Erin stood hunched down over the bathroom sink, splashing crisp cold water upon her face. She gasped as its chill seeped into her skin, forcing every pore to awaken and then to shrink into submission.

She stood straighter and turned off the water. The mirror over the sink told her grim tale. The nightmares held her once sparkling eyes prisoner, leaving them clouded and obscure. She leaned on the bathroom counter, her face dripping, her own eyes now a strangers.

It was six am and sleep had refused to visit her the night before. Instead it had toyed with her and teased her, allowing her to just drift off before attacking her with nightmares. She stared at her weary reflection as the last nightmare replayed in her mind, it having been the most disturbing of them all.

It had started off the same as the others with her in Henderson’s bedroom the night of the shooting. But this time the dream had allowed her to see a face. A hauntingly familiar face. One so familiar that it had left her almost completely convinced that it was Elizabeth Adams. The blue eyes had been icy and fierce, just like Adams. The hair had been as black as midnight, contrasting sharply against the eyes. Even though the hair was cut shorter than how Adams wore hers, the similarity was strong enough to lead Erin to believe that it had indeed been her in that room that night. She shuddered as the worst part of the nightmare invaded her mind. The beautiful dark woman had been the one who had attacked Henderson, striking her hard on the head, knocking the detective unconscious. And then the woman had raised her gun, aiming it at Erin.

She reached for a towel and patted her face dry as she tried to shake the nightmare from her mind. After all, she didn’t know what the dream meant. Dreams were almost always fragments of strange and unusual subconscious thoughts or memories. How could she claim that it was something more tangible when she wasn’t even sure herself? Her mind had, in recent weeks, become her own worst enemy and who’s to say that it wasn’t just playing another cruel trick?

Exhausted and frustrated she padded into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. Then, hugging herself from the early morning chill, she made her way over to the sitting room where she sat on the couch with her knees pulled up to her chest.

Outside the floor to ceiling window, she watched as dawn rose to burn itself through the mountain mist. A black and white woodpecker hopped about the redwood railing, making his way to the large Ponderosa pine the two squirrels called home. Once there, he positioned himself along it’s side and went about drilling into the bark, searching for his breakfast.

She rubbed the chill bumps on her legs and reached up to the back of the couch to pull down a warm throw blanket. In an instant, she was warm and relaxed and she happened to glance over at the coffee table where a copy of one of Henderson’s books lay. Reaching down, she scooped it up and settled back into the warm blanket against the couch.

She examined the book carefully, running her fingers softly across the cover like a caress. It was hard to believe that the woman who had written the beautiful words lay sound asleep in the loft above. She inhaled deeply as she remembered the kisses they had shared on the very couch where she now sat.

Henderson had felt so hot against her own skin. Burning into her, searing right through her, going straight to her heart. She opened the book and continued running her fingers over the pages. She had upset Henderson that night, during their brief but heated encounter. And as it was, the writer hadn’t said much to her since.

Every waking hour since then, she had considered going after the beautiful detective, taking her in her arms, enveloping her in another series of hot kisses. She was attracted to the writer in an unbelievable way. With this case, a new sense had invaded her body like a ferocious virus. And after her incredible sexual encounter with Elizabeth Adams, she had been feeling as if she would implode if she didn’t have another woman and soon. And not just any woman, but Henderson. She was attracted to her words, her beauty, her body.

Christ, she was going insane with wanton lust.

She turned the book to the page she had last read, marked with the corner folded down. To help ease her tortured mind, she focused on the words and allowed the book to pull her into its world full of sexual innuendo, budding romance and raging passion.

Henderson awoke to the dark, powerful scent of coffee. The morning light poured in from the side window of the loft, caressing the room with light blues and grays. She pulled back the covers and walked to the edge of the loft where she stood in her tank top and panties, looking down into the cabin.

She knew Mac didn’t drink coffee and she was more than surprised to smell it brewing. She braced herself against the top of the stairs and leaned over to see if she could see Mac. She squinted into the bright morning light, it cascading in more powerfully through the floor to ceiling windows she now faced.

Her blue eyes did their best to awake and adjust as they panned the room below. Movement from the sitting room caught her attention and she focused on the couch where Mac lay with a book open on her chest.

