Here's a blurb written, hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading!

Mama looked straight at C.J. as they left the famed opera house in downtown L.A. after it had been shut down by the fire department because of a small electrical fire in the storage room in the basement which had flooded the venerable building with thick black smoke.

They had evacuated all the performers from their dressing rooms, the stage crew from the theater and the rest of the employees from throughout the building. They all congregated in the parking lot outside with cigarettes dangling from their mouths and flasks of unidentified liquids in their hands.

Soon enough, a sign had gone up at the box office stating that the night's performance of the Italian opera had been canceled and all tickets would be refunded. By the time that the two women had arrived, most of the attendees were practically rioting in the lines to get their refunds. In fact, two women clad in furcoats were hitting each other with their purses while their husbands stood by slightly embarrassed.

"Mama Mia," Mama said, her gloved hands over her face, "What a scene!"

C.J. couldn't argue with that. Here they stood dressed up to the nines for a night at the opera house where they had hoped to sit in reserved box seats, curtained for privacy with a tray filled with some of Mama's edibles along with plenty of wine that she had bussed over there. Only by the time they had arrived, they were missing a couple of things. Actually a couple of men.

Matt and Vince, who had unceremoniously bailed from the night at the opera to go to the boxing matches no doubt. Oh Mama had no doubt about that and she said so to C.J. who just rolled her eyes in response. There went Matt again choosing the man he had once called his "best friend" over a night on the town with her. She tried not to take it personally but it was the first social event that they had planned to attend, their kind of "coming out" after that horrible experience where they had been kidnapped by terrorists who hijacked their airplane to land them on some island in the middle of no where. She had been held hostage as collateral to get Matt to agree to go back to L.A. to recant his eyewitness account that Marquis Duval's son had tried to assassinate a senator. Matt hadn't agreed right away to Duval's sinister plan but had grabbed a gun and tried to play Rambo which of course failed and nearly led to her being riddled with bullets from Duval's ragtag band of followers who were ordered to shoot her.

Then Matt had of course agreed and then got knocked out with a tranquilizer dart and then…well it got fuzzy for her because she had to stay behind and nearly get shot again…have to pretend to choose slipping between the sheets with Duval over another trip in front of the firing squad…but hey she didn't like ruthless men with bad taste in clothes so she had struck at him hard enough to escape…at least for a few minutes before the female terrorist tried to kill her again..and so it went until Matt returned and after a few dramatic encounters, a few smoke bombs and one really powerful explosive, they were all able, Vince included, able to return to L.A.

But the way she saw it, the whole Duval mess, with father and son, had ripped some holes into her master plan to show her long-time best friend that she had some pretty hot moves too. Okay, there had been the night that she had dressed up to go with Matt to listen to him give a speech…then they got diverted to the senator getting nearly assassinated which Matt deftly stopped but not before getting dinged in the shoulder with a bullet. She had to cancel the private party she had planned at the suite after the cops' ball and rush to join him at the hospital and put her foot down when he tried to flee the bed right after surgery, in his hospital gown.

Then there had been that nice trip to the Bahamas purportedly to check out a business investment suggested by Murray Chase, their ever efficient vice president of Houston Enterprises. But it was a glorious holiday resort on one of the most gorgeous beaches around, with pristine white sands and the clearest ocean water that shimmered a soft blue beneath the heat of the sun. She had packed up her sexiest bikini and some other nice wisps of clothing along with her more business-like attire and had been thinking out the final logistics of putting her plan in motion when someone sabotaged the plane, sucking all the oxygen out of it so that she and Matt passed out before terrorists rushed in to take over the plane to begin that nightmare. When she woke up sitting next to Matt in some jeep traveling over rough terrain and looked into the barrel of a gun aimed at both of them, she knew she could kiss her romantic plans for the two of them goodbye.

Thankfully they made it back safely and he seemed to bounce back from that horrendous experience pretty quickly, she on the other hand didn't put it behind her that easily. The whole island ordeal had creeped her out and she had really thought she never would see Matt again and would wind up dead and buried on the uncharted island somewhere.

