Brandon placed two fingers on the side of the bed. Haydn reared up and placed his good right paw on the bed. He struggled with the prosthetic and missed the edge.
“Oh.” Sophie started to lean forward, but Brandon touched her shoulder gently. She settled back.
“It’s okay. He’s still getting used to it, and this is the first time he’s tried to do this on command.” Brandon watched Haydn find a comfortable position standing.
For his part, after the initial awkward moment, Haydn seemed unfazed. He regarded Sophie with a doggie grin.
“I’m glad you’re okay, too, Haydn.” Sophie remembered the earlier part of the day, parts of it coming to her in bits and pieces. In particular, the feel of the asphalt pressing into her back. And the warmth of Haydn pressed to her side as they waited for Brandon and the EMTs to come to her. The big dog had made the fear less in sharing and she’d done her best to swallow the sadness of Brandon stepping away from her.
It was stupid. She always told herself it was because Brandon was a far-ranging spirit and she’d never wanted to try to hold him in place. His nature wouldn’t change. It was why she’d spent so many years convincing herself he was better, safer, as a friend who came and went throughout life instead of hoping for other kinds of dreams.
And today, he’d stepped away because he was needed elsewhere. It made sense. It wasn’t because he’d been trying to leave her. He’d been ensuring the safety of everyone in the area, including her.
She kept rationalizing it all to herself. It was only helping her feel a little bit better.
“How are you feeling?” Brandon’s voice brought her back from the memory and her own tendency to chew on things.
Sophie blinked and looked up into those hazel eyes she’d known forever. They were more green than brown right now, because of the green in the shirt he wore. It was the same shirt he’d been wearing when she’d last seen him, so she couldn’t have been asleep for too long. The ripped-up sleeve was beyond mending, though, so she made an extra effort to commit it to memory since he’d probably toss it in the rag pile later. “What time is it?”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “You first.”
Oh. “Sorry. I’m fine.”
A jumble of questions filled her brain, and she hadn’t meant to ignore his.
“First of all, no need to be sorry. It’s about twenty hundred hours. Elisa and Lyn are going to be here any minute so they can see you before visiting hours end for the night.” Brandon turned his head and gave Haydn a quiet command. Haydn let his tongue loll out as he backed away from the side of the bed and dropped down to all fours again, disappearing out of sight. “Second, you have a habit of ignoring your body. You always say you’re fine, and at least this evening, I’d like you to clarify.”
Her mouth had fallen open midway through his second point. She realized it as her tongue started getting dry again. Closing her mouth and swallowing, she tried to give him a real answer. “My ankle hurts. I guess I got scraped up in a few other places. And I’m a little sore but not ready to cry or anything.”
He nodded. “The doctor will probably be in soon. I let him know you were awake. Can you give him even more honest detail when he gets here?”
Of course she would. Well, okay, Brandon did know her. She preferred not to make a big fuss out of things. Being in a hospital at all was out of character for her, but even she couldn’t argue the need for formal medical attention after being caught by an explosion.
Her body tensed at the memory of it. Startled, she drew in a quick breath and then forced herself to exhale slowly. She didn’t want to think about it.
“How did you know I was awake if you only just came in?” She accepted another sip from the cup of water he offered. The monitor issued an irregular beep as her heart stuttered. Damn. She couldn’t keep her cool around Brandon even for something as small as this. “And you could just give me the cup.”
Brandon didn’t give her the water, but at least he made no comment about the heart rate monitor. “Haydn got excited and started sniffing at the bottom of the door, so I figured it meant you were awake. Your eyes are pretty dilated, and you might be shakier than you think, so I’m making sure you don’t accidentally dump it all over yourself.”
Easy as that. Simple answers to her questions. Totally logical. That was Brandon’s way. But something had changed about him. His gaze had weight to it, and his intensity was focused more directly on her than it’d been in a long time. But they weren’t teenagers anymore, and the adult version of Brandon had a lot more impact than his teenage self had had.