Mac was awake after all. Turning back towards her bed, she retrieved her satin robe and slipped it on over her shoulders. Jack peeked his head out from the covers and greeted her with a yawn before jumping off the bed to beat her down the stairs. She followed after him, thinking to herself that Mac must’ve had another sleepless night to be up so early.

"Good morning." She said softly once she reached the bottom of the stairs. Jack trotted over to the back door and scratched, anxious to go greet the morning. She moved along the back of the couch to the door where she opened it to let him out.

Mac had not responded to her and she turned from the door and this time walked in front of the couch to see what was going on.

"Good…" She started to say again, thinking that perhaps Mac hadn’t heard her. But she stopped herself as she walked closer, observing that Mac wasn’t awake and reading like she had thought. But rather, she had fallen asleep with the book open, and it lay on her chest under her hands.

Henderson smiled at the sleeping beauty, noting the dark smudges under her eyes from all her sleepless nights. She tucked the blanket in around her, careful not to wake her. As she stood over her, the older woman thought about touching her, of lightly stroking her beautiful sleeping face.

She thought back to how Mac had tasted in her mouth. About how her tight and muscled body had reacted beneath her, as if it were hungry for her. And then she thought about the confession. The confession that Mac had slept with Elizabeth Adams. It had been over twenty four hours since the words had torn into her soul and eaten her alive. She rested her hand over her heart as the pain set in again.

With her heart shattering beneath her chest, she turned from Mac and walked into the kitchen for some much needed coffee. As she poured herself a mug full of the piping hot liquid, she glanced back over at the couch to where Erin lay. She knew she could go to her, to declare her love and desire, to then take her into her arms and into her bed. But the jealousy she felt wouldn’t allow it. Sure, she could tell herself that she could get past it, that she could forget. But she was realistic enough to know that she couldn’t. It would always be there deep inside waiting for her to be happy just before it began to eat away at her again, devouring the happiness she so sought.

With heaviness weighing on her heart she sipped at her coffee. She hadn’t bothered with cream or sweetener, needing to swallow it black and strong. She hadn’t slept so well the past few nights herself and she needed the coffee to empower her wounded heart, to feed her blood with energy.

Since Mac’s confession about Adams, the vision of the two together making wild, passionate love had invaded her mind, torturing her to no end. It was almost worse knowing what Adams was like in bed first hand. She knew how powerful and amazing sex was with the dark woman. And hearing Erin confess as much had literally killed her inside. Killed not just her heart, but the hopes and dreams she had had in regards to Mac. And the word Mac had used, "wonderful." It still plagued her mind. She had slept with Adams many times during their brief courtship and "wonderful" was not a word she would have ever chosen to describe the sex between them. "Wonderful" made it sound beautiful and even tender. And the way Erin had said the word…so soft.

She cringed as the jealousy began gnawing at her insides once more. She stared down into her coffee mug, suddenly feeling nauseous.

"No…no!"

Henderson snapped her head up to look at the couch. Erin was writhing against it, her face contorted as if she were in pain. She was moaning and thrashing her head from side to side.

She was having another nightmare.

Henderson set down her mug and hurried into the sitting room. She made her way to the front side of the couch where she knelt down beside the blonde.

"Mac." She said softly, placing her hand on her shoulder to gently shake her. But Erin continued to squirm beneath her hand, whimpering with fear.

"Mac." She said a little louder, increasing the pressure of her hand.

Erin’s hands flew up, grabbing the hand on her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up in an instant, fear written all over her face. Henderson pulled her arm away to rest both hands on Erin’s clammy and flushed cheeks.

Erin’s eyes were wide and searching, unsure of where she was.

"Hey, it’s ok." Henderson offered, trying to ground the blonde back into reality. "It was just a nightmare."

Erin moved her eyes over to lock onto Henderson’s dark blue ones. Her heart was hammering in her ears, the nightmare still thick and sticky, difficult to claw completely out of.

She tried to steady her breathing and she held fast to the comforting blue eyes before her, allowing them to anchor her into reality. Finally, she shook her head to let Henderson know that she was ok.

The writer let her hands fall away from Erin’s warm and damp face. She moved to sit next to her on the couch, where her hand found its way to Erin’s back and tense shoulder.

