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CHAPTER 10

Everyone gathered into the living room at Taj's home. Taj, Larisa, and Piper had decided that it might be wise to let them all know that Desiree had left. Yes, she was grown, but with all that she had been through lately and with what she had just heard not too long ago, it might be dangerous for the young woman to be alone.

Taj, Larisa, and Piper had also decided to leave out the reason why Desiree had left in an upset state. If they were to give the reason why she was not there, than Desiree's parents would find out the true nature of their daughter's relationship with Piper. They would also know what their oldest daughter had been up to in Jamaica nearly a decade ago. Now was not the time for Richard and Sandra to find out that both of their daughters were lesbians.

Richard, Sandra, Nathaniel, and Vivian were all sitting on the couch. Having woke up when the grown-ups started piling in, Stacey was sitting in her mother's lap on the floor with her sister sitting next to them. Samantha once again began playing with Alexis. The two were trying to work out a small jigsaw puzzle. Andrea's brother Keith had chosen to stand, leaning against a wall. Leroy had a nodding Nina in his arms as he sat in a recliner. Rochelle, Valerie, Taj, and Dion were all sitting in chairs that they had brought in the living room from the dining room. Tommy had already left, taking Richie Jr. with him after the young man had exclaimed that he was tired. Tommy had offered to give him a ride back to Larisa's house after lunch.

Like Keith, Larisa was also leaning against a wall. She had her arms crossed over her chest as she watched Piper pace in front of her. She felt like grabbing the woman and yelling at her to stop. Instead, Larisa called the other woman's name softly in order to get her attention. Piper looked at her with a look bordering on annoyance.

"Calm down," Larisa stated quietly. "Please."

Piper did not get a chance to reply. For the judge chose that moment to look around the room before inquiring loudly to no one in particular where Desiree was.

"That's why you all have been called to the living room," Larisa answered. She took a deep breath and raised her eyes to meet her father's. "She left."

"Maybe she had something important to attend to," Valerie offered, trying to be helpful.

Larisa shook her head. "We have reason to believe that she was upset, and that's why she left in such a hurry."

The judge leveled a glare at Piper. Whatever had happened, it most likely had something to do with this woman. He had to find some way to get Desiree away from her. There was no way that a child of his was going to have a friendship with the likes of Piper Redding. "And why was Desiree upset?" Judge Love asked still staring at Piper. She merely rolled her eyes and tried her best to ignore the man.

Larisa sighed before answering, "She-"

"I made a pass at her," Taj interjected.

Both Larisa and Piper stared at the man as if he had suddenly grown wings. That was not what they had decided to say. Larisa quickly looked at Valerie to gauge her reaction. As she had expected, the young woman looked as if she were about to explode. Richard sat on the edge of his seat, now glaring at Taj. And to think he had been willing to give the man the benefit of the doubt.

Tears starting to form in her eyes, Valerie arose from her seat, picking up her purse in the process. When Taj began to say something to her, the young woman put her hand in his face to silence him. Without a word, Valerie marched towards the front door, opened it, and left, closing the door soundlessly behind her.

Shaking his head, Taj turned to meet the blazing eyes of Judge Love. The Jamaican man silently thanked God that Desiree's father did not have a shotgun handy.

"You did what?!" Judge Love nearly shouted. His wife put a hand on his arm in the attempt to calm him down some. Richard did not seem to notice the action.

"I said I made a pass at her," Taj repeated slower. I'm already in the doghouse. Might as well keep this going. "Today wasn't the first time I did." He looked at Larisa. "You remember that day I came over to get Desi out of her apartment?"

Larisa nodded mutely, wondering where he was going with this. She also wondered why he was doing this.

Taj continued, "Well we went back to my place after we supposedly dumped Piper's remains in the ocean. That was when I first made a pass at her." He looked at his younger brother who to Taj's chagrin appeared to be disgusted. "You weren't in the room when it happened." Leroy merely shook his head and put Nina down on the floor before going out to the backyard. Concerned about her youngest son, Vivian followed him. Her mother's instinct told her that Taj was lying, though she could not figure out why.

Before Taj could get another word out, Judge Love was out of his seat and heading towards him quickly. "Why you dirty punk!" Richard screamed as he grabbed the collar of Taj's shirt and lifted the startled man to his feet. "I should kill you with my bare hands!" However, the judge did not get to do anything further, because both Dion and Keith managed to pull him away.

"Father, will you please calm down?" Larisa asked wearily. "That's not really what happened."

Judge Love regarded his daughter with a furious look. "What do you mean? This hoodlum," he pointed at Taj, "took advantage of my daughter! He admitted it." Sandra called her husband's name but he ignored her. "And I'm tired of you always butting in Larisa."

Larisa took a deep calming breath. "If you'll just listen to me Father, you will find out the truth."

"That was the truth," Taj stated as he gave Larisa a look, shaking his head.

Larisa noticed that he wanted her to keep quiet. She tried to silently argue with him, but it was no use. You have a death wish Taj? Larisa thought. The woman shrugged, sticking her hands in her pockets.

Judge Love stood toe to toe with Taj. "I want you to stay away from my daughter." As an afterthought, he then turned to glare at Piper. "The same goes for you. Don't try to call her, live with her…anything! Do you understand me?"

Piper nodded. "Though it is up to Desiree whether I stick around or not. I don't know if you realized it, but she is quite capable of making her own decisions without her daddy." She gave him a cold smile. "Now why don't you leave since you can't seem to keep your hands off of people."

Sandra stood up from the couch and came over to take a hold of her husband's arm. Judge Love stared at Piper for a few silent moments. "You mean like you couldn't keep your hands off of your father?" The expression on his face grew pensive. "Or would that be your hammer?"

The dark-haired woman clenched her hands into fists at her sides but said nothing in reply. She would not give him the satisfaction. The judge looked at Piper as though he expected her to say something. After a second, Richard turned his attention on his daughter. "Let's go, Larisa," the man stated.

The young woman shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere yet. Why don't you and Mother go back to my house and I'll let you know when we locate Desiree? I'm sure we'll find her soon," she stated in a reassuring tone.

Larisa was surprised when her father did not argue. Instead he put an arm around Sandra's waist and headed for the front door. They left neither saying another word.

Sighing in relief because they were gone, Larisa glanced at Piper who was staring toward the floor. With some uncertainty, Larisa reached out to put a hand on Piper's arm and squeezed gently. The other woman glanced at her in some confusion before moving away so that Larisa was no longer touching her.

The blue-eyed woman cleared her throat. "We need to start looking," she said to no one in particular.

"Maybe she just went home," Andrea said, still sitting on the floor. "She could be there by now. Couldn't she?"

*****

Desiree stared at the woman sitting next to her. "How did I save your life?" she reached into a small basket and took out a beer nut to put in her mouth. Chewing, she waited for the woman to answer.

The gorgeous Latina grabbed a cocktail napkin and began to fold it. She kept her gaze on her task as she replied, "I was going to do something very foolish, but then I kept looking at you and ended up changing my mind." She lifted her head to study the strawberry-blonde. "To put it bluntly, your looking like crap over here, drinking so much and appearing like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders made me want to live. And I thank you for that."

Desiree ate another beer nut, trying to process the information she had just been given. Since her brain was currently working in the lowest gear possible, she found processing extremely difficult. Finally, she replied, "No biggie." Desiree ran a finger across the scarred wood.

"What happened?"

The strawberry-blonde glanced at her. "Long story."

"I've got time. I should introduce myself." The woman put her hand out towards Desiree. After grabbing at the air twice, she successfully grasped the hand offered to her. "My name is Micaela Chavez."

"I'm Desimee." She chuckled to herself, finding her inability to speak properly hilarious. "I mean I'm Desiree," she paused as if in deep thought. "Love." She asked Micaela had she heard of her. The woman shook her head.

"Should I have?"

Desiree shrugged. " 'Pose not. Not evewybody has."

"Are you famous?"

She shook her head for longer than was needed. "Not weally, but my girlfriend is." Desiree slapped a hand over her mouth, noticing that she had let it slip that she was a lesbian. To her credit, Micaela did not so much as blink.

"And do you feel neglected because of that?"

Desiree shook her head. "That's not it. Let's not talk 'bout it. I'd like another drink." She looked at the bartender who was a few feet away from them, polishing glasses.

Micaela put a hand on her arm. "No more alcohol. I'm taking you home."

The strawberry-blonde looked at her suspiciously. " 'Cuse me?"

Micaela got to her feet and walked back to where she was sitting in order to get her jacket. Coming back to the bar she replied, "That's right. Don't worry, Desiree. I'm not a psychopath or anything. Get up so we can move on out." She slipped her jacket on and insisted on paying the other woman's tab. Without another word, the young woman tried to get up from the barstool. Noticing that she was having trouble, Micaela put an arm around Desiree's waist and instructed the young woman to put an arm around her neck. After the smaller woman did so, the two left the bar.

The Latin woman headed towards the Honda Civic, after Desiree pointed out that car as being hers. Grabbing the keys in her pocket, the strawberry-blonde handed them to Micaela. After the Latin woman secured Desiree in the passenger seat, she jogged around to the drivers' side and got in. After buckling herself in, Micaela asked the other woman for her driver's license. Desiree handed it over, warning her designated driver that the picture was hideous. Chuckling, Micaela studied the address on the card before driving out of the parking lot.

*****

They had been driving around Los Angeles for the past twenty-five minutes or so. Before everyone had split up at Taj's house, the Jamaican man had informed them, (although some of them were not exactly on speaking terms with him) that he had considered the fact that Desiree might have been in a bar somewhere. He explained that the day he had went to the beach with the young woman that she had consumed a considerable amount of champagne within a short time.

Silently sighing to herself, Piper hoped that Desiree was all right, wherever she was. Please don't let me have driven her to drink, she thought to herself as she stared out of the passenger window of the car.

Larisa came to a halt at a stoplight and glanced at her passenger. Sighing softly, Larisa noticed that the woman was even more beautiful than she had been when they first met in Jamaica all those years ago. Piper did not have the appearance of a woman that had been locked up in a prison for the past eight years.

Feeling eyes upon her, Piper turned her head towards the other woman and quietly asked if there was a problem. Shaking her head, Larisa turned her eyes to the red light, willing it to turn green. Seconds later it did and the two were off once again.

Piper took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Looking out of the passenger side window again, she said, "Maybe we should check out some bars." She fell silent for a moment before continuing, "I hope she's not drinking."

Larisa instantly replied, "Not Desiree. My sister is too smart for that."

Cool blue eyes turned to regard her. "And that's why she almost polished off a whole bottle of champagne by herself, isn't it?"

Larisa bit down on her lower lip to refrain from retorting something nasty. She had had just about enough of Piper's attitude towards her. "Piper, how long are you going to keep this up?"

"Keep what up?"

"Acting like you hate me."

Piper turned towards the window again, replying, "It isn't an act," she paused shortly, "You see, I really do hate you."

Chuckling humorlessly, Larisa pulled into a gas station and shut off the ignition after stopping by a pump. Both women sat in silence for a few moments before the older woman said, "I have a tip for you, Piper. You really should grow up."

Still looking out of the window, Piper replied, "And you can take your tip and shove it up your ass. I have grown up."

Larisa opened her door and leaned down to pull the latch up in order for the gas tank to pop open. "You could have fooled me," she retorted before getting out of the car, shutting it loudly behind her.

Piper leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes. Her thoughts quickly drifted to the woman pumping gas into the car. While in prison, Piper had often thought about that time in Jamaica with Larisa. She never knew why she did it. The memories only seemed to cause her pain. She still remembered that dreadful day as though it had happened just yesterday.

Nearly twenty minutes late because she lost the key to the hotel room and had to find Taj in order to use his, Piper walked into the crowded restaurant. She stood at the entrance for a few moments, trying to get her breathing under control after the short run here from the hotel. The dark-haired young woman had just learned a very valuable lesson that could be useful to all women around the world. Running in high heels and a short dress is not the best idea. Speaking of the dress, Piper did not feel comfortable enough in it, but she wanted to look great for Larisa.

