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Part 2

Chapter Seven: Stolen Smiles

Detective Alexandra Abigail Stoner drew in and blew out one deep, cleansing breath. Looking around the room of the cabin she and her twin had bought so long ago, she almost laughed. Anna would enjoy this, thought the tall beauty. What an assortment of human beings to have in one spot. That, of course, did not even begin to count whatever persons lay unseen OUTSIDE the cabin. Oh yeah, smirked Alex, Anna would never let me live this down and the duct tape...gods, she did love her duct tape.

The brow photographers loved to capture crinkled above curious green eyes. "Um, Alex, are you smiling?"

Drawn from her musing, the dark haired woman lifted a brow. "Was I?"

Rhonda lay the sleeping witness' head on a cushion pulled from the sofa and rose up on her knees. Then she knee-walked the few feet to where her friend sat tending the fire. "You were. At least, I think you were." The small hand reached out and touched the larger one, pausing it in mid-air on its way to the slowly burning flames. "Thinking about Anna?"

Alex closed her crystal blue eyes briefly and nodded gently. "You always know, don't you? How do you do that, Rhonnie? I mean, you've done that since as far back as I can remember and none of us ever talked about it much."

Soft laughter warmed the room more than the fire ever could. "Oh no, we never talked about it much. WE didn't because Anna always did. I think by the time I was nine Anna understood more about my so called gift than I did."

"Well, she WAS your best friend Rhon. I mean, you and I have always been close but not like you and Anna. It was so great the way she was with you. She loved you very much. I hope you know that. Yeah, I was thinking about her and how much she would have enjoyed the ridiculousness of today. Just look at us Rhonnie. What a crew." The detective laughed in spite of herself.

Rhonda Reynolds tried not to but she couldn't help laughing when she glanced about the room with her best friend in mind. "Gods!" A small hand smacked the resident guardian on the leg. "You're so right. This would have cracked her up. Alex, you wouldn't be caught dead with these people on your worst day. Look at them. It's pitiful."

"So," asked the eyebrow waggling woman, "what other deep, dark secrets did you and Anna have? Hmmmmmmm?" Alexandra leaned over and whispered directly into the ear that she thought looked invitingly soft. "You can tell me. I'm a cop. I know how to keep a secret."

At that the blonde bombshell lost it and burst into laughter so loud the detective quickly covered the coral lips with her strong hand. Blue eyes widening was explanation enough and Rhonda bit down on the inside of her cheeks while taking deep breaths and swallowing until she regained control.

"Sorry. I'm okay now. That was just so funny Alex. You know how to keep a secret. That's a good one, Alligail."

Blue eyes narrowed to near slits and a perfect jawline tightened. "I'm sure I have no idea what you mean, Ms. Reynolds." With that Alex stood and stretched her tall frame out. She walked over to check on the Ball Brothers who were sound asleep half laying, half sitting on the sofa she bought with her sister when they were only twenty. "Remind me to burn that when this is all over," she groaned to the blonde.

"Not a chance. Anna would haunt me forever. I'll have it sanded, cleaned and repainted." Rhonda reasoned.

Alex went into the bedroom and got a comforter which she draped across Stanley P. Wheaton. Noting the smile sneaking onto her friend's face, the detective remarked: "Hey! If he catches a cold and loses his voice I'm in big trouble."

Rhonnie grinned, but at the fireplace and not in the direction of Miss I Don't Really Care, I'm Just Doing My Job.

The tall detective crouched near the window and lifted the sash just enough to peer out into the darkness. Everything looked eerily normal, quiet even. The nearly full moon turned the trees into dancing shadows with the crickets and bullfrogs providing the music. She could feel the blonde looking at her and wished the circumstances were different, much different.

"Anyone out there?" came the query so close to her she could feel the soft, warm breath. The shiver came unbidden and she hoped Rhonda wouldn't notice. "Alex? Do you see anything?"

"Yeah. Trees dancing in the moonlight while the stars look on in envy."

Rhonnie almost pinched herself. "What did you say? I can't believe you even remember that. God Almighty, Alexandra. I wrote that poem ten years ago."

Replacing the sash, Detective Stoner sat down against the wall beneath the window. "Ten years and three months actually. It was the first time we came up here, the three of us. I remember it as if it were this morning. Gods, sometimes I wish it were."

Rhonda touched Alex's cheek with her fingertips, claiming the escaping tear. "Tell you a secret, Alligail. Sometimes I do too. Fame and fortune be damned. I'd trade it all to have us all sitting here together again, watching those dancing trees and drinking hot cider."

Alex looked deeply into the jade eyes she loved more than anyone knew; anyone but Anna that is and, Alex regretted, she's gone now. "You mean that don't you? About fame and fortune being damned and all?"

Rhonda looked her directly in the eyes. "Yes, Alex. I mean it. That's why I'm here. Well, part of why I'm here anyway. I really did quit. I can't do it anymore. I just can't. I want to come home, Alex."

The setting was all wrong. The surrounding "crowd" didn't fit at all. The timing sucked rotten eggs, no question about that. Still, all in all, it was the answer to a prayer. It was a prayer that had been repeated so many times it could almost say itself. Two strong arms reached around the woman most of the world knew only as the blonde bombshell. "You are home, Rhonnie. You are home."

