General Disclaimer: This fiction is about professional musicians, so yes, there will be sex, drugs and maybe even some rock & roll every once in a while. I really don't think I need to say much more than that, but I will, just in case…

Adult Subject Matter: One of the main characters deals with an addiction, one that causes her to hit rock bottom and do things that may make some people uncomfortable.

Love/Sex Disclaimer: This story features consensual sexual relationships between adult women, some implied m/f relations, and a bit of BDSM. (Not a whole heck of a lot, but just enough to warrant the disclaimer). There's nothing extremely explicit. If this bothers you, is illegal in the state you live or you are under the age of 18, find something else to read. There are loads of general stories out there in the Xenaverse.

Language: Again, these characters are in the music business so, yes, there is some bad language. UberX seems to want to have a foul mouth for some reason. I don't know where it's coming from cause I really don't curse often, except when I'm at work. Actually, I did happen to write some (okay, most) of this there.

Violence: Yep, there be a bit of violence in this fiction. Nothing gory though.

Hurt/Comfort: Got me some of that here too.

Music Business Knowledge: I can't claim I know very much about the business, so if any of this seems terribly out there to you, it probably is. I do know how to play the drums though, so I can tell you about that.

Many thanks to kas, Yolanda, Peace, Rainne, Denise, Kevin and the pups for beta reading this baby for me. Thank you to Peggy for supplying me with the name of the band, and to Missy Good for giving me permission to use Tropical Storm- the book, in a small part of the story.

Any comments can be sent to: sasmith24601@bellsouth.net

Part 8

Chapter 25

The drummer stretched her long legs out across the carpeted floor in the living room. She sat there with her lover curled up next to her, looking at each item that was in the box that Rebecca had accidentally dropped on the floor, hoping that something in it would jolt her memory. Nothing did.

"He was a nice looking man," the reporter commented, as Jordanna looked at one of the old photos of Dre and herself. "Kinda looked like a bigger version of Tupac Shakur, huh?"

"Huh?"

Rebecca pulled the photo out of her lover's hand. "Are you all right, sweetheart?"

Jordanna sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Just a little frustrated, I guess. Why can't I remember anything?"

"Don't give up, keep looking."

Jordanna pulled out the flyer for the club she used to dance at and unfolded it, laying it down on the floor. Rebecca traced the letters on the fancy design of the club's name. "How'd you get this job?"

"Dre. He owned the place." Jordanna turned her body slightly as she started to feel the beginning of pins and needles setting in. "Actually, he was a silent partner. He figured I'd be a big draw for the place."

Rebecca pushed Jordanna's hair back, then nibbled and sucked gently on the dark-haired woman's neck. "I bet he was correct."

The drummer leaned her head to the side, letting out a little moan. "Mmm, yeah, he was." She put her hands on the reporter's cheeks, pulling her face closer to her own until their lips met. Jordanna felt the reporter's tongue running gently along her lip seeking entrance, which she willingly gave in to. Coming up for some air, the drummer chuckled. "I thought you were angry with me?"

"I am."

Jordanna smirked. "Remind me to make you angry more often then."

Rebecca wiggled her eyebrows at the drummer. "Hey, did you lap dance when you worked at that club?"

"Nope, lap dancing wasn't popular then. We had a strict 'look but don't touch' policy there, which was fine with me. Most of the men that used to go there repulsed me big time. It was like an audience full of Bruce's." She leaned forward, kissed her lover again and whispered into her ear. "I'll lap dance for you, though."

"You will?"

The drummer cracked a smile. "Sure. It'll cost, though."

"You want me to pay you for it?"

"Services rendered, baby, I don't come cheap."

Rebecca ran and got her wallet. "How much?"

"Hmm, the going rate is like 40 bucks… add on the celebrity status… lemme see. How about ravishing me all night as payment?"

"It's a dea..."

They both jumped at the sound of the doorbell. "Who in the hell could that be?" the drummer muttered. She pushed herself off of the floor stretching a bit to get the blood circulating again, pulled out her gun and headed to the door.

Rebecca stood up and followed behind her lover. "Jordanna, please be careful… it could be the person who is doing this."

The tall woman switched direction, and quietly made her way to the window. She used the barrel of her gun to move the curtain, hoping to get an undetected glimpse of who was at the door. "We weren't supposed to practice today," the dark woman whispered when she saw who was standing there.

Rebecca could see her lover's tense body relax immediately. "Who is it, Jor?"

The drummer moved away from the window, slipped the gun down the back of her jeans and walked to the door to let the guitarist in. "Linda?" Jordanna greeted her band mate hesitantly. "Did I screw up my dates or something? I thought we were supposed to get together again next week… the whole band."

"Nope, you didn't screw up any dates. Mind if I come in?" The drummer nodded and Linda walked past her. "I'm here to keep my promise, Jordanna."

"Your promise?" The drummer's eyes narrowed. "And, um… what promise was that?"

Linda backhanded Jordanna across the face and then grabbed Rebecca, putting a gun to her head. "This promise… Blue."

What the fuck? Linda? LINDA? No, it can't be. I would remember.

"What's the matter, Blue? Cat got your tongue or something? You don't remember me from back then, do you?"

Jordanna wiped her bloody mouth and then started to lunge toward the two of them, wanting nothing more than to get the gun away from her lover's head.

"Back the fuck away, Jordanna," Linda warned the fast approaching woman. "Or she bites it now."

The drummer stopped where she was. She looked into the frightened eyes of her lover and then she settled her gaze on Linda. "Let her go, Linda, it's me you want," she said, speaking directly to the angry woman holding Rebecca hostage.