The older woman had asked her out on a date a couple of days before and stated that they would be going to this restaurant, which happened to be the hottest dining place on the beach. The two had been on several dates before, however Piper always felt the same nervousness and excitement when she knew that she was about to be reunited with the love of her life. She was in love and it was the most wonderful feeling in the world. She was in love with the most beautiful, intelligent, witty, and kind woman in the world. Piper did not see how life could possibly get any better.

Thank goodness, she and Taj had decided to vacation in Jamaica at this time of year. Otherwise, she might not have ever met Larisa and known that this special woman who made her feel so wanted and loved, existed. It was a frightening thought, and Piper inwardly shuddered every time that she thought about it.

The young woman scanned the restaurant, and soon blue eyes connected with green. Piper smiled brightly, hoping that she did not have a goofy look on her face, as she moved through the tables and nearly collided with a waiter on her way to Larisa's table. As she drew nearer, Larisa stood up and walked around to pull her date's chair out for her.

Reaching the table, Piper leaned over to give Larisa a kiss on the lips. The older woman quickly ended it with a faint smile at Piper. Thanking Larisa, Piper sat down in the chair and placed her small purse, (of which she detested carrying around because she deemed it too much trouble) on the small round table set for two.

"Hey," Piper said in a breathless voice. "I've missed you." This was quite an understatement. She had not seen or heard from her lover since that day she was asked on a date to here. Larisa had claimed that she had something extremely important to take care of, and would not be able to see Piper for a couple days. The younger woman had felt instant heartache at the news, but looked on the bright side. At least Larisa had given her something to look forward to.

Pumping gas into the car, Larisa took the opportunity to study Piper unnoticed through the back window. The other woman had her eyes closed, her lips slightly parted. Shaking her head, to clear her thoughts that were traveling to places that they were better off not going to, Larisa suddenly began to think about the day that she had broken up with Piper in Jamaica. She often regretted what she had done, but at the time she had felt there was no other way. All of those years ago, Larisa had convinced herself that what she was going to do was the right thing for them both.

"Yeah, right," the woman muttered to herself, remembering.

"Hello," Larisa replied, having a difficult time keeping her eyes off of her date. Piper was simply the most gorgeous creature that she had ever laid eyes on. The blue-eyed woman had on a light coating of make-up that only proved to accentuate her beauty, but she could easily do without any. "I've-" Automatically, Larisa began to state that she had missed Piper as well, which was the truth, but it would only make what she had to announce all the more confusing. "I've been waiting for you." Larisa picked up the menu so she could focus her eyes on something else other that the beautiful person sitting across from her. "Almost half an hour. Started to think that you weren't going to show up."

Piper picked up her own menu and opened it, her eyes still on Larisa. "I'm sorry. I had some trouble getting into the hotel room." She had on a sheepish look now. "Lost my key." With much difficulty, Piper turned her attention to the menu.

"It's just that we had reservations for 6:30." Larisa reached over picking up her glass and taking a sip of her water, hating the way that she sounded, but it was all for a reason. There was no alternative. "I would have appreciated it if you would have been considerate enough to pick up a phone and call."

The younger woman's brow furrowed. Something was not right here. Larisa was being unusually cold to her. Was she that upset that Piper was late? The woman quietly put the menu down, having decided what she wanted and folded her hands together in her lap. "I already said that I was sorry," she replied in a calm quiet voice. "I should have called you, but I didn't think about it."

Neither woman said another word until after their waiter came to take their orders. After the man came back with their beverages and left once again, Piper busied herself with rearranging the silverware on her cloth napkin, while wondering what the sudden tenseness between them was all about. Not being able to stand it another moment, Piper broke the silence, asking Larisa if there was anything wrong.

Taking a sip from her glass of wine, the green-eyed woman put the flute down on the table slowly with a thoughtful expression on her face. Looking up, she studied Piper's face. For the first time, she was having doubts about what she was about to do. Perhaps this was not the way to go about this after all. She wanted to be with this woman for the rest of her life and it caused Larisa a lot of pain to know that it could never be. She had to do this. The woman inwardly told herself that she should just get this over with.

"Piper," she started, "I don't think we should see each other anymore. That's why I invited you here. To break up with you."

The other woman's blue eyes begin to tear instantly. "What do you mean you don't think we should see each other anymore? What happened?"

Sighing, Larisa sat back in her chair and regarded her companion. "Did you honestly believe that I really loved you?" The look that Piper gave her obviously said yes. Larisa chuckled coldly. "Oh, please little girl…you could never win my love." She almost winced and could have kicked herself as she saw the tears rolling down Piper's strong cheekbones. She was causing the other woman pain and hated herself for it.

Piper shook her head. "You're lying. You do love me. As much as I love you." She realized that she was behaving desperately but could not help herself. There was no way that Piper intended to live without her beloved.

Larisa chuckled all the more, going on with the show. "You're deluded, Piper. Remember when I told you that I had something important to take care of the last two days?" Piper nodded mutely. Leaning forward in her chair, Larisa continued in a near whisper, "Well during that time I was screwing someone else." She grinned. "She knows how to please me in ways that you never could and I plan to take her back home with me to California. You were just my little toy. Thanks," Larisa finished casually.

The blue-eyed woman shook her head, not wanting to hear another word of this, as her shoulders began to shake with the force of her sobs. Customers started looking her way curiously, but Piper was blind to them. She kept her eyes on Larisa and realized that this was not the woman who she had made sweet love with not five days ago. Larisa had transformed into this cold-hearted person sitting before her smugly.

"You used me?" Piper said in a small voice.

"Yes," replied Larisa. She looked thoughtful for a moment. "You know what? You're really pathetic. Sitting there crying like the baby that you are. Frankly, I don't now what I ever saw in you. You may have the body of a twenty-five year old but you've got the mentality of a child. A little itty bitty chi-"

"Shut…up," Piper said between clenched teeth as she glared at the other woman. Larisa held her breath momentarily, thinking that she might have gone too far. Piper looked as if she could do just about anything at this moment. "Just shut the hell up," Piper continued in a low voice. "You have messed with the wrong person." With that said, the blue-eyed woman arose from the table and stormed out of the restaurant never to be seen again by Larisa until years later.

Noticing that the gas was about to overflow, Larisa quickly stopped pumping and removed the pump from her tank. She was soon back in the car, where she sat without touching the keys placed in the ignition. For a couple of minutes Piper did not say a word, but soon grew curious as to why they were just sitting there. Looking over at Larisa, she asked the woman why she had not started the car yet.

Larisa did not so much as spare Piper a glance as she continued to gaze out of the windshield at nothing. Piper followed her eyes and only saw the wall of the electronic car wash that the gas station had.

"Are we going to sit here all evening or are we going to go try to find Desiree?" Piper asked.

"We need to talk," Larisa said quietly, still staring out of the window, her hands resting on her thighs.

Piper shook her head. "I have nothing to say to you, Larisa."

"Fine. Then just sit there and listen to me."

The blue-eyed woman inhaled deeply before allowing the air to escape from her lungs slowly. "We can talk later, 'cause right now Desiree is my main concern."

Larisa turned her gaze on her ex-lover. "You promise?"

Piper nodded curtly as she reached over to start the engine herself. "Promise."

*****
On opening the door, Micaela led the strawberry-blonde into the dark apartment, making sure to keep an arm around the younger woman's waist securely. She shut the door softly behind her before feeling along the wall until she found a light switch that she turned on. Both women squinted as the bright light overhead assaulted them. Micaela asked Desiree where her bedroom was and the young woman pointed to a door towards the left. The duo headed that way slowly. Desiree had an arm around the Latin woman's shoulders and was leaning heavily on her.

Soon Micaela had the blue-green eyed woman in an oversized sweatshirt that had the letters UCLA emblazoned on the front of it. Pulling back the covers, she helped the woman to get into the bed before tucking the covers around Desiree. Not being able to stop herself, Micaela leaned down and tenderly kissed the younger woman on her forehead before straightening back up and walking out to the living room searching for a chair.

By the time that she got back with a chair from the dining room table, Micaela noticed that Desiree was fast asleep and had curled up on her left side, her right arm tucked beneath her head like a second pillow. The Latina smiled tenderly as she placed the chair next to the bed and sat in it quietly. Glancing at the lamp, she decided to leave it on.

Micaela observed the sleeping strawberry-blonde and silently thanked the Lord for this angel (for she looked like one if you paid no attention to the drunkenness) that had saved her. Though Desiree had not been attempting to and had no way of knowing that Micaela was in trouble, she was responsible for the thirty-two year old being alive. If it hadn't been for her, I would have taken that gun out of my glove compartment and used it by now. Micaela shuddered and wondered how she could have been so selfish and stupid. That was by far the dumbest thing that I have ever thought of doing. She thought for a moment. Well maybe it was among the top five dumbest things.

Micaela Chavez was born and raised in Mexico. She came to the United States after she graduated from high school. She went to Texas and enrolled at an art school, studying there for the next two years while she stayed with her mother's sister during the first year and half before she got her own apartment. It was not long after Micaela moved into the very first place that she could call her own before she met Clint Reynolds, a mobster. The gorgeous Southern man basically swept the young woman off of her feet. It did not take long before Micaela was moving into Clint's mansion, which meant that she could save money by not having to pay rent and she could quit her job as a waitress to focus on school. Micaela had agreed to be Clint's lover in return for all that he gave her. Though she knew that the man participated in illegal acts, Micaela felt that Clint was one of the sweetest men that she had ever known. He treated her well and she could have just about anything that she wanted.

At first, the arrangement was all right, until a few months after living there, Clint started to "lend" Micaela to his friends. The first time that she got up the nerve to confront the man about it was the first time that he raised his hand to her and slapped Micaela so hard that she fell over the couch that she had been standing in front of. After that, the young woman decided not to bring up the issue again out of fear. Two months later, not being able to take it anymore, Micaela attempted to escape but did not get far before one of Clint's cronies located her and brought the frightened young woman back to the mansion. For her trouble, Micaela was beaten with a belt that left welts and bruises all over her back, rear end, and thighs. Clint also warned her that if she ever tried to leave him again that he would make sure that she would have no family to go home to back in Mexico. He would also do away with the aunt that lived there in Texas. Shakily, Micaela had promised that she would never leave again.

Soon, the young woman started to find solace in alcohol and began drinking on a daily basis. By the end of the day, Micaela was usually wasted. There were quite a few evenings when she passed out right on the floor and someone had to carry her to bed. Clint hated it when Micaela was inebriated, especially in front of his colleagues, so he used that as an excuse to beat her on occasion. There were a couple of times that he beat her so bad that the young woman had to be taken to the hospital. Of course, she always came up with a lie as to how her arm, ribs, or something else became broken or bruised. It took five very long years, but Micaela got help for her drinking problem and learned that alcohol would not make her feel better. Leaving Clint was the solution, but the Latin woman still could not bring herself to do that. There was just too much of a risk where her family was concerned. She had no doubts that Clint would have her family murdered if she tried to flee.

One Christmas set the next course of events. At the age of twenty-nine, Micaela was allowed to go home to Mexico to visit her family for two weeks during Christmas. Her family knew of Clint but had no idea how horrible the man was and Micaela had no desire to tell them. It would be dangerous to.

One evening, after being at home for a few days, Micaela was sitting down in the living room reading a book. Everyone else had left to pick up the tree, but the young woman had decided to stay there. The front door opened and in walked her brother-in-law Luis, who always had given her creeps from the first moment that she set eyes on him.

Luis smiled at Micaela as he shut the door behind him, asking the young woman what she was reading. Wearing a slightly suspicious look, she told him, noticing that he was steadily making his way towards her. Luis had his hands at his sides and was clenching and unclenching them. The man towered over Micaela by a good seven inches as his dark eyes penetrated into hers.

The young woman set the book down and swallowed with some difficulty. "Is something wrong, Luis? I thought you were with the others."

