Hunting Grounds
Chapter 24
Kate had never felt like this before. She knew she liked sex, but suddenly she loved sex. Right now, she was lying naked next to him. So far, it had been a few short hours of sex, be it oral sex or intercourse, and at this point, it was the most incredible sex yet.
Now she was playing with his chest and pinching his nipples, enjoying listening to him respond. Eventually, she let her hand wander south till she had him in her hand.
"You're not responding, Rick." He wasn't getting an erection. What good was he if he didn't get an erection? "Have I worn you out already?"
"It's," Rick strained to see the clock, "2:11 in the middle of the night. I should rightly be sleeping right now. Give a guy a chance to recharge his batteries, Kate."
"Fine." Kate withdrew her hand and put a finger in her mouth to suck on it to see if that would get his interest. Kate looked up at him and swatted his chest, which had his eyes snapping open. "Are you falling asleep on me?"
"NO! I would never. I'm resting… um, resting my eyes." Rick blinked to try and keep them open.
Kate moaned. He really was quitting on her. "Alright, I officially grant you 6 hours of sleep. After that, it's back to making love to me."
"Do I get breakfast? Man does not live by…by…" Rick didn't know how to put it delicately.
"Yes, live by what?" Kate wanted to hear this.
"Tasty juices alone." Rick tried that.
"Are we talking about my...?" Kate got up to look at him. "I swear that has never happened before. I didn't even know a woman could do that. I swear I did not pee on you. I would never do that. Please say you believe me!"
"Then do I get breakfast after my 6 hours of sleep?" Rick wanted it for his believing her.
"Yes." Kate rolled her eyes. "I'll even buy. I think there's a Denny's just down the road." Denny's didn't sound too expensive to her.
"Deal." Rick grinned at her. "Then I can see if I can get you to do that again."
"I still can't believe I did that." Kate collapsed back down next to him. "I can't believe you just swallowed all that. That could have been pee."
"I trust you." Rick put an arm around her and closed his eyes. He needed some rest. He was never going to admit it, but Kate had worn him out. He didn't have another erection in him. His fingers were cramping up, and even his tongue was tired.
"Go to sleep. Tomorrow I'm going to show you what I can do with ice," Kate teased him.
"Oh, God." She was trying to kill him, he just knew it. Then he had to listen to her laugh softly at him. "Go to sleep."
"Fine." Kate would rather have had more sex.
[_] /\ [_]
The hotel bathroom shower still wasn't big enough for two, so they each had to take a turn. "Ready." Kate struck a pose showing that she was ready to go to breakfast.
"Denny's here we come. Just remember, you're buying." Rick showed her the keys.
"Breakfast at Denny's." Rick opened his menu and looked it over.
"You just want me to spend my money on you," Kate whinged.
"Damn straight, woman." Rick buried his head in his menu and ignored the look she was giving him.
"I'll take the French Toast Slam," Rick told the waitperson when she showed up to take their orders. "And orange juice and a glass of milk. I need the vitamins."
"Moons Over My Hammy, please, and orange juice and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee." Kate handed over her menu.
"Any ideas who did it?" Kate asked him.
"The apartment? My vote is FBI, but I could just as easily be wrong. Whoever he is, he clearly wants you. So it could be him. As for the truck, my money's on the Navy."
"Really!" Kate was shocked at the truck one. "Why?" She was just going to love this.
"I was in Qatar and somehow ended up in Maine. But I don't know how I got there. Add to that the fact that I didn't even try and figure out where I was till we reached Portland. Would you believe that story? I was on a military base, and I'm betting they couldn't find me, obviously, or figure out how I got off the base unnoticed. The Navy is not going to take that lying down."
Kate sighed. "No, I suppose not. Not when you put it like that."
"They think I'm lying, but they can't prove it. That and the base commander is going to be embarrassed. I somehow managed to get off his base and made it all the way to Maine."
"And I thought I had it bad. Yet you got yourself attached to me. And I want you attached to me." Kate leaned forward and lowered her voice. "Like inside me." She smiled at him rather seductively.
His throat suddenly dry, Rick croaked, "Maybe I should order more food," and listened to Kate laugh at him.
[_] /\ [_]
"Wow, you're going to eat all that?" Their meals had showed up, and Rick had two eggs, two strips of bacon, two pieces of sausage, and four triangles of French toast.
"I need the calories. Besides, I'm betting that I'm going to be working all this off."
"Yes, you are," Kate confirmed and started eating her breakfast. "Don't forget you're taking me to that Indian Buffet tomorrow for lunch."
"I am?" He knew she wanted to go but when did it become he was taking her and buying?
"I'm glad you agree." Kate smiled serenely at him and kept eating.
"You're cooking when we get home."
"When did that become part of this deal?" Kate questioned him since she didn't cook. She ate out all the time. As in all the time.
"Because I'm spending 650k and bought a truck, so we need to start saving money somewhere."
"Oh." Damn it, he had her there. "That means grocery shopping."
