SERENITY: A Path Home (Beauty 0f Life Book 6)

by Laura Acton

  Her line of thinking at the moment pegged Settimo as a man who needed to be the center of attention. For some reason, he viewed Dan and Loki as competition for her and was compelled to put them down. Well, in the case of Dan it was true but she couldn’t acknowledge that here and now.

  The manner in which both Loki and Dan handled Settimo, primarily ignoring his boorish comments, impressed Lexa. Though, the flash of icy anger in Dan’s eyes when she managed to catch a glimpse when no one was looking, told her Dan’s behavior was a façade.

  Although outwardly pleasant, Boss, always a diplomat, plastered on a smile when addressing Settimo. A veneer she perceived as a disapproving father. Fully aware appearances could be deceiving, the frequent rubbing of Boss’ cheek meant he was frustrated and he didn’t like her date. Hell, she didn’t like Settimo either right about now, so they agreed.

  While dancing, his hands were all over her. So much so that she refused to dance anymore. It became too embarrassing fighting off his advances which became bolder as the night wore on. Even Bram and Kellie locked eyes with her, the message clear, ‘say the word, and Bram will remove the trash.’

  She had left the dance floor, going to the ladies’ room for a breather. Jen and Kellie followed her. They both had a little heart to heart with her and urged her to send Settimo packing. She agreed with them but was unsure how to pull that off without creating a commotion. Lexa was damned glad Dan had been busy at the billiard tables when Settimo groped her. She worried how Dan might react and if their being more than friends might come to light.

  Returning from the bathroom, she joined Jon and Bram who stood with Settimo at the bar. When Settimo’s hand roved to her ass, squeezed, and he made a lewd comment to her, Jon openly glared at Settimo and switched into big brother mode. Jon then firmly clasped Settimo by the arm and dragged him over to the billiards table on the pretense they needed a fourth player.

  Lexa honestly didn’t want to cause a scene here, so she put up with and deflected Settimo’s advances. Though, she was thankful for the small respite when Jon took Settimo off to play pool. After Jon led Settimo away, Bram told her that before she returned to the ballroom, he and Jon suggested to Settimo that he slow down on the alcohol. Settimo responded he didn’t need to worry about driving home. Bram said Settimo inferred he would be getting lucky with her tonight.

  Apparently, Settimo booked a room at the hotel and expected her to stay the night with him. Now she had to decide how to persuade him to leave. Settimo was ruining what should be a fun night with her family.

  Swan Lake Hotel – Ballroom – 9:00 p.m.

  Ray strolled into the ballroom with a smile, enjoying tonight with Maurita. He had planned to bring Naomi, but at the last moment, she was called into work to cover a shift for a buddy. Lately, many of their dates canceled for this reason. Schedules of a cop and a fire dispatcher didn’t gel often.

  He phoned Maurita last minute, and she agreed to be his plus one. Returning from the restroom, he adjusted his sleeves and scanned the event for his date. Maurita was not at the table with Kellie, Jen, Christiana, and a few other women where she had originally left her. Ray shifted his gaze to the billiard’s area, checking to see if Jon still had Settimo in hand.

  Lexa’s date was a complete douche. When Maurita danced with him earlier, she ended up slapping his face when he felt her up. If not for all the bosses here tonight he would’ve taken the man out back and taught him a lesson on how to treat women.

  Warm arms encircled his waist from behind, and a sultry voice with a Jamaican accent breathed in his ear, “Hey, tall, dark, and handsome. Looking for me?”

  Ray turned in Maurita’s arms, his eyes drinking in her beauty. Meeting her at one of the Jamaican relief planning meetings with Father Lopez had been fortuitous. Maurita, a native of Jamaica, was here to help organize the relief efforts. “Can I interest you in dancing, m’lady?”

  “Absolutely.” Maurita glanced at the pool area and saw Lexa. “Perhaps later you should ask your teammate to dance. She appears to enjoy dancing, but not with the octopus which seems to have invaded the pond.”

  As Ray led her to the dance floor, he nodded. “Excellent idea. Lexa sure doesn’t appear to be having much fun tonight.”

  “Can’t you drown the ugly swan?”

  Pulling Maurita close as the slow strains of music filtered around them, Ray chuckled. “I would, but Lexa can handle things herself and wouldn’t appreciate us stepping in. If he goes too far out of line, she will set him down and show him she isn’t one to be messed with.”