"I decided not to go," he said in Spanish, deciding to speak with his native language. "Why don't you and I have some fun." He grinned at her maniacally.

"No thank you, Luis. I'm reading right now."

Luis picked up the book that Micaela had set down and threw it across the room. "No you're not."

"Please leave me alone," the young woman pleaded softly, her eyes darting around as if trying to find an escape.

Not saying anything, Luis suddenly pulled Micaela roughly to her feet and tossed her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing more than a bundle of hay. Squirming, the woman tried to get away as she yelled at her brother-in-law to let her go, but Luis would not listen. Entering a bedroom, the man tossed Micaela on the bed. When she tried to flee from the bed, Luis punched her hard in the jaw, causing the young woman to become a little dazed. It was then that he proceeded to rape her. Tearing her clothes off and ignoring her pleas, Luis roughly assaulted his sister-in-law as she attempted to get the huge man off of her though it was no use. It took no more than five minutes, but to Micaela, it seemed like a lifetime.

Not twenty-four hours later, Micaela was on a flight back to Texas. She had informed her family what Luis had done, but none of them had believed her. They chose to believe that Micaela had slept with her brother-in-law and now wanted to make trouble. Crying and shocked, the young woman gathered her belongings and ran out of the house. Even her own mother and father had turned on her and Micaela now felt that she had no one.

A week after being back at the mansion, the young woman found out that she was carrying Luis's baby. She knew that it was his since she had not been with anyone in nearly a month prior to going to Mexico, and there had been no one since she had been back in Texas. She would not lose this baby. If Clint were to find out that she was pregnant, he would surely make Micaela terminate the child. In the past nine years, the young woman had become pregnant three different times, all of which were the babies of Clint's friends (the one's that she had been on loan to) and had been forced to get an abortion for all of them. Well not this time. Micaela silently vowed that she would keep this baby. Although it was Luis's it was an innocent child and she did not want to lose yet another baby. There was only one way to assure the safety of her unborn child.

Curled up on the couch, Micaela held a book in her hands, but her eyes were on Clint, who was sitting across from her on the other couch. He was reading the newspaper and looked up when he felt eyes upon him. The Southern man caught Micaela observing him and offered her a charming smile, showing white even teeth as he laid the newspaper aside and sat forward.

"Is there somethin' the matter, Mickey?" Clint asked with a hint of a Southern accent that Micaela used to find adorable.

The woman tried to smile at him. "No. Nothing is wrong Clint."

Getting up, Clint walked over to Micaela and took a seat next to her on the couch. He put a hand on her knee and the woman resisted the urge to pull away. Bright blue eyes raked over Micaela's body. "You know…for bein' almost thirty, you sure do look good, darlin'," Clint said as he traced a finger over the woman's knee. "You know it's been a while. Since we've been together," he paused. "Why don't you get sexy for me tonight and come into my room? I'll get some champagne." He grinned at her. "And those chocolates you like."

Perfect, Micaela thought. "Sure. That sounds splendid Clint. I'll be there," she smiled sexily at the man, "wearing little."

Later that night, Micaela entered Clint's lavish bedroom and headed towards the adjoining bathroom after detecting that the shower was running. She was wearing a short silky black chemise with a matching silk robe over it that she left hanging open. Opening the door, Micaela was assaulted with the hot steam coming from the shower. Barefooted, the woman made her way to the shower and slid the door back. Clint jumped a little in surprise having not heard her.

"Hey darlin'! You scared me." The man chuckled as he turned towards her with his short blond hair slicked back. His eyes twinkled, as he looked Micaela up and down, taking his time.

Micaela did the same to him, thinking that Clint did not deserve the gorgeous body that he had been given. Nine years later he looked even better at the age of forty-five. There were a few wisps of gray in his hair, but they only proved to make Clint more handsome. Weren't the bad guys supposed to look worse as the years went on? Lucky bastard, Micaela thought to herself.

"You gettin' in?" Clint asked. "God, you are one beautiful lady, Mickey." His blue eyes fell on her brown ones. "I did a lot of thinkin' while you were in Mexico and…uh…I wanna let you know that I'm gonna change and do right by you."

Blinking several times, Micaela focused on Clint closely not being able to believe what she was hearing. "What?"

The Southern man sighed softly. "I know that I've done you wrong in the past. A lot. I had no right to treat you like I have been. I want you to know that I'm getting help. Now I realize that I need it. I'll never raise my hand to you again and I'll never make you do anything that you don't wanna do. I can't lose you, Mickey." Leaning forward, still in the shower, he kissed her softly on the lips, which was unusual. Clint usually kissed Micaela roughly as though stating that he owned her.

What was going on here? Why this? Why now? Clint was behaving like he was when they first met. She could not trust that it would last. He had gone back on his promises in the past. There was no real proof that this time he would really change for the better. If he found out about this baby, he might go ballistic. If her own family did not believe that she was raped, who was to say that Clint would?

"I love you, Mickey," Clint whispered.

Taking a couple of steps back, Micaela reached into a pocket on the right side of her robe. She looked at Clint who was smiling at her. "Clint?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Her heart began to beat faster as her breathing increased.

Clint cocked his head to the side in an adorable fashion. "For what, darlin'?"

Wordlessly, Micaela took her hand out of her pocket. She was holding a gun that she pointed at her lover's chest. The man had no time to react as she pulled the trigger twice. The force from the bullets was so hard that Clint stumbled backwards and slammed his back against the wall of the shower with a shocked look on his face. Slowly, he slid down to the floor of the shower as blood seeped out of his chest from two holes. Unable to turn her eyes away, Micaela watched as his blue eyes began to close as he looked at her, astonished.

*****

Larisa pulled into the parking lot of the third bar that she and Piper would be checking tonight. At the first two, they had not discovered anything. None of the people at the bar had seen the woman on the picture that Larisa and Piper showed them. The women silently made their way into the smoky bar and immediately headed over to the bartender who was serving another customer. On seeing the lovely women, he raised a hand to his hair and patted it down as though he thought that he had a chance with them.
Dream on, Larisa thought to herself as she took out the picture. "Excuse me, sir. Have you seen this woman?" She handed the picture to the bartender. Piper stood beside her quietly.

The bartender looked at the woman on the picture and then at the two women before him, before finally settling his gaze on the woman doing the talking. "Maybe…I have. Maybe…I haven't." I can probably make some money on this.

Larisa barely stopped herself from giving the man a dirty look. "Look. She's my sister and I just want to know if she's been here tonight. I'm worried about her." She glanced at Piper whose eyes were riveted to the bartender. "We both are."

The man started to wipe the already highly glossed bar top. "Like I said…maybe I have and maybe I haven't. A little cash might help my memory."

Quickly, Piper clenched parts of the man's shirt in her hands and proceeded to pull him over the bar top onto the floor. He landed on his stomach on the floor between the perturbed woman and a startled Larisa. Piper then kicked the man in his side, causing him to howl in pain as he moved onto his back, placing a hand over the injured area.
Dryly, Larisa asked, "Piper, haven't you ever heard of the phrase never kick a man when he's down?"

Ignoring her, the blue-eyed woman placed her right foot on the bartender's crotch only touching the area with the sole of her shoe. "Now," Piper pressed down on the sensitive area, adding a little of her weight, "I think having full function of your balls will help with your ability to father children. Don't you agree?" She pushed down harder, causing the bartender to break out in a sweat as other patrons in the bar looked their way curiously.

"Mmhmm." The bartender nodded. "I couldn't agree with you more. I saw her, I saw her." He mewled softly at the pressure. "She was here earlier."

Raising her foot, Piper indicated for the man to get up, which he did hurriedly. Walking slowly over to a barstool, he sat down in it, facing Piper and Larisa while he placed a protective hand over his crotch.

"Are you sure it was her?" Piper asked.

The bartender nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. You're not the only chi-person to attack me tonight."

The blue-eyed woman raised an eyebrow. "She attacked you?"

"Yeah, well sort of." The bartender looked flushed. "I asked for some ID to make sure she was over twenty-one 'cause she didn't look like it and she didn't wanna give it to me, so she threatened me. She really didn't do anything to me though," he paused. "She wasn't old enough, was she?"

Ignoring his question, Piper asked another one. "When she left was she drunk?"

The bartender nodded. "But I don't think she was driving. Some lady she met took her home."

"Lady? What lady?" Larisa inquired of the man.

He looked to her. "I dunno. Never seen her before. She was gorgeous though. Came right over and started talking to the blonde and ended up paying her tab. Not long after that, they hightailed it outta here. Probably a little over an hour ago."

Piper's hands balled into fists as she tried to remain calm. So this is what Desiree was going to do after overhearing hers and Larisa's conversation back at Taj's house. Just pick up some woman, or be picked up by one in a bar and take her home. And who was to say that this woman wasn't some sort of psycho who preyed on vulnerable young women? I have to get to Desi. She could be in trouble.

The blue-eyed woman turned to Larisa. "Let's go. We have to get to Desiree's right now."

*****

Running a hand through her hair, Micaela got up from the now uncomfortable chair and stretched. Deciding to get a glass of water, the woman headed for the bedroom door quietly so as not to disturb Desiree while she was sleeping. Opening the door, the woman walked out into the darkened living room. Hearing a key turning in the lock, she paused by the front door as it was opened and two silhouette's came in.

Before Micaela got a chance to say anything, she was attacked by the shorter of the silhouettes. The figure rushed her with such a great impact, that they both fell to the carpeted floor. The Latin woman managed to shove the figure off of her and they stumbled to her right. Bringing her foot up, Micaela hit the person in the nose with the bottom of her shoe. She heard the person cry out in pain as the room suddenly was illuminated.

Piper stood by a light switch, staring down at the pair before her blue eyes focused on Micaela, glaring at her. Larisa sat up on the floor and held a hand to her bleeding nose. Not paying much attention to Piper's glare, Micaela looked between the both of them before she swiftly arose to her feet and offered Larisa a hand up. Quietly, the woman allowed herself to be brought to her feet by the stranger.

The dark-haired woman shook her head at Larisa. "Way to go Xena." Larisa smirked at her. Turning to the Latin woman, Piper asked in a low voice, "Who are you?"

"Micaela. I assume you both know Desiree. I brought her home. She wasn't in any shape to drive so I volunteered to bring her home." She pointed towards Desiree's bedroom. "She's in there getting some shuteye. Please relax, I don't mean any harm. I was only try to help." Micaela looked at Larisa, who still had her hand cupped around her nose. "I'm sorry about that. You jumped me and it was a reflex."

Larisa shrugged. "No big deal. You were only trying to defend yourself. That was a dumb thing for me to do."

"You got that right," Piper muttered, earning another smirk from Larisa. "I'm gonna go check on her." The blue-eyed woman proceeded to walk towards Desiree's bedroom.

Micaela turned to Larisa and said, "Why don't you come with me? I'll get you fixed up." She began walking towards the kitchen and the other woman followed her silently. Her eyes 'of their own volition', settled on the other woman's rear. Oh, now that is quite lovely. What I wouldn't give to be those jeans! Larisa shook her head. What was she thinking? This was definitely not the time. However, her eyes stayed on Micaela's behind and she almost walked into a wall, not watching where she was going. Smiling sheepishly, Larisa entered the kitchen and sat down at the table. She tipped her head back, watching Micaela as she retrieved the dish-drying towel and then brought it over to her.

"You should lean your head forward slightly. A lot of people think that it's best to tip the head back with a nosebleed but that's not true." Placing her hand on the back of Larisa's head, Micaela gently pushed her head forward some. "If you lean back, then you run the risk of the blood going down your throat." She then took the towel and gently blotted at the blood on Larisa's face and the surrounding area. Larisa attempted to do it herself, but Micaela would not let her.

The green-eyed woman obediently sat with her hands in her lap as this virtual stranger doted over her like a mother hen. Larisa had to admit that she was thoroughly enjoying the treatment. Micaela was so gentle. "Are you a doctor or a nurse?"

