” Aiden lifted a skeptical brow. “Just nice?”

Dawn teasingly tugged on Aiden’s earlobe. “Do women usually use other vocabulary to describe your kisses?”

“Usually they’re too breathless to use any vocabulary at all,” Aiden playfully boasted.

Dawn smiled wistfully. “I think we should leave the breathless part for another time. I’m just not ready for -“

“I know.” Aiden lifted their still entangled fingers to her lips and kissed Dawn’s knuckles. “It really was a nice kiss. I’m not asking for anything more.”

Dawn studied her for a while, but before Aiden could ask what was on her mind, she spoke again. “So, now that we’ve complied with that rulebook of yours… are you hungry?”

To her own surprise Aiden found that she was. “You didn’t poison the lasagna because I snapped at you on the phone, did you?” Aiden asked with a small smile.

Dawn stood and tugged her up from the couch. “Let’s find out.”

CHAPTER 28

“ARE YOU SURE that you want to go?” Aiden asked her for the third time.

“Seeing as we’re standing in the Bennets’ driveway, it’s a little late for these doubts, huh?” That’s not to say that I don’t have them, Dawn mentally added. It was the first party hosted by strangers that Dawn was going to attend after her rape.

Aiden rounded the car to stand at her side. “You didn’t want to go with Del and your mom to the New Year’s Eve cruise on the Willamette?”

“With five hundred people rushing on deck at midnight, pushing against me from all sides?” Dawn shuddered. She still couldn’t stand the thought of strangers touching her. “No, thank you. I’d rather ring in the New Year with you.”

Aiden smiled and extended her hand. “Okay, then let’s go or we’ll ring it in still standing in the driveway.”

Holding Aiden’s hand had become an almost automatic gesture for Dawn during the last week, so she had already entangled their fingers when she noticed what they were about to do. “Is this okay?” She lifted Aiden’s hand a little. “Are you… out on the job?” There was still so much they had never talked about.

Aiden stopped next to the front door. “I’m not exactly out, but I’m certainly not in the closet either. I think most of my colleagues know, but it’s not something you discuss during work hours.”

“And you’re not going to get into trouble if you show up at your annual New Year’s Eve party with a former victim… a witness in one of your cases?” Dawn worried.

“Ray told me to bring you. As for the rest of them…” Aiden shrugged. “I don’t know how they’ll react, but I’m not going to hide you, no matter what. I’m proud of you.”

Dawn blinked away the tears that she could feel building. It felt so good to hear Aiden say that, because there were times when she was still uncertain if she could be the partner that Aiden needed.

Suddenly, the door in front of them opened. Ray Bennet leaned in the doorway and grinned down at them. “Are you going to come in, or is there something fascinating about my front door?”

“It could use a new coat of paint,” Aiden answered without missing a beat.

Ray waved them in. “Tell it to Susan. You know she wears the pants in this family.”

A little more relaxed now, Dawn entered after Aiden. She hung back a little when she saw all the people milling around the living room.

“Hey, guys,” Aiden said. She gently wrapped one arm around Dawn and tugged her forward. “For all of you who don’t know her yet, or in the unlikely case that you already forgot her… this is Dawn Kinsley.”

Dawn started to feel a little overwhelmed with all the strangers. She was glad that she could rely on the social skills that were second nature to a psychologist. Smiling, Dawn exchanged greetings with Aiden’s friends and colleagues.

“Hi, Aiden.” A slender black woman with friendly eyes approached them and engulfed Aiden in a hug that Dawn quickly categorized as sisterly.

When they separated, Dawn found herself the object of the woman’s close scrutiny. “You have to be Dawn, right? I’m Susan, Ray’s wife. Welcome to the most chaotic New Year’s Eve party you’ll ever see.”

Dawn readily shook her hand. She knew that Susan Bennet was almost something of a sister-in-law to Aiden. “Thanks for inviting me.”

“Don’t thank me until you’ve seen the piles of dirty dishes and pans that you’ll have to help me with later on,” Susan said with a laugh.

“Yeah,” a girl who Dawn guessed to be Ray’s eldest daughter, Rebecca, piped up, “no thanks necessary; hard labor will do.”

“Hi, Aiden.” Kade Matheson, a wineglass in one elegant hand, strolled toward them. “I’m really glad to see you - I’m reasonably sure that you’ll have to arrest someone before the night is over.”

Dawn noticed that Aiden smiled in welcome but didn’t hug this particular colleague.

“And who might that be?” Aiden asked with a grin.

“I’m not sure yet. Either me for murder or Okada and Ruben for sexual misconduct,” Kade answered.

Aiden laughed. “Ray’s punch is that good, huh? What have they done now?”

“They’re following me around with a piece of broccoli.” Kade rolled her eyes.

A lopsided grin formed on Aiden’s lips. “I didn’t know that broccoli is considered to be a dangerous weapon under Oregon’s penal code.”

“They’re not trying to assault me with it. They’re trying to kiss me under it,” Kade said with mock exasperation.

“I had Ray take away every piece of mistletoe in the house before the party started,” Susan explained, “so they settled for the closest thing they could find - a piece of broccoli from the buffet.”

At the sound of Dawn’s laughter, Kade seemed to notice her presence for the first time and turned toward her. “Hello, Dr. Kinsley.” If Kade was surprised to see her at their party, she was too polite to show it.

“Hello, Ms. Matheson,” was all Dawn could think of to say. She liked and admired the Deputy DA, but knowing the infatuation that Aiden had had - or might still have - for her, she couldn’t really relax in her presence. She had often wondered what Kade’s feelings toward Aiden might be, but the attorney was much too adept at hiding her emotions to even guess.

“Do you want to have a glass of punch?” Aiden asked Dawn, nodding in the direction of a giant punchbowl.

“No, thank you,” Dawn declined. “I don’t want to go around chasing people with a piece of vegetable.”

Aiden grinned and stepped a little closer. “Do you mind if I have a glass?”

Dawn had noticed months ago that Aiden avoided drinking alcohol in her presence since she had told her that smelling beer could trigger one of her flashbacks. “No, of course not, go ahead.” She watched Aiden weave her way through the small crowd of her coworkers.

* * *

Aiden hadn’t even reached the punchbowl when Ray’s two youngest daughters intercepted her. “Aiden! You have to come upstairs and look at our presents,” Marion demanded.

“How about you show me a little later, huh?” she gently suggested. “I have to find something to drink for me and my friend first.”

The kids ran off in search of a more willing victim.

“Aiden, my friend.” Jeff Okada handed her a glass of punch.

Aiden eyed him cautiously. “Do I have to frisk you for a piece of broccoli?”

Okada smirked, and Aiden suddenly realized that she had never heard him laugh out loud. “Are you that hungry, or is this your subtle way of asking me for advice concerning your love life?” he asked. “I see Santa brought you something really interesting this year.” He turned to look at Dawn, who was engaged in a lively conversation with Susan and the Bennets’ oldest daughter Rebecca.

Aiden smiled for a moment, but then pierced him with a serious stare. “You can tease all you want when it’s just me, but please no jokes in front of her, okay?”

“My, my…” Okada studied her intently. “I never thought I would see this - Aiden Carlisle head over heels in love!”

Aiden wasn’t ready to call it love just yet, but she didn’t try to deny that she was hopelessly stuck on Dawn. “You’re not shocked that it’s a woman?”

“Shocked?” Okada repeated and heartily bit into a piece of broccoli. “If you’ve been on the job for as long as I have, there’s not much that can still shock you. If you want shock, you have to watch my partner’s ugly mug when he realizes how futile his attempts to hook you up with his cousin from the Southeast Precinct are.”

“Where’s Ruben anyway?” Aiden asked.

Okada pointed lazily at something behind Aiden. “I think he’s trying to flirt with your sweetheart.”

Punch splashed over her hand as Aiden whirled around. Sure enough: Ruben, in his best suit, was showing his pearly whites while he grinned down at Dawn.

“Come on, my friend.” Okada nudged her with his elbow. “Let’s go rescue your damsel in distress.”

* * *

Dawn leaned back against the wall, watching Aiden’s colleagues talk and laugh with each other. She didn’t know most of the guests, and for the moment, she was content to stay where she was and just observe.

“Hello,” someone said right next to her.

Dawn tried to hide her flinch and turned around with a polite smile.

Aiden’s young colleague stood in front of her, offering her a glass of champagne with a boyish grin. “I noticed you don’t have anything to drink yet. Ruben Cartwright,” he said with a charming little bow.

Dawn took the offered glass even though she had no intention of drinking the champagne. With so many people around her, she wanted to be in full control of her senses. “Dawn Kinsley,” she said, “but you probably already knew that.” She knew that the young detective had helped with a few parts of the investigation in her case.

He grinned at her. “Of course. I never forget a beautiful woman.”

Dawn stared at him in surprise. She had expected him to refer to her case and not answer with a compliment. Is he flirting with me? He has to know I’m gay, right? For a few seconds, Dawn felt completely overwhelmed, unequipped to handle it. His flirting made her uncomfortable and insecure, not only because of the rape, but also because he was Aiden’s colleague and it was clear that he had no idea that she was Aiden’s girlfriend.

Then, after he just continued to smile at her without hitting on her more aggressively, Dawn noticed that she also felt a little flattered. She realized that this was probably the way Ruben Cartwright treated all women, gay or straight, and it felt good to have him treat her like any other woman, not like a rape victim.

“Can I get you something to eat?” Ruben offered gallantly.

“Don’t bother, my friend,” another male voice interrupted, “she’s here with someone else.”

They turned to see Jeff Okada approach, Aiden right behind him.

Ruben Cartwright groaned. “You’re not trying to tell me that she’s your date?”

“Better.” Okada’s lips stretched into a gloating grin. “She’s Aiden’s.”

Ruben almost choked on his punch. “Aiden is gay?” he rasped.

“Come on,” Okada clapped him on the back, “that’s hardly a surprising revelation.”

“It is to my cousin,” Ruben muttered.

Dawn felt Aiden’s familiar presence move in behind her. Wordlessly, Aiden handed her a glass of apple juice and took the glass of champagne from her. “Are you through discussing my love life and my sexual orientation?” Aiden asked her colleagues. Dawn knew her well enough by now to hear the mixed emotions of amusement and exasperation in her voice.

“Discussing?” Ruben repeated. “You have to know about something first to be able to discuss it. You really could’ve told us that you’re already…” The detective’s gaze strayed toward Dawn. “…otherwise… engaged.”

“Maybe I would have, had I been aware that I was a client of Ruben Cartwright’s dating agency,” Aiden shot back.

“How about I show you where our esteemed hostess stores the edibles while the two of them are busy butting heads?” Jeff Okada gallantly offered Dawn his arm.

Dawn didn’t hesitate for more than a second. Despite her now instinctive caution when meeting male strangers, she couldn’t help liking Aiden’s colleagues. She felt at ease with them. “Lead on,” she said, resting her hand lightly on Okada’s arm, “but please stay away from the broccoli.”

“I think someone who’s spreading ugly rumors about me is wandering these halls,” Okada said as he led her away. He handed her a plate and watched as Dawn picked a few tidbits from the buffet. “Has Aiden already introduced you to the other wives?”

Dawn looked up from the prawn cocktail. “The other wives?” she repeated with amusement. “So, I’m a wife now? I wasn’t aware of any recent changes in my marital status.”

If she had hoped to see the experienced detective flustered, she was disappointed. “You may not wear a ring yet, but just the simple fact that you’re here tells me a lot about your relationship with our favorite female detective,” Okada answered, his face expressionless.

Dawn nibbled on a pickled gherkin. “Why’s that? From what I’ve seen so far, every detective brought a date.”

“Sure, everyone always brings his or her - what my partner likes to call - ‘squeeze of the month,’ just to have someone to kiss at midnight, but I never make much of an effort to learn their names because I know they won’t even last until the next party,” Okada explained straight up.

“So what makes you think that I belong in the ‘wife’ and not the ‘squeeze of the month’ category?” Dawn asked with the same openness. She wasn’t sure why, but out of all of Aiden’s colleagues that she had talked to so far, she liked this man best. She had discovered that he was a real gentleman with a soft heart and a keen intelligence that he hid behind a mask of sarcasm.

Okada snagged another piece of broccoli from the buffet. “Aiden’s never brought anyone to any of the parties before. She wouldn’t have bothered to risk having to explain why she showed up with a woman, and a former key witness at that, if she thought that she would attend the next party alone again.”

Dawn was stunned - and happy - at that insight. I really hope he’s right about that. “You said your name is Okada, right? Not Renshaw?” she asked, referring to the SAD’s forensic psychiatrist.

The corner of Okada’s mouth lifted into a half smile. “I’ve been married four times, so I guess you could say that I hold an honorary degree in crisis psychology.”

“Is he giving you a hard time, Dawn?” Ray Bennet sidled up to her, taking on a protective stance that reminded her of her brother. “Okada is infamous for driving psychologists mad. In his last psych evaluation, he answered the question about the ‘most disturbing experience during his career’ with ‘my second marriage.’”

Dawn smiled at Ray, then at Okada. “I’m divorced, too, so I can relate.”

“Well, on that positive note, I think I’ll go and rescue my partner from Aiden’s wrath,” Okada announced and walked away.

Suddenly alone with her girlfriend’s partner, Dawn found herself a little tongue-tied. She fidgeted with her glass of apple juice. Is this how Aiden felt when I took her home for Christmas dinner with my family? She had watched the interaction between Aiden and Ray, and it reminded her very much of her relationship with her brother. Now she felt as if she was trying to win the approval of a big brother.

“Thanks for talking to Rebecca earlier,” Ray finally broke the silence, “and for offering to get her in contact with your friends in the Art Department.”

Ray’s daughter had been ecstatic when she had discovered that Dawn liked to draw and paint, too. Rebecca planned to study art history at Portland State University. “No problem,” Dawn answered. “Your daughter is a really nice young woman.” She smiled when she saw Ray shudder at the thought of his little girl being a “young woman” who would soon leave home.

When Ray reached for a carafe of juice to refill her glass, Dawn used the pause in conversation to look around in search of Aiden. It took a moment to find her, for she was sitting in a quiet corner - with Kade Matheson. They were deeply in conversation, leaning close to each other to be able to hear over the increasingly loud party. The DDA had set her wineglass down, and Dawn saw her lightly touching Aiden’s forearm whenever she made a point.

Ray handed Dawn her glass and followed the direction of her gaze. For a few seconds, he observed Kade and Aiden, and then he looked into Dawn’s eyes. “Don’t worry,” he said, “Kade is not a threat to you.”

Dawn bit her lip. She hadn’t intended to reveal her stupid insecurities to Aiden’s partner. But now that he had brought up the topic, she didn’t want to let the opportunity to learn more about the relationship between Aiden and Kade pass her by. God knows, neither Aiden nor I have been eager to bring up the topic of Kade Matheson with each other. “Because she’s straight?” she asked.

Ray shrugged. “I assume that she is, but no one ever had the balls to ask her to her face, and Kade likes to maintain an air of mystery. But even if Kade wasn’t straight, it wouldn’t matter - Aiden is the most loyal person I know.”

Dawn didn’t doubt it for a second. She had always known that Aiden would never cheat on someone with whom she was in a committed relationship. She trusted Aiden, but sometimes she still asked herself if Aiden wouldn’t be much happier with a woman like Kade Matheson at her side - a woman who was elegant and confident in every situation, someone who shared a part of her work life, whom she could hug or kiss unexpectedly without her flinching back. Someone without the emotional baggage of a rape victim.

As if feeling Dawn’s gaze on her, Aiden looked up and their eyes met. Aiden smiled and raised an eyebrow that silently asked, “Everything okay?”

Dawn gave her a smile and a nod.

Aiden’s other brow joined the first one, forming an, “Are you sure?”

With a quick glance at Kade, who was leaning back and observing their silent interaction, Dawn nodded again. She was feeling okay - or at least a lot better - now that she had seen how readily Aiden had directed her attention away from Kade and toward her.

Their eye contact was broken when Susan Bennet waved for Aiden to follow her into the kitchen. Kade stood too, and for a second, Dawn thought that she would follow Aiden, but the DDA strode toward her instead.

“Ray.” Kade’s nod could have been a greeting as well as a dismissal.

“You’ll have to excuse me now,” Ray said. “I think my presence is required in the kitchen. Leaving my wife and my partner alone to gossip about me is usually not a bright idea.”

For the first time since she was more than a victim to Aiden, Dawn found herself alone with Kade Matheson. She suppressed the urge to instantly start with small talk to fill the awkward silence, curious to see what topic of conversation the attorney would choose.

“I hear you’re back at work,” Kade commented.

Dawn furrowed her brow. Did Aiden tell her that? Does she talk about me… about our relationship with Kade? Does Kade even know that we’re in a relationship? She had a feeling there wasn’t much that escaped Kade Matheson’s attention.

“The Matheson clan has more informants than the Mafia,” Kade said as if reading her thoughts.

She’s a prosecutor, Dawn reminded herself. She’s used to reading body language, so you better be careful if you don’t want her to read you like a book. “Yes, I’m back at work,” she finally answered. “Not at my old job, though. I decided to work with families and kids, with a few teens and young adults thrown in, who have problems coming to terms with their sexual orientation.”

“That’s important work.” Kade’s face revealed no emotions.

Is that the politically correct Matheson way of telling me that she’s okay with my own sexual orientation… and my relationship with Aiden? Dawn wondered. “It’s a nice change of pace from working with rape survivors.”

“I can definitely understand that,” Kade said with a decisive nod. “After prosecuting white collar crimes, transferring to the sex crimes unit was… well, let’s just say it’s been a challenge.”

Dawn suddenly began to wonder about Kade, the person, and not just Kade, Aiden’s possible love interest. What made a talented, ambitious woman from a wealthy, influential family choose a job that has a frustratingly low conviction rate and doesn’t get much media attention? Why did she become a prosecutor? I’m sure her family wanted to see her as a partner in a big shot law firm. “The detectives that I know always tell me that working with living victims is the hardest,” Dawn said.

Kade swirled the wine in her glass. “Yes, but some of them wouldn’t trade it for anything else.”

She’s talking about Aiden, Dawn realized. “For some, it’s the only thing they know how to do - and the one thing they feel they have to do.”

“The only thing they feel they have,” Kade added, sipping from her wine like a southern lady.

“That’s not true, though. They are and they have so much more than just the job.” Dawn let her gaze wander around the room, taking in all the laughing people. “These people are almost like a family.”

Kade turned so she could look at the same things that Dawn did. “A family,” she agreed quietly, “complete with a strict but softhearted mother, an eager younger brother, and a weird uncle.”

Dawn had to chuckle as she looked at Lieutenant Swenson, Ruben, and Okada.

“And what’s your role in that nice little family analogy?” Aiden asked as she came up behind them.

“That’s easy - I’m the utterly brilliant but completely underestimated, underappreciated sister,” Kade answered, still looking at Dawn.

Sister, Dawn’s mind repeated.

Aiden chuckled. “You forgot painfully shy and modest sister. So, what part does that leave for me?”

Kade nonchalantly turned to her. “The protective family dog,” she suggested.

Juice dribbled down Dawn’s chin and drenched her blouse as she laughed. My expensive, white silk blouse, Dawn added, grimacing as she looked down. Which is almost transparent now. “Damn.”

“It’s not that bad.” Aiden reached out one gentle finger to flick a drop of juice from Dawn’s chin. “At least you didn’t drink red wine.”

Dawn pulled the wet, cold fabric away from her skin with two fingers. She noticed that Aiden was heroically trying not to look anywhere but into her face.

“Come on,” Aiden lightly gripped Dawn’s elbow, “let’s find Susan and ask her if she has something you can wear.”

Susan readily gave them access to her wardrobe. “What’s it gonna be?” She lifted a see-through blouse from its hanger and grinned back at Dawn. “Something sexy?”

“Don’t tease her, Susan,” Aiden growled from somewhere behind them.

“Her?” Susan winked. “It’s you I want to tease.”

“Something less transparent than what I’m already wearing would be nice, thank you,” Dawn interrupted them.

Susan handed her an elegant, dark red blouse. “Aiden, please show her where the bathroom is.”

Dawn followed her friend down the hall.

Finally, Aiden stopped and opened a door for Dawn. “Are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Dawn turned to look up at her, suddenly aware that they were alone for the first time that evening. “It was just a little juice.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Aiden reached out a hand and, after a second of hesitation, let it rest against Dawn’s cheek. “Are you okay with being at the party? I’m sorry that I keep abandoning you.”

Dawn covered the hand on her cheek with her own. “Abandoning? Aiden, we’re not joined at the hip. You’re allowed to leave me for a while to talk to your friends.”

The guilty expression on Aiden’s face faded. “I hope no one tried to hold a piece of broccoli above you while I wasn’t looking.”

“No. Jeff Okada has been very nice to me. He’s a real sweetheart,” Dawn said with a smile.

Aiden’s fingers tickled under her chin. “I think he has a soft spot for you. And Ruben’s still pouting because he’s no longer allowed to try and charm you with his lame one-liners.”

Dawn leaned back against the doorjamb. “You mean one-liners like ‘would you like to have coffee with us?’” she quoted one of the first things Aiden had said to her.

“That wasn’t a line,” Aiden protested. “And you shot me down pretty fast.”

“Not because I wanted to,” Dawn said, “but I couldn’t very well cancel a patient’s session because I wanted to go out with a cute detective that I had just met.”

For a second, Aiden’s amber eyes narrowed at the teasing “cute” as Dawn had known they would, but then Aiden chose to concentrate on the rest of the sentence. “Would you have agreed to go out on a date with me if we had met again under different circumstances?”

Dawn had waited for that topic to be brought up. Her own thoughts had circled around those what ifs for months now. What if she had accepted Aiden’s offer to go out for coffee the first time they met? What if she hadn’t made Aiden run away by asking her to speak to her group of pregnant rape victims? And, most of all, what if she had never been raped? “I would have hesitated because you’re a cop and I promised myself to never again get involved with one of the boys - or girls - in blue.”

“But?” Aiden prompted.

“But if you’d been persistent, I would have finally said yes.” She lifted her eyes to Aiden’s face. “Would you have been persistent?”

Aiden looked down at her boots.

Dawn sensed her reluctance. “Please, tell me.”

“I can’t really see myself going out of my way to get close to a shrink,” Aiden said, one corner of her mouth lifting into an apologetic half smile. “At least not emotionally close.”

There was something that Aiden was holding back. “But…?”

Aiden rubbed her neck, head down, looking up through her lashes with a mixture of childlike innocence and full-blown seduction. “Well, if I met you in a bar, after a stressful week, I’d have tried to get you into bed.”

Dawn had long since suspected that Aiden normally was the one-night stand type, preferring sex without emotional entanglements, but to think that she would have gotten the “love ‘em, leave ‘em” treatment from her hurt nonetheless. She knew that Aiden was a woman with intense emotions and passions. From time to time, she would need to let go of her tight self-control. Dawn suspected that sex was that kind of release for Aiden, but she was no longer in a position to give her that. “Where does that leave us now?”

“Hey, you two!” Susan called from the living room. “What’s taking so long? Hurry up; the one-minute countdown has started!”

One minute till the New Year! Dawn’s eyes widened. It wasn’t enough time to go into the bathroom to clean up and change. She didn’t want to begin the New Year alone in a strange bathroom, separated from Aiden by solid walls. She also didn’t plan on ringing in the New Year in a stained, wet blouse that made Aiden politely look away from her. “Hold this and turn around,” she ordered.