"I will not let her go, Jordanna." Linda shifted her feet. "I won't let her go because…" She paused as the painful memories flashed through her brain. "I watched you kill the love of my life and now you are going to watch me kill yours."

The reporter was stunned and confused. "The love of your life was a dirtbag that beat up on prostitutes?" the reporter asked incredulously, finding this hard to believe.

"No, Rebecca." Linda laughed. "I see your lover hasn't told you everything about herself. She didn't tell you how she put a gun to Dre's head and pulled the trigger, did she?" She laughed again and looked the drummer straight in the eyes. "She didn't tell you how warm his blood felt against her skin, exactly like yours is going to feel on mine." She ran the gun down Rebecca's cheek. "Now, do you remember me, Blue?"

Jordanna closed her eyes tight as a quick picture flashed in her mind.

The dark-haired woman cursed when she heard the phone ring. "Whoever you are, you have great fucking timing." She looked up into the dark brown eyes of the woman straddling her stomach, running her hands along the curve of her hips. "I gotta pick it up, Karla, it's probably him." She waited for her lover to climb off of her body, and rolled over onto her side to pick up the phone.

The dark-haired woman picked up the phone and answered with irritation. "This better be an emergency."

"Did I catch you at a bad time, Blue?"

"Your timing could be better, Dre… what's up?"

"You got a drop to do tonight. Bring Karla with you."

The dark-haired woman heard music in the background on the phone. "Where are you? At a bar?"

"No," he laughed. "I'm at my bitches place."

"Where is that music coming from?"

"Lynn plays the guitar, Blue. She's practicing."

"Yeah?" the dark-haired woman snorted. "She plays like shit."

The drummer opened her eyes. "Holy shit, I remember."

"Jordanna?" Rebecca swallowed a couple of times. "That… that can't be true." She turned and looked at her lover. "Please tell me this isn't true."

Jordanna closed her eyes, unable to look Rebecca in the face. "It is true, Rebecca," the drummer confirmed. "I killed him."

"But it was in self defense, right?"

Jordanna stood perfectly still, hoping the guitarist would give her the chance to reach for her gun. "No, I knew exactly what I was doing when I did it," she said solemnly. She could see the look of complete disappointment in Rebecca's eyes. "It was the only way, Rebecca."

Linda lost it. She walked over to the drummer, dragging Rebecca along with her, and put the gun to Jordanna's head. "What the fuck do you mean the only way?"

The drummer spoke calmly, wanting to explain this more for Rebecca's sake than for the guitarist's or her own. "It was the only way I could get out from under him, Linda."

The guitarist slapped the drummer across the face once more, making her bleed again. Blood trickled down from Jordanna's lip. "That's not true. He would have let you go. He told me you told him that you wanted out."

The drummer laughed, tasting the blood in her mouth. "You're delusional, Linda. Did he tell you what his response was to me when I told him that?"

"He told me that he told you that you were free to leave whenever you wanted."

"So I guess he didn't tell you that the only way I would be leaving would be in a body bag, did he?" Jordanna waited for an answer but didn't get one. "No? Didn't think so." She shifted her feet and spoke again. "I knew at that point, Linda, that it was either him or me." She smirked. "I chose him."

"You're lying," the guitarist hissed. "He wouldn't lie to me."

"Oh, no…" Jordanna snorted. "Saint fucking Dre would never, ever lie to the love of his life."

Linda put the gun to the drummer's head again. "Shut the fuck up, Jordanna. I've had enough of your shit over the years. You think you're so fucking hot."

"The truth hurts, doesn't it, Linda?"

"Shut up, you slut."

"If he loved you so much why did he keep coming to me for sex?" Jordanna asked, smiling smugly. "Guess you couldn't keep him satisfied, huh? Did you know that we did a whole shit load of coke and fucked like crazy on the day I killed him?" She winked at the guitarist. "I blew him away in bed, and then I just blew him away."

Linda's face turned red from anger. "Shut up, you bitch. You came on to him."

The drummer laughed wickedly. "I came on to him? I CAME ON TO HIM? Oh, please, Linda, don't forget, I've always preferred to eat pussy, so if you think that I would come on to him, you really are nuttier than I ever thought."

Linda looked at her with disgust. "You're a fucking pig, Jordanna."

"I will take that as a compliment, Linda."

Rebecca closed her eyes, hoping that it would stop the insistent pounding in her head. The Jordanna she saw standing in front of her right now was the same rude, insensitive, selfish woman she first met. She could see that her lover was doing it on purpose, but why?

Jordanna kept up with her taunting. "Did he tell you that he used to like to watch my girlfriend and I when we were in bed together? Sometimes he would join in with us. You know he liked a nice little menage a trois every once in a while. Did he tell you that? Did he do that with you?"

"What, are you talking about that Oriental whore of a girlfriend that you were fucking with, Jordanna?" Linda asked with venom in her voice. "The one that Dre had someone take care of for your enjoyment."

Rebecca was lost in the conversation. Who in the hell was this Oriental woman? She watched Jordanna's face as anger wrote itself across it, and her eyes went from a darker blue to a cool shade of ice.

"Are you telling me that Dre had Karla killed?" Jordanna was ready to lunge at the guitarist and take her out with her own bare hands. "And set it up so that I would see some of it?"

"Oooh, Jordanna, you're so smart… give the girl a prize."

"Fuck you, Linda."