The Latina smiled down at Larisa, her brown eyes full of warmth. "No. I'm an artist." Done, she informed the woman to pinch her nose between her thumb and forefinger for ten minutes without letting go. Larisa followed the advice, as she informed Micaela to sit down. However, she declined saying that it was time for her to go.

"Will Desiree be in good hands with you both?"

Larisa nodded. "Yes. Thank you for looking out for her. You didn't have to stay and baby-sit." But I'm glad that you did. Otherwise, I might never have met you.

"Well I didn't want her here alone," Micaela replied, tossing the stained towel in a nearby trash can. "Haven't you heard stories of people that drink too much choking on their…well not to be gross but vomit and dying of asphyxiation? I didn't want to take any chances with that happening with her."

Larisa stared at her in bewilderment. "Are you sure that you're not a doctor?"

Micaela laughed and Larisa decided that she very much enjoyed the gleeful sound coming from this woman. "Unless I apprehended my Ph.D. during unconsciousness or a period of amnesia, I'm pretty sure." She winked at Larisa.

The other woman grinned in return. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Micaela."

Larisa raised an eyebrow. "Are you like Cher and Madonna?"

The brown-eyed woman chuckled. "I'm sorry. My last name is Chavez. And what's your name?"

"Larisa Love." She put out her free hand and shook hands with the other woman, noticing how soft and warm Micaela's palm was. After a moment, Larisa reluctantly let go, resting her hand on her thigh. "So…can I give you a lift?" she asked, hoping that the answer would be yes.

Micaela was about to decline the offer when she suddenly thought that it might not be such a bad idea. Getting a ride from Larisa back to the bar to pick up her car would save Micaela all the money taking a taxicab would cost.

"If you don't mind," the Latina started, "I would really appreciate it if you could do that."

The other woman smiled, quite pleased with Micaela's answer. "I don't mind at all."

*****
Piper saw the women to the elevator before coming back into the apartment, making sure to lock the door behind her. Sighing softly, she walked into Desiree's bedroom noticing that the young woman had changed positions in the bed, now lying on her stomach with Tobias curled up on her pillow, sharing it. Silently moving to the bed, Piper pulled the covers up around her lover as she wondered how she would explain what Desiree overheard earlier that evening at Taj's house.

Shaking her head, Piper headed in the direction of the bathroom. Fine mess you've gotten yourself into this time, Piper. You may have just screwed up the best thing that has ever happened to you, she thought.

Twenty minutes later, Piper walked out of the bathroom feeling refreshed from a hot shower. Giving her hair a final squeeze with the towel, she tossed it on the back of the computer chair before moving to her side of the bed and getting in, careful to be quiet so as not to awaken Desiree. She wanted to postpone the imminent conversation that they would have to have for as long as possible.

Lying back on the pillow, Piper glanced over to Desiree's side of the bed to notice Tobias looking at her with what seemed to her an annoyed expression on his face. "What?," she said softly. "Did I disturb you your majesty?" Tobias chose that moment to stick out his tongue, (though he might have only been licking his mouth), however Piper stuck hers out as well. "Spoiled brat," she muttered, thinking that the furball would find himself on the floor if he even laid one paw on her pillow. Piper doubted that he would though. It was clear to her that Tobias disliked her.

Turning on her side with her back to the cat, Piper shook her head. I think I've finally lost it, she thought to herself. She was actually allowing the thought that Tobias did not like her, bother her. What did she care if the furball liked her or not? It was Desiree's opinion that she should be concerned with. Piper suddenly smiled. Tomorrow she would get him one of those squeaky cat toys. Surely, she could score points with Tobias for bestowing upon him a gift. Who says you can't buy love?

*****

At hearing the loud knocking on the door, Taj quickly arose from the bed and ran to the front door to answer it, hoping against hope that he would find Valerie standing on his threshold. Quickly wiping the sleep from his eyes, the man opened the door wearing a hopeful smile. It faded as he noticed that the person was not his fiancée.

"Geez…don't look too happy to see me Taj." Piper chuckled as she asked if she could come in.

With a sheepish look, Taj moved to the side to allow his friend entrance into his home. Closing the door behind her, he said, "Sorry Pippy. I thought you might have been Val." He offered the woman a bright smile as he walked over to her, lightly kissing her cheek. "Good morning. I take it that Desi is still in bed since she's not with you."

Both walked over to the couch to have a seat as Piper replied, "Oh good. Larisa got in contact with you." She took a seat next to Taj. "I asked her to call everyone to let them know that Desiree was all right. Would have done it myself but all I wanted to do last night was go to bed."

Taj nodded. "That's understandable. You should be tired after all that has happened lately." He paused thoughtfully. "So…something tells me that this isn't a social visit. What's up?" After years of knowing her, Taj could tell when there was something on Piper's mind.

Piper leaned back on the couch as she looked at the Jamaican man. "I need the package."

Taj gazed at her blankly for a few moments before it dawned on him what she was referring to. He inwardly sighed, having hoped that Piper would have forgotten all about the package by now. He should have known better. "What are you intending to do with it?"

"Ruin him."

Taj shook his head. "I don't think that's such a good idea Pippy."

"Well I don't recall asking you what you thought Taj," the dark-haired woman replied with a hint of irritation in her voice.

Taking a deep breath, Taj managed to keep his cool. He had learned long ago that sometimes it took much patience to deal with this woman. "Pippy," the man started, looking at his dearest friend pleadingly, "don't do this."

Piper sighed. She wanted that package and the only way she would get it was if Taj cooperated, which he did not seem to be inclined to do anytime soon. What was his problem? The whole point of gathering the information in that package in the first place was to destroy Richard Love's career. Piper thought back to the day she asked Taj to help her.

A smile lit up her face as the twenty-year-old spied her best friend making his way towards the table she was currently sitting at. Standing up, she ran over to him, quickly closing the distance between them. Laughing, the man swung her around as he heard her squeal delighted to see him as much as he was delighted to see her.

"Hey!" Taj said brightly, taking a step back to look Piper up and down. "How's my buddy doing?"

Piper nodded, still smiling. "I'm good." She shrugged a little. "Well as good as one can be locked up behind bars." Her smile began to fade a bit though she fought to keep it in place. Taj only hugged her to him tightly, his tender embrace expressing more than words could.

"Why don't we sit down?" Piper inquired moments later, already walking back to the table. Sitting down on a chair on one side of the table, she watched as Taj sat in a chair directly across from her own. Reaching over, she placed her hand over his, immensely glad to her best friend. Visiting day was a day that she looked forward to the most and Piper intended to enjoy this time with Taj. Right after she took care of some important business first.

"Hey Taj…I have a huge favor to ask of you."


Placing his other hand on top of the one she had on his other, Taj said, "Anything. You can ask me anything."

"You know that judge who sentenced me here?"

Taj nodded, waiting for her to get to the point of this.

"I want him to pay," she said, regarding her friend with a deadly serious look. "I don't know what it is but something about my trial seems fishy. I feel it in my gut that that bastard had something to do with it and I want him to pay dearly."

"What do you want me to do exactly?"

Piper lowered her voice so that only Taj could hear her, "Find something on him. Something dirty. Everyone has a secret and I fully intend to expose whatever he's hiding when I get out of here. Just get me something and keep it for me. I'll take care of the rest later." She looked closely at Taj. "Think you can do that for me?"

The Jamaican man nodded. "I know I can."

"He's going down Taj and I need that package to do it. Please give it to me."

Taj sighed as he replied, "Pippy I know that you're upset about the money, but I feel that by doing this you're--"

"Money?" Piper quickly interjected. "What money?"

Taj's eyes opened a fraction wider as he suddenly realized that perhaps Piper did not know about the money Richard Love was paid to give her a long prison sentence. Since Piper did not know about the bribe, then that meant that all hell would break loose where she and Desiree were concerned. Oh…little one…I am so sorry.

"Taj…what money?" Piper repeated growing anxious. What could he be talking about? Whatever it was, Piper could tell that her friend would rather not have to explain his comment.

Maybe he could find a way not to answer her question. "Nevermind Pippy." Taj stood up, thinking that he could dismiss the issue. "How about some breakfast?" he asked casually.

Piper arched an eyebrow. Taj was trying to change the subject. Reaching up, she wrapped her hand around her friend's arm and gently tugged him back down on the couch. "How about you tell me what's going on?"

Taj sighed. Maybe not. "Pippy," he started, looking at the young woman closely, "during your trial Judge Love excepted twenty thousand dollars in turn for giving you a long prison sentence." He paused shortly, gathering his thoughts. "He got the money from Victor, though he didn't know it was him during that time. Victor pretended to be some English man." The Jamaican man waited for the explosion, but Piper just sat quietly. He found himself almost wishing that she would scream instead of having to endure this silence.

Finally, Taj could not take it anymore. "Pippy?" he said softly.

The blue-eyed woman turned her gaze on him. Her eyes appeared to be devoid of any emotion whatsoever. "Give me the package, Taj," Piper said in a quiet tone of voice.
To his chagrin, Taj had no idea what his friend was thinking. All he knew was that she was acting too calmly and that could only mean one thing. She was pissed as hell. "Piper I don't think that you have thought this through. Have you thought about the consequen-"

"Taj please," Piper said a little more forcefully, "spare me your advice or any lectures, because I am not going to change my mind. I just want my package and I want you to hand it over right now."

Looking down, Taj noticed that the woman's hands were clenching and unclenching. She was trying not to lose it completely. Sighing softly, the man arose from the couch and silently walked out of the room leaving a quietly fuming Piper behind. Moments later, Taj walked into his bedroom and headed towards a painting on the wall. Removing the painting from the wall and gently placing it on the floor, Taj looking at the safe that was behind it. Perhaps he could just flush the evidence down the toilet and inform Piper that if she wanted to ruin Richard Love, then she would have to find some other way to do it. Taj shook his head. No, if she wanted to do this then so be it. After all, she was a grown woman and could make her own decisions, no matter how wrong those decisions might be. Besides, Taj was still clinging to the hope that Piper would not go through with this anyway. Perhaps the woman would come to her senses. He could only hope that she would.

Seconds later, Taj had the safe open and was reaching into to pull out the rectangular shaped manila envelope. Closing the safe, the man put his painting back on the wall, making sure that it was straight. He then headed for the door to see his little brother standing there. He appeared as though he had just awakened.

"Hey Leroy," Taj said, putting on a smile. Last night the younger man had been so upset with him that he had begun to pack his clothes thinking to go back home with his parents. Taj managed to explain to Leroy that he really had not made any passes at Desiree and why he said to her father that he did. At first, the young man did not seem inclined to believe him, but Taj finally got through. Now all he had to do was to explain to Valerie. He sure did miss her.

"Hey Taj," Leroy returned, his eyes on the envelope. "What's that?"

"What's what?" Taj asked, pretending not to know what his brother was referring to.

"What's that in your hand?" He pointed at the envelope. "Something to do with Piper?"

"How'd you know that?"

Leroy replied, "'cause I saw her pacing in the living room just now. She didn't notice me though." He paused before asking, "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing that I won't fix," Piper said, now standing behind Leroy. Her sudden appearance made the young man nearly jump out of his skin as he quickly moved, standing beside his brother. Piper glanced at the envelope in Taj's hand and reached out, plucking it from his grasp. "Thanks Taj," she said before vanishing from their sight, leaving both speechless.

Muttering an expletive, Taj raced out to the living room with his brother following closely behind, wondering what this was all about. His worried eyes catching sight of the wide-open front door, Taj knew that he was too late. She had already left and with a damning package that was sure to ruin a certain judge's career and perhaps his life as well. Releasing a sigh, Taj walked over toward the front door and glanced around for any sign of his friend before shutting it.

Sidling up to his older sibling, Leroy asked him what the problem was. Slipping an arm around the younger man's shoulders, Taj shook his head. "According to Pippy, nothing that she won't fix."

Leroy glanced towards the couch to see a stuffed animal lying on it. "Hey look."
He pointed towards the toy, as Taj turned to look at it.

"Is that who I think it is?"