Alexandra gently stroked her friend's golden hair until she fell asleep in her protective arms. It must have been all of ten minutes, smiled the detective. What a day it had been and saints protect them there were still two more to go. She carefully lifted Rhonda's sleeping form and carried her over to the sleeping bags she had tossed next to the fireplace earlier. Using her booted foot, Alex spread the heavy bags out and scooted them together next to the hearth. Rhonnie opened her eyes slightly while Alex kicked at the bags and then leaned into her friend's embrace and went back to sleep. Carefully lying the smaller woman onto the bag nearest the fire Alex then pulled the other sleeping bag onto Rhonda. The brunette then slid herself into place so she could hold her friend's head in her lap. It would be a long night and Alex knew Lawton well enough to know he wouldn't do anything for at least a few hours. He liked to make his victims stew in their own fear. 'Not this time,' the detective thought. 'I've got your number you bastard and I have no intention of letting you win. No this time. You lost any chance you had the second I saw that Fedora, you prick. You're not hurting someone I love.....never again.'

Closing her eyes for a few minutes was a matter of training as well as survival. Falling asleep, however, was not part of the tall detective's plan. With sleep, more often than not, came the dreams.

..........Alex rushed into the small office. "Sorry I'm late. Anna borrowed my car and forgot to pick me up this morning."

Chief Bartoni looked like he was about to cry. " Alex, Anna didn't forget to pick you up . Anna won't be picking anyone up. Not ever again."

"Chief, you're gobbling Skittles. You hate Skittles. Where's my sister? She's hurt." Alex was pacing now. She leaned in and glared, " Well, quit munching and tell me which hospital she's in. Come on, Chief. I need to be with Anna."

The man rubbed a large hand across his face and sighed, "Alex. Please. Try to sit down ."

Alexandra was getting more agitated by the second. "Okay. I'm sitting. Well, I'm perching but it's the best I can do. Where's my sister!? "

There was no easy way to say the words. "Anna is dead, Alex. It happ....Hey, the chair's over here." He took a trembling arm. "You all right?"

Alex took her arm back with more force than she intended. "Shit no, I'm not all right. And neither are you. You just ate your pencil eraser." The tall officer was pacing again. "Anna's dead? How? When? What happened? Are you sure it's Anna? Dear God, Mom. I have to go to Mom."

The Chief offered the chair for the fifth or sixth time. "I've sent for your Mom, Alex. I didn't want her to be alone when she got the news."

Alex Stoner sank into the hard back chair on the other side of the large, cluttered desk. "I feel like my chest is about to audition for that scene in Aliens. Are you absolutely sure Anna is dead? Couldn't it be a mistake? Please God, let it be a mistake."

The large man sat on his desk, next to his young officer and friend. "I got a call at 1:15 this morning that a car with your tags on it had exploded . I immediately asked if the car itself could be identified. By the time I arrived, they identified the car as yours and found human remains. The coroner said it was a miracle the body was mostly in tact. Apparently the bomb was under the driver's seat and Anna had the sun roof open. She was launched upward and clear of the car. She was burned severely and the coroner suspects she was dead when she hit the pavement."

Alex gripped the edge of the seat, her knuckles turning white almost immediately. "Did she suffer? Did she even know what hit her?"

" We weren't even sure, at first, which of you was dead. There is one thing that makes me almost certain that, at the last second, Anna knew."

The tall woman in the chair looked smaller than Bartoni had seen in many years. "What's that chief?"

Reaching over and prying the fingers of her right hand away from the hard chair, he enveloped it in both of his own. "Alex, when we put Anna's body on the stretcher we noticed she had something clutched in her left hand. With the fire and all, it was almost overlooked. When they got it from her fingers and carefully brushed the ashes away, what remained was her shield. It was charred, the case totally burned away, and part of it had even melted, but the raised numbers were still there . I believe, in what must have been only seconds, Anna grabbed her shield and clung to it. She wanted us to know it was her, Al. God bless that quick mind of your sister's. I loved her so much, Alex. You know that." Chief Bartoni was openly weeping as he struggled to continue. "Her sweet smile. Stolen. What in God's Heaven will I ever tell your mother?"

The mirror image of the officer he just lost squeezed his puffy hands. " We'll tell mom together. Right now, I want to know who did this. Any clues?"

The answer came in a gruff whisper. "One. And you're going to hate it." He reached behind him to a large, manila envelope. Opening it, he took the contents out and handed it to the shaken woman he loved as he would his own child.

Blue eyes gazed upon the item and then back at her boss. " A cassette? Don't tell me someone is going to confess and make it easy for us."

Brown eyes avoided blue ones to no avail. "Yes. And no. As I said, you're gonna hate it."

......."Mickey Lawton here. Well, which bitch did I get? No matter. I warned you to get 'em off my ass. One down. One to go. Or is that two down? Naturally, this tape is sterile and there will be nothing of any consequence left of the Trans Am. Back off or beautiful bitch #2 is next....."

Alex was fuming. "Why that arrogant son of a bitch! Can we hold him with this?"

"No," he sighed. "The tape's clean. The voice is altered. Their lawyers will say it's tampered with. The judge will throw it out. He's right about the car, too. The bomb left no identifiable signature. But, I've made a decision Alex. You are not to worry. This bastard is a dead man."

