Operation Alpha

by Justine Davis

  “If you two need some privacy,” Liam joked in turn, making as if to leave.

  “Shut up, Burnett,” Quinn said lightly, never taking his eyes off his wife, “and finish the report.”

  “Mutually exclusive?” Liam pointed out.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah. Well.” He took a sip of coffee. It was the blend Hayley liked. Quinn had once been a straight, plain, strong black coffee guy, but Hayley had broadened his horizons, as she called it. And Liam had to admit he didn’t mind the occasional different flavor. “I think I will get there. If he gives me enough time.”

  Quinn’s brow furrowed. “You think he might do something before you get there?”

  “I’m hoping our sessions are taking the edge off for him, in addition to getting him to trust me.”

  “He is on the edge, then,” Hayley said.

  “Of something. I think Emily and... Ms. Connelly are right—there’s something deeper going on. I just don’t have any idea what it is yet.”

  He didn’t think Quinn had noticed his slight hesitation over what to call Ria, but he knew Hayley had. Women always did notice that kind of thing. He kept going, half-afraid she’d make a remark. He’d had enough teasing from Dylan and from Ria’s class yesterday. Then the door chime rang.

  “Saved by the bell,” he muttered to himself as Quinn got up to answer.

  And Liam nearly groaned aloud when he saw that the bell hadn’t saved him at all.

  It was Ria.

  “You just missed Emily and her parents,” Quinn said as he led her back into the comfortable seating area in front of the fireplace, “but Emily said you met with them this morning.”

  She acknowledged Hayley, then Liam and if there was any difference between the two greetings, he couldn’t see or hear it. Which irked him in a perverse sort of way he didn’t like.

  “Yes, I did,” she said as she sat down. “We do one-on-ones with parents regularly. I wish all my students’ parents were as involved as they are.”

  “There had to be a reason she’s who she is,” Hayley said with a smile.

  Ria smiled the warm, contented smile of someone who was utterly certain they were where they were supposed to be in life.

  “Liam can give you an update on things, if that’s what you need,” Quinn said, and Liam felt his pulse kick up when it appeared his boss was going to leave them alone. He opened his mouth to say it wasn’t necessary, that they’d been in regular contact, when Ria spoke.

  “Actually, I sort of have one for you,” she said. Quinn, thankfully, sat back down. “I talked to an acquaintance of mine this afternoon who works at the school Dylan’s brother attends. He said Kevin has been getting into trouble and verified he’s been cutting.”

  “I’d better call Ty back,” Liam said, starting to rise. “I had him looking into that.”

  Quinn gave him a look that had him sitting back down. As if Quinn knew somehow that he was just grabbing the chance to get out of the room. Liam didn’t think he’d shown anything, but then Quinn always insisted he had the worst poker face.

  “Text him to stand down,” Quinn said, mildly enough. Then he looked back at Ria. “Do you think that’s what’s up with Dylan? He’s worried about his brother?”

  “It could be,” Ria said, but she sounded doubtful. “But—”

  She stopped when Cutter woofed softly. A split second later, Liam’s cell rang. He saw Ria look at the dog and nearly grinned despite himself; knowing a phone was about to ring was only one of the dog’s rather spooky talents.

  It was the generic ring assigned to callers who didn’t have their own. He pulled it out, saw the most recent number added to his contact list.

  “Dylan,” he said.

  The room fell quiet as he answered.

  “Hey, Dylan.”

  Silence. Liam frowned. “You there?”

  The boy’s voice sounded shaken when he finally answered. “Yeah. Look, I’m sorry to bother—”

  Liam straightened at the way Dylan sounded. Ria reacted immediately, going very still. Even Cutter got to his feet. “No bother. What’s up?”

  “It’s my... I need... I don’t know what to do.”

  “Two things,” Liam said briskly, standing up. “Where are you and what happened?”

  The boy hesitated. Ria was also on her feet now. Quinn and Hayley waited silently, letting him handle it.