Leroy nodded, smiling. "Yep. She brought Fred back."

*****

Parking the lilac Honda in the parking lot, Piper got out of the car, shutting the door behind her. She stormed inside the apartment complex, heading towards the elevators. Punching the arrow pointing upward, she waited impatiently for the elevator to arrive as she paced, the now opened manila envelope in her tight grasp. She had let her guard down and had been betrayed. That was exactly what it felt like. A betrayal by someone she had allowed into her heart and trusted.

The elevator doors finally opened and Piper walked inside, pressing the number of the floor that Desiree lived on. Taking deep breaths, Piper once more went over her plan. Richard Love was definitely going to pay for what he had done. All this time Piper had known something was wrong concerning her trial, she just did not know it was this heinous. She simply could not wait. The judge was going to pay dearly for what he had done to her.

The elevator doors opened and Piper walked out. Making her way to Desiree's door, the woman inserted the correct key into the slot and opened it, walking inside. Closing the door behind her, she tossed Desiree's keys on a nearby table before heading towards the bedroom. Opening the door wide, she noticed that the strawberry-blonde was still fast asleep in bed. She was going to have one hell of a hangover when she finally awoke. Good.

Eyes moving towards the computer, Piper went over to it and took a seat in the computer chair as she looked for the correct button to turn it on. Finding it, she pressed it and waited as she slid a hand into the envelope and removed the contents, putting them on the desk. Piper had had an idea of what was in the package but this was almost too juicy. Taj really had done a superb job. This information would definitely ruin Judge Love.

Placing her hand over the mouse, Piper pointed the arrow to the AOL symbol and clicked on it, waiting for the log in screen to appear. Moments later it did. The dark-haired woman soon found out that she would need a password in order to sign on. Glancing towards Desiree, she arose from the chair and walked over to the bed. Reaching out a hand, she tapped the young woman on the shoulder getting no response. She did it again, more forcefully this time, but still no response. Piper then slapped Desiree on the back of the head, causing the woman to quickly sit up in the bed, her sleepy eyes opened wide. The young woman focused her vision on Piper, who was standing next to her bed.

"What did you do that for?" she asked in irritation, her voice thick with sleep. Clearing her throat lightly, Desiree reached up to run a hand through her messy hair.

"I wanted you to wake up," Piper replied casually. "I need your password."

Wearing a confused expression, Desiree's brow crinkled. "What password?"

"To the Internet. I can't get on without it." She folded her arms over her chest. "What is it?"

Though she wondered what Piper would want it for, Desiree told her anyway. "It's bard123."

"As in B-A-R-D?"

The strawberry-blonde looked annoyed. "You know any other bard?"

"Don't get smart Desiree."

"Can't get what I already am," Desiree cattily replied. Where did Piper get off having an attitude? She was the one who had the right to be upset after finding out what Piper and Larisa had been hiding. They had lied to her face yesterday and now Piper was behaving as though she had done something wrong. What nerve.

Icy blue eyes narrowed. "Yeah…yeah you are quite a smart cookie Desiree. What with getting drunk enough last night that you needed someone to escort you home and keeping things from me that I have every damn right to know…" She trailed off as she went back to the computer, typing in Desiree's password and then tapping the enter key. Piper sat back down in the chair as she saw the other woman out of the corner of her eye, moving so that she was sitting on the side of the bed, facing the dark-haired woman. The movement caused Desiree a bit of nausea and she wrapped her arms around her middle.

"What are you talking about?" Desiree asked.

Not answering, Piper kept her eyes riveted to the computer screen. AOL welcomed her as she put a hand on the mouse and moved the arrow towards the symbol to write mail and clicked on it, an email form appearing. Glancing at the desk, Piper picked up the black floppy disk that had been in the envelope and searched for where to put it. She found the correct drive and inserted the disk. She then picked up a piece of paper that Taj had written instructions on how to attach and send files. Piper thought that this was much easier and quicker than sending the information by regular mail. She could get used to this Internet thing.

"Piper…what are you doing?" Desiree asked as she remained on the side of the bed while attempting to see what the other woman was doing, but she could not see the computer screen. What in the world was she up to?

"Just a moment," Piper mumbled as she followed the instructions. Soon she had the correct files attached into the email. The pictures Taj had and the report he had written to explain them all, including what Richard Love had done a few years back. Piper smiled to herself. Revenge was truly sweet. Looking at the paper again, the woman began to type in the email addresses Taj had provided her with. After doing that, she sat back in her chair, admiring her handy work.

Desiree started to get up, but another wave of nausea swept through her so she remained seated. She was about to ask Piper again what she was doing when the woman suddenly swiveled around in the chair, facing her.

"You want to know what I'm doing Desiree?"

The strawberry-blonde nodded slightly, her head starting to pound. She felt like swallowing an entire bottle of Excedrin.

"Simple. I'm going to make your dear old daddy's life a living hell."

Desiree's eyes opened wide. Had she slept through some major event? "What? Why?"


"Why?" Piper cocked her head to the side. "I think you know why Desiree. The question is why didn't you tell me?"

The younger woman grew alarmed. "Tell you what?" she asked softly.

Piper crossed her legs as she folded her hands together on her knee, regarding the other woman. "That your father was paid twenty grand to grant me a nice long free trip to prison of course," she replied all too casually. "Did it slip your mind or were you trying to protect him?"

She knew. Dear God she knew. Desiree suddenly wished that she were anywhere but there. Was it her imagination or was her head beginning to pound even more? "I…" Desiree began to speak but did not know what she wanted to say. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Piper arched an eyebrow. "Oh, you're sorry? Is that it? That's quite lame of you Desiree."

"What do you want me say, huh? I'm not the one who put you in prison. I had nothing to do with it. What my father did was despicable but it's not my fault."

The dark-haired woman nodded. "You're absolutely right. It's not your fault, but you should have told me. Instead, you kept it a secret because you wanted to protect him from me. You didn't want me to find out." She paused. "Tell the truth. You did not intend to ever tell me about the bribe. I'm correct right? You would have been content with my never discovering your father was paid to strip me of my freedom."

Desiree wanted to refute the accusation, but found that she could not do so. Most likely, it was true. She never really intended to inform her lover of what her father had done all of those years ago. In her opinion, nothing good could come out of telling Piper about the bribe. Not answering, Desiree merely turned her gaze to the floor, not being able to meet Piper's angry blue eyes.

"It's okay," Piper started. "You don't have to answer. Your silence is confirmation enough. You never intended to tell me," she finished quietly.

Silence fell between them, as each woman became lost in her own thoughts. Tobias broke the silence as he got to all fours in the bed after having just woke up from his latest nap. Stretching, he walked over to Desiree and curled up next to the young woman. Putting a hand on his head, the woman absently rubbed Tobias' head, causing the feline to purr.

"What are you going to do?" Desiree suddenly inquired, half-afraid to hear the reply. She had a feeling that Piper could get dirty if she really wanted to.

"Did you know that your father had an affair five years ago?"


The strawberry-blonde's head snapped up as she focused her eyes on the other woman who sat almost smugly in her chair. "Wh…what?" Desiree shook her head. "No…you have to be mistaken. My father would never do anything like that."

"Oh, but he would send a woman to prison for eight years because someone gave him twenty grand to do so?" Piper slowly nodded. "I see. He's not an adulterer, just a crooked judge. Makes perfect sense."

Desiree closed her mouth, realizing that Piper had a valid point.

The dark-haired woman went on. "And did you know that the woman he had an affair with-an affair that went on four months I might add-ended up pregnant with his child and he paid her off so she wouldn't tell anyone about it?"

At Desiree's disbelieving look, Piper swiveled around in the chair and grabbed the pictures she had put on the desk. Getting up, she walked over to the bed and deposited the photographs on the other woman's lap before retaking her seat in the chair. Piper watched as the younger woman cautiously picked up the photographs and started to examine each one. One was of her father and a woman who looked to be around Desiree's age. Richard had his arm around the young woman's shoulders as they walked down the street smiling at one another, neither having any indication that their picture was being taken. Another was of the two of them sitting at a small table outside next to a café. Desiree's father held the woman's hands in his as he kissed her on the lips. The next photograph made Desiree sick to her stomach as she saw her father in bed with the younger woman. It was obvious what they were doing. Throwing the incriminating pictures down on the bed, the strawberry-blonde ran towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Piper remained seated in the chair as she heard Desiree in the bathroom retching loudly. The dark-haired woman felt a twinge of guilt but quickly shrugged it off. Desiree had betrayed her. She felt as though she had willingly given away her heart and then had it thrown back in her face. This is what happened when you trusted someone too much. They in turn hurt you.

Minutes later, the bathroom door opened and Desiree walked out, not even glancing at Piper as she made her way back to the bed. Sitting down, her eyes strayed to two remaining pictures. One was of the young woman walking towards a car clearly pregnant by at least seven or eight months. The other was of the same woman pushing a stroller with a newborn baby in it.

Shaking her head in bewilderment, Desiree took deep breaths, not sure whether she wanted to cry or shout. Perhaps she wanted to do both. Looking up, Desiree noticed Piper observing her. "Are you proud of yourself?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Piper looked as though she was pondering that. "I guess you could say that I'm pleased with the results. As you can see, your daddy ain't perfect."

"No one is."

Piper nodded in agreement. "True. But people are about to find out just how imperfect he is."

"What's done is done Piper. Why now?"

"Why not now?"

Desiree momentarily closed her eyes as she softly sighed. "I know it's easy for me to say because this had nothing to do with me, but let it go." She looked at the other woman imploringly. "Please. Just let it go."

Piper pretended to think about that before she answered. "No. I can't do that. You don't know what it's like to be locked behind bars for nearly a decade. And you don't know what it's like to have your freedom snatched away from you. You're father, the judge," she sneered, "put me away and was paid for it. He got twenty thousand dollars in exchange for my freedom and I'll be damned if I let it go. I refuse to do that. Do you understand?"

Not waiting for an answer, she swiveled around in the chair to face the computer screen. Putting her hand over the mouse, Piper directed the tiny arrow on the screen to the "Send" button. With the arrow hovering over the button, the dark-haired woman noticed Desiree's reflection on the screen as she came towards the computer, choosing to stand behind Piper as she examined what was on the screen.

"Who are you sending this information to?"

"Just a couple of newspapers. One located here in Los Angeles, and the other in San Francisco. And three judges who know your father well. At least they thought they did," Piper replied casually as she poised her index finger to click. She actually found that her hand was beginning to shake slightly. You can do this Piper. Just click the button and let the chips fall where they may.

Desiree crossed her arms over her chest. "If you do this then we are through. If you send that email, I never want to see you again. I never want to hear from you again. I want you to go away…forever. So if you go through with this vindictive scheme, you lose me." Her heart beginning to beat faster, Desiree barely breathed as she waited for Piper to make the next move whatever that may be.

Click. It was done with the click of a button. Both Piper and Desiree watched as the email vanished before their eyes and a tiny box appeared on the screen letting them know that the email had been sent. Now that the bomb had been planted, all to be done was to sit back and wait for it to explode. There was no turning back now.


Desiree swallowed hard, feeling a lump in her throat as she attempted to keep the tears from falling. "Thank you for just letting me know how very little I mean to you," she said quietly, not moving. "Now get out of my home."

Without so much as one word, Piper arose from the chair, and obtained everything that went inside of the package she came back from Taj's with. She then walked towards the bedroom door not even glancing at Desiree. The younger woman remained standing where she was as she watched her now ex-lover heading towards the front door. The dark-haired woman opened the door and exited. As she closed the door behind her, Desiree shakily walked over to the bed and sat down as hot tears started to run down her cheeks. Moving so that her whole body was in the bed, Desiree curled up into a tight ball as her body began to shake while she sobbed, mourning the loss of her lover and the father she now realized that she didn't know.