"No Chief. That would kill Anna all over again. Nope. He's too sure of himself. Sooner or later, he is gonna make a mistake. When he does, I am gonna be there. He's going down. He may not know it yet, but he torched the wrong Sister. Trust me Chief. This bastard is going down. He has stolen the sweetest smiles on the planet and he is going down. Mom...".............

Jade green eyes flew open as long fingers tightened painfully in her tangled hair. "Alex. Alex, what's wrong?" The look on her friend's face jerked her awake from the soul outward. Never in their entire lives did she recall seeing Alex in so much pain. Even at the memorial service her beloved friend wore less agony upon her face than in this moment. Rhonda knew she would never be able to wipe this picture from her mind. Never.

Detective Stoner was lost. Her body sat there with Rhonda but her heart and mind were in a cluttered office, five long years past.

"Alex," Rhonnie whispered, frantically trying to wake the woman she'd known nearly all her life. "Alex wake up. I'm right here, Al. Wake up. Please wake up."

Slowly, as if from another dimension, the voice took form inside the head of Alexandra Stoner. It was a voice she knew so well and yet it seemed different somehow. Searching her catalog of memories she clearly identified the voice and opened weeping blue eyes to find bright green orbs wet with tears. The next thing Alex became aware of was a cramp in her right hand. "Oh my God, Rhonda!" she gasped. "I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you?"

When Alex tried to remove her hand from the golden tresses Rhonda took the strong hand into her own and kissed the palm. "It's all right. You scared me, Alex. I couldn't wake you and I could see you were in so much pain. Where were you, Al?"

Looking into the face of an angel, Alex closed her eyes momentarily to file the vision away for later viewing. "It was just a dream, Rhon. I'm fine now. Besides," she tapped her friend's nose with a finger from the hand Rhonda wasn't still kissing, "I thought you knew all about my dreams."

"Well, I know you headline all of mine. Does that count?" The blonde bombshell hoped she had not dropped one of her own with that little revelation.

"You're kidding?" Alex could barely believe what she was hearing.

"Nope. You wanted to know earlier if Anna had any deep, dark secrets of mine. I don't know how deep or dark it is but that's the one she always kept. That I had it bad for her sister." Rhonda already wished she could take the words back as she saw the stunned look in blue eyes.

"Oh my living Gods. That's the same secret she always kept of mine. That I had it bad for her best friend, even before she was legal. That little bra..."

Alexandra Stoner found the last of her words swallowed by a kiss. It was a kiss she told herself would never be hers. Rhonda Reynolds found that she could wait no longer for her tall friend to catch the clue she kept throwing. The logs in the fireplace next to them dwindled to smoldering embers but the fire inside these two hearts could have warmed a dozen cabins.

Somewhere in the woods outside, a murderous egomaniac lay in wait to kill them all. That didn't matter now. Two men slept on a sofa a few feet away, tied and duct taped and bruised after attempting to murder the eye witness to a double homicide. That didn't matter now. On the other side of the room a frightened little man dreamed of a night he wished was a dream instead of a nightmare. Even that didn't matter in this one frozen moment in time. All that mattered was the kiss. It was soft and warm and full of promise.

"That little brat," smirked the detective. "She knew all along."

"Alex?"

"Hmmm?"

"Shut up and kiss me again. Please," the blonde grinned.

"No problem," sighed Alex. "No problem at all."

Never in all her imaginings, and there had been many long years of them, could Alex Stoner have envisioned this moment. The beauty and wonder of the first time Rhonda Reynolds, the love of her life, actually kissed her exceeded all the dark haired beauty's fantasies.

When Alexandra's lips were fully captured, Rhonda felt, first the warmth, and then the incredible softness. Lifting herself upward into the tentative embrace, the small blonde pressed her trembling lips against the mouth she had wanted to taste since before she hit puberty. Gently she moved their lips together as the fire in her belly grew.

Rhonnie's tender mouth moving against hers made the detective want more, perhaps too much more, she feared. When she broke free long enough to joke about Anna being a brat, and knowing of their feelings for one another all along, the look in those green eyes nearly took her breath away.

The smile Alex gave Rhonnie when the blonde asked the detective to kiss her again was enough to send a shiver up the spine of the blonde bombshell. Circling her arms around strong shoulders just above her own, Rhonda pulled their mouths together more firmly. Softly and shyly, the tip of Alex's tongue sneaked past her own lips to barely caress Rhonnie's. Moaning into the opening cavern, Rhonnie moved her own lips to match those of her greatest love. Two powerful hands slid from the small waist, up the surprisingly muscular back until they rested on strong shoulder blades and pulled the famous body more fully into the embrace they both longed for nearly all their lives. Hot, swollen tongues introduced themselves to one another and began a dance neither woman wanted to end.

Alex felt the small hand slip from behind her neck, down her back until it found her backside and fingertips began to make slow, loving circles. 'Good gods,' thought the detective, 'does she even know what she's doing to me?'

Lips began to move in a different way as Rhonnie drawled, "I always knew you would be a good kisser, Alex. I just never knew ANY kiss could feel like this."

As the words reached the brunette's center of thought, a smile crawled across her tingling lips. "Shhhh, you'll wake me. I'm having the best dream."

