SOLACE: Behind The Shield (Beauty 0f Life Book 2)

by Laura Acton

  Jon blew out a breath. Now exceedingly glad he didn’t ream Dan at the zoo. Falling is not his fault. Recalling Dan rubbing his earlobe often, particularly tonight, he asked a follow-up question to determine if the rookie attempted to hide another illness. “Wouldn’t someone know they have an ear infection?”

  The doctor shook his head and shrugged slightly. “Not always. I asked Dan about his symptoms, and he told me he believed water became lodged in his left ear from going into a pool earlier today. He didn’t elaborate on his reasoning, but despite being wrong, his judgment is logical. Especially since Dan indicated he never suffered an infection of the middle ear before.”

  Glancing at his notes, Emery added, “Dan will be rather sore the next few days. I recommend light duty for the same period. His back is covered almost entirely in ecchymosis.”

  “Ewww, sounds nasty. Did he catch that from the elephants?” Loki asked.

  Dr. Emery laughed out loud. “Sorry. No. Injuries from the fall into the enclosure. Ecchymosis is doctor speak for bruising.”

  Loki mouthed, “Oh,” as the team chuckled.

  “So, will he have someone to observe him? If not, I will need to admit him.”

  “He’s staying with me,” Bram informed the doctor.

  Emery started back into the ER area. “Excellent, if you will follow me, I’ll finish preparing his care instructions and prescriptions for antibiotics. He can manage any pain with over the counter analgesics.”

  March 8

  Bram’s Home – Kitchen – 6:30 p.m.

  Despite the tight fit around Bram’s table with Bram, Kellie, their four girls, Dan, Loki, Sonia, and Mrs. Baldovino, everyone made due with the limited space and enjoyed a dinner of lasagna, fresh homemade Italian garlic bread, salad, and either red wine or fruit punch.

  Emilie sat next to her favorite uncle, Loki. Her eyes begged him to share his bread, and Loki happily tore his piece in two, handing Emilie the larger half. Loki, in turn, received a smile and a hug with messy hands which ended up covering the side and back of his shirt with red marinara sauce, but Loki didn’t care one whit as he hugged Emilie.

  Allie crawled up into Dan’s lap and treated him to a whole monolog on how lagsauna was the bestest food ever cause it had cheese, lotza cheese, noodles, and yummy sauce. Dan ate one-handed, trying to hold a wiggling little girl. Luckily, his balance issue had mostly resolved itself by mid-afternoon. If it had not, maintaining an upright position with Allie in his lap while eating, would’ve been a challenge.

  Leslie became fully engaged in chatting with Loki’s ma and sister asking how to make bread. Because Donata Baldovino spoke little English, having immigrated to Canada from Italy after she married Loki’s natural father Leonardo Baldovino, she generally relied on her children to interpret as Sonia did now.

  Sonia kept stealing glances at her brother’s attractive, single, new teammate. Her insides were awash with girlish giddiness as she covertly gazed at his ruggedly handsome face. The day’s growth of a light golden-blond beard, messy-styled short hair, and heavenly blue eyes all combined to accentuate his sexy appearance.

  She wished she occupied the space next to him so she might converse with him, but she settled for the occasional furtive glance and the indecent thoughts his visage created in her mind. In spite of being a good Catholic girl, raised to believe in abstinence, and waiting until marriage to have carnal knowledge of a man, her thoughts were not virginal in the least.

  Her improper, racy ideas even shocked her. She sighed and took another bite of Ma’s lasagna and resigned herself to the fact she would never act upon those notions. Her plans didn’t include a man at the moment.

  Sonia vowed never to be in the position her ma found herself in. Ma had depended on her horrible father for everything, and when he dumped her for a young harlot, Ma became completely reliant on family—on Dante primarily. Not that Dante would ever complain or consider providing for Ma a burden. No, Dante exuded kindness, a loving son and brother, who took care of the family.

  But Sonia wanted to be independent. Sure, her father paid for college, but once she graduated, she planned never to need another damned thing from him. The way Narciso treated Gina, Dante, and Ma went beyond reprehensible. It made her wish her birth father had been Leonardo Baldovino. Dante got his Italian Stallion looks and his personality from his pa. Ma always said Leonardo was the kindest, most intelligent, and handsomest man she ever met.