*****
"Val…please honey just listen to me. I can explain what happened last night. I just need you to pick up the phone." Taj listened, hoping that Valerie would talk to him. There was only silence on the other end of the line so he ended the conversation with the answering machine by saying, "I need to see you Val. Please don't shut me out." Taj paused thoughtfully. "I love you." Pressing the end button on the cordless phone, the man began to pace back and forth in the living room. Soon the doorbell rang and Taj all but raced to the door to answer it. It must have been Valerie. Opening the door wide, Taj sighed as he noticed the caller.

"No applause is necessary Taj." Larisa grinned. "Were you expecting someone else? Valerie perhaps?"

"That's very perceptive of you," Taj replied sarcastically as he moved out of the way so that she could enter. "Get your butt in here."

Chuckling, Larisa walked inside, shutting the door behind her. "In a bad mood Taj?"

"Well let's see…" the Jamaican man started as he tossed the phone on the couch before sitting on the arm of it. "My fiancee won't talk to me, your father is probably trying to hire a hitman as we speak to get rid of me because he thinks I put the moves on his daughter, and speaking of Desi she probably doesn't like me too much right now either." He shook his head before looking at Larisa, who was now standing in front of him. "So to answer your question, yes I'm in a bad mood."

"Taj don't be worried about Desi being upset with you. She won't blame you because you didn't tell her about Piper and I in Jamaica. That was our job to do, not yours."

Taj shook his head. "That's not why I don't think she'll like me."

Larisa's brow crinkled. "Something I should know about?"

The man took a deep breath. "Pippy knows. She knows about the bribe."

The dark-haired woman winced. "Oh, shit. You told her?"

He nodded. "The way she was talking, I thought she already knew about it. Now she certainly does know and…to put it mildly she's pissed off. You know how she can get."

Larisa nodded. "Yes. I definitely know." She thought for a moment. "I need to get in touch with Desiree." She spied Taj's phone laying on the couch and asked if she could use it. Reaching behind him, the man picked up the phone and handed it to Larisa. Thanking him, she quickly punched in her sister's phone number before putting the phone to her hear, listening as it began to ring. On the fourth ring, Desiree picked up. Instantly, Larisa could tell that she had been crying. If Piper had done anything to her baby sister, she would kill the woman.

"Sweetie this is Larisa," she stated softly. "Are you okay?"

"Leave me alone," Desiree enunciated each word before she hung up the phone, leaving a stunned Larisa listening to the dial tone.

Watching her, Taj's expression grew concerned. "What's wrong?"

Shaking her head, Larisa took the phone away from her ear and ended the call. "She told me to leave her alone and hung up on me." She sighed. "I guess I don't blame her. I did lie to her."

Reaching out a hand, Taj gave Larisa's shoulder a light squeeze. She in turn offered him a faint smile. "How am I ever going to get my sister back?"

"You will," Taj replied. "Just give her some time to cool off. A lot has been happening lately and Desi needs time to process it all."

Larisa nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"I know I'm right." Taj grinned at the woman as she playfully rolled her eyes.
Larisa was about to say something when the phone rang. Pressing the talk button, she put the phone to her ear before saying, "Hello. Potter residence." Glancing at Taj, Larisa noticed the look of hope plainly written on his face.

"I have a collect call from," a computer voice stated.

"Piper," said a human voice.


The computer went on to tell Larisa that if she wanted to accept the charges for the call to push five. If not, push one. Larisa pushed number five and listened to what else the computer had to say before the call was connected.

There was silence on the other end for a second before a female voice said, "Put Taj on the phone Larisa." The dark-haired woman shook her head sadly as she mouthed an apology to Taj, letting him know that the caller was not Valerie.

"Is the word please in your vocabulary?" Larisa retorted.

"Are the words I'm going to kick the sh-"

Larisa quickly interjected, "Now now Piper. Let's not resort to threats."

"Just put him on the phone."

"Taj is not accessible at the moment, so you'll have to deal with me. What can I do you for, hmm? Do you need a lift?"

Piper wanted to say no just to disagree but that was her main reason for calling. "What makes you think that?"

"Because one, you called collect so that leads me to believe that you aren't calling from Desiree's phone and that you don't even have thirty-five cents to call directly. Two, I can hear cars passing in the background and from that I can deduce that you are using a public phone. And three, since you don't have even thirty-five cents that means you can't even make it over here on a bus and that would be much too far to walk. Now am I right or am I right?"

"Pompous ass," Piper muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"I said you're a smart lass," the blue-eyed woman said clearly.

Larisa smirked into the phone. "Yeah, sure you did. Where are you? I'll come pick you up."

Deciding not to argue, Piper informed Larisa exactly where she was before the woman told her that she would be right there. When they ended the call, Piper walked over to the curb to have a seat and wait while Larisa explained to Taj that she was going to go pick up the homeless penniless person-her exact words.

"You want me to come with you?" he asked.

"No hon." Larisa handed Taj his phone. "I've got it all under control. I'll be right back." She started towards the door when she suddenly remembered her reason for coming there in the first place. Turning around, Larisa walked back over to Taj, who was still sitting on the arm of his couch. "Could you do something for me while I'm gone Taj?"

"Sure. What is it?"

Fishing a small piece of paper out of her pocket, Larisa handed it to Taj. On looking at it, the man saw written on the slip of paper seven letters and numbers grouped together with the name Micaela Chavez printed underneath them. Turning his eyes to Larisa, Taj asked what it was for.

"That's a license plate number," Larisa explained, "and that is the name of the owner of it. I was wondering if you could possibly find out where she lives."

Taj arched both of his eyebrows. "You want me to find out this woman's address based on the number of her license plate?"

She nodded.

Taj shrugged. "Sure. No problem. But who is this?"

"Oh, just someone I met last night," Larisa tried to casually reply. She had been thinking about Micaela all through the night and knew that she simply had to see her again. If anyone could help her to locate Micaela, that person would be Taj.

The Jamaican man grinned knowingly. "Oh, just someone you met last night, hmm?"

Larisa nodded again. "Yep." She paused. "Well I'll be on my way now." She headed towards the front door. "I'll be right back with our ex-kidnapper."

*****

Putting almost half of the donut into his mouth, George grabbed a napkin as some of the thick sweet red jelly inside squirted on his lips and dropped onto his tie. He muttered something about this being a present from his wife as he dabbed at the spot of noticeable jelly on the tie before tossing the napkin in a nearby trash can.

Things had just not been going well for the journalist the last few weeks. His job was on the line, the bills were piling up, he and his wife were arguing with one another constantly, and his oldest son was beginning to be a royal pain. Just yesterday George had been called into his boss's office and informed that if he did not write a good story within a week's time then he would be out of a job at this particular newspaper.

On finishing the rest of his donut, George reached into a pink box for another when he noticed an email in his box from a DesLove@aol.com. The journalist found that name vaguely familiar as he clicked on the email to see what it contained. Reaching over, George grabbed his glasses off of his desk and put them on before beginning to read.
Download to get a killer story.

A killer story. That was the only sentence written in the email but George saw where he could download an attached file. Moving the arrow over the correct button, the journalist clicked and waited for the file to be transferred to his computer while he waited, completely intrigued to know what this was about. Could this story, whatever it may be, possibly save his career? He most certainly hoped so.

*****
As she pulled up to the curb, she noticed Piper sitting on the sidewalk with her arms folded across her knees and a manila envelope lying next to her. She appeared to have a lot on her mind as she stared down at the ground, having no idea that Larisa had pulled up. On honking the horn, Larisa was able to obtain Piper's attention as her head shot up, eyes moving to the car. The blue-eyed woman watched as Larisa pulled down the driver's side window, a hint of a grin on her face.

"So tell me," Larisa started as she made a big display out of moving her eyes up and down Piper's body, "do you charge by the hour?"

Piper gave the woman a dirty look, not being in the least bit amused.

Larisa chuckled. "Oh, you know I'm just playing with you." The other woman just stared at her. "Are you going to get in or not?"

Taking her time, Piper arose from her seat on the sidewalk, grabbing her package in the process and walked around Larisa's car to the passenger side. Opening the door, she got in, still not uttering a word. Shifting gears, Larisa pulled back into traffic, heading towards Taj's house. There was silence in the car for a while, until the driver of the vehicle just could not take it anymore.

"What happened between you and my sister?" Larisa inquired.

Looking out the passenger side window, Piper coolly replied, "Ask your sister."

Larisa bit her lower lip. This attitude of Piper's had to go. "I would, but Desi isn't talking to me right now. I called her just before you called Taj and she hung up. Told me to leave her alone," she finished quietly. When there was no reply from her passenger, Larisa asked what happened again.

Piper rolled down the window and placed her arm on the ledge of it. "She did something that she shouldn't have done and I did something that she didn't want me to do."

"That summary is far too succinct. Will you go into detail a little more?"


The blue-eyed woman inhaled sharply. "She kept something from me that I was entitled to know."

"You mean the bribe?"

Piper glanced over at Larisa. "You knew too." She shook her head. "That's great. That's just freaking wonderful!"

Larisa kept her eyes on the road. "Okay. I'll take that outburst as a yes." Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Piper glaring at her. Larisa decided to ignore it. "And what did you do?"

"Something that needed to be done."

Rolling her eyes, Larisa checked the traffic before carefully pulling into the parking lot of a grocery store. Finding a space, she pulled in and stopped the car, cutting off the ignition. Removing her seat belt, she turned so that she was facing the other woman, who was now looking at her.

"Why did you stop?" Piper asked.

"Because I want to give you my full attention. Now…what did you do Piper?"

Not saying anything, the blue-eyed woman reached into the manila envelope and took out a few pictures. She handed the photographs to Larisa and watched as the woman observed each one. Larisa's expression did not change, as she looked through the pictures of her father with another woman and of the woman alone with a baby. Done, she handed the photographs back to Piper.

"So Father had an affair," she quietly stated.

Piper merely nodded.

"And…you found that out and had some photos of them together taken, unless you took them yourself."

"These were taken five years ago so I couldn't have taken them since I was locked up behind bars. So yeah, I had someone else do it."

Larisa nodded. "I see." She looked up into Piper's eyes. "Does my father have another child?"

Piper nodded again.

"He doesn't see his child though, does he?"

"No. He paid his mistress to keep quiet about their affair and the baby. I have no idea where she and the child are now."

Nodding again, Larisa stared out of the window not saying anything. Minutes later, she started the car and drove out of the parking lot, heading in a direction other than the one leading to Taj's house. Noticing, Piper asked the woman where she was going.

"Home," Larisa replied.

*****

This was going to push him to the top again. This email was simply brilliant. Imagine the honorable Judge Richard Love having an affair with a woman and then paying her off to keep the conception of his child a secret. This story had fallen into George's hands and he was quite thankful, though he wondered if anyone else had received the email. Glancing around, he noticed that no one seemed to be acting out of the ordinary. Perhaps he was the only one. Though even if he was not, George was going to do everything in his power to get this story printed as soon as possible. Hopefully by tomorrow morning, everyone who read this newspaper was going to know the scandal of the judge.

Looking at his computer screen, the journalist observed the email address. DesLove. If life were an animated cartoon, a flashing light bulb would have appeared over his head. It suddenly dawned on George who this could be. Acting quickly, George pulled up a newspaper article on the disappearance of Desiree Love. Scanning the article, the journalist recalled how ex-convict Piper Redding, who coincidentally had been sentenced to prison by the young woman's father, had taken her hostage.

For some reason unbeknownst to George, Desiree Love put together an email that could shatter her father's career and reputation. The big question was why?

*****

Opening the door, Larisa walked into her home with Piper coming behind her. Hearing someone talking in the kitchen, Larisa headed in that direction. Entering the kitchen, she noticed her parents sitting at the kitchen table, Piper appearing at her side seconds later.

"What is she doing here?" Richard asked his daughter, sparing the woman standing beside her a glance.

"Her name is Piper and she's here because I want her to be," Larisa testily replied, while Piper crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned her shoulder against the wall, wondering what Larisa was going to say.

Sandra sighed as she looked up at her daughter, quietly saying, "Larisa, please don't speak to your father in that tone of voice. It isn't at all respectful."

