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

by Laura Acton

  His phone buzzing interrupted Dan’s thoughts. He was with the only people who might call him. Wondering who was calling, Dan tugged his cell from his pocket. Spying an unknown number, he answered with a brisk tone, “Broderick.”

  The conversation at the table halted, and Lexa lowered her beer, noting Dan’s entire body language change in an instant.

  Dan went rigid as he instantly and unconsciously came to attention on the barstool. “Sir?”

  Loki’s expression slowly lost its merriment as he observed Dan.

  Dan listened to the general as the commanding voice explained he needed to keep his head on a swivel. Becca’s most recent ex-boyfriend, Jorge Pletcher, posed a risk to the family. A former intelligence agent who they determined to be working both sides after he attempted to kill Becca in France. Dan’s need to protect his mother and sister surged, even though they didn’t care about him. His tone rock hard and all business, he asked, “Is she in a safe place now, sir?”

  The team glanced at each other confused? Is who safe?

  Dan reeled as his father spoke, his mind focusing on one inconsistency. Why did the general call to advise me to be aware of my surroundings? It doesn’t make sense. He would be happy if this Pletcher guy kills me. Why warn me?

  General Broderick answered, “Yes, Becca is safe. I moved your sister and mother to a safe house until we locate Pletcher. I’m not sure of his next move, so watch your back, Daniel. I’ll send you a photo of Pletcher, so you know what the man looks like.”

  Then William struggled to decide whether to tell Daniel about the stolen mail. They investigated and did not uncover any leads or answers. But Tom was right, Daniel had a right to know his cousins and others had not forsaken him. His voice softened slightly as he said, “Daniel, there is something else I must tell you.”

  Though relieved his mother and Becca were in a secure location, the general’s tone perplexed him, and the content of the last sentence caused him to say, “What, sir?”

  William raked a hand through his short, blond hair as he tried to control his swirling emotions of fury and sorrow. What happened to his son tormented him—it ripped his guts out. He wanted to find the responsible party and make them pay for hurting Daniel and the others in this manner.

  To plow through the appalling circumstances without losing emotional control, William chose to use his matter of fact voice. “Your cousins never stopped writing you. You just never received any of their correspondence. I am in possession of all the dispatches they sent to you. I thought you shou—”

  Dan stood. His voice came out sharp and incredulous as he cut off his father, “You stopped my letters on purpose? Damn you!” He lost control and pitched his phone at the wall with all his force. The device shattered upon impact, sending pieces flying in all directions.

  The team gaped at Dan, as did everyone else in the bar. In an instant, right before their eyes, their stoic rookie morphed into man none of them knew existed. Dan’s whole body exuded an extreme ferocity—he appeared as if he would kill anyone who approached him. The behavior shocked them all speechless and immobilized them.

  Jon recovered first, and he stood, ready for action. “Broderick …”

  Dan’s icy glare landed on Jon.

  Wow, there is definitely emotion in Dan. I never want that deadly fury directed at me. No coward, but Dan’s expression caused Jon to take an unconscious step backward.

  Nick swallowed hard at the intense rage their rookie displayed. He rose with cautious motions and put his hands out non-threateningly, as he would when negotiating with enraged subjects. Using his negotiator’s voice, Nick probed, “Dan, is there a problem?”

  Dan turned to Boss as his sergeant’s quiet words cut through Dan’s roiling outrage. He blew out a breath and sucked in another one as he tried to calm down. Managing to gain some control, Dan replied, “No problem …”

  He sat back down, grabbed his beer with a grip which threatened to crack the glass, and downed the remaining contents. Dan fought for composure and to keep from hurling the mug too. He focused on sniper breathing to settle his rapid heart rate. Damn him! Damn the general to the deepest depths of hell! How could he do that? Why? Why?

  Jon and Nick returned to their seats after sharing a glance. Whatever just occurred was not good. The team remained silent as they witnessed Dan struggling to regain control.

  The bar occupants gradually resumed their conversations when no further outburst occurred—apparently, the show ended.

