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

by Laura Acton

  Deterred from assisting Dan, but noting Rob and Jon were there, he nodded. Crouching, Bram hauled the dead weight of the coldcocked asshole up and over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and headed out again. He intended to deposit Settimo with officers outside and come back inside.

  Jon and Rob fought to gain control over the subject, surprised at King’s strength and the effort they needed to exert. Achbor was finally subdued when he whacked his head against a protrusion on the wall. All through the melee, Dan held onto Achbor’s hand not allowing the mechanism to rise.

  Breathing heavily, Dan collapsed to the floor along with Achbor as Rob held him while Jon guided the unconscious man downward. Dan’s hands never reduced pressure on Achbor’s hands—doing so could cost Clara and the other ladies their lives and Dan was not about to let that happen.

  Nick said, “One man down range. We all need to clear out as quick as possible and let Loki work.”

  Kneeling, Jon scrutinized Dan and disliked the results his tactical decision had on his teammate. “Buddy, you’re not looking so hot. Let me take over.”

  “No way to transfer without causing a problem.” Dan shook his head, shutting his eyes, and channeling his strength to his grip as tremors of an adrenaline crash began to coursing through his body.

  “That can’t come up until I finish defusing these bombs,” Loki said.

  The dancers gasped as Clara squeaked, “Bombs?”

  Loki put on his confident, professional mask, one he managed quite effectively when working with explosives. “Yes. I need each of you to remain calm while I examine your headpieces.”

  One dancer reached up to take the tiara off, and Loki stopped her. “Don’t do that. There may be a trigger if you try to remove it. Please sit and be calm.”

  “Loki, if we remove the detonator from the area will the threat be neutralized? Nick guided one shaky woman to a chair.

  “Uncertain. Rather not take the chance. Might have some sort of proximity override. I would need to inspect the trigger, but I can’t now that it is activated. Safer if I defuse the bombs.”

  “How long will that take?” Jon reached out and put his hands over Dan’s shaking ones adding his pressure. Guilt surged through him. Dan took a beating he hadn’t predicted.

  “Not sure until I start looking, Jon. Why?” Loki began to pull tools from his bag. When he didn’t receive an immediate answer, Loki glanced over at Jon. His eyes moved to Dan and saw Jon holding Dan’s hands and Dan’s eyes closed. Ah man, Dan’s hurting.

  Lexa finished helping the last of the ballerina’s settle into chairs and noted Dan’s slumped position. She realized he must be having difficulty maintaining hold if Jon’s hands supported his grip. “Who has duct tape?”

  After getting the wives and kids to safety, Trevor reentered the room overhearing Lexa’s request. “I have some in my pack.” He retrieved a roll for Lexa wondering why she needed the adhesive.

  Lexa crouched near Dan worry plain on her face. “Jon, remove your hands.”

  “You got a solid hold, Dano?” Jon captured Dan’s gaze as he opened his eyes, ensuring Dan was sufficiently coherent.

  “Yeah.” Dan gave them a slight nod as he concentrated on breathing through the pain.

  “Duct tape fixes everything.” Lexa gave a soft smile when Dan met her gaze. This just wasn’t Dan’s week—actually nine days now.

  “Queen of the Hammer would know,” Dan said trying to lessen the concern he witnessed in her eyes.

  “You got that right.” Unable to outwardly show concern for him how she wished, Lexa did the next best thing and wrapped Dan’s hands securely. This way he could relax without worry as Loki disarmed all nine devices.

  Damn glad she had the idea. Now I won’t be the reason anyone is killed. Dan gazed at Lexa. He drew in several breaths as her delicate hands touched his as she encased them in silvery tape. When she finished, he noted her hand lingered on his as she lowered them into his lap. “Thanks, Lexa.”

  Wanting to brush through his hair to offer comfort, knowing he hurt by the reflection in his eyes, Lexa resisted and locked her professional façade in place. She, however, allowed their hands to touch a moment longer than necessary. “All done.”

  She forced herself to stand and step back, though she desired to maintain physical contact with Dan. He’s going to be fine … I mean alright. Yeah, he’s in pain, but he’s in one piece and is going to stay that way. She blew out the breath she’d been holding.