The plans to go to the opera were her first attempt to bring normalcy back to their lives and Mama gracefully had provided an avenue to that with season passes to the famed Opera House. C.J. loved opera even though her Italian wasn't that great, but the excitement, the romance, the drama and the beautiful singing, it lifted her spirits. But Matt on the other hand, could take it or leave it and this time he was leaving it…and her for boxing and his "best friend".

So she and Mama had gotten into C.J.'s convertible car and had gone to the opera house themselves…only to walk into a scene out of some Mad Max movie…okay maybe it wasn't that bad but chaos had seized the lines for refunds and a group of people who looked like performers were milling in the parking lot seemingly lost without their scripts.

"This isn't going to work," Mama said, "We could spend all night in those lines and the night's young, the Santa Anas have died down and I want some action."

C.J.'s brows rose. Action? Mama said that, that didn't really sound like her. She didn't know much about Mama's social life beyond her affection for opera and her love to cook and to spend time with her family, usually running their lives, but was Mama saying she needed something more than that?

"Okay…Mama what should we do then?"

The older woman's face brightened.

"Let's go to the night races at Hollywood Park!"

Okay, that sounded like it might be fun for C.J. She and Matt had handled some investigations where the historic racing venue had served as the backdrop. Matt also had dabbled in horse racing for a little while but discovered that he just liked raising horses for rodeoing much better. C.J. wondered if the obsession that one of the sport's young attractive blond jockeys had for him had anything to do with that.

So she and Mama got back in her car, kept the top down and sped down the streets of the golden city to the racetrack. As the buildings, people and trees, sidewalks and signs flew on by, she couldn't help thinking about Matt and wondered how his night of male bonding with Vince was playing out.

Matt watched as Vince stuck the stogie in his mouth, blew out a thick column of smoke and cursed at the boxers in the ring in front of them. Now they had ringside seats, so close the beads of sweat flying off the boxers as they sparred in the ring, was definitely noticeable but it didn't take long for his friend to get upset at the boxer.

"Stop being such a bum," Vince yelled, "Give him that jab your sponsor paid millions to see."

The boxer responded by getting hit in the face and spun around before dropping on the mat where he lay still while the referee counted him out.

"That didn't take long," Vince said, "These fighters…they're not built like they used to be."

"Too many glass jaws," Matt agreed, "but I read that the next guy is a real killer in the ring."

Vince groaned.

"Oh god, the last thing I need is to witness a homicide that my own guys will get called in to investigate…"

Matt tapped his shoulder.

"Vince relax, I was just kidding."

Matt watched Vince's blood pressure go down a bit. Actually he had been quite worried bout his friend once he had come back from a medical scare a couple of days ago with orders to rest and relax, two words that hadn't been in the cop's vocabulary lately. Matt knew it had been his own fault. His buddy from Europe had conned him into some phoney scheme that by the time that Matt got clued into his friend's duplicity had nearly cost Vince his life. Then having to convince him not to arrest him for the death of that jockey who had written in her diary that Matt wanted to kill her…and then the latest mess with Duvals, 1 and 2 both of who were thankfully sitting in different penal institutions.

He thought back with some guilty feelings about having left C.J and Mama all dressed up in the office while they headed off to the fights. And C.J. had that eyecatching dress on, the one that well, sent all sorts of thoughts running through his head, and the way she wore her hair…back to the fights Matt, he told himself focusing on the young guy prancing around the ring to psych up the crowd. But no, C.J. and Mama were probably at the opera house having a nice time at the more dignified surroundings of the opera crowd enjoying the show.

"I think I'm going to bet on the brown horse," Mama decided as she sipped her wine from the grandstand where she and C.J. sat at a table with a bottle of wine and some antipasto that Mama had rushed over from her restaurant. C.J. found it delicious and the excitement of the horses running around the track invigorated her, especially since with each race, she had gone to the windows along with Mama to collect their winnings and the cash piled up. C.J. looked over at Mama.

