Free Love at First Flight by Marie Force Page A

I'll see what I can do to
settle her down.”
    “We'd all appreciate it.” Using his key
card to open the door, the cop nodded at Juliana. “Who's she?”
    “She's with me. It's cool.”
    The hotel room looked like a teenager's
closet had exploded in it.
    Michael groaned at the mess. “Rachelle!”
    Through the door from the adjoining room
came a tall, gorgeous girl with coffee-colored skin and a wild mass of dark
curly hair. She wore skin-tight jeans and a hot pink T-shirt with sequins that
spelled “Queen Bee” across her small breasts. Her face lit up when she saw
Michael. “You're here! What'd you bring me?”
    He kept the bag hidden behind his back. “Girls
who can't behave don't get presents. And from what I hear, that's a very
appropriate shirt for you, Queen Bee.”
    Rachelle reached behind him to see what
he had for her. “Give it up!”
    “Ah!” Michael held the bag out of reach.
“What are you going to do for me?”
    “Who's she?” Rachelle asked with a
sullen glance at Juliana.
    “My friend, Juliana. Be polite and shake
her hand.”
    “Pleased to meet you,” Juliana said.
    Rachelle did as she was told and shook
Juliana's hand. “Is she the fiance ?”
    Michael tweaked her nose. “No, busybody,
she's not.”
    Rachelle gave him a saucy smile. “Does the fiance know you have friends? ”
    Michael sent Juliana an exasperated
glance, which cracked her up.
    “Let's focus on your behavior, not mine,
okay?” Michael said.
    “I'd rather talk about yours,” Rachelle
pouted.
    “Why are you giving everyone such a hard
time?”
    “I'm so bored! This place sucks ! I'm sick of being here. I miss my
friends. I miss my family. I even miss school. It sucks .”
    He put an arm around her and brought her
to sit with him on the bed. “I know. It totally sucks. But the trial starts in
one more week, and I'm going to get you in there just as soon as I can, okay?”
    “I heard them talking today. It can take
weeks just to pick the jury.”
    Michael swore under his breath. “They
aren't supposed to be talking about the trial where you can hear them.”
    “I hear everything. I want to see my dad
and my brothers.”
    “We've talked about that. As soon as you
testify, we'll reunite you all. I promise.”
    She kicked at the carpet. “I wish you
came to visit more often.”
    “I'll try to get down here again this
week if you promise to behave. You're not the only one who doesn't want to be
here, okay?”
    She nodded. “I'm very sorry, and I
promise to behave. So what's in the bag?”
    He chuckled and handed it to her. “That
was so sincere.”
    Reacting with glee, she examined
everything he had brought her and then embarrassed him when she kissed his
cheek. “Thank you.”
    “You're welcome. If you win anything on
the scratch-offs, I get half.”
    “Bite me. A gift's a gift.”
    He laughed and looked up at Juliana to
share the amusement.
    “You know what might be fun?” she asked.
“What's that?” Michael said.
    “I could do your hair for you, Rachelle.
I'm a stylist, and I'd be happy to give you a wash and blow dry if you want.”
    Rachelle's eyes lit up. “Really? Like
now?”
    Juliana glanced at Michael. “Thirty
minutes?”
    With a grateful smile he gestured for
her to have at it and went into the adjoining room to talk to the other cops on
Rachelle's detail.

    ***

    Juliana took the girl into the bathroom
to wash her hair in the sink. She gave her the full treatment with a scalp
massage and deep conditioning, making use of the products scattered about on
the cluttered vanity. “Feel good?” Juliana asked.
    “Mmm. Really good. Where do you work?”
    “At Panache in Baltimore.”
    “I went there once with my aunt. It was
awesome. Is it a fun place to work?”
    “It is. I like it.”
    “I love your jeans. Are they Juicy
Couture?”
    “As a matter of fact, they are,” Juliana
said, amused.
    “How do you know Michael?”
    “You won't believe it, but we met on an
airplane.”
    “So are