The guitarist laughed wickedly. "You see what you got yourself into by getting involved with this slut, Rebecca?" Linda ran her hand down the reporter's cheek, and then waved the gun around carelessly. "It's a shame cause I like you, I really do. I think we could have been good friends, maybe even something more." She felt the reporter's body shudder. "Just know it's nothing personal with you. Jordanna is completely responsible for your impending death. I told you that she would end up hurting you in the end."

"Damn it, Linda, if you like her then why would you want to hurt her? Just let her go," the drummer pleaded calmly. "Take me in her place."

"Now now, Jordanna, you know that I can't do that. I will kill you, but not until you've watched your little lover here die. I want to enjoy watching every second of your precious pain."

The guitarist was still waving the gun around while she continued talking. "You know, Jordanna, I think I owe you an explanation as to why I slept with you. I have to admit, I was curious cause Dre did mention that you were all that in the sack, and yeah, I gotta admit, he was right, you are one hell of a fuck." She stopped and paused. "Don't you agree, Rebecca?"

Rebecca remained silent.

The guitarist got angry when the reporter didn't answer her question. She yanked on the young woman's hair, pulling her head back. "Answer me, Rebecca… Jordanna is wonderful in bed, isn't she?" she snarled.

The reporter looked at her lover and nodded. "Yes, she is."

"But you see, Rebecca, that's all that she is. She uses people to get her way. She degrades all of the women she sleeps with to make her feel better about herself. She's a controlling, selfish bitch that isn't capable of loving you… or even making love to you."

"That is absolutely not true, Linda. Jordanna and I make love all the time," the reporter answered back without thinking.

Rebecca felt Linda's arms tense up, and got a good look at the guitarist's well-muscled body. "She," the guitarist pointed at Jordanna with her gun. "She wouldn't know the meaning of love if it bit her on the ass."

"But I would," the reporter said quietly.

"Shut up, Rebecca," the guitarist screamed. "This isn't about you. I told you that."

Linda saw Jordanna's hand slowly start to reach behind her back for her gun. Linda pulled Rebecca directly in front of her, and put the gun to her head. "Pull that gun out and you'll be cleaning her brains from your carpeting."

"Just fucking do it then!" Jordanna sneered. Please forgive me, Rebecca, I know this sounds insane, but I think this is the only way to keep you safe.

"I really don't give a shit if you kill her, Linda, she means nothing to me. Just one out of the hundreds of notches on my belt."

Linda narrowed her eyes in confusion. "But you brought her here."

Jordanna shrugged. "Yeah, so? What in the hell does that mean?"

"You've never brought any of your whores home with you."

"There's always a first time for everything, Linda. Jerry said I needed good press. What better way to get that than to make the journalist writing the article scream out your name in passion every night, huh? The nice little article Rebecca wrote on me has been submitted already. She can't change it now, even if she wanted to." She laughed and looked at her lover. "You were so damn easy."

Damn it, Linda, let her go… come after me.

Rebecca's eyes opened wide and Linda stared at her blankly. "I really thought meeting her had changed you, Jordanna. Apparently not."

"Get for real, Linda! I can't believe that you of all people would actually think that I could have feelings for the little bitch, other than sexual ones, of course. Remember who you are dealing with here. I don't have feelings at all."

The reporter was stunned. "This was all a fucking game to you?" Rebecca managed to get out as tears began to stream down her cheeks.

"Oh please, Rebecca, don't start the crying bullshit or act all shocked with me." The drummer put her hands on her hips, trying to think of something that would make her lover realize she didn't mean what she was saying. "I mean, you really didn't expect me to ask you to move in with me or anything like that, did you?" she asked incredulously.

Rebecca was confused. Huh? I don't understand. You did ask me to move in with you. And the nice little article on you hasn't been submitted yet.

But Linda doesn't know that now, does she?

Rebecca cocked her head to the side. Is this in your plan, Jordanna? Her somber eyes brightened when she realized that it was part of the plan. "You really think I would want to move in with someone as sleazy and as low class as you, Jordanna?"

Jordanna grinned wickedly, realizing that her lover had caught on to her plan. Good, Rebecca… go back at me, let's make her think she has no leverage. "As low class as me?" Jordanna let out a wild laugh. "She's all yours now, Linda." She paused and winked at the guitarist. "Take my advice, don't pass this one up- her pussy is sweet… real sweet." She shrugged. "She's just not my type."

"You fucking ungrateful slut!" Linda elbowed Rebecca in the jaw and nailed her in the back of the head with the butt of the gun, letting her drop to the floor. She pointed her gun at the drummer, who managed to pull hers out when Linda hit Rebecca.

Jordanna started to squeeze the trigger on the gun. "Don't make me kill you, Linda."

"Kill me?" The insane woman laughed at Jordanna. "You killed me the day you killed my fiancé and my child! You can't kill me no more, Jordanna."

Her Fiancé? Her child? The drummer's eyes narrowed. "What in the hell are you talking about?"

"Dre and I were engaged, Jordanna. We were expecting a child. Right after you killed him I lost my baby! It's your fucking fault- you murdering bitch!"

The drummer stood there in shock, staring straight ahead, unable to move. Unshed tears clouded her vision. Oh God, this nightmare just gets worse by the minute. I am just a complete fuck up all around.

"I deserve to die." Jordanna didn't realize she had said the words out loud.

"And you will," the guitarist promised, pulling the trigger. "Right now."

Linda's words and three gunshots were the last things Jordanna heard before her world went black.

Rebecca wondered why traumatic experiences in life always seemed to play out in slow motion. She knew she was being led through crowds of media and into the police station. Her hands were behind her back, in handcuffs. She closed her eyes as cameras flashed in her face.

"Is it true that you and Jordanna Fox were lovers, Ms. Hurley?"