  When Dan’s fierce, white-knuckled grip on his glass lessened, Lexa reached out and lay her hand on Dan’s right shoulder. Gently, she asked, “Who was on the phone?”

  Dan shifted his gaze to Lexa at her soft words. He scanned her hazel eyes and only read warmth and concern. Blowing out a final ragged breath he regained full control. “The general.”

  Lexa clasped his shoulder, her gaze thanking him for sharing. She began to understand she possessed the ability to communicate with Dan via her eyes. He sought them out when he peered at her, and she was always drawn to his too. She never experienced this kind of connection with anyone.

  Jon broke the spell between Dan and Lexa when he said, “I take it he said something you didn’t like.”

  “You could say that,” Dan answered flatly as he broke eye contact with Lexa and glanced over at the waitress sweeping up the phone pieces.

  Bram squeezed Dan’s left bicep, an action he now comprehended meant something to Dan. Exactly what, he was not sure, but Dan reacted positively to the touch. “Care to share with us?”

  Dan raked his hands through his hair. He took a moment to glance at each of them. He didn’t want to share, so he said, “More of the same crap.”

  Somewhat nervous, Loki had only seen the unemotional soldier and the guy with a sense of humor. Well, also the grief-stricken man behind the shield. The deadly soldier he witnessed now made him edgy, but he pushed down his anxiety, needing to understand why Dan became enraged. “What did you mean when you said you stopped my mail?”

  Ray flagged down a waitress and ordered the next round. Dan could use another beer. Plainly, his father said something to upset him. Ray almost laughed. Upset isn’t the right word. More like pissed off, enraged, and infuriated.

  Dan pursed his lips. Damn, I shared more than I should lately. But he found himself explaining. “The general called to inform me my mother and sister are now in a safe house. My sister’s ex-boyfriend tried to kill her. Then he told me my cousins never stopped writing as I assumed. The general withheld my letters from me. He said he has all their postings. I thought they didn’t care about me anymore and quit writing.”

  Loki’s eyes widened. “Holy smokes!” Thought I had a terrible stepfather. Dan’s father is a whole new level of dastardliness. “Why would he do that?”

  Bram pressed the left bicep again. Christ, Dan’s dad sounds like a piece of work. Why would his father do something so horrible? Why would a father intentionally cause his son pain by isolating him? Bram’s heart went out to Dan. He had been hurt terribly in many ways.

  Lexa rubbed Dan’s shoulder. His father sounds as bad as mine. He said his sister and mom are in a safe place. So, his mom and at least one sister are still alive. But Dan clearly used past tense when he talked about them when we had dinner. I must’ve misinterpreted what he said. She sensed something else was up and knew she shouldn’t ask, but the melancholy expression on Dan’s face made her anyway. “So, your cousins do care. How many do you have?”

  Dan turned to Lexa recognizing open interest without an ulterior motive. “Ten. Tiffany, Pamela, Scott, Adam, Ashley, Vicky, Jeff, Amelia, Zach, and Kyle. Only the guys wrote to me regularly. Their posts dwindled and stopped altogether during my third year in Special Forces. I have not communicated with most of them for over four years. Haven’t spoken to them in about seven. I used to be close with them all, especially Scott.”

  Ray thought about his extended family. They were an essential part of his life. “You could al
ways reach out to them. If your father stopped their mail to you, he might’ve stopped yours to them.”

  Dan stared at Ray. That possibility had not crossed his mind. Probably because he struggled to come to grips with what the general did and to come up with an answer as to why. As a beer arrived, he took a long draw, needing a way to deflect from his personal issues. “Enough about me. This is Lexa’s party.” He forced a grin as he asked, “How about a ride on my bike for a birthday present?”

  Lexa started to understand Dan’s deflection techniques. She grinned and said, “Only if I can drive.”

  Dan grimaced and teased, “You’re gonna strip my gears.”

  Her eyes danced as Lexa’s thoughts drifted to something far different than a motorcycle ride. I would love to strip something … and it is not your Ducati’s gears. You, however, my blond teammate with stunning blue eyes, which dare me to throw caution to the wind are another story. Too bad my birthday fantasy won’t be coming true tonight.