  Once Lexa finished, Jon said, “Okay now let’s find a safer and more comfortable location for Dan. We also need to secure Achbor’s arms and legs so when he wakes he isn’t a threat to Dan again.”

  Rob, Jon, and Trevor all helped reposition Dan so he could lean against a wall. Using duct tape and zip ties, they secured Achbor at the wrists, elbows, ankles, knees, and thighs to prevent the man from moving.

  Seeing the worried countenance on his teammate’s face, Ray tapped Lexa’s shoulder. He worried too. Dan had a rough couple of days. He was none too happy with Jon’s decision today which resulted in Dan being injured yet again. “Hey, Lexa, help me move the table in front Dan to act as a blast shield. He doesn’t need any more injuries.”

  “Ain’t that the truth,” Lexa said, nodding as she moved to help Ray tip over a table and move it into position. As they finished, she noted the boss returned to the room carrying a Kevlar blanket.

  After the guys situated Dan, Nick stepped forward and laid the protective material over Dan and the subject. If he couldn’t remove Dan from the room, he would afford him as much safety as he could. He patted Dan’s shoulder before covering his head. “We’ll have you out of this soon. You did well.”

  The last of Dan’s adrenaline ebbed away, leaving him weary beyond belief as everyone on the team except Loki left the room. Outside the dressing room, the team tensely viewed Loki’s actions via the monitor.

  Outside Grand Palace Theater – 3:55 p.m.

  After dropping off Settimo to a paramedic team, and in the custody of a patrol officer, Bram knelt by his girls. “Hey, sweethearts you are all okay.”

  Leslie’s eyes full of confusion, she questioned, “Daddy, what happened? Why did that man hit the sugar plum fairy and why’d Uncle Danny hit him and fight with the other man?”

  Bram saw Emilie and Allie had the same query shining in their eyes. “There are some mean men in the world. They do things they shouldn’t. Like slapping a ballerina. Uncle Dan only tried to protect her and all of us when he struck the man and wrestled with the older man.”

  “But we aren’t supposed to hit people to solve problems. Why did Uncle Dan?” Leslie’s almost seven-year-old mind sought to understand.

  Emilie’s five-year-old imagination supplied an answer. “It’s like Sleeping Beauty when the prince had to be mean to the wicked fairy, who turned into a fire-breathing dragon so he could rescue Princess Aurora.”

  “Yes, just like the story. Uncle Dan is Prince Charming and protected all the princesses.”

  “Wrong prince, Daddy. Charming’s Cinderella’s prince.” Emilie corrected.

  “No mine,” Allie pouted crossing her arms. “Uncle Danny’s my prince, and he’s Prince Charming.”

  “You have to share him,” Emilie stated.

  “No, I don’t. I found him first!” Allie stomped her foot. “He’s mine!”

  “He’s our prince! She hasta share, right, Mom?” Leslie queried her mother.

  “Yes, now no more quarreling.” Kellie suppressed the smile that wanted desperately to show. Her girls were alright.

  Relief surged through Bram. My girls are all safe and well if they are arguing about Prince Dan. He stood and drew Kellie close to him, holding her a moment as he privately shared, “Better if you take our girls home now. I must make sure Dan’s alright. I’ll be home as soon as I can, but dinner might need to be rescheduled.”

  Kellie kissed her husband’s cheek. “You take care of Dan and bring him home if he isn’t required to stay in t
he hospital overnight. I’ll have dinner waiting, and some comfortable clothes laid out for him so don’t bother stopping at his apartment.”

  After handing Kellie the minivan keys, Bram kissed each girl and watched as they disappeared into the crowd.

  Grand Palace Theater – Dressing Room – 3:55 p.m.

  Loki approached the sugar plum fairy dancer and smiled. “I’m going to see what we have here. Please be calm and hold very still for me.”

  Clara’s voice came out shaky, “Are you one of Dan’s teammates?”

  “Yes.” Loki examined the bomb attached to the crown on her head.

  “They called you, Loki. Why?”

  Loki reached out and cautiously traced a wire. “Lexa, another teammate dubbed me that when I put a flour-bomb in her locker for the third time. I like to play pranks so the name sort of stuck.”