"Were you living with Jordanna?"

Go away. Just go the fuck away.

"Did you do it?"

"Did you kill them, Rebecca?"

No more questions. Leave me alone.

Next thing she knew she was sitting in an uncomfortable yellow chair in a mostly empty interrogation room, except for a small desk and two more chairs- not remembering how she got there in the first place.

She looked at the officer sitting directly across from her. "Am I under arrest?"

"You're innocent until proven guilty, ma'am. Tell us what happened at the house."

She closed her eyes. All she saw was Jordanna's body lying on the floor, in a pool of blood. "Which one?"

The officer narrowed his eyes. "Which one what?"

"Who died, damn it?"

"We can't say until her family is notified."

Rebecca slammed her hand down on the desk. "I am her family, you stupid fu…"

"Ma'am, I suggest you calm yourself down and tell us what happened."

"I want to call my lawyer."

A phone was pushed in front of her. Two hours later, with her lawyer by her side, she recalled the events of the shooting and its aftermath, leaving out any mention of Jordanna's involvement with Dre.

Rebecca remembered that she was standing over the two lifeless bodies, the gun still in her hand when the police and the paramedics arrived on the scene. The shocked woman nearly had a heart attack when they burst through the front door, weapons drawn, apprehending the gun she was holding on to. She was handcuffed and thrown in the back of a police patrol car.

From her spot in the car, she watched one body quickly being wheeled out on a gurney and loaded into a waiting ambulance. The second body came out of the house in a black bag.

Two officers got in the front of the car, and pulled away from the house. Rebecca turned her body, staring at the oceanfront home with tears in her eyes, until it was out of sight.

She didn't expect it to end like this.

Chapter 26

Blue eyes fluttered open. They looked around at the bright, unfamiliar room in confusion, finally coming to focus on the woman sitting in the chair next to the bed she was in.

"Hey there, gorgeous," the exhausted reporter whispered, squeezing the hand that she had been holding most of the night, once she was released from police custody.

Jordanna saw the large purple bruise on Rebecca's jaw and reached up to touch her lover's face. "You're hurt," she said in a whisper, her voice groggy from the anesthesia that she was given. Rebecca ran her hand through the drummer's disheveled hair. "Shhh, love, save your strength. I'm fine… let me go tell the doctor that you're awake."

The small woman tried to get up from her chair and was held back by the surprisingly strong hand she was holding. She turned and looked at Jordanna. "It's okay… I'll be right back."

"Wait." Jordanna looked into her eyes. "Linda?"

Rebecca turned and faced the hospital room door, and took a few minutes to gather her composure to speak. "She's dead," she answered, trying very hard to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.

"Wha…" The drummer started to speak but was interrupted by a nurse that had just entered the room. "Oh, Ms. Fox, you're awake. Let me go get the doctor."

Jordanna watched the nurse leave the room and pulled the reporter closer to her. "Please look at me, Rebecca." The blonde woman turned and faced her lover. "What happened?"

Rebecca swallowed a few times, as she thought of the incident that she knew would be etched forever in her brain. "I saw her going after you when I regained consciousness and I remembered where you put your other gun."

Jordanna's eyes widened. "You shot her?"

"Yes, I killed her," the shaking reporter admitted right as the doctor rushed into the room. She watched him examine her lover's eyes with a penlight and then listen to her heart with a stethoscope. "How are you feeling, Ms. Fox?" he asked.

"I've had better days, that's for sure."

"One of the bullets hit a main artery. You lost a lot of blood so we had to do a transfusion. We also had to remove your spleen and patch up your shoulder. Other than that," he smiled and continued, "You're fine. You'll be our guest here for a few days."

The dark woman rolled her eyes. "Great… my dream vacation."

The doctor wrote a few things on her chart and spoke, never looking up from the paper that he was writing on. "The cuisine here gets rave reviews, Ms. Fox."

"Jordanna, please."

"Okay, Jordanna." He turned and looked at Rebecca, standing patiently in the corner of the room. "You should tell your friend here to go home and get some sleep, she's been here with you the whole time."

Jordanna's eyes opened wide. "The whole time? How long have I been out?"

Rebecca walked over and sat back down in the chair next to the bed. She took her lover's hand in her own and rubbed it, not caring what the doctor would think. "Since yesterday, love."

Blue eyes blinked. "Damn."

The doctor turned to leave the room. "Um… I'll leave you ladies alone." He coughed and cleared his throat. "Oh… the hospital board has set up a press conference and would like for me to discuss your condition, Jordanna. There's been a circus of reporters outside our front door since you arrived here."

"I can imagine," she said with a snort. "Do what you have to do, Doctor. You can tell them what's wrong with me. You can tell them that I'm a spleenless woman." She smirked a bit. "I've certainly been called worse."

He smiled at her, and decided that he liked the dark-haired drummer despite the things he read in the paper and what his co-workers told him about her. "I'll do just that and I'll be back to check on you later. Get some rest, both of you."

"Thanks, Doctor," both women said in unison.

Jordanna took Rebecca's hand. "Baby, were you questioned by the police yet?"

Rebecca sighed. "Yes, I spent half of the afternoon there yesterday… sick with worry because I didn't know if you were dead or alive."

"They aren't pressing charges or anything, are they?"

Rebecca started shaking her crossed leg nervously. "I don't think I would be sitting here if they were, Jordanna. They said it was pretty much a self-defense kind of scenario. That I acted out in defense of my lover against an irrational former lover."

"Irrational? Oh, that's a good one."