  Today of All Days

  44

  May 26

  Green Acres Cemetery – Brody’s Grave - 10:00 a.m.

  Newly christened Toronto Emergency Medical Services Senior Paramedic James Shea stood at the grave of Brody Mikhail Hunter chastising himself as his visit seemed long overdue. Many times during the past three months he meant to stop, but his whirlwind life changed his plans each time.

  He took a knee and placed a hand on the headstone. “Hey, Brody. Sorry it took me so long to visit. Things went to hell after you died. Nothing made sense anymore, so I decided to leave the unit. I’m a paramedic now.”

  Jim sat down giving his knees a rest. His voice cracked a bit, “We failed you. We let you down. I remember you always telling us if anything ever happened to you we would need to take care of Blondie. We kidded you about your concern, laughed, and believed everything thing would be okay. Then the unthinkable happened. Brody, he shattered, broke into a million tiny fragments. And well, hell, truthfully we all were F.I.N.E. after your death. So lost we couldn’t find our asses without a map. By the time we got our heads on straight, we lost him. We utterly failed both of you.”

  He toyed with the plastic angel, no bigger than a toy soldier in his hand. “I brought you a gift for your birthday.” Reaching over, he placed the angel near the base of the gravestone. “Thought it might be fitting. Figured you’re a Guardian Angel now. I believe you’re in heaven. You possessed too much light in you to go anywhere else. If you can, will you watch over Blondie for us, until we find him? We’re searching, but he excels at hiding in plain sight.

  “Remember the time it took us a full day to find Blondie when we trained while he recovered. I tramped over his spot several times. Blondie never made a sound when I stepped on him. Perhaps you can help us locate him like you did that day. Send me a sign or something.” Jim sighed.

  He wanted to come before today, but sorting things out prevented him. Arriving in Ottawa on March first, it took two weeks to process out of the military and another to pack his belongings and ship them to Toronto. Afterwards, he flew to Vancouver to visit his parents for a week.

  For seven days, he listened to them beg him to settle in Vancouver. He applied to the Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver at the same time. When offered a senior paramedic position with Toronto EMS, he accepted. With all his military training, he more than qualified. So, this is where he ended up, much to his parents’ dismay. What did surprise him though, given his background both in the classroom and field, Jim had still been required to take a mandatory training course which consumed another six weeks.

  The last fourteen days had been non-stop twelve-to-sixteen-hour shifts. The long hours not new to him, but call after call of injured people and sleep deprivation took its toll. He found himself falling into bed as soon as he arrived home and only waking to his alarm to start the vicious cycle again.

  But Jim insisted to his partner that he must make this stop. He couldn’t allow Brody’s birthday go by without visiting. Jim glanced at the headstone. Music soothes the soul and lights the path to the beauty of life. He patted his lower cargo pocket. Beauty will always be here and charged. A habit he couldn’t … wouldn’t quit until they found Blondie.

  Trey hurried to his new partner, hating to intrude. “Jim, we received a call. An officer is injured, sounds bad.”

  Jim nodded and rose. “Later, Brody, duty calls.” As he jogged to the rig, he queried Trey, “Do you think it’s the constable you told me about? The one who keeps getting hurt.”

  Trey shook his head. “Nah, this a patrol officer, not TRF.”

  “What’s the TRF constable’s name?”

  “Don’t remember. Never treated him myself, but he is fast surpassing the record-holder, Bram De Haven. And that is some feat.”

  Backseat of TRF SUV – 4:00 p.m.

  Dan climbed into the rear passenger seat of the SUV, apprehensive of the ride back to HQ. Jon is pissed off at me. Again!

  Although back on the job for four weeks, after getting his ass impaled by a glass shelf when they responded to the shooting at Grandwood Mall, Jon continued to mollycoddle him. Today, Jon assigned him to clear the building’s lower levels which frustrated and infuriated Dan.

  Despite being cleared for active duty for two full weeks, it appeared to Dan that Jon still didn’t trust he was recovered and competent enough to handle his responsibilities. A perception both unwanted and unwarranted.

