In Pursuit of Justice

In the dynamic double sequel to
Shield of Justice
and
A Matter of Trust
, Det. Sgt. Rebecca Frye struggles to return to duty after a near fatal shooting. Joining forces with enigmatic computer consultant J.T. Sloan, Rebecca accepts a temporary assignment with a Federal task force investigating an Internet child pornography ring.

Rebecca’s obsession with finding her partner’s killer and her involvement in the multi-jurisdictional investigation threaten both her life and her new relationship with Doctor Catherine Rawlings. When Catherine becomes professionally involved and an attempt on the life of a task force member ensues, the pursuit of justice becomes a deadly race against time.

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Lambda Literary Award winner
Stolen Moments
“is a collection of steamy stories about women who just couldn’t wait. It’s sex when desire overrides reason, and it’s incredibly hot!”
—On Our Backs

Lambda Literary Award winner
Distant Shores, Silent Thunder
“weaves an intricate tapestry about passion and commitment between lovers. The story explores the fragile nature of trust and the sanctuary provided by loving relationships.”
—Sapphic Reader

Lambda Literary and Benjamin Franklin Award finalist
The Lonely Hearts Club
“is an ensemble piece that follows the lives [and loves] of three women, with a plot as carefully woven as a fine piece of cloth.”
—Midwest Book Review

ForeWord’s Book of the Year finalist
Night Call
features “gripping medical drama, characters drawn with depth and compassion, and incredibly hot [love] scenes.”
—Just About Write

Lambda Literary Award finalist
Justice Served
delivers a “crisply written, fast-paced story with twists and turns and keeps us guessing until the final explosive ending.”
—Independent Gay Writer

Shield of Justice
is a “well-plotted…lovely romance…I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough!”—Ann Bannon, author of
The Beebo Brinker Chronicles

Lambda Literary Award finalist
Turn Back Time
is filled with “wonderful love scenes, which are both tender and hot.”
—MegaScene

Lambda Literary Award finalist
When Dreams Tremble’s
“focus on character development is meticulous and comprehensive, filled with angst, regret, and longing, building to the ultimate climax.”
—Just About Write

A Matter of Trust
is a “sexy, powerful love story filled with angst, discovery and passion that captures the uncertainty of first love and its discovery.”
—Just About Write

“The author’s brisk mix of political intrigue, fast-paced action, and frequent interludes of lesbian sex and love…in
Honor Reclaimed
…sure does make for great escapist reading.”
—Q Syndicate

Change of Pace
is “contemporary, yet timeless, not only about sex, but also about love, longing, lust, surprises, chance meetings, planned meetings, fulfilling wild fantasies, and trust.”
—Midwest Book Review

“Radclyffe has once again pulled together all the ingredients of a genuine page-turner, this time adding some new spices into the mix. shadowland is sure to please—in part because Radclyffe never loses sight of the fact that she is telling a love story, and a compelling one at that.”—Cameron Abbott, author of
To The Edge and An Inexpressible State of Grace

“
Innocent Hearts
…illustrates that our struggles for acceptance of women loving women is as old as time—only the setting changes. The romance is sweet, sensual, and touching.”
—Just About Write

“
Sweet No More
…snarls, teases and toes the line between pleasure and pain.”
—Best Lesbian Erotica 2008

“
Word of Honor
takes the reader on a great ride. The sex scenes are incredible…and the story builds to an exciting climax that is as chilling as it is rewarding.”
—Midwest Book Review

In Pursuit of Justice

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Please respect the rights of the author and do not file share.

In Pursuit of Justice

© 2003 By Radclyffe. All Rights Reserved.