"That's a good one…three race winning streak…dropping down in class…go for it."

Mama nodded and she went to the window to place both of their bets. C.J. sat back in her chair and sipped her wine again, preferring the night spent here than at the opera and she knew Mama enjoyed it too.

"Hey there," a man's voice reached her

She looked up and saw that it was that guy Devlin, the one that she and Matt had helped once who had a lot of money and a nice fleet of boats. He had dressed up tonight, wearing a nice suit which molded across his body well, his hair slightly tousseled, which differed so much from the style he had worn as a Navy Seal.

She smiled up at him.

"What brings you to the racetrack?"

He sat down across from her and leaned closer to her and when she caught the scent of his cologne…she found it to be her favorite.

"I thought I'd drop by for the evening," he said, "Business has been great and the importer I've been working with has really branched out across the globe."

"I hear there's more demand for goods in Asia," she said, "and Latin America."

He nodded.

"My latest client specializes in Brazilian goods, though he's really all over the place…I think he's got other business I don't know about and I'd rather not."

Her brow raised.

"That sounds mysterious."

He shrugged.

"Importing is an industry that attracts a lot of competition so some of the more successful companies keep a lot of what they trade in under wraps."

"What about the authorities," she asked, "You know customs…"

"As long as it's within the laws, they leave you alone in most places if you have a rep," he said, "though it takes you a while to get to that point."

"So you live here?"

He hedged, with a smile that lit her up.

"I have a place here…but I live where the business is and that's all over the globe right now."

"It's good to see you," she said, "Would you like some wine? I think I can find a glass."

When he nodded, she went to find one and ran into Mama who looked at the man with great interest.

"Oh my, he is what you call handsome?"

C.J. smiled.

"I think so…you don't mind if he sits with us, do you?"

Mama shook her head.

"He's lucky to be seen with two such pretty women as us…do you know him very well?"

C.J. pursed her lips.

"He was a client once…but he's running a successful shipping business now…has some very lucrative accounts."

Mama looked him over and appeared very impressed at how his tailored suit complimented his lean, but quite muscular frame.

"He works out?"

C.J. chuckled.

"You noticed…I guess you could call it that."

They went to join Devlin and he poured the wine for them and they made a toast to the successful night at the betting windows and as he looked at C.J., she felt excitement rush through her despite herself.

Matt looked up from the hotdog that he had been eating covered in relish and mustard and not the barbecue sauce he preferred with plenty of chili. Vince had yelled at the next two fighters that got knocked out in a row, beseeching at them to get back on their feet and go another round or two rather than lying on the mat and calling it a day. With fighters getting paid to fight no matter how long they lasted, there was little incentive to draw out boxing matches at this venue. Vince had bemoaned that development and how it had killed the sport.

Matt enjoyed spending nights out with Vince but tonight guilt tugged at him involving how he had left C.J. in the lurch with Mama at the opera and basically snuck out on the two of them. Not the classiest move in his reportraire and he had begun to regret it. When he returned back at the suite to fly back to the ranch with her, he would apologize and he imagined how she would look in her stunning outfit waiting for him when he got off of the elevator. Would she be upset with him or give him one of her nice smiles signaling her forgiveness of his transgression?

He looked over at Vince screaming again and then at his watch wiling away the hours until he could find out.

C.J. looked out over the railing of the yacht as it floated in the harbor. Devlin stood next to her pointing out the different ships and the freight that they carried. The harbor looked so damn beautiful at night with all the lights from the ships and from onshore. She and Mama had taken up Devlin on his offer to take a late night sail on his latest acquisition which he had modestly described as a pocket yacht when it was anything but, with luxurious cabins and elaborate dining areas, not to mention a game room complete with a pool table and a ball room.