Rebecca held up a copy of that day's edition of the New York Daily News. The front page cover headline read LOVER'S QUARREL GONE BAD and had a recent shot of Jordanna and Linda under the caption, and a tiny picture of the band on the side. Jordanna scanned it over. "I hate that picture. Why'd they have to use that one?" She frowned. "Newsday?"

Rebecca held up the local Long Island newspaper. "Bill and Hillary are top news," she said with a little smirk. "You are on Page 13."

Jordanna shook her head. "Fine, they always brag about the band being Long Island's own and I get Page 13 news? Let's see if I do an interview the next time they call. What did that other rag say?"

"Which rag?"

"The Post, Rebecca."

"Oh, that rag." She pulled out the other newspaper and held it up for her lover to see. Jordanna started to laugh immediately, grabbing onto her stomach because it hurt from the movement. "Shit, that hurts… leave it to the Post to have a headline reading LETHAL LESBIAN LUST." She looked the cover over. "And to think I was worried about the band's reputation if people found out I did a few porn flicks when I was younger."

"You know, Jordanna, there is another photo in here," Rebecca commented dryly, her face sad.

Jordanna cocked a brow as concern washed through her after seeing Rebecca's sad face. "Of what? Can I see?" Rebecca turned the page and there was her 1989 graduation photo, courtesy of Lancaster High School, apparently the only one that the press could get their hands on of the young reporter. The dark-haired woman read the caption under the photo, naming Rebecca as her current lover.

Jordanna lifted Rebecca's chin with her finger and looked in her eyes. "Are you okay with that? I know David knows about us, but what if it's in the local Lancaster paper and your family sees it?"

"I already called them and told them." She swallowed a few times. "I wanted them to hear it from me, not read it in a paper somewhere."

"And?"

"Let's just say that they aren't very happy, Jordanna." She looked away from her lover and spoke. "My father… he got very quiet. I know when he does that it either means he's pissed, upset, or disappointed."

"Probably a combination of all three on this one, Rebecca. I honestly can't blame him."

"My Mom couldn't even speak to me, she was so upset." She turned and faced Jordanna again. "And my brother, Ryan, read me the riot act, telling me I don't know what I'm doing, that you must have seduced me and now I'm brainwashed."

"What, did they like pass the phone around to each other?"

Rebecca laughed a bit. "Yes. I had to talk to each one of them."

"Shit, that must have been hard. What did your sister say?"

"Lisa? I think she was in shock. She just said that she didn't know that I preferred women."

Jordanna laughed. "So what did you say? That you didn't know either?"

"Pretty much."

The drummer ran her hand through Rebecca's hair. "I didn't think they would be very happy hearing about our relationship. Not only for the fact that I'm the same sex as you, but also my reputation, Rebecca. You look up any magazine article or website on me or the band and it's almost a given my promiscuity is mentioned." She closed her eyes. "Let's face it, I'm a whore."

"No… you're a woman that has an addiction. There's a difference." Rebecca looked into Jordanna's blue eyes and cracked a small smile for her. "And you're getting help for it."

"You always see the good in everything, Rebecca."

The reporter blinked twice, leaned forward and kissed her lover on the cheek. "You're a good person, Jordanna… it was easy for me to see."

Jordanna tried to sit up, but she felt pain and lay back down. Rebecca moved closer to the drummer, noticing her face was really pale. "I hope you knew I didn't mean what I said to Linda about you."

"I didn't at first." Rebecca remembered the sting of the words that came out of Jordanna's mouth. "When I thought you were serious I was wishing that Linda would just shoot me right there so the pain would go away." She reached out and caressed her lover's cheek. "But then when you mentioned moving in with you… well, then something just clicked, and I knew it was part of the plan."

"It really hurt me to say those things, Rebecca," the dark-haired woman admitted, pain evident on her face. "I knew I had to get her focus off of you and onto me. I could see she was really losing it so that's when I decided to belt her with my arrogant side." She paused a minute in thought. "I think that's what she always hated most about me, my obvious lack of caring for other people's feelings and the cocky self-assured way I speak sometimes… and my dirty mouth."

The reporter laughed. "Well, you are a colorful speaker. Some of the things you come out with sometimes… I don't know, Jordanna. I would think you were a truck driver or something."

"Colorful, huh?"

"Yeah. Colorful." Rebecca leaned in close and whispered in her lover's ear. "I've never been told I have a sweet pussy before."

Jordanna snorted softly. "Did I really say that?"

The reporter blushed. "Yes."

God, I love my sweets. "Well, it's true so I meant that when I said it. Rebecca?"

"Mmm?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Thank you for saving my life. I'm sorry you had to do something that you thought you could never do because of me."

Rebecca leaned down and kissed the drummer on her forehead. "I couldn't just stand by and do nothing while she shot you. Besides, I'm kinda getting kinda used to having you around, Jor. And if that moving in offer still stands…"

"What about your parents?"

"If they don't like it, tough… it's my life, Jor, and I if want to live it with you, then that's my business."

"I just don't want to cause you problems, baby." Jordanna realized what she said and then laughed. "Like I haven't caused you enough already, you know?"

Rebecca put her fingers over the drummer's lips. "Shhh, not another word about it. It's what I want. Although I do have one problem with this, Jordanna." Rebecca thought about her lover's housekeeper. "Rosa."

Jordanna narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. "Yeah, what's the deal between you and her? I noticed some tension that day I came back from my run but I forgot to ask you about it cause we sorta got a little distracted by this whole Linda thing."

"The deal is… well, I don't think she likes me very much," Rebecca answered, and then cleared her throat.

"Why?"

"You."