“What?”

Dawn handed her Susan’s blouse. “Turn around.”

Aiden hastily followed the command when Dawn tugged the blouse from her slacks and began to unbutton it. Without looking, Aiden handed the new blouse back over her shoulder when Dawn told her to.

Dawn had just finished with the last button when she heard the guests in the living room shout, “Five, four, three, two, one! Happy New Year!” She turned Aiden back around and met her eyes. “We don’t have champagne.”

“We don’t need any.” Aiden stepped closer and wrapped her in a full-body embrace.

Dawn’s eyes fluttered shut. She slid her arms around Aiden and breathed in her scent - leather, cinnamon from one of Susan’s pastries she had eaten, and something that was the scent of Aiden Carlisle alone.

“Happy New Year,” Aiden whispered, her breath warming Dawn’s ear. “I hope you have a wonderful year.”

“Happy New Year.” Dawn pulled back a little. From the living room, she could hear shouts and laughter, the popping of champagne corks, and Ruben’s enthusiastic voice as he butchered the words to ‘Auld Lang Syne.’ Outside, fireworks started going off in the sky. Dawn ignored the noise, concentrating only on Aiden’s eyes and the warm, golden flecks in them. “What does that relationship rulebook of yours prescribe for a situation like this?”

Aiden chuckled. “The rulebook predicts a year of bad luck for anyone who fails to smooch their significant other at the stroke of midnight.”

Fine hairs tickled Dawn’s palm as she slid her hand up Aiden’s neck. “Oh, I wouldn’t want that on my conscience.”

“No, we can’t have that.” Aiden’s body pressed against hers more fully as she leaned forward and brushed her lips against Dawn’s. She pulled back an inch to study Dawn’s reaction.

This time it was Dawn who closed the remaining distance between them. She felt Aiden’s lips caress hers slowly and gently. Too gentle, she decided when Aiden didn’t try to deepen the kiss. She could feel her holding back, could sense the passion slumbering just beneath the surface. She wanted Aiden to enjoy their intimate contact and not have her planning her every action and analyzing Dawn’s reactions, watching for any signs that she wanted her to stop. She tightened her arms around Aiden’s waist and nibbled on her lips until she had teased them open. She moaned into Aiden’s mouth when she felt her react.

“Hey, Aiden, Happy New Year!” Ray stepped from the living room.

The two women pulled back enough for Dawn to rest her forehead against Aiden’s shoulder. “God!” she groaned. “I hope he has better timing when he’s on the job.”

The assembled party guests followed behind Ray, heading for the front door.

Aiden broke their embrace. “Did you run out of alcohol?”

Ray rolled his eyes. “We’re going outside to watch the fireworks. Come with us.” He pressed champagne flutes into their hands.

Dawn would have preferred to stay inside and continue her conversation - and other oral activities - with Aiden, but she followed them outside nonetheless. She watched as a ball of light burst overhead, streaking the night sky with purple sparks that drooped down to the ground. From the neighbor’s backyard, golden and red fireworks launched high in the sky and divided into spirals. Dawn flinched when they finally exploded with a sudden “boom.” Just a faint glitter remained after they burst.

Dawn touched her flute to Aiden’s and that of half a dozen of her closest colleagues before taking a sip of the bubbly liquid.

“So, what New Year’s resolutions did you make?” Susan asked no one in particular.

Okada shook his head. “I’ve given up on resolutions. The changes that I’d like to make are beyond the control of a mere mortal.”

“I could suggest a resolution or two for all of you.” Astrid Swenson looked at each detective in turn. “Always following my orders, for example.”

“Sorry, Lieutenant, that’ll have to wait till next year,” Ruben quipped, “I got another resolution already. I’m gonna quit smoking.”

“Ruben, my friend, you’re a nonsmoker,” Okada reminded.

Ruben buffed his nails on his shirt. “See? I work really fast, huh? Two minutes into the New Year and I already fulfilled my resolution.”

“What about you, Aiden? Do you have any resolutions?” Susan asked.

Aiden paused a moment to contemplate the golden lights that were falling down from fireworks like branches of a willow. “Well, I guess now that I’m trying my hands at that relationship thing, I’ll have to give up the strippers, hmm?”

Dawn had made a bet with herself that Aiden wouldn’t give a serious answer. Or maybe it is a serious answer. Maybe what she’s really doing is answering my question from earlier, telling me is that she’s not trying to have one-night stands any longer.

“Strippers?” Susan asked with interest. “Is that what’s really going on when my dear husband tells me you have another all-night surveillance?”

“Hey, we are watching very closely,” Ray defended. “That’s what surveillance is all about.”

Susan’s marital eye rolling was interrupted when she gazed up to watch what looked like hundreds of shiny jewels falling from the sky. Finally, her gaze came to rest on Dawn. “Have you made any resolutions?”

For a few seconds, Dawn contemplated answering with a joke of her own, but then she felt Aiden’s gaze on her, almost like a touch. “I resolved that I’m going to bid the last year farewell tonight. I want to look forward instead of always looking over my shoulder. I want to take my life back and live it to its fullest.”

Exploding fireworks sounded unbearably loud in the sudden silence. Then Aiden stepped forward and raised her champagne flute. “To living life to its fullest.”

CHAPTER 29

“AIDEN?”

Aiden looked up from the report on her desk to see Ray set the phone receiver down.

“We’ve got a witness.” Ray made quotation marks in the air at the word “witness.” “Another nearsighted granny claims that Robert Danton just moved into the apartment next door from her.”

Aiden read the address on the piece of paper he handed her. She snorted. “Philadelphia Street? That’s practically in the lap of the North Precinct. Even Danton couldn’t be that stupid. If you ask me, he’s not even in Portland anymore.”

“Yeah, I’d guess that he’s breathing fresh Canadian air by now. But we have to check it out anyway, and you can even go and say hello to your lieutenant buddy from the North Precinct.” Ray grinned down at her.

“Lieutenant Vasquez is not my buddy,” Aiden protested as she clipped on her holster and checked the magazine. “She’s Dawn’s friend, not mine.” At the mention of Dawn’s name, her gaze fell onto the good luck charm that had escaped from the confines of her V-neck shirt. Aiden hesitated, but then spontaneously opened her locker. “Let’s wear the vests today.”

Ray watched as she fastened the Velcro straps of the dark blue bullet-resistant vest. “You have a premonition or something?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s just that…” Aiden hesitated. “I promised myself that I wouldn’t take any unnecessary risks.” It’s not only me that I have to think of anymore.

Ray grabbed his own vest. “Ah, so you did make New Year’s resolutions.”

“I’m just not eager to be the next dead cop Dawn has to cry over.” Aiden held his gaze for a second and then closed her locker. “Let’s go.”

* * *

The detectives pulled their car up one house before the targeted address. On the remote chance that Danton, who had brutally murdered three women, was really in the area, they didn’t want to alert him to their presence.

Two uniformed officers from the North Precinct were already waiting for them - and they weren’t alone. Del Vasquez leaned against the hood of her unmarked car, also wearing a vest and her service weapon. “Carlisle.” Del gave her a curt nod. She was all business now, a tough, competent cop, not the charming aunt that Dawn knew.

Aiden returned the greeting in the same professional manner.

With a quick glance toward the uniformed officers who had taken cover positions around the block, they entered the building. Del jammed a ballpoint pen under the front door to hold it open in case they needed backup. The officer directly behind Aiden lowered the volume of his portable radio to a whisper.

Aiden drew her weapon from its holster and held it alongside her thigh, the index finger resting next to the trigger, as they climbed the stairs.

Somewhere above them, a door banged and a male voice shouted angrily.

They stopped before turning around the last corner, communicating with quick hand gestures.

Aiden could feel her heart begin to pound. Adrenaline was pulsing through her veins. All her senses were focused on the landing before them as they rounded the corner.

The landing was empty. The number on the door at the top of the steps revealed that it was the apartment they were looking for.

Aiden tensed when the door next to it opened, but it was only a little silver-haired lady peeking out. “Get back into your apartment, ma’am.”

As the old woman moved back, they took positions on each side of Danton’s door.

Ray listened for a second, trying to hear what was going on behind the door, and then shook his head. Nothing.

They exchanged one last, silent glance. Ray raised his fist to knock.

Another door behind them opened.

“Get back into your apartment,” Ray ordered without looking away from the door in front of them.

Aiden turned to make sure the neighbor had moved back. Instead of looking into a curious tenant’s eyes, she was suddenly staring down the barrel of Robert Danton’s gun. Their elderly witness wasn’t only nearsighted, she had a bad memory for numbers, too - they were standing in front of the wrong apartment.

“Drop the -!” Aiden saw Danton’s index finger move, and she squeezed the trigger.

Shots echoed through the stairwell.

Aiden wanted to fire again, but suddenly pain exploded in her chest, and she found herself staring up at the gray ceiling.

* * *

Ray spun around, his pistol trained on the man who had suddenly appeared behind them. One quick glance told him that he didn’t need to worry about Robert Danton anymore. A bullet from Aiden’s weapon had killed him instantly.

Holstering his weapon, he turned back around toward his partner. “Good sho… Aiden!”

Aiden was lying flat on her back without moving, one hand pressed against her chest, gasping and wheezing. To his half-trained ear, it sounded like a collapsed lung. A pool of blood was spreading under her.

Oh, shit, shit, shit! God, no, please, let her be okay. One quick step and he fell onto his knees next to her.

Somewhere behind him, Del Vasquez had taken over the portable radio. “10-74! Officer down! We need the EMTs at 7017 North Philadelphia Street! Now!”

Aiden was staring up at him with wild, unfocused eyes. For a few moments Ray wasn’t even sure if she could see him until she groaned, “Ray…”

“Lie still,” he ordered gently. It seemed as if Aiden was unable to move anyway.

Del Vasquez sank down on her knees on the other side of the wheezing woman. The hand that reached for Aiden’s was gentle, but her voice was harsh. “Carlisle, if you dare to die, I swear I’ll -“

“She’s not going to die!” Ray didn’t care that he was shouting at a lieutenant. He reached out frantic hands and ripped open Aiden’s pierced shirt. Smoke rose from a hole in the vest, and for a few scary moments, he couldn’t see if the bullet had penetrated or not. Then his trembling fingers felt the deformed lump of hot metal that was imbedded in the Kevlar layers directly over Aiden’s heart.

Together, he and Del struggled to loosen the Velcro straps, and Del tugged up the white T-shirt underneath.

No blood. Relief almost made him collapse on top of his fallen partner. An extensive bruise was already spreading, but the Kevlar had protected her from more serious injuries or even death.

“Your vest caught it. You’ll be fine.” He almost sang it out to Aiden.

Aiden stared up at him, her amber eyes glowing against her pale face and lips. She was still fighting for breath, and blood was spreading from what he hoped was just a laceration but could just as well be a cracked skull. “D-don’t -“

“Shh, don’t try to talk,” Ray cautioned her. He quickly slid out of his jacket and pressed it against the source of the bleeding. He heard sirens approach. “The ambulance will be here any second.”

“D-don’t… call… Dawn!” Aiden wheezed.

The EMTs came trampling up the stairs, and the two cops moved back to let them help Aiden. Ray stood with hanging arms, looking down at Aiden’s blood on his clothes. He watched as a uniformed officer picked up Aiden’s gun to place it into an evidence bag. As much as he wanted to follow his partner to the hospital, he knew that he had to stay and wait for the Internal Affairs Shooting Team.

“Go,” Del told him. “The Internal Affairs guys can talk to me first. There’ll be time for your interview later.”

Ray breathed a sigh of relief. He moved to follow the EMTs down the stairs, but then turned back around. “You’re going to call Dawn anyway, aren’t you?” he guessed.

“Wouldn’t you want your wife to know if you had been shot?” Del asked.

“No.” Ray could understand the impulse to protect the woman you loved. “But she’d want to.”

* * *

“Doctor Kinsley?” Dawn’s new secretary stuck her head into the office. “There’s a police officer here who wants to see you.”

Dawn held back a grin. Aiden Carlisle, you’re not using that gold shield of yours to scare my secretary, are you? “Is she tall, dark-haired, and attractive?” she asked with a smile.

“Yes, she is,” Del answered as she entered despite the secretary’s protests.

“Del!” It was not the tall, dark-haired, attractive detective she had wanted to see but not a bad second choice either. “It’s okay, Mrs. Phillips. She’s a friend of mine.”

The secretary closed the door behind her, but Del still didn’t move closer.

“Del? Is everything all right?”

Del trudged across the room and slumped into a visitor chair. “Sit down.” Her voice was without any trace of her usual humor.

A clump of ice formed in Dawn’s stomach. She had heard those words and had seen that look on a cop’s face before. “No. I don’t want to sit.”

“Dawn, please…”

Dawn, not grasshopper. This is serious. A part of her didn’t want to hear what Del had to say, but another part couldn’t stand the dreadful silence any longer. “Just tell me.”

“There’s been a shooting.”

“God, no! Aiden!” Dawn stumbled back. Her stomach heaved when she detected the blood on Del’s sleeve. “Is it…? Is she…?”

Del leaped from her chair when Dawn began to sway. Quickly, she enfolded her in protective arms. “No, no, I don’t think it’s anything serious. Her bulletproof vest caught it. The EMTs said she should be fine.”

Dawn closed her eyes and waited until she was sure that she could speak without throwing up. “Yes, this time. But how long until…” She swallowed and fell silent. The words hurt too much to say them out loud. “I can’t stand it, Del. Not again.”

Del’s familiar dark eyes studied her intently. “So, what are you gonna do? Ask her to resign?”

“No.” Dawn shook her head. That had never been an option in her mind. “The job is so much a part of who she is. I would never ask her to give that up.”

“Then what else can you do? Break up with her?”

Dawn bit her lip until she tasted blood.

Del smiled softly. “Didn’t think so. You’re way past the point where it would hurt any less if you ended it now, grasshopper.”

“I… I think I love her, Del.”

“I know.” Del’s hand drew comforting circles across her back.

Dawn could remember her doing the same when she had skinned her knees over twenty years ago. I don’t think a band-aid and ice cream will make it better now. Dawn blinked away her tears. When she moved back a few inches, she was surprised to discover that Del’s eyes were a little misty, too.

Sudden anger gripped her. “Damn you!” Her half-closed fist hit Del in the chest, but Del made no move to defend herself. “Why do you cops have to be so… so…” She closed her eyes again and rested her forehead against the place she had just hit. “When Dad died and then Brian, I swore I would stay away from cops and never go through what Mom did and now… It’s just not fair.”

“I know,” Del whispered. “But despite all the pain, your mother never regretted that she married your dad.”

Dawn nodded and sighed. “Where is she?”

* * *

Ray was pacing the hospital hallway when Dawn hurried through the double doors with Del. He was looking as worn out as Dawn felt - his suit wrinkled and bloodstained, the tie hanging loosely around his neck, and his eyes haunted.

Suddenly he was not a stranger that she hardly knew anymore but an anxiously waiting family member. Dawn wrapped her arms around his stiff shoulders for a quick hug, ignoring Aiden’s blood on his shirt as best as she could. “How is she?”

“I haven’t heard anything yet,” Ray answered. He shoved his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet, clearly hard-pressed not to resume his pacing again.

Dawn sank into an uncomfortable plastic chair. She fell into some sort of trance while she waited for news about Aiden’s condition. She didn’t notice Del or Ray, didn’t see the nurses and visitors bustling down the hallway, didn’t hear the beeping of machines or the crying children, yet was immediately fully alert when a white-clad doctor stopped in front of them.

“Anyone here for Detective Carlisle?”

“Yes!”

The physician looked from Ray to Dawn. “Are you family?”

Again, they spoke at the same time, “I’m her partner.”

The doctor’s brows lowered in silent reproach. “I would recommend you get your stories straight if you want information about the patient.”

Ray was not in the mood for debates. He shoved his gold shield under the doctor’s nose. “I’m her work partner, and she’s her life partner. Now tell us how she is.”

“She’s lucky to be alive,” the doctor answered. “The vest prevented the bullet from entering her body, but she still absorbed the bullet’s energy, which caused blunt force trauma.”

Dawn swallowed. The word “trauma” wasn’t part of her favorite vocabulary at the moment.

“And that means…?” Ray prompted.

“She has a chest contusion - a fist-sized hematoma, a few bruised ribs, some swelling and discoloration,” the physician said. “She’ll be very sore for a week or so.”

Dawn stared up at him. “But she’ll be fine?”

“Well, she also has a laceration on the back of her head and a possible concussion, so we’re doing a CAT scan and we’re admitting her overnight for observation.” The doctor shrugged. “But provided that there aren’t any complications, yes, she should be fine.”

“Can we see her?” Dawn had to see with her own eyes that Aiden was okay.

“If she’s up for seeing visitors and wants to see you. The nurses will let you know when she’s back in her room.” The doctor held up a finger. “Don’t stay too long, though. Detective Carlisle needs her rest.”

Time seemed to crawl, but finally a nurse arrived. “You can see her now.”

“You go in,” Ray said to Dawn. “I’ll come visit her as soon as I’ve called Susan.”

Thankful for the opportunity to be alone with Aiden, Dawn followed the nurse toward one of the rooms. She opened the door and peeked in.

Aiden was slumped against the pillows of a hospital bed, her face as pale as the linens. She had been stripped of her gold shield and her clothes and was wearing a hospital gown. An intravenous line was taped to her hand. She was looking at the wall, so Dawn could see the white patch of gauze that covered the back of her head.

“Hi.” Dawn’s voice was a mere whisper. The sight of a wounded Aiden shook her to her core.

At the sound of her voice, Aiden tried to straighten and take on a more casual pose, but Dawn could see her nostrils flare in an attempt to suppress a groan.

“Don’t get up.” Careful not to jostle her, Dawn perched on the side of the hospital bed. She took Aiden’s hand in her own and stared down at her, trying to catch up with her whirling thoughts and comprehend what had happened.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Aiden nudged her under the chin to make her smile. “I’m fine, really.”

Dawn didn’t smile. “You have to stay overnight in a hospital. That’s not ‘fine’ in my book.”

“It’s just standard procedure.” Aiden waved a hand. “A formality.”

“Of course!” Dawn’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “It’s not like you have any reason to be here, like a concussion or massive bruising.”

Aiden struggled to sit up. “I’ll be fine. I’ve had worse. They shouldn’t have called you.”

“Oh, yes, they should!” Dawn didn’t want to argue, but her emotions were running high. The thought of how close Aiden had come to dying was making her dizzy. She wanted to hug Aiden and hold on to her for a long time; she wanted to shout and to cry and to laugh with relief, but Aiden didn’t seem to want any displays of emotion. It took all her self-discipline to imitate Aiden’s matter-of-fact behavior. “What happened?”

“I can’t talk about that.”

Dawn looked into stony amber eyes. “You can’t or you don’t want to?”

Aiden shrugged. “It’s an ongoing investigation -“

“An investigation that almost cost you your life and I’m not allowed to ask you about it?” Dawn knew that she would see every possible scenario of what might have happened in her nightmares.

Aiden closed her eyes.

With a sigh, Dawn decided that this was not the time for an argument. Aiden looked exhausted and in pain even if she tried to hide it. Give her a little time and space, she reprimanded herself. Aiden is a woman who needs it, and you have to accept that. “Do you have a headache?” she asked. Her fingertips touched the fine hairs on Aiden’s temple.

Amber eyes opened. “It’s not too bad.”

A soft knock preceded the opening of the door. Instead of the nurse that Dawn had expected, Ray and Del entered.

Ray stopped at the foot of the hospital bed and wrapped his hands around the railing surrounding it. His eyes didn’t leave his partner’s face. “You okay?”

Aiden grinned up at him. Dawn could see her flinch as she tried for a casual shrug. “I would be better if I didn’t have to wear this flimsy sheet of paper and stay here overnight to enjoy three low-cal, low-taste meals.”

Del crossed the room and rested one hand on Dawn’s shoulder as she looked down at Aiden. “Hey, Carlisle,” she said. “The first time you work with me and you pull a stunt like this. You just couldn’t stand the thought of letting a lieutenant with the North Precinct have all the attention, huh?”

Aiden chuckled, clearly more comfortable with Del’s typical cop approach of hiding her emotions behind joking and teasing than with Dawn’s questions about her well-being.

“We should go and let you get some rest,” Dawn said when she saw Aiden suppress a yawn. A little uncomfortable under Ray’s and Del’s watchful eyes and not sure if Aiden was up for the public display of affection, she leaned down and pecked Aiden’s cheek without wrapping her arms around her as she wanted to.

Aiden gazed up at her, her eyes cloudy with pain and emotion. “Dawn?”

She stopped in mid-turn. “Hmm?”

“I… we’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”

Dawn’s relief that Aiden wasn’t completely shutting her out was profound. For the first time since Del had appeared in her office, she could breathe freely. “Okay.”

* * *

Aiden didn’t look up when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw another white-clad figure enter with a tray in her hands. “Thanks, but I’m not hungry.”

“Well, I guess then I’ll just take this delicious Chinese food that my daughter prepared for you and -“

A wave of pain shot through Aiden as her head jerked up, stretching the sore muscles of her chest and shoulder. Dawn’s mother stood in front of her - in a nurse’s uniform. “Grace? What are you doing here?”

“I work here at the hospital. I’m a nurse upstairs in the pediatrics unit.” Grace glanced down at her white clothes. “Or did you think this was a fashion statement?”

Aiden didn’t know how to answer the gentle teasing. Never in her life had she been concerned with making a good impression and getting someone to like her, but now she wanted to impress Grace. She knew how important her mother was to Dawn, and she knew that if she wanted a serious long-term relationship with Dawn, she’d better try to establish some sort of mutual acceptance with Grace. “No, I… I guess I’m not thinking clearly right now.”

Grace moved closer and set the tray down on the bedside table. With the trained eye of a nurse, she checked the dressing on Aiden’s head and the bruise that was peeking out from under the thin hospital gown. “You’re lucky to be alive.” Her voice was a whisper.

“I know.” The pain in Grace’s eyes reminded her of the other cops in the Kinsleys’ lives that hadn’t been so lucky.

“If you hadn’t worn a vest…”

“I know,” Aiden said again. It had been a routine visit, following the tip of an elderly witness, that they had been sure would turn out to be a dead end anyway. Almost never had she worn a bullet-resistant vest in a situation that she didn’t expect to end in a confrontation with a perp. Only a coincidental glance down at the Saint Michael good luck charm had made her stop to get a vest this time. I really had a guardian angel today. She lifted a hand to touch the pendant - only to find the place on her upper chest empty. God, no! I must have lost it when they ripped the vest and shirt off me!

“Are you looking for this?” Grace asked.

Aiden looked up to see the silver pendant dangling from Grace’s fingers. “How…?”

“Del found it at the scene after the EMTs had carried you off,” Grace said. “She recognized it immediately because it’s one of a kind. There’s not another one that’s exactly like this. My motherin-law had it made for Jim’s father, who was a cop, too.” She looked down at the good luck charm, her thumb caressing the metal.

It’s an old family heirloom, Aiden realized, and Dawn gave it to me? Did her mother know about that?

Grace reached out to hand Aiden the necklace.

“No.” Aiden pulled her hand away and shook her head. “It belongs to your family.”