He hadn't been wealthy the first time she had met him years ago but he had definitely moved up in the years since, his business clearly being very successful. He also owned estates in the Bahamas, a chalet in Italy which greatly pleased Mama since it came with a winery and a place on Crete. Like Matt, he jetted around the world in his private plane and collected vintage and the latest in fast cars, even having raced competitively. And damn it if he weren't sexy too boot. Mama had made some excuse about wanting to check out the yacht's kitchen promising to cook them something to celebrate their successful night at the races which left them plenty of time alone. He had taken his hand in his own and led her to the top deck which provided them with a breathtaking view. He rested his hand easily on her back stroking it softly while she enjoyed the view.

"It's so beautiful Devlin."

He wrapped his arm around her waist.

"So are you…how long has it been?"

She looked at him.

"Several years, since we were all at the film festival in Monaco."

He nodded.

"Yeah I was impressed with how you and Matt stopped the event from being sabotaged," he said, "and you did it with while wearing sequins."

C.J. grimaced slightly at the memory because she had been doing what she swore she would never do going undercover as a show girl at a neighboring club where she and Matt had uncovered the nefarious plot.

"It's what we do Devlin," she said, "all in a day's work."

He sighed softly, turning her to face him.

"You work very hard but tonight that's not about work is it?"

She chuckled softly.

"Oh no, it was about two women being ditched by their dates who wanted to go to the fights instead of sit through an opera."

Devlin shook his head.

"I would never stand a woman like you up or leave her standing alone," he said, "I'm sure Matt will feel it was not the right decision."

She shrugged.

"It's not like we're dating or anything anyway," she said, "We've always been best friends nothing else."

Devlin appeared to digest that before brushing a tendril of hair off of her face, in a way that made her shiver despite the warmth of the night.

"That's no excuse," he said, "but you didn't spend the night at the opera, you had fun and won a great deal of cash at the horse races and now you're sailing with me on my yacht on a lovely summer night…"

Yeah…but before she could think much further, he brushed his mouth against hers and damn, the guy could kiss, a feathery touch at first and then deeper. His hands settled on her waist and she felt their warmth on her skin through the fabric as he drew her closer.

"Devlin…"

He kissed her again and she forgot what she was going to say. She forgot where she was standing and she forgot everything around her except the man who held her complete attention.

Matt and Vince walked out to the car after the fights had ended. Vince looked even more stressed out than he had been when they arrived and Matt wondered if the rumors about him planning to retire from the LAPD were accurate but his friend, he had never brought them up at all. They reached Matt's Porsche and got inside then Matt started up his favorite car and they left the parking lot to head back to the office where Vince could pick up Mama and C.J. would head back to the ranch with him no doubt after having a fun night at the opera.

"Vince…is anything wrong?"

His friend finally broke his silence.

"No of course not…why do you ask?"

Matt hesitated not sure how to broach the subject of the rumors that had been floating around so much recently.

"Are you leaving the LAPD?"

Might as well cut to the chase, his friend would expect no less from him after all the years they had known each other. But Vince looked at him, his eyes blinking in shock.

"Who…who told you?"

Matt sighed in response in a sense knowing that his question had been answered but what had been going on with Vince that he had missed?

"No one…I heard some rumors."

Vince sighed deeply then

"I've been thinking about it," he said, "Since I saw that doctor…before the trip to the emergency room."

Alarm filled Matt, though he tried not to jump to conclusions.

"Are you sick?"

Vince lightly hit Matt's arm and smiled.

"I've got the ulcers that come with being a cop," he said, "and hypertension…my doctor wants me to take it easier…and the only way I know how to be a cop is to be on the ball all the time."

Matt digested that while Vince paused collecting his breath.

"And Mama's worried about my dying since I got hit by that car a while back," he said, "She's always accepted that I'm a cop and lived with it like my wife does but ever since…she's been asking me to think about quitting…helping her more with the restaurant."

"That might be a nice change of pace," Matt said, "and I have to tell you this but you have been looking more run down lately like you need a break for a while or you're going to crash."