  “Really?” Maurita glanced again at Lexa. “She’s so tiny. How can she handle a six-foot man with his build? He could snap her in half.”

  Ray shook his head a moment as a small chuckle emitted. “You don’t know Lexa. She grew up with four older brothers and has a wickedly hard punch. She can take down Bram and Dan in hand-to-hand.”

  Maurita flicked her gaze to Bram. “Dan, I can believe, but she can actually fell a giant?”

  A broader smile broke out on Ray’s face. “Size isn’t everything. In fact, Dan is harder to take down than Bram … he’s ex-Special Forces. He has moves none of us have seen before. He had a buddy who taught him all kinds of self-defense techniques.”

  “Had?”

  “Yeah. Ripsaw is one of the buddy’s Dan lost. Now, enough about my teammates.” Ray twirled Maurita and focused his sole attention on her.

  Swan Lake Hotel – Billiard’s Tables – 9:10 p.m.

  Aiming for the eight-ball, Dan glided the stick forward and tapped the cue ball. He put a touch too much spin on the ball, sending the black ball in the wrong direction. Dan frowned. “Sorry, Loki. Thought I had it in the bag.”

  Loki stared at the table. “No worries. They still have one ball to sink before they can go for the win.”

  Settimo lined up his shot on the seven-ball and sunk it. Then he peered up at Dan with a smirk. “That’s how you do it. You must have superior aim.”

  Dan bit back his retort for the drunken man. With several members of the brass here, Dan wasn’t about to make a scene. Starting a fight with Lexa’s date, drunk or not, wouldn’t impress his bosses. Though, Dan could tell Lexa was sick of dealing with Settimo. If she needed him to, he would step in, but for now, it was better to let her take the lead. She wouldn’t appreciate him acting like a protective boyfriend.

  Boyfriend? Wow, where did that come from? Wish it were true. Dan shook those thoughts loose for tonight. Not here and not now or he might reveal more than he wanted. So far, he had behaved as nothing more than a teammate—he needed to keep it that way.

  Loki watched Settimo, a sleazy creep with a foul mouth and so full of himself. He nearly decked the guy when Settimo cornered Tia near the tree after Lexa left the dance floor for the restroom. The sleaze tried to kiss her. Loki was on his way to rescue Tia when Tia’s date Simon appeared and defused the situation by asking her to dance. Jon and Bram had corralled Settimo at the bar afterward.

  Settimo called the pocket for the eight-ball and then pulled back his pool stick and pushed it forward. He repeated the motion several times as he said with words heavily laced with innuendo, “I can do this all night. Long and slow in and out takes a lot of practice, and the ladies love it. Perhaps Alexandra will experience my stick skills tonight.”

  Dan started forward ready to deck the man. Loki grabbed his arm and urgently whispered, “Not worth it. Lexa will chalk this up to another one date ‘S’ guy. If he turns out like Skeeter, she’ll handle it the same way.”

  Taking a deep breath in Dan said with an icy tone, “You should speak with more respect with regard to Lexa. You forget we are her teammates. We will not tolerate disrespect towards her.”

  Tapping the cue ball and watching the final ball roll into the desired hole Settimo stood and regarded Dan. “What matter is it of yours what I say or do? She is the one who asked me to come.” Settimo eyed the blond man up and down with an arrogant smirk. “Even with your so-called good lo
oks, you couldn’t snag a date for tonight. So, go away and mind your own business.”

  Pointing at the empty felt-lined table, Settimo stated, “I win, you lose. I tire of billiards. It isn’t a game I prefer. I desire to feather my nest with something other than balls. But I see you like playing with balls so I will leave you to diddle with your … um … team-date.”

  Settimo turned and walked away.

  Dan whispered to Loki, “Dark alley! Just give me five minutes in a dark alley with him.”

  Loki laughed. “All you need is five seconds.”

  Jon noted Dan’s black, intimidating glower. “Dano, rack ‘em up again. Tonight is for fun. Loki is right, Lexa can take care of herself.” But Jon kept one eye out as Settimo ambled outside where Lexa went. The man was a drunken sot. His behavior when sober had been a little off, but drunk as a skunk he was foul and disgusting.