"Respectful?" The dark-haired woman gave an empty laugh. "You want to talk of respect mother? Well what about the respect your own husband has given you, which is none."

"What are you talking about now?" Sandra asked in an exasperated tone.

"I'm talking of how Father has disrespected you by not being honest about his past indiscretions."

Sandra closed her eyes, softly replying, "You know."

Both Piper and Larisa raised an eyebrow at that as the older of the two said, "You already knew about it."

Opening her eyes, Sandra looked up at her daughter again, as her husband sat across from her, his stomach tying into knots inside. How could Larisa have found out about his affair? He had not informed anyone of it except for his wife. Richard's eyes suddenly settled on Piper as she watched Larisa and Sandra. His eyes narrowed. Somehow, this was her fault. It had to be.

Sandra nodded. "Yes. Your father told me five years ago. How did you find out?"

Larisa shook her head in bewilderment. "You mean you stayed with him even though he had an affair? Mother he laid down with another woman."

"I forgave him." Reaching out, she put her hand over her husband's. "Your father is sorry for what he did."

"So you condone him for abandoning his child too?"

Sandra appeared to be confused now. "What do you mean? What child?"

Oh, dear God. They had found that out too. Richard looked at his wife, but she had her eyes on their daughter. He felt his heart beginning to pound harshly in his chest and briefly wondered if he was experiencing a heart attack. With all of this stress, it would not have surprised Richard if he had been.

By the expression on her face, Larisa instantly knew that her mother did not know of the baby. She looked at her father then. "Why don't you tell her Father? Tell your wife the rest of the story. I suppose you conveniently forgot."

Sandra removed her hand from her husband's and placed it on her lap as she looked at him. "Richard?" she said as calmly as she could, though her voice was shaking.

The judge felt as though his world was suddenly crashing before his very eyes. "It's true, Sandy. When I had an affair with Theresa, she ended up pregnant. I didn't want her to tell anyone so I offered her money and had her sign a contract stating that she would never let anyone know that I was the father. I haven't seen her or the baby since."

"How could you?" Everyone turned to see Richie standing in the entrance to the kitchen. He stared at his father with a hurt look on his face. "How could you do that to my mother?" He shook his head. "And to think I respected you. I looked up to you." Tears formed in his eyes as Larisa came towards him, attempting to hug her brother, but he shrugged her off. "No, you're just as bad, telling her like this."

"Rich-" Larisa started.

"No. Don't say a word to me." He walked over to his mother and helped her up from the chair. "I think we should go home now Mom."

Sandra nodded in agreement. "Yes. Why don't you get our things and then we'll head to the airport." Complying with his mother, Richie walked out of the kitchen. Sandra turned to her daughter. "Larisa, could you possibly give us a ride? Please don't worry about Richie. He didn't mean what he said. He's just upset right now."

Larisa nodded. "I know Mother. I don't blame him." Putting a hand in her pocket, she took out a ring of keys. "I'll take you and Richie to the airport whenever you're ready to go."

"Don't leave," Richard spoke up in a near whisper, as he remained seated at the table. "Please don't leave me," he added, his usually booming voice sounding almost childlike.

Sparing him a glance, Sandra replied, "I don't even know you anymore." She walked out of the kitchen without another word, Piper, Larisa, and Richard watching her go. Larisa then looked at her father, asking him to leave her home. Not bothering to plead with her, the man arose from his seat and walked out of the kitchen, heading for the front door. Moments later, both Piper and Larisa heard the door slam as he left.

Running a hand through her hair, Larisa let out a ragged breath. "Will you stay here while I take Mother and Richie to the airport? That is unless you want to come with us."

Piper shook her head. "No. I'll just stay here until you get back."

Nodding, Larisa said, "Okay. I'll be back soon." She started to walk out of the kitchen when Piper reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You all right?"

Surprised by the concern she heard, Larisa gazed up at the taller woman for a moment before replying in a soft voice, "I will be." She then continued on her way, still feeling Piper's touch.

*****

As Piper sat on the couch she heard footsteps behind her and glanced back to see Richard walking towards her. She was about to say something when she suddenly noticed the gun the man toted in his right hand. It was pointed down at the floor, but Piper found herself becoming uneasy all the same. The judge must have finally flipped his lid.

"Hello Redding," Richard said in a conversational tone, as though the two of them were old friends. Walking in front of her, he chose to stand there. Piper remained seated on the couch, not moving a muscle. "I'm pleased that you decided to stay here while Larisa took my son and wife to the airport. I think we need to have a little chat. What do you think?"

The blue-eyed woman chose not to say anything, just staring up at him, waiting for the man to make a mistake so that she could wrestle the weapon away from him.

The judge laughed, though there was not a hint of humor in it. "Well you've now screwed me over just like I did you, Redding. First you took my daughter as your hostage and then somehow managed to make a friend out of her. And then you make my wife leave me and my son now hates me too. I'm sure you told Desiree about my indiscretion as Larisa called it, so she most likely hates me as well. And you know what?" he stared down at her with a thoughtful look on his face. "I bet you let a lot of other people know too. Am I right?"

Piper nodded slightly.

The judge nodded. "I thought so. There goes my career down the drain. So in a nutshell I have no family and no job," he paused, "because of you. Did you tell anyone about the bribe? I know you must know about that too."

Piper shook her head negatively. "True, I know about it but I haven't told anyone."

"Why not? That'll be even more perfect. Then you could probably send me to prison. Wouldn't that be ironic?" Richard humorlessly laughed again.

There was no response from Piper as her eyes glanced from Richard to the gun.
"So the way I figure it Redding," the judge raised the gun and pointed it at the young woman. Piper's breath caught as she stared at the barrel of the gun, "you should finish the job. I know you want your revenge on me…so take it. Here," coming towards her, Richard pushed the gun into Piper's hands, startling the woman. Taking a step back, the judge stood with his hands at his sides, "finish me off Redding."

The blue-eyed woman looked down at the heavy gun in her hands before she raised her head to look at the judge, who stood waiting. "I'm not going to shoot you."

"Why not? You've taken away all that I had to live for."

"It's not as though you didn't help to make that happen," Piper replied matter-of-factly.

Richard blinked away a couple of tears. "Aim the gun at me and then put your finger on the trigger and pull it. It's as simple as that."

The dark-haired woman shook her head. "I won't."

"What's the matter with you? Don't you want me dead? I ruined your life. Sent you to prison for what? Eight…nine years? You did time while I used that money to paint my house and purchase a new car. Surely, you want to kill me. There has to be some part of you that is screaming for you to pull that trigger. Come on Redding…kill me like you did your daddy." Although he was saying all of this, the judge knew that she would not kill him in cold blood. There was no way that she was going to pull that trigger.

Piper's hand tightened around the handle of the gun until her knuckles turned white. "I refuse to take your life."

Richard heavily sighed as he outstretched his hand towards Piper. "Then give me the gun back."

Piper raised an eyebrow. Did he think that she had stupid written all over her forehead? There was no way that she was about to give him that gun. "No, I don't think so."

"No, you don't think so?"

The dark-haired woman nodded. "That's what I said."

"Give me my gun now."

Piper shook her head. She was about to get up when the judge suddenly jumped at her, causing them both to fly back in the couch as the back of it landed on the floor, making them both tumble onto the floor. The blue-eyed woman let out a yelp of pain as she felt her wrist snap when she attempted to break her fall with her left hand. Pain radiating up and down her arm, Piper still held the gun in her right as a much bigger Richard held her down, clamping a big hand over Piper's own hand holding the gun.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Piper yelled, trying to squirm from underneath the man.

Not answering, the judge placed a finger over the one that Piper held in front of the trigger and forced the barrel of the gun to aim at his head. She attempted to move the gun away from Richard, but he used his free hand to get a grip on her wrist keeping the weapon in place.

"Don't…do…this," Piper said, sweat forming on her brow, trying to resist the finger pushing down on her own. She tried to push the judge away with her free hand, but it hurt too much to do so.

The judge looked her in the eyes as a tear fell down his cheek. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he pushed down on Piper's finger enough to get her to pull the trigger. There was a loud bang as Richard landed on top of Piper, completely still, his grip on her wrist and hand relaxed.

*****

As Larisa pulled up to her house, she noticed an ambulance and a few police cars parked outside of her house. Some of the neighbors stood around watching, interested to see what was going on. Larisa came to a stop as she saw two men carrying out a stretcher with a filled body bag lying on top of it.

"Oh, God…Piper," Larisa whispered as she got out of the car and ran towards the two men. A police officer caught her.

"Whoa…Miss I can't allow you to be here."

"This is my home! I live here," Larisa struggled to get past the man.

"Miss calm down." The officer placed his hands on her shoulders. "You say you live here?"

She nodded. "Yes. I'm Larisa Love. Wh…who is in that body bag?"

The officer sighed. He absolutely detested this part of his job. "Miss, I'm sorry but I have some bad news. Your father Richard Love has been shot. By the time the ambulance arrived here he was already dead."

Larisa shook her head not wanting to believe him. "No, that can't be right. You see my father isn't even here. He left."

"We have a positive ID on him Miss. I'm terribly sorry."

"Wh…who shot him?"

"Well Piper Redding is being questioned right now."

Larisa exhaled loudly. "She wouldn't kill my father. Where is she?"

"She's inside, though I can't let you in there."

The woman looked at him pleadingly.

The officer sighed. He was always a sucker for a woman with eyes as pretty as hers. "I'll escort you in Miss."
*****

"So you're telling us that Richard Love came in here, tried to get you to shoot him and then when you wouldn't he attacked you, forcing you to point the gun at him and made you push the trigger by manipulating your finger?" Officer Penn inquired.

Piper nodded for what must have been the fiftieth time during the questioning. "Yes. I tried to wrestle the gun away from him but I couldn't. He was lying on top of me, weighing me down and he had the upper hand." The young woman cradled her left arm against her body, with her right hand wrapped around her aching wrist. She had a feeling that it was broken.

"Piper…" Larisa said a few feet away from the woman. The blue-eyed woman looked over to her with tired eyes. Decreasing the distance between him, Larisa quickly walked up to Piper and attempted to hug her when the woman took a step back, indicating her shirt, which had blood all over it.

Larisa saw the blood and shook her head as if in a daze. "God…what happened here?"

"Who are you Ma'am?" Officer Penn asked.

The young woman glanced at him. "My name is Larisa. Richard Love was my father and I want to know what happened." She looked back at Piper.

"He killed himself," Piper stated in a quiet, apologetic voice. "I tried to stop him but I couldn't. Of course, it looks like I did it because I have his blood all over me, I know my fingerprints are on the gun, and I probably have gunpowder residue on my hands. But I didn't do it. I didn't kill your father Larisa."

The older woman nodded. "I know you didn't." She turned towards Officer Penn and his partner. "This is a waste of time."

"Miss Love, we found a man shot here and we're going to investigate before ruling that it was indeed a suicide. Until then, Miss Redding is our only suspect."

"Well did she call 911 to let them know what happened?"

"Yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Your father had already passed away by the time she called."

"Where did she get the gun from?"

"She says your father had it when he came back after having left earlier because you asked him to."

"So why don't you do a trace on where it came from?" She had been paying attention to some of those many cop shows on television.

"Can't do that," Officer Penn replied. "The number was scraped off. Though we will ask around to see if anyone knows anything."

Larisa nodded. "And what about my neighbors? Are you going to ask them questions?"

The other officer spoke up. "We're right on top of that Miss Love. If Piper Redding is indeed innocent then we will find that out."

"Until then?"

"Until then I'm afraid we'll have to take Miss Redding into custody," Officer Penn stated.

Larisa cursed softly under her breath. "This is such bull. I know this woman and I know that she would never do anything that heinous. She and my father did not have the best relationship, but there is no way on God's green earth that she would kill him."

"As I said before, if that is true we will find out," Officer Romero said.

"Excuse me, Officer Penn and Romero?" All four people in the living room turned to see the young officer who had let Larisa in a few minutes ago.

"Yes?"