"Huh?" Jordanna pointed to herself. "Me?"

"I really think that she is jealous of our relationship, love."

The drummer questioned her with her eyes, and Rebecca knew exactly what she was asking without a word being said. "Tch…" Rebecca snorted and shook her head. "Oh please Jordanna… she's pretty much made it obvious to me that you've sampled more than her cooking."

The reporter watched Jordanna's lip twitch slightly as she fought to suppress a grin. Jordanna didn't say a word but her twinkling blue eyes said all that the reporter needed to know. "I can't say I like her, love, but she is an attractive woman… I mean I'm sure you must have at least once…"

"Rebecca…"

"What? I'm just curious, that's all. I really want to know why she doesn't like me. I'm a pretty likeable person, I think," the reporter said with a laugh. "C'mon, Jordanna, surely a little afternoon delight with the maid is not a uncommon occurrence these days."

Afternoon delight? Jordanna couldn't help but laugh. "You just don't give up, do you?"

"No, so start talking, lover."

"I think you know my answer."

Rebecca played innocent. "I didn't know that I asked a question."

"Jesus, Rebecca… you can drive someone nuts."

The reporter batted her green eyes at her. "I want to hear you say it."

"Yes, baby," she said with a groan. "If you must insist on knowing, I have sampled more than Rosa's cooking as you put it." She sighed. "But why would she be jealous, though? We certainly weren't ever going steady, that's for sure."

"Jor," Rebecca whispered and caressed the dark-haired woman's cheek. Jordanna really had no clue, did she? "Usually when a person goes to bed with someone there are some sort of feelings involved. She has feelings for you."

"She knows what I'm about, Rebecca, and that I don't get attached to anyone as a rule. I mean we even discussed it after the first time it happened."

Rebecca felt her stomach start to knot. "The first time? So this has been going on for a while, huh?"

"It's been going on for a few years now." Jordanna ran her hands though her hair nervously. "We stopped for a while when her husband found out. He wanted to kill me." She shrugged her shoulders. "Then, last year, at her insistence, we started sleeping together again."

"Holy shit." Rebecca's bruised jaw dropped. "She's married?"

"Yeah, she is. I would say around 80% of the women I've been with are straight, married women looking for something new to spice up their lives."

"And you just happen to be that spice?"

"I guess I am," she said with a grin. "Just call me Bad Girl Spice."

The reporter laughed. "Are you always so brutally honest, Jor… I mean Bad Girl Spice?"

The drummer laughed. "I try to be." She closed her eyes. "I'll fire her when I get out of here, okay?"

"No, you don't have to do that. Maybe we can sit down and talk to her first, love." She ran her hand down Jordanna's cheek. "I'm hoping that if you talk to her, she'll back off of me."

"So you still want to move in with me?"

"More than anything."

Jordanna's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Then of course the offer still stands, as soon as you bust me out of this joint, we'll take care of it."

"You will do no such thing. I will take care of it. You get to take it easy for a while."

"But Mom…" Jordanna teased.

"No buts, pretty lady," Rebecca argued, watching her lover fight to keep her eyes open. "You get some rest, love… I'll be back later, okay?"

"'Kay… I love you, Rebecca."

"I love you too, Jor, I love you too."

Rebecca started to walk out of the room. She heard the dark-haired woman call her from behind. "Um, Rebecca?"

"Yeah, love?"

"What exactly does the spleen do?" The drummer blinked twice and stifled a laugh. "It just occurred to me that I don't have one anymore." She shrugged and looked down at her stomach. "I don't feel like I'm missing anything."

The reporter shook her head. "Mmm, I really don't know what it does, to be honest. I failed all those science classes in school." Rebecca admitted. "I was going to look it up on the net when I got home."

"I'm hoping it's one of those useless body parts that you really don't need but have anyway, you know, like your wisdom teeth?" She smiled and wiggled her eyebrows. "And I hope it has nothing to do with anything that would alter my sexual performance in any way."

"Argh… it's always got to be about sex with you, doesn't it?" Rebecca walked back across the room and stood next to her lover. "I'm glad you are feeling better, love," she said, and kissed the dark-haired woman on the lips. "I'll see you later."

Chapter 27

Rebecca walked next to the wheelchair as the nurse led Jordanna out of the back exit of the hospital, hoping to avoid any of the press that was camped out at the hospital since her arrival. "I told you, I can walk on my own," the dark-haired woman bitched.

"Hospital rules, Ms. Fox."

"I hate rules."

The nurse laughed. "We learned that over the past few excruciating days you've spent with us."

Rebecca snorted and walked ahead of them. "I'm gonna go pull the car up."

"Was I that bad?" Jordanna asked the nurse.

The nurse pushed the wheelchair through the back door of the building and out into the fresh air. "Let's just say Ms. Fox, that I'm glad she's the one taking you home and not me."

The drummer laughed. "Thanks a lot for your help. You all were great."

"Good luck, Ms. Fox, and tell that sweet friend of yours same thing… she's gonna need it."

The red car pulled up in front of them. Rebecca jumped out and ran to the passenger side and opened the door. "Maybe I should've brought the Pathfinder?"

"Nah, this is fine." Jordanna stood up with the help of both the nurse and her lover and eased herself into the car. "Actually, you shoulda brought the Harley," she said, looking straight at the nurse.

The nurse shook her head at Jordanna. "You better behave girl… we don't want to see you back in here any time soon. Don't think my old ticker could take it."

Jordanna sat quietly in the passenger seat with her eyes closed and her head back as Rebecca drove home. "How are you feeling, love?"