  Dan pushed down his anger and racked up the balls again as he scanned outside. Settimo reminded him of a slimy slug. Dan wouldn’t let sleazo put his hands on Lexa. Sure, Lexa could take out a drunk with nary a problem, but she shouldn’t have to tonight. To distract his thoughts, he asked, “Who is this Skeeter and what did Lexa do to him?”

  Loki glanced outside when Settimo left. Guys like him gave Italian’s a bad name. That guy thought women would flock to him. Maybe at first just because of his outer shell, but his personality sucked, and that was before he got drunk. Drunk he was a hundred times worse.

  Dan’s question pulled him away from his thoughts. “Skeeter? Well, he was one a sad puppy. He sent flowers, singing telegrams, candy, and a full-sized cardboard cut-out of himself begging Lexa to go out with him on a second date. The cut-out ended up out on the gun range and was used for target practice before she sent it back to him.”

  Jon chuckled. “Never did hear from Skeeter again.”

  Dan’s brows raised as he chuckled. “Wow. Yeah, I can see her doing something like that. So how many one date wonders are there?”

  Loki smiled. “Do you want me to list only the ‘S’ guys or should I start with the ‘M’ ones.”

  Nick cleared his throat. “Lexa’s personal life is not up for discussion.”

  Dan and Loki both bowed their head realizing they crossed the line talking about her dating life. Both raised their heads as Bram strode up quickly.

  When he saw Settimo go outside where Lexa stood, Bram became concerned. He headed for the rest of the team. “Should we go out there?”

  Nick pushed off the wall. “Let Lexa handle this. If Settimo is smart, he won’t try anything with twenty-one TRF officers around.”

  Dan said, “Don’t think he’s that smart, Boss.”

  The guys laughed.

  Jon grabbed a stick preparing to break the balls. He would play one more game before heading back to Jen who was taking a break from dancing and talking with several of the wives from other teams.

  Dan took a seat on a bar stool and kept an eye outside. No matter if Lexa were capable of handling things herself, he would maintain overwatch.

  Splash! Splash!

  28

  December 18

  Swan Lake Hotel – Pool Area – 9:15 p.m.

  Surprised when hands came around her waist and pulled her back hard into a man’s body, it took Lexa a split second to realize it was Settimo. His action instantly brought forth fear and memories of when she was sixteen and was attacked from behind as she walked home late one night after band practice.

  She pulled out of his arms and turned to face Settimo as her voice came out hard with a hint of anger to cover the residual fear he caused, “Don’t ever do that again!”

  Settimo flashed a smile at Lexa. Why women insisted on playacting they didn’t want to have sex with him, he couldn’t fathom. They all seemed to play the same hard-to-get game. “It’s time to quit pretending you don’t want me. I played with your friends. Playtime for us now. They can play with their balls while you fondle mine,” Settimo said with a heavy vapor of alcohol.

  Lexa’s eyes opened. Ewww! Did he just say that? Slimy. I should’ve come alone regardless of what Boss thought about Dan and me. This isn’t worth it. Settimo is ruining what should be a fun night.

  “You should leave now,” Lexa asserted.

  Settimo stepped closer. “You don’t mean that. I see in your eyes you desire me. I can please you well. You’ve seen how limber I am in yoga class. The positions we could do. Ah so pleasurable.”

  Lexa shuddered. Total slimeball.

  Settimo reached out for her.

  Stepping back, Lexa ran into a table. “No. I’m not interested, inviting you was a mistake. We have nothing in common. Settimo, time for you to leave.”

  He took a step forward since Lexa had no place to go. “Ah, but we do. You are on fire for me. You’re struggling not to show it. I rented us a room here. We don’t need to go far to enjoy each other.”

  “The lady told you to depart,” Dan stated firmly. As Boss, Jon, Loki, and Bram played a game of two-on-two, Dan had sat out so he could keep watch from the billiards room. When he saw Settimo back Lexa into a bar table, Dan swiftly moved outside. The guys put down their billiard sticks and followed.

  Settimo turned and sighed looking at the five men. He met Dan’s eyes and directed his comments to him. “Go play with your balls. A gay, pansy like you wouldn’t know what to do with a woman. You couldn’t even begin to satisfy a passionate woman like Alexandra.”