Her nipples had gotten embarrassingly tight under her hospital gown.
Be that as it may, she was not going to let him start getting fussy over her. If she did with even this little thing, he’d get out of control. “I’d rather hold my own cup.”
Silence.
Irked, she put more force into her words. “If I spill it, I’ll take accountability for my own shaky hands. Give it.”
Grinning, Brandon held up the cup for her. She took it from him carefully, determined not to let a single drop spill. He’d had a point, though; she was unsteady. But she wasn’t going to let him be right. Besides, having his fingers so close to her mouth inspired too many interesting ideas. She took a long sip of water to prove she could without spilling and to clear her head of inappropriate thoughts.
Then again, most of what popped into her head when it came to Brandon was inappropriate.
Suddenly the room got crowded as the doctor and several of her friends all arrived at the same time, including Ky. Elisa and Lyn beat the doctor to Sophie’s bedside while Brandon prudently stepped aside and closer to the head of her bed.
“How is she?” Elisa asked, the question directed at Brandon.
Brandon nodded to the doctor, behind Elisa and Lyn.
The doctor was the same one who’d taken care of Elisa a little more than a month ago. Sophie recognized him. “Miss Kim is going to be fine. Banged up and bruised with a few cuts and scrapes. We’ll be taking her to radiology to get a few scans of her ankle. Once I see those, I’ll be able to determine what the next steps for her right ankle will be.”
“Why is Ky here?” Elisa asked.
Alex Rojas stood behind her and let her ask the questions, which were incidentally the same as some of the ones Sophie had herself. When great minds thought alike, it was easier if only one of them did the asking.
It was Brandon who answered Elisa, though. “There was an IED in Sophie’s car. No one was hurt, luckily.”
Elisa paused. “An IED?”
“Improvised explosive device.” Alex gave her the terminology in grim tones.
Brandon, David, and Alex exchanged one of their serious looks.
“Lucky is right.” Sophie shook her head slowly. “Someone could’ve been seriously hurt. What the hell was a bomb—IED or whatever—doing in the middle of suburban Pennsylvania? In my car?”
The doctor cleared his throat and glowered at all of them.
Brandon spoke smoothly beside her. “Officer Kymani Graves is in charge of the investigation. We don’t know much of anything, but he’s going to need to meet with Sophie and me to talk through what happened again.”
That caught her by surprise. “Again?”
The doctor leveled a patient look at her. “Officer Graves spoke to you in the ER and while you were being admitted. Once you were transferred to this private room, I gave you a mild sedative to help you recover from the shock of the explosion. He did ask you a few questions at the time but has returned now to follow up if I deem you ready and able.”
They all remained silent for a moment. Sophie absorbed the last bit and decided it wasn’t up to the doctor, really. “I feel fine.”
Brandon tapped her shoulder with a finger.
“Achy and bruised,” she amended. “And my ankle does hurt. But I’m definitely able to talk with Ky. I have some questions for him, too.”
The doctor grunted. “Let me
check a few basics first.”
The doctor made a shooing gesture to get Elisa and Lyn out of the way, and then he leaned in close to check Sophie’s eyes. She wondered if they were really as dilated as Brandon had said.
“How long is Sophie’s family out of town again?” Elisa continued discussion behind the doctor. “They went back to Korea for an extended holiday, so it’s going to be a while. Will she need anyone to help her out at her apartment?”
Good point. But then, Elisa had a way of thinking through the practicalities of a situation quickly. The boys had been lucky the day Elisa had walked into Hope’s Crossing Kennels. She’d done amazing things with the administrative side of the business once Alex had hired her. She’d become a major part of Alex’s life, too, as well as a good friend to Sophie. Still, she’d start organizing the “get Sophie home” initiative without any input if Sophie let her keep going.
“No.” They all leaned around the doctor to see Sophie. She set her jaw and got ready for a battle of wills. “I’ll be totally fine on my own.”
“I’ll take you home.” Brandon stepped into her peripheral vision on the other side of the bed. He must have slipped around behind the bed, still managing to be right at the head and within easy reach.