Small fingers slipped around slim hips, toying their way across a muscular thigh, moving teasingly toward a rising heat at the detective's very core. "Bet I can make the dream better. What do you think?"

"Oh God," Alex moaned as her hips took on a life of their own, pressing into the small hand.

Rhonnie pushed her tongue back into Alex's mouth and whimpered at the feel of the detective moving against her fingers. Just as Rhonda began to feel the rest of her tall friend's ever-present guard slip away, something moved outside the cabin.

Unceremoniously dumping the world famous blonde on her equally famous derriere, Alexandra leapt to her feet. Then, just as quickly, she dropped to her knees pulling Rhonda to her with one hand and lifting the blind a few centimeters at the same time.

"Shit!" The detective scolded herself. "Shit, woman. What the hell were you thinking? OK, so you've wanted her all your life and she IS finally in your arms. Great. Is that any reason to get everyone killed? Come on, Alexandra Abigail Stoner. Get a fucking grip or you'll lose her before she's even yours."

A soft, warm hand touched the cursing lips. "Not a chance of that happening here, Alligail."

Blue eyes turned briefly from the darkened window. "Huh?"

Emerald promises reached out into the night. "You can't lose me before I'm yours, Alex. I've always been yours. You just never knew it before." Soft lips brushed the detective's protective shoulder.

Allowing herself a moment's gaze into the eyes of her eternal love, Alex spoke in a near whisper. "Rhonnie, if I die right here, right now, I die happy. I want you to know that." Before her friend could argue, as the detective knew she would, Alex reached into her back pocket and retrieved the forgotten cell phone.

"Don't tell me. Pepperoni, Sausage, Mushroom, Onions and extra cheese." Rhonda joked in a strained voice that betrayed her terror.

"Ha. Ha." Detective Stoner leaned over and brushed her lips across blonde locks. "Rhonnie, they're on the move. Call the Chief for me. I'm gonna try and get a better look." As soon as she spoke, Alex began to crawl toward the back door. Remembering something, she turned to tell Rhonda which number to punch. It was too late.

"............Hi. If you're hearing this you've either dialed a wrong number or you're one of three people......" Both women gasped at the same time.

"Al, I thought ALL the numbers on here called Chief Bartoni? What is my machine doing on this thing? What possible........."

Detective Stoner knew there was no time for a creative untruth. She studied the hardwood floor for only a second or two.

"Well, Alex? You're out here in the middle of the woods, guarding a witness, no one on earth is supposed to know where you are. Only the Chief is supposed to be on this thing, right? So why is my........Oh my sweet Jesus! You didn't expect to come home from this.....God damn you, Alex Stoner!"

"Shit!"

"Not a bad answer, Alligail, but not a good one either." The blonde bombshell was about to demonstrate how she REALLY got her nickname but one look into those blue crystals, glistening in the firelight, was all it took. She crumbled even before the brow was fully lifted. "Oh, all right. Go on. But I'm warning you Alligail, you had damn well better come back. You hear me, woman?"

Pulling the weapon from her holster, she rechecked it and slid the gun across the floor toward her friend. "I hear you, Rhonnie. I'll be back. Keep this and use it if you need to. You know the signal. Anyone comes through a door or window without it, kill em."

"KILL em?" Green eyes shot wide open.

"Damn right. And do it with the first shot, Rhonnie. No pissing around."

One look told her Alex meant every word. "All right. Just make sure YOU'RE the one coming through the door, please."

"Do my best," winked the tall woman as she slid nearer the kitchen and the rear door. Peering one last time at the worried woman she loved more than life, the words just floated out, unplanned. " I love you Rhonda."

Blonde tresses shook slightly. Jade colored eyes filled with tears. Trembling fingers lifted the gun, sliding the barrel back as the frightened woman braced herself against the wall near the fireplace. This gave her a clear view of every possible entrance into the room. "I love you too," was all she could say as Alex slipped out the back door and into a nightmare five years in the making.

They were out there. Alex knew they were out there. She hoped they would sit tight for a few more hours, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen. Well, at least she could thank God for bad habits: theirs, that is. Not only did these idiots smoke but they apparently had no clue how far the tiny flame from a Bic could be seen on a dark November night.

Crawling on her churning belly, the young detective was glad Anna insisted on putting in the back door all those years ago. Alex could still hear her twin explaining to the carpenter how she wanted the door NOT to look like a door from the outside.

"No, not like that," the tall beauty chastised her friend.

The young man, who also happened to be a gifted carpenter, wiped his hand across his handsome face. 'How,' he wondered to himself in silence, 'do I get myself into these things?'

"Oh, come on, Tommy. How hard can it be?" Anna stamped her eighteen year old foot and slapped her hands firmly onto slim hips. Her good looking friend watched the young woman with clear fascination. "Just don't put a window in the door and don't put a handle on the outside. Well, not one you can identify anyway. How hard is that? YOU could do it, couldn't you, Alex?"

"Oh no you don't," chuckled the woman's mirror image. "I helped build the porch but I'm not cutting the damn back wall out to put in some INVISIBLE door."

Tommy laughed out loud. "It's okay, Alex. Anna's right and I can do it. Only I can't do it before nightfall." Looking at Anna's pose, the carpenter winked at Alexandra. "If you don't mind, I can just stay here and finish it this week. I think I know what Ms. Einstein there has in mind and I need to pick up a few things first. I'll be back up in the morning and it'll be done before the week is out. The handle on the outside will look like a knot in the wood. That okay with you, Annie?"

