Breaking Point

"What about Courtney?" Sky asked. I was surprised that Sky raised her name. After all, Sky knew that Courtney and I were an item. She didn't appear to be jealous. "Max, why don't you reach out to her?"

I'd thought about that, but hesitated thinking about Sky's reaction to us reconnecting, even though it wasn't romantically. I'd learned long ago that relationships between women bred fierce jealousy, having been both on the giving and receiving side. Sky seemed to be confident enough is our relationship to make the suggestion.

"I could text her," I said.

"Why don't you do that," said Sky. "Maybe she knows what's going on with her father."

I had the green light. "I'll do it," I said.

* * *

That evening Sky was sitting in bed with me in our pajamas enjoying a Sandra Bullock rom-com and eating popcorn. Sky started playing footsie with me under the covers.

"I thought we were going to finish this movie and then get some sleep," I said. "We've got a meeting with Courtney first thing tomorrow at Happy Donut." Courtney had surprised me, replying to my text that she was in Cincinnati.

"I'm well aware of that," said Sky, putting her hand on my bare thigh. I knew where this was headed.

"Are you sure you're OK with this?" I asked for the umpteenth time.

"I've told you that Max. Don't you believe me?"

"We've got a lot of... uh...history between us," I said, dancing around the topic.

"You mean fucking," Sky saying what I didn't.

"Yeah."

Her hand went under my short pajama bottoms and touched where I wanted to be touched.

"You mean like this," she said, gliding one finger across my clit.

I giggled. "Yeah, like that."

"Am I a better fuck than she was?" Sky asked. Her finger went inside me. She knew what to do with me. I closed my eyes. The movie droned on in the background.

"Uh huh," I said with my eyes still closed.

"And I didn't love her," I added, putting a finer point on my assurance.

"Do you want me Max? More than her?" she asked, whispering in my ear.

I panted as she inserted a second finger. "You tease," I said.

She lifted my pajama top and sucked on my nipple. "Like this?"

"Exactly like that," I said, with my eyes now squeezed shut.

"I like sucking on your big tits Max."

"Shut up and do me," I said, fully surrendering.

She laved my tits with her tongue. I encouraged her with my moans. We both heard the headboard from the room next door banging against our wall. We laughed at the same time.

"I think in some fucked up way I'm going to miss the Royal Palms," Sky said wistfully.

"So am I," I said. "Let's join them," I said.

Sky pushed the covers off. We both took off our pajamas. She gave me feather light kisses down my belly and then around my pussy. My legs fell open to welcome her. She took two long licks from my clit to my anus before delving deeper into my cleft.

"Mmmmm," I moaned as her tongue darted in and out of my slit. Courtney was long forgotten as was the couple next door.

"Come around here," I said, wanting to share the pleasure. She moved into a "69" position with her knees on either side of my head. She was soaking wet. I plunged my tongue into her pool of wetness, using my hands on her butt to pull her tight against my face. I could barely breathe, but I didn't care as I sucked on her ripe flesh. We drove each other into a frenzy.

Sky came first, locking her thighs around my head. My breaths became quick as I became lightheaded. She was panting and trying to lick me at the same time. I took one last breath and then held it as the floodgates opened and glorious colors swirled around the inside of my eyelids. I let out a muffled scream.

"Sky... Sky..." I called out to her.

* * *

Happy Donut was crowded. It looked like half of the West End was there fueling up on sugar and caffeine. Bea was busy behind the counter dispensing donuts and her homespun advice in equal measure. Courtney had staked out one of the few tables when Sky and I arrived.

Gone was the spikey hair. She now sported a fashionable bob. She looked great, but besides the new hairstyle, something seemed different.

She stood up and hugged me. "Max, it's been too long."

"I think we would have seen each other sooner if you weren't galivanting all over Europe."

"Who's with you?" she asked, checking out Sky with a practiced eye. Courtney's hobby and avocation was sex, and Sky was just her cup of tea.

"Hands off," I said. "This is Skylar. She's my girlfriend, but she's also working a case with me."

"How convenient," said Courtney. "Max was always one to mix business and pleasure. It's nice meeting you Skylar."

"Everyone calls me Sky," she said. "And it's nice finally meeting you. I've heard a lot about you from Max."

"I hope she doesn't kiss and tell," said Courtney.

Sky blushed, which was adorable. "I know Max has... been around."

