7 Degrees of Alpha (a collection of seven new BWWM, Alpha Male Romances) (16 page)

CHAPTER 8

Victor stifled a yawn as Kenyatta read off his scheduled appointments.

"Maybe you should try sleeping at home sometime," she snarled.

"Maybe you should stick to doing your job and stay out of my personal business."

"Uhh... I'm your
personal
assistant. You wouldn't survive a week without me."

"Correction, you're my executive assistant. Aaand... if I may add, your busybody ass is the exact reason why I don't have a personal assistant," Victor chuckled.

"Hmph, like I said, you wouldn't last a week without me," Kenyatta muttered under her breath.

Suddenly, Lisa's voice came through the intercom. "Governor Creed, you have a call waiting."

Kena reached over his desk and pushed the intercom. "Lisa, I asked you to hold the governor's calls until we were done going over his calendar."

"Yes, but it's Miss Montgomery."

"Oh, ok, thank you, Lisa. Put her through," she said as she stood to her feet.

The mention of Taylor's name caused Victor to smile. They’d spent almost every night of the last three months in her bed. Victor had even found himself waiting for her when she got off late at night. His unprecedented actions surprised even him. He dreaded the night that he couldn't roll over and push inside of her. And he prayed that she didn't, one day, come home and tell him that she didn't feel like being bothered. He simply didn't see that as being an option.

The phone rang just as Kenyatta exited his office. He picked up on the first ring.

"Hello, gorgeous."

"Hey, baby, I'm sorry I missed your call. I was in roll call."

"It's fine. What time do you think you'll be home tonight?"

Fuck! Did I just say that?

"If nothing happens, I shouldn't be too late."

"I'm looking forward to this weekend."

"Yesss! Me too!"

The excitement in her voice gripped his heart. He could picture her beautiful smile in his mind.

"Baby, I gotta go hit the streets."

"Alright. You be careful."

"Yes, governor."

"Baby, you know your obedience makes my cock hard. Don't tease me."

She giggled devilishly.

"Ok, baby, later."

"Later."

Before Victor could return the receiver, Kenyatta's voice reminded him that he had a budget meeting in ten minutes.

"Thanks, Kenyatta. Anything from Kara Edwards?"

"Not a peep. But, of course, she will be present during your press conference."

"Whoopee," Victor said with absolutely no enthusiasm. "Grab Lisa and be ready by five."

"Aye aye, sir."

Since it was Maria's turn to drive, Taylor leaned against the wall and waited as she signed out radios from the equipment room.

"You two bitches betta not go out there and kick off no shit tonight," sniggered Robert Hills. He was the joke telling, shit talking, wisecracking, no filter having, but harmless comedian on their shift. Robert was sure to make the night interesting.

"If we don't kick shit off…," Maria chimed. "…your lazy ass wouldn’t have shit to do all night."

A few officers laughed and directed jokes toward each other as they made their way out of the district. Maria glanced at the number on the keys and looked around the parking lot for the squad car with the number that matched.

"Over here," she told Taylor.

They did a quick inspection of the outside, then the inside of the vehicle before hopping in.

"Eww, who had this car last? It smells like onions and shit. No, it smells like someone has been shitting onions," Maria complained.

She reached between the seat and pulled the trash left by the watch before. With her face twisted in disgust, she flung the trash out the window.

"Maria!" Taylor admonished.

"What? The city pays people to clean this up, don't they? You want them to lose their jobs?"

Taylor shook her head. Maria was a mess. But for Taylor, there was no other partner for her. They knew each other so well that they were damn near reading each other's minds. Maria was smart and tough, and Taylor trusted her with her life.

Maria backed out of the parking space and sped through the lot. She turned to Taylor and asked, "Who's the guy?"

"What guy?" Taylor asked, feigning ignorance.

She knew exactly what guy Maria meant, however.

"If I have to ask you again, I'm gonna crash this motherfuckin car and kill us both."

Taylor laughed. "Okay, I am seeing someone."

"For a few months now," Maria added.

"Now, how would you know that?"

"Girl, I spend more time with you than anyone else in my life, at least ten hours a day. I know everything about you."

She was right, and she knew just about everything about Maria. She could gauge her mood better than her husband could.

"
Spill. Who's the guy? And please tell me he's not a cop."

"He's an amazingly sweet, sexy, and considerate man. And, no, he's not a cop."