"Don't call me that!" scowled the flashing blue eyes.

"Bless your heart, Anna." Alex whispered into the earth beneath her.

Rhonda listened to Alexandra crawl out the hidden door and press it shut with her harness boot. She silently thanked her dearly missed best friend for the stroke of genius that insisted on the making of that door. Worried green eyes scanned the room until they fell, briefly, upon the two Ball Brothers. One look at the two of them, crumpled against one another on the old sofa was enough to make the blonde grin. Noting the drool falling from Skuz Ball onto Skum Ball's neck very nearly made her laugh out loud. From the depths of her heart, the blonde bombshell hoped these were among Mickey Lawton's finest.

Taking a deep breath, Rhonda Reynolds checked to be certain the clip was full, for the seventh time.

Digging the toes of her black boots into the cool soil beneath her, Alexandra used her powerful legs to move her along the ground. Never lifting her head until she pulled alongside the wood pile, the detective listened to every sound in the night. She could hear the slight crackling sound as tiny sparks escaped the chimney and met the crisp evening air. Crickets, bullfrogs and the occasional owl provided the inhabitants of the wooded lakeside a symphony to match the Philharmonic she heard as a child. For a heart-melting moment she almost swore she could hear Rhonda's heartbeat, but quickly dismissed this notion with a smile. Closing blue eyes to concentrate her focus, the twice decorated detective listened harder. There it was, just as she knew it would be. Gods but she loved the acoustics of this place.

"Now," she whispered to the woodpile, "let's see if we can tell how many are out there."

Alex leaned into the surrounding darkness until she identified three distinct voices. One of the voices made her blood run cold and boil, simultaneously. It was all she could do not to stand up and 'Go for the Gusto', but she thought of a small blonde whose lips she could still feel against her own and slipped the gun back into place. That was when she heard it: the call of a whippoorwill.

When Alexandra managed to get her heart started again, she made her move. Pushing her long body back onto the very cold ground, the worried detective quickly and quietly made her way back to the cabin. There were no whippoorwills in these parts and that could mean only one thing: Rhonnie.

The chirping of the cell phone interrupted the ninth checking of the clip. Rhonda snapped it open, startled by the tiny sound.

"Good evening, Ma'am." The deeply masculine voice obviously belonged to Chief Bartoni but there was something there that made the hair on the back of Rhonnie's neck stand up.

"Yes?" The frightened beauty remembered just in time what Anna and Alex had taught her about cell phones NEVER being safe phones.

"We're very sorry ma'am but it seems the return tickets we sent you have expired." Chief Bartoni waited to see if the little spitfire he used to give piggy back rides would understand what he was telling her.

Tears filled emerald eyes as the realization filtered into her weary mind. They were dead. The Chief was telling her the officers following Alex were dead. Blinking hard and swallowing harder, she nodded as she spoke barely above a whisper. "I'm very sorry to hear that, sir. We were counting on......those......tickets." Rhonda desperately searched her thoughts for what to say or do next. "Sir? Does the Airline have any alternative suggestions, given the time constraints of our vacation?"

'Good girl,' beamed Bartoni. "Yes Ma'am, we do. We would suggest you consider CALLING another BIRD."

"Oh," mumbled the blonde.

The Chief could almost see the blonde brows lower and the jaw set as Rhonnie inwardly cursed him and his 'code'.

"Oh!" came the repeated reply, only this time the Chief pictured the brows going in the opposite direction.

"Yes, ma'am." He supplied. "There are lots of birds flying and maybe you know of a favorite you can CALL."

Now Rhonnie smiled. "Yes sir, as a matter of fact I do. I'll hang up and call right now."

'That's it, Little Bit, play the part.' Chief Bartoni was as proud as he was worried. "We realize timing is critical when you're on vacation. Good luck and again, we're very sorry." Brown eyes misted over with sincere regret as well as the dread he felt over the calls he would be making next.

"I understand. Thank you." Rhonda hung up the phone, leaned into the stone wall warmed by the fire and prayed she remembered how to do the damn birdcall.

Once back inside the cabin Alex pushed the door closed and rose up on her knees, which were seriously aching from the cold ground they had just spent over an hour hugging. Gritting her teeth against the discomfort, the tall woman quickly walked on the offending joints until she could see Rhonda leaning against the far wall.

Green eyes lifted to meet crystal blue just as the detective shook her head and stood up.

"Alexandra Stoner! Get back down this instant! You TRYING to get yourself killed?" Green fire shot across the room, punctuating every word.

"Damn!" Groaned the dark haired woman as she dropped back onto screaming knees. "You scared hell out of me, Rhonnie. What's with the damn bird call? Very good, by the way. I didn't think you remembered that."

Lifting the now silent cell phone Rhonda almost whimpered. "Seems our tickets have been canceled, Alex."

Blue orbs squinted as Alex slid in next to Rhonda. "Canceled? What tickets?"

"Our return tickets? The ones they sent automatically....remem..." Rhonnie saw understanding pass across the tanned face as Alex closed her eyes against the pain of losing a fellow officer...again.

"Damn. That bastard must have stock in a mortuary." Alex quipped, fighting the tears battling their way toward stinging blue eyes.

