OUTCAST: Trust, Friendship, And Injustice (Beauty 0f Life Book 9)

by Laura Acton

  Bram found his mind arguing two sides of a possible Dan-Lexa pairing. On one hand, he didn’t want them involved because relationships of that nature broke protocol. And opposite, he fervently hoped one existed because both needed someone special in their lives.

  Though Dan reconciled with his family, the residual effects still left him relying on the team more than his biological family. Proximity and availability played a role too. With Dan’s cousins stationed all over Canada, and three of his unit brothers often out of country, the team became vital to Dan. They filled his desire to belong, and more importantly, to be wanted and needed.

  And for Lexa, their team was her only family now. Her idiot father and brothers shunned her when she joined TRF. Bram still couldn’t believe not one of them bothered to visit Lexa while she was in the hospital. Anger rose in him even now as he thought about how Mr. McKenna behaved when Boss called him. Lexa didn’t deserve treatment like that from her family. Alpha Team, especially Dan, stepped in where they failed her.

  Mulling over their performance on the job, Bram couldn’t identify any change in Lexa’s and Dan’s work habits. They partnered most days before and after Dan returned from being shot in the chest. He could point to nothing to signify when a relationship started between them … if one had, which he didn’t know for certain.

  They’re an excellent match. I can’t think of anyone better for either one. If they fell in love, would that be so bad? If the brass finds out, it will be the end of our team as we know it. Breaking the non-fraternization rule is cause for dismissal from TRF. Would they risk being fired to engage in a romantic relationship?

  Shifting his weight again, Bram sighed. He didn’t want that for Lexa, Dan, or for the rest of them, but a tiny part hoped they would take the chance if they were attracted to one another. If honest with himself, Bram would support their choice and keep their relationship secret. They deserved happiness and if that meant breaking a rule which had no bearing on their professional performance … then by God, they should be allowed to be together.

  Ridgewater Home – Second Floor – Bedroom

  In an upstairs bedroom with a view of the back, Ray acted as watchman and second backup for Loki. He didn’t like Loki being in the riskiest and most vulnerable position of this trap, laying on a bed as bait. Although he deemed Kinsey a decent officer, she was no Lexa, and he wished either he or Lexa had been assigned to cover Loki, but with her still out on medical leave, he would need to trust Kinsey.

  Ray also wished he had a chance to visit Dan before they left. He prayed the bleeding stopped and Dan did not require surgery. Anger boiled in him against Snow, Riqueti, Bozonnet, Turner, the Nores brothers, Detective Sanchez, and himself. If Alonzo Nores had not targeted him and his team, and if Sanchez had not given them Snow’s and his goons names to Diego, Dan wouldn’t have been abducted and beaten within an inch of his life.

  Despite also being a victim of the ungodly trio, he blamed himself too. His past haunted him and caused harm to those he cared about. All the crap with the BDC gang allowed his darker thoughts to creep in, contemplating what he would like to do to the bastards who beat Dan and left him to die.

  Ray struggled to control his emotions, realizing he was no longer the scared teen who kowtowed to the local gang for protection. He changed, caged the beast he could’ve become, and turned to the light with the help of Father Lopez and his parents. He would keep that in the forefront of his mind, follow the law, arrest them, and send them back to jail … and with any luck, they would only leave the confines of prison in a pine box.

  His musings also kept coming back to and questioning why Dan was on vacation. The suggestion he made to Loki that Dan needed to recharge didn’t hold much weight with him now. Dan came through the past two years with flying colors. The man possessed extraordinary coping skills, and he recalled a comment Dan made a couple of weeks ago. Dan indicated he was happiest while working with the team. If not to rejuvenate, what caused him to take time off, and why did Jon harass him so much on the sixth?

  Ridgewater Home – First Floor – Dining Room

  On the ground level, Jon took up a position in the formal dining and ballroom at the back of the house which opened up to a huge covered terrace. Beyond the patio, lay a vast expanse of grass and a copse of trees. As Jon surveyed his area, he had plenty of time tonight to beat the crap out of himself for how he treated Dan. Each time he replayed the scenario, Jon remembered nuances he failed to pick up on as he laid into Dan at the bar. The almost imperceptible expressions of hurt. The telling slight downward or sideways flicks of Dan’s eyes. The blank, emotionless mask which slid into place.

