Chance Encounter (God's Reapers MC Book 1) (4 page)

CHAPTER SEVEN

Olivia slammed her locker shut and the sound echoed around the mostly empty women’s changing room of the police headquarters. Lance, her partner, had abandoned her yesterday, left her alone to deal with some biker thugs. When she had returned to the car, Lance had been waiting there, literally twiddling his thumbs and avoiding eye contact. She had called in the all clear to dispatch, and they spent the rest of their shift in uncomfortable silence.

How was she supposed to function with a partner who refused to take any calls or do anything? How was she supposed to work with a partner who didn’t have her back? And, on top of everything else, it felt like someone was following her. It was an odd feeling in the back of her mind, one she could neither identify nor ignore. But she hadn’t actually seen anyone yet; or rather she’d seen several people who might have been following her, but she had no real proof.

Olivia walked out of the locker room and into the precinct headquarters. Even at this early hour it was all hustle and bustle. Officers and detectives walked and talked, moving witnesses and suspects from desks to holding cells or interrogation rooms. There was the sound of typing and phones ringing. It sounded like action and adventure, and Olivia wanted to be a part of it.

“Waters, Captain wants to see you in his office,” the department secretary said, as she hurried past with an armful of paperwork. Olivia took a deep breath; she had only spoken with the captain a handful of times. Olivia was fresh out of the academy and didn’t think the captain knew she existed.

Captain Diaz was one of those people whom everyone respected, even criminals respected her. She was tough and no nonsense, but she led by example. There was no corruption in her precinct, no favors either. She only cared about the law and justice.

“Come in.” Olivia had knocked three times and then opened the door to the captain’s sparse office. Captain Diaz sat behind her desk, rifling through a pile of papers. She glanced up at Olivia and then went right back to her work.

“I’m Olivia Waters. I was told you wanted to see me, Captain?” Olivia said, standing at attention.

“Yes, Officers Waters. Please have a seat,” the captain said, closing a folder over the papers she had just been reading. “I’ve been going over stats for the department, and I just wanted to let you know that I’m very impressed with your call response. You’re almost always the first to call in no matter the call. I wanted you to know that your hard work has not gone unnoticed.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Olivia said breathlessly. This meeting was a dream come true. She had always hoped that someone would notice her hard work but praise from the captain, herself, was rare indeed. “I just wish I was doing more...”

“I was hoping you would say that. You’ve heard of God’s Reapers, correct? I heard you had a run in with them yesterday.”

“Yes, ma’am. I caught them intimidating a couple in a back alley, but they left when I showed up.” And Olivia hoped that the captain heard her say I and not we.

“We have reason to believe that they’re increasing their drug trade. Specifically, it looks like they’ll be transporting large amounts of marijuana through the city. We don’t know where, but there has been an increase amount of activity in the northern neighborhoods, especially where you and officer Townsend patrol. Now, I am not officially asking you to investigate. I’m asking you keep your eyes open and keep doing what you're doing. Follow up on calls, look for links to God’s Reapers, see where the members go, and where they hang out. I’ll be assigning Detectives Farraday and Evans to the God’s Reapers task force later today. Be sure to keep them in the loop with what you see, and I’ll leave it to you to tell Officer Townsend about this conversation.”

“Yes, Captain, of course. There is one small issue I would like to bring up.” Olivia wasn’t sure how to broach the subject. She couldn’t rat on a fellow officer, no matter how cowardly or lazy he was, that would only come back to bite her on the ass.

“You want to switch partners,” the Captain said.

“Well, yes,” Olivia answered.

“Unfortunately, I’m going to have to deny that request. Lance Townsend is no one’s idea of the perfect partner, but he does know what he’s doing. He does his paperwork right, always follows proper protocol, and his record is spotless. If the two of you do end up finding a drug den, I want to make sure that your testimony isn’t tainted by any past indiscretions—and neither  of you are tainted. Thank you for your time, officer. From here on out you’ll be in communication with Detectives Evans and Farraday. And Waters, if you do well on this, it could fast track you to detective.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Olivia said, standing up, recognizing she had been dismissed. “I won’t let you down.” And with a nod Olivia strode back out into the bullpen. She had done it; she had the captain's attention and would be working closely with two detectives to bring down a biker gang. Weeks spent ticketing jaywalkers and breaking up fighting couples had led her to a real assignment and, if she played her cards right, a fast track to detective. There was just one thing she had to do first.