"You want to talk about it?" She offered lightly, not wanting to pressure her.

Erin wiped at her face and took in a shaky breath. "It’s the same dream." She said, meeting the blue eyes once again. "Only now I’m seeing more of the movie."

Henderson rubbed her shoulder with silent encouragement. "Like what?" She asked.

"Like, there’s another person there now." She said as she braced her head in her hands and grabbed at her hair, not wanting the images to return.

"Another person? You mean other than us and Blade?" Henderson asked as her own heart rate began to pick up.

"Yes." The younger woman breathed out.

"Who is it?" The coffee was quickly rising up to her throat in an angry manner. She swallowed it back down, fighting the nausea.

"I…I’m not sure." Erin said not wanting to say what her mind already suspected. Something deep inside her told her to keep the memories to herself. And every time she considered the fact that Adams might very well have been there that night, her mind quickly reminded her of their night of shared passion. And then it became extremely difficult for her to imagine that such a tender, passionate and sensual human being could indeed be a cold blooded killer.

Henderson studied the troubled blonde with the sleep tousled hair. Worry lined her face, settling alongside the dark circles under her eyes. She hated the pain and agony that Mac was having to endure. She wished she could take it away for her, to somehow make it all better. But she couldn’t. All she could do was stick by her and help to see her through it.

Henderson sighed and then gave Mac a soft pat on her knee. "Well, I’m sure it will come to you. Try not to force it, just let it come on its own." It was the best advice she could think to give her. And as she studied Mac’s face she hoped the memories would come sooner than later. For Mac’s sake.

Erin shook her head and silently hoped that Henderson was right.

"How bout some coffee?" Henderson asked, with a lighter more carefree tone.

"Coffee?" She asked, less than thrilled. She looked up as Henderson rose off the couch to head into the kitchen.

"Yes and don’t try to tell me you don’t like it." She smiled as she rounded the counter to fetch the pot.

"I don’t like it." Erin confirmed as she stood to stretch. "But like it or not it’s become my new best friend." Her taste buds protested at the thought of the bold liquid but her mind desperately needed it. It had become her fuel, allowing her to get through the day on such little sleep.

Henderson poured the rookie a mug full of coffee. With the cup full and steaming, she glanced up to hand it over as Erin reached the kitchen.

"What do you say we go on a little adventure today?" Henderson asked, watching Erin take small sips from the mug.

Erin raised her tired eyebrows and looked at the auburn haired beauty over her mug. "Like what?" She asked more than a little curious, but also afraid she wouldn’t have the energy.

"I was thinking we could take the ATV out on the trail and head down towards Lynx Lake for some fishing." She suggested casually, afraid of overwhelming the tired blonde. As she let Erin ponder the suggestion, she busied herself with reheating her own cold coffee with some fresh from the pot.

Erin thought for a moment, thinking through how much energy her body would need in order to accomplish the tasks. Riding on the ATV would only require her to hang on to Henderson, a feat she was more than ready to do, regardless of her low energy. And the fishing, well she had never been but it sounded relaxing enough.

"Ok." She replied. "But I’ve never been fishing before."

Henderson looked at the young blonde over her mug. "Never?" She asked, truly surprised.

Erin merely shook her head and gave a tired smile. "Never."

"Well then, we’ll just have to change that won’t we?" Henderson said with a smile. "Now, how bout some breakfast?" Her nausea had given way to hunger and Erin looked like she could use a good meal, especially after staying up more than half the night.

"I don’t know." The blonde replied, feeling like she just wanted to sit and stare into oblivion, too exhausted to even chew.

"You’ve got to eat Mac." Henderson said gently. "It will help with your energy."

Erin sat down at the table and continued to drink her coffee. "Ok." She said, less than enthusiastic.

"Spanish omelet ok?" The writer asked while clanging a frying pan free from the cupboard.

"Sounds terrific." Erin managed with a half smile.

An hour later and with a hearty breakfast behind them, the pair locked up the cabin and packed up the ATV.

Erin stood back while Henderson fastened the fishing rods and tackle equipment to the back cargo basket of the Honda ATV. With the exception of riding on a Harley Davidson with Adams, she had never before ridden on motorcycles or ATVs. As she watched Henderson finish packing their snacks and belongings, a stirring of raw desire began to flutter against her insides.