  Ah damn, all those flat, detached ‘yes, sir’ and ‘my fault, sir’ answers Dan gave us. I’m such a clueless jackass sometimes. This is going to require more than a simple I’m sorry, buddy. What if Dan decides to leave the team? Wouldn’t blame him if he did. But six people will flay me alive if he does … Bram, Loki, Ray, Boss, Lexa, and Gambrill. Though I deserve whatever they mete out for the way I conducted myself.

  He admitted and accepted he handled it wrong, but he also believed their fraternization must be dealt with. The rules were in place for everyone’s safety. He thought about Jennifer and imagined if he and his wife worked together. If they encountered a situation which required him to go to a hostage instead of Jen first, he wouldn’t be able to do it … Jen would be his priority.

  Protocols keep the team objective and safe. My job is to safeguard the whole team so they can return home to their families at shift’s end. We are constables and must follow the rulebook. We don’t write the policies or interpret them, … we enforced laws. If we pick and choose which regulations to follow, we begin down a slippery slope, … leading to chaos or worse. I’ll be unable to keep my family safe.

  Ridgewater Home – First Floor – Entry Hall – 5:20 a.m.

  Standing behind three repositioned, tall, leafy potted plants, in the vast entry near the grand staircase, Nick’s spot allowed him to assist either downstairs or upstairs. He maintained communication with his team on channel one, and channel two with Fulco and Arbor, who contained the perimeter of the grounds with concealed officers from the task force.

  Softly he made his routine check of the team. “Status?” In the hours they waited, hoping to snag the felons, they established a rotation for response … Jon, Bram, Loki, Kinsey, then Ray. He received the all okay from each. Switching channels, he checked with Arbor for any movement, and he came back with all clear.

  Nick checked the time, noting it was five twenty and he began to believe the men they wanted to capture would not show. They had all been up for almost twenty-four hours, and his men had been in their positions for nearly nine hours. Everyone required rest … bad things happened when officers became too fatigued. Clear thinking might go out the window since everyone was on edge due to Dan’s injuries and angry at the perpetrators. Soon he would request another team to take over for them.

  About to inform everyone it was about time to call it quits, Arbor said, “Movement in the rear of the house heading for the dining room. Two figures moving slowly. No wait, make that four.”

  “Copy, secure all exits after the subjects enter the house, but remain outside until we contain them,” Nick directed Arbor.

  Nick switched channels. “Heads up boys and girl, four approaching Jon’s position.” He reiterated the plan, “Allow them to enter. We need to catch them in the act so their sentences will increase and will never be a threat to Dan or others again. If they attempt to flee before entering the house, Fulco’s and Arbor’s men will apprehend them outside.”

  Everyone tensed and prepared, all somewhat surprised Dan had been right to be concerned about Dame Ridgewater, but glad he had been able to communicate his worry given his condition.

  Ridgewater Home – First Floor

  Jon maintained his position as one of the doors to the dining room opened, and four men silently slipped inside. He overheard the obese one, Snow, te
ll two others to search upstairs while he and the remaining man checked the lower level.

  Nick observed as Turner and Bozonnet ascended the staircase. He squelched his comlink twice to alert Loki, Ray, and Kinsey two men were heading towards their location.

  Bram spotted a man entering the living room. Part of him wanted to act now, but he must hold. The subjects must make a move on Loki first.

  Trap Sprung

  26

  May 9

  Ridgewater Home – Second Floor – 5:25 a.m.

  Robert and Charley padded up the stairs striving to remain quiet not to wake the occupants. They checked four bedrooms before coming to a set of double doors at one end of the hall. Charley opened the door slowly and peeked in. He turned back to Robert. “Bingo.”

  Pulling the can from his pocket and unscrewing the top, Robert entered as he soaked a rag with chloroform and sniffed it. “Whoa, strong!”

  After entering, Charley shut the door and glared at Robert. He whispered, “Idiot, don’t put that close to your face or you’ll be out in seconds flat.”

  Robert snorted. “Fuck off, I know what I’m doing. Just cover me.”

