Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Plum Characters, they are the envision of Janet Evanovich, I have just borrowed them to come out and play for a spell. Any other characters that have popped up from my plot are of my own making and those I do own. I am not getting any royalties from any of this, and these characters shall be returned when finished. End Disclaimer
Chapter 1
It had been a little over a year now, a long time since Alex sat down and really looked back at that day in China when she had taken the lives of two people. She was sitting on the roof of the house. The shingles were making pot marks all over her rear and upper back legs through the shorts she had on. At times a lot of things never felt right. This was one of those times. Joe was in the backyard barbequing, taking long pulls off the longneck he had in his hands as he skillfully flipped the meat with the other. Any other time Alex would have been down there right beside him, but with all the people over, she couldn't find the muster to even go down and join the throng.
The backyard get togethers had become sort of a common place within the last six months. Typically it was with them going over to another cops house. It wasn't long before Joe decided to start throwing a little of these things as well. Alex took a drink of the coke as she scanned the people in the back yard. The kids running around screaming and being chased by Bob belonged to Gazzara. She watched as Shirley started waving her hands around, Alex could only imagine what she was saying considering the distant look Eddie had on his face. Alex smirked and moved along to the next set of people, a few she hadn't seen before, others she could pick out with no problems, like Big Dog, and Costanza, and Antoine. Antoine had looked up and toasted his longneck to her, she gave his toast back with her own. She never felt like she truly belonged. Not in this world, because cops were of a different breed. They hung together, they formed a fraternity of brotherhood that never unraveled. You were either born into it or you became one of them. She had been born into it, but having lived so long away from her father, it was hard to get mixed in with this group when she was still rough around the edges.
Her eyes finally rested on the red head. She had seen her at several of these things. Alex knew her father knew the woman, she had even caught Joe staring on more than one occasion for longer than a sparse glance. Her name was Brogan, Detective Brogan Wexford. Alex could never understand why anyone would name a child that, because it defied all logic. She never said anything to anyone, because her first name was Medea, it wasn't any better. She swallowed the last of the coke and sat the can down beside her. The loose shingling gave way and the light tin can started slipping down. Alex moved to catch the can but missed it and was now flat on her stomach as she watched it roll off the edge and fall down, down, down. Alex closed her eyes when she heard the scream.
It was only an empty coke can, but the scream was from Grandma Angie. Alex opened her eyes and looked down at the Italian woman who had become the bane of Alex's existence.
"What do you think you're doing?" Angie Morelli yelled up at her.
"I'm sorry, Grandma Angie, it was an accident." Alex told her.
"Accident? Crawling around on a roof and rolling coke cans down on peoples heads is no accident. How is that to behave?" Angie Morelli continued her tirade.
"Alex get down." Joe said.
"Yes sir." Alex said.
Alex could still hear Angie Morelli going on about teenagers and the way young Italian women should behave as she sat back up and turned. Angie Morelli's voice was like a needle grating on a hack saw to Alex's ears. Alex stood up and looked back out over the yard as she brushed the loose shingle dust off and started making her way back to the bathroom window.
"Joseph, you aren't getting through to her on how a Morelli woman is supposed to be. I've told you what you should do, no respect this one has for herself or the Morelli name." Angie Morelli droned on.
"Mother! Not now." Joe told her.
Alex stuck her feet back through the window and then slid down into the shower. Alex could still hear the music, it wasn't overly loud, but it drowned out the noise outside. The roof was the only place where she could find some peace. She opened the beveled shower door and wished she had stayed outside on the roof.
Melinda Angela Thacker, who carried Grandma Angie's middle name and her first cousin, was grabbing the sink for all she was worth as Brady Dixon pounded his manhood into her. Alex stood there, it was like seeing one of those car wrecks that slowed rush hour traffic because a car slammed into the concrete dividers leaving a streak of mangled steel and devastation behind. When everything was over and all picked up what was left was a little bit of paint on the concrete, insignificant, just like all the others before it. It didn't matter, because it wouldn't be remembered.
This was the person that Grandma Angie said was the epitome of what a Morelli woman should act like. Alex had enough, Melinda was a little two-faced whore who got her into trouble every time when it came to Grandma Angie or Grandma Bella. She was tired of not being good enough, tired of not measuring up with what her Grandma Angie thought was right. According to Grandma Angie, her Joseph could do no wrong, and what hurt Alex the most was that she was more like Joe but Grandma Angie couldn't see it.
"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" Alex growled at the pair of them.
"Alex!" Melinda was scrambling at the summer dress trying to get it back on. Brady looked at her, he had lost all motion and was still buried full hilt inside her cousin.
"You make me sick." Alex stepped out of the shower and walked around them making sure she didn't touch either one of them.
"Alex, you can't say anything, you have to promise me." Melinda demanded of her.
"I don't have to promise you shit." Alex opened the door and went out slamming it behind her.