Vince thought about arguing, Matt saw it on his face and waited for it, but instead his friend actually nodded instead.

"It's just something I've been thinking about…but no serious decisions yet."

Matt nodded, but he knew his friend had already given it considerable thought and part of him felt as if he were already leaving, and just the LAPD. He felt as if Vince were pulling away and that might include leaving L.A. which wouldn't be the same place without him.

C.J sighed as she headed back with Mama in her Porsche back to the office building to catch up with their wayward dates. Not that she had wanted to leave the yacht not after Devlin had whispered in her ear that he wanted her to spend the night while his fingers had been inching her dress slowly up her thighs and she had placed her hands on his chest, feeling the ripple of muscles beneath his designer shirt. And she had been tempted, because the man oozed sex appeal and ever since what happened on the island, she had to get something back that she had lost there. Some sign that she had fully recovered from that experience that it was safe to go out in the world again. She had called her friend Julia about it and she had told her that she had to get back into her old life slowly at first until she felt more comfortable in her skin. Taking more chances and trying to resume looking at them as opportunities to anticipate not anything to fear.

So she had seriously thought about throwing caution in the wind and joining him in one of those nice cabins on the deck to lose herself in his embrace, the tenderness of his touch and the passion that she did feel developing between them. But…she remembered something. She hadn't come to his yacht alone.

"Mama's in the kitchen…she's trying to push us closer through our stomachs."

Devlin chuckled.

"She's quite a woman," he said, "Her husband is quite the cop."

"They're the closest friends that Houston and I have," she said, "It's been rough since we got back."

He nodded.

"I read about what happened to the two of you with that Duval character," Devlin said, "I don't know who's worse the father or the son."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"So you know about them?"

He shook his head.

"Not much…just what I've been reading but they're both in prison now," he said, "though you can't really tell how many of them are still out there."

Oh now there was a scary thought, C.J. thought. Two of them were bad enough, after all but in all the coverage, there had been no mention of any other poison apples in that family tree.

She stroked his shirt, wishing she could touch him.

"I wish I could stay," she said, "I wish we could just sail away from here and go to…to Tahiti or something."

His eyes sparkled and that smile of his appeared again.

"We could…we could bring Mama along to cook up her wonderful five star restaurant cuisine."

She felt the temptation to just say yes, to say that she would really sail away with him, a man she didn't know that well. But she felt a strong pull away from L.A. ever since she had returned from Duval's island and couldn't explain it. It had nothing to do with Matt or any of the people she worked with, or her friends, she just felt suddenly restless as if she didn't do something; she would lose a part of herself.

"We could dine under the stars to the sound of the open sea at night, wake up to the sunshine in the windows, visit any port we chose, spend time at different places as long as we wanted."

She furrowed her brow.

"We both have to work…but it does sound nice to think about."

He kissed her again, and she had to stop herself from saying yes, knowing that the wisest thing to do was leave him. She would be using him to escape in a very enjoyable way but it would amount to the same soon enough. She stared at the road ahead of her devoid of most of the traffic due to the late hour. Mama had taken her cell phone out to call her son in case he grew worried and sent half the department out on an APB looking for the two of them.

She would be heading back to the office and her life there that seemed to have been fragmented by the time she spent away. It had only been days but it felt like longer because during the three days she spent on the island alone without Matt, she felt as if her life hung in the balance as if it could be snuffed out and nearly was when she failed to escape.

And yet she escaped from all that and when she realized Matt had found her…she almost didn't know how to react because she thought for sure they had killed him.

They drove into the parking garage and found a spot to park.

Matt had been pacing back and forth for a while, when he realized that C.J. hadn't been answering her cell phone if only to reassure him that there had been a reason why she and Mama hadn't yet returned from the night at the opera. What had happened to them, were they caught out in traffic somewhere, had there been an accident, maybe he should call the hospitals…he had faith in C.J.'s ability to take care of her but ever since the ordeal they had faced courtesy of Duval, he had felt vulnerable when it came not so much to his safety but to hers. He had a rude lesson in how easily they could use the people he cared deeply about to manipulate him. When they had tied her up in front of him and lined up a row of people to shoot at her if Matt didn't do what Duval wanted, it had nearly paralyzed him.