  Lost in her thoughts, Sonia lost track of the conversation between Ma and Leslie, so when the eye-catching blond said, “Leslie, Mrs. Baldovino said after the bread rises the first time you must punch it down and let it rise again,” it startled her.

  Loki stared at Dan. “You speak Italian, too?”

  Dan beheld with amusement the amazed expression on Loki’s face. Giving him a half-smile, he realized the implications of what he revealed by innocently translating for Leslie when Loki’s sister seemed distracted. “Yeah.”

  “Another Dantastic revelation. So, how many languages are you fluent in?” Loki said with a grin.

  Bram and Kellie shared a glance. Dan appeared to be starting to relax around them. The transformation, a long overdue but welcome sight.

  Dan shrugged. “Never really counted. Most are too rusty to cataloged in the spoken category.”

  Sonia smiled, happy to be able to enter a cross-table discussion. “If you don’t mind me asking, which ones aren’t?”

  Dan studied Loki’s younger sister. A cute girl with dark brown hair and honey brown eyes accentuating her glowing olive skin, he imagined the visage likely greeted Loki’s father when he first viewed his blushing bride. They possessed the same facial features including a bright smile.

  “Well, there’s English of course. French, Latin, Italian, Russian, Uzbek, Pashto, and a few others.”

  Loki’s jaw dropped. “How did you learn so many languages?”

  Bram shifted Sharlie in his arms and reached for another slice of fresh garlic bread, waiting and hoping Dan would answer. Bram honestly wanted to know just as much as Loki did. The number of languages Dan nonchalantly rattled off amazed him.

  Dan pushed down the negative thoughts associated with his learning most of them and simply answered, “Wasn’t much to do where I grew up. The general insisted my tutors include languages in my curriculum.”

  Sonia glossed over the general part and asked, “Where’d you grow up?”

  “In the northern Yukon at the Special Forces Arctic Training Base,” Dan shared and wondered why he revealed that piece of his childhood.

  He shifted his gaze to Kellie, and she smiled at him. Bram and Kellie welcomed him into their home and took care of him several times now. He felt safe here. Yeah, that’s why. The De Haven home is my safe harbor. A comfortable, warm, place which fills me with a sense of belonging.

  Catching Dan’s pensive mien, Kellie discretely steered the conversation away from him to something less personal. She witnessed the growing unease in sharing too much of his past. Limiting the details of his life he voluntarily released met with her approval, she understood wanting to keep the past hidden. Her less than stellar history hung over her head, always threatening to come crashing down and destroy her.

  After directing the chatter to a neutral subject, everyone enjoyed the remainder of dinner. Dan spoke with Mrs. Baldovino in Italian which they all noted thoroughly delighted Loki’s mother. Dan, Loki, and Bram did the cleanup afterward as the women and girls gathered in the living room with coffee, milk, and cookies.

  March 11

  Toronto Zoo – Elephant Encounter Area – Noon

  Dan sat on the bench watching Tinker, Toka, and Tonka. The night in their enclosure had been both terrible and awesome. Never had he experienced something as touching as elephants caring for him. He spent some of the first two days of his recovery time learning about elephants and discovered African elephants are highly social animals.

  The family group takes care of one another and if one of the herd is s
ick or injured the others stay with and defend it. Although fanciful, Dan liked to think they adopted him and treated him as an injured family member, staying with him until help arrived.

  Recalling the sensation of the baby’s trunk on his face, Dan grinned. He learned their trunks alone contain about one hundred thousand different muscles, and use them for social interactions, communicating via touch and smell. Mothers often caress their calves … a loving gesture not unique to humans.

  Elephants fascinated Dan, and he treasured his chance encounter with them, up-close and personal. But a sense of sadness overtook him too. His head dropped down to read the flyer in his hand. The Toronto Council decided to move the three elephants to the PAWS Sanctuary in California. They would be leaving in a few months.

  A light touch on Dan’s shoulder caused him to glance up. He smiled at Lexa, then spotted the rest of the team, and their families, a little way behind her, interspersed among the crowds.