"I'm fine… just glad to be out of that place." The drummer shifted slightly in her seat to make herself more comfortable. "I don't feel like going home right away, how about we stop at the park for a while first?"

"I don't think that's a good idea, Jordanna. You just got out of the hospital."

"We have a lot to talk about, Rebecca. Dre, Linda, our future…"

They pulled up to a light and Rebecca turned to look at her lover. She was still pale and her hair was slightly stringy from the lack of a shower when she was in the hospital. She ran her hand across Jordanna's cheek. "We can do that at home, sweetheart."

"Please, baby, I need to get some fresh air after being cooped up in that place all those days. We can just sit on the bench by the water. I promise I'll tell you if I start to feel lousy and then we'll go, okay?"

"You know I can't say no to you, don't you?" Rebecca shook her head and cursed herself for being such a wuss. "Pass your house and stay to the right of the fork, right?"

Jordanna smiled. "Yeah."

The reporter parked the car as close to the park bench as she possibly could and grabbed the dark-haired woman's arm as she started to get out of the car. "Wait, Jor… let me help you get out." Jordanna glared at her. "Humor me, please."

Jordanna gave in a waited for Rebecca to come around to her side of the car to help her. Once she was out, the reporter linked her arm through Jordanna's as they began the slow stroll down to the bench by the water. They sat and watched as an older couple approached them and sat down on the bench with them to feed the birds.

Rebecca took Jordanna's hand in hers and they smiled at each other, knowing that they both were probably thinking the same thing, about growing old together. "I almost lost you," the reporter said, and squeezed her lover's hand tighter.

Jordanna turned to look into green eyes and saw tears. "No you didn't, baby." She cupped Rebecca's cheek and wiped the tears away with her thumb. "It's gonna take more than a psycho bitch and a couple of gunshot wounds to separate us." Rebecca laughed a little and cracked a small smile. "That's my girl… there's the smile that brightens my life," the drummer whispered to her.

"I'm sorry… I just lost it there for a minute," the reporter admitted. "I don't know what's come over me."

Jordanna pulled Rebecca as close to her as she could without feeling much pain in her stomach, kissing her lightly on the forehead, running her hands through the young woman's hair. "A traumatic experience can do that, Rebecca. It's over now. The threat is gone. We're both alive and now we can plan our future."

Rebecca sighed contently. "Our future… God, that sounds wonderful." She played with the dark-haired woman's messy bangs.

"It does, doesn't it?" Jordanna melted into her lover's touch.

Rebecca's eyes followed a kite flying high above the sand. "Jor, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course you can, baby, no more secrets between us anymore, okay?"

"Do you still do coke?"

Jordanna rubbed her forehead and sighed. "Occasionally."

"Oh." Rebecca frowned. She had to admit she was disappointed by that admission.

"I don't do it often, Rebecca. I'll snort a line or two at some of the industry parties I'm forced to go to, mostly so I can make it through the night. I don't go out and buy it for myself."

"I saw Linda and Rachel doing some on the plane. I was happy when I didn't see you doing it."

Jordanna looked down at the ground, and ran her hands through her semi-greasy hair. "I used to do a lot of it when I worked for Dre. I did that and uppers to keep myself going since I didn't get to sleep that often back then with all of the shit I was involved in."

"You're a musician, I should have expected it."

"I haven't done it in over a year if it makes you feel better," Jordanna admitted, and then ran her hand along the reporter's cheek. "And I won't ever do it again."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Rebecca held out her pinky. "Pinky swear?"

Jordanna laughed at the gesture, one she hadn't seen since her school years. She smiled and then wrapped her pinky finger around her lover's extended one. "Pinky swear." She sealed the promise with a quick kiss, which got two looks of disapproval from the couple sitting next to them on the bench. She guessed the couple must have thought the first kiss that they shared earlier was just a friendly kiss between two friends, and not between lovers.

"Okay, now that I got that off of my mind, maybe you better tell me what you wanted to tell me… about Dre."

"I wanted to explain what…"

The reporter cut Jordanna off before she could say another word. "Jor, you don't have to explain anything to me. You did what you had to do to survive."

Jordanna ran her hand through Rebecca's hair. "But I do have to explain… for my own sake, okay?" She gave the reporter a half smile. "I don't want you thinking I'm some cold blooded murderer or something."

"I would never think that, you know that."

"Please, just hear me out." Jordanna waited as the disgusted older couple sitting on the bench with them got up, and started on their slow trek back to the parking lot. She waited for them to be far enough from them before she started to tell Rebecca the details behind Dre's death.

What had started out to be a simple exchange turned into the perfect opportunity for Jordanna to cut her ties with Dre, who, despite what he may have told Linda, had absolutely no plans of letting the dark-haired woman leave his small operation, or at least leave it alive.

"Dre set up an exchange with this small time dealer from the Bronx named Cruz. Around $500,000 for some blow. Dre usually went into these exchanges with two of his goons at his side, and I would follow behind, unnoticed of course, to make sure nothing unexpected would happen.

"Blow?"

"Cocaine."

"Sorry, I'm not up on street terms of drugs, love."

The drummer placed a quick kiss on her lover's cheek. The young woman's innocence was one of things Jordanna was most attracted to. "Keep it that way, baby."

"So, what went wrong on this exchange?"

Jordanna shook her head. "I don't really know. When I got to the scene Dre's two goons were dead, as were Cruz' goons. When I arrived Cruz had Dre on the ground and was just about ready to take him out when I stopped him."

"How did you stop him?"