  Dan arched his brows. He couldn’t make the comment which was on the tip of his tongue. It would be wholly inappropriate and would plunge him and Lexa in hot water. So, Dan remained silent and allowed Lexa to take it from here. Lexa knew she had back up if she needed it. As he stood by, waiting to act if necessary, part of his mind wandered. What the hell? Why do people think I’m gay. Me and Brody? And now me and Loki.

  Dismissively, Settimo pivoted away from Dan and leered at Lexa. “Where were we before being rudely interrupted? Ah, yes. You’ll come with me, and I’ll stoke your fiery passions.” He reached out to fondle Lexa’s breast.

  Incensed by the action, and done putting up with Settimo, Lexa reacted.

  SPLASH!

  “Yep, Lexa can take care of herself.” This was the second time he watched her take down a drunk date. The first time in the bar at the Grand Citadel Hotel. A lopsided grin played on Dan’s face until Settimo unleashed a stream of profanity in Italian as he thrashed about in the water. He shared a quick glance at Loki, and both were relieved Lexa didn’t comprehend Italian, or she might jump in and shove Settimo’s head under water to shut him up.

  Lexa stood on the side of the pool and peered down at the sputtering, drunken idiot. When he quit his litany of what she suspected was profanity, she said, “Settimo, I told you no. No means no. You will leave now, or I will arrest you for assaulting an officer.”

  “That should cool his jets,” Jon said under his breath as he smirked at the soaking wet man splashing in the pool.

  Dan couldn’t hold in his smart-ass comment, “That water is so cold, I bet he can’t even find his balls now.”

  Loki burst out laughing, then said, “Seventh swan a swimming.”

  “Looks more like a flounder to me.” Bram couldn’t stifle his chuckle.

  Proud of Lexa’s takedown, Nick wanted to beam, but with the commander and several other high-ranking officers in attendance tonight, he must refrain and be tactful. “Gentlemen, help the man out of the water.”

  Dan and Jon stepped forward and offered a hand even though both would prefer not to assist the jerk. They pulled Settimo out and stepped back as the man glared at them and Bram handed him a towel.

  Angrily, Settimo wiped his face with the towel. A mere woman had thrown him into a pool and ruined an expensive suit. Him … Settimo Bewick … rejected by a woman. That was not possible. That did not happen … ever.

  “You are no woman!” Settimo declared as he turned to Lexa with the intent of pushing her into the icy pool.

  Closest, Dan inte
rvened grabbing Settimo’s arm. “I wouldn’t do that.”

  Settimo pulled his arm out of Dan’s grasp at the same time as he shoved Dan with the other. Dan reacted and grabbed Settimo’s hand, but there was nothing he could do to stop the momentum of the push.

  SPLASH! SPLASH! Settimo and Dan ended up in the swimming pool.

  Panic gripped Dan as cold water assaulted his face and he sucked in a breath consisting of only water. Two fears warred in him as he sank and flashes of ‘there’—waterboarding and being sprayed in the face—fought for control over memories of drowning in cold black water. His feet hit bottom, and survival instinct overrode both. He pushed off hard, rocketing upward. Dan gasped for breath as his head broke the surface.

  Four sets of hands reached out as Bram, Jon, Nick, and Loki rapidly hauled Dan up and out of the ice-cold pool as he coughed up water. Lexa wrapped a large towel around his back while Ray handed him one for his face.

  Embarrassment and worry mixed in Lexa’s mind as she knelt beside Dan. So much for not creating an embarrassing scene. It was her fault Dan ended up in the pool, which spurred her concern. If he inhaled water that would be bad for his lungs. She rubbed Dan’s back and lightly patted as he continued to cough and draw in breaths.

  When Dan glanced at her, Lexa glimpsed fear in his eyes. Just like the time, he was knocked overboard when the two brides threatened each other on the Midnight Magic Party Boat. Two times in water, Dan’s eyes showed true panic. Something must’ve happened in or around water to cause that reaction. Phobias can be caused by many things. Perhaps an army buddy drowned, and he couldn’t save him. Not wanting to bring attention to what she read in the depths of his sapphire orbs, Lexa chose to state a benign fact to give him time compose himself. “Got a mouthful of water?”

  Dan nodded coughing several more times. Keeping his head down, he focused on quelling his reaction to the water. He took slow, deliberate breaths to reduce his rapid heart rate. Once in control, he lifted his head. Shivering, he said, “Damn, that water’s cold.”