  Jon reintroduced his wife Jen, who Dan met when she brought over a bunch of food when he recovered from bronchitis, and then his sons Kent and Joey. Little Joey appeared ecstatic to be at the zoo and kept tugging on Kent’s hand to see the elephants. Kent acquiesced, took his little brother-cousin near the enclosure, and picked him up to view the little elephant.

  Ray, Loki, and Boss arrived and greeted him next. Loki carried Emilie in his arms while Boss held Leslie’s hand.

  Bram and Kellie, the last to arrive, caused Dan to grin. Sharlie cheerfully cooed, ensconced in a baby carrier somewhat resembling a tactical vest, attached to Bram’s chest. Allie broke free from her mother’s hand, raced to him as fast as her little feet would allow, and jumped into his lap.

  He hugged the special little girl and kissed her nose. Dan stood, securely holding Allie, and surveyed those around him. A sense of belonging to this team embraced him. He appreciated their acceptance when he extended the offer to come to the zoo with him today. Some of the shattered pieces of his life began mending.

  Shifting Allie to his hip, Dan said, “The keeper is waiting for us. You ready to meet my elephant family?”

  Loki nodded along with everyone else. Still surprised Dan managed to arrange a back-scenes meet and greet with the awesome elephants. Loki responded enthusiastically, “This is cool, lead the way, Dantastic!”

  A nickname meant they liked and respected him which felt wonderful. Dan shook his head at the moniker as he gave Loki a lopsided grin. Loki’s nickname for me is strange but certainly more creative than Blondie.

  Impressive Move and Cheap Shot

  38

  April 1

  TRF HQ – Outside Gym – 9:55 a.m.

  Taking a break from his paperwork, Nick leaned on the doorjamb to the gym to monitor his team as they trained in hand-to-hand combat. This morning progressed well so far. The slow day allowed time for extra training, always a bonus for the team.

  Smiling, Nick viewed Dan and Loki sparring. He noted the visual evidence of their rookie’s physical and emotional improvement. The dark circles under his eyes faded which indicated restful nights, and he regained all the weight he lost. Dan appeared stronger now—a welcome sight.

  The after-shift socializing with Lexa, Loki, and Ray, which he learned of via banter tossed about in the locker room went a long way in helping to smooth over some rough edges. He also became aware of Dan participating in one of Loki’s, Ray’s, and Lexa’s movie nights. He smiled recalling Dan’s remarkably wicked sense of humor as he joined in the teasing of Loki for his movie choice.

  Jon and Dan, though talking now, maintained an interesting dynamic. The heated discussions in debrief over Jon’s perception of Dan’s unacceptable risks presented proof they didn’t see eye to eye on their definition of risk. Though, unlike before, each man took time to examine an opposing point-of-view and learned from them.

  He recognized two strengths Dan exhibited. First, he possessed an intense desire to protect others. This was obvious to anyone witnessing Jon’s and Dan’s constructive confrontations, as Jon called them. Actions Nick once attributed to Dan as possible warning signs of suicide in the line of duty, he now acknowledged as ingrained behaviors. Although Nick still believed Dan didn’t value his life as much as he should, the fear of losing Dan to a personal death wish began to diminish to almost nothing.

  His second forte, since it augmented his ability to be a protector, was resilience. His rookie tended to cope rather well with calls which ended badly. Nick also realized to be in Special Forces Dan would’ve had to be robust psychologically. The men selected for JTF2 must endure a lot, and they would be meticulously screened in the selection process.

  Nick appreciated the efforts of Bram and Lexa. The team had them to thank for the change in Dan and the team’s dynamics. Those two reached out and connected with Dan. They were able to start prying open the shields Dan hid his true self behind, creating a path for the rest to follow.

  At Jon’s insistence, Lexa remained Dan’s primary partner. A true miracle worker, Lexa continued to excel in breaching Dan’s protective shell. The heart of their team facilitated acceptance, by fostering a two-way exchange of life experiences. She helped the others learn about Dan, then shared details about them with him.