"Well, since you're cooking you should know what to buy."
"Suddenly this deal sucks," Kate grumbled and wanted to smack that smile right off his face.
[_] /\ [_]
Rick needed another break from sex. Kate was truly wearing him out. Where she got all that energy, he had no idea. However, what he didn't know was that Kate needed a break as well. She was pretty sure the trip home was going to be done in pain from pulled muscles.
"So what's going to happen when we get home and your suspension's over?" Rick turned to look at her and began playing with the space between her breasts.
"Since my captain's gone, they'll assign a new one. We need to get used to that. If you mean what Lanie's going to do to me, I'd rather not think about that." Lanie loved involving herself in Kate's life. "As for the guys, meaning Kevin and Javi, nothing should have happened to them. They weren't there, just you and me." Kate turned her head to look at him as he continued to play with the space between her breasts.
"I can't believe you showed up. What did Roy tell you?" Kate looked at him for an answer to that question.
"Only that I had to show up at the hangar if I wanted to save your life. Since I certainly wanted to do that, I drove as fast as I dared. I arrived just in time to hear most of the conversation, the important parts, anyway.
"Did he really think I was just going to carry you away so he could get himself killed? I mean, what was that going to achieve?" Rick didn't understand his plan.
"I can't believe he was involved in my mother's murder. I trusted him." Kate still couldn't believe it.
"Okay, Kate. I love you, and I truly need to understand why who killed her is so important to you. I get why you care. If someone killed my mother, I would want to know, too. But you've taken that need to a whole new level. So can you explain it to me?" Rick moved his fingers to circle her nipple.
He was cheating. He was using what Kate wanted against her – for him to touch her. He also wanted to understand something that she had kept to herself for so long. Now he was asking her to expose her soul. That was going to be a real challenge for her.
Then he unexpectedly pinched her nipple. "Rick!" He was playing dirty.
"Mom became my very best friend. After I finally made it past my teenage years, I was telling her everything. I had planned to be a lawyer like my parents. Mom had even opened her own office and had, I think, 2 or 3 part-time helpers. She thought everyone deserved representation.
"I was in Stanford studying pre-law. She asked me to come home for Christmas break. Later she asked me to stay past Christmas break. I would miss a couple of classes, but I did it anyway.
"Then the night before I was to go back to Stanford, she asked Dad and me to meet her at this restaurant. She never made it."
"She was murdered." Rick knew she was dead, so this must be where.
Kate nodded then continued. "We finally left and went home and found a detective waiting for us. She had been stabbed and left to bleed out. They didn't take her money, credit cards, phone, or anything. Not even her diamond engagement ring. The detective ultimately called it a random act of gang violence."
"I can see that. Listening to my mother, it could happen. But even then, a gang member would take the opportunity to at least take her purse and take what he could find." Rick didn't like that answer either.
"I didn't like that answer, so I left Stanford and joined the Police Academy. About then, Dad became a drunk. I couldn't get him to stop." Kate reached over to the little table next to the bed and retrieved the two things that meant the most to her.
"This is Mom's ring. Wearing it on a chain is as far as I've gotten with it; her ring represents the life I lost. This is my dad's watch. It represents the life I saved. He's sober now, five years and counting."
Rick took the watch from her and looked it over. "I've seen you wearing this and wondered why since it was rather manly." He understood now.
"So why are you so dedicated to knowing? I mean, from my perspective, you go off the deep end." Rick gave the watch back; Kate kept both and played with them.
Kate tried to help him understand. "Losing Mom consumed me. It was my own personal rabbit hole. Trying to solve it was eating me alive. I finally gave up trying to find out why because if I didn't, it was going to kill me.
"Then we caught this new case with Lockwood. I just knew he was involved somehow. Someone had control of his chain. That was the person I wanted. I need to know. I can still feel it. I really want to know.
"I also know that even if I knew, I would still have to work incredibly hard to find enough evidence to arrest him and make it stick. But I would know who. I would have an answer. Now I don't have either. You don't know how frustrating that is."
"You gave up a dream of being a lawyer. I'm not insensitive, Kate. So are you planning to let the FBI do their job, or are you still planning to investigate?"
Kate knew she was going to try. She just had to. "Are you planning to stop me or help me?" She didn't want to lose him, and she had already backed down because of one of his ultimatums since it really was the best thing to do. But if she got a lead, yes, she was going to investigate.
"If you do it smart, and I mean really smart and not lose your mind, yes, I'll help you. I'm your partner."
"I promise to try. It's just that it means so much to me. But I promise to try." Kate raised up and leaned down to kiss him. "I'll do my best."
"Good, just don't blow up at me when I try to calm you down and get you to think. If the FBI does its job, maybe nothing will happen. It doesn't have to be you that arrests him to get justice. It's a fine line between justice and vengeance."
"I want justice, but I also want to be the one to slap the cuffs on him," Kate insisted. "For him to know that I won."
