Reunited By The Badge. Deborah Mello Fletcher

      “Mine, too, but the hint is taken,” Parker said. He rose from his seat, adjusting the jacket of his navy-blue suit.

      “I need to get home anyway,” Armstrong added. “I have a wife waiting for me!” He grinned smugly as he waved his ring finger, like they needed to be reminded that he was a newlywed, having recently married another detective on the Chicago police team.

      Parker laughed. “I have someone waiting for me, too, but she’s not a wife.”

      “Not yours anyway,” Simone quipped.

      Laughter rang around the table.

      “It was good to see you guys again,” Paul said, the trio shaking hands one last time.

      “Good luck,” Armstrong said, his voice dropping to a loud whisper. “She’s still mean as hell!”

      “I heard that!” Simone exclaimed, her eyes rolling skyward.

      The brothers grinned, both leaning to kiss their sister’s cheek one last time.

      “Stay out of trouble, Simone,” Parker said.

      “Please,” Armstrong echoed.

      The couple watched as the two men strolled back toward the door, pausing briefly to chat with an elderly couple who sat near the front of the room.

      “I see things haven’t changed much,” Paul said casually.

      “You don’t get to do that,” Simone snapped. “You don’t get to pretend nothing’s wrong when clearly something’s not right. Now spill it! Why did you call me? Why are we not safe, and who were those two men?”

      Contrition furrowed Paul’s brow. “I shouldn’t have called you, Simone.”

      “But you did, so tell me why. What’s going on, Paul?”

      Jacob interrupted the conversation, dropping two drinks onto the table. “Courtesy of Captain Black,” he said, smiling brightly.

      Simone shook her head. “What is this?” The beverage was a beautiful shade of pink, topped with a fluff of cotton candy and skewered raspberries.

      “We call it the Honeymoon Special.”

      Paul laughed again, relieving the tension between them. “Your brothers have a keen sense of humor.”

      “They really are not funny,” Simone responded, though she felt the slightest smile pulling at her mouth.

      “Are you ready to order?” Jacob asked.

      “I think we’re going to have to take it to go, Jacob,” Paul said. “I hope that’s not a problem.”

      “Not at all, Dr. Reilly. Your usual?”

      “Yes, sir. The Bad Burger with a side of fries, please.”

      “I’ll take the mac and cheese,” Simone said. “Also to go.”

      “Yes, ma’am. I’ll put that order in for you. And I’d like to throw in a dessert on the house. We have a spectacular carrot cake tonight. I’d also highly recommend the vanilla brownie.”

      “The carrot cake sounds good,” Simone said. “Thank you, Jacob.”

      “And for you, Dr. Reilly?”

      “Whatever the lady is having sounds good to me,” Paul said.

      “Two slices of carrot cake to go. I’ll be back shortly with your food,” Jacob said as he backed away from the table and headed toward the kitchen.

      A pregnant pause bloomed full and thick between them. Simone stared, the look she was giving him so intense that Paul felt his stomach flip as the air was sucked from his lungs. She was even more stunning than he remembered, and he remembered everything about Simone.

      Her hair had been freshly cut, her lush curls cropped short in a style that flattered her exquisite face. Chocolate-chip freckles danced across her nose and cheeks, complementing her warm copper complexion. Her dark eyes were large and bright and light shimmered in her stare. And she had the most perfect mouth, her full, luscious lips like plush pillows begging to be kissed. It took every ounce of fortitude he possessed not to lean over and capture her lips with his own. He took a deep breath and held it, hoping to stall the emotion that had swelled between them.

      If anyone had asked, Paul would have had to admit to falling in love with Simone at first sight. She’d been the most beautiful woman he had ever seen as she had skipped across the university’s quad. He’d stepped into her path and had introduced himself, asking for directions he hadn’t needed. Simone had walked him to the destination, talking a mile a minute, which she later admitted had been to calm her nerves about a class that had her concerned. Their friendship had been like spun sugar: threads deeply entwined, intensely sweet and delicately fragile. Simone treaded cautiously, wherein he was always ready to take risks.

      After spending a decade together, he had never imagined life without her until the day she’d told him to leave, unwilling to follow where he needed to go. He was still in shock, still hurt by the loss, still hoping for a reconciliation, even if he never said the words aloud. There was just something about the two of them together that worked, making it feel like all was well in the world, even when they were off-balance with each other.

      He finally spoke, Simone still waiting patiently for him to say something. “I think Lender Pharmaceuticals is poisoning patients who are taking their drugs.”

      Simone blinked, her lashes fluttering as she processed the comment. “That’s a serious accusation, Paul,” she said finally.

      He nodded. “I know, and I don’t make it lightly, but I believe that I have irrefutable proof that Lender Pharmaceuticals is purposely providing contaminated medications to doctors and medical facilities here in the United States and abroad.”

      Paul continued to explain. “I’ve been working in a clinic in Ghana. In Accra. It’s not a large facility but it supports the local orphanages in the area and has been a refuge for the community. I have patients that I had treated for a measles-related virus on a previous trip who should have been well by now, but they’re either still symptomatic, showing rapid deterioration or have succumbed to the illness. And not one or two patients, but dozens! The disease is spreading too quickly in communities that should be thriving when you consider the preventive and curative medications that Lender Pharmaceuticals has been providing. On this last trip I think I may have poked a bear by throwing accusing questions at them that the company wasn’t expecting.”

      “What’s the drug we’re talking about?”

      “It’s a synthetic drug called Halphedrone-B, which is being used worldwide to treat patients with autoimmune diseases, most especially in impoverished communities, because allegedly Lender is practically selling it at cost. But I think it’s the drug that’s killing them.”

      “What kind of proof do you have?”

      “The drugs. The patients. The fact that since I called BS on their products, I feel like someone wants to stop me from going public with the information.”

      “How? What’s happened that you haven’t told me?”

      Paul took a deep breath. He hadn’t given the series of mishaps while he’d been abroad any thought until he’d spoken with his brother. He’d experienced several minor accidents that could have been potentially devastating. There had been a car traveling too fast that had just missed hitting him, and a fire, the cause unknown and devastating the hut he’d been sleeping in. Lastly, the close encounter at the airport in Africa with a stranger he’d dismissed as mentally ill, a man swinging a machete haphazardly in his direction until security had taken him down. Considering all of it together, and now the two strangers who’d clearly had him in their sights, had him concerned.

      When he finished