Grace studied the silver pendant for a second. “Yes, it does.” She stepped forward and pressed it into Aiden’s hand, closing her fingers around Aiden’s to prevent her from letting go. “And if my daughter has anything to say about it, you’re a part of it now.”

Aiden looked down at the hand resting over hers. Did Dawn’s mother really want her to have something that was so valuable to her family? “And… and if you had anything to say about it?”

“Then it would be Jim who gave the pendant to you,” Grace said, her gray eyes misty. “But if you have it, I can at least have the feeling that somewhere, somehow he’s there, watching over you and making sure that his daughter’s heart won’t be broken again by losing a cop.”

Aiden tightened her grip, finally accepting the necklace. Dawn’s father watching over me… I like that thought. Although I hope that he won’t be watching in certain situations when I’m off-duty and spending quality time with his daughter.

CHAPTER 30

A KEY RATTLED IN the lock, and her mother’s footfalls came down the hall. “Dawn?”

“I’m in the kitchen, Mom.”

Grace cracked the door open and peeked into her kitchen.

Dawn turned away from the stove to glance at her mother. “I hope you don’t mind that I used your kitchen. Mine is just too small.”

“It’s certainly too small for all of this.” Grace gestured with both hands, pointing at the lasagna, the Caesar salad, the chocolate mousse, and the cookies that were baking in the oven. She wandered closer, and Dawn felt her mother’s hand come to rest on the small of her back. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

“I’m not the one who got shot, Mom.” Dawn’s teeth ground against each other.

“You’re the one who looks more upset, though,” her mother said. “I always know that something’s bothering you when you’re cooking up a storm. Is Aiden still pulling that stoic warrior routine that they seem to teach at the Police Academy?”

A smile inched across Dawn’s face. “I think she was the top pupil in the class.”

“Your father was the all-time champion, though,” Grace said.

Dawn leaned against the kitchen counter. When her father had been alive, she had been a teenager without much interest in the dynamic of relationships, and now she tried to think back and remember the interactions her parents had shared. “Dad… was he communicative as a partner?”

Grace laughed. “Are you kidding? He came from a family of Irish cops who thought that ‘pass the potatoes, please’ constituted sufficient marital conversation. It’s not that he wasn’t concerned about me and my feelings; he just didn’t like to talk about his own.”

“What did you do when he tried to shut you out?” Dawn wanted to know.

“It took a few years, but eventually I figured out when to push and when to let him be.” Grace smiled. “And I cooked a lot.”

Dawn snorted. “Great. Nice to know that I’ll be frustrated and fat.”

“Talk to her,” Grace suggested. “I have a feeling that Aiden wants to talk to you but is just not used to having someone be there for her. She doesn’t have family, does she?”

Dawn didn’t want to delve into that topic. That was something that only Aiden could decide to share. “I don’t think she has any connection to people outside of her job.”

“Except for you,” Grace pointed out.

“If she wants me.”

Grace pinched her thigh. “Of course she does. What’s not to want?”

“You’re biased, Mom.” Since the rape, there were moments when she doubted that she was proper relationship material for a woman like Aiden. She wondered if she could really be an equal partner for Aiden, not only because of the emotional wounds that the rape had left, but also because - despite having been married - she didn’t have much experience with relationships, much less lesbian relationships.

“I don’t think so,” Grace objected. “She’d be lucky to have you - you’re intelligent, beautiful, and honest, and seeing as how I can’t stand lasagna, I guess you just spent a few hours in the kitchen to make her favorite dishes for her.”

Dawn felt a blush crawl up her neck and color her cheeks. “Aiden is not much of a cook.”

“See?” Grace patted her shoulder. “You’re perfect for each other. If she always cooked when she’s upset, too, I’d never get to use my kitchen again. Now go and feed that detective of yours.”

* * *

Loaded with half a dozen containers of food, Dawn drove across town. She pressed the familiar buzzer to be let in, but no one answered. Hmm… either she’s asleep or she doesn’t want company.

One of Aiden’s neighbors moved past her and turned his key in the lock. He entered but kept his hand on the door to prevent it from closing and looked back at Dawn. He had seen her when she had visited Aiden before.

After a second’s hesitation, Dawn followed the neighbor into the apartment building. If Aiden still didn’t open the door, she would at least leave the food on her doorstep. To her surprise, the door was opened after the first knock.

Aiden was leaning in the doorway in jeans and a loose shirt. Her feet were bare and her hair tousled. “Sorry I couldn’t let you in when you rang the bell. I was in the shower. Took me forever to get this shirt on.” Aiden was breathing hard, and sweat was forming on her brow even though she was just out of the shower.

Dawn resisted the urge to kiss a drop of water from the tip of Aiden’s ear. “You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?” She checked the bandage on the back of Aiden’s head. “Why didn’t you choose a button-down shirt? It would have been much easier than trying to get into this shirt.”

“Yeah, I realize that now,” Aiden said with a rueful smile. “But by the time I came to that conclusion, I heard the doorbell and I knew it was most likely you, so…”

“So you didn’t take the time to go into the bedroom and pick another shirt.” Dawn shook her head, not sure if she should be annoyed that Aiden had been so careless with her own health or flattered that she was so eager to see her. Deeply breathing in her scent, she slipped past Aiden into the apartment. “How are you?” She was a little worried about how Aiden was doing on her own.

“Much better now that I escaped those sterile hospital walls.” Aiden followed her into the living room and watched as Dawn spread out the food she had brought on the coffee table. “What’s all this?”

“I made you lunch.”

“You didn’t have to.” When she saw the expression on Dawn’s face, she hastily added, “But I really appreciate it. It smells great.” Aiden opened the kitchen cupboard and reached up to take out two plates for them. A groan escaped her lips when she stretched to reach the upper shelf.

Dawn raced around the table and urged Aiden away from the cupboard. “Sit down and rest. Did they prescribe pain meds for you?”

“I have some pain pills.”

“Then take them! You don’t have to play the hero with me.” With a loud clink, Dawn set a glass of water down in front of Aiden.

Aiden still made no move to get the pills. “I don’t -“

Dawn closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she opened them again. “Please. I don’t like seeing you in pain.” In fact, she hated it.

Aiden’s eyes met hers, and without further discussion, Aiden rose and returned with two white pills, which she swallowed.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Dawn began to set the table.

“I’m sorry.” Aiden stepped behind her and covered Dawn’s hand, which had just laid a fork on the table, with her own. “I know I’m a terrible patient, but I’m not used to being fussed over.”

Dawn turned and wrapped her arms around Aiden’s waist, careful not to exert any pressure on her chest. “I’m sorry for fussing.”

“No, no, I like it.” Aiden’s hands, warm against her back, squeezed her gently.

Dawn laughed. “It makes you crazy.”

Aiden pressed a kiss to the crown of Dawn’s head. “Hmm, maybe I like crazy?”

Dawn closed her eyes and relaxed into the embrace. Being so close to Aiden, feeling her breath warm her neck, and inhaling her scent made it difficult to think about how easily Aiden could have been taken away from her. After another minute, she forced herself to move back. “Come on. Let’s eat while it’s still warm.”

After lunch, Dawn busied herself with the dishes and directed Aiden to the couch. The simple fact that Aiden wasn’t protesting told her how groggy she was. When she had put away the last plate, Dawn tiptoed into the living room.

Aiden was lying back on the couch, her eyes closed.

Intent on not waking her, Dawn snuck across the room to retrieve her coat.

“Are you trying to steal my TV set?” Aiden’s voice made her jerk, and Aiden chuckled. “I’m not asleep, just resting like you told me to. Do you have to get back to the office?”

Is that her way of asking me to stay a little longer? Dawn hoped it was, for she had no intention of leaving Aiden without addressing the shooting and the emotions it had caused in both of them. “No, I’m done for the day. I just wanted to let you sleep without interrupting.”

“I haven’t done anything but laze around since yesterday, so how could I be sleepy?” Aiden sat up and patted the space she had just cleared on the couch next to her. “Let’s see if anything interesting is on.”

Dawn settled down at the end of the couch, curling one leg under her. She watched in silence as Aiden turned on the TV and flicked through various channels. A passionate kiss between two soap characters flashed across the screen, rapidly followed by a single cop chasing down a suspect.

“Ha! If I’d done that, I wouldn’t have made it out of the Academy.” Aiden finally settled on a documentary about a team that was trying to climb Mount Everest.

Not calm enough to settle down and get lost in other people’s lives, Dawn shifted her legs.

“Why don’t you make yourself comfortable?” Aiden said and reached out a hand to draw Dawn toward her. “Come on, lean back against me. I promise I won’t bite.”

“That’s not a good idea. You’re in enough pain as it is. Why don’t you lean back against me?”

Aiden’s hand froze on Dawn’s arm. For a moment, she just stared at her. “Uh… okay. I guess that works, too.”

Dawn slipped behind Aiden and leaned back against the arm of the couch. She rested one leg along the back of the couch and set the other foot on the floor. With an inviting smile, she patted the empty space in between her legs.

Inch by inch, Aiden moved toward her. She stopped when her back was barely touching Dawn’s body.

Knowing that the stiff, upright position could not be comfortable, Dawn wrapped an arm around Aiden’s waist and drew her back.

“I’m too heavy.” Aiden tried to resist.

“Nonsense. I’m not made of glass. I can take it.” Dawn exerted more pressure, and Aiden finally allowed herself to sink back against her body. Tension vibrated in the muscles under Dawn’s hand. Clearly, Aiden was not used to being held, more comfortable with the protective stance of the “holder” than with the more vulnerable position of the “holdee.”

The team in the documentary had almost made it to the summit when Dawn finally felt Aiden relax. Her head came to rest against Dawn’s shoulder, and the white dressing brushed against her cheek whenever Aiden moved. Dawn hastily directed her gaze away from the reminder of Aiden’s injury. She didn’t want to bring up that particular subject now that she had gotten Aiden to relax. Following the contours of Aiden’s ear with her eyes, she then lifted a finger and traced the rim of the ear. “Your ears are really cute.” They were. The small ears, left free by Aiden’s short hair, somehow reminded her of Aiden’s softer, more vulnerable side.

“What?”

“Your ears,” Dawn repeated, “they’re cute.”

“My ears?” Aiden craned her neck to look back at Dawn.

Dawn’s shrug moved the body that was lying half on top of her. “Yeah, I like them. They’re very… kissable.” She enjoyed the shiver that raced through Aiden as her lips graced Aiden’s ear. Her own body was virtually vibrating with Aiden’s closeness. “Hasn’t anybody ever complimented you on your ears?”

“No.” Aiden laughed, her voice a little rough. “Most of my dates tell me they like my smile or my eyes, and the more daring ones comment on my breasts or my ass. I remember one woman who had an obsession with my arms, but no one ever paid any attention to my ears.”

Dawn grazed the almost microscopic hairs on the earlobe with her fingernail, sending another shudder through Aiden. “Well, then it’s high time that someone made up for that neglect.” Dawn looked down at the body in her arms, debating with herself if she should voice the thoughts going through her head. “That’s not to say that I don’t like your eyes and your smile and the way your arms feel when they hold me or that I don’t think what I’ve seen of your ass and your breasts is awe-inspiring. I do. But still, your ears are cute.”

Aiden raised herself up on one elbow and half turned to smile at Dawn. “While you’re already lying down on a couch… please tell me, Doctor, when did your ear fetish start?”

Dawn chuckled. “Well, I guess that would be around the time that I met you.”

With a suppressed groan, Aiden sank back against her human backrest. Using the muscles in her shoulder was still painful.

Having divided her attention between her own thoughts and watching Aiden, Dawn looked up in surprise when Aiden flicked the remote and turned off the TV. They lay in silence. “I want to stay the night,” Dawn said.

Aiden’s stunned silence matched her own. Dawn hadn’t planned to invite herself.

“Um… you want to…?” Aiden’s gaze darted in the direction of the bedroom, then back to search Dawn’s face.

Dawn was thankful that Aiden was in front of her and couldn’t see her blush. “I want to sleep with you… next to you. Just sleep if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course it is. I don’t feel very adventurous right now,” Aiden said. “But my bed is not exactly king-sized. Will you be comfortable sleeping so close?”

Dawn’s shoulders moved like the wings of a wounded bird. “I don’t know. I haven’t slept… stayed with anyone since… since I was raped.” She forced the words from her lips. “Just Jamie, and that attempt didn’t work out too well.”

Aiden rose and turned to face her. “If you’re uncomfortable at any time, tell me and I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“If anyone sleeps on the couch, it’ll be me,” Dawn made her voice firm, “but let’s try the bed first, hmm? Do you need help in the bathroom?”

Aiden stared at her as if Dawn’s words made no sense to her, and then she blinked a few times. “No, thanks, I’ve been able to manage that on my own since I was three.”

The urge to slap Aiden on the head rose, but knowing she was hurt there too, she held herself back. “You weren’t bruised and battered when you were three.”

“Thanks, I can manage,” Aiden said again. She disappeared into the bathroom.

Dawn heard the water start and then, after a few minutes, the clank of a toothbrush that was placed back into its glass. The water was turned off, but Aiden didn’t return. Dawn was just about to knock when Aiden called through the closed door, “Dawn?”

“Yes?” She cracked the door open just enough to peek in.

Aiden had changed out of her jeans and into a pair of pajama pants but was still wearing her shirt. With a helpless, defeated gesture, she held her sleep-shirt out to Dawn. “Raising my arms over my head hurts like hell. I barely managed earlier.”

Without a word, Dawn directed her to sit on the closed toilet and lean forward. She grabbed the hem of the shirt and carefully raised it higher on Aiden’s back. With gentle fingers she pushed the fabric past the dressing on Aiden’s head until the shirt fell free on Aiden’s front and she could pull it off by its sleeves.

When she reached for the sleep-shirt that she had placed over Aiden’s knees, her gaze was directed downward. From the upper edge of the bra that she forced herself not to linger on, a dark bruise extended up to the collarbone. Before she was aware of it, her fingertips touched the swollen, purple skin. The knowledge that a bullet could have pierced the skin she was caressing made her breath catch.

“Um… Dawn?” Aiden’s voice was husky, and Dawn suddenly noticed the goose bumps covering the skin on her chest and arms.

Another blush heated her skin as Dawn stilled her hand on Aiden’s chest. “The bra… um… do you want it on or off?”

Aiden looked up at Dawn. Her amber eyes glowed. “Off, please.”

Quickly, before she could lose her composure, Dawn reached around Aiden and unfastened the clasp. She tried not to watch as the bra straps slipped off strong shoulders but concentrated solely on wrestling the sleep-shirt over Aiden’s head. She knew that she was not ready to act out all the sensual images racing through her mind.

When she finally had Aiden dressed again, she was as breathless as Aiden. “There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“Bad?” Aiden smirked. “It was torture - and I don’t mean the damn bruise. That was not how I imagined the first time you saw me naked.”

Dawn leaned back against the sink, letting the porcelain cool her overheated skin. “Ah, so you imagined that, huh?”

Aiden shot her a glance. “Let’s not go into details right now.”

“All right. And just for your information: I didn’t really look.”

“I know. Your parents raised a real gentlewoman.” Aiden stood and slipped past Dawn, placing a kiss on her cheek as their bodies lightly brushed against each other in the narrow space in front of the sink. “There should be towels and a toothbrush in the cupboard.”

Ten minutes later, Dawn entered the bedroom. She stopped in front of the bed and looked down at it, tugging on the T-shirt that hung loosely and reached almost to her knees on her smaller frame.

“Cute,” Aiden commented from the bed.

Dawn glanced down at the image on the front of the shirt. “I didn’t peg you for a ‘Finding Nemo’ girl, Detective.”

“It was a present from Ray’s daughters.”

Dawn slipped under the covers that Aiden held up for her. She fiddled with the blanket, trying to tuck her bare feet in, and then pounded her pillow into submission.

“You know, you actually have to lie still to fall asleep,” Aiden said.

Dawn rolled around and wrapped her arms around the pillow. “I don’t want to go to sleep. Not yet.”

Aiden flashed a grin at her. “Let’s see… what other things are there to do in bed when you’re not alone but with a wildly attractive woman…”

“Talking,” Dawn suggested.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have a one-track mind?” Aiden tried to sit up but sank back down with a groan “Okay, okay, I know I promised you we would talk about what happened.”

Dawn rolled around. She let her head come to rest against Aiden’s uninjured shoulder. “So, what did happen?”

“We tried to chase down a murderer, but a witness gave us the wrong address and we knocked on the door of the wrong apartment. The perp must have heard us and panicked. When I turned around, he was right behind me.”

Aiden’s tone was matter-of-fact, but Dawn could hear the underlying tension. “You shot him?”

“Yes. There was no time for -“

“You don’t have to explain.” Dawn knew that Aiden was hypersensitive to anything that would make her appear violent and aggressive. Aiden was neither, but sometimes she needed to be reminded of that. “I’ve heard stories like that hundreds of times. It was a situation of him or you, and I’m glad it was him.”

Aiden gave a curt nod.

Dawn interlaced her fingers with Aiden’s, their palms pressed together. “Were you scared?”

“No, it all happened too fast. Ray was panicking more than me.” Aiden laughed.

Dawn just looked at her, silently raising an eyebrow.

Aiden sighed. “Okay, so it was a little scary there for a minute while I was lying there, hurting like hell and gasping for breath, not knowing if the bullet had penetrated the vest or not.”

“Why didn’t you have someone call me?”

“It was pure chaos, nobody thought -“

“Nobody thought I’d want to know that my… my girlfriend had been shot?” Dawn struggled to sit up without pulling her hand away from Aiden’s.

“I wasn’t shot; the vest caught it.”

Dawn knocked her pillow off the bed. “Don’t get technical with me. Why didn’t you call me?”

Aiden stared at the ceiling for a moment before she sighed and looked back to Dawn. “I didn’t want to scare you after all you’ve been through with your dad and your brother.”

“I understand that, and I appreciate that you want to protect me, but can we make a deal?”

“A deal?” Aiden’s fingernails teased the inside of Dawn’s wrist, and she squirmed in an attempt not to giggle. “I confess all my sins to you, and you’re gonna put in a good word with your boss for me?” She pointed their entwined hands upward.

Dawn pinched her thigh with her free hand. “I’m a psychologist, not a priest.”

“Ah, yes, of course. So, what’s the deal?”

“I want you to share yourself with me - and no, this is not a come-on.” Dawn watched Aiden’s face for any reaction. She was laying down the ground rules for their relationship, and if Aiden didn’t accept them, Dawn didn’t want to think about the consequences. “I know your job requires emotional distance. I know you have to erect barriers to protect yourself from all the evil you see as a detective. But I need something else from you to make this… to make us work.”

Aiden’s nod urged her to continue.

“I need to know you - the whole you, not just the parts you allow your colleagues to see. I want to share your pain and your fears as well as the good things in your life.”

Aiden closed her second hand around Dawn’s fingers. “You already have enough pain and fears of your own. You don’t need to carry my burdens, too.”

“Yes! Yes, I do.” Dawn squeezed as hard as she could. “A relationship can’t be a one-way street. I told you I want to be an equal partner for you. Don’t you understand?” She shook Aiden’s hand. “You have to trust me enough to be vulnerable with me. If you can’t sleep because some bastard hurt a child, I want to know. If the precinct’s coffeemaker bit the dust and you had a crappy day, I want to know. If Kade lost a case that meant something to you, I want to know. If you get a paper cut while writing reports, I want to know. If you need a hug or a kiss or a bowl of chicken broth -“

“You want to know,” Aiden provided with a smile.

“Yes, and then I want to be the one to hug you and kiss you and cook chicken soup for you,” Dawn added impulsively.

Aiden looked stunned, and then, after a minute of silence, she smiled. “Did you propose to me just now?”

Dawn’s lips automatically echoed the smile, but hers was a little sad. “No. I’m not in a position to do that. It wouldn’t be fair to you if I made promises I’m not sure I can keep.”

“Promises you can’t keep?” Aiden raised herself up on her knees. “What promises are we talking about?”

“I know that your other relationships -“

“I told you I didn’t do relationships - at least not successful ones. There’s no reason to compare yourself to anything or anyone who has been in my life before. You win, hands down.”

Okay. Dawn could see that she would have to be more direct than that. She took a deep breath. “I’m talking about your… our sex life - or the lack thereof.” She gestured to their fully clothed bodies that were not touching anywhere but at their fingers.

Aiden’s gaze followed the direction Dawn’s had taken. “So, you think just because you don’t sleep with me at the drop of a hat means that it would be unfair to expect a full commitment on my part?”

For someone who usually avoided all talks about intimacy issues, Aiden had paraphrased her thoughts with amazing accuracy. Dawn nodded.

“I admit it has been a while since I’ve been invited to a wedding, but did they change the vows in the meantime?” Aiden asked.

“Change the vows?”

“Yeah.” Aiden tapped Dawn’s foot with her big toe. “You seem to know a different version than I do. In my version there’s something mentioned about ‘in sickness and in health, through the good times and the bad, till death do us part.’ I don’t remember a ‘for as long as you don’t get migraines and provide me with daily toe-curling sex.’”

Hot tears burned behind Dawn’s eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Her voice was rough with emotion, “Now, did you just propose to me?”

Aiden shrugged. “Well, that depends.”

“On?”

“On whether or not you’d say yes.”

It was obvious to Dawn that Aiden was trying to sound casual as if she was just teasing, but the look in her eyes spoke another language - she was unsure about what Dawn’s answer would be. Dawn wasn’t. In all her life, she had never wanted to say “yes” to anything with such intensity. But still… “What about…?”

“What?”

“Well, you know, marriage is traditionally followed by the wedding night.” Dawn studied her over the rim of her glasses.

Aiden shrugged. “I’m not in a rush. Sex is not important.”

“Aiden Carlisle, you’re a terrible liar.” They had never talked about their attitudes toward sex before, but Dawn knew that Aiden had been no wallflower. Her good looks in combination with her commanding presence and the leather jacket had to be a chick magnet. A passionate woman like Aiden wasn’t used to living a celibate life. “Of course sex is important in a new relationship. It’s a nonverbal expression of our caring for each other.”

“Okay, it may be important, but it’s not the most important thing in our relationship,” Aiden said. “I’ve had enough one-night stands and short-term flings in my life to know that a mature relationship is not about jumping into bed.”

This was getting really interesting. Aiden Carlisle’s philosophy about relationships - she had to hear this. “What’s it about, then?”

“Ah, you know…”

“Tell me.”

Aiden shrugged away her embarrassment. “It’s about the little things,” she said, echoing something that Dawn had once told her about her relationship with Maggie. The gallery owner hadn’t shared her love for the simple things in life. “It’s about volunteering to take out the trash on a freezing cold evening. It’s about figuring out how to pay the mortgage when money is tight. It’s about holding you close after we fight. It’s about caring, respect, and yes, even passion - when the time and the place are right for both of us. There’s no hurry. I’m not going anywhere.”

Dawn blinked. “Wow,” she said, overwhelmed by emotion. “I didn’t know you were such a poet.”

“I’m not.” Short hair tickled Dawn’s cheek when Aiden shook her head. “It’s just that I let sex cloud my judgment before, and it always ended up hurting the relationship, so I think a little restraint might actually be a good thing.”

More self-restraint? Dawn doubted that it was what Aiden really needed. With a sigh, she repositioned her pillow and settled down. She turned off the light, closed her eyes, and listened to Aiden’s breathing, hoping that it would lull her into a nightmareless sleep.

“Dawn?”