"Then if the FBI is still there or even if they aren't, you need to tell them that. Maybe they will let you. Do you know anyone in the FBI?"
"A couple." Two came to mind. One was someone she absolutely didn't want to talk to, but if she had to, she might. Then suddenly Kate sucked in a breath. The hand that had been on her breast was plunging a finger inside her. She was wet down there, so it didn't hurt. In fact, the exact opposite.
[_] /\ [_]
"Ready to go home and back to work?" Rick asked her as she packed his bag. They still had a long drive in front of them. As yet, they hadn't heard anything from the real estate agent, so that was still up in the air.
One thing they needed to fix was to make that one lone basement window big enough to escape through. It was part of the reason for the offer being 10k below list price.
"I'm ready. I just hope my butt is." Kate was sure it was going to be sore again at the end.
[_] /\ [_]
Truth be told, Kate was nervous. Her three-day suspension was over, and she was standing in the subway car facing Rick. She honestly didn't know what to expect when she got to the precinct.
"Stay cool, Kate, breathe. It's just another day. Treat it as such." Hearing that, Kate looked up at him and smiled. Somehow he knew just what she was thinking.
They got off the subway and headed toward the precinct. Rick stopped to get them their usual coffees while Kate continued to the police department, went inside, and into the elevator.
"Beckett!" She had been spotted by Ryan first, which got Espo's attention. They intercepted her before she got too far.
"Guys, it looks quiet." It actually looked normal.
"Yeah, everyone's gone. Where's Rodgers?" Ryan inquired.
"Coffee. Are you blocking me?" They hadn't moved yet.
"Caution, we have a new captain, and things here already aren't what they used to be. Captain Victoria Gates." Ryan nodded at the Black woman and Kate saw her head into Roy's office. His old office. "A.k.a. Iron Gates. She's as by the book as they come. Cut her teeth in Internal Affairs," he explained. "Detective in Internal Affairs."
"Wow, that's not going to win her any popularity points." Kate knew things would be different but this was different.
"Yeah, and she brought her distrust of all cops with her." Ryan and Espo had already had a couple of days with her.
"One thing is for sure, she's no Montgomery. Tread carefully," Espo warned her and they both retreated to their desks.
It was time to check in. Kate knocked and opened her door. "Ma'am."
Gates looked up from the report she had just begun to read. "You see my mother, you can call her ma'am. You call me sir or captain."
"Detective Beckett, back on active as of today."
"Detective Beckett, your reputation precedes you. The youngest woman in the NYPD to make detective." Gates eyed her. "You beat me by 6 weeks."
Kate blinked."I didn't realize that people kept score."
"Everyone keeps score, Detective."
"I don't," Kate asserted. That wasn't why she had this job. "I'll need my badge and weapon back."
Gates handed over her badge. "According to regs, you have to recertify after coming off suspension. You do that, and you can have your weapon back." Gates tapped her book of regs to enforce it.
"I see." Kate felt insulted. She knew how to shoot; she didn't need to certify that she knew how.
"Where is your shadow?"
"Captain Rodgers? He'll be here soon." Kate had a bad feeling.
"When you see him, send him in." Gates abruptly dismissed her. "That's all, Detective."
"Captain." She wasn't a sir. Men were sir and she was a woman, or at least she looked like one. Kate left, went to her desk and sat down, and turned on her computer.
"She wouldn't give me my gun. I need to recertify first." Kate was pissed.
"A bit insulting but you'll pass easily enough," Espo told her.
Kate was still at her desk when a cup of coffee showed up next to her. "Thanks." Kate took a sip; she needed it to calm her nerves.
"The new captain wants to see you the second you show up, so be careful. She's from Internal Affairs, and she's one cold person," Kate warned him.
"Sounds like a drill sergeant I know." Rick wasn't afraid. He had encountered worse.
Rick knocked and entered. "Rodgers. I'm told you wanted to see me, Ma'am?" Rick saw hatred in her eyes, but didn't understand why.
"Mr. Rodgers. I don't know what kind of precinct Montgomery was running, but there is no place for you here. Pack up and get out. This is my precinct now and I'll run it my way."
"I see. Perhaps you should read orders concerning my being here first," Rick suggested politely.
"I don't need to read anything. Either go peacefully, or I can find someone to escort you out. Now get out!" Gates ordered.
"If that's the way you want to play it, so be it." Rick left her office and pulled out his cell phone while he made his way to Kate's desk.
"What did she want? She looked angry." Kate didn't see why.
"She just threw me out."
"She what? Can she even do that?" He wasn't NYPD. She didn't have any authority over him.
He rolled his eyes. "She thinks she can."
"So, who are you calling?" Kate asked him.
"Someone that can set her straight. I'm not going anywhere." Rick smiled at her, and once his call was answered, he began talking. Kate could only catch some of it before he hung up.
"Now we wait for the fireworks. Do we have popcorn?" Rick was still smiling. Kate, however, was not smiling. Gates was trying to get rid of her partner.