  “Ah, the Norse legend of Loki, the trickster god of fire and magic. Well, let’s hope you are full of magic today ‘cause I really don’t want any fire.”

  “No fire today.” As he studied the configuration with an expert eye, Loki liked what he saw. The apparatus should be fairly easy to defuse, but he was glad he had told them to leave Dan in here. “Boss, it has a proximity trigger like I thought it might. If you had moved Dan out of the room, then …” He didn’t finish when he realized he was scaring the ballerinas.

  Upon further inspection, Loki found a counter-measure with a lead which would’ve been pulled out if the tiara were removed. If the connection broke, the charge would have exploded in their hand. When the woman started to shake, Loki distracted her. “So you know, Dan?”

  From across the room, Dan’s muffled voice said, “No stories, Clara,” Then Dan thought and added, “Or you either, Loki.”

  Both Loki and Clara chuckled. Loki said, “Clara, that’s a pretty name.” Loki picked up his wire cutters after a thorough examination he determined this was definitely an amateur. Loki talked to Clara to keep her calm while he worked. After five minutes, he had the system disarmed. He lifted the crown off of her head. “Clara, you’re safe now. You can leave the room.”

  Clara rose gracefully, leaned over, and kissed Loki’s cheek. “Thank you so much. You’re so sweet.”

  Loki blushed bright red.

  Clara called out to Dan, “Don’t be a stranger, Sinner. Give me a call when you return from Ottawa so we can catch up on old times.”

  “I’ll check on you later, Clara.” Dan shifted a bit to get more comfortable.

  Loki’s expression amused, he glanced in Dan’s direction. “Sinner? Hmmm. I think you need to tell me about that one, Dantastic.”

  Dan laughed, but stopped when the action caused a twinge of pain in his side, “Nope.”

  Loki took his tools to the next dancer. “What’s your name?”

  “Sylvie. What is your real name?” the snow queen said.

  “Dante,” he answered, inspecting the one attached to her crown. Loki found the design to be the same. This is good. King is a creature of habit.

  Sylvie smiled and flirted. “So famous, like the greatest Italian poet, you only need one name?”

  Loki blushed a bit and replied, “Dante Baldovino.”

  “Ah, I like your name. Did you know that combined it means steadfast, brave brother?”

  “No. Does it really? Or are you making that up?”

  “Truly. I dated a man who was an onomastic, someone who studies the origin, history, and use of proper names. He filled my head with a lot of useless knowledge.” Sylvie continued to flirt with Loki as he worked.

  When he finished lifting the tiara, Loki said, “All done, Sylvie. All safe.”

  Sylvie stood and kissed his cheek as Clara did. She went to her dressing table and scribble something down as Loki moved to the next dancer and got started. She strolled to Loki and held out the bit of paper. “This is my number. Give me a call sometime. I’d love to make your acquaintance without a bomb on top of my head.”

  Loki blushed and took the number. Then he inclined his head towards the door. “You should go now. Not safe in here yet.”

  Sylvie glanced at her worried friends and declared confidently, “I’ll see you all outside. You’re in steady hands.”

  “Hi, I’m Bianca. I was wondering what your favorite cookie is?”

  “All cookies.” Loki grinned at the lady as he set to work again.

  Needing to break the monotony of sitting still under a blast blanket, Dan interjected, “Loki steals my cookies.”

  “Really now? A man after my heart. I love cookies.” Bianca’s smile grew. “My favorite is Florentines. My ma has a great recipe for them.”

  Bianca is a nice Italian name. Ma would like it if I dated an Italian lady. Loki chatted her up about desserts and his ma’s lasagna as he cut the appropriate wires. Bianca rose from the chair and bestowed him with a kiss. The heat of a blush crept back onto his face as she took a quick picture next to him to show her ma the handsome Italian man who saved her life tonight.

  Over the next hour and a half, the team kept watching as Loki methodically neutralized all nine bombs as the ballerinas flirted with him. Ray kept a tally and noted Loki received nine kisses. Eight dancers said he was cute or sweet. Seven offered to bake him cookies. Six winked at him. Five told him he was brave. Four gave him phone numbers. Three took a picture with him. Two hugged him, and one patted Loki’s butt while insisting he call her soon. Ray couldn’t wait to tease Loki about all the women flirting with him. The ladies’ coquettish behavior had to be a huge ego boost for his best friend.