"Come here," the small blonde reached out and took her hurting friend into her arms.

"Rhonnie we can't," complained Alex even as she allowed herself to slip into the warm embrace. "They're out there, Rhonnie. I have to do something."

Tightening the hug, Rhonda kissed the top of Alex's head. "Jesus, Al. You're freezing!"

Secretly touched her friend's concern, the detective nonetheless tried to be tough and in control. "Rhonnie, there are men out there waiting to kill us. My being cold is of no concern here."

"Bull fucking shit, Alexandra!"

Alex laughed out loud. "Thought you got class, Little Bit?"

Taking the strong chin in her small hand, Rhonda forced blue eyes to peer into green. "YOU are of great concern to ME, Alexandra Abigail Stoner. You can't protect us if you're a goddamn popsicle and there's not enough class in the universe to keep me calm when you are in danger, so just shut up and do as I say."

"Oh my. You goin' butch on me now?" Alex teased.

"Thought you were the butch one," Rhonda teased right back.

"That mean you won't wear the leather outfit for me?"

Rhonda searched her memory. "What leather outfit? Which layout?"

Dark eyebrows waggled and blue eyes danced. "I'll never tell."

Rhonda giggled quietly, glancing around the room to be certain the three men were still asleep while marveling at their ability to snore through the night from Hell. "Won't it be hard to get me to wear it if you don't tell me where you saw it?"

Passing eight fingertips along the softest skin Alex thought ever existed, she whispered: "My mother's living room. My 21st birthday party. Crimson leather mini skirt with a matching crimson v-necked vest. No blouse underneath. Brown high heeled boots. Golden hair, cascading across the sexiest shoulders God ever made. Emerald pools I knew I could lose myself in for the rest of my life. Lips that made me ache inside and legs I would have killed to...Oh God, Rhon. I'm sorry." Alex pulled her hands away and started to turn out of Rhonda's warm arms.

Quickly grabbing two large hands and pulling them to her lips where she tenderly kissed them, Rhonda pulled Alex against her. "What exactly are you apologizing for my love?"

Trembling hands cupped Rhonda's face as the detective looked directly into green eyes. "God in heaven, Rhonnie. You were only a child and I wanted you. I wanted you more than life."

Both women froze as Stanley spoke but breathed again when he rolled over and it became clear the witness was only talking in his sleep.

"Rhonnie, I..."

"No, Alex. Don't apologize to me again. I spent months picking that outfit. You were away so often with training and work, trying to be the best cop in Denver. I was determined to MAKE you notice me, Al. You say I was just a child but by the time I was seventeen I'd been in love with you for years. You spent every day with all those good looking guys who wanted you and it made me insane, Alex." The words were stopped when the tall brunette captured Rhonda's lips.

Pulling back slightly to look into damp eyes, Alexandra kissed the small nose. "Rhonda Reynolds, those men never stood a chance. I have loved you since Anna first brought you into the back yard to play in the sprinkler. You were five years old and the most adorable thing I'd ever seen. You still are."

"I love you, Alex. Do you know how old I was the first time I told Anna I was going to marry her sister?" Green eyes twinkled in the firelight as Rhonda waited to hear Alex's reply.

"You told her you were going to MARRY me?"

"Yep."

"What did she say?" asked the grinning detective.

Laughing through her own hand, the blonde bombshell mumbled. "Well, Alex, she was only nine years old. She said she wasn't sure her Momma would 'llow you to marry me but she'd ask."

"Good gods."

"Exactly. I don't think the Chief ever quite forgot what he overheard that day." Rhonda snickered.

"The Chief?" asked Alex.

"Yeah. Remember he and his wife were there that day for a cookout or something? He's the one who told Anna she didn't have to ask her Momma unless her little friend still felt that way in another ten or fifteen years. Anna never admitted it, but she was very relieved," Rhonnie recalled.

"Well, I'll be damned." Alexandra shook her dark hair and closed her eyes for a moment.

"What?" asked the blonde snuggling into the tall frame.

"That must have been what he meant, when he warned every partner he ever put me with 'Don't go fallin fer this one. She's taken.'"

"That old sneak. I had no idea he said that to your partners. Those are the exact same words he used on the photographer I introduced him to when he visited me on a set a few years ago."

Both women laughed at the craftiness of the long-time friend and father figure.

Blue eyes looked at the orange streaks making their way across the floor of the cabin. "Sun's coming up. We made it through the night, Rhonnie. Only two more to go and we can put this behind us."

"Alex?" Rhonda looked deeply into eyes she trusted with her very soul. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now, but I'm scared."

Gently brushing her lips across the famous brow, Alex spoke low: "Me too, but I've never had a better reason to survive. Now give me the cell and let me see if I can get us out of this mess."

"Alex," questioned the worried blonde, "what are you going to do?"

"Well, for one thing, I'm going to get us a ride home." The tall woman winked at her bewildered friend.

"Hello," came the noncommittal voice on the other end of the cell phone.

'Good man,' thought the detective. Then Alex remembered she and Rhonda already referred to the man on the other end of the line as 'chief' several times, and shrugged. "Hi Chief. How'd ya like to do me and my buddy here a big favor?" Smiling, the dark haired woman could almost see her stout friend reaching for the Milky Way stash in the bottom, left hand drawer.