In the dark garage, Olivia hurried to the squad car where Lance was standing near the driver’s side door examining something on the bottom of his shoe. Her timing was perfect, and they were alone. She silently walked over to Lance and grabbed the officer by his collar pressing him up against the car.

“Hey! What are you doing? Get off me!” Lance whimpered, pushing back weakly against Olivia.

“You abandoned me the other day. You left me to deal with two bikers on my own, and I have witnesses that can prove it,” Olivia hissed into his ear. “We may not like each other, but we’re partners and you can’t ever do it again. You’re going to hear about it later today, but the captain is putting together a task force on God’s Reapers, and you and I are front line. We’re to keep our eyes open and, more importantly, investigate when we hear or see something. No more ignoring calls and no more ignoring citizens screaming for help. It’s time to start working now. And if you don’t, I will tell the captain what happened and I will bring the two witnesses in. Do you really want the whole precinct knowing what a coward you are? Do you really want that on your record?”

“No,” Lance whispered.

“What?” Olivia yelled.

“No,” he said louder, and she finally let him go.

“I tried to get a new partner, but the captain said no. We’re both in on this, and we need to be in on it together. God’s Reapers is a gang that’s moving a lot of drugs through the city. They could hurt and endanger a lot of people. It’s our job to look for them and wait for them to make a mistake, and then we strike,” Olivia said.

“Look Olivia,” Lance said, “I know that you’re a better cop than I am; I don’t doubt that. But being good isn’t enough; sometimes being good is just enough to get you killed. Biker gangs are armed to the teeth. They’re tough; cops don’t scare them; prison doesn’t scare them. Hell, death doesn’t even scare them. If these men think you’re a threat, they’ll kill you without hesitation. I’m just asking that we be careful, or at the very least not reckless. I’m not ready to die.”

“If you aren’t ready to die, you shouldn’t have become a cop. I’ll be as careful as I can be, but I won’t be a coward. I won’t run from danger or threats; I won’t hide. What you do is up to you, but you took that oath and they gave you a gun and a badge. If you break that oath, they’ll take it back, pension at all. You had years to be lazy and careful, now I think it’s time for a little actual police work.”

Lance looked over at Olivia. His eyes were like a puppy's, big and brown and on the verge of tears. But Olivia refused to coddle or comfort him. He wasn’t a good cop, but he still could become one, even if Olivia had to drag him into it kicking and screaming. Without asking, Olivia took the keys out of Lance’s hand and settled herself into the driver’s seat, adjusting the mirrors and steering wheel as a resigned Lance walked over to the passenger side and got in.

“Can we at least get coffee before we die?” he asked, as Olivia led them out of the garage and towards the northern part of town.

CHAPTER EIGHT

David kneeled next to his bike, a dirty rag in one hand. He had spent that morning working on the bike, changing the oil and cleaning out the gears. It was spotless inside and out, just how he liked it. He was meticulous with his bike; he took the time to buff out every scratch, to remove every spot of dirt and drop of oil. He knew that it would just get dirty all over again the second he took it out on the road, but that never stopped him. David stood up, wiped his hands on the rag, and surveyed his bike. It looked good, all shiny and beautiful. He was pretty sure he loved that bike more than anything else. 

He still had no idea what he was going to do about Olivia Waters. Bribery, he figured, would be the best and easiest way to do it, but what if she didn’t take it? When he closed his eyes, he could still see her in her apartment dressed in practically nothing. It was all he thought about anymore. Why did it have to be such a beautiful woman? Why couldn’t Lance have another fat partner that would be easy to bribe? Someone David didn’t need to think too hard about?

His bike now clean, David pushed it out of the garage and into the bright morning. He straddled the bike and stepped on the gas, revving the engine a few times before peeling out and heading to the coffee shop he knew Lance and Olivia would be at. He didn’t have an exact plan yet, Olivia was still too much of an unknown, and he didn’t know enough. He needed to talk with her. Watching her and spying on her hadn’t been enough; it was time for more drastic measures.

He rode up to the café and waited for the two of them to arrive, typically their first stop of the day. He parked his bike on the street and found a bench underneath a tree and sat in the shade and waited. He didn’t need to wait long. Within five minutes the cruiser had arrived, but this time Olivia was driving. This made David nervous. New recruits never drove, ever. The senior officer got to drive, unless he was hurt or injured or had some excuse. He watched as Lance got out of the passenger’s seat and walked up to café while Olivia remained inside the car. She was wearing a silver pair of aviator sunglasses, but David could see that she was looking in her side mirror. She was looking back at him. David got up and walked toward his bike, revving the engine and heading to the designated meeting stop.