  “I can’t help if I don’t know, buddy.” Liam dug into his pocket for his keys.

  “I shouldn’t have called you.”

  “Yes, you should. Are you hurt?” He heard Ria’s breath catch.

  “No,” Dylan said quickly. “No. Not me.”

  “Kevin?”

  The catch in the boy’s breath told him he was right. And he headed for the door, Cutter at his heels. Ria was right behind him, and he was too focused on Dylan to tell her he’d handle it.

  “Are you at a hospital?” It didn’t sound like it, but he had to ask.

  “No. It’s not that bad. Just a bad scrape, I think. But...”

  “Cutter and I will come get you both. Then we can decide what to do.”

  The boy finally gave in. Maybe at the mention of the dog.

  “We’re in the waterfront park where you dropped me off that day, only at the playground down past the end of the boardwalk.”

  He had no idea where that was, but he’d find out. “I’m on my way. Just stay there, okay?”

  When Dylan hung up, he looked at the others. “Is there a playground in the marina park?”

  Ria answered instantly. “Yes. Some swings and stuff, down near the head of the bay. I’ll go with you.”

  His protest was reflexive. “I’m not sure—”

  “It only makes sense. I know where it is. Dylan knows me. Likes me, I think.”

  He had to admit it made sense. Dylan did know and like her, and it might take two of them to handle both boys, depending on the situation.

  “And,” Hayley put in, “Ria can see to his brother, give you and Cutter the chance to get Dylan to talk. Younger kids tend to trust women more. Between you and Cutter, they’ll both be safe.”

  “Roll?” Quinn suggested, rather firmly.

  Liam nearly flushed. Quinn was right; he was letting his emotions interfere with the job. That had never happened before, and he didn’t like that it had now.

  He opened the door, and Cutter raced ahead of them out to his truck. Parked next to it, Liam saw what had to be Ria’s car, an older but well-maintained little coupe in a surprisingly flashy red, with a parking sticker that said Cove Academy. The idea to suggest she drive separately flitted through his mind, but when she went to his passenger door—and he realized he was still letting his feelings interfere—he slammed the door on the thought.

  Dylan had reached out to him, the goal of this entire operation, and he’d damned well better get his head back in the game.

  Chapter 14

  Ria wondered if he just liked working alone or if it was something more personal. She was confused. Sometimes they seemed to get along well—almost too well—and then he’d get like this, acting as if having her around even to help was a pain.

  At least Cutter liked her, she thought as the dog stuck his head over her seat and gave her a quick swipe of his tongue on her ear. She laughed in spite of her tangled thoughts.

  “Aren’t you just the cleverest boy,” she crooned to the dog, reaching up to stroke his soft fur. She hadn’t missed that, despite the fact that Quinn and Hayley’s car was parked outside, along with her own, he’d known to head for Liam’s truck. And that was over and above the fact that he seemed to have somehow known that Liam’s phone was about to ring. Maybe cell phones let out some kind of vibration or hum inaudible to human ears before they actuall
y rang.

  Or maybe Cutter was clairvoyant.

  She nearly laughed again at her own thoughts. And out of the corner of her eye caught Liam glancing at her.

  She decided to ignore his mood, whatever it was. “I’m so glad Dylan reached out to you. That he already trusts you that much.”

  “I’m surprised. I thought maybe he’d have called you or...what’s his math teacher’s name?”

  “Jim Darnton. Likeable, but... Jim’s hardly the call-in-an-emergency sort, not like you. He’s no alpha male. He gets woozy at a paper cut.”

  He smiled. He didn’t comment on the implied compliment, she supposed because he knew it was a given that he, and Foxworth, were the kind of people you wanted around in a crisis, no matter the size. And despite his laid-back, casual demeanor, Ria sensed this man was one-hundred-percent alpha male when necessary.

  She just hoped it wouldn’t be necessary.

