“Dar.” Kerry felt a sense of panic overwhelm her again. “For the love of God, please, just give him the damn money. It doesn’t mean anything.”
Dar mentally knew Kerry was right, but her nerves were close to snapping after the long day and she took a step toward the robber instead. “Yeah?” She growled. “C’mere, asshole. I’ve had a bad day and you’re gonna be the bright spot at the end of it.” She gently pushed Kerry behind her as she made her choice and started moving, heading for the robber and keeping her eyes fixed on the gun.
She could feel a hot bolt of fear hit her in the guts, and it almost made her waver, but the robber was raising the gun and now she was out of time.
She launched into an attack, committing herself to the motion as she saw the other man start to run forward, then hesitate as she set her body and whipped her leg around in a roundhouse kick just as the man with the gun went to pull the trigger.
“Hey!”
Her foot struck the weapon as it fired, and it spun out of his hand to land past where Kerry was standing. Dar didn’t wait for him to react.
She back kicked him as she continued around in a circle, then straightened and reached for his arms as he reeled, grabbing him and turning to throw him over her shoulder to the ground.
Kerry broke out of her frozen fear and ran over to the gun, kicking it as hard as she could and sending it spinning away from them over the edge of the overpass where it skipped down out of sight. She turned to find the two men running away, back toward the bus, and a pair of headlights headed straight for them. Then Dar’s arms enfolded her and Red Sky At Morning 39
they were on the side of the road, safe for the moment, though her heart was beating so fast she was lightheaded. “Oh my God.”
“That’s it.” Dar sounded a bit out of breath herself. “I’m taking today off the damn calendar.” She glared past Kerry at the oncoming car. “Stupid city. Stupid bastards. Stupid…”
The car pulled even with her, and the sheets of rain parted to reveal a cab. “Hey! There you are!” The cabbie stuck his head out of his window. “I was lookin for ya! They made me get off the ramp, you know?” He looked around. “You shouldn’ta come down here, y’know?
It’s dangerous.’
“Thanks.” Dar opened the back door and threw Kerry’s bag in, then ushered her partner in after it. “Think you can get us back to my hotel without anything else happening?”
The cabbie rolled his window up and gave them a dubious look in the mirror. “I dunno, lady. It’s New York, y’know?”
“Yeah, I know.”
He put the car in gear. “You wanna stop by the corner there at the liquor store?”
“No.”
“You sure? You look like you could use a drink.”
“They probably don’t sell milk.” Dar propped her head up on one hand as Kerry curled herself up next to her and buried her face against Dar’s chest. “Thanks anyway.”
The cabbie looked at her in the mirror again, but just shook his head instead of answering and got down to the business of driving.
Dar exhaled, and rested her cheek against Kerry’s damp hair. “You okay?”
“No, I suck,” Kerry replied. “But if I can stay like this until we get to the hotel, I might be able to get up to the room without freaking out.”
She slowly let out a long breath. “Uuuuhhhhggggggh.” She felt Dar give her a kiss on the head and for a minute her world narrowed down to the sound of her lover’s heartbeat as she let the blare of horns and the sound of the rain fade out.
Dar felt her tension ease as Kerry relaxed against her. She pushed the wet hair from her eyes and stared unseeing at the passing lights, hoping the rest of the night would hold far more comfort and far less excitement.
What was it about her life anyway? Couldn’t she even have a damn business meeting go on without six kinds of calamity happening? “Hey Ker?”“Mm?”
“You think I attract trouble?”
Kerry was silent for a long moment. “Well,” she finally said. “You attracted me.”
“Ah.” Dar grunted softly. “Good point.”
“I can’t even imagine what that says about what I attract.”
40 Melissa Good
“Hey!”
They both chuckled tiredly, and sat back to watch the city go by.
“THANKS.” DAR SCRIBBLED her name on the room service bill, then shooed the waiter out, shutting the heavy door behind him. She turned and regarded Kerry in silence for a moment, and then walked over to the tray on the table. Kerry was curled up in one of the leather chairs, propping up her head with one hand as she gazed out the windows at the city lights.
“Ker?” Dar picked up a cup of hot chocolate and walked over to her, holding it out invitingly.
“Mm...thanks.” Kerry accepted it, turning in the chair to face Dar as she sat down next to her. “I think my insides have stopped shaking, at least.” She raked her fingers through her hair and sighed. “God, I’ve never been so scared in my life, Dar. What a night.”
“I’ve had a couple of moments in the air, but nothing like that,” Dar said. “Makes you glad to be on the ground though.”
Kerry took a sip of her chocolate, licking her lips free of the foamy topping. “Boy, does it ever.”
Dar pulled her knees up and circled them with one arm, sipping on the glass of milk she held in her free hand. “Yeah. I...” She hesitated, and then shook her head. “Been a long day for both of us, huh?”
“Between my flight and you beating off armed robbers? Yeah.”
Kerry eyed her partner. “Should we call the police?”
Dar just looked at her.
“Yeah, I know. Two guys in hoods, with a gun, and you beat them up and made them run away. We’ll be at the station until tomorrow morning.” Kerry sighed, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“If we’d have gave him our wallets, we’d have had to walk back to this God damned hotel and I just was not in the mood,” Dar replied.
“Stupid stockholders, pain in the ass New York salesmen, my…” She paused. “Too long of a damn day.”
Kerry watched her over the rim of her cup. “I picked up my voice mail. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?” she said, changing the subject. “You sounded weird.”
Dar got up and walked over to the table, selecting a shrimp chip and scooping up some crab dip with it. She put it into her mouth and chewed slowly, aware of the curious eyes on her back. Her attack of nerves had now taken on another, even stranger cast, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk about it. “Ah...I just had a strange idea and I wanted to run it by you,” she answered casually. “Nothing important.”
There was a rustle of fabric and leather, then the soft sounds of bare feet on carpet before a warm hand touched her back. Taking a breath, Dar turned and faced Kerry.
Red Sky At Morning 41
“Well...it’s important enough for you to lie to me about it,” Kerry stated with quiet bluntness. “And I, um...don’t think you’ve ever done that to me before.” She laid both hands against Dar’s stomach and leaned into her. “Honey, don’t do this to me right now. I can’t handle it.” She said. “Just tell me. Was it that guy? Did something happen?”
“What guy?” Dar frowned. “Oh. Bob? No.”
Kerry lifted her head and peered up at her.
Dar inhaled sharply, responding to the look in Kerry’s eyes. “It’s not...what you think. I just...right before I called you, I had this...this fit,” she said. “It was like I was going nuts or something.”
Kerry’s expression altered into one of mild alarm. “A fit?”
Upset, Dar sat down on the arm of the nearby chair and ran her hand through her hair. “It was like a..a panic attack or...but I’ve never had that before, and I know I’m not...”