Hillary was already there. She had the glazed over look of someone high, and occasionally David would have to prod her to keep her from nodding out. Hillary was Mike’s newest piece of arm candy, and she would do anything for a hit, even call in a false domestic disturbance call to the cops. David was sitting outside of Hillary's trailer, the hot sun was rising behind him, and he was resting in the few feet of shade remaining.

The call had been made two minutes ago, and already David could hear the siren coming closer. Olivia Waters was the real deal. She was actually interested in protecting and serving the community—even when it meant breaking up another fight between two junkies. David still wasn’t sure what his play was going to be, bribery was his first option, but he needed to be delicate. It was a federal offense to bribe a cop, and Olivia might just be crazy enough to decline the bribe and send David to jail instead.

The car pulled up, Olivia in the driver’s side and Lance in the passenger’s. Olivia jumped out of the car, leaving the lights flashing but the siren off. Lance was a little slower, waiting until Olivia was practically at the door of the trailer before sighing and slumping out of the car.

“Who are you?” Olivia demanded. She was wearing a pair of silver aviators, and David was distracted by his own reflection looking back at him. He could see himself in her eyes. He was sitting on a rough-hewn front porch. The wood beneath him was strong but cracked and weathered and half buried in sand. His shaggy blond hair was falling into his eyes; his arms bulged out the simple black t-shirt he was wearing; and his long legs were stretched out in front of him, resting on the sand.

“I’m David. I came by a few minutes ago and broke up the fight. Sorry you came all the way out here, officer,” David said. He was desperate for Olivia to take off her sunglasses. Having to see his own reflection as he spoke unnerved him. He needed to be manipulative; he needed to be strong; and he needed to be dangerous if the situation called for it. But seeing his own reflection just called him out as a faker, as a little boy dressed in adult clothing. Who was he that he thought he could manipulate this woman? She was like a solid wall made of ice, and even in this hot desert sun, she showed no signs of melting.

“So there’s no fight?” Lance whined, as he finally joined the two of them at the stairs to the trailer. “We came all this way.” David suppressed a sigh; they had traveled less than ten blocks in an air-conditioned car. He wondered how Olivia put up with Lance, how she kept herself from strangling him. But then again, she was driving the car now; she had clearly put him in his place. Now David needed to put Olivia in her place.

“We still need to talk to Ms. Sweetie and make sure she’s ok,” Olivia said.

“I agree,” David said. “Plus, we should offer you some nice cold lemonade as a thanks for coming all the way out here.”

“Yeah,” Hillary agreed, her voice sounding hazy and far away—even though she was only a few feet behind him, standing on the other side of the trailer’s screen door. “Please come in officers. I’m mighty tired. I might go and rest for a few, but please, come in and have a cold drink. I’m alright. David here sent my lying, useless, bucket of garbage boyfriend out on his ass, so I’m alright now.” She was slurring her words and repeating herself as her high set in comfortably somewhere in her head.

David stood and opened the door. He motioned for Olivia to go first, but the officer just crossed her arms and stared. So David went first, holding open the door for Olivia to follow, which she did after a quick moment’s hesitation. Lance followed at first, but he got one look at the inside of the trailer and said, “Oh, thanks, but I’m alright on lemonade, trying to stick to water for my diet. I’ll just wait out here, but call if you need me. I’ll be right outside.” David couldn’t help but notice that something had changed between Olivia and Lance. There was no more leaving Olivia alone to fend for herself, and Lance was polite to the point of obsequies. It gave David a new appreciation for Olivia; it hadn't taken her long at all to make her senior officer her subordinate in everything but name.

Once inside Olivia finally removed her silver sunglasses, and David breathed a sigh of relief. He could look into her eyes—her large, smart, brown eyes. He still remembered watching her through her window the other day. Watching her while she had been wearing practically nothing. She was tall, almost as tall as David himself, and she presented a strange image in the tiny trailer, like she was a goddess strolling the earth and visiting unsuspecting mortals.

He knew from watching her that underneath her tough demeanor she was just a regular woman, like so many others, like all the others. She was a beautiful, normal woman who had stumbled into a dangerous world. But she wasn’t just beautiful; she was tough and hardworking and smart, maybe too smart for her own good. He wanted to warn her that this was dangerous business she was caught up in, very dangerous. Taking a bribe and looking the other way was the best course of action for Olivia, and David needed to make her see that. And if she didn’t, if she refused to look the other way? Then, it would David, himself, who would need to take care of her. It was quickly becoming something he wasn’t sure he could do.