ISBN 13: 978-1-60282-264-1

This  Electronic Book is published by

Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

P.O. Box 249

Valley Falls, New York 12185

First Bold Strokes Printing: April 2010

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

Credits

Production Design: Stacia Seaman

Cover Design By Sheri ([email protected])

Romances

Innocent Hearts

Love’s Melody Lost

Love’s Tender Warriors

Tomorrow’s Promise

Love’s Masquerade

shadowland

Fated Love

Turn Back Time

Promising Hearts

When Dreams Tremble

The Lonely Hearts Club

Night Call

Secrets in the Stone

The Provincetown Tales

Safe Harbor

Beyond the Breakwater

Distant Shores, Silent Thunder

Storms of Change

Winds of Fortune

Returning Tides

Honor Series

Above All, Honor

Honor Bound

Love & Honor

Honor Guards

Honor Reclaimed

Honor Under Siege

Word of Honor

Justice Series

A Matter of Trust (prequel)

Shield of Justice

In Pursuit of Justice

Justice in the Shadows

Justice Served

Justice For All

Erotic Interludes: Change of Pace

(A Short Story Collection)

Radical Encounters

(A Erotic Short Story Collection)

Stacia Seaman and Radclyffe, eds.

Erotic Interludes 2:
Stolen Moments

Erotic Interludes 3:
Lessons in Love

Erotic Interludes 4:
Extreme Passions

Erotic Interludes 5:
Road Games

Romantic Interludes 1:
Discovery

Romantic Interludes 2:
Secrets

To Lee, my heart’s pursuit

Everything hurt. Her jawed throbbed where he had struck her; her wrists chafed beneath the rough nylon cord that bound them tightly behind her back; and her breasts, exposed in the chill damp air, ached. The cavernous room was alive with shifting shadows, turning her fear to horror. His hands were rough—holding her down, violating her body, invading her soul. Helpless, she screamed silently, casting into the dark for salvation.

Please, please help me.

And then a voice—strong and certain and sure—called her name. A woman, blazing with strength and purpose, stepped from a darkness deeper than night to light the corners of her terror.

She’s here. I prayed for her help, and she heard. She came.

With the cold circle of impending death pressed to her temple, she realized her mistake. Dread followed quickly on the heels of relief. Desperately, she shouted a warning that made no sound. She begged not for her own life, but for that of the woman she had summoned.

No, no! I didn’t mean it. Don’t come here. He’ll kill you. I’m sorry. Oh God, don’t do this.

A thundering explosion, deafening her. A searing trail of fire, dazzling her vision, blinding her. A thick red torrent—warm against her cheek; all that remained of her tormentor—his blood on her face and the hole in her heart.

Not my heart,
her
heart—oh, My Heart, don’t leave me like this.

Stumbling, falling, her breath tearing from her chest in slivers of pain, she forced herself to look upon her own soul dying. There on the floor in the flickering candlelight, all of her hopes dissolved in a river of crimson, pumping past her hands with inexorable force. Relentless, pitiless, victorious death. The stakes had been set; the trade had been made—one life for another. She had been spared and, in the sparing, had lost everything. She would live, empty and forsaken. Guilt did not do justice to the agony of remorse she suffered for having called this one woman to her destruction.

On her knees in her lover’s blood, her neck arched as if pleading to be sacrificed, begging to be taken instead, beseeching to be freed from the torment, she screamed again.

“Catherine.”

Cold, she was so cold. Drowning in an agony of loss and self-recrimination. So dark, no air. “No…”

“Catherine, it’s all right.”

“Oh, my God.” Dr. Catherine Rawlings shot upright in bed—gasping, sweat-soaked, and disoriented. Frantically, she turned in the dark room to the woman beside her, her hands roaming over the naked figure, reassured by the solid heat of her.
Alive, she’s alive
. Finding her voice, she whispered hoarsely, “I’m sorry.”

“No.” Detective Rebecca Frye pulled the trembling woman into her arms, stroking the damp wisps of auburn hair back from her cheek. “Don’t apologize.”

“I woke you,” Catherine said, her voice still shaking. “You should go back to sleep.”

Rebecca gathered her closer, fitting their bodies together, breast against breast, thigh between thigh. “Let me comfort you, just this once.”

“You do.”

“Not often enough.”

“Having you next to me is all the comfort I need.”