Just knowing that she would soon be nestled comfortably up against Henderson excited her tired body instantly. Intense and powerful memories of clinging to Elizabeth Adams invaded her head and she closed her eyes, wishing she could relive the experience. Adams had felt so strong and powerful under her own hands as they had hurtled away from the setting sun with the Harley roaring between their legs.

Suddenly, another image of Adams flashed like a brilliant burst of light in her mind. The dark, sexy woman stood leering at her, nearly nude in the black bikini.

Erin licked her lips as she remembered their various encounters, wishing she had been free to do as she pleased with the dark seductress. She wished even more that she had possessed the confidence to act upon her powerful desires. Instead of being the naïve, wide eyed and curious rookie detective that she really was and was most likely perceived.

She opened her eyes as a disturbing image attacked to kill the pleasant memories. Allowing the vision of the laughing, dark haired woman with the piercing blue eyes the freedom to disrupt and disturb. She shook the image away, not wanting to believe it what it was forcing her to see.

It just couldn’t be real. Her memory was wrong, it had to be.

"Ready?" Henderson asked with a smile. She then climbed on board and scooted forward on the seat of the green machine. Jack ran from Erin’s side to jump up in Henderson’s arms. She patted his white head and set him in the front cargo basket on top of some folded blankets. He sat happily, wagging his tail with anticipation.

Erin stood and observed Henderson in her hiking boots, her olive green cargo shorts and faded gray Timberland t shirt. It was hardly an eye catching outfit, but the site stirred her nonetheless. She let her eyes travel up her toned arms and legs to her beautiful face, partially hidden under a worn and faded ball cap. Her thick auburn hair was pulled through the cap and it bounced against the top of her neck.

Erin wiped her hands on her own t-shirt and jeans and walked up to green ATV. A little unsure of herself, she mounted the back of the Honda and arranged herself on the black warm seat. She stared down at her own hands, knowing she had to hold on, but afraid of touching Henderson. So instead, she sat there behind the beautiful woman, blushing like a hormone driven teenage boy.

Henderson turned her head back towards Erin. "You better hang on so we can get started." She said with her chin touching her shoulder.

"Where exactly…" Erin asked, more than a little embarrassed and unsure.

"Hang on to me." She clarified, seeming at ease with the idea.

Shrugging, Erin puffed out a long breath and wrapped her hands tentatively around Henderson’s hips. She then heard the ATV grumble to life and her body jerked as they started to move up towards the dirt road.

Erin held on a little tighter as they hit the road and increased speed. Her hands traveled forward to encircle Henderson’s waist. Enjoying the feel of the cool wind, she leaned into Henderson, pressing herself against her and resting her chin on her shoulder.

Jack sat out in front, his front paws on the rim of the basket, piloting their journey proudly, barking into the wind.

Erin had expected her body to be overwhelmed with desire at the close contact like she had experienced with Adams. But instead, her body relaxed against Henderson and she was soon lulled to sleep by the wind and the steady rocking of the ATV as it carried them onward and forward.

When she opened her eyes again, Henderson was patting her hand to let her know they had arrived. Releasing her grip on the older woman, Erin blinked and climbed off the ATV while her eyes took in the beautiful scene before her.

The blue water shimmered in the summer sun, spanning throughout the tall green pines. Jack had already jumped out of his basket and he bounded back and forth between his owner and the water with excitement. Erin shaded her eyes and scanned the shore of the wilderness lake. There was no one around for miles. The lake appeared to be completely secluded.

"What do you think?" Henderson asked her as she moved to retrieve the fishing rods.

Erin quickly stepped up to help, offering her hands to help carry their items.

"It’s beautiful." She said, completely relaxed and at ease from her nap.

They walked the few yards to a long dock and headed out to its end. Henderson spread out the thick blankets and they settled in under the warm sun and got under way with readying their poles.

Erin didn’t have to do much since she didn’t know how and she eased back on her elbows to watch the wind caress the surface of the water.