  The tactical lead’s behavior towards him put more demands on the rest of the team … unacceptable in Dan’s book since he was capable of pulling his weight. And with so much to atone for, Dan required tangible proof he made a difference, and the team needed him—especially today.

  So, Dan loudly and forcefully made Jon aware of his tactical error in allocating him to the lowest levels instead of the top floors. As a result, Jon exploded at him for questioning him during a call. Jon’s verbal rebuke had been a quick and sharp. ‘My team, my orders. Can’t follow my commands then you don’t belong here,’ not only offended Dan but also struck a raw nerve. Today of all days, I don’t need this.

  Though the call ended peaceably, Jon caustically ordered him to the SUVs, punctuated with a steely-eyed glare. Dan schooled his features, so he didn’t show his outrage or hurt. It wouldn’t do to display emotion now since it would provoke Jon more, and Dan refused to reveal his current vulnerability.

  Dan turned his head and caught his reflection in the mirror. He closed his eyes refusing to focus on the haunted visage glaring back at him. His tormented psyche kept telling him, if he didn’t look, he wouldn’t need to acknowledge his pain. His rational mind understood his hold to be tenuous at best. The strong cord keeping him grounded began fraying under the increased strain until only the slimmest of threads remained.

  Right up until twelve days ago, Dan had been okay, but when his past sucker-punched him, the ivory-handled pistol began fervently beckoning to him once more. He had been making progress there, but when he recalled what day approached and what today represented, all bets were off as he struggled to cope with the torrent of emotions.

  Despite his unsettled thoughts, Dan yawned.

  Inside the Command Truck – 4:00 p.m.

  Ray, Loki, and Lexa all muted their headsets. None of them appeared happy in the least.

  “Why did Jon talk to Dan that way?” Loki scowled.

  Lexa shook her head. “Not sure, but Dan did question his orders. Still, it was not an appropriate thing to say.”

  Ray sighed. “I’m more interested in why Jon has been treating Dan differently the past week. It’s like Jon thinks Dan isn’t capable anymore.”

  “I know, right? Dan passed the requals—spectacularly. Jon should quit riding him,” Loki said with frustration.

  “Perhaps Jon believes Dan’s head isn’t in the game. His appearance suggests he may be spending a few too many late nights with the ladies,” Lexa suggested half-heartedly grasping for a reason.

  She noted a return of the
dark smudges under Dan’s eyes in the last week or so. And he avoided going out to dinner with her for two weeks. Lexa assumed he found a new lady friend. He is a hot-blooded male after all. And she still dated guys. Sporadically like she always did because she was not dating Dan. They were only friends enjoying dinner together because they both needed to eat. Nothing more.

  Ray grinned. “Dan sure is a ladies’ man, even with those dark circles under his eyes. Got the whole vampire thing going on which draws more ladies.”

  Loki chuckled. “Dantastic sure attracts more than his fair share of women.” His chuckling stopped as he continued, “But his after-hours activities don’t give Jon the right to snipe him.”

  Ray nodded. “He doesn’t treat any of us that way. Only Dan and there doesn’t appear to be any justification. Dan’s been on-point all week. Something we aren’t privy to must be going on.”

  Lexa weighed what she suggested against Ray’s comments. On the surface, Dan acted fine, but then again, those raccoon eyes made a reappearance. Her inner voice began raising its volume. Late-night dates are not the cause.

  She recognized Dan began avoiding them all socially. As she mulled over her thoughts, Lexa recognized another fallacy. Her happiness with having Dan back on the team caused her to mostly dismiss Dan’s weary appearance and attribute what she did acknowledge to something harmless. Perhaps I should insist we grab a beer and a burger tonight. Dinner would be a perfect time to probe to try to figure out what is bothering him and help resolve the issue if I can.

  Ray said, “We better wrap things up.”

  Loki and Lexa nodded and began putting things in order before returning to HQ, each still in their own thoughts regarding Jon and Dan.

  Outside Building Away from SUV – 4:00 p.m.

  Nick stopped Jon waiting to speak with him away from the others. He flicked off his headset. Nick waited for Jon to turn off his before he inquired, “Why did you lay into Dan so hard?”