Courtney laughed. "Max is... Max."

"There's no one like her," Sky said.

"Sit, sit," said Courtney. She already had a cup of coffee and donut on her table.

"Why don't you sit, and I'll get our coffee and donuts," I said to Sky.

I got in line while I watched the two of them talk like old friends. It was good to see that Sky wasn't the jealous type, at least when it came to former, and I stress former, girlfriends. Bea greeted me when I got to the counter. She gave me the evil eye.

"You have two girlfriends at same time?" she asked me, always being blunt and to the point. "You a naughty girl."

"No Bea. This is business."

Bea recognized both of them. I'd brought both to her place before.

"Monkey business," she said skeptically.

"Honest Bea, I can only handle one girlfriend at a time, and not even then," I protested.

Bea could read my face. "OK Max, I believe you. You want chocolate donut? I think dark hair girl want glazed and pretty Asian girl want jelly."

She was right. Courtney always ordered glazed, and I always got a jelly donut for Sky (and Lesley). Nothing got past Bea.

"I'm thinking of moving Bea," I told her while her back was to me retrieving two cups of coffee.

She put the coffees on the counter. "You no live at motel no more?"

"No Bea. If this deal comes together I won't be at the Royal Palms anymore," I said.

"I see it then I believe," she said, voicing the same skepticism I had. She knew me better than I knew myself.

Much to my relief, Courtney and Sky were still chatting it up. I handed Sky her coffee and donut and joined them. They were making small talk until I came back, waiting to discuss Courtney's father. I'd never really talked with Courtney about her father, other than his notoriety on local television as a pitchman for his seven auto dealerships. His fame was an irritation to Courtney and was one of the reasons she fled to France.

"So you want to talk about my father," Courtney said, getting to the meat of the matter. "What kind of trouble has he gotten himself into this time?" she asked, telling me it wasn't the first time.

"It might be serious," I said. I told her all about Sky's close shave with Kreshnevsky, including the gory details of the shootout and his connection with Bratva. Courtney needed to appreciate the severity of the problem. It was literally life and death.

She let out a low whistle. "Wow, my father's really screwed the pooch this time, hasn't he? That explains why he cut me off."

"He cut you off?" I asked, surprised, but not really.

"Since about a month ago. That's why I'm back. I'm looking for a job."

"You?" I asked, this time truly surprised. I don't think Courtney held a job in her entire life.

"Screw you Max. I'm not an invalid. Yes, I'm looking for a job. Right now I'm crashing on someone's couch until I find one."

Wow. That was a fall from grace. Courtney went from a jet setter to coach surfer.

"Your dad must be in a lot of hot water," I said. "Sky, why don't you tell her what you've found out about his dealerships.

Sky went through Jim Landry's financial difficulties that were hinted at in the local business press. She of course dug deeper and found out that he had a crushing debt load and had seriously overleveraged himself. It appeared his empire was hanging on by a thread.

"I'm not surprised," said Courtney. "With three ex-wives, his three houses, and his expensive tastes I'm not surprised."

"Are you and your dad close?" I asked, a question I never asked before. I never pried into her family life in the time that we were together. She was never interested in discussing it and I was never the type of person to be nosy about those sorts of things.

She laughed. "Close? I hardly knew him. I went to boarding school as soon as he could get me out of the house." She paused to drink her coffee and eat part of her donut.

"These donuts are fabulous," she said. "I miss them. And I did catch up with Bea while I was waiting for you. Anyway, no, my dad and I aren't close at all. If you ask me, he's an asshole. He's probably screwed more women than I have. He dumped my mother years ago and has gone through a bunch of brainless vamps. He just paid my credit card bills as a way of salving his conscience for being a shitty father. I've been back in Cincinnati for a month, and I haven't seen him yet."

"You wouldn't be adverse to helping us?" I asked.

"Probably not."

"It's just information. And maybe connections."

"I still know some folks that work for him."

"That was what I was hoping," I said.

"You let me know."

"I appreciate that Courtney. And by the way, have you considered working at Nicky's? You know, you still own half of the diner."

Courtney had loaned Nicky the money to refurbish the diner. It was a favor that Nicky would never forget.

"I thought about that. I'm actually a bit embarrassed to ask. I haven't called or texted Nicky since I went off to France. She does cut me a check every month and truthfully, it's what I've been living on since my dad cut me off."