Peeling back the wrapper from the fun size candy bar, the chief of detectives grinned into the tiny phone. "Depends. What's the favor and what's in it for me?" Worried into another ten pounds and a gnat's wing from an ulcer or not, he could play this little game too.

Blonde brows lowered, crinkling the creamy flesh of her forehead. Rhonda remained silent, though it was taking more than a little determination on her part to do so. Despite her best efforts, Rhonnie couldn't hold back the sigh when Alex kissed the tip of her fingers and then pressed them tenderly into world famous lips. The detective smiled, winked and drew them closer together.

"Need a ride home, Chief. How's about it? Remember that great spot where you got so high last time? Wanna meet me for some fun and gimme a lift at the same time?"

"Young lady, I most certainly.." the indignation was almost up to three fun bars when Anthony Bartoni caught on. "That is to say, I most certainly hope you aren't having too much fun without me. Job being what it is, I don't get the chance to get high much anymore. How does a couple of hours from now sound?"

"Uh-oh," thought Alex as green eyes looked on with more than curiosity. "Um, actually Chief, I need to score first. So how's day after tomorrow about this time?"

"At sunrise!?" came the unbelieving reply.

"Come on, my man. You haven't lived till you've seen a Colorado sunrise with yer head in the clouds, so to speak. You game or you want me to share with someone else?" Alex wanted to tell him to get his hand out of the damn candy bag but figured he was gonna need all the help he could get to make it through the next forty eight hours. By now her father's most beloved friend had figured out what she planned to do, and if there was anything left in that drawer when she got back she would damn well restock it herself.

"Alex," Rhonnie half whispered, half groaned. "You can't be serious."

"Course I'm serious, sweetheart. We sure as bloody hell can't get back the way I came in, Lawton's men will pick us off before Stanley can hike his pant legs."

"But.." Rhonda was thinking of Stanley too, but Alex motioned for her to wait a minute and the blonde complied.

"So, it's a date then? I bring the goods and you bring the ride?" Alex asked.

"A date, eh? That what's in it for me? I bet I know a cute little green eyed blonde who might have something to say about that." Bartoni wished he could see the face he was certain was turning several shades of red about then. 'Gotcha,' he thought to himself as he switched to Hershey Kisses.

"Um," Alex fumbled and brushed her face with her hand. She glared at the laughing green eyes, but their owner was not the least bit intimidated. "Yeah, well, um. Sunrise day after tomorrow then. See ya."

"You hung up on him?" asked the blonde bombshell, disbelieving.

"We were done. He'll be there. He was enjoying the code a little too much I think. Wouldn't want someone to intercept the call and ...." the detective was stopped by the sensation of cool fingers slipping beneath the edge of her shirt, sliding to the small of her strong back. "Rhonda, we can't. Not now."

"Alex, I only want to touch you, feel you close to me. I'm not going to do anything else. I'm not a total slave to my desires, you know?" The smaller woman punctuated the sentiment with waggling brows and dancing eyes.

"Gods. That makes ONE of us," groaned Alex,

"Not what I heard, Alexandra Stoner. I heard you were controlled as they come." Rhonda hadn't really meant to say it but that WAS what she heard.

Alex wanted to ask the woman she loved just exactly whom she had been talking to, she really did. It just wasn't the time or place for it. Right now they had a couple of backpacks to load.

"Rhonnie, we're gonna have to get the back packs loaded and wake Stanley. We don't have long before Lawton will move on the cabin and we need to get out of here."

Green eyes grew wide with astonishment, then twinkled with a hint of mischief. "You can't be serious. He'll never make it, Alex. He barely made it up the river and that is a friggin' line dance compared to the hike out of here by way of that damn mountain. Geez, Al. That's even tougher than the way I came in and it took me most of the day. You're still pissed about the watch aren't you? Or is it the way he called out my name in his sleep a while ago?"

Crystal blue eyes caught the morning's light, making the rich laughter all the more delightful. " The watch was an honest, albeit stupid mistake. As for calling your name in his sleep....well, he will pay for that, my love. He will pay dearly for that. Now help me load these backpacks and wake Prince Charming."

"Alex?" Rhonda touched the large hand.

"What is it?" Alex turned, after starting toward the packs.

"I'm not Snow White and I NEVER dreamed of Prince Charming."

"No?" Blue eyes were totally captured and stilled.

Rhonda's emerald green eyes peered into the very soul of her friend. "No. As long as I can remember I only dreamed of one person and I'm looking at her right now."

"Rhonnie?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't ever wake me, okay?" Alex leaned in to kiss Rhonda's cheek.

"You are awake Alex. We both are. The truth is, I don't think I've ever been so completely awake." Then she turned her face and caught the kiss on her soft lips instead of a cheek. "Now.." she looked at her tall protector.

"Yes?" questioned Alex.

Nodding in the direction of the sleeping, drooling, snoring Ball Brothers, the blonde asked: "What about them?"

Alexandra Stoner smiled a wicked little smile. "What about 'em?"

Alex could no more remove the grin from her face than she could still the December winds. Just thinking about the two henchmen explaining their predicament to Lawton brought laughter into her baby blues.

"You're not really gonna leave em like that, are you?" managed the small blonde woman between stifled snorts.