She headed for her bedroom and opened the door. Alex couldn't stay here, at least not right now. She had Melinda's number and she would hold the cash ticket until she needed to claim it. Alex opened her closet door and reached for a pair of jeans, she shucked out of the shorts while kicking her shoes off and put the jeans on. Her black riding boots was in the corner of the closet and she pulled them out and went and sat on her bed to pull them on. Her bedroom door opened and Melinda came in.
"Alex. You can't say anything." Melinda pleaded. "I'll talk to Grandma Angie, I'll make her see that you aren't so bad."
Alex pushed her right foot in the boot and looked up at Melinda. "I don't need your pathetic help with Grandma Angie." She looked back down and put her left foot in the other boot and then laced them up.
"Look, I can speak with some of the guys at school. It's our senior year. You won't have to keep sitting at the freak table anymore at lunch." Melinda told her.
Alex gave a bark of laughter. "The freak table?" Alex stood up. "Is that what your snobby little group thinks? No thanks, I'll pass. Get out of my room."
Alex opened the door and made sure Melinda went out.
"Then what do you want Alex?" Melinda asked.
"For you to leave me the fuck alone." Alex turned and headed down the hall.
Brady was standing at the top of the stairs. Brady Dixon was twenty-seven, he was on what Joe had told her was the fast track at the station. He already had done four years in a patrol car, and because of his age he had been moved to the undercover side of the station so he could start working in the school because of his young boyish looks. He had been working in this division for the last two years. Brady hadn't lost the youthful charm, it still oozed out of him, along with his male testosterone. He pushed his blond hair back on his head.
"Where ya going Alex?" Brady asked.
"It's none of your business Dixon. Last I checked you don't live in this house." Alex told him.
"You didn't see what you thought you saw." Brady said.
Alex stopped in front him and looked up at him. He was a good head taller than she was, and he had a good sixty or seventy pounds on her.
"It's a damn good thing I didn't see anything, because if I had, I would have nightmares for the rest of my life." Alex crossed her arms in front of her and glared at him.
"Cute, real cute. You think that's going to hurt me?" Brady asked.
"No." Alex said.
"You know, most people your age like a man like me. That could have been me and you in there."
"When pigs sweat." Alex moved around him and started heading down the stairs.
"What do you mean you and Alex?" Melinda asked.
Alex jogged down the rest of the stairs. She didn't want to hear it, didn't need to hear it. Alex got to the last step and she saw Brogan. Brogan gave her the once over.
"You didn't have that on awhile ago." Brogan said.
"Felt like changing." Alex told her.
Alex heard footsteps thundering down the stairs.
"It's when pigs fly, Alex." Brady said as he came up beside her. "Get your clichés right."
Alex turned and looked at him. "No, doofus. It's exactly what I said. When pigs sweat. Pigs don't have sweat glands, it's physically impossible for them to do so." Alex turned and looked at Brogan. "Excuse me Detective Wexford, but the stench just rose to a level that is not very conducive to my sinuses and I fear I may go into anaphylactic shock if I don't get fresh air soon."
Brogan gave her grin. "Fresh air include going for a ride?"
Alex saw her look at her boots. "Possibly. Never know these things until you do them."
She turned and started walking for the door and scooped up the keys to her bike on the way. Alex went straight for her bike, a 1967 Triumph, it still looked the same, all trashed out, but it was a classic. There were a few people standing around it.
"Sweet machine." One of the guys said.
"Thanks." Alex said. She looked at the guy who said it. "You're Dawson, right?"
He gave her a slight grin, "Yeah, I'm Dawson. Your Dad's been talking about me, huh?"
"Maybe." Alex said.
She couldn't help from overhearing most of the conversations that took place in the house. Dawson's name had been thrown around quite a bit. He was going before the shooting review board. He had shot a kid who was strung out on methamphetamines. From what Alex had understood around the poker table one night was that Dawson was having a hard time with it. It was self defense, plain and simple. When she heard it, it reminded her of seeing Blade coming at her. That was the first night in a long time she had even dreamed about Blade.
"Hope it wasn't anything bad." Dawson said.
Alex looked at him; she schooled her face back to neutral features. She hadn't meant to get lost in that again.
"Not at all, wanna ride?" Alex asked him.
"Sure." Dawson said.
Alex got on and put the key in the ignition. She cranked the bike over and pulled the helmet off the handle bars and then strapped it on. She grabbed Joe's helmet off the other bike and handed it to Dawson. Dawson waited for her to turn the bike around and then he climbed on. She weaved in and out of the parked cars in the drive and then hit the road. Alex could hear Dawson's breathing through the speakers in the helmet. Joe and Alex went for rides and more often than not they ended up talking while they rode.
"How's it going?" Alex asked.
"Fine, where are you taking us?"
"Just for a drive. From what I've heard, you could use one."
Alex turned the bike for the highway.
"What all have you heard?"
Alex could hear the uncertainty in his voice. "You know, when people are strung out on meth it makes them do crazy things. They don't know reality from what the drug is making them do."