She opened her eyes. “Hmm?”

“Do you want me to put you down on the ‘notify in case of emergency’ form?” Aiden asked.

There was no doubt in Dawn’s mind. “Yes - if it’s not going to get you into trouble with anyone in the precinct.”

“Trouble?”

“Yeah. It’s a pretty big announcement of our relationship, and I’d understand if you -“

Aiden laughed. “Dawn, I think by now even the precinct’s cleaning lady knows that I’m involved with a woman. Cops are the worst gossips in the world, present company excluded, of course.”

“Of course. In that case, yes, I’d like for you to put me down on the ‘notify in case of emergency’ form. I want to be as fully involved in your life as possible.” In the gentle glow of the night-light Aiden had left on for her, Dawn studied the woman with whom she was in bed.

Intense amber eyes looked steadily back at her. “I want that, too.”

Dawn watched Aiden’s eyelids droop, and she pressed a kiss to her palm. “Let’s get some sleep now. We can talk more about this tomorrow.”

Aiden nodded and suppressed a yawn.

“Goodnight, Aiden.” Dawn leaned over and kissed Aiden’s cheek. “And thanks for participating in this little sensitive chat.”

“Anytime… well, maybe not anytime, but I’ll work on it.” Aiden touched Dawn’s hand one final time before she retreated to her side of the bed. “Night, Dawn.”

* * *

Aiden was on sick leave for the rest of the week, but someone had apparently forgotten to inform her body of that fact. She woke five minutes before her alarm clock would have normally announced the start of a new day. Careful not to rock the mattress too much, she turned to look at her companion.

Dawn was still asleep, lying in a position that reminded Aiden of Dawn’s cat - rolled into a ball, with her head resting more on her arm than on the pillow. The honey-blond lashes of the one eye that Aiden could see fluttered sometimes in her sleep but didn’t open. Her nose twitched once, perfecting the feline image she presented.

God, how cute is that? Aiden smiled down at the woman in her bed.

Despite the tossing and turning Dawn had done when she had first slipped under the covers, she hadn’t moved from her position near the edge of the bed all night. Either she was not a restless sleeper, or she hadn’t really relaxed, uncomfortable with Aiden’s physical presence so near. Aiden hoped it was the former.

She settled down on her side to watch the sleeping woman. Being tempted to stay in bed a little longer just because she wanted to be near her bed partner was a new and unfamiliar feeling. Normally, Aiden couldn’t grab her clothes and run away from her one-night stands fast enough. Even in her longer relationships, she had never been a cuddler, uncomfortable with someone encroaching on her personal space. Now she wanted to draw Dawn into her arms, breathe in her scent, and kiss the soft skin of her neck until the gray-green eyes opened. Ironically, Dawn was the one woman with whom she couldn’t do that.

Aiden inched out of bed and tiptoed to the bathroom. Wrestling the sleep-shirt over her head without the help of her protesting muscles made her feel like a contortionist. Tight tops were taboo for the foreseeable future, she decided when she stepped under the shower. Being able to dress on her own was more important than trying to impress Dawn.

Dawn was still asleep when she returned to the bedroom. Briskly rubbing at her hair with a towel, Aiden tiptoed to the dresser where she had left her watch. “Ow!” Pain shot through the not yet healed laceration on the back of her head. She had forgotten about the wound - until she had pressed the towel against it. “Shit!”

A crash from the bed made Aiden forget her pain. Dawn sat up, rubbing her own head that she had bumped against the headboard. She stared at Aiden with wide, panicked eyes for a second before she recognized where and with whom she was.

“Sorry.” Aiden threw the towel across her shoulder and knelt on the bed. “I didn’t want to wake you.” Or scare you.

Dawn took a few deep breaths and forced a smile. “It’s okay. I would have had to wake up anyway to eat the delicious breakfast you’ll make me.”

Aiden sat down next to Dawn and stuck her bare feet under the covers. “Does ‘Casa Carlisle’ look like a bed-and-breakfast to you? What makes you think I’m gonna cook you breakfast?” She teasingly touched her cold feet to Dawn’s warm ones.

“It’s only breakfast - not much cooking involved,” Dawn said. She paused to tuck a few damp strands from Aiden’s forehead. “I’m sure a gentlewoman like you would never think of letting her guest leave without breakfast after spending the night with her, would you?”

“I don’t know…” Aiden leaned back, resting her head next to Dawn’s. “Seeing as how I’m gravely injured, I thought I’d let you make breakfast for me.”

Dawn snorted. “Gravely injured? Didn’t you tell me it was just a scratch? But if you insist on having a grave injury, I can help you with that.” Raising herself up on her knees, Dawn grabbed a pillow and drew back her arm.

“You wouldn’t…!”

“Oh, you think so?” Dawn purred. She raised the pillow even higher.

Aiden wriggled back until the headboard stopped her retreat. “You wouldn’t dare.”

That had been the wrong thing to say. The pillow hit her on her uninjured shoulder.

“Hey!”

Dawn grinned and hit her again.

Aiden directed her most threatening glare at Dawn - without much success. The pillow thumped against her stomach. “Don’t force me to -“

“To do what, hmm, Detective?” One corner of the pillow poked Aiden in her chin. “You going to cuff me and read me my rights?” Dawn’s eyes twinkled, the challenge in them clear.

Aiden sighed. Dawn wanted to play - and she couldn’t. With Ray or one of her male colleagues, she would have grabbed the second pillow and hit him left and right until he begged for mercy. But in her interaction with women - and especially this woman - she was too conscious of her own strength, too afraid that she would slip and lose control. She was very aware of Dawn’s body that was pressed against her own in a gesture of playful intimidation. The too big Dori-and-Nemo shirt had slipped off her shoulder on one side, and Aiden could feel the heat radiating off the exposed pale skin. A few freckles tempted her to kiss them.

Gritting her teeth, Aiden held back. She couldn’t afford to be playfully aggressive toward Dawn, fearing that roughhousing would ignite her passion and turn into something that would scare Dawn. “I think I’ll go and try my hand at making breakfast.” She scrambled from the bed.

* * *

Dawn’s hands folded the towel that Aiden had lost, while her mind was busy wondering about her hasty retreat. What’s wrong now? She buried her face in the terry cloth and inhaled Aiden’s comforting scent. Something had upset Aiden, but she had not the slightest idea what. After their sensitive chat last night, Aiden had once again retreated behind her gold shield and the emotional barriers that came with it.

It wasn’t that Aiden was cold and distant, quite the opposite - she was doing well enough as long as it were Dawn’s fears, Dawn’s emotions, and Dawn’s problems they were dealing with. That was her job after all - serving and protecting others. As a detective, Aiden was confident and strong, but Dawn knew that hiding behind the gold shield was just as much vulnerability as anyone else had - probably even more.

Now that she was alone in bed, the warm nest around Dawn had lost its appeal. With a sigh, she swung her legs out of bed, slipped into her jeans, and padded to the kitchen.

Aiden stood in front of the stove, her back to Dawn, and she took a moment to take in her form. One lean hip was resting against the counter, and the sleeves of her blouse had been pushed up as was her habit, revealing strong forearms. Dawn found her incredibly sexy in her old, worn jeans. For the first time since the rape, she felt an almost physical pull of attraction and was surprised by its strength.

Without allowing herself time to analyze her actions, Dawn crossed the room and hooked her finger into the back pockets of Aiden’s jeans to tug her closer. When Aiden resisted, she wrapped both arms around her waist. Her hands brushed away the open blouse and slipped under the T-shirt to feel Aiden’s skin. The taut muscles under her hands were vibrating with tension. “What’s going on?” Dawn asked.

Aiden tried to step away again. “Just waiting for the water to boil. You want tea, right?”

“Later.” Dawn reached around her to turn off the stove.

Aiden turned around in Dawn’s arms that still held her captive. She said nothing.

“Do we have to have the same conversation over and over again? Trust is one of the cornerstones of a relationship, Aiden, and I can’t do this if you don’t trust me and -“

“I do trust you.”

Dawn looked down at her hands that rested on Aiden’s hips, and then her gaze wandered to Aiden’s arms. They were hanging down like unmovable statues, making no attempt to hug back. Suddenly, Dawn understood. It wasn’t her that Aiden didn’t trust. She didn’t trust herself. Aiden had been holding back and fighting against Dawn’s attempts to get her to give up the tight restraint under which she held herself. All the times when Aiden had refused to start a snowball fight with her now made sense.

Police work, by its very nature, called for a vast amount of self-restraint. Aiden - and every other cop - had to control herself not to “accidentally” choke a confession from a lying child molester and not to shout at a smirking killer who walked out of court as a free man because witnesses were too intimidated to testify. She cautiously channeled her emotions and passions into her job and controlled them twenty-four/seven. She rarely allowed herself to let loose, not even a bit, because in her world, there was just black or white, good or bad, control or violence.

“Tell me why you’re holding back.” Dawn caressed tiny circles on Aiden’s bare forearms. The touch made both of them shiver.

For a few seconds, Aiden looked as if she wanted to deny it, change the topic, or make a joke out of it, but then Dawn felt her sigh, and the shoulders in her grip slumped. “I have to,” Aiden whispered.

“Why? Did I -“

“No,” Aiden said. “This is not about you. It’s my problem and my problem alone. You don’t have to concern yourself with it.”

Dawn held her gaze. She refused to back off. “You were the one that quoted ‘through the good times and the bad’ to me, remember? There’s no such thing as ‘your’ problem. What are you so afraid of?”

With gentle hands, Aiden broke the embrace and moved back a step. Her amber eyes looked haunted. “There are times when I’m not sure if I’m the right one for you. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Dawn had to grip the counter for balance. Did Aiden think about ending their relationship? “Aiden, if you invest all your emotions in a relationship and really, really care for another person, you’re gonna get hurt sometimes. That’s normal.”

Aiden shook her head. “I’m not talking about hurting because we fight about your habit of squeezing the toothpaste from the wrong end or because I cancel a date to work overtime.”

“What kind of hurt are you talking about, then?”

Aiden rubbed her neck, a sign that Dawn had learned meant that emotions were swirling just beneath the surface. Her voice was hollow when she finally said, “A rape victim and a woman conceived by rape… do you really think that’s a healthy relationship, Doctor?”

Dawn tightened her already white-knuckled grip around the edge of the counter. “It’s going to be as healthy as we make it. Just because we’re victims of -“

“I’m not a victim!”

Dawn stopped to look at her. “Yes, you are,” she said. “You’re a victim of rape, too - even if you haven’t been raped.”

Eyeing the front door, Aiden began to pace. “I investigate sex crimes for a living and, yes, my mother was raped, but I’m not a victim of anything.” Her voice was like grinding gravel.

“Oh, you’re not?” She blocked Aiden’s pacing route and forced her to look into her eyes. “Then why do you have all the typical symptoms, hmm? Guilt, self-blame, anger, shame, fear…” She ticked each word off on her fingers. “…it’s all there.”

“Bullshit!” Aiden’s body trembled, and her hands were clenched into fists.

Dawn continued nonetheless. She knew she had to get through to Aiden now, or she would repeat the same conversation, the same fight about Aiden’s reluctance to let her close over and over and over again. “You feel guilty because of what your mother had to go through. You blame yourself for something that you had no control over. You’re angry and full of hate against the man who raped your mother. You’re ashamed of the way you were conceived. You live in constant fear that you could turn out like your father and hurt other people.” Each sentence was like a slap in Aiden’s face and made her flinch, but she couldn’t stop. “And now tell me, Detective, doesn’t that sound like a textbook victim?”

Aiden squeezed her eyes shut. The trembling became a swaying.

Dawn rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her, squeezing until she felt Aiden wince. “I know you would never hurt me purposely. You couldn’t,” she whispered in her ear.

The body in her arms was stiff. “How could I not?” The words tumbled roughly from Aiden’s lips. “I was conceived in violence. Violence is the sole reason why I even exist.”

“No!” She gripped Aiden’s face in both hands and directed her head back. “Look at me and listen. If there is a single reason for your existence, it’s love.” Dawn realized that they were both deeply afraid - she because of what had happened to her, Aiden because of who she was - or who she feared she might become.

“Love?” Aiden’s snort sounded almost like a sob.

“Love,” Dawn repeated with unshakable conviction. “If your mother hadn’t loved and wanted you, she would have taken the morning-after pill or had an abortion. She was a strong and caring woman - and so are you. You’re nothing like the man who fathered you.”

“How can you know that? How can you be sure that there’s not something…” Her rough voice trailed off, and she spread her hand over her chest as if to hold back the evil that might lurk there.

Dawn took the tense hand and lifted it away to press a kiss to the warm fabric over Aiden’s chest. “I can be sure because I know you. Just look at you: you’re standing there, trembling and agonizing over the thought that you might hurt me. Do you think the man who raped your mother gave a single thought to her feelings? You’re nothing like him.”

Finally, Aiden raised her arms and positioned them around Dawn. She lowered her head to press her cheek against Dawn’s. “I think…” Dawn felt her swallow. “I think this relationship might be the healthiest thing that could have happened to me. I swore to myself that I would be there for you and help you through the aftermath of your rape - and now you’re the one who’s helping me.”

“We’re helping each other - and that’s exactly the kind of relationship I want.”

“I want that, too,” Aiden whispered.

Dawn hugged her closer, every inch of her body now pressed against Aiden. It was intoxicating - and a little overwhelming. With one final kiss to the collarbone that peeked out from under the blouse and T-shirt combination, she released her. “Can we go back to bed now?”

She dragged the only half-resisting Aiden back into the bedroom and slipped under the covers. When she felt Aiden settle down on the other side of the bed, she turned around, her back to Aiden - or rather to the alarm clock behind her. Since she had been raped while staring at the blinking red numbers of her own alarm clock, she couldn’t fall asleep facing a clock.

“Dawn?”

Aiden’s voice made her open her eyes again. “Yes?”

“You still haven’t answered my question from last night, and I know with our laws it’s just not possible, but… if I were to propose, would you accept?”

Instead of an answer, Dawn inched across the bed. She leaned down until she felt Aiden’s breath mingle with her own. Aiden’s body heat and her intoxicating scent engulfed her. For a moment, she wanted to abandon all reason and throw herself at Aiden, but the fear of experiencing a flashback held her back. She carefully pressed her lips to Aiden’s, but when Aiden wrapped her arms around her and returned the kiss, passion threatened to escalate. Dawn drew back with a gasp that was half arousal, half fear.

Aiden withdrew her arms from around Dawn but kept one hand resting on the small of her back. “Was that a yes or a consolation kiss?”

With a laugh and one last, small kiss Dawn rolled back to her side of the bed. “It’s definitely a yes. And now settle down and let me sleep in, or you’ll have your first marital fight on your hands.”

“All right. Sleep tight, Mrs. Carlisle.”

“Oh, no, no, no! I said yes to your hypothetical marriage proposal, not to carrying your name, Detective,” Dawn protested with a nudge to Aiden’s uninjured shoulder.

“What’s wrong with Carlisle?”

“Nothing. What’s wrong with Kinsley?” Dawn shot back.

Aiden rolled around to stare at the ceiling. “Aiden Kinsley? I don’t think so. Dawn Carlisle, now that has a nice ring to it.”

“Now that I think about it…” Dawn said, “…maybe it was a consolation kiss.”

“Oh, you!” Aiden reached over and began to tickle her.

Dawn was glad that Aiden finally allowed herself to show a little playful aggression, but at the same time, she couldn’t stand to be tickled. “Aiden!” she squeaked. “Stop if you don’t want me to wet the bed!”

Aiden’s hands retreated. She snorted. “God, you’re really a romantic at heart, aren’t you?”

“But of course. Everything for you, Mrs. Kinsley.”

Aiden groaned. “Go to sleep, Dawn.”

CHAPTER 31

AIDEN LOOKED UP as Ruben entered the squad room. “You’ve got Marcinowski’s phone records?”

“Yeah.” Ruben held up a piece of paper with the list of calls. “He had four outgoing calls from his house on the eighteenth.”

Okada paused in his two-fingered report typing. “Were any of them to our victim?”

“Nope.”

“What about his cell phone?” Aiden asked.

Ruben waved a second piece of paper. “Another dead end. We should pull the LUDs for his kid’s cell.”

“Hey, Carlisle!” A uniformed officer called across the squad room. “Did you know that your girlfriend is down at the Central Precinct headquarters?” He pointed downward, indicating the first floor of the Justice Center.

A few other officers hooted and whistled at the word “girlfriend,” and Aiden had to shout to be heard over the commotion. “What? Riley, if that’s one of your silly jokes, I swear I’m gonna -“

“No, really. I saw her,” the officer insisted. “She’s the small, hot strawberry blonde, right?”

Aiden nodded, not bothering to reprimand him for calling Dawn “hot.” “What was she doing there?” Dawn knew that she worked with the SAD, so she wouldn’t search for her on the first floor. Maybe she was accompanying a client?

“Don’t know.” The street cop shrugged. “She looked pretty upset, though.”

With gritted teeth, Aiden clipped on her shield and gun. “Ray…”

“It’s all right. I’ll take care of Marcinowski. Go on.” Ray waved at her to go.

Two frantic minutes later, Aiden jogged through the door of the Central Precinct headquarters. Her gaze flew from face to face until she finally found Dawn, sitting in a plastic chair against one wall of the busy squad room, waiting for someone to take notice of her. Aiden breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Dawn seemed uninjured. She crossed the room and touched Dawn’s shoulder. “Dawn?”

Dawn flinched at the touch, but then relaxed when she recognized Aiden. “Hey, what are you doing here? Aren’t you on duty?”

“I came when someone told me you were here. What’s going on?”

Dawn’s teeth nibbled on her bottom lip. “My car…”

“You were in an accident?” Aiden’s gaze flew down the small body again.

“No. When I wanted to go to work this morning, someone had smashed in the window on the passenger side, stolen my car radio, and destroyed everything that was destroyable… the seats, the seat belts, the indicator switch. He even turned on the light so that the battery would be dead by the time I found the car.” Dawn sighed. “It was a mess.”

Aiden sat down in the uncomfortable seat next to Dawn. “I’m sorry. I know you love that little sardine can.”

“It’s my first car. I’ve had it for eleven years now. My dad bought it for me.”

Now Aiden understood why the tiny car meant so much to Dawn. She reached for Dawn’s hand, not caring who saw it. “I’m sorry. Do you think it can be repaired?”

Dawn bit her lip. “I’m not sure. The spare parts are gonna be hard to find because they don’t make the car anymore.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” Aiden asked.

“Last time I looked, sex crimes detectives didn’t lower themselves to investigate larceny offenses.”

Aiden squeezed her hand to get Dawn’s attention. “This sex crimes detective does - if it’s an offense against you. So next time, please call me.”

Dawn nodded.

“You already talked to the police?”

“Yes. An officer came to look at the car. He snapped a few photographs but didn’t give me much hope that they’ll ever arrest someone.” Dawn’s voice was full of frustration.

“They didn’t leave any evidence?” Aiden asked.

Dawn hesitated for a moment. “The officer said it looked almost… personal. Whoever did it didn’t just steal the radio; he practically went berserk on my car. The officer suggested it might have been someone who has something against me.”

Shit. Aiden fought hard against the anger she felt rising. She could see the effect that being the victim of another crime had on Dawn even if she tried to hide it. Just when Dawn had found her inner balance, someone hurt that trust in her personal security again.

An officer appeared to take Dawn’s statement against the unknown thief. As soon as he led Dawn to his desk, Aiden snapped her cell phone open and pressed one of her speed dials. “Ruben? It’s Aiden. Listen, I need you to do me a favor.” She stuck a finger into her other ear and listened. “Yes, the ‘little doc’ is okay. Her car is not, though. Are you still friends with that miracle-working mechanic you told me about? Good… yes, exactly. It’s 7 Carlisle Street. Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Tell him the costs don’t matter. I’ll pay whatever it costs to get the car into top condition again. Thanks.”

She waited until Dawn returned. “Come on.” She led her to the parking lot. “I’ll drive you to wherever you want to go.”

Dawn stopped in front of Aiden’s car. “I’ll take a cab. I know you have to work.”

“It’s okay. I’ve got enough overtime racked up to take the rest of the year off.” Aiden opened the passenger side door for her. “Your chariot awaits, Madame.” She waited for Dawn to settle in and closed the door. “Where to? Home?” she asked when she started the car.

Dawn fiddled with the seat belt. She nodded reluctantly. “I need to get back to the car and find someone who is willing to work on it,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it for you. Ruben knows someone who will do a good job,” Aiden promised.

“I really shouldn’t dump all this on you, but to tell you the truth, I’m not eager to get back home,” Dawn admitted. “I think it’s gonna take me a few days to feel comfortable there again. Knowing that someone broke into my car, right in front of my home… it just doesn’t feel safe anymore.”

“Move in with me.” Aiden’s eyes widened when her brain realized what her mouth had just offered. Hastily, she added, “Just for a few days until you feel safe again.”

Dawn leaned against the door to look at her. “I don’t know. What about Kia? I don’t know any of my neighbors well enough to trust them with my cat and a key to my apartment.”

“Just put her in that transport box she loves so much and bring her with you,” Aiden said. “She can enjoy a holiday at Casa Carlisle, too.”

“Are you sure that you want a cat in your apartment?” Dawn asked.

Aiden wasn’t, but she nodded anyway.

“Okay, Detective, you’ve got yourself two roommates.” Dawn shook the hand that wasn’t resting on the steering wheel. “I promise that at least one of them won’t drink your orange juice straight from the container. You should think about getting a bulletproof vest for your couch, though.”

Aiden groaned.

* * *

“Honey, I’m home.”

Dawn almost dropped her book at Aiden’s sudden entry. “You’re late. Did something happen?” She had started to worry when Aiden hadn’t been home on time. God, listen to yourself! she reprimanded herself. It’s been one day, and you’re already calling her apartment “home”!

“No, I just stopped to buy a few things after work.” Aiden lifted the large shopping bag in her hand.

“Takeout?” Dawn guessed. “I thought I could cook something for us.”

“It’s not takeout.”

“What is it, then?” Dawn seized the moment when Aiden leaned down to brush her lips against her own to peek into the bag.

Aiden chuckled and quickly stepped back, moving the shopping bag out of her line of sight. “You’re not curious at all, are you?”

“Me?” Dawn pointed a finger at herself. “No, I just have an investigative mindset.”

Aiden chuckled but still held the bag out of Dawn’s reach. “Sorry, it’s not for you. You’re not the only female in my life, you know.”

By now, Dawn felt secure enough in their relationship to laugh about that comment. “Oh, is that a confession, Detective?”

Kia strode in and circled Aiden’s legs once, leaving a tuft of hairs behind on her black pants.

“God, is she molting or something?” Aiden inefficiently tried to brush the hairs from her clothes. “Should I have bought something for that, too?”

“Bought? You bought presents for my cat?”

Aiden finally allowed her to open the bag.

Dawn settled down cross-legged on the floor and lifted one thing after another from the bag.

“Just a little something,” Aiden said when Dawn had emptied the bag and stared up at her.

“A kitty blanket, a rubber mouse, and some other toys, a scratch board, and a dozen different cat snacks… is that a ‘little something’ in your book?”

Aiden shrugged. “I want her to feel at home in my apartment.”

You want me to feel at home, Dawn translated, and I do. “You’re a mushball, Detective.”

Kia curiously stalked closer to her pile of presents.

Aiden waited with interest to see which toy the cat would prefer.

