Justice Served: A Barkley and Parker Thriller (32 page)

But he would live. She thanked God for
that.

In fact, doctors expected Ray to make a full
recovery. But it would take time. For that Carole was grateful. The
thought that he could have died without their having ever settled
their differences made her feel faint.

“Am I dreaming,” voiced Ray groggily, “or am
I really in the company of two beautiful women?”

Nina blushed, as did Carole.

“Compliments will get you everywhere,
Barkley,” quipped Nina. “At least while you’re on vacation in this
hospital.”

Ray forced a smile. “So am I going to pull
through, or what?” he asked hesitantly.

“Afraid so.” She feigned disappointment.
“There’s no easy way out for you, Ray. You’re too bullheaded to
die.”

“Apparently some people will do anything to
get their name in the paper,” Carole said, grinning while trying
not to even think about what almost was.

Ray furrowed his brow thoughtfully. “What
about Monique?”

Nina’s lips were a flat line. “She didn’t
make it.” There was a moment of contemplation all around. “It was
either you or her. I chose you.”

Ray counted his blessings, considering just
how close he had come to meeting his Maker. “Must have been my
lucky day.”

Nina’s eyes widened. “I think it was
Portland’s lucky day. We located a storage locker Monique had
rented. It was filled with wooden baseball bats, as if she was just
getting started on her murder campaign. Or maybe she had been
planning to start a major league baseball team in the Rose City.”
She sighed. “Her place wasn’t much better. Left behind practically
a library stocked with books and magazines on everything you ever
wanted to know about battering, domestic violence, and the
inadequacies of the criminal justice system. Not to mention more
evidence tying her directly to the murders.”

“It’s likely we’ll never know for sure what
put her over the edge,” Carole said. “Wife abuse is nothing new.
Responding to it as she did seems to be. A scary thought.”

“At least for some of us,” muttered Ray,
wincing.

“For
all
of us,” she insisted. “Who
knows where such unpredictable, vigilante violence could lead?”

“One thing I know for sure,” he remarked
dryly, “this town will never be the same again.”

Nina wrinkled her nose at Carole. “I think
he’s been watching too many B movies. Or those painkillers are
really starting to kick in.”

Both women chuckled.

“It’s not the town I’m worried about,” joked
Carole, turning serious. “It’s the people in it who can cause
trouble.”

After a moment or two, Nina said: “Well, I’ll
leave you two alone for a while. I have some paperwork to finish
up. You take care of yourself now, Ray. I’ll check on you
later.”

Nina kissed his cheek and smiled at Carole,
gently squeezing her arm, before walking out.

Ray looked at Carole. He couldn’t help but
think how fine she looked, even from the vantage point of a
hospital bed. He imagined she had this effect on most men, in and
out of the courtroom.

“Tell me about you?” he asked, remembering
that she faced all sorts of legal troubles before this case was
brought to a head.

Carole was thoughtful as she looked at him.
“All charges were dropped,” she announced happily. “I’ve been
completely exonerated and deluged with apologies and regrets. I
return to the bench next week.”

The expression on Ray’s face betrayed his
relief and satisfaction. “I’m glad to hear that,” he said. No other
words seemed necessary, though there was still much more he wanted
to say.

Carole moved closer to the bed, taking Ray’s
hand. It was damp, but warm. “You know, you really had me worried
for a while there, Detective Barkley.”

He met her gaze. “Oh, yeah. How worried?”

She licked her lips. “Worried enough that I
couldn’t imagine my life without you in it in a big way.”

Ray looped his fingers through hers. “So you
think we might have a future then?” he asked hopefully.

“I’d certainly like to discuss the
possibilities,” Carole said eagerly.

“So would I.” A broad smile parted his mouth.
“I was thinking a real family might be nice.”

She smiled back. “It might be.”

“Just promise me one thing,” Ray said, not
letting her out of his line of vision. “If I ever get out of line,
can we just talk about it, please? This damned physical violence
stuff can be hazardous to my health.”

Carole chuckled warmly. “Of course,” she
said. “Wouldn’t have it any other way, darling.”

Neither would I.
As far as he was
concerned, there was only one way—and that was making a life
together and not letting the past stand in the way of the future.
He fully intended to make this happen, relishing the possibilities
almost as much as the lady herself.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

Ray Barkley was still laid up on his back
with limited movement. The grunts and moans he heard were music to
his ears and his aches were anything but painful. He gripped
Carole’s slender waist, assisting as she delicately lifted up and
down atop him. Her breasts bounced greedily upon his face, begging
him to put her nipples in his mouth. He did so ravenously and
immediately felt them tauten with her rush of breath. This turned
him on even more and, for an instant, he thought about flipping
them over and assuming control of their lovemaking.

Then Ray thought better. It had been a few
months since he had come face to face with Jacqueline Monique Davis
and got his ass whipped by the bat-wielding, crazy vigilante bitch.
Although he had more or less recovered from his injuries, there was
still some lingering soreness in parts of his body that reminded
him a bit more time was needed to get back to one hundred
percent.

But ninety-five percent was more than enough
to make love to his sexy judge girlfriend. Or have her make love to
him.