"Well, who is he?"

"His name is Victor, Victor Creed."

"Hmm... like the governor," Maria mused.

"Yes, just like the governor."

Maria drove in silence for about fifteen seconds before pulling over. She put the car in park, turned to face Taylor, and asked, "Taylor, are you seeing
Governor
Victor Creed?”

"Yes, I'm dating the governor. Can you please keep it to yourself?"

"Get the fuck out! You're dating the governor of Illinois?"

Taylor nodded.

"Is it just a hookup or you're really
seeing
each other?"

"I'll just say this, then you can decide for yourself; we've slept next to each other almost every night for the last few months. Well, we eventually get to sleep," Taylor said with a chuckle.

"Adios mios."

"Maria, promise me that you won't tell anyone."

"Girl, your secret is safe with me. I gotta tell ya though; that motherfucka is fine! Wooh!"

"That he is," Taylor agreed.

Maria fanned herself before shifting into drive. She pulled out in traffic and began to patrol their South Side beat. All seemed to be quiet. Well, quiet for the South Side anyway. But they patrolled none the less. Even the radio was quiet. But since it was bad luck to comment about the silence of the radio, neither one them spoke of it out loud. Taylor was just grateful for a peaceful night. A peaceful night ensured that she would get home at a reasonable hour so that she could be with Victor.

Her thoughts wandered to the conversation that they'd had that morning. He wanted to know if she would be okay if their relationship became public. The topic was a bit of a surprise to Taylor. She somehow thought that he preferred to keep their thing private. After all, he was the governor. She was very pleasantly surprised that he was fine with the world knowing that he wanted her. The conversation was a total contradiction to the one she had with her sister.

"Girl, he’s just slumming in your pussy,"
is what Nicole had told her.
"You gonna be his dirty little secret."

But what Nicole didn't know was that Taylor preferred to keep their relationship private. She had planned to advance on the department, and she didn't want to hear any rumors about her success being attributed to her fucking the governor.

"Heads up," Maria warned, diverting Taylor's attention.

She quickly scanned the area, soon realizing what Maria was referring to. A white Lexus was waiting at a traffic light directly in front of them. The right turn signal was blinking at rapid pace, but the Lexus was in the left turning lane. Now to most, it would have been no big deal. But to Taylor and Maria, it meant a little more. Maria turned left with the Lexus and waited for the driver to turn off the turn signal. But once the turn was made, the driver made another left. The right turn signal was still active. A jammed turned signal is the first clue that a vehicle was stolen. Taylor reached for the radio clipped to her shoulder.

"2234," she announced.

"2234, go ahead," the dispatcher responded.

"Squad, please run a plate."

"Go with your plate."

"T, as in Tom, 392308, on a white Lexus, Squad."

"10-4. What's your location, 2234?"

"Westbound on 115th, coming up on Racine."

"10-4, 2234. Standby."

Maria followed the Lexus at a moderate speed as they waited for the dispatcher to get back to them.

"2234?"

"34, go."

"Your vehicle is coming back stolen from-"

Before the dispatcher could finish, the driver of the Lexus slammed on the brakes. The driver's door flew open and the driver took off on foot. Maria looked over at Taylor expectantly. Of course they would get into a foot chase when it was Maria's turn to drive. Taylor rolled her eyes and bowed out of the vehicle in pursuit.

The chase began.

Taylor could hear her partner on the radio.

"2234! Emergency!

"Units standby," the dispatcher announced.

"2234, you have the air. Where are you?"

"Alley...Southbound... Squad... From 115th," Taylor huffed and puffed, trying to run and speak into the radio at the same time.

"Alley... East... of ... Ashland"

"Who ya chasin’?" the dispatcher asked.

"Male, Black, or maybe, Hispanic, white t-shirt, blue jeans!" Taylor shouted into the radio.

Taylor ran hard behind the fleeing offender, but she was losing ground. She pushed as hard as she could just to keep him in sight. She could hear the dispatcher announcing her foot chase and calling for backup. She had also heard other officers announce over the air that they were in route to provide back up. She heard tires screeching from several angles, so she knew that help was close.