"I don't need a psych exam from you. What would you know about anything?" Dawson had his hands on her hips and she could feel him dig in a little. She really didn't mind, because she knew he wasn't doing it on purpose, it was just a reflex when someone was angry.
"I know what its like to kill someone in self defense." Alex changed lanes and kept driving. "I've killed two people Dawson. It's not easy knowing you took someone's life. Even if they did deserve it, I still did something that was unthinkable. I walked around for months thinking everyone knew, like I had a label on my forehead."
"How did you get through it?" Dawson asked.
"I haven't, not totally anyway. I heard the guys talking about your shooting one night at poker. Nobody's talking behind your back like you're the bad guy here. It's just I know what it's like to have someone who comes at you with a crazy look in their eyes. One that's madden and totally deranged."
Alex didn't say anything for awhile, she knew Dawson was chewing on what she had just said. She changed lanes and went around an eighteen wheeler. The hands on her hips started to ease up.
"The only reason I'm telling you this is because I need to talk about it to someone whose been there. The psych couch only works out part of it; it's the living with it that gets you down."
"I don't see how it's the same Alex. I shot that kid while I was on duty. Christ you are not even out of school yet. How old are you?"
"Sixteen. My age doesn't matter, and being on duty or off duty doesn't matter either. I know you didn't ask for this and it's not like you're going to jump off the bike, so I pretty much have you to myself right now. When you get cleared from this shooting, and you will from what I've heard, the feeling doesn't go away. It stays with you and lives inside you. It's like it wants to take a life of its own and will drag you down if you let it. That's what you can't let happen."
Alex took the exit and slowed down at the street light at the exit.
"How do you stop it?" Dawson asked.
Alex gave a slight chuckle. "Take one day at time. Getting up in the morning and doing what you have to do. It gets easier, but there are times when it tries to come back and grab you. It's those times that can be scary, because you feel like no one out there understands what you're going through."
Alex went under the bridge and then took the entrance ramp back onto the highway on the other side.
"I know I'm younger than you, I'm not a cop, and I'm not trained to fire a weapon. I just wanted you to know, that when you feel like you're the only one out there and no one understands and if you want to call and talk I'll be there. I'm tired of feeling like I'm the only one out there."
The ride back was quiet. Dawson didn't say anything. Alex didn't push it, she knew this was something that couldn't be pushed. Joe hadn't pushed it with her and she was thankful that he hadn't. Alex pulled the bike back in the drive and turned it off. She took off her helmet and put it back on the handle. Getting off she took the keys out of the ignition and looked at Dawson who was still sitting on the bike. He took the helmet off and Alex looked into his blue eyes. She saw only understanding there.
Alex felt the arm go around her shoulders and she looked up at Joe. "Heard you went for a ride."
"Yeah I did."
"Did it help?" Joe asked.
"Yeah it did." Alex looked over at Dawson who got off the bike. He was the same height as Joe, his hair was shorter and it was blonde. Dawson was a little muscular across the chest, but he had a slight beer belly going.
Dawson extended the helmet out to Joe. "You have an incredible daughter."
Joe took his helmet. "Thank you." Joe put the helmet on the other grip of Alex's bike. "Foods done if you're hungry."
"Thanks, but I need to go think on some things." Dawson said.
"Stop by anytime Dawson." Joe said. Joe kissed the top of Alex's head and turned her back to the house. "You hungry?"
"Starved."
Alex made it to the door with Joe when she heard her name. She turned and saw Dawson at his red Dodge Charger.
"Yeah?" Alex asked.
"I'll call you."
Alex had a slight smile on her face as she watched Dawson get in and drive off.
"Does this have anything to do with the dreams that started happening again?" Joe asked.
"Yeah, it does." Alex looked up at him. "It's okay if he calls isn't it?"
"Yes Kitten it is. I think it'll do you both some good." Joe kissed her forehead and then walked back into the house.
Alex took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She turned and walked into the house. Walking into the backyard Alex saw Melinda sitting by Grandma Angie, Brady was across the way pulling a beer with the guys. Alex walked over to the table Joe was sitting at and sat down across from him. Brogan was sitting on Joe's left; her red hair kept coming out from behind her ears as the wind picked up. Alex saw Joe give Brogan a look and then he looked back across to her.
"You get enough air to breathe?" Brogan asked her with a smile.
Alex looked at her, the smile reached Brogan's green eyes. It even seemed the freckles she had on her face smiled right along with her. "Yup. I sure did."
"Good, I'm not real good with anaphylactic shock."
"What are you two talking about?" Joe asked.
"Sinuses, you wouldn't understand." Brogan told him as she picked up her beer. Brogan looked back at Alex and gave her a wink. Alex reached for the chicken and started loading her plate. She liked Brogan; Brogan didn't treat her like a street kid. She shot straight from the hip and put things right out on the table. Alex never heard her dance around anything before, but she was grateful, she didn't want to talk about Brady. That was one man she wanted out of her head all together.