Sophie looked up at him and smiled. “I’m fine. You don’t need to go through the trouble.”
Honestly, having him take her home would’ve been wonderful if it’d been for other reasons. She might have a few choice daydreams about it, but she didn’t want it to be because he felt obligated to take care of her.
His eyes narrowed, and a crease formed between his brows. “You’re not. And it’s not trouble. You help us out at the kennels all the time. Me taking you home is easy.”
“It’s not necessary,” Sophie insisted. “I’m perfectly fine getting home on my own, and I don’t want to make this into a big thing.”
If it’d been Lyn, David would’ve been allowed to help. If it’d been Elisa, then Alex would’ve wrapped her in a hug and convinced her to let him help.
But this was Brandon. They weren’t a thing. She wasn’t going to let herself even start to believe his taking care of her was anything other than friendship.
Brandon Forte’s friendship was important to her, and she wasn’t going to let her bruised heart make this into anything more than what it was.
Chapter Three
Forte stepped out of Sophie’s hospital room, Haydn close at his heels. The hallway was clear. Cruz and Rojas sat waiting for him at the end where he’d stood watch earlier in the afternoon. This time, with his two partners there to help keep an eye on the approaches, he slouched into one of the armchairs in the small waiting area.
Damn. There’d been days when he’d been deployed where he’d gone out knowing he or any of his unit might not return to base. A day could start out peacefully and go to hell in a cascade of explosions and gunfire.
But today. Here. He’d almost lost her.
The relief of seeing her safe and whole, blinking those chocolate-brown eyes at him, was enough to leave him shaking. She just meant so damned much to him.
“Today was unexpected.” He didn’t need a response, but both men standing by grunted an agreement.
Rojas had Souze with him, the handsome black-and-tan German Shepherd Dog sitting next to his chair wearing a service dog vest. Souze had become Rojas’s service dog, helping to control and ease Rojas’s post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Cruz had Atlas with him almost as much but not today. Atlas was a working dog, not a service dog. They tried to respect the appropriate time and place for the dogs in public situations, no matter how well trained they were.
“Sophie didn’t ask to see the boys?” Rojas sounded worried.
Normally, she would’ve asked after both dogs when she hadn’t seen them. Rojas had ordered Souze to wait outside when it’d become clear the hospital room was going to be too crowded for two aggressive dogs, and Haydn had already been inside the room.
Forte shook his head. “She will the next time she sees one of us for sure. She’s still shaking off the effects of the bomb.”
Cruz grunted again, this time an angry sound. “Not something anyone just shakes off.”
Forte nodded. Truth.
Finally seated, with people he trusted around him, Forte let some of the weariness take over. Aches and pains from his own exposure to the explosive shock wave throbbed in a dull, steady beat. They’d get worse over the next couple of days, but he’d deal. The doctor had given him a once-over, too.
The three of them might look calm, and they were maintaining the quiet, easy tones of a relaxed conversation, but every one of them was scanning their immediate area. A similar emotion to what Forte felt burned in Rojas’s gaze and in the set of Cruz’s jaw. They were all on edge, angry.
Even with the investigation led by Ky, there was no way any of them were going to sit around waiting to see if anything else happened. They were going to plan and execute on what they planned. It was just a question of what, when, and whether they could rest up enough to be prepared. Forte gave Haydn the command to lie down in a low voice, and the dog obeyed with a groan.
Rojas studied the dog. “Should we take him back to the kennels to get some down time?”
“Probably.” The question had layers to it, the opening for deciding what the next steps were without being obvious to idle listeners that might walk by at a given moment. Forte didn’t want to send Haydn away, though. He’d checked the big dog over, and Haydn had come out of the whole thing in better shape than he and Sophie.