"I'm not," I said. "How about I call Nicky?"

"Would you?"

"I'd be happy to."

"Well, now we both have something to talk about with each other," she said.

"You seeing anybody now?" I asked, curious.

"No. Sky here is cute," she said, her eyes glimmering.

"She's in your no-fly zone Courtney."

"Just kidding. Although Sky, you are really cute."

"Thanks Courtney," Sky said. "I can see why Max was attracted to you."

Courtney gobbled up the remainder of her donut. "Let's stay in touch."

"We'll do that," I said.

* * *

"How'd you like Courtney?" I asked Sky when we got back into the car. I started driving to the station.

"She's really pretty. I can see how you fell for her."

"Her commitment issues are worse than mine," I noted for her, hoping to tamp down any potential jealousy. But I needed to know if I'd stoked any jealousy on her part.

"Were you OK with meeting with her?" I asked, holding my breath.

She smiled to quell any fears I might have. "Of course I was. Her information was quite helpful, especially when it might get her father in hot water."

Then I decided to hit the issue head on. "You're not jealous?"

"No Max. As long as you're true to me. You have been true to me since we've gotten back together, haven't you?"

"I have. I'm not going to make that mistake again."

"I don't think you've lied to me either. You did come clean with me on Lily."

"I wouldn't lie to you Sky."

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

Chapter Four

Hot on the Trail

"How'd it go with Sky and Courtney?" Lesley asked me. We were cruising the West End, hunting down Bear. He texted me to set up a meet. Bear was a big, burly man and an occasional CI. I'd bailed him out after he exited his motorcycle club and busted a few heads on the way out. I paid him a hundred for the information that led me to Kreshnevsky, so he clearly had some sort of access to what was going on with the Russians.

"Great. Courtney's willing to help us."

"I know that Max. You know what I'm asking."

Of course I did. One of Lesley's jobs was to pry into my personal life. She demanded all the details.

"They got along fine."

"And Sky?"

"She's not jealous, if that's what you're asking."

"She's knows you and Courtney were fuck buddies?"

"Yes... yes... Jesus, you're such a nosy little bitch," I said to her.

"Of course I am. Your personal life is a hot mess. It's my daily entertainment," she said, laughing.

"Fuck you Lesley."

"You only hope Max."

Lesley and I did love each other. And that gave her license to give me a hard time, which I richly deserved.

"So what's the plan Max?" she asked me.

"We find a crack in Landry's organization. We know the Russians are going to be super careful. They're suspicious of everyone. But if they're in cahoots with Landry, and he might not be as careful."

"And that's why we're meeting with Bear," said Lesley, deducing the reason for our meet.

"Precisely," I said, as we pulled into the parking lot of the high-rise projects that Bear lived in.

Belvedere Terrace was a viper's nest. Built in the 60's, it was heralded as a solution to Cincinnati's low-income housing crisis. Fifty years later, it had devolved into a den of thieves, drug addicts and low-income single mothers. I always felt bad going there and seeing the squalid conditions. Thankfully, we were going there in broad daylight. Even the gun, uniform and badge brought little protection there at night and the hardest of hard-core West End cops didn't dare venture into Belvedere Terrace at night, unless it was in an armored vehicle.

The elevators were as usual out of order. I'd been going there for years and I'm not sure the elevators ever worked. We hiked up the six flights of stairs, avoiding the used needles and other things that were too disgusting to mention. We walked down the hallway, listening to the cacophony of loud music and crying babies and taking in the smell of home cooking. My phone rang right as we approached Bear's apartment.

"Just a second," I told Lesley.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Max, it's Bibi."

"It's not a good time right now Bibi," I told her.

"OK," she said, sounding disappointed.

"One minute," I said.

"I've got a question on your 401(k). Can you verify the account number? It's not coming up on our credit check."

"I'm not in the office right now Bibi."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I hope I'm not disturbing something important."

"Not really. Just going to talk to one of my CI's."

"Who is it?" Lesley asked.

"Bibi," I whispered.

"What?" Bibi asked.

"A CI. Confidential informant," I said, though I wasn't sure if Bibi really asked me a question. "I helped him out so now he's going to help me."

"Oh," said Bibi. "That's nice. How did you help him?" she asked innocently.

"He was trying to quit his motorcycle gang, so he got in a fight and crushed one of the gang member's skull with a tire iron. The guy's brains spilled out on the floor. I helped him get his charge reduced from manslaughter to aggravated assault."