Distance between her and the driver was getting wider, however, and Taylor was getting winded. None the less, she kept pushing. Just when she was ready to call it, another squad car cut the runner off. The driver, Jim Gore, and his partner, Trevor, jumped out of the vehicle with their weapons drawn. Relief flooded through Taylor as her exhaustion kicked in. She stopped running in order to catch a much needed breath. She turned to the sound of tires on gravel. It was Maria. She knew that she was close by. She slapped the hood of the squad car and pointed to the end of the alley, where her offender was standing with his hands behind his head, pacing back and forward, and gulping as much oxygen as he could. He was, seemingly as out of breath as Taylor. Only when Taylor was twenty-five feet away from her prisoner, and satisfied that he was about to be taken into custody, did she truly relax. But as she approached, the sound of a shot being fired caused her to instinctively snatch her weapon from its holster. She looked at her offender, but his hands were still on his head, fingers interlocked. She looked for the source of the noise. It was then that she realized that it was her backup, Gore, that had fired the shot. He’d shot her offender, who was unarmed. He stood still for seconds before collapsing to the ground.

"Oh, fuck me!" she heard Maria shout from behind.

CHAPTER 9

Taylor and Maria leaned against their squad car, staying out of the way. The scene had become chaotic. Crime scene tape separated the police personnel from cell phone wielding civilians. In a matter of minutes, the once quiet alley was filled with activity. There were a number of supervisors, crime scene technicians, paramedics, nosey police officers, and more importantly, the corpse of a man who, less than thirty minutes ago, was alive and standing with his hands behind his head.

"Taylor, what did you see?" Maria asked in a whisper.

"I saw the same gotdamn thing that you saw."

"Ugh... This is fucked up," Maria muttered.

Taylor sighed. "Yeah, it's pretty fucked up."

Although Taylor had avoided all eye contact with Jim, she could physically feel the burn of his stare. He was having an animated conversation with the watch commander, no doubt trying to explain why he'd just shot an unarmed man. Taylor looked over at the growing crowd and wondered why the body hadn't been removed yet. It was the true center of a spectacle.

"She was the one chasing them," one accuser voiced.

"These motherfuckas gun'n us down every chance they get!" shouted another.

"Oh shit. Here they come," Maria grumbled.

Taylor looked up to see the watch commander, the street lieutenant, and the sector sergeant walking her way, with Gore following close behind.

And so it begins.

Taylor pushed off the car, but Maria maintained her relaxed position.

The watch commander spoke first. "Mendez, Montgomery, we need you two to go in and give your statements and fill out supplementary reports."

"Okay," Maria said, standing straight, ready to get in the car.

"Just so you know before you go…," the watch commander said, slowing her progress. "Officer Gore and his partner stated that they came in contact with the offender when they were assisting you in your foot chase. He charged at them, causing them to fear for their safety, and that's when officer Gore fired at him."

"Is that what they say?" Taylor asked as she turned her suspicious gaze to Jim Gore.

"Yeah," he responded with narrowed eyes.

"Bullshit," Maria hissed.

"Bullshit?" The Lieutenant questioned.

"Yes, bullshit," Taylor confirmed. "That's not what happened here, and I ain't cosigning that shit."

"Me either," Maria chimed.

"Bitch!" Gore lashed, through gritted teeth. "You better get on board."

"You want me to get on board with you shootin' folks in cold blood? Mmm umph!" Taylor said, shaking her head. "I'll pass on that."

With that being said, the battle ensued. All present began to bicker back and forth. But when their voices began to amplify beyond their closed circle, the watch commander shut it down and ordered everyone into the station. Gore and his partner shot threatening glares at Taylor and Maria before walking away. Taylor turned and walked toward the passenger side.

"Taylor! Taylor Montgomery!" She heard coming from the crowd of onlookers on the other side of the police tape.

Taylor searched the crown for the source. It was Brent Trainer, the reporter that Taylor had to knock on his ass a little while ago.

"Taylor, can you give me a statement?!" he shouted.

"Yeah, you're a jagoff that can't keep his hands to himself!" Taylor shouted in return, before getting in the car.

"So, that's the prince that Nic set you up with, huh?" Maria asked.

"The one and only."

"Tay, there are news cameras everywhere. This is gonna be a huge mess," Maria sighed.

"Yeah, I know. And we're right in the middle of it. Sadly, we only have two choices. One, we could protect our fellow officer and back his statement, essentially condoning murder. Or, two, we could give an honest statement and risk being ostracized by the department and the very officers that we depend on for backup. It'll be fucked up either way," Taylor explained. "At any rate, my choice has been made.”