Up went the dark brow. "And why not? I think Skum Ball looks quite fetching in his BVD's. At least they're clean. Musta had a good Momma. As for Skuz Ball being barefoot and duct taped to his partner...HEY! I asked him to shut up. I asked him real nice, Rhonnie. Is it my fault he copped an attitude?" Alex was putting on her best 'it's not my fault' face.

The partially clad, half bootless, completely silenced and duct taped hoodlums slumped against the wall, near the fireplace. They weren't really related, despite the detective's tag for them. Still, they might as well be because, sure as you can see the smog from Lookout Mountain, they were about to share a grave. Mickey Lawton had no sense of humor about such as this and did not suffer fools gladly. Nope. The Ball Brothers were as good as dead and they knew it; which was probably why they made no fuss about having clothing and footwear removed and given to the man, ironically, they had been sent to kill.

Stanley P. Wheaton emerged from the bedroom attired in Skum Ball's heavy jeans and heavily lined flannel jacket. The ensemble was nicely completed with the heavy duty hiking boots of Skuz Ball. As per usual, Stanley was less than satisfied.

"The bluejeans are too loose, detective; not to mention filthy. This jacket has blood on it and smells like something I'd wipe off my shoes. Are you sure I absolutely HAVE to wear this stuff?" asked the once again awake and whining witness.

"Yes," was all Alex said as she continued to gather supplies.

"How do the boots fit, Stanley?" inquired Rhonda, hoping they were a fairly good fit. She knew he was going to need them.

The man with the hazel eyes and ill-fitting clothes mentally compared the woman before him to the life size cut-out he had in his bedroom at home. The pressboard came up short. "Actually, believe it or not, they fit perfectly. It seems we wear the same size boot, thank God for small favors."

Rhonda gently shook her head and smiled. "You won't think it's such a small favor this time tomorrow, Stanley."

Alex flashed a look at the blonde bombshell, her eyes darting to the Ball Brothers next to the fireplace and back. Rhonda closed her eyes briefly and nodded her understanding.

"Really?" came the worried expression. Stanley looked first at the detective and then the woman of his fantasies. Predictably, he directed the next query to the blonde. "Why? Where am I going?"

Alex interceded. "Depends how you've lived your life."

"Oh, very funny detective. I was thinking of something a little more immediate."

"What makes you think I wasn't?" came Alex's quick retort.

Rhonda could see this was going to be trouble so she decided to change the direction of the conversation, all the while packing her back pack. "Al, what's this?" Lifting a small plastic bag containing dirt, leaves, a twig and what looked to be a busted timepiece, Rhonnie looked puzzled.

"Shit," groaned Alex. "I nearly forgot about that. Hon..Rhonnie, can you bring that over here to the fire, so I can get a better look?"

"Sure," came the quick response. Rhonda carefully carried the item to her tall friend who reached under the sofa to get a very large, powerful, battery operated magnifier with a series of tiny lights surrounding the glass.

Stanley fidgeted guiltily while Alex spread the offending pieces of metal and glass onto a clipboard. While the servant of the people studied each tiny fragment, Rhonda tossed the witness a length of rope.

"Huh?" questioned Stanley.

"Your pants," motioned Rhonnie. "You said they were too big. Use it like a belt."

"Oh. Good idea," Stanley was honestly hearing of this technique for the first time and thought it quite inventive. Rhonda rolled green eyes and sighed quietly before turning back to her tall friend.

"Damn." Alex had hoped she was wrong and the watch was just a very expensive way to impress an employee. She wasn't. "There it is. Big as life, if you know what to look for. Shit," she wiped a strong hand across her face. "Fucker's still sending."

"Oh my God, Alex! Are you sure?" Rhonda was by the detective's side and looking at she knew not what.

Alex put an arm around the suddenly frightened woman. "Yeah, I'm sure; but it's okay. Not like we didn't already know the prick was out there, right?"

Somehow, crazy as it was, that made Rhonda feel better. "What now?" she asked.

The mischievous grin in the taller woman's dancing eyes made the witness feel at once, relieved and uncomfortable.

"Now," said Alex, "we give Mr. Lawton back his watch."

Rhonnie giggled a little, knowing her friend only too well. Mickey Lawton may not have slept in a bed last night, she thought, but whatever he slept in or on...he got up on the WRONG side of it.

The detective proceeded to add as many logs to the fire as she could safely fit. Then she went to the bedroom and grabbed a couple pillows and an old jacket. Stanley and Rhonda watched in curious and amused silence, respectively.

"There, that ought to about do it." Alex crawled back a little and looked at the pillow person she just made and put next to the window where she, herself, sat only a short time ago.

Wheaton still looked bewildered but Rhonnie understood perfectly. Alex wanted Mickey Lawton to believe he had won, that he had the detective and her witness trapped, helpless in the lonely cabin. It would buy them precious time. Looking over at the man her friend would give her all to protect, not because she liked him but because it was her duty, the former covergirl closed her eyes and prayed. She didn't pray often anymore. In fact, she thought to herself, she prayed more in the last 24 hours than the last five years. Still, getting this whiney, starry-eyed, city boy to the pick up point would take all the help they could get. A little divine intervention would definitely be welcomed here, Rhonnie thought to herself and hope 'someone' was listening.

Continued in Part 3.