The feline extended one paw and nudged the bill from the pet supply store, which Aiden had crumbled into a ball so Dawn wouldn’t see it. A few moments later, she was chasing the paper ball through the apartment, ignoring all the fancy cat toys Aiden had bought.

Dawn had to laugh at the expression on Aiden’s face.

“Cats.” Aiden shook her head.

“Yeah. They never do what you expect or want them to - I like that,” Dawn said.

Aiden watched as paper ball and cat disappeared under the couch. “Typical psychologists’ pets, huh?”

“Actually, there’s this theory that says they’re typical lesbians’ pets,” Dawn said with a smile.

Dark brows rose. “Is that a quantitative theory? The more cats you have, the higher the possibility that you might be gay? I wonder what that says about Judge Linehan and her seven cats.”

“She has seven cats?” Dawn couldn’t imagine being bossed around by seven feline roommates.

“There’s this rumor that says she won them in a poker game,” Aiden said.

Dawn chuckled. “Portland’s Honorable Judges are betting cats in poker games? Maybe the previous owner is a ‘reformed’ lesbian?”

“No, Judge Yates is still firmly interested in women.” Aiden packed away the cat toys. “He’s practically drooling every time Kade walks into his courtroom.”

Dawn nudged her with an elbow. “And he’s not the only one.”

“Me? No, I don’t drool over Kade.” Aiden shook her head, but then admitted, “Well, I might look a little… just to confirm that she’s seriously lacking in comparison to you, of course.”

“Has anyone ever told you that lying is a sin?” Dawn seriously doubted that Kade Matheson was lacking in any department.

“I’m not lying. I told you, as far as I’m concerned you don’t need to fear any comparison. You’re the one I want to be with.” Aiden’s eyes held no hint of the previous teasing anymore.

The shrill of Aiden’s pager interrupted before Dawn could answer. Aiden looked at the display. “Shit. I have to go. I’m sorry.”

Dawn had known from the start that being in a relationship with a cop would mean a lot of interrupted moments and canceled dates. With a sigh, she wrapped her arms around Aiden in a half-embrace and reattached the gold shield to her belt. “Be careful and wake me when you get in.”

Aiden hesitated. “It could get really late.”

“I don’t care. Wake me.”

“Okay.” Aiden wrapped her arms around her and leaned down slowly, giving Dawn every opportunity to withdraw.

Not that Dawn wanted to. She slid her arms more firmly around Aiden and pulled her into a deep kiss. She could feel the pulse in Aiden’s neck begin to race along with her own.

Only when her cell phone began to ring did Aiden break away. She left small kisses on Dawn’s upper and lower lip as she pulled away. As the door closed behind her, Dawn threw her body down onto the couch. “God, I could learn to hate modern technology.”

* * *

Dawn laid down the sketch pad and hastily wiped her stained fingers on a rag when she heard Aiden enter the apartment.

“Hey,” Aiden called from the hallway.

Dawn had noticed that she always took care never to walk up behind Dawn unexpectedly, and she appreciated it. “Hi,” she called back. “I didn’t expect you home so early.”

“Well, after the late night yesterday, the lieutenant sent most of us home early.” Aiden appeared in the doorway, her gun and badge already gone. She always left them in a safe place by the door, leaving behind her job before she greeted Dawn. “You’re drawing,” Aiden said with an expression of pleasant surprise on her face.

“Nothing big, just a few drawings of Kia. I haven’t done it in a while, and I need to get the hang of it back,” Dawn said, critically appraising her work.

Aiden stepped next to her. Instead of gazing at the drawing, she was staring at Dawn, though.

“What?” Dawn asked, self-consciously rubbing her hands over her cheeks. “Do I have pastel dust on my face?”

Aiden laughed. “Well, not before, but you do now.” She gently rubbed her thumb over Dawn’s cheek. “There. It’s gone.”

“Thanks.” Dawn resisted the urge to touch her face again. “Why were you looking at me if there wasn’t anything on my face?”

“Maybe I just like looking at you?” Aiden said with a smile.

Dawn gave her a doubtful gaze.

“No, really, I do,” Aiden insisted, now completely serious. “I often wished I had my mother’s artistic talent when I was growing up, but never because of any honest desire to draw. It was always about meeting my mother’s expectations and proving that I was like her - and not like my father. But now I’d really love to be able to capture what I see when I look at you.”

Dawn felt a blush heat her cheeks. She wanted to reach out and touch Aiden, to establish some kind of contact but didn’t want to get the powdered pigment of the pastels all over Aiden’s clothes, so she leaned up on her tiptoes and silently brushed her lips against Aiden’s cheek.

This time it was Aiden who was touching her own cheek.

Dawn grinned and leaned up again, kissing Aiden’s lips.

When the kiss ended, Aiden loosely slung her arms around Dawn and held her while she gazed over her shoulder at the sketch pad that was now resting on the table. “Wow! You’re good.”

“I’m good at drawing cats - and I should be because I’ve done about a thousand sketches of Kia. She’s the only model who’s willing to lie still long enough for me to draw her.”

“What about me?” Aiden suggested. “When I gave you the set of art supplies for Christmas, you said you’d have to draw me sometime. So if you still want to…”

Dawn studied her. “Is that something that you’d like to do? I mean… with your mother being an artist, I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it.”

“I didn’t have a lot of patience sitting for my mother when I was a teenager,” Aiden admitted. “But I’m not a teenager any longer - and you are not my mother.” She grinned at Dawn. “So, where do you want me? Do you want me to just sit on the couch or…?”

Dawn’s thumb nervously rubbed over her sketch pad as she gazed at Aiden. She let her gaze trail over Aiden’s face and down her shirt-covered upper body. She wasn’t sure if this was a good idea, but she answered before she could stop herself, “I’d like to draw you. All of you.”

Aiden stared at her. “You mean…” She tugged at her button-down shirt. “Naked?”

Dawn cleared her throat. “Yes. If you’re comfortable with it.” She knew Aiden wasn’t shy about her body, but getting naked while Dawn was fully dressed and studying her might make Aiden feel a little vulnerable.

“Sure,” Aiden said without hesitation. “Are you comfortable with it?”

Dawn hadn’t allowed herself to think about it when she had asked the question. Now she realized that drawing Aiden naked gave her an opportunity to share some kind of physical intimacy that seemed limited and controllable. “I’m fine with it,” she said, appreciating Aiden’s concern for her.

“All right,” Aiden said. “Then let’s do this.” She began to undo the buttons of her shirt.

Dawn busied herself with preparing a blank page on the sketch pad and getting her pastels ready. Then there was nothing else to do, and she silently watched Aiden undress.

Aiden smiled and held her gaze as she slipped the shirt off her shoulders. “Have you done this before?” she asked as she reached back to unhook her bra, clearly a little too nervous now to just let Dawn watch her undress in silence.

“What?” Dawn asked distractedly as the bra fell away and revealed Aiden’s breasts.

Aiden kicked off her shoes and unzipped her pants. “Drawn a nude model?”

Dawn finally tore her gaze away from Aiden’s body and looked up into her face. “Once,” she answered.

“Cal?” Aiden asked.

“No. I never felt the urge to draw him.” She had never found her ex-husband’s body as inspiring as she found Aiden’s. “Maybe that should have told me something, huh?”

Aiden slowly slid her pants over her hips, revealing long, smoothly muscled legs. “Then it was Maggie?”

Again, Dawn shook her head. “She drew me once, but I never drew her. I didn’t do a lot of drawing or painting when we were together.”

“No?” Aiden finally stood before her fully naked, fidgeting just a little, and Dawn had trouble focusing on the conversation. “Why not? She’s an artist, too, right? I would have thought you’d have been doing a lot of artsy stuff together.”

Dawn had to swallow before she could answer. She was very aware of Aiden’s gaze resting on her, observing her reactions with interest. “We did. We went to a lot of art exhibitions, but I focused on other people’s art, on Maggie’s, not my own.” Dawn had never really thought about it. “I think I felt like an amateur next to her. When I draw, I do it for myself, not to share it with the world or to produce a great piece of art. I was more comfortable letting her be the famous artist.” Dawn realized how much of herself she had held back in that relationship, and she vowed not to repeat that mistake with Aiden.

Aiden gave her an understanding nod. With a mother like Robyn Carlisle, she could understand Dawn better than anyone else. “So, who was your nude model, then?” Aiden asked.

“A few years ago, I took an art class. Our teacher had a nude model come in and pose for us,” Dawn explained. That model hadn’t made her hands shake as Aiden did now, though.

Aiden nodded. “Then let’s see if I can do as well as that professional model. Where do you want me?”

Dawn licked her lips and looked around the room. “Could you lie down on the couch?” She watched Aiden move around the room, admiring her naked body. Then a sudden thought came to her. “You’re not cold, are you?”

“Cold?” Aiden chuckled. “Quite the opposite. It’s getting a little hot in here.”

Dawn silently agreed as she watched Aiden recline on the couch and stretch her long body gracefully. “Could you move one arm behind your head and bend your left leg a little?”

“Like this?”

“No… a little more…” Dawn gestured. “No, no, that’s a little too far.” She stepped closer to the couch and reached out a hand to position Aiden’s arm exactly the way she wanted it. Aiden’s skin was warm and soft, and Dawn found herself lingering a few seconds longer than strictly necessary. Aiden was lying still, but Dawn could hear a sharp intake of breath and could feel the muscles under her hand start to vibrate. “Like this,” Dawn finally said and stepped back.

She sat down in the easy chair across from Aiden and picked up her sketch pad. For a few seconds, she just looked at Aiden’s body, overwhelmed and sure that she could never do it justice.

Aiden didn’t say anything, didn’t become impatient. She lay still and waited for Dawn to start drawing.

Come on. You can do this, Dawn encouraged herself. Just focus on one little detail after another. She finally lifted her pastel stick to the sketch pad, her eyes still on Aiden. She traced the shape of a strong shoulder on the paper, then sketched the well-defined muscles of her arm. She worked silently, focusing on one body part after another and trying to portray it in loving detail.

During the last few months, she had mainly seen Aiden as a person she admired - a competent detective, a strong woman, a loyal friend, a supportive girlfriend. She had been aware of the attraction she felt toward Aiden since she had first seen her, but it had faded into the background after her rape. Now she allowed herself to really see the desirable woman and to let herself react to what she saw, channeling her thoughts and feelings into the drawing that slowly emerged under her hands.

She gently smudged the curve of a small, firm breast with her thumb to give it a softer look. Finally, when everything else was done, she sketched in the details of Aiden’s face, which she had left until last. She looked back and forth between Aiden and the sketch pad, smiling when their gazes met and she saw Aiden’s lips curl into a smile before she resumed her “professional model” expression.

Dawn bent over the sketch pad. She traced a stubborn jaw with the pastel stick, moved her hand in small, quick half-circles to sketch in the black, ruffled locks, and softly rubbed her fingers over the paper to hint at the shadows under proud cheekbones. Finally, she tried to achieve the exact hue of the amber eyes that calmly looked back at her.

When Dawn finally exhaled and straightened, she noticed that some time must have passed. The muscles in her back protested from being bent over the sketch pad for so long, and the natural light in the living room was almost gone.

“Done?” Aiden asked, still holding her pose.

Dawn nodded.

Aiden stretched languidly and shook her arm that had been behind her head the whole time. “Can I see?” she asked.

“Sure.”

Aiden slipped her pants and shirt back on, not bothering with the buttons or her bra. She moved across the room and looked over Dawn’s shoulder, so close to her that Dawn could feel the warmth of her bare skin. “Wow.”

“Yes,” Dawn agreed, her voice a little hoarse. “Wow.” She looked down at the drawing, then at its model. “You’re really beautiful.”

“No, I mean, wow, you’re really talented,” Aiden said.

Dawn looked down at the sketch pad, barely preventing herself from running a gentle finger over the drawing. “It turned out better than I thought it would,” Dawn said. She smiled at Aiden. “Having a beautiful model does make it easier.”

Aiden shook her head. “It’s not me who created this drawing. You’re very talented,” she repeated, studying the drawing of herself over Dawn’s shoulder. Finally, she looked up and grinned at Dawn. “Models usually get paid for this, right? So, do I get a reward?”

“Sure, but I don’t think you’re gonna be as happy as my usual model with a can of tuna. What do you want as a reward?” Dawn asked.

“What are you offering?”

Dawn knew it would have been natural for Aiden to playfully demand a kiss as a payment, but Aiden always let her take the lead and initiate any contact. She always took care not to tease Dawn in any way about their physical intimacy. “Whatever you want,” Dawn answered, firmly placing her trust in Aiden.

“I’d love to have a picture of you,” Aiden said. She pointed at the sketch pad.

Dawn hadn’t expected that. “I…”

“It doesn’t have to be a nude one,” Aiden added quickly.

“It’s not that. It’s just… I can’t draw myself. I’ve tried it before, but for some reason I never get it right.” She looked at Aiden with an apologetic shrug. “Sorry.”

Aiden answered the shrug with one of her own and grinned at Dawn. “Then I guess I’ll take that can of tuna after all.”

“How about a kiss instead?” Dawn suggested. She felt comfortable with offering it because they both knew that every kiss between them meant so much more than simple payment.

“I’ll never say no to that,” Aiden answered, ducking her head a little to look into Dawn’s eyes.

Dawn stepped closer and wrapped her arms around Aiden. She slid her hands over Aiden’s sides and up her back, directing her closer.

Aiden went willingly, lowering her lips to meet Dawn’s.

Heat shot through Dawn as their lips and bodies touched. Aiden’s unbuttoned shirt parted, and Dawn was suddenly pressed against the naked upper body she had drawn a few minutes ago. Aiden’s body heat skyrocketed her own. She could feel the firm muscles of Aiden’s stomach and the softness of her breasts press against her body, separated only by the thin layer of the shirt Dawn was wearing. She now knew what lay beneath the rest of Aiden’s clothes, and the memories added to the intensity of the moment.

Dawn started to pant. She tore her lips away from Aiden’s and pressed her face against Aiden’s shoulder instead. The kiss and her feelings were quickly getting out of control, and it scared her a little, but at the same time, she didn’t want to end this contact. She turned her head, resting her cheek against the bare skin of Aiden’s upper chest, and deeply inhaled her scent. She felt Aiden’s fingers softly comb through her hair.

“Mmm,” Aiden hummed. “You’re very talented at this, too.”

Dawn could feel Aiden’s heart pound under her ear. At the same time, Aiden’s willingness to rein herself in and her reassuring compliment were calming her own wild heartbeat. She brushed her lips against Aiden’s collarbone and then quickly stepped back. “Come on,” she said, grasping Aiden’s hand. “Let’s get you something to eat.”

Aiden willingly followed her to the kitchen. “Not a can of tuna, I hope?”

Dawn laughed. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

CHAPTER 32

AIDEN LAY AWAKE and stared into the darkness, listening to Dawn’s soft breathing next to her. Dawn had fallen asleep over an hour ago, but for some reason, Aiden was wide-awake. She knew it wasn’t Dawn’s presence in her bed. Aiden had never liked sharing her home or her bed with anyone, but after four days of having Dawn stay with her, she found that she actually liked having Dawn around.

Dawn’s body didn’t touch hers while they slept, but her breathing in the otherwise quiet, dark room was soothing after a hard day at work.

The peaceful silence was suddenly interrupted by a long moan. The covers rustled as Dawn began to toss and turn in her sleep.

Shit! She’s having another nightmare! Aiden quickly sat up and tried to make out Dawn’s face in the darkness. “Dawn?”

No answer, just another moan.

Aiden reached out a hand to turn on the light. Initially, she had hesitated to wake Dawn from the nightmares she was still having sometimes. She hadn’t wanted to scare Dawn even more by waking her abruptly, but Dawn had assured her that nothing could be more frightening than her nightmares.

Aiden turned on the light, but Dawn still didn’t wake. Aiden reached out a hand to gently touch her when Dawn moaned again.

Aiden froze.

She suddenly realized that Dawn wasn’t tossing and turning like someone in the throes of a nightmare and not moaning in fear and pain. She was moving and sounding like a woman writhing under her lover’s passionate touches.

Aiden withdrew her hand and grinned. Glad to see that she’s still having some sexual impulses. She had often wondered during their more passionate kisses if Dawn was in any position to feel real desire for her, or if she was just going along with what she thought was expected of her. Guess this answers that question.

Dawn’s hand slid sensually over the sheet as if reaching for something - or someone.

I wonder if she’s dreaming about me? Aiden thought with a smile. She watched as Dawn threw her head back, baring her neck to the kisses of her dream lover. She felt a little guilty for watching Dawn like a voyeur, but she couldn’t look away.

Another sound came from Dawn, and this time it wasn’t a sensual moan or a breathless gasp of passion. This time, it was a whimper of fear and distress. The sensual writhing turned into a desperate struggle against an unseen attacker.

“Dawn!” Aiden cleared her throat and repeated more loudly, “Dawn! Sweetheart, wake up!”

Dawn woke with a gasp, sitting up and clutching the sheet to her chest. She looked around in confusion.

“You were dreaming,” Aiden said softly. She was careful not to touch Dawn in any way.

Dawn buried her face in her hands. “Oh, God,” she groaned.

“It was a bad one, huh?” Aiden asked, studying Dawn with compassion.

“Yes… no… I mean, no, it wasn’t worse than usual, but this time, it started out as…” Dawn trailed off and rubbed her face, clearly too embarrassed to continue or even look at Aiden.

“I know,” Aiden said quietly.

Slowly, Dawn took her hands away from her face and glanced at Aiden. “You… you know? You know… what?”

“I know you were having a… sexy dream.” Aiden grinned to ease Dawn’s tension.

Dawn groaned. A blush crept up her face. “What did I do?”

“Nothing,” Aiden said. “You just sounded like you were enjoying yourself.” She reached out and slowly, softly touched Dawn’s shoulder. “Hey, that’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It means that you’re starting to think about having sex and sharing intimacy again… and that’s a good thing, right?”

“Yeah,” Dawn said, not sounding very convinced, “but then you turned into… I mean… Suddenly it was Garret Ballard’s body on top of me and his hands that were touching me and…” Dawn shuddered.

Aiden squeezed her eyes shut. She had turned into Garret Ballard in Dawn’s dream. Her loving touches had turned into something hurtful. Did this mean that Dawn associated her with a rapist like Ballard or her father in any way? That Dawn’s subconsciousness thought her capable of hurting her?

Dawn reached over and touched Aiden’s forearm for a moment. “My dream had nothing to do with you,” she said, intuitively knowing what was going through Aiden’s head. “Well, the first one featured you in a prominent role,” she added with an embarrassed half smile, “but the second one was about my own fears and issues and about nothing else.”

Aiden studied Dawn, who was still trembling slightly. “Wanna tell me about those fears and issues? Maybe it would help to talk about it.” She always hesitated to offer this kind of help because she felt ill-prepared to help Dawn emotionally. Dawn’s pain paralyzed Aiden. Additionally, she often felt awkward offering psychological help to a psychologist, who was much better at this than she was. On the other hand, she wanted Dawn to know she was there for her despite her own insecurities.

“It’s just so hard to realize that everything has changed,” Dawn said with a sigh. “Making love has always been something special, almost sacred to me. It was beautiful and unmarred, but that night… it changed all of that. Suddenly, violence and sexual stimulation are no longer separate. Sex suddenly feels like something uncontrollable that could easily hurt me.”

“I hope you know that I would never hurt you, especially not in that way,” Aiden said, her voice rough with emotions.

“This is not about what you’re doing - it’s about what I’m feeling,” Dawn told her.

Aiden nodded. “What can I do to help make physical intimacy feel like something beautiful and positive again?”

“You’re already doing everything within your power.” Dawn reached out and entangled her fingers with Aiden’s. “It just takes some time.”

Aiden stroked her thumb over the back of Dawn’s hand. “I know,” she said. She studied Dawn’s worried expression. “And we have all the time it takes. You never have to worry about me getting impatient or hooking up with someone else because I was sick of waiting for you.” She saw Dawn flinch but knew it needed to be said.

“I didn’t…” Dawn began.

“Yes, you did,” Aiden objected gently. She knew it was exactly what had caused Dawn’s worried frown.

Dawn sighed. “I just feel like this isn’t really fair to you.”

“Fair?” Aiden repeated. “You being raped, that’s what wasn’t fair. You didn’t choose that, but I chose being with you out of my own free will. Please don’t feel like I’m getting the short end of the stick.”

Dawn sighed again, but this time, it sounded almost blissful. “You’re so good for me. You should be a recognized therapy,” she said with a smile.

“Doctor Carlisle, huh? I like the sound of that.” She tucked a strand of blond hair behind one of Dawn’s ears. “Want to try to go to sleep again?”

Dawn nodded. With her hand still resting in Aiden’s, she closed her eyes.

* * *

“Dawn?” Aiden called through the closed bathroom door.

She could hear the shower being shut off, and then Dawn answered, “Yes?”

“Can I come in for a second? Your cat coughed up a hairball, and I need the cleaning rag that I keep in the bathroom.” Aiden expected a teasing answer about her emphasis of “your cat” whenever the litter box or a soiled carpet needed to be cleaned but was greeted by momentary silence instead.

“Uh… um… could you wait a minute?” Dawn finally answered. “I’ll come out as soon as I’m dressed.”

Aiden respectfully stayed in front of the door and tried not to feel hurt. Do you really want to make her uncomfortable just because the cat upchucked all over your carpet? You’re not that desperate to see her naked, are you?

The truth was that the sexual tension between them was increasing. Every time she was near Dawn, she had the desire to touch her, to be close to her. She tried to fight the physical attraction and hold back even if every glance from Dawn made her breath catch and her heart thump. She was determined to let Dawn set the pace, but it was getting harder and harder to stop.

The bathroom door opened, and Dawn stepped out. She was fully clothed, but the top buttons of her blouse were unfastened, and the fabric was clinging to her hastily dried skin.

Aiden snatched the cleaning rag from her hand and went to investigate if cleaning up cat puke had a calming effect on her libido.

It seemed to work. Aiden finally felt calm enough to settle down on the couch and read through the reports she had brought home from work. A minute later, Kia, Dawn’s chocolate-and cream-colored cat, settled down on her lap. Aiden thumbed through the first report one-handed while her left hand scratched the cat under the chin. Having a feline roommate was not a bad thing at all.

“Ah, ah, ah.” Dawn lifted the hissing cat from its place on Aiden’s lap and set it down on the cat blanket. “Sorry, Kia, but now it’s my turn to cuddle up to her.”

Aiden watched with raised eyebrows as Dawn did just that. She curled up in front of Aiden and leaned her side against Aiden’s body. One of Dawn’s hands took charge of the TV remote while the other slid under the sleeve of Aiden’s T-shirt and caressed the skin of her arm and shoulder.

The curious fingertips were driving Aiden crazy, but at the same time, she couldn’t find the strength to stop them. The report in her hands slipped lower and lower. “I can’t read like this,” she attempted a halfhearted protest.

“Is it important that you read it now?” Dawn asked, peering at the report without reading.

Aiden was equally careful not to let graphic reports of rape lie around the apartment, knowing that it could trigger a flashback. “Not really. I’m reviewing it for court on Monday.” She set down the report and lightly slipped her arms around Dawn.

Dawn snuggled closer and covered Aiden’s arms with her own, drawing them closer around her. “This is nice,” she whispered.