He hadn't ever felt so helpless in his life and even though they were back in L.A. and she was safe again, the experience had changed him, made him rethink things in his own life and the places that people held in it.

"Vince maybe you should…"

His friend looked up from his cell phone, smiling.

"Relax Houston…that was Mama on the phone…she and C.J. are on their way back from their night out."

"Are they okay?"

Vince nodded.

"Not to worry…the opera got canceled so they went to night racing at Hollywood Park, won a ton of cash and then ran into a nice man who took them sailing on his yacht…"

Matt's brow rose.

"I wonder who that was," he said, "Well at least they had fun."

"Mama says that she spent most of her time in the kitchen so that C.J. and this guy could be alone together."

Matt rubbed his forehead not knowing what to think about that. But then he looked up when he heard the elevator announce its arrival to the top floor and saw C.J. and Mama smiling as they came out. Matt walked up to C.J. and Vince to his mother.

"Did you have fun?"

Mama and C.J. looked at each other and then at the men.

"Yeah we did," Mama said somewhat casually, "This Devlin guy seemed very nice and he was what you young people might call 'hot'."

C.J. didn't respond to that but smiled up at Matt.

"Yes I had a great time…my first great evening since I've been back," she said, "How were the fights?"

Matt and Vince looked at each other and then at the women.

"Fine..," they both said in unison.

C.J. beamed.

"Oh that's great…well Houston, we'd better get going," she said, "before it gets too much later."

They said goodbye to Vince and Mama after they got on the elevator to go to the parking garage.

"We can fly back," Matt said, "Faster that way."

She nodded and went to get her wrap, a definite spring in her step Matt noticed.

"So you met up with Devlin," he asked her when she returned.

She nodded.

"It's been a while hasn't it since we last crossed paths with him," she said, "He's much more successful now and got a lot of money…I guess he would say he did good."

"What about you?"

She sighed.

"I'd say he's done good in other ways that are more important."

Matt picked up that tone in her voice that he hadn't heard in a while.

"So you like him?"

She gazed at him, reading the expression of interest laced with some concern on his face and just inhaled deeply before breathing out again.

"I do…I think I like him a lot."

He ran his hand through his hair.

"Isn't he a bit hard around the edges," Matt said, "From his Seal days?"

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Hey you were military too," she said, "Cut him some slack. He was very nice and I had a good time with him and although he doesn't spend much time in L.A...If our paths do cross, I plan on seeing him again."

Matt sighed.

"Just be careful with him…okay…"

He didn't say anything more than that because he felt then he might be overstepping his bounds with her but…Devlin had brought a lot of mystery into the case that Matt and C.J. had been hired to solve and whatever it was, it had defined him.

"Sure…like I always am with the men I see…now lighten up and let's get going…or we can go around in circles on this subject all night."

He relented but didn't look that happy, but he knew that she had come back from the island with a bit of an edge to her and she had to find her own way to deal with that. He casually placed his arm on her shoulders and she did welcome that leaning against him as they walked out into the darkness that surrounded the helipad to fly back to the ranch.

Miles away, a man stood on the deck of his yacht watching the shipment load into the cruiser style ship that stood in between two larger freighters and then he looked at his watch.

Right on schedule which was critical given that what was inside was most perishable unless shipped under the most stringent conditions. Still, some of the inventory might be lost during the voyage…a regrettable but acceptable loss.

Then he thought back to the woman that he had held in his arms if but for a short time. Soon enough he would be receiving a phone call from the man about her, asking for details of what had happened, what she had been wearing, what they had done together.

He knew he would be more forthcoming with some details of their time together then others. He also knew that somewhere around the world the man would hang up his phone and return to what he had been doing.

Watching and waiting until the time was right.