  Drained after being intensely focused for so long, Loki moved to Dan who remained quiet for a long time. Lifting the blanket revealed a subdued yet conscious subject. Loki ignored Achbor and directed his gaze at Dan as he squatted. “Ah guys, Dan fell asleep.”

  With relief that all bombs had been diffused, Jon entered the room as he said, “Backstage Dressing Room at the Grand Palace Theater is going on the unacceptable nap locations list.”

  “Not napping, only resting my eyes.” Dan peered up at Loki endeavoring to conceal how dog-tired he felt.

  The team chuckled as Loki turned to Jon. “Out. Not done yet. Need to have a look at the detonator and make sure it isn’t rigged to anything else.”

  Achbor’s plans foiled he growled, “Nothing else will explode.”

  “Thanks, but I’ll be the judge of that.” Loki cut away the adhesive.

  Once freed of the tape, Dan relaxed his grip gradually, releasing one hand at a time. He dropped his hands to his lap and paid close attention to how Loki handled the controller. Nothing better than a bit of on the job training via direct observation.

  Fortunately, Achbor cooperated with all Loki’s instructions and answered all his questions on the construction of the remote. Satisfied no other explosives would be activated, Loki allowed Achbor to release the button. Waiting for the equivalent of five slow breaths to ensure he had been right, Loki signaled the team. “All clear.”

  The team rushed in. Rob and Trevor carried the still restrained subject out as the others surrounded Dan. Jon knelt and said, “That was quite a pounding Achbor dished out. Let’s get you on your way to be checked out.”

  “I’m good,” Dan automatically responded.

  “Dano!” Jon eyed the sniper.

  Dan tried to rise but halted as pain lanced through his side. All adrenaline gone, Dan began to realize standing would be difficult and agonizing. He stifled a groan turning it into a sigh. Damn! His voice snappish, Dan said, “I’ll go to the ER. Satisfied, mother hen?”

  “Yeah, for now.” Jon reached out to assist Dan up.

  After several hisses and grimaces as Bram and Jon sought to help Dan stand, it became evident Dan wouldn’t be walking out, and Nick called for EMS. The sour and sullen expression on Dan’s face told the world he was less than thrilled about not being able to leave on his own two feet.

  The team chose via a silent agreement to never speak of this to Dan in the future. They were lea
rning to read him, and the fact he didn’t force himself to stand meant he was beginning to trust them. Something they all fought for and cherished.

  Love of a Child and Sweet Dreams

  38

  December 20

  TRF HQ – 6:30 p.m.

  Loki blushed again as everyone razzed him about the dancers flirting with him. When they returned to headquarters, there were several varieties of cookies waiting for him from many of the ballerinas. He opened the packages to share with the team, knowing it took a concerted effort by everyone.

  Jon flicked his gaze to Ray, ruminating on the trip back to HQ with him in the SUV. As expected, Ray had laid into him about his decision to put Dan in harm’s way. They kept their headsets muted, to privately discuss the actions taken. The discussion became heated at one point, chiefly him raising his voice at Ray, but eventually, they came to an understanding.

  Neither was happy Dan received further injuries, and both realized the outcome of the call could’ve been quite different if Dan’s strengths hadn’t played a part in resolving the stand-off. Both agreed Achbor King was a desperate man, willing to kill women he had befriended to fix his financial problems. By the time they arrived, their disagreement was resolved and usual calm reestablished, which relieved one of Jon’s worries but not the guilt he still felt over Dan’s injuries.

  Regrettably, neither he nor Nick would win any awards for role modeling behaviors they expected the others to follow. Nick’s lapse yesterday, calling out Dan for something he did himself, and now his own actions. He always harped on Dan about unacceptable risk, yet he had jumped in with both feet, and Dan was put in an untenable position regardless of the conclusion.

  That will never happen again! His thoughts halted when Tia loudly called into the conference room, “Come quick. You have to see this news report.”

  The team congregated in the gym as Tia increased the volume on the TV. Arriving, they caught sight of a photo of an undignified Settimo being escorted by the police, handcuffed, and visibly missing his front tooth.