“Yeah.” Aiden craned her neck to catch a look at Dawn’s face. She often wondered if Dawn was as affected by their physical closeness as she was, or if the rape had throttled all sexual impulses she might have had. Was Dawn going through the motions of kissing and cuddling without feeling any real desire?

There were times when Dawn couldn’t stand to be touched or have any physical contact. On other days, Dawn searched her out and cuddled so close as if she was desperate to absorb her body heat. Sometimes she even initiated passionate kisses that were no help in Aiden’s attempts to hold back. Aiden respected the former and bravely endured the latter while keeping a tight rein on her own passion.

She tried to divert herself from Dawn’s closeness and her lingering touch by watching the news on TV and had almost succeeded when the fingers that had been resting on her shoulder dipped lower and accidentally brushed against the side of her breast. A wave of heat shot down her body, followed by goose bumps. “Uh… Dawn!” She stilled Dawn’s hand with her own.

Dawn’s fingers retreated from under the T-shirt and came to rest on Aiden’s shoulder as Dawn turned and leaned over her. She playfully touched her nose to Aiden’s in an Eskimo kiss.

Aiden’s eyes wanted to close as she felt Dawn’s breath on her lips, but she forced them to remain open. She held still as Dawn slowly lowered herself. Their lips brushed and then jerked back for a second before meeting again in a firmer contact. Aiden moaned at the warmth of Dawn’s lips and the softness of the breasts that were pressing against her. Her arms lifted without conscious thought and tightened around Dawn. She caressed Dawn’s back as she deepened the kiss, careful not to move her hands any lower than the small of her back.

Dawn pressed closer and moaned against Aiden’s lips.

Aiden fought desperately not to roll over and press her hips against Dawn’s. She struggled to ignore the demands of her rising excitement to let Dawn have this experience. Finally, her body felt as if it had reached its boiling point. She drew back with a gasp. “Dawn… please, we’ve got to stop.”

“Mmm…” Dawn followed her to nibble on her lips. “Why?” Her voice sounded dazed.

“Because you’re not ready, and I’m only human.”

Dawn squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face against Aiden’s shoulder. She was still breathing hard. “Sorry,” she mumbled against Aiden’s shirt. “I’m sorry. I want to make love to you. I really, really want to, but…”

“No. You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. There’s nothing wrong with just making out, without going any further right now.” Aiden tightened her arms around Dawn once more, enjoying the feel of the small body against her own for a few extra seconds before releasing her. “Hey, wanna go on an ice cream run with me?”

“Ice cream? Now?”

Aiden’s lips formed a trembling grin. “Yeah. It’s either that or a cold shower.”

Dawn forced her body up from the couch and Aiden. “Ice cream it is.”

* * *

Dawn raced up the stairs, taking two at a time, and slid to a stop in front of Aiden’s apartment door. Her fingers, trembling with excitement, fumbled with the key that Aiden had given her for the time she stayed in the apartment.

Finally, the door opened, and Dawn tumbled into the apartment. “Aiden?”

Instead of an answer, rhythmic thumps and muffled groans came from the bedroom.

Dawn reined in her excitement and went to investigate.

Aiden was in the bedroom, agilely dancing around a punching bag that hung from the ceiling. Chains rattled and leather groaned as she hit it again and again.

Sweatpants, cut off at the knees, and a tank top clung to Aiden’s sweat-drenched frame. A light sheen of perspiration glistened on well-muscled calves and arms. Her short hair had the tousled look that always made Dawn want to run her fingers through it. The amber eyes were glowing against the flushed face that was wild and focused at the same time.

Dawn had never seen anything so primal - and so sexy. Without allowing herself time to think, she crossed the room and wrapped her arms around the swaying bag to stop its movement.

Aiden stumbled as her punch suddenly missed its target. She grabbed the bag for balance and looked up sharply when her bare skin touched Dawn, as if she hadn’t been aware of her presence before.

Dawn looked up at her. “Hi.” Despite Aiden’s physical exertion, Dawn was the one who was too breathless to say much more.

“Dawn…” Aiden moved back, the punching bag now between them. “What are you doing here?”

“I live here at the moment, remember?”

“Yeah, but…”

Dawn stepped around the bag and touched one of the gloved hands. Her body demanded closeness even though Aiden was moving back. “I wanted to get home early to thank the good fairy who waved her magic wand over my car and made it whole again.”

Aiden moved back a step and tried to open the boxing gloves with her teeth. “This is not a good time.”

Now, up close, Dawn could see the weariness in Aiden’s eyes. She had vented her rage about something that must have happened at work on the punching bag - and that rage was still there, glowing in the depths of the amber eyes. “I’m not afraid,” she said, her voice firm.

Aiden’s head jerked up, and their gazes met. “Maybe you should be,” she whispered.

Dawn held out her arms. “Come here.”

“No.” Aiden moved back.

“Come here.”

A few droplets fell from her face as Aiden shook her head. “I don’t want to get you all sweaty.”

“Maybe I’ve just been waiting for an opportunity to get all sweaty with you?” Dawn winked at her.

Aiden looked stunned for a second, and then her laughter broke the tension.

Dawn drew the finally unresisting woman into her arms. She felt the boxing gloves gently come to rest on her back and inhaled deeply. For a few seconds, she was tempted to forget all about talking and kiss Aiden senseless instead, but she knew that Aiden needed to talk. “What happened?”

This time, Aiden didn’t even try to lie or avoid the topic. “We had to let a child molester walk because the whole family refuses to talk.”

“No other witnesses? No evidence?”

Aiden sighed. “Nothing that would hold up in court.”

“I’m sorry,” Dawn said and wrapped her arms tighter around the damp body, not caring what the contact did to her elegant pantsuit. Aiden’s curves fit perfectly against her own. She only stepped back when she felt Aiden begin to shudder as her bare legs and arms cooled. “Go shower.” She gently laid a hand on Aiden’s back and led her in the direction of the bathroom.

“I could use a little help,” Aiden said over her shoulder.

Dawn’s hand fell from her back. “You want me to help you… in the shower?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Doc.” Aiden laughed. “The only things that you get to take off my body are these boxing gloves.”

“For now,” Dawn interjected with a daring grin.

“My, my, you certainly are in a mood, hmm?”

Dawn smiled while she helped Aiden take off the gloves. “Having my ‘sardine can’ delivered to me as good as new, complete with car keys and a big red bow wrapped around it does that to me.” Even though Aiden had promised to have one of Ruben’s friends take care of the car, Dawn had secretly feared that the old car was beyond repair. She had never cared much for cars in general, but this car was a link to her dad and therefore special. Now, after less than a week, the car looked better than it had for years.

“So, cars are an aphrodisiac for you? And here I thought it was all the bare skin that I’m displaying,” Aiden said, turning to resume her way to the bathroom.

Dawn wrapped her arms around her from behind and kissed a droplet of sweat from her neck. “There’s that, too. Don’t think that it’ll make me forget that you paid for having the car repaired even though I told you I don’t want to be a kept woman,” she gently chided.

“It was an exception,” Aiden promised. She turned in the embrace and gently kissed Dawn. Even her lips tasted salty. Her movements were tired, and her arms hung down as if they were still weighted down by the heavy gloves. Dawn realized that Aiden must have tried to punch the bag into submission for quite a while. Every muscle in her body had to hurt. “Take a shower and then come to the bedroom.”

“I think I’ll just crash on the couch tonight.”

Dawn grabbed her sweaty arm when she tried to walk away. “No. You’re trying to protect me from something that I need no protection from. I can take care of myself - and I can take care of you. So go, take a shower, and then come to the bedroom.”

Aiden stared into her eyes for a few seconds, searching for a confirmation that Dawn didn’t need her to be in control of herself, that she would be able to hold her own against Aiden’s demons. Finally, she nodded and closed the bathroom door behind her.

* * *

The apartment lay in silence when Aiden left the bathroom. She felt refreshed, not only from the shower, but also because she finally believed that she could let go of her iron self-control. She knew that Dawn would take over if she stumbled.

She padded through the empty living room in search of her temporary roommate. She opened the bedroom door quietly, just in case that Dawn had fallen asleep.

Dawn wasn’t sleeping - and suddenly, Aiden was wide-awake, too. Dawn was sitting on the bed, surrounded by flickering candles. She had changed out of her pantsuit and was wearing only the knee-length sleep-shirt that Aiden secretly loved because it frequently slipped from one shoulder. The room smelled of vanilla and sandalwood. A bottle of Aiden’s favorite red wine was resting on the bedside table.

Dawn turned back the covers and invitingly patted the bed. “Lie down.”

“Uh… what’s the meaning of all this?” Aiden asked when she had taken in every lovingly prepared detail. The whole scene resembled the romantic attempts of seduction from her younger days.

“Does it have to mean anything?”

Aiden raised her brows.

“Then maybe it means that I care about you and that I want you to relax for one evening,” Dawn suggested, again patting the mattress.

Half relieved and half disappointed that this was not a seduction, Aiden crawled onto the bed and lay down on her belly. She immediately turned her head to see what Dawn would do.

“Close your eyes and relax,” Dawn ordered.

Aiden closed her eyes. She felt the mattress dip as Dawn moved closer. Aiden fought against the impulse to open her eyes. Dawn’s warmth rested lightly against her side. She held her breath when she felt Dawn lean over her. Dawn’s hair brushed the back of her neck. It took all her self-control not to roll over and capture Dawn’s lips in a passionate kiss. Then Dawn’s warm hands came to rest on her shoulders and squeezed experimentally. A groan wrenched from Aiden’s lips.

“Sounds like you could use a massage,” Dawn said. Her hands slipped under the T-shirt and began to knead the muscles of Aiden’s shoulders.

Aiden groaned again as her muscles, tense from the day’s frustrations and her workout with the punching bag, finally relaxed. “You don’t have to pamper me like this. You just came home from work yourself,” Aiden protested halfheartedly.

Dawn’s small but strong hands began to work on a large knot between Aiden’s shoulder blades. “I want to.” The fingers moved down on both sides of her spine.

Aiden turned her head to peer up at Dawn. “I can take the shirt off if it’s in the way,” she offered softly.

When Dawn nodded, she slipped it over her head and lay back down. The scent of sandalwood filled the air again, and Aiden reopened her eyes to see Dawn pour massage oil into her hands to warm it up. “Mmm, I get to enjoy the full R &&nbsp;R program.”

Dawn didn’t answer, too concentrated on her task. Her hands began to knead Aiden’s upper back again and then traveled over her shoulders. Gentle fingertips slid up her neck and played with the short hair there for a while.

Aiden shuddered when Dawn dragged her nails down her spine. Dawn’s fingertips stopped at the small of her back and lightly traced the birthmark that Aiden knew was located there. Dawn took her time, circling every birthmark, every freckle, and every scar. Her fingers splayed over Aiden’s back as if measuring its length and breadth.

It occurred to Aiden that Dawn needed this massage just as much as she did. For Dawn, it was a nonthreatening way to be physically close to her, to experiment with closeness and touching, and to get to know her body without feeling the pressure to go any further. She tried to lie still and take calming breaths even though Dawn’s touches weren’t soothing so much as exciting her body.

Dawn’s fingers followed the contours of her shoulder blades and brushed, maybe by accident, against the outer curve of one breast, making Aiden gasp. Dawn seemed to be completely unaware of the effect her touch was having on Aiden. Finally, Aiden couldn’t take the sweet torture anymore. She raised herself up on her knees and slipped her T-shirt back on. “Your turn.” She nodded down at the mattress.

Dawn knelt on the bed without moving.

“Come on,” Aiden encouraged. “I haven’t broken anyone’s spine yet.” She busied herself with the massage oil, making a point of looking away from Dawn as she slipped the sleep-shirt over her head and lay down.

Aiden decided not to straddle Dawn for the massage. It would have given her the best angle, but she wasn’t sure if Dawn would be able to relax with her weight pressing her down. Aiden knelt next to Dawn and lowered her hands onto small, but lightly muscled shoulders. She noticed that her fingers were trembling. Carefully, she began to smooth the oil over the pale skin, staying well away from the sensitive sides. She kneaded and caressed until she felt the tension ebb from the body under her hands. Dawn’s gaze rested on her the whole time, but she didn’t tell her to close her eyes, knowing that unexpected touches in the dark often scared her. When she reached the small of her back, she moved farther down the bed and lifted one small foot into her lap.

Dawn moaned as Aiden rubbed each toe. Aiden bravely ignored the sensual sound and let her fingers swirl up her instep and past the ankle. She kneaded the strong muscles of her calf with a little more pressure. The massage continued up the leg until she reached the knee. Hyperaware of Dawn’s reactions, she felt the slight tensing when her fingers strayed higher. Without comment, Aiden let go of the leg, picked up the other foot, and started the same treatment.

When she finally stopped, Dawn half turned to look up at her with now smoky-gray eyes.

Aiden caressed Dawn’s face with a single finger. She leaned in, careful not to touch Dawn’s half-naked body, and brushed her lips against Dawn’s.

Dawn rolled around and wrapped her arms around Aiden’s neck to pull her more firmly into the kiss.

Aiden moaned when she felt the naked torso press against her T-shirt-clad body. Her hips shifted against Dawn’s. Her fingers flexed, fighting against the urge to wander over the bare skin. She let them tangle in the smooth, golden-blond strands instead. She nibbled on Dawn’s lips, and when they opened in response, she leaned over Dawn more fully to have a better angle.

Dawn gasped and shifted under her. Her grip on Aiden’s shoulders tightened.

It took a few moments for Aiden’s passion-clouded mind to notice that those were not signs of desire but an attempt to stop her. She immediately moved back, breaking the contact between their bodies.

Dawn lay flat on her back. Her breathing came in gasps. Aiden wasn’t sure if it was more a sign of arousal or of fear. She looked up at Aiden with wild eyes. “I’m sorry. I just… It…”

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” Aiden rubbed both hands over her face. She closed her eyes to control herself and to give Dawn an opportunity to slip her shirt back on. “Tell me what I did wrong… what can trigger a flashback for you. I need to know so that I don’t accidentally…”

Dawn sank back against the headboard. “I don’t know either, Aiden. I haven’t even thought about sharing physical… sexual intimacy with anyone since the rape, so how would I know?” There was desperation, almost something like anger, in her voice.

“We’ll figure it out together.” Aiden moved closer and, never taking her gaze from Dawn’s face, wrapped her arms around the trembling body. She was relieved to feel Dawn press closer.

“I think… it was… your fingers were in my hair and…”

“You don’t like that?”

“I do… I did.” Dawn gazed up at her. “I enjoyed what we did… very much so, but I also felt a little out of control and that scared me. And then your fingers in my hair and your body on top of mine… he… Ballard, he grabbed my hair when he forced me to kiss him.”

Aiden bit her lip. It hurt to think that she had triggered memories of the rape in Dawn. “I’ll be more careful next time,” she said with the solemnity of an oath.

Dawn’s arms wrapped around her waist and squeezed. “You’re already the gentlest and most patient lover I could wish for.”

“And the most talented?” Aiden tried a grin.

She was glad to see Dawn smile. “But of course.”

“Want to go to sleep now?”

When Dawn nodded, she reached out an arm and extinguished the candles even though she knew that she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep anytime soon.

* * *

Someone was in her bedroom.

She tried to turn on the light but couldn’t move. He had her arms pinned to the bed. His body on top of hers held her down. She could feel his breath on her face. Screaming, she tried to dislodge him.

“Dawn! Dawn!”

It was not his voice. Someone else was there, in her bedroom. Help! Dawn struggled again, and suddenly, her arms were free and she swung them around.

“Ow! Dawn! Dawn, sweetheart, you’re dreaming. C’mon, wake up. It’s just a dream.”

Dawn shot up. Her eyes flew open. She pressed a hand over her rapidly beating heart and looked around. She wasn’t in her bedroom, and Gary Ballard wasn’t there. She was with Aiden. She was safe. Dawn shook her head to fight off the remnants of her nightmare.

“Hey…” Aiden’s voice was gentle. “Are you all right?”

She took a deep breath. “Yeah, just a nightmare.”

Aiden reached out a hand but hesitated to touch her until Dawn nodded her agreement. Dawn loved her for her intuitive understanding of how difficult it was for her to be touched right now. She closed her eyes when Aiden rubbed half-dried tears from her cheeks. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Dawn sighed. “It was just the usual. I dreamed that I was back in my old bedroom and couldn’t move because he held me down.” She didn’t want to go into too much detail, fearing that it would trigger another flashback.

“Shit!” Aiden slapped her own forehead. “I’m sorry. I think that was me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I woke up when you started tossing and turning and screaming. I had moved toward your side of the bed and wrapped an arm around you in my sleep - I practically held you down,” Aiden said, her expression guilty.

Dawn shook her head. “No, it’s not your fault. I had the same nightmare a hundred times when I slept alone.”

“But you haven’t had one in a while, have you? Is there something that caused it now?” Aiden’s amber eyes looked at her with concern.

“Maybe it has something to do with my work. I saw a patient today whose story hit a little too close to home,” Dawn confessed.

“You treated a rape victim?” Aiden’s brow furrowed. For the first time in her life, it wasn’t the victim Aiden thought of first and foremost. “Why didn’t someone else take that patient? I thought your colleagues agreed to see all rape and abuse cases?”

Dawn sighed. “Well, it’s not like all of them come in and reveal to the secretary that they’re here because they were raped. It was a teenage girl whose parents sent her because of her ‘behavioral problems.’ It wasn’t until the eighth session that she trusted me enough to tell me that she was raped.”

“Do you plan on referring her to one of your colleagues?”

Dawn appreciated the concern in Aiden’s voice, but she shook her head. “I can’t do that. It took a lot of trust and courage on her part to tell me. If I refuse to see her again, she might not continue her therapy. I can’t destroy all that hard work just because it’s hard for me.”

“Dawn…”

She touched Aiden’s cheek for a second. “Don’t worry. I’ll talk it over with my supervisor. I really think I can do it. I can help this girl.” Dawn didn’t just say it for Aiden’s sake. Now that she knew exactly what a rape survivor had been through, she could help them on a whole new level.

“Okay,” Aiden relented, “you’re the expert.”

The simple words of trust made Dawn smile.

“Do you want to try and go to sleep again?” Aiden asked.

Dawn knew that there would be no more sleep for her this night. “I think I’ll stay up for a while, maybe watch some Xena reruns or something. I’ll turn down the volume. Don’t worry.”

“Why don’t you stay right here instead? Let’s talk for a while, hmm?”

“I don’t want to keep you up. You have to work tomorrow,” Dawn halfheartedly protested.

Aiden gently pinched her nose. “I’ve been up all night before. I’m used to it. But maybe you want to be left alone to ogle your Warrior Princess?”

Dawn laughed. “No, thanks, I have my very own warrior; that’s enough for me. Or do you want to go and drool over Gabrielle again?”

“I never drooled over that bard,” Aiden said. “I have my own drool-worthy strawberry blonde.”

“Drool-worthy, hmm?” Dawn grinned. Hearing how she affected Aiden as a woman was like a healing balm for her battered perception of her own attractiveness. She leaned forward to touch her lips to Aiden’s. “Hey, what’s that?” Her thumb rubbed lightly over the dark smudge on Aiden’s jaw but jerked back when Aiden flinched. “Is that a bruise?”

Aiden turned her head away so that the light from the bedside table couldn’t reach that side of her face anymore. “It’s nothing.”

Dawn fluently translated the cop jargon: it hurts like hell, but I don’t want you to know. Suddenly, she remembered the desperate kicks and punches she had thrown at her nightmare attacker. She vaguely remembered hitting flesh. “Oh, God! Was that… me?”

“Let’s just say that those self-defense classes are starting to pay off. You pack quite a punch, girl.” Aiden was grinning proudly.

Dawn was anything but proud, though. “I’m so sorry.” She reached out to lightly touch the bruise again. “I didn’t want to…”

“It’s okay, really.” Aiden took Dawn’s hand off her jaw and pressed a kiss to every single finger. “It’s good to see that you know how to hit someone hard enough to hurt.”

Dawn still couldn’t see anything positive about her hitting Aiden. She slipped out of bed and returned with a ziplock bag full of ice. “Lie down.” She tugged on Aiden’s shirt until Aiden’s head came to rest in her lap. With one hand she held the bag to Aiden’s jaw while the other gently combed through strands of the short, black hair.

“Hmmm, you can hit me anytime.” Aiden closed her eyes with a hedonistic grin, her limbs sprawled across the bed like a puppy that just got its belly rubbed.

“That’s not funny.”

“Okay, okay.” Aiden turned her head to press a kiss to Dawn’s knee. “So, what do we talk about?”

Dawn thought about the million things she wanted to know about Aiden. She supposed she would just begin at the beginning. “Tell me about your childhood,” she suggested.

The body resting in her lap tensed.

“What were you like in kindergarten?” Dawn quickly added.

“What?” Aiden’s laughter broke the tension.

Dawn smoothed a finger over a dark eyebrow. “Come on, don’t be shy. Tell me. I bet you were cute as hell.”

Aiden snorted. “Cute is not the word my kindergarten teachers would have used to describe me. I drove them crazy, always climbing on trees and skinning my knees.”

Dawn would have loved to see that. “Do you have photos?”

“No. My mom was never big on family photos.”

Silence spread. The shadow of Aiden’s father lurked in the room. “Tell me about your mother. What was she like?” She left the question vague enough that Aiden wouldn’t feel backed into a corner.

“I imagine you already know as much about her as I do,” Aiden answered.

Dawn shook her head. “I know a lot about her as an artist, not about her as a mother and a human being. What did she like to do when she wasn’t painting?”

“Drinking,” Aiden said bitterly.

Dawn softly stroked the bruised jaw. “Are there really no positive things that you remember about her?”

Aiden sighed. “She loved teaching,” she finally answered. “She taught art at the university.”

“So you do have some things in common with her,” Dawn pointed out.

Aiden peered up at her with a skeptical gaze. “I know nothing about art. You know that.”

“Maybe not about art, but you are a good teacher.” Dawn nodded when she saw Aiden start to shake her head. “I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher when you taught me how to wall-climb. And you have the patience of a saint with Jamie.”

“My mother was nothing like me.” Aiden still couldn’t believe what Dawn was trying to tell her. “She wasn’t into sports at all. She liked languages, literature, and expensive wine.”

Dawn let her fingertips caress the slight dimple in Aiden’s chin. She was aware of the implied self-criticism, but she let it go. “Sounds like a woman I would have liked.”

“She would have liked you,” Aiden answered. “She would have dragged you out of my arms and into her studio, discussing art for hours.”

There was a smile on Aiden’s face as she imagined her mother and Dawn bonding in such a way, but it was also clear to Dawn that Aiden felt excluded from that part of her mother’s life. “Was she aware that you might bring home a woman someday?”

The head resting in her lap shook. “I never told her, no.”

“She wouldn’t have been overjoyed to hear that you live in a lesbian relationship, hmm?” Dawn guessed.

“Probably not, but I never had the courage to find out. Our relationship was damaged enough as it was, and I didn’t want to disappoint her more than I already had,” Aiden murmured.

Dawn stroked the bitter lines from Aiden’s face. “Disappoint?” she repeated softly. “Why do you think you were a disappointment to your mother?”

“From the moment of my conception, nothing about me was like the daughter she wanted to have.”

“Did she tell you that?” Dawn asked, already sure what the answer would be.