  Charley shook his head. Robbie steel-toes is a dumbass, a complete moron. Why the hell am I always stuck with the half-wit? He took up a position near the walk-in closet as Robert approached the bed.

  The thick wood door of the closet prevented Kinsey from distinguishing the quiet words of the men when they entered the bedroom. She squelched her comms once to alert the team their subjects were about to make a move, and she readied herself to protect Loki.

  Loki tried not to move. He tensed, preparing himself to act. He had no idea what if anything they would come at him with, gun, knife or something else. He sensed one of them come close and in the next instant a pungent, sweet smelling, wet cloth clamped over his nose and mouth and he didn’t have an opportunity to yell out to Kinsey.

  Realizing they planned to knock him out with chloroform, Loki lurched back and forth, trying to dislodge the tightly held fabric, but a hand firmly kept the cloth in place. Loki struggled against his attacker, holding his breath as long as possible, hoping Kinsey would pop out and help.

  With lungs starving for air, Loki was forced to inhale. Within seconds his extremities went numb, his vision blurred, and a buzzing sound filled his head. He continued to thrash, yet his movements became sluggish upon his third breath. He fought to get free as his world faded to black, rendered unconscious in less than a minute by the excessive amount of trichloromethane.

  At the sound of the squelch, Ray started moving from his position to get closer to the master bedroom. He arrived outside the door, heard muffled sounds, and prepared to enter as Kinsey call out, “Freeze! TRF, you’re—”

  Ray burst into the room and spotted Kinsey ducking a punch before she swept the legs out from Turner, causing the man to fall backward and strike his head on a marble tabletop. Charley was down for the count, but as Ray raised his gun and commanded, “Hands, let me—” Bozonnet kicked out towards Kinsey’s head and connected with her jaw. She went down hard, out cold. Ray pointed his MP5 at Bozonnet. “Freeze, you are under ar—”

  Determined to escape the trap, Robert rushed the constable.

  Ray had no time to react as they went down in a tangle of arms and legs in the doorway and both struggled to gain the upper hand. Needing to subdue this subject fast, unsure if Loki and Kinsey required urgent care, Ray executed a move Dan taught him. Achieving a firm grip, he flipped Bozonnet on to his stomach, kneed him in the back with his full weight as he twisted one of Robert’s arms behind his back.

  As he grabbed for Bozonnet’s other arm to cuff him, Nick appeared at the top of the stairs rushing to help. “Boss, I got him. Check on Kinsey and Loki. Unsure of Loki’s condition but Kinsey took a kick to the jaw and dropped like a rock. The other subject is down too but not cuffed.”

  Nick entered the room and first cuffed Charley who remained down for the count and checked his pulse. Moving to Kinsey, he found a bright red mark on her jawline, and she didn’t respond to his gentle shake or words. Anxious he checked for a pulse. Unconscious, but thank goodness her rate is strong and steady. Relieved Nick stood and went to Loki. He held his breath as a strong odor of chloroform emanated from near his techie.

  He reached down, grabbed the rag which covered Loki’s nose and mouth, and tossed the damned thing across the room into a corner well away from them. Son of a bitch! There is enough anesthetic on that cloth to knock out a horse. Checking Loki’s pulse, he detected an unstable rhythm. Concerned, Nick loosened Loki’s collar making it easier for him to breathe.

  “Two officers and one subject down. Once the other subjects are secure, we need EMS in the master bedroom.” Nick hustled to the adjoining bathroom to acquire a wet washcloth, understanding he must remove the residual chloroform from Loki’s face quickly because prolonged exposure could result in respiratory failure and cardiac arrhythmias.

  Ridgewater Home – First Floor

  At the sounds of the call to freeze from Kinsey, Bram identified himself and commanded Riqueti to halt. Al raced back to the room he came from, and Bram pursued. Tackling the malodorous subject inside the dining room. Bram obtained control after a short scuffle, but not before his olfactory receptors were assaulted by the rank stench of the man’s body odor.

  While Bram cuffed Riqueti, he glanced over and spotted Jon restraining Snow. Brogan had been easy to bring down. When Jon told him to stop, he merely gave up, too lazy to run.