"I have a witness out here who says that she saw Richard Love get out of a taxi and walk up to this house. She says that he took a gun out of his pocket as he entered the house."

"Have her come in please," Officer Penn replied.

Nodding, the young officer left the house, returning a few moments later with a short-haired blonde woman who appeared to be in her early forties. Officer Penn asked the woman her name, and she informed him that it was Bridgett Martin.

"Okay Ms. Martin…tell us your story please."

"Well I was out watering my yard when a taxi pulled up to the curb in front of Larisa's house. Being nosy, I waited to see who got out. I recognized her father the judge immediately. He looked a little worse for wear too. Anyway, he walked up to the house, but before he opened the door, he took a gun out of the pocket of his jacket. He then disappeared inside and I never saw him again."

Officer Penn nodded. "What time was this about?"


"Oh, I really couldn't tell you. I started watering my lawn sometime around 12:00, but it wasn't long after that that he arrived." Bridgett shrugged. "Maybe ten…fifteen minutes later."

Officer Penn took down a note. "Did you happen to catch the license plate on that taxi by any chance?"

Bridgett shook her head. "No, I'm sorry I didn't." She thought for a moment. "But the driver was a man if that helps any. He had on a red baseball cap."

Officer Penn smiled at her. "Thank you for your assistance Ms. Martin. If you remember anything else please let us know." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small card, handing it to the woman. "We'd really appreciate it."

"You're welcome Officer." She turned to Larisa and wrapped her arms around the woman, hugging her tight. "I'm so sorry sweetheart. If there is anything that I can do don't you hesitate to let me know. I'm right across the street." Patting the young woman's back she let go, giving Larisa an encouraging smile to which the woman returned a faint smile of her own.

"Thank you Bridgie. I will."

Winking, Bridgett headed towards the exit with the young officer who had escorted her in. Officer Penn turned to Piper who stood quietly.

"Miss Redding, I'm afraid that we are going to have to take you in now."

"Wait a minute," Larisa interjected. "You're arresting her? You just learned that my father came here with that gun. You honestly think that Piper took it away from him and shot him with it?"

Officer Penn replied, "Miss Love, I would like to prove Miss Redding innocent just as much as you would, but with the evidence that we have now, it's enough to take her into custody. Now we are going to be investigating and I assure you that the truth will come out."

"It already has. She's innocent."

"I want you to let me prove that. I'm on your side here. Both Officer Romero and I are." Officer Romero nodded in agreement with his partner. "Try to trust me here." He smiled at her, showing a set of deep dimples. "We're good at our job."

Softly sighing, Larisa nodded. "Okay. But can you give me a moment with her alone?"

Officer Penn nodded. "Yeah, sure. We'll be right outside." With that, both he and his partner left the house to wait just outside the door where they could see but still give the women their privacy.

Larisa looked up at Piper. "How are you holding up?"

The blue-eyed woman nodded. "I'm okay considering," she paused. "What about you?"

Larisa shook her head. "I don't know. I'm…I'm just in sort of a stupor. I can't believe all of this is happening. Last time I saw my father I kicked him out of my house and now he's dead." She swallowed with some difficulty. She was not about to break into tears now.

"I'm sorry," Piper started. "I really tried to stop him."

Giving her a faint smile, Larisa replied, "I know." She glanced towards the front door, where the policemen were waiting. "I guess I better let you go now. You'll be out of there soon okay? You've spent enough unfair time behind bars."

Reaching out, Piper squeezed the other woman's shoulder briefly before she started to walk towards the door. Suddenly she stopped and turned back towards Larisa. "Desiree. You need to go tell her before anyone else gets the chance."

Larisa nodded. "I know. I'm headed over there now." Piper started to walk away when the other woman suddenly thought of something and called her name. Piper turned around again.

"Hmm?"

"Did you see a suicide note? Did he say anything about one?"

Piper shook her head. "No. He probably didn't have one."

*****

Desiree retrieved the mail out of her box before walking over to the elevator and pressing the button to go up. As she waited for the elevator to arrive, she rifled through the mail, finding a couple of sales papers, coupons for a new pizza place and a letter from a friend who had recently moved to Texas. There was also an unmarked envelope, which had been stuck into the crack of her mailbox. Desiree wondered what that was as the elevator doors opened.

A little unsteady due to the amount of alcohol she had consumed earlier, the strawberry-blonde walked into the elevator and pressed the correct button for her floor as she leaned against a wall. Closing her eyes, she tried not to think about Piper who she had to admit she already missed. Her eyes, that smile, the way she made Desiree feel safe and protected, even when she had her hostage at the cabin. But the woman had chosen revenge over her and it was all over. It had to be. Piper obviously was not the right person for her after the stunt she had pulled just that morning.

The elevator arrived at Desiree's floor and she walked out, trying to keep one foot in front of the other. Making it to her apartment, she opened the door and walked in, putting the mail on a desk located near the front door. Going into the kitchen, Desiree grabbed a small glass and the half-full bottle of whiskey she had been drinking from. Pouring some of the liquid into the glass, she took a small sip before moving back into the living room and to the desk. She was about to pick up the unmarked envelope when there was a knock on the door.

For a split second, she hoped that it was Piper as she opened the door. The caller was a woman, but not that one. "Larisa, what do you want?"

The other woman saw the glass. Walking into the apartment, she closed the door behind her before gently taking the glass of whiskey from Desiree. The strawberry-blonde started to protest when Larisa held up a hand, stopping her. "I have something to tell you." She put the glass on the desk before asking her sister to join her on the couch. Obediently, Desiree followed Larisa to the couch and the women took their seats, sitting next to each other.

"If this is about you and Piper…"

"No," Larisa shook her head, "this has nothing to do with that."

Desiree started to feel that something was terribly wrong. "What happened?"

There was simply no easy way to put this. She just had to come out and say it as gently as she could. "Desiree…this afternoon Father…he committed suicide."

The strawberry-blonde's eyes widened as she shook her head in disbelief. "No," she whispered. "You're wrong…he wouldn't do that."

Larisa attempted to take Desiree's hand in her own, but the other woman pulled away before she could get the chance to. Softly sighing, Larisa quietly said, "It's true…" She noticed that her younger sibling's eyes began to brim with tears and ached to hold her. "He killed himself in my house not too long ago. He and Mother had a disagreement so she decided to leave with Richie. I took them to the airport and by the time I arrived home there was an ambulance and policemen parked in front of my house."

"Why would he kill himself?" Desiree asked in a shaky voice. "So what if they had a disagreement…"

"I confronted him about his affair. Piper told me today," she explained before her sister could ask. "It turns out that Mother knew about the affair all this time, however she didn't know about the child. So she became upset and decided to return right then without Father." Looking down at hands resting in her lap, Larisa softly concluded, "I suppose that is why he did it. He felt as though he had lost his family."

Both women fell silent for several moments before Desiree asked, "How?"

Though it was a one-word question, Larisa instantly knew what her sister was inquiring. "He shot himself."

Desiree closed her eyes tightly as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her shoulders began to shake as she cried. Not being able to stand it another minute, Larisa scooted closer to the younger woman and wrapped her arms around her. She was relieved when Desiree did not pull back, opting instead to put her own arms around her sister. Stroking up and down her back, Larisa gently rocked the strawberry-blonde back and forth, as she cried hard for the loss of their father.

A while later, Larisa noticed that her sister had grown quiet and completely still. Looking down at the younger woman, she saw that Desiree had cried herself to sleep. Knowing that she did not have the strength it took to carry her sister to the bedroom, Larisa gently arose and laid Desiree out on the couch, careful not to disturb her sleep. Walking into her sister's bedroom, she soon returned with the other woman's bedspread. Laying the cover over her sister, Larisa leaned down and placed a tender kiss to her forehead before she took a seat on the floor with her back to the couch. She let out a soft sigh as she wondered just how everything had managed to get out of hand within such a short amount of time.

Desiree had taken up the hobby of drinking now. Larisa could smell the whiskey on her breath when they were talking.

Desiree and Piper were no longer on speaking terms.

There was another sibling out there somewhere that they knew nothing about.

Her mother no longer had a husband and she, Desiree, and Richie no longer had a father because he got the idea in his head to shoot himself.

Piper was probably sitting in a jail cell right now for being charged with his death.

What else could possibly go wrong?

*****

He finally added the last period of the story before starting to go over it, correcting any mistakes that he might have made. George Stanley smiled to himself. This was brilliant. Truly brilliant. The journalist simply could not wait for people to read his article in tomorrow's newspaper. For what must have been the thousandth time today, the man silently thanked Desiree Love for the email she sent him, though he still could not fathom why she did such a thing. Why she would want to expose her father's less than perfect past was beyond him.

Having left it for the last thing to add to the article, George was about to write a title when Daniel Morris, a friend and co-worker of his perched himself on the edge of the journalists' desk. Earlier today, George had called Daniel over, letting him know about the email from Richard Love's daughter. Not being able to keep the information merely to himself, the journalist had to tell someone, so he chose his most trusted friend.

"Hey Dan, what's up?" Looking up at his friend, George instantly noticed the melancholy expression on his face. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

"You haven't heard what happened this afternoon?"

George shook his head. "No, I've been working on the Love story. What happened?"

Dan blew out a ragged breath as he ran a hand through his short red hair. "Richard Love…he's dead."

A shocked look appeared on George's face. "Dead?" Dan nodded. "How? When?" What was this going to mean for his article? "Did his daughter kill him? Desiree that is."

Dan shook his head. "Nah, she didn't do it. Check this out. Apparently, the cops think Piper Redding knocked him off. She's been taken into custody."

His eyes opening wide, George sat back in his chair. "Piper Redding," he started in a low voice, as though he were talking merely to himself, "arrested for the murder of the man who put her behind bars for eight years. Desiree Love, the woman who was taken hostage by Piper Redding, sends me a hot story this morning that could jeopardize her own father's career. And this afternoon…he's dead." The journalist was thoughtful for a few moments before he looked up at his friend asking, "How was he killed?"

"He was shot."

"You said the police think she did it. Does that mean Redding has pleaded innocence?"

Dan shook his head. "I don't know George. They didn't give a lot of information thus far in the news. All I know is that she was arrested for killing him. It happened at his other daughter's home. No one else was there at the time."

George absently nodded, as he grew thoughtful once more. Finally, looking at his friend, he said, "I know what happened."

"What?"


The journalist glanced around to make sure that no one else was listening in on their conversation before he scooted closer to Dan in his chair. In hushed tones, he replied, "It's simple really. Love had Redding kill her father." Not being able to keep a serious expression on his face, Dan broke into laughter. George smirked at the man while he waited for him to calm down before going on. "It makes perfect sense."

Dan shook his head, still chuckling every so often. "No it doesn't. George, as good an article as that would make, it's not true."

"Why not?"

"I don't know her personally, but I honestly don't believe that Desiree Love would put a hit on her father."

"She sent me that email this morning. She was able to do that," George refuted.

"There is a huge difference between sending out an email that can destroy another human being's career and getting someone to put a bullet in that person's head."

George chewed on his bottom lip as he thought quietly. "Well like you said you don't know her. Desiree Love could be capable of anything for all we know. Even murder. She found out about her father's shady past and something snapped inside of her. She wanted revenge, so not only did she want me to put in print what her father did all those years ago, but she also wanted him dead. So she had her lover kill him and Redding had zero qualms about doing that since she blamed the judge for putting her away." George sat with a pleased look on his face. It all made sense to him. Everything seemed to click. What a story he had!

"Whoa…how did you establish that Love and Redding are lovers?"

"You know how we heard that Piper Redding was found at her former hostage's apartment. It's obvious that she's staying with her. That right there lets you know that Desiree Love isn't dealing with a full deck. What person is going to welcome the one that held them hostage into their home Dan?"

Dan shrugged. "That doesn't mean they're lovers."

"Fine…whether they be lovers or just friends, Love put a hit on her father. And Redding executed it. And I'm going to let our readers know all about it."

Continued in Part 11.