Carole sensed that things were building up to
a heated climax in Ray’s bed. They certainly were for her. She
kissed him, sticking her tongue inside his mouth, enjoying the
taste of him and the remnants of the bottle of wine they had shared
before turning their attention to more carnal interests.

She felt a certain peace and lots of joy to
be able to shed her judge’s role in his company and be herself. Ray
clearly felt the same in leaving his badge and detective character
outside the bedroom, allowing them to work at this relationship on
an even footing. There was something about nearly losing one’s
freedom and life which gave you a whole new perspective on what was
truly important.

Carole pondered that thought for a moment
before returning her attention to Ray’s hard body, which he’d
worked diligently on getting back into tiptop condition. They
kissed passionately and his mustache tickled her mouth. She felt
Ray grow inside her, compelling her to bring him in even deeper.
She lifted slightly, moving astride him with a sense of
urgency.

“Oh...Ray—” she murmured, having nearly
reached the point of no return.

“Yeah, I’m with you, baby,” he grunted.
“Every step of the way...”

Ray wrapped his arms around Carole, holding
tightly as they both trembled wildly with their orgasms coming in
full force. It must have lasted for a full minute and even
afterwards he was still seeing stars and already thinking about the
next time.

Those thoughts had to be put on hold when his
cell phone started to vibrate on the dresser. Ray hated the timing,
though they had already achieved their main goal. That didn’t mean
he wouldn’t have been happy just holding Carole for a while.

“I’d better get that,” he said
apologetically. “It could be important.”

Carole lifted her face from his shoulder,
looking weary and slightly irritated. “That’s why I made a point to
cut mine off the moment I stepped onto your houseboat. Didn’t want
to be disturbed tonight.”

“Why the hell didn’t I think of that?” Ray
felt a twinge of guilt, though he knew damned well his job didn’t
allow him the luxury of having time off—even when off duty with a
very special lady who he’d come to know and love.

He rolled off the bed and stumbled toward the
dresser. The caller I.D. told Ray that Nina was the intrusive
caller. Had it been anyone else, he would have been pissed. But
ever since she saved his life, he had remembered what he first saw
and admired in her and would be ever grateful to have her as his
partner, friend, and ex-lover.

“Hey, Parker.” Ray tried to lower his voice,
as if Carole couldn’t hear. The truth was, she knew about him and
Nina—or what they once had and still did to some extent—and was
cool with it. She and Nina had gained a mutual respect for one
another and coexisted just fine. “What’s up?”

“Big trouble, I’m afraid,” Nina said
tensely.

“I don’t like the sound of that.” Ray glanced
at Carole, who was sitting on his every word. He tried not to think
about how hot she looked in the nude after sex.

“Yeah, we’ll it gets worse. The mayor’s
daughter has been abducted.”

This news caused Ray to react, but he
recovered quickly. “Sorry to hear that, but last I knew we were
homicide cops.”

“Her boyfriend was shot to death during the
scuffle that led to the abduction. Everyone will be expected to
bust their asses on this one.”

“Damn,” Ray muttered under his breath.

“I know,” Nina said. “Me, too.” She paused.
“So, see you at the office...?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right there.”

“Hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time.”

“Is there ever a good time for stuff like
this?”

He didn’t give her a chance to answer,
clicking off the phone and facing Carole.

“What is it?” she asked, her brow
furrowed.

“Looks like the mayor’s daughter has been
kidnapped—”

* * *

The Taker watched with glee as the pretty
young woman with the long, dark, hair didn’t look so pretty
anymore. She was tied down naked to the table he’d prepared for her
arrival. Those big, bold blue eyes batted rapidly with fright. A
moaning sound tried to escape her lips, but ran into the double
layer of carpet tape he’d strapped across her mouth.

“Scream all you want,
bitch
,” The
Taker said. “Won’t do you a bit of good. Not even the mayor himself
can save you now!”

He laughed at her as she squirmed and tried
to somehow free herself from the rope that held her arms and legs
spread-eagled.

Using his video camera, The Taker recorded
these precious moments of life for his captive. Just as he would
record her first moments of death. The mere thought sent chills of
satisfaction up and down his spine.

“Consider yourself lucky,” he told her.
“You’re the first one to be an honored guest of The Taker. But you
sure as hell won’t be the last. Look at it this way, honey: the
mayor will thank me for doing what I’m gonna do to you. Bad girls
need to be punished. And you will be punished in a manner you’ll
never forget. Or, for that matter, remember since you’ll never live
to reflect on it.”

The Taker felt himself become aroused, as the
person chosen to put him on the map was now scared out of her wits
and helpless to do anything about it.

But prepare to die.

# # #

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

R. Barri Flowers is an award winning,
bestselling author of crime, mystery, thriller, suspense, and young
adult fiction. His novels include DARK STREETS OF WHITECHAPEL, DEAD
IN THE ROSE CITY, KILLER IN THE WOODS, MURDER IN MAUI, PERSUASIVE
EVIDENCE, STATE'S EVIDENCE, CHRISTMAS WISHES, GHOST GIRL IN SHADOW
BAY, and DANGER IN TIME.

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