A/N:

And here we are with yet another story! This is the third little inspirational bombshell I've had on a back burner for a long time. Look for the poll I just created if you want to see it expanded. I'll figure out how to work it into my schedule around my other active projects. Enjoy the ride and let me know how it strikes you.

Judy couldn't name the exact moment the ice took root in her soul, but she knew what had helped it. Her partner on the police force, Lexa's, death was one. Her niece's disappearance was another. Her ex-husband's betrayal was a third. That one had stung, but it was the last sting she'd felt. Seeing him carted off to prison should have been satisfying. A few years back it would have, but that was when she'd worn her badge with pride.

As she sat and gazed over her little kingdom in Sahara Square, she thought back numbly over the horrors she'd seen. Serial killers, multiple murders, chemical suicides…. Gruesome stopped bothering her a long time ago. She hadn't cracked her ten-year anniversary on the force—not even close—but at eight six years and a few months, she'd seen plenty.

"The price of excellence," she scoffed into her lowball.

A low, muffled grunt drifted up from beneath her.

"Not you," she replied. "You can't even pull off being furniture."

A whine answered her and she dumped her drink on the source. A few well-placed strokes from her cane reduced the whine to a whimper.

"There. Is that better?" she cooed saccharinely.

The heavy panting she got in turn was all the answer she needed. Her footstool would be happy for a little while, and she would be without interruption.

Once he'd settled, she considered her cane. She didn't need it. The scar on her leg was superficial—a memento of her first case and nothing more. It amused her to remember herself as she'd been. Naïve, optimistic and oh so sure of herself—her righteousness. That she'd make the world a better place. She couldn't help but snort at her own stupidity. It'd been eight years since she'd met him, but that fox brat she'd bullied into helping her nail Bellweather had been right.

At seventeen, he'd seen the truth of the city and its inhabitants. Pity he'd vanished the moment they'd been hauled out of that pit at the museum. Spending a little more time with him could have saved her some time in catching up. Now she was thirty-four and finally understood. There was no silver lining.

Judy stood, stretched, and padded to the door, leaving the immobilized wolf on the floor behind. He needed attending to, but that was a job for one of the other subs. The wolf was young, healthy, and very, very eager to please, as was the cheetah the held the door for her and followed along at her heels. All her pets were. Her club prided itself on having the finest stable in the city, but it was purely for advertising purposes. She had no interest.

Walking the main floor of her establishment was a simple affair. Some bowed, others postured. Several simply nodded their thanks or acknowledgement as she passed. It was her last job for the night. Her bouncers and floor manager would keep the punters in line. She was merely demonstrating her power and reminding everyone who was queen. No one dared to challenge that.

Once she was done with her rounds, she slipped behind a curtain and up to her apartment. Not for the first time, she was glad of the soundproofing she'd had installed. Closing time was an hour off and she'd had enough porn-track-esque music for one day. With the door closed, she massaged the base of her ears for a moment before stripping off her work clothes. A black corset, thigh-high stockings, garter belt, and miniskirt were dumped onto the overfull clothes hamper with no ceremony.

Judy didn't bother with clothes in her own home unless she had to. It was a carryover from her second life. It was liberating. Nothing to bind her or limit her. That was the promise she'd made to herself after Andrew had been exposed.

Judy had always played by the rules as a cop, a wife, a friend, a daughter. And look what it got her. She looked out the window, across the dunes to the skyline. And felt nothing.

As the wee hours of the night wore on, her mind kept drifting back to the todd she'd known. He'd seemed so free to her once. He couldn't have been, but it didn't look that way. No family, no friends. Rules were guidelines, laws were suggestions. He went where he wanted and did as he pleased until he'd met her. She'd thought at the time that he'd make a good cop. In retrospect, she was sure he would have.

"But why would I do that to you?" she muttered quietly to no one.

He'd be around twenty-five now, she reminded herself. That perfect age where anything is possible and you still think you're invincible. She wondered where he was, as she sometimes did. What he was like. How he would look on his knees.

And that was where she stopped.

Seeing through others was a skill she'd learned. First in the academy, then honed on the beat and refined since she left the force, Judy knew what went on in the heads of every mammal she met and it came at a price. She knew exactly how every mammal she met saw her. Some worshiped her. Some felt fear. Others envy, jealousy, or desire. Some were filled with hate. It all came in stride for her, but that was a line she never crossed when that little todd came to mind. She didn't want to know what reflection she'd see of herself in his eyes.