"I took him out," she said hesitantly and then continued on with the story. "Dre was still on the ground, unarmed. He looked at me with such a look of relief after I killed Cruz." She stopped talking and remained quiet for a few minutes. "That was when I realized I had the perfect opportunity to cut my ties with him."

Rebecca took Jordanna's slightly trembling hand into her own. "That's when you…"

"Killed him, yes." Jordanna looked at her lover with self-loathing in her eyes. "I put the gun to his head, told him I was sorry but he gave me no choice and I pulled the trigger."

Rebecca had figured that's what her lover had done, but for some reason it still shocked her to hear her say it. "Um… what about the coke and the money?"

Jordanna shook her head. "For a fleeting moment I thought about taking it, but I really didn't need it. At that point I realized if I left it there… then it would look like they all killed each other, you know?"

"But, the bullets would have been different, Jordanna, from your gun."

"No." She squeezed her lover's hand tight. "I picked up one of the guns on the ground by Dre's goons and shot Cruz with it from where they were laying, and then I used his on Dre."

"What about fingerprints?"

"I always wore gloves."

Rebecca coughed. "So you were never questioned by the police."

"Nope, never. My real name never got out on the street." She laughed nervously. "The only person that knew at that point I guess, was Linda. She must have been at the warehouse, hiding behind something. When I left the place I assumed I was the only one there." Jordanna blinked tears out of her eyes.

"I heard what she said to you, Jor."

"About the baby?"

Rebecca wiped the tears away with the back of her fingers. "Yeah."

"No wonder she hated me."

"It wasn't your fault."

"I never knew he was engaged, or about to become a father." She shook her head. "I knew he had a couple kids with some other women. At one point I actually thought I was pregnant- that's when I found out that I can't have children."

"You can't have…" Rebecca started to say but Jordanna put her finger over her lips.

"No, I can't," the dark-haired woman said quietly, her eyes sad. She put her hands on her lover's arms. "Rebecca, you now know everything there is to know about me, okay? You know it all."

"Wow." A figure standing behind a tree caught Rebecca's eye. "Someone's watching us."

"I know, I saw him before," the drummer answered. "He has a camera so pose pretty."

"Ugh… Jesus Christ… it's getting so that I hate the people in my own profession." Rebecca shook her head in disgust. "I guess that's why I never got into news reporting or tabloid type writing."

"You're more of a journalist than a reporter, Rebecca." Jordanna laughed and bumped heads with her lover. "Wanna give him a good shot?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows at Rebecca.

Rebecca adjusted her position, pulled the drummer into her arms and kissed Jordanna with passion, who responded in kind. "Is that what you had in mind, love?" Rebecca asked when they broke off the kiss.

"Um, yeah…" the drummer said, taking the time to catch her breath again. "That was pretty much it." She sighed. "Why don't we um, do it again, just in case he missed his first photo opportunity."

"Wonderful idea," the reporter agreed and leaned forward once again until she felt the soft lips of her lovers against her own. They kissed until they heard footsteps coming closer to them on the boardwalk, and then broke apart. Rebecca smiled at her lover and laughed. "Don't want to scandalize the whole neighborhood."

"Nope, wouldn't want to do that, now would we?" the drummer said, flashing a lopsided grin. "Actually, they really could use a good shake-up around here. Something to get their snooty little asses in an uproar."

Rebecca looked out at the ocean, admiring a large blue colored ship chugging along in the distance. "Jordanna?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"Karla… was she Oriental?"

"Mmm hmm." The drummer thought back to one of the first conversations that she had ever had with the woman that took her in as a teen. "She was born in China. Karla was her American name."

"I don't know why, when you told me about her I was picturing her with stringy blonde hair and body odor."

The drummer laughed. "Geez, Rebecca, do you really think that I would sleep with someone like that?"

Rebecca shook her head. "No, I guess not… I try… well, I try to forget that you have ever slept with anyone but me… kinda stupid, huh?"

"No, it's not stupid."

"Yes it is." Rebecca pushed a few stray stands of windblown hair behind her ears. "So, um, what did Karla actually look like?"

"She had long, dark hair that was as soft as silk and big brown eyes." The drummer ran her hand down Rebecca's cheek. "But I have always preferred blondes." She smiled at her lover. "Blondes with expressive green eyes." She kissed each eyelid. "And the name Rebecca, I've always loved the name Rebecca."

"You're so full of shit, Jordanna." Rebecca laughed, put her hands around her lover's neck and pulled her in for a kiss. "But I love you anyway."

"So, which rag do you think these photos are going to show up in?"

The reporter shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sure we'll find out when we are on line at a store, no doubt. What do you think the headline will read?"

"Jordanna Fox has female lover," the drummer teased. "Big news flash, like I keep it a secret or something, you know?" She eased herself off of the bench and stood up. "I have to laugh when I read some of these articles. I've have never hidden my sexuality, to the public or otherwise. I just don't understand it."

"You know," Rebecca stood up and linked her arm through her lover's again for the walk back to the car. "I didn't know you were gay when I got assigned to this article. I tried to push it off on one of my co-workers. This guy has the hots for you big time. John informed me then that you wouldn't particularly be interested in Jake in that way."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope," Rebecca admitted as they walked down the sidewalk to the car. "I knew who you were but basically all I knew about you was that you were an excellent drummer." She paused and chuckled. "I also heard you were, um, trouble and basically a reporter's worst nightmare… but I didn't know you preferred women."

Jordanna smirked at the comment. "And to think that you want to move in with trouble."

Rebecca opened the passenger side door and waited for her lover to climb in and get settled. "I like trouble," she said with a wink. "More than I ever really knew."

THE END. (For now, at least)