Henderson threaded the poles with fishing line, attaching weights and hooks, trying hard not to stare at Erin who looked like a blonde angel with the golden sunlight and the wind playing in her short hair.

"Here you go." The writer said as she handed over Erin’s pole.

The younger woman sat up and took the awkward feeling pole in her hands. "What now?" She asked, eyeing the small golden hook.

"Now," Henderson said pulling out a Ziploc bag full of hot dogs. "We hook on the leeches."

"Leeches!" She looked at Henderson with wide eyes, truly alarmed and disgusted.

The older woman laughed heartily. "You’re too easy Mac." She held up the Ziploc bag for Erin to see. "How about hot dogs? Do they put the fear of God into you?"

Erin slugged her hard in the arm. "Bitch." She whispered with a grin. "Someday I’ll get you back for that one."

Henderson laughed. "Yeah right."

Determined, Erin set down her pole and quickly got up on her knees. She moved into Henderson, first easing back her ball cap, then placing her hands on the older woman’s face. She gazed longingly into the deep blue eyes and pulled her closer for a warm kiss.

Completely surprised, Henderson had little time to react as she felt Erin’s tongue gently probing her mouth seeking permission to explore.

Henderson’s head swam with warm desire, her heart raced and swelled within her chest. She reached out with her free hand, unsure if she should embrace the blonde or gently push her away. Lucky for her, Erin made the decision for her and ended the kiss with a tender dislodging of their lips.

The blonde grinned proudly and sat back on her haunches. "Told you I would get you back. Bet you weren’t expecting that."

Henderson licked Erin from her lips and stared at her a little dumbfounded. "No, I wasn’t expecting that." She said quietly as she re-positioned her ball cap.

Erin repositioned herself and picked her fishing pole back up. Jack came running out on the dock, the smell of hotdogs carried to him with the wind. Henderson pulled off a piece and tossed it at him before she began hooking the remaining pieces onto their hooks.

The kiss had been unsettling to her in more ways than one. She knew she needed to talk to Mac, but she wasn’t even sure what to say. Especially when her own feelings weren’t exactly clear.

"Mac?" She said as she readied Erin’s pole with the bait. She glanced up and saw that the younger woman was looking at her, listening. "We should talk." She stood and held on to her own pole, ready to cast it out.

"Alright." Erin said, as she followed Henderson and stood from her sit. She watched as Henderson flipped the fly wheel, brought the rod back over her shoulder and then cast the line out.

Erin looked down at her rod and did the same, feeling the line give quickly as she brought it back and then thrust it forward out into the lake. Her cast didn’t go nearly as far as Henderson’s but it went out far enough.

Henderson quickly flipped the flywheel back over for her. "Now just reel it in a little to pull it tight." She instructed as she demonstrated with her own rod before she sat down again on the blankets.

Erin did the same, returning back down on the blankets while holding her rod with both hands, convinced she was about to catch a large fish.

Henderson leaned back and turned on her side to face Erin, holding her rod with one hand. "Mac, when you kissed me just now, what did you feel?"

Erin looked at her, a little surprised at the question. "I don’t know…I guess I didn’t think too much about it."

"Are you attracted to me?" Henderson asked.

"Yes." Erin responded meeting the dark blue eyes before she looked away a little embarrassed.

"Is that all it is then? Attraction?"

Erin couldn’t look back at her, and she swallowed hard as her face burned in response to the questioning. "I don’t understand." She said softly.

Henderson reeled her line in a little more before continuing. "Do you have any other feelings for me, other than the physical attraction?"

"Of course." She said with conviction, this time looking up at her again. "I care about you a great deal." She didn’t know what Henderson was getting at but she wanted to make sure the older woman knew that she cared.

"Mac, I think what you’re feeling right now is normal." She said gently. "When a woman is first awakened, so to speak, to her sexual attraction to women, she often…"

"Feels like she’s going to die if she doesn’t have sex with a woman again soon?" Erin finished for her.

Henderson shook her head and softly chuckled. "Yeah. I guess it’s safe to say you’re having those feelings then."

Erin shook her head. "I guess it’s pretty obvious."

"Yeah, it was that whole kissing thing that tipped me off." She teased as she tossed her a grin and reeled in her rod again.

"But it doesn’t mean that I don’t care about you." Erin said quickly, needing to clarify.