  “Did he say what happened?” she asked. And after he’d relayed the conversation, she frowned. “Ten-year-old boys get scraped up all the time. I wonder why this time has him so upset?”

  “Hopefully we’ll find out. If he’ll talk to me.”

  “He called you. We have to hope that means he will.” She gave him a sideways look. “And I promise I’ll stay out of your way.”

  She liked that he looked chagrined. Did he think she wouldn’t notice that he hadn’t wanted her to come?

  “I didn’t mean—”

  She cut him off with a wave. “I get that my job is to take care of Kevin while you deal with Dylan. You’re the one with the rapport. And that was always the plan. I’m just glad it’s working.”

  “Worked faster than I thought.” He sounded grateful that she’d moved on as he halted at the corner stop sign.

  “Why wouldn’t it? You’re just the type kids his age find cool.”

  He chuckled. “Kids I went to school with would laugh at that thought.”

  “We all have an awkward phase. If that’s what that was, you obviously outgrew it. You’re doing good work now.”

  He shrugged. “Some days it’s the only thing that gets me through, knowing what we do. I know who I am, now. Thanks to Foxworth.” He glanced at her again as they waited for traffic to clear. “Not as early as you did, but...”

  “Obviously you’ve found your niche. And I know that not everybody’s lucky enough to know exactly what they want as early as I did.”

  “Lucky kids.”

  “Thank you,” she said, meaning it. And warmed that he’d said it, for she sensed that the words were genuine, not just part of the easy charm that seemed to go with the drawl.

  Someone in the heavy cross traffic on the main road—a ferry must have just come in—slowed to let them in. Liam made the turn, giving the other driver a wave of thanks.

  “They know you really care,” he said when they were moving again.

  “When Emily first expressed her concerns, I’d hoped Dylan might come to me. I know he really loved his mother, and I thought he might need a woman to talk to.”

  The glance he gave her then was more than amused. “You, a mother figure to a sixteen-year-old boy? I don’t think so.”

  She frowned. “I wasn’t trying to be his mother.”

  “Good thing. You’re way too hot.”

  In that moment she completely understood the phrase jaw dropping. She was sure hers had.

  “I...thank you.” I think.

  The silence in the cab of the truck was suddenly fraught with...something she couldn’t name. Or didn’t dare name. She wasn’t sure which. But this was quite different from his subtle compliment on her favorite perfume.

  And Liam wouldn’t look at her after he said it. No more quick glances as he drove. In fact, his hands seemed tighter on the truck’s steering wheel. Just as well, she thought. Who knew what her face must look like. It might even reflect the crazy, heated thoughts that had careened through her mind at his words. Being compared to a beautiful, lovely scented rose garden was one thing; being called “way too hot” was something else altogether.

  The silence strung out in the cab. She almost wished Cutter would do something, anything, to break the mood. Couldn’t he bark at something? Do one of his other clever tricks? She even looked back at the dog, who was lolling comfortably on the small backseat. He looked...

  Smug.

  The darn dog looked smug. She’d never seen such an expression on a dog’s face before, and she wasn’t one to attribute human emotions to animals, but there was no other way to describe that look.

  She was grateful when they got close enough to the park that she could give him directions.

  “There’s a parking lot just across from the rehab center. The stairs down into the park from there come out right near the play area.”

  He nodded but said nothing. The small parking area was empty, and he pulled in near the wooden steps. They got out, Liam moving the seat forward to let Cutter out.

  There were only a couple of people walking along the path that wound through the tall trees. When they reached the edge of the clearing that overlooked the water and held a swing set and other children’s play things, she immediately saw the small boy seated on one of the swings, with his big brother crouched beside him. And it struck her just how much Dylan’s life had really changed.

  “He’s really had to step up,” Liam said softly, startling her with how closely he’d echoed her thoughts.