“He’s doing real well with this hospital environment, though. You might want to keep him with you if you’re going to stay here.” Cruz lifted his chin to indicate the whole building. Because there was a need. They all recognized it. An IED, a bomb, in a car wasn’t a random act. Not here. Maybe if this had happened in DC or some other major city, but not in a riverside town with a big-city feel. “The other dogs in training aren’t as seasoned. Haydn’s your best partner for the moment.”
Easy, relaxed. Yeah, Haydn was handling the surroundings well. And Forte would need a partner when more IEDs were possible. “He’s amazingly steady since the explosion.”
“Yeah?” Rojas let his hand fall to Souze’s shoulders, his fingers burrowing into the thick fur there.
None of them were free of memories of IEDs. They’d all experienced their share from their multiple deployments. The when and where didn’t matter. There’d been enough situations for multiple lifetimes. But Haydn’s were the freshest, and he’d been exposed at close distance again today.
“Sophie asked for him and he settled in next to her. Pulled himself together and kept her calm.” Forte owed the dog for that alone, if there was any kind of way to repay the comfort Haydn had given Sophie. It wasn’t something quantifiable. “Either way, Sophie woke up jittery, but seeing Haydn distracted her. I’d rather she stay distracted until Ky has a chance to ask all the questions he has for her.”
The well-being of the dog should come first, and Haydn should have a chance to go back to his familiar kennel and get some rest. But if Haydn could be of help to Sophie, Forte was torn. Ky would share as much as he could with Forte, but the team at Hope’s Crossing Kennels had crossed paths with shady groups twice in the past year now. Forte would not take the risk of assuming this was a freak coincidence.
“For now, I’ll take off his prosthetic and let him rest.” The other two waited while Forte followed his words with action. Once the prosthetic was removed, Forte checked Haydn over for bruises or sensitive spots. He’d left the prosthetic on for longer today than Haydn had worn it since he’d been fitted. No signs of overuse, but he’d keep an eye on Haydn. For the moment, the big dog was happy to remain lying on the cool floor of the waiting area. “I want eyes on Sophie around the clock.”
Neither Cruz nor Rojas expressed argument.
“We can stretch to cover the lessons for the next day or two.” Rojas took up the conversation again once F
orte returned his attention to the humans of their group. “It’ll free you up to get Sophie settled back at home.”
“Think she should go home?” Cruz asked. “Lyn was asking whether Sophie should come to the kennels.”
They all chewed on the suggestion for a minute. The kennel grounds were more secure. It would be easier to watch for the next move of an enemy they knew existed but hadn’t yet identified. But they weren’t active military or law enforcement. They couldn’t just whisk Sophie away even if it was for her own good.
“Sophie wants to go to her home.” Forte drew the sentence out. Something about it twisted him inside, but he respected the life Sophie had built for herself since they’d graduated high school. She had a career, an apartment of her own, friends and family. Most important, she’d put her life together the way she wanted it. “I’ll take her there and make sure she’s okay. Depending on what the doctor says, things could be simple and all she’ll need is rest, or things could be complicated.”
Whoever had set the bomb might come back to make sure their target was well and truly dead.
Cruz shrugged. “We can help with whatever.”
“Whatever she lets us.” Rojas grinned. “This is Sophie. She’s got a mind of her own.”
“We’re going to make sure she’s safe, regardless.” Forte leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “We need to look hard at the possibilities.”
The other two men sat forward, grins gone.
“We crossed a couple of ex-SEALs and some still active duty when Atlas came to us.” Cruz rubbed his chin. When Atlas’s handler died under suspicious circumstances and Atlas had come to Hope’s Crossing Kennels, there’d been multiple clashes with ex-military-gone-private-contract resources. “There’s a possibility Lyn’s father would have some insight. We’ll reach out, see if there’s activity in this area again. He’s going to want to look into it if there is.”
Forte nodded reluctantly. None of them wanted to lean on Lyn’s father. He was still active military, high ranked, and involved in a very discreet investigation. The less to tie him to them, the better for all involved. But this was more about sharing information. Giving Lyn’s father a heads-up could be good in the overall scheme of things.
Absolute Trust Page 3