"I know." Henderson said, sitting up once again. "But I don’t think it would be wise for me to act on our mutual attraction right now." It pained her to say the words but she knew that she was saving them both some future heartaches.

Erin looked out over the water, still holding her rod tight in her hands. The wind was blowing her line to her left, but she didn’t care. She could hear Jack running and barking along shore, enjoying his new adventure.

"So you’re telling me in a nice way to keep my lips to myself." She said, feeling a dark loneliness spread throughout her chest.

"Just from me, yeah." She said, not wanting to hurt her feelings. "It’s not easy resisting you, you know. I care about you too, which is why I have to do this."

Erin shook her head in understanding. "I know." She said. "But that still doesn’t change the fact I feel like I’m going to die if I don’t have a woman again soon." She smiled as she said the words. As ridiculous as they sounded, they were true.

Henderson laughed and drew her line all the way in to recast.

"It’s not funny." Erin said as she watched the older woman stand to throw her line back out. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Henderson sat back down and looked her way. "Find some hot babe with an insatiable sexual appetite and screw your brains out."

Erin scoffed. "Yeah right, easier said than done."

"Are you kidding me? With your looks and charm, you’ll be beating them off with a stick."

Erin started to protest but her pole jerked in her hands. She let out a little scream as it jerked again, this time harder. Panicked, she stood and clung to pole as it bent in a stressed arch.

Henderson set down her own pole and came quickly to the blonde’s side. "You got one." She said as she helped her to pull on the pole. "Reel it in."

Erin looked down at her reel and began painstakingly winding against the thrashing fish. Henderson yanked the pole up over and over, helping her to win the battle against the fighting fish.

"Ok, you got it. It’s coming up." Henderson let go of the pole and went to edge of the dock with a net. "A little closer, Mac." She said as she knelt down over the edge, swooping the net down into the water.

"There! Your first fish." She said as she stood and turned with the silver flopping fish in her net.

Erin looked at the net, her hands still hot and charged with the intense battle. She pried the pole from her hands and walked up to look at the fish.

"That is what I fought for?" She said completely shocked at how small the fish was. "No way." She said placing her hands on her hips. "That’s not my fish. The one I reeled in weighed at least ten pounds."

Henderson laughed and set the net and the fish down on the warm dock.

"They never are as big as they feel." She explained as she knelt down over the fish and yanked the hook free from it’s mouth. "Here, he’s yours. Send him back out to grow bigger." She said, holding the fish up towards the younger woman.

Erin looked at the silver fish, his mouth opening and closing, struggling for oxygen. Jack trotted up behind them and eased his way up toward the fish, truly curious.

"You go ahead." Erin said, suddenly afraid that the fish would die if it didn’t get back in the water soon.

Henderson stood and walked back to the edge of the dock where she knelt and released the fish back into the water.

Jack barked as the fish took off like lightning, back to find his family and his home.

Erin sat back down on the blankets, once again feeling exhausted. In a way, Henderson had done the same to her. She had set her back out to find her way. She looked up as Henderson once again offered to bait her rod, but Erin shook her head no, having had her fill of fishing. Instead, she lay back on the blankets and listened to the water lap against the shore and she relaxed as the warm sunshine melted her troubles away allowing sleep to once again find her.

When she opened her eyes again, Jack’s barking was echoing throughout the lake. She shaded her sleepy eyes against the sun and heard Henderson walking on the dock. Sitting up, she turned and saw Henderson making her way up the shore to where a vehicle sat with its engine idling. Jack ran alongside his owner, barking at the car and its occupants as they emerged.

Erin stood and smoothed out her t-shirt as she walked along the dock towards Henderson and the vehicle. The car was an unmarked police cruiser and Erin picked up her pace as she saw Jeff Hernandez climb out to meet Henderson.

"Hey Hernandez, this is quite a surprise." Henderson said to the male detective as another person climbed out of the car.

Jeff rounded the front of the vehicle and glanced over at his passenger.

"Henderson, this is Detective Sinclair."

"Audrey." The woman clarified as she stepped up to shake Henderson’s hand.

"She just transferred down from Seattle." Jeff said as he watched Erin walked towards them from the shore.