  “Yes,” she agreed. She could see the child wasn’t badly hurt, so she said, “Why don’t you go ahead? I’ll wait until you see how Dylan feels about me being here.”

  He looked at her. She couldn’t read his expression. But he nodded, and she watched as he walked past the last of the trees and stepped into the sunlit clearing. She had the strongest feeling that, had he stumbled upon this entire situation on his own, unrelated to his work with Foxworth, he would be doing exactly the same thing. He would step in to help. Whether it was paying forward what Quinn had done for him or just his own innate code, she didn’t know, but Liam Burnett would always help if he could. She didn’t even know how she could be so certain, but she was.

  He let Cutter go ahead of him, and the dog raced over toward the swings. Suddenly he stopped, about four feet from the two boys. He looked from Dylan to his little brother, then back, then back again, sniffing deeply the whole time. Finally he glanced back at Liam and gave a rather curious-sounding whine. As if he were puzzled by something. She saw Liam frown, as if he, too, were puzzled, if only by the dog’s reaction.

  But then Dylan said something, perhaps introducing the dog and Liam to Kevin, and Cutter trotted forward as if nothing had happened. She wondered if Kevin would be frightened of the dog, but Dylan said something and the boy looked up and smiled. Ria could see the boy’s cheeks were damp and guessed he’d been crying, so that smile was no small accomplishment. Cutter seemed to accurately judge his welcome and closed in to lick the child’s face. Kevin’s smile widened. And when Liam approached, Kevin appeared nothing more than normally wary. Dylan must have explained about him.

  On that thought her gaze shifted to the older boy. She could almost feel Dylan’s tension ease from here as Liam came to a halt before them. Could see his posture change, his body language shift from protective to open. He did trust Liam. And Cutter. Or perhaps he trusted Liam so much because of Cutter.

  And why not? He’d been open, encouraging and invited the boy in.

  It seemed it was only her whom he got distant with.

  You’re way too hot.

  Ria gave herself a mental shake. Putting those two thoughts together in her silly brain did not mean they were really connected. Besides, it was Dylan and his brother she needed to focus on now. Not the way this guy unsettled her.

  So she waited. And hoped Liam was getting some answers. />
  Chapter 15

  “Watch,” Liam ordered Cutter.

  The dog promptly sat at Kevin’s feet and plopped his head on the child’s knee. Kevin leaned over and buried his face in the soft fur. The child had been wary, as expected, but it eased when Dylan had told him Liam was “the martial arts guy.” Liam had crouched to check the boy’s injuries and found them to be messy but fairly minor: a long scrape along his right forearm that had bled some and a pair of reddened, skinned knees.

  Feeling fairly sure the boy would stay put, he drew Dylan aside, noticing that the boy positioned himself where he could keep an eye on his brother.

  “You said you had first aid training,” Dylan said.

  Liam nodded. “He’ll be okay. Need to get that scrape cleaned up, but it’s not deep.” He glanced at the child to make sure he wasn’t getting restless, but Kevin appeared much too enraptured with Cutter to move.

  He looked back at Dylan. “What’d he jump off of?” Dylan gave him a startled look. Liam’s mouth twisted wryly. “Had a few of those sets of scrapes myself. Back from when I wanted to see if I could fly.”

  A faint smile that didn’t last crossed Dylan’s face. “He said he just slipped and fell on the porch steps at home, but...”

  “You don’t think so.”

  Dylan let out a sigh that was far too weary for a sixteen-year-old who should be thinking about nothing more complicated than school or getting his driver’s license.

  “What is it, Dylan? I can see you’re worried.”

  “This is, like, the fourth time he’s gotten hurt like that. It’s happening too often.”

  “You think maybe he’s gotten careless, reckless? It happens. Grief is pretty consuming.”

  Dylan looked at him. And Liam had the craziest thought that his expression reminded him of his mother’s the night he’d been arrested. Full of pain. And fear. It hit him then.

  “You think he’s doing this to himself,” he said softly.