“She didn’t need to,” Aiden answered. “It was obvious. She was an artist; I’m barely able to draw crime-scene sketches. She loved architecture and literature; I’m a jock. She didn’t like my choice of careers, and she probably wouldn’t have liked my sexual orientation.”

“She loved you,” Dawn said, looking right into the amber eyes.

Aiden sighed. “Yeah. I guess so.”

“She loved you and was proud of you,” Dawn said with more determination. “I don’t have to guess to know that.” She pointed up to the wall and the two portraits that hung above the bed.

Aiden looked up, too. “She was an artist. Of course she would draw me sometime, too. That proves nothing.”

“Maybe not the fact that she painted a portrait of you - but the way she did it. Look at this.” Dawn pointed at the older portrait. It showed a tiny baby being cradled in her mother’s arms. “What do you see?”

Aiden shrugged. “Me as a baby.”

“You look beautiful and innocent,” Dawn said, studying the portrait.

“All babies look beautiful and innocent,” Aiden objected.

Dawn shook her head. “Your mother made you look beautiful and innocent in the portrait because that was the way she saw you.”

“I was just a baby,” Aiden said again. “Everyone thinks babies are beautiful and innocent.”

“What about this?” Dawn pointed to the second portrait. “How old were you when your mother painted that?” The portrait showed Aiden as a teenager, her lanky frame sprawled on a couch in a posture of typical teenage rebellion. The honey-colored eyes held a hint of warmth, though, not the careless disrespect Dawn had expected.

“It was her present for my sixteenth birthday. We fought about it for days - I had wanted a car instead,” Aiden said with a chuckle.

Dawn stroked the bruised jaw. “She loved you. She knew you were basically a good girl and would become a wonderful woman. It’s obvious in every little detail.” She pointed at the familiar golden flecks in the eyes of the teenager in the portrait and at the way the long hands were wrapped around a can of pop, carefully keeping any drips from falling onto the couch. “Just because it wasn’t always easy between the two of you doesn’t mean she loved you any less.”

Aiden lifted her hand and caressed the fingers that held the ice bag to her jaw. “You’re right. I sometimes forget all the happy moments and the good things about her,” she admitted.

“How old were you when you learned… about your father?” Dawn lifted the ice bag from Aiden’s jaw so that she could see the emotions playing over her face.

“Seven,” Aiden said, her mouth a grim line.

For a moment, Dawn thought she hadn’t heard right. “Seven?”

“My mother shouted it at me when she was drunk one night,” Aiden said. “I didn’t really understand what it meant until I was older, but I knew that he was a bad man who had done terrible things to my mother.” She grimaced. “That did wonders for my self-esteem during puberty.”

Dawn bent down to kiss her, knowing that nothing she said could take away the pain of a lonely childhood.

“So, tell me, what kind of trouble did you get into when you were in kindergarten?” Aiden asked when their kiss ended.

By the time the alarm clock went off, Dawn knew all about Aiden’s first crush on a woman, about her adventures at the Police Academy, her childhood, and that she couldn’t stand green beans. She had told Aiden about the difficult year after her father’s and brother’s deaths, her short marriage, and her secret - or not so secret - addiction to cookies.

They finally found themselves lingering in bed, reluctant to get up and leave each other even though they had talked for hours. “I really enjoyed this,” Dawn said when she sat up.

Aiden yawned. “What? Staying up all night to keep the nightmares at bay and listening to the sad story of my life?”

“Your life is not a sad story,” Dawn protested. She lovingly tugged at a few tangled curls. “I enjoyed staying with you for a few days, getting to know you better. Still, I think it’s time to move back into my apartment before Kia can consolidate her reign over your place.”

Aiden looked up. She studied Dawn and then said, “Whatever you want.”

Want? Dawn wasn’t sure that she ever wanted to spend another minute without Aiden, but she suspected that moving in together at this point of the relationship wouldn’t be the best idea. She still had a lot of issues to resolve, and Aiden needed more time to get used to the idea that her independent bachelor life was over.

“Will I see you tonight?” Aiden asked when they both moved out of bed.

Dawn nodded. “We’re having dinner with my mom and Del, remember?”

“Oh, right. Spanish Inquisition for the advanced.” Aiden gave her a crooked grin.

Dawn swatted Aiden’s behind. “They’re not that bad.”

Aiden laughed. “Right.”

CHAPTER 33

RAY THREW A STACK of crime-scene photos across his desk and onto hers. “So, what are you doing tonight?” He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed behind his head, to study her.

Aiden spread the photos out on her desk. “Doing? Why do I have to do anything?”

“It’s Valentine’s Day.”

“I repeat: why do I have to do anything?” Aiden looked up and began to twirl a pen between her fingers. “I never celebrated Valentine’s Day.”

Ray leaned forward, folding his hands in a schoolmasterly way. “It’s just the thing you do when you’re in a committed relationship and want to show her that you care - and you do care, don’t you?”

Aiden met his curious gaze. She hadn’t discussed her relationship with any of her colleagues, but she knew that Ray was aware of her feelings for Dawn anyway. “Sure I do, but I don’t know… buying the obligatory card, chocolate, and flowers for Valentine’s… that’s just so cheesy.”

“It’s romantic,” Ray corrected. “At least that’s what Susan says. So, take my advice and send her flowers or chocolate or something. I haven’t been exiled to the couch for a couple of years.”

“Dawn doesn’t even like chocolate,” Aiden protested. She didn’t need a silly day to prove to Dawn that she cared for her; she wanted to show her every single day.

“Every woman likes that V-Day stuff,” Ray insisted. “Even Okada ordered flowers for someone.”

Okada looked up from his paperwork. “That had nothing to do with Valentine’s Day. I always send my divorce lawyer flowers on her birthday - you never know when I’ll need her again. Don’t succumb to the pressures of rampant consumerism, Aiden.”

Aiden smirked at Ray.

Ruben returned with a tray full of coffee paper cups for them. “Hey, Aiden, what are you doing for Valentine’s?”

She rose with a groan and collected the photographs. “I’ll run these over to Kade, see if she wants to use them in court.” She knew that she could rely on the single, career-oriented Deputy DA not to ask her about her plans for Valentine’s Day. She would bet her paycheck that Kade wasn’t even aware of the date.

Kade was all business as she thumbed through the crime-scene photos, picking out those that she wanted to present in court. Only when she had seen the last picture did she look up at Aiden. “I haven’t seen you all week. Were you busy preparing for Valentine’s Day, Detective?”

Aiden groaned. “Not you too!”

Kade sent her a confused gaze.

“Everyone and their brother asked me about my plans for tonight - I don’t have any, okay?” Aiden explained with growing irritation.

“Okay,” Kade said, “I just thought…”

“What are your plans?” Aiden asked, assuming that Kade would spend the evening working as she always did right before an important trial started. That would prove her point that not everyone had to have something special planned on Valentine’s Day.

Kade laid the photos down. A smile played around her lips. “I have a date.”

Aiden groaned. So much for her theory. “Not that used-car salesman again?” She noticed that she felt protective toward Kade but no longer the jealous envy she had always directed at Kade’s dates.

“He’s the Vice President of an international car manufacturer, but no, it’s not Wayne.”

“It’s not Judge Yates, is it?” Aiden asked.

“Yates?” Kade’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Why would you think that?”

Aiden leaned her elbows on Kade’s desk. “Come on, Counselor, don’t tell me you didn’t notice how he almost fell from his bench last week because he was too busy staring at your legs.”

Kade directed a confident Matheson smirk at her. “Well, my old law school professor used to say that sometimes long legs are better than long legal arguments. But no, I would never go out with a judge.”

“So, who’s that mystery date of yours? Do I know him?”

“Actually,” Kade paused to make sure her office door was closed, “you know her.”

The pen with which Aiden had been playing clattered to the floor. “Her?” she echoed. “You’re dating a woman?” She leaned down and picked up the pen, just to have a second to collect herself. Of all the things she had expected Kade to say, this was the last on a list of a thousand possibilities.

“Don’t tell me you of all people have something against that!” Kade crossed her arms and stared her down.

“No! It’s just…” Aiden shook her head to clear it. “I’m surprised as hell. I didn’t know you were into dating women.”

“Woman, singular,” Kade corrected in her precise lawyer tone. “It’s a rather recent development and… well… it’s just one date and we’ll see where it goes.”

Aiden still didn’t know what to say. All those months of secret admiration and longing glances when she thought Kade wasn’t looking - and now she discovered that there was at least a theoretical possibility that Kade could have returned her interest. She wasn’t sure she even wanted to know but found herself asking nonetheless, “You said I know her… your date? It’s not Stacy, is it?”

“Stacy? Stacy Ford?” Kade laughed. “God, no! She’s a really nice woman, but dating another DDA? Really, really, really bad idea.”

“Not a DDA and not a judge - a cop then?”

Kade nodded. Her eyes shone.

“Someone with the SAD or Central Precinct?” Aiden asked.

“No.”

Aiden furrowed her brow. “No? Then where do you know her from?”

“Actually…” Kade pointed a finger at her. The smile on her face was softer than Aiden was used to. “…you were the one that introduced us.”

“Me?” Aiden couldn’t believe it. As far as she knew, she hadn’t introduced Kade to any lesbian cops. Except for… She stared at Kade. “You’re not dating Lieutenant Vasquez, are you?”

Kade’s smile widened.

“God!” Chaotic thoughts were shooting through Aiden’s mind. Kade dating a woman was mind-boggling enough, but the thought of her with Dawn’s adopted aunt… that would definitely take some getting used to. “Why did it have to be Del Vasquez? This practically makes you my aunt-in-law!” she complained.

Kade laughed. Her good mood seemed indestructible. “She’s really sweet,” she defended.

Aiden arched an eyebrow. “Kade Matheson wants sweet?” She had always imagined that Kade was a woman who would want to be conquered.

“I want sweet, honest, reliable, and passionate. Del is all that.”

“She’s also old enough to be your mother,” Aiden cautioned.

Kade rolled her eyes. “Maybe if she’d had me when she was ten. Besides… not that I’ve ever been in a relationship with one, but maybe I like older women?”

She winked at Aiden, who almost swallowed her tongue. “I’m older than you,” she unnecessarily pointed out and then wanted to slap herself.

“Oh, you don’t say? Is that an offer, Detective?” Kade peered at her over the rim of her glasses.

This conversation came a few months too late. At this point of her life, not even Kade Matheson could make her forget about Dawn. “No! I’m happily partnered already, thank you very much.”

“Relax, Detective. I’m just teasing you.”

Aiden decided that Kade was enjoying this a little too much. “Oh? So you wouldn’t have gone out on a date with me?”

“You never asked.”

The teasing suddenly turned serious. “Were you waiting for me to ask?” Aiden wanted to know.

Kade regarded her with a serious gaze. “No. The only question I’ve been waiting for since I passed the bar is ‘Do you want to run for DA?’ For the last few years, I took case files and law books to bed, not lovers.”

Aiden nodded. Kade had never made a secret of how career-oriented she was. “So, what made you risk all that for a date with a woman?”

“She sent me flowers.”

“You agreed to go out with her just because she gave you a bunch of flowers?” Aiden laughed. “Counselor, you’re cheap.”

“She sent me flowers every day since the trial ended. Every single day,” Kade emphasized. “Handpicked and grown in her own greenhouse.”

Aiden whistled. “Since the trial ended? Wow, she must have a pretty big greenhouse.” She hadn’t known that Del was a gardener or that she had a romantic streak, but there was one thing she did know and it made her worry about Kade. “Kade, seriously, I don’t want to spoil this for you, but I’m not sure Del is emotionally available. I had the impression that she’s a bit in love with Dawn’s mother.”

Kade didn’t react with the concern or outrage that Aiden had expected. Kade leaned back in her chair, the picture of calmness. Her high-heeled shoes thumped to the floor when she slipped them off. “Del already told me.”

“She told you she’s in love with another woman?” Clearly, she had been absent from the world of dating for too long if that was the new way of winning over a woman. She had been convinced that the proud Kade Matheson would never play second fiddle to anyone.

“It’s not like that… not really. It’s complicated.” Kade fidgeted. For the first time since the conversation had started, she looked uncomfortable. “When Del met her, Grace was married to her partner and best friend. She liked her, and she admired the kind of relationship Grace and Jim had, but that was all. After Jim’s death, she kind of took over a parental role for Dawn. Del has always wanted to have a big family, but hers didn’t take too kindly to her coming out, so she fell into the comfortable role of ‘playing house’ with Grace. Yes, she said that she was half in love with Grace for a lot of years, but she recently discovered that what she was in love with was really just the idea of having a family, someone she belonged to.”

“If she hurts you, I’m gonna kill her,” Aiden announced grimly.

Kade reached over to squeeze her arm. “Didn’t Del say the same thing about you and Dawn?”

“That’s not the same thing.”

“Of course not.” Kade grinned.

Aiden scowled until the grin dimmed. “So, what are you and your Latin Lover doing for Valentine’s Day?”

Kade pointed a sharpened pencil at her. “Refer to her like that again, and I’ll let some slimy defense lawyer grill you next time you’re on the stand. I’ll catch up on my beauty sleep while you sweat during the cross-exam.”

“All right, all right.” Aiden held up her hands. “I better get back to work. Seems I’ll have to leave early to plan my Valentine’s Day activities. I don’t want it told that some old lieutenant with the North Precinct outclassed me in that department.” Kade’s chuckle followed her to the door. “Bye, Auntie Kade.”

* * *

Dawn had slaved in the kitchen for hours, but now she found herself ignoring the delicious food on her plate. The woman at the table across from her took her complete attention. Aiden filled all of her senses: the subtle fragrance of her perfume, the sound of her voice, the candlelight that made her eyes glow, the way her hand lifted the wineglass to sensual lips.

She had never seen Aiden in a dress before, and - while she found her spectacular in faded jeans and her leather jacket - it took her breath away. It was formfitting but simple, allowing Dawn to concentrate on the body it covered rather than fashion ornaments.

Aiden was equally busy staring at Dawn’s own dress, not eating much even though she had told her three times how delicious everything tasted.

Finally, they carried half-full plates to the kitchen, and Dawn tugged Aiden with her to the couch. She wanted to cuddle up to Aiden, throw her arms around her and a leg over her thighs, but their snug-fitting dresses made that impossible. Suddenly, the sheath Aiden wore became a lot less attractive.

Aiden reached behind her and handed Dawn the gift she had placed on the coffee table earlier. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Dawn chuckled as she looked down at the giant box of her favorite cookies and the various potted herbs that had been missing in her new kitchen. “Herbs?”

“You told me that you were not a big fan of cut flowers,” Aiden pointed out.

Dawn nodded. She hated to see them wither and die after just a few days. “Thank you.” Her ex-husband and Maggie had never given her anything but generic gifts like roses and chocolate, and she loved Aiden’s unconventional but thoughtful gifts. She leaned over to reward Aiden for her creativity. Her hands slid over cool silk and then touched bare skin that Aiden’s dress left free on her back, where they began to wander without conscious thought. She caught a full lower lip between her teeth and deepened the kiss when Aiden’s warm hands came to rest on her waist, pulling her closer.

Only the need for air and the vague memory of the gift she still had to give Aiden finally made her break the kiss. Wordlessly, she took the small box from the coffee table and handed it to Aiden.

Amber eyes widened as Aiden took in the jewelry box. Her thumb caressed the velvet. She lifted the lid but didn’t look down. Her gaze searched Dawn’s instead.

Dawn smiled. She could see that Aiden half feared, half hoped for the ring that normally lay in that sort of box. She fully intended to buy one for next Valentine’s at the latest, but for now…

“A key?” Aiden had finally looked down and now lifted the object from the small box. “You didn’t buy me a car, did you?”

Dawn shook her head with a laugh. “Nope, sorry, no car. It’s a key to my apartment. It’s very close to the courthouse and your precinct, so if you don’t feel like driving across town during rush hour to your own apartment, I want you to come here, even when I’m at work. Mi casa es su casa.” She took a deep breath. “And, maybe in a few months, if you decide that you want to move in, that would be okay with me. Very okay.”

Aiden rose and moved to the door.

“W-where are you going?”

Aiden picked up her keys that she had left on a sideboard by the door. “I’m adding your key to my key chain. The idea of someday living with you is very okay with me, too.” She moved back to the couch and bent down to kiss Dawn. Once again, their tight-fitting dresses prevented full body contact. “As stunning as you look in that dress, it’s really starting to annoy me.”

“Then let’s take them off.” Dawn rose with sudden determination, grabbed Aiden’s hand, and led her to her bedroom. She handed Aiden one of her larger Tshirts and chose one for herself.

Tshirts in hand, they stood and looked at each other. Neither of them moved to the bathroom to change. “The zipper,” Aiden’s voice was a whisper, “is on the back. Can you…?” She turned around.

Dawn stared at the smooth, tan skin. Her fingers rose to trace Aiden’s shoulder blades, then the contours of her spine. She closed her eyes when she felt the heat radiating from Aiden’s skin and inhaled deeply. Her lips touched Aiden’s neck and wandered downward. The zipper was momentarily forgotten and only remembered when it hindered her path. With trembling fingers, she moved it down. The dress began to slip, and her lips followed its way down.

“Dawn…” Aiden groaned. It was a warning, an attempt to slow her down.

“No.” Dawn was determined not to stop. “I want this. I’m sick of being a rape victim without a normal love life.”

“I know, but -“

Dawn shook her head. “Don’t try to protect me. I know your intentions are honorable, but protection is not really what I need. Let me make my own decision about whether I’m ready or not.”

Aiden turned and looked into her eyes, still holding on to the dress with one hand. “I don’t want to scare you.” Her voice trembled with barely suppressed emotions.

“You seem to be more frightened than I am.” Dawn stepped closer again, drawn to Aiden’s heat and scent.

Aiden smiled ruefully. Her intense gaze, which still rested on Dawn’s face, felt almost like a touch. “Stop me anytime you want to, okay?”

Dawn nodded, determined not to stop this time. She watched as Aiden let go of the dress. The strapless sheath hadn’t been designed for a bra, so it revealed Aiden to her gaze as it fell.

Aiden stood motionless, unashamed and with a confidence that was as breathtaking for Dawn as Aiden’s body.

On trembling legs, Dawn crossed the distance between them, eager to touch and taste Aiden’s skin. She directed Aiden to take off her pantyhose and panties.

“I want to see you, too.” Aiden’s voice was rough, and the hand that directed Dawn to turn around so she could reach the zipper was trembling.

Dawn gripped the dresser in front of her when she felt the length of Aiden’s half-naked body come to rest against her back. Heat shot through Dawn as hard nipples brushed against her upper back and Aiden’s breath washed over her neck. “Aiden,” she groaned, desperate to turn around, to see her and kiss her.

But Aiden was in no hurry to give up her position. She laid her hands over Dawn’s, pressing even closer and pinning Dawn against the dresser. Her lips nuzzled the sensitive spot under Dawn’s ear and then trailed upward to capture her earlobe.

“Aiden!” Dawn was trembling, no longer sure how much of it was desire and how much was rising panic. She had known that Aiden would be an intense and passionate lover, that she would unconsciously try to take over and control their lovemaking, and while it usually would be a turn on for her, right now it was beginning to overwhelm her. She needed to see Aiden now, needed to look into her eyes and focus on all the differences between her and the man who had raped her.

Aiden immediately dropped her arms and turned her around. “We don’t have to do this.”

Dawn had no intention of having this discussion again. She didn’t want to talk at all. She crushed her lips to Aiden’s, swallowing any further words. When she had to break away to breathe, she leaned up on her tiptoes to nibble on one of the ears she loved so much. The movement pressed Aiden’s bare breasts against her and made both of them gasp.

Aiden’s low growl sent a shiver down her body. She breathed in Aiden’s musky scent and pressed her lips to the hollow at the base of her throat.

“Your dress has to go. Is that okay?” Aiden asked, moving back a little to look into Dawn’s eyes.

Dawn nodded without hesitation. She felt warm hands direct the zipper down her back. The sound of the zipper’s metal teeth giving way one by one made her hold her breath in nervous anticipation. Aiden’s hands followed the falling dress down her body and pushed the pantyhose down Dawn’s hips.

The cool air in the bedroom barely had time to touch her before Aiden’s hot skin covered her own. Warm lips trailed down her throat and traced the lacy edge of her bra. “This too?” Aiden’s husky voice, her breath on her chest, created a trail of goose bumps.

“Please.”

With gentle fingers, Aiden undid the clasp of her bra and then touched the underside of one breast for a moment. “You’re beautiful.”

Dawn sucked in a sharp breath.

“Let’s move this to the bed.” Aiden began to direct her backward.

The dress and pantyhose that pooled forgotten around her feet tightened around her ankles, trapping her for a moment. Without warning, Dawn’s vision dimmed and she started to hyperventilate. Suddenly the dress morphed into Garett Ballard’s hands and feet that were manacling her helpless limbs to the bed. Aiden’s breath caressing her cheek became his scratching beard stubbles. Her partner’s soft skin against her legs turned into the rough fabric of his pants. The smell of beer and smoke seemed to linger in the air.

“Dawn!” She could barely hear Aiden’s voice over the roaring in her ears. “Dawn, it’s okay. It’s only me, Aiden.”

With a choked gasp like a diver breaking through the water’s surface, Dawn found her way back into the present.

Aiden enclosed her in an embrace that was now trying to be soothing rather than arousing.

“God damn it!” Dawn let her head drop against Aiden’s shoulder.

Aiden kissed her on the forehead. “Shhh, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not okay!” She wanted to make love with Aiden. She wanted to lose herself in the passion she felt, but Garett Ballard had taken that away from her.

“Dawn, we have all the time in the world -“

“I don’t want time,” Dawn grumbled. “I want you. Don’t tell me that this isn’t driving you crazy, too.” She could feel Aiden tremble with suppressed desire. Passion simmered in the honey-colored eyes.

Aiden sighed. “Come to bed and just let me hold you, okay?”

Dawn trudged across the room and sat down heavily on the edge of the bed. This was not how she had planned this evening.

“Hey.” The warmth of Aiden’s hand on her back reminded her that she was still mostly naked.

Her breath quickened, and her body reacted to the touch even though her mind was not yet ready to take the last step. With a sigh, Dawn slipped under the covers. Aiden’s skin touched hers, and she forgot her frustration as she started to caress her shoulders, then her collarbone and -

“Dawn!” Aiden took hold of the hand that was just about to touch her breast. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“No.” Dawn brushed her lips against the hand that held her own. “I’m trying to love you.”

Aiden shook her head. “You’re not ready to make love. My poor body just couldn’t take it if we had to stop again.”

Dawn looked down at her and traced the forced half grin on Aiden’s lips with her fingertips. “Just because my body refuses to be touched right now doesn’t mean that I can’t make love to you.”

Aiden tightened her grip on the hand that strained to touch her. “Oh, no. This is not about physical satisfaction. I want to make love with you and give you the same pleasure you give me.”

“You do. It would please me very much to make love to you,” Dawn insisted. “I want to share this with you as much as I’m able to right now. You don’t help me by being a martyr. Please, let me have this.” She knew that Aiden had never liked giving up control to someone else and letting her partner direct their lovemaking, so she just looked into her eyes without further attempts to convince her, prepared to accept her decision whatever it might be.

Aiden exhaled. “All right. Consider me your willing sex slave.” She sprawled her arms and legs to both sides, injecting some much-needed humor into a situation that was weighted down by fears and frustrations.