Henderson shook the woman’s hand and got a good look at her before she looked away, careful not to stare. Audrey stood a little taller than she herself did, standing at about 5’9. Her dirty blonde hair was worn similar to Mac’s with messy spikes but she looked very different from Mac in every other way. Her body wasn’t as muscular or curvy. Instead it was longer and leaner, more like a swimmers build.

"Nice to meet you, Detective." Henderson said, sneaking another look. The new detective was strikingly handsome with a strong face, near perfect features and warm light brown eyes, which appeared almost gold in the sunlight.

"Likewise." Audrey said before slipping her hands into her dark dress slacks.

Henderson did the same, allowing her hands to find a home in the pockets of her cargo shorts. She tried not to notice the way Audrey looked, or the way she was dressed. But it was hard to ignore her dark dress slacks with the wider belt. Or the tight fitting collared v neck shirt which shimmered silver in the sunlight and did its best to accentuate her trim torso and firm breasts. If Audrey wasn’t gay, it was a damn shame.

"If you don’t mind my asking," Audrey started, catching Henderson off guard. "Are you the one who’s the writer? Katherine Chandler?"

Henderson looked as if she had been struck. She had never been asked before and the question more than completely surprised her.

"Forgive me." Audrey said immediately. "It’s just that I’ve read over the files on the Adams case and well…I saw Katherine Chandler and…"

"Yes." Henderson said softly. "I’m Katherine Chandler." She had kept it a secret so long she hadn’t known what it was like to actually say the words aloud.

"I’m a huge fan." Audrey said with a gorgeous smile.

Henderson cleared her throat and felt her face flush with heat. "Thank you." She finally managed to say just before Erin reached them.

"Hey Jeff." Erin greeted. "What’s going on?" She came to stand next to Henderson and she eyed the attractive woman standing next to Hernandez. Henderson was right, her hormones were raging and it was more than evident now as she imagined devouring the strange woman from head to toe.

"We’ve been trying to reach you for over twenty four hours." He said as he stepped up to stand beside the new detective.

Henderson brought her hand up to her forehead in frustration. "My phone line up here hasn’t been put in yet. Not till next week. Did you try my cell?" She asked as she placed her hands on her hips, looking at Hernandez with concern.

"Several times." He responded.

Erin looked over at Henderson. "My cell phone has trouble finding a signal up here."

"That’s what we figured." Hernandez stated looking at his long time friend. "By the way, Mac this is Detective Sinclair. Our new dic from Seattle."

"Please, call me Audrey." The handsome woman said as she shook Erin’s hand. Erin openly stared at her, perplexed not just by her beauty but by her presence. She looked back over at Jeff, suddenly alarmed.

"So what’s going on guys?" She asked, meeting both their eyes.

Jeff sighed and leaned back against the cruiser with his arms crossed.

"A lot." He said, always hating to be the one who delivered bad news. "We need you to come back with us Mac."

"Why?" She asked, almost afraid at the answer.

"We know Elizabeth Adams was there the night of the shooting." Audrey said matter of factly.

Erin swallowed hard and her mind spun quickly, leaving her feeling dizzy.

Henderson looked just as shocked as Erin. "Are you sure?" She asked.

"Positive." Jeff said. "She bled all over your carpet."

Erin reached out and steadied herself against Henderson.

"We just recently got the DNA results back from the lab." Audrey clarified.

"Mac are you ok?" Jeff asked, pushing himself up from the car, a look of concern on his face.

Erin tried to smile as she offered reassurance. "Yes." She said softly.

"That’s why you’re here." Henderson thought aloud. "You’re afraid she’s going to come after Mac."

"Not exactly." Jeff said.

Henderson glanced first at Hernandez and then at Audrey, silently urging her to explain.

"We already have Adams in custody." Audrey stated.

"You’re kidding." Henderson let out, completely amazed. "How on earth did you ever manage that?" She asked, this time looking at Hernandez for the answer.

Jeff shrugged, just as baffled as Henderson. "She came in willingly."

"Unbelievable." Henderson whispered to herself.

"And…" Jeff said looking back between Henderson and Erin. "She says she’s only willing to talk to Mac."

Next Part

Return to the Academy