The rich sorority girl meets the underbelly of Cincinnati. Maybe I was a bit harsh (and graphic).

There was silence on the other end of the line. No doubt I'd shocked the crap out of her.

"I've got to go Max. Sorry to bother you," she said, desperately wanting to end the call.

Lesley was covering her mouth, laughing.

"I doubt Bibi will be calling you again during business hours," she said.

"Of that, I'm certain," I said. I wished I could have seen Bibi's face. Sometimes I could be an asshole. This was one of those times.

I knocked on the door to Bear's apartment. I heard the security bar being unlocked on the other side.

Bear's wife, a drug addict, opened the door. She had straggly dishwater blonde hair and was wearing a tank top that revealed saggy tits and skinny pasty white arms. It wasn't hard to see the needle tracks on them.

"You back?" she asked me, leaving the door open and then walking away.

I didn't worry about being seen there. Cops routinely walked the halls of the Terrace during the day. The drug trade was open there, and we didn't bust anyone, as that would engender open warfare with the dealers and the residents. It was green zone of sorts.

Bear came into the living room to greet us. He was an African-American man mountain. He gave me a gap-toothed smile. He'd gotten clean over a year ago after I got his manslaughter charge reduced to aggravated assault. He owed me.

"Max and Barbie," he said. He always checked out Lesley when we were there, amazed that my good-looking blonde partner survived the daily travails of the West End.

"Bear... your info was good, and you helped me realize it was a trap."

Bear gave me the information that Kreshnevsky knew he was being followed, and that the information my other CI Vinnie gave me was faulty.

"Yeah, I heard. I'm glad you survived that."

"Actually it was another police officer," I said, correcting him.

"Sorry."

"It's fine," I said. "You helped me figure out it was a trap, but one of my partners acted on the information without telling me. You clearly have a source, and I don't need to know who it is, but I need more information on Landry. I'll figure out if it's any good. That's on me."

"Got it," he said. "So I've been asking around, and it seems that Landry's accountant is into blow and women and some very kinky shit."

Interesting, like Bobby Bickel, Sky's former boss in Homicide. That seemed to be a common theme among dirtbag men. Bobby was into watching two women have sex. The last part of Bear's statement piqued my interest.

"What kind of kinky shit?" I asked.

"You know, the whips and chains kind of thing. I only know it from the drug side, you know the guy that supplies him with the coke. But his connect told me what he's into."

This was exactly what I needed to know. An idea already popped into my head.

"What's his name?" Lesley asked.

"Branson Collier."

"Fancy name," she said.

"Yeah, he's some Ivy League kind of douchebag. I hear the wife's side of the family has the money," said Bear. "So Max, where's the love?"

That was a solid lead. I pulled out my wallet and handed him a hundred-dollar bill. "Here's a Benjamin for the info. If it checks out they'll be another hundred for you on the back side of this."

Bear stuffed the bill in his pocket. His wife wandered back into the room. She must have shot up. Her eyes were glassy. He dwarfed her as he put his arm around her. She looked like a matchstick next to him. He smiled with a gap-toothed grin.

"Thanks Max. Always good doing business with you."

"You take care Bear. And get your wife clean."

"Working on it," he said.

* * *

Lesley and I stopped at Nicky's Diner on the way back to the station for a late lunch. The diner was practically empty, which was almost never. Nicky was folding napkins in the back and Alessandra was in the kitchen prepping for the dinner rush. Lesley and Alessandra had been living together for a while in their remodeled house, and it was an unexpected treat for them to see each other during the day. Alessandra came out from the kitchen when she saw us come in.

"Babe," she said to Lesley, kissing her girlfriend on the cheek. Alessandra had her chef's hat on, which made her look about a foot taller than me. She rarely wore make-up but didn't need to. She was naturally beautiful.

"Slumming it here?" she asked.

"Hungry," said Lesley. Alessandra wiped her hands on her apron. "Let me get you something from the back."

"What's up Max?" asked Nicky. We didn't usually come at this time of day.

"A bit to eat and a favor," I said.

"A favor?" Nicky asked. I never asked her for a favor.

"For Courtney," I explained.

She smiled. "Ahh, the world traveler. Where is she now?"

"Cincinnati."

I could tell from Nicky's expression it was the last answer she expected to hear.