  Rising from the floor, Bram yanked Al up and set him in a chair next to Brogan. Once Boss requested EMS, Bram said, “Jon, go. You need to check on Loki and Kinsey. I got these two until the patrol officers arrive.”

  With only a nod of agreement, Jon took off at a sprint.

  Ridgewater Home – Second Floor

  Cuffing Robert proved difficult, the man thrashed about, but Ray succeeded. Wanting to keep the pathway open to give the medics ready access to his teammates in the bedroom, Ray dragged Bozonnet on his stomach clear of the doorway, flipped him on his back, and lifted him, so Bozonnet sat with his back against the wall. “Stay still,” Ray growled as he stood and aimed his MP5 at the subject to contain him.

  Wholly enraged at being caught, Robert yelled, “How the hell did you know we would be coming here?”

  Ray said smoothly, “Because Dan was concerned for Dame Ridgewater.”

  Eyes going wide at the implication, Robert froze. “You found Brodickhead alive?”

  The team all bristled at Bozonnet’s uncreative and insulting version of Dan’s last name.

  Resisting the urge to slug the asshole, Ray maintained an outward calm which didn’t match his internal turmoil. “Yes, we found Broderick. Lucky for you he is still alive.”

  Pissed off they failed to kill the snitch, anger surged through Robert. “Can’t believe you went searching for dickhead. We left him to starve or bleed to death. Fuck! Now I wish I would’ve killed the pathetic, little shit before I left, a few more kicks would’ve done it for sure,” Robert ground out.

  At those words Ray crouched, moving in close. Anger which had been welling in him all night came to a head, and he could not stop himself. In a tone no one on the team would have ever believed possible from Ray, he said deadly seriously. “If Dan dies, none of you four will live much longer. Of that, you can be assured. I will avenge my brother’s death.”

  Ray’s tone and words shocked the hell out of Jon, as he reached the bottom of the staircase. Jon understood they were all on edge, and it may be hard to remain objective given what these men did to Dan, but he didn’t want Ray losing control and doing something he would regret. He called out in a warning voice meant to recall Ray to his senses, “Ray!”

  Robert smirked. “You don’t scare me … they call you less lethal Ray. Quit acting like you care about Brodickhead. We stalked him since we’ve been out, and not one of you ever invited the ratfink to hang out with you after work. Apparently, the loner never
did learn how to be a team player.

  “You calling him brother is laughable. No one would ever claim dickhead as family. His Mommy and General Daddy don’t give a shit about him … they abandoned the good-for-nothing rat early on. The general would’ve probably thanked us for ridding him of his worthless mistake.”

  Ray fought against the urge to slam the man’s head into the wall to close his damned mouth. “It would be in your best interest to shut the fuck up.”

  Not listening in the least, Robert continued, “You know if the dickless wonder boy dies, it will save your boss the paperwork necessary to kick him off your team. Always thought he was a by the book snitch. Guess not so much now. Man, it was fucking fun watching them flay the weasel alive for breaking the rules and screwing your teammate Lexa.

  “Laughed so damned hard when the tall, bald one told dickhead he should’ve kept his cock in his pants and she deserved better than him. All the lame ass could say was yes, sir, my fault, sir.” Robert mimicked Dan’s flat, dead tone when he responded with those answers.

  Ray stared dumbstruck at Bozonnet.

  Robert sniggered. “When your sergeant told the rat bastard not to play so cruelly with her heart, I almost busted a gut. Pastore got it so backward. The little bitch is the one who ripped out dickhead’s heart the night before. Man, he looked pitiful when she said she loved him but he was worthless and she valued her career more than him. He almost started crying when she told him he should leave the team.”

  Emboldened because the TRF officer remained quiet, Robert said, “You know McKenna is hot. I’d do her any day and twice on Sunday. I can see why dickhead went after her. But man, she’s heartless and the cold way she dumped him … I enjoyed the show in the coffee shop almost as much as the one in the dive bar when your bosses ripped him a new one.

  “Though the best show is when he arrived home after she broke it off with him. He’s still pitiful. Hasn’t changed a bit. Always begging for someone, anyone to want him, so he isn’t alone. He bawled like a fucking baby as he walked around his place holding a pair of pink slippers. I should’ve exterminated the rat bastard with one last well-placed kick to his head.”