With trembling limbs, Dawn lingered over her, bracing herself with her hands on either side of Aiden.

Aiden raised both hands to caress her face, then laid them on Dawn’s hips and gently tugged her down.

Dawn gasped when their nearly naked bodies pressed together all along their lengths, belly to belly, thigh to thigh, breast to breast. Aiden’s skin burned against her own. Dawn closed her eyes for a moment, overwhelmed with sensation. When she opened them again, she looked directly into Aiden’s darkened eyes. Never breaking eye contact, she began to trace the contours of Aiden’s face.

Aiden lay still as Dawn’s fingertips explored arched eyebrows and well-defined cheekbones.

Leaning down, Dawn stifled a gasp when the soft skin of Aiden’s breasts brushed over her own. Heat raced up and down her body. She pressed her lips to Aiden’s cheek. She watched as dark lashes fluttered when she teased them with her breath, and then she moved down to kiss the faint laugh lines around full lips.

When she trailed kisses downward, eager to press her lips to the firm jaw line, Aiden arched forward and drew her into a deep kiss. Dawn collapsed bonelessly onto Aiden and let the heat and softness envelope her. Only when Aiden shifted under her and began to roll over did she draw back. She pressed one hand against Aiden’s chest, gently pushing her back down. “Patience, patience.”

Aiden groaned but flopped back down onto her back.

Dawn knelt over her, slowly lowering herself. She let her hair trail over Aiden’s skin as she nibbled on a tempting earlobe. Feeling Aiden shiver under her sent an answering rush of goose bumps down her body. She rained soft kisses across the arch of her collarbones and down her neck. Aiden’s pulse pounded under her lips.

Her fingertips traced the necklace around Aiden’s neck, and she gently kissed the good luck charm resting on her chest, the metal cool against her lips before they returned to the heat of Aiden’s skin. Nuzzling the soft spot at the base of her throat, Dawn inhaled Aiden’s scent deeply. “Hmm, I love the way you smell.”

A husky moan escaped Aiden’s throat as Dawn grazed her teeth over her neck and sucked lightly on her skin. “God…” Aiden lifted her head to gaze down at Dawn and then let it drop back on the pillow. “You’re going to drive me crazy.”

Dawn smiled. Discovering that she had this kind of power over Aiden, that she could be the cause of that much excitement and pleasure for her partner was intoxicating. It made her almost drunk with power and gave her back the sense of control Garett Ballard had taken from her.

She kissed the slope of Aiden’s breast just over her heart. The skin under her lips was salty and trembled with the thudding beat of Aiden’s heart. Cradling one breast in her palm, she bent down to kiss it.

Aiden’s arms around her tightened but resisted the urge to draw her back to her breast as Dawn continued her path down Aiden’s body. She caressed the defined muscles of Aiden’s abdomen with her lips, stopping to tease her navel. Aiden’s hips twitched restlessly as Dawn smoothed her hand down the flat belly. Her fingers stopped when they encountered the fabric of Aiden’s panties. “Let me take these off,” she said in a voice she almost didn’t recognize as her own.

The muscles of Aiden’s thighs stretched under her as Aiden lifted her hips, allowing Dawn to push the panties down long legs.

“Yours too?” Aiden asked hoarsely.

Dawn nestled her body between Aiden’s thighs. “Not yet,” she mumbled before her mouth was back on Aiden’s skin.

Aiden gasped as she pressed closer. She was panting, clearly struggling not to take control of their lovemaking. One strong hand clutched Dawn to her; the other grasped the sheets to anchor herself as her hips surged against Dawn. “Dawn!” She moaned against Dawn’s lips. Her skin was flushed and covered in a light sheen of perspiration. “This will be over in two seconds if you don’t slow down.”

Dawn had wanted to take her time, had wanted to slowly explore every inch of Aiden’s body, but Aiden’s legs tightening around her thigh and the pressure that began to grow in her own belly urged her on. “Don’t hold back,” she whispered, staring into amber eyes burning with passion. “I love how you react to my touch.” With trembling fingers, she caressed a trim waist, trailed over the gentle curve of Aiden’s hip and down to the hollow where her abdomen met her thigh. Her fingertips danced over the soft skin on the inside of her thighs. Muscles quivered and twitched under her touch. She pressed her face against Aiden’s neck and closed her eyes as she stroked across her clit with one gentle finger.

“Dawn!” Aiden sucked in a sharp breath. Her head lolled to the side, giving Dawn’s wandering lips more access to her neck.

Warm fingers splayed across Dawn’s lower back, drawing their bodies even closer. Fingernails raked over her back. Aiden’s movements grew more frantic, and Dawn felt her body answer, surging against Aiden’s. She moved her fingers faster. Hot breath washed over her cheek as Aiden panted against her.

Aiden’s hips rose and fell under Dawn’s exploring fingers. Her eyes fluttered shut.

“Look at me! Look at me, Aiden,” Dawn urged. She needed that contact, needed Aiden to be fully present and with her until the very last second.

Heavy-lidded eyes opened immediately. Their gazes locked, and their mouths collided in desperate passion as Dawn slid two fingers inside Aiden.

Aiden’s legs began to tremble, and with another thrust from Dawn, they stiffened. Her hips arched off the bed, and she wrapped her arm tighter around Dawn to keep her close against her body while her other hand clutched at the sheet. When Dawn’s thumb brushed against her clit, Aiden broke the kiss with a gasp and threw her head back, the fine muscles in her neck tensing. Her mouth opened in a silent cry. She stopped breathing. Her body stiffened and shuddered, then collapsed back onto the pillows.

Dawn stilled her hand and curled into Aiden’s side, resting her cheek against her sweat-dampened chest to listen to the pounding of her heart. She touched her lips to Aiden’s. “Thank you.”

“You’re thanking me?” Aiden rasped. “It’s me who -“

Dawn interrupted her with another kiss. “No. You did this for me. You trusted me enough to make yourself vulnerable and gave me full control even though that’s not what you’d normally do. So, thank you. It may not have been ‘let’s tear each other’s clothes off and break the bed’ sex, but -“

Aiden lifted her head. “Who says it wasn’t?”

Giving her an embarrassed grin, Dawn shrugged. “I know that it wasn’t what you’re used to.”

“Maybe not, but that’s not a bad thing. It may have been out of my comfort zone with anyone else, but I trust you enough to give up control.” Aiden’s arms pulled her even closer. “Do you want to…?” She raised her eyebrows, still out of breath.

“No.” Dawn brushed her thumb over Aiden’s deep red, swollen lips. Making love to Aiden hadn’t left her unaffected, but she didn’t want to spoil this wonderful experience by trying for too much. She reached down and drew the crumpled sheet over them both.

“Are you sure?” Aiden entwined their fingers and rested them against her still quivering belly. “I feel a little selfish -“

“Selfish? God no, that was the most beautiful gift that I’ve ever gotten for Valentine’s.”

Aiden nuzzled her throat. “Mmm, me too. Happy Valentine’s Day, Dawn.”

“Happy Valentine’s.” Dawn burrowed deeper into the embrace and closed her eyes.

* * *

Dawn blinked and opened her eyes. It was still dark in the apartment, and for a few moments, she wasn’t sure what had woken her. She searched for her glasses and discovered that she still had two hours before she had to get up. Then she shifted a little and felt soft skin brush against her thigh.

Aiden was cuddled up behind her, one arm providing Dawn with a pillow while her other hand rested just an inch under her breasts. Their legs were entwined. By now, Dawn was familiar with Aiden’s presence in her bed, but this intimate skin-on-skin contact was new and made her breath quicken.

Her mind presented her with snapshots of Aiden, her head thrown back in ecstasy, trembling in her arms. She licked suddenly dry lips and shifted in Aiden’s embrace, gasping when Aiden’s thigh, entwined with her own, pressed against her.

“Mmm?” Aiden’s arms clutched her even closer as she woke. She turned on the light and blinked for a few seconds. “Dawn? You okay?” She turned Dawn around so she could see her face.

Dawn suppressed another gasp when their bare torsos pressed together. “Yeah,” she answered shakily.

“Sure?” Aiden cupped her cheek. “You sound a little breathless. You didn’t have a nightmare, did you?”

Dawn closed her eyes when Aiden’s caressing fingers traced the rim of her sensitive ear. “No nightmare,” she said. “If I sound breathless, it’s entirely your fault.”

“My fault…? Oh!” Aiden grinned when she suddenly understood. Her grin dimmed and was replaced with a look of concern. “I could get up and put on a sleep-shirt if this makes you uncomfortable,” she offered.

“Or you could stay in bed and help me undress,” Dawn suggested even when a voice in the back of her head whispered, What if I can’t do this?

Aiden studied her. She knew Dawn well enough to detect the mixture of desire and fear in her gray-green eyes. Her first impulse was to assure her once again that they had all the time in the world and should wait, but she understood that the right to consent, to tell her yes or no, was Dawn’s alone. Only she could decide if she was ready or not. “Okay.” She swallowed. “Keep talking to me. Tell me if I’m going too fast or if you want to stop.”

Dawn nodded.

Slowly, not wanting to startle her partner, Aiden reached out to remove the turquoise-rimmed glasses, but Dawn stopped her with a quick touch. “Leave them on. I need to see you.”

Aiden moved back a little and suppressed the urge to undress Dawn. She knew that Dawn needed to do this at her own pace. She waited until Dawn had slipped off her underwear, still covered by the sheet, and drew her closer again.

Both of them sighed when skin touched skin. Dawn’s gentle curves fit perfectly against Aiden’s taller, leaner form.

Dawn instantly began to kiss her, and Aiden closed her eyes to control her emotions and let Dawn set the pace. She was scared to go too fast, but Dawn’s display of eager passion made it hard to hold back. She smoothed her hands over tousled blond strands, careful not to pull on them, and studied the vague red highlights in the light of the bedside lamp. Keeping her eyes on Dawn’s face, she trailed a path of kisses and light nips down her throat. She caressed each and every one of the freckles that dusted Dawn’s pale shoulders until the sheet that covered Dawn stopped her. “Is it okay if I take that away?” She looked up at Dawn. “I want to see you.”

Dawn threw the covers back. Her naked body fidgeted under Aiden’s gaze.

Aiden breathed a kiss onto her chest, just over her left breast. “You’re so beautiful.”

“I like your body better.” Dawn critically eyed her own body. “You have that really defined, flat abdomen, and I -“

“You’re beautiful, exactly like you are,” Aiden insisted and caressed the soft, womanly curve of Dawn’s stomach. She looked up at her with a challenging grin. “Now, do you want to continue this discussion about our different aesthetic standards, or do you want to make love?”

Dawn grinned. “Make love.”

“Very good. Right answer.” Leaning over Dawn on one elbow, Aiden bent down and pressed her lips to Dawn’s collarbone, then continued down her sternum. Simultaneously, her fingers followed the arch of Dawn’s ribs inward until they came to rest along the curve of her breasts. Aiden slowly lowered herself.

Dawn shuddered and moaned when warm breath teased her nipple.

Aiden nipped on the outer curve of one breast, playfully kissing away the goose bumps. After a few seconds, she lifted her head and locked eyes with Dawn, searching for any sign of distress. “Is this okay?”

“Oh, I think it’ll do,” Dawn answered breathlessly. She tangled her fingers in Aiden’s hair, drawing her back down.

Aiden’s chuckle ended when her lips touched the soft skin of Dawn’s breast. Never had she felt so connected to anyone. “Hmm… nice.” She kissed in smaller and smaller circles until she lightly captured a nipple between her lips and grazed it with the tip of her tongue.

“God… Aiden!” Dawn gasped. Her fingers clutched Aiden’s hair, and her chest was heaving under Aiden’s cheek.

“Mmm, I love touching you.” With one last kiss to the hardened nipple, Aiden continued her path downward. She nuzzled the damp skin between Dawn’s breasts and then planted kisses down her sternum, tasting the saltiness of her skin with gentle flicks of her tongue. She paused to tease Dawn’s navel and pressed her cheek against the slight curve of her belly for a moment. The fingers in her hair were alternately stroking and flexing.

Aiden stroked down the outside of Dawn’s thighs as she moved lower. With her lips, she caressed the almost microscopic hairs just under her partner’s navel and then followed them downward.

Dawn moaned, this time sounding a little overwhelmed.

Aiden hastily looked up when the body under her hands and lips stiffened. “Is this too fast? Should I stop?”

Looking down into Aiden’s anxious eyes, Dawn tried to catch her breath. “No, no… I’m sorry. It was just a little… overwhelming for a second.” She willingly let herself be held when Aiden scrambled up the bed. She took a deep breath, trying to catch up with the onslaught of sensations and emotions. “I felt like I was going to explode or something.”

“I thought that was our goal?” Aiden quipped.

Dawn laughed and kissed her lover, keeping her eyes open to reestablish their connection. The feeling of Aiden’s smooth skin sliding against her own soon made her forget her momentary trace of panic. She squirmed when Aiden’s tongue flickered over the crook of her elbow and then traced imaginary patterns down to her pulse point. Their gazes met when Aiden kissed each knuckle. Gentle teeth captured her index finger, and Dawn couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. She settled back onto the bed and gave herself over to Aiden’s touches. Only when she felt openmouthed kisses wander up her thigh did she reach out a hand to stop her. “No.”

Aiden froze instantly. She looked at Dawn with an expression that almost reminded Dawn of a kicked puppy.

“Not this time.” Dawn entwined their fingers and drew Aiden up to rest next to her. “This time, I need you up here with me. I want to look into your eyes and know that this is you, you and me, making love.”

Amber eyes intently gazed into Dawn’s. “Help me,” Aiden said, her voice rough.

“What?”

“Help me to make love to you,” Aiden said. “Show me how you want to be touched.”

Dawn stared at her. “Believe me, you don’t need any help. You did a fantastic job all on your own.”

“I don’t doubt my skills as a lover,” Aiden said with her famous Carlisle grin, buffing her nails on an imaginary shirt. “I just think that it’ll be easier for you to let go if you can control what happens.”

Dawn took a deep breath. “Okay, then. I just didn’t want you to get an inferiority complex.”

Aiden kissed her with grinning lips. “No danger of that.” She lifted their entwined fingers. “So, give me a tour, please.”

“All right. No stops to take photos without my permission, though.” A lot more relaxed now, Dawn took the larger hand in her own and placed it on her breast. “First stop, enjoy your stay,” she said huskily.

Aiden’s fingers began to move under hers. “Hmm, nice view.”

Dawn gazed down, too, studying the contrast of Aiden’s tan hand against her own pale skin. “Uh-huh.” Stifling a moan, she closed her fingers over Aiden’s and pressed them harder against her.

Aiden didn’t try to hurry her along. She seemed content to explore first one, then the other breast under Dawn’s direction.

The double sensation of feeling Aiden’s strong but gentle hand move under her fingers and gliding over her skin made her entire body tingle. Being able to direct the attention of a woman as intense and confident as Aiden was intoxicating. Dawn was panting when she guided their linked hands down her body.

Aiden’s fingertips drew a sensual line from her breastbone to her navel, gently circling it until Dawn shuddered. “Where to now?” she whispered, her breath washing hot over Dawn’s ear.

This time, Dawn had to struggle and catch her breath to formulate an answer fitting their road trip analogy. Thinking and talking were no longer a priority. “I think our trip’s destination lies southward.”

Aiden kissed her, gazing into her eyes from just a few inches away. “Lead the way, sweetheart.”

She felt Aiden’s free arm wrap securely around her as she eased their hands down her belly. Heat followed the combined touch until their hands came to rest on Dawn’s hip.

“Still all right?” Aiden asked, her lips almost touching Dawn’s. Her thumb drew circles over Dawn’s hip bone.

With a nod, Dawn guided Aiden’s hand down the outside of her thigh. She shuddered when the cool metal of the only ring that Aiden wore brushed against her knee.

Aiden’s hand stopped and squeezed her knee reassuringly.

Maintaining eye contact, Dawn trailed their fingers up the inside of her thigh. She was gasping for breath, her vision was becoming hazy, and she almost couldn’t hear Aiden’s soothing voice because her heart pounded loudly in her ears. For a second, she almost mistook the symptoms of arousal for those of fear, and panic threatened to rise.

“Easy.” Aiden kissed the glimmer of panic away. “It’s me - Aiden - you’re sharing this journey with. I won’t touch you anywhere until you tell me to.”

Dawn pulled her closer, pressing their upper bodies together with the strength of her embrace. She breathed in Aiden’s unmistakable scent as she brought their hands back to the inside of her thigh, slowly moving them up. When Aiden’s fingers hesitated under hers, she guided them the rest of the way.

Dawn jerked and sucked in a shaky breath when two of Aiden’s fingers combed through damp curls, sliding on either side of her clit.

Aiden kept her strokes light, never breaking eye contact as she circled Dawn’s clit with a featherlight touch.

Staring into Aiden’s eyes, Dawn started to rock her hips. Her hand moved away from Aiden’s and slid back to rest on her forearm, where she contented herself with feeling the muscles flex with each movement. Warmth flooded her body, matching the heat she felt radiating from Aiden. Drops of sweat pooled behind her knees and ran down the back of her calves. She could already feel the pressure in her stomach build. Her legs started to tremble.

“Does that feel good?” Aiden’s eyes searched her face.

Dawn moaned her answer. Her hips surged against Aiden in a faster rhythm. Her eyes never leaving Aiden’s face, she closed her fingers tightly around her forearm, guiding her again.

“Dawn…” Aiden hesitated. The muscles under Dawn’s hand tensed. “Are you sure you want me to -?”

“Yes.” Dawn gasped. “I want you… there. Only you.”

Cautiously, Aiden dipped one of her fingers inside of Dawn and then paused to watch her face. “All right?”

Dawn exhaled slowly. “Yeah.” She clutched Aiden’s neck and pulled her down into an urgent kiss, moaning into Aiden’s mouth when she felt her finger slide deeper into her. “Aiden!”

A ball of hot tension began to build in her belly, spreading in all directions, making her breath catch until lights exploded behind her now closed eyelids. Every muscle in her body stiffened and then went limp. She slumped against Aiden, trusting the strong arms around her to keep her safe.

Aiden curled her body protectively around Dawn, holding her close with one arm while kissing Dawn’s flushed cheek.

Dawn gradually became aware of soothing words that were whispered in her ear and a hand that stroked down the length of her back as aftershocks rippled through her. She lay quietly, clinging to Aiden and listening to the urgent pounding of her lover’s heart until she could breathe again. Finally, she lifted her head a few inches off Aiden’s shoulder. Their gazes met and locked, silently sharing their emotions. “God, Aiden, I…” She buried her face into the crook of Aiden’s neck, snuggling deeper into her embrace. Emotions burned behind her eyes, and suddenly, she had to press her lips to Aiden’s skin to hold back a sob.

“Hey, hey!” Aiden wrapped both arms around shaking shoulders and pulled her up to look into her eyes. “You okay? Did I hurt -“

“No!” Dawn dried her eyes. “Of course you didn’t. It’s just… I never thought that I would have this… feel this again.”

Aiden looked up at her in understanding. Her lips curled into a soft smile. “I never thought that I would have something like this, either.”

Dawn touched the smiling lips with one reverent finger. “Somehow, I find that hard to believe. You’re so… good at this. The way you made me feel… God!”

“Thanks.” For a second, a teasing, self-satisfied smile flitted across Aiden’s face, but then her expression grew serious. “What I’m used to and what I’ve always been good at is having sex - making love is a new experience for me, too.”

They had always called it “making love” when they had talked about the physical part of their relationship, mainly because “having sex” had seemed much too clinical, too neutral an expression for something that was so emotional for Dawn after her rape. But now, Dawn could sense a deeper meaning behind Aiden’s words. She stared into amber eyes. “You mean…?”

Aiden nodded.

Dawn restlessly played with the short hairs in Aiden’s neck. “Can you… tell me?”

The muscles in Aiden’s throat moved as she swallowed. “I love you,” Aiden said.

Dawn closed her eyes for a second. She hadn’t known how much hearing the words meant to her until Aiden had spoken them. Wordlessly, she dipped her head and set out to kiss Aiden breathless. When they finally drew apart and she could focus her eyes again, she looked into Aiden’s eyes. “In case there are any doubts left - I love you, too.”

They snuggled down together, never breaking eye contact until their eyes fluttered closed.

An hour later the buzzing of the alarm clock woke Dawn. She reached out for Aiden, only to find the other side of the bed cold. Sitting up, she clutched the sheet to her naked body and looked around with tired eyes for her missing partner. Aiden was nowhere to be seen. God, how could I have been so out of it that I didn’t hear her get up?

Then she heard the sound of clanging plates and metal scraping over metal from the kitchen, followed by a crash and a curse. Smiling, she swung her legs out of bed to join her lover and rescue her kitchen utensils from further abuse when the door opened.

“Hey, you’re supposed to be in bed.” Aiden balanced a tray with coffee, toast, bacon, and eggs, settling down on the edge of the bed.

Dawn chuckled and slipped back under the covers. “One night and already all you can think about is to keep me in bed? Damn, I must be good.”

“You are.” Aiden handed her a single red rose.

“Oh. Thank you.” Dawn lifted it to her nose and breathed in its scent. Her nose twitched as it detected something else that didn’t smell nearly as pleasant as the flower. She turned over the piece of toast. The unbuttered side was almost black.

“Well…” Aiden leaned over the tray to kiss her. “You can’t have everything.”

Dawn closed her eyes as their lips met. I don’t know - I think I have.

The End

About The Author

I GREW UP AMIDST the vineyards and gently sloping hills of southern Germany. I spent most of my childhood with my nose buried in a book, earning me the nickname “professor” before I even finished elementary school. The writing bug bit me at the age of eleven. The very first piece of fiction I ever wrote was a thirty-page western story that I still have somewhere (well-hidden because it alternately makes me cringe and laugh when I read it today). I wrote two dozen mostly novel-length stories (westerns, adventure stories, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction - you name it, I’ve probably written it) in my “baby years” as a writer, but no one but my poor twin sister ever got to read them.

That changed when I discovered the Internet and the wondrous world of FanFiction and online stories. My parents belatedly got their wish - I took my nose out of my books and started to spend my time glued to the computer screen instead. Soon after, I wrote my first FanFiction, a Star Trek: Voyager story. Don’t bother to search for it on the web; even if there was still a copy in circulation somewhere, it’s in German. Back then, I would have taken a thousand oaths that I would never, ever be able to write more than a grocery list in English. Then I took an intensive, free online language course - almost eight years of constant fanfic reading. Let’s just say that I learned some words I later had trouble explaining to my friends why I would know such expressions.

So in the beginning of 2006, I finally put my newly acquired knowledge of the English language to good use and wrote a series of three Law &&nbsp;Order: SVU fanfics in English. As my confidence grew, I wrote a longer FanFiction and then my first English historical fiction. In some ways, I’ve come full circle, because “Backwards to Oregon” takes place on the Western Frontier. Other than the setting I promise that it doesn’t have much in common with my first childish attempt at writing.

I still live in Germany, where I work as a psychologist. When I’m not working or writing, I like to spend my time reading, cooking for a bunch of friends, spending time with my nephew and niece, and watching way too many crime shows. I also enjoy learning new languages (Russian is my latest project. I haven’t found any lesbian online stories using the Cyrillic alphabet to help me learn, though).

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 28

CHAPTER 29

CHAPTER 30

CHAPTER 31

CHAPTER 32

CHAPTER 33