  We would be lost without her. The team appears to be finally starting to jell. The only downside is it took nine months to occur. That is on me. If I had not been blind to the wounded soul joining my team in July, accepting Dan wouldn’t have taken so long.

  Nick liked the real Dan. If he were honest, he would’ve selected him for this team if given a chance. Smart, funny, courageous, honorable, and one heck of a marksman. Dan belongs here, and I hope he will soon accept the concepts of being wanted and being part of our family now.

  He smiled, sighed, and turned to go back to the briefing room where an endless stream of paperwork called him.

  TRF HQ – Gym – 10:00 a.m.

  Dan faced Loki on the mat searching for an opening. At the moment, Dan acted as the subject, firmly gripping a rubber knife in his dominant left hand, ready to strike. Jon, Ray, Bram, and Lexa stood around the padded area, cheering them both on.

  Circling his quarry, Dan drew on his experiences and training with Ripsaw, making an astute analysis of his opponent’s style and weaknesses. Loki is right handed and tends to leave his left side open and vulnerable. It would be a little tricky, but not impossible to go for Loki’s exposed side, he only needed to find the right opportunity.

  Recognizing he should practice more right-handed, Dan considered switching the practice blade to his non-dominant hand. It would make it easier to attack Loki’s open left, but to move the knife to his right hand might provide Loki with a chance to disarm and or take him down. Possessing a competitive nature, neither outcome was acceptable.

  Ray cheered on Loki loudly and did everything in his power to distract Dan because, despite the speed the three of them were becoming buddies, his allegiance continued to be aligned with his best friend. Besides, Bram cheered almost as heartily for Dan and attempted to impair Loki’s attention. So, fair was fair, to Ray’s thinking.

  Loki and Dan began to draw a crowd. Only natural for whenever teams sparred it tended to grab the attention of other units in the building. Delta Team members, scheduled to start their shift at noon, stopped to witness the two combatants, having heard the hype, they wanted to see the moves of the ex-Special Forces rookie for themselves.

  Most of Sergeant Turpin’s team were impressed, but not their sniper, Aaron Plouffe, or their rookie, close quarters and entry specialist Cooper Geiger, who joined TRF five months after Broderick.

  Cooper stood with arms crossed watching the sparring match. He didn’t understand how the members of Alpha put up with Broderick as a teammate. He listened to the grapevine, though most information came from his previous Vice Sergeant McNally, a veteran officer who remembered Broderick from his time in the Fourteenth Division, and from his new colleague Aaron.

  From Aaron, Delta’s sniper, he learned of
Broderick’s ignominious start and past. How a top-down decision, about nine months ago, forcibly dumped Broderick on Alpha Team. Aaron also shared how the team hated Broderick and how Lexa and Loki attacked him after he shot Ray. Pastore’s team had no say in the matter at all ... unlike Delta, who chose me.

  Cooper discovered from McNally that Broderick originally left the force because he got his panties in a bunch over a little hazing. He believed Broderick to be a rich boy with no substance who only played at cops and robbers to impress girls, and had no business being a constable.

  McNally also alluded to Broderick’s father, the Special Forces General, being disappointed when Broderick couldn’t hack it and resigned from the police. Word on the street indicated to save face General Broderick facilitated Dan joining the military and his transition under his command without meeting the requirements—nepotism at its finest.

  Broderick screwed up big-time somehow. Aaron, parroting the words his uncle, an officer in JTF2 said the general couldn’t cover for Dan anymore and kicked him out of the service. But again, to preserve family honor, General Broderick managed to arrange Dan’s placement on the elite police unit.

  Must be nice to have the power and money to buy your way into any job. Watching Broderick spar with Baldovino, Cooper saw no exceptional skills which a supposed ex-super soldier should have in hand-to-hand combat. Fair at best.

  Cooper spotted Broderick feinting one way but moving another. Sheesh, so predictable. He grinned as Baldovino effectively block the attack, and the two men continued circling one another until Baldovino lunged and tried to grab Broderick’s left hand. He chalked it up to luck, not ability, as Broderick twisted away in time.

  Getting bored because neither made a concerted move, Cooper said, “Come on, Baldovino, put Broderick on his ass.” His less than supportive comment garnered several odd looks from both teams.