WHITEOUT: Above And Beyond (Beauty 0f Life Book 10)

by Laura Acton

  As Dan stood, one hand gripping the worn-out subject’s arm and drawing him up with him, he wiped mud from his eyes and peered over at Loki, who remained on his knees, catching his breath. “You okay?”

  Loki nodded, mud sliding down his cheeks as he looked up at Dan. “Yeah, you alright?”

  “Yep.” Dan snickered at the sight of a mud-covered Loki. “Man, you look like you participated in a tough mudder obstacle course.”

  Rising, his feet squelching as he took a step, Loki chuckled too. “Hey, you’re as covered as me. Think we can skip our spa day.” He patted his face. “This awesome mud facial will do wonders for my complexion.”

  Dan’s laughter increased as they made their way back to the collection point of all the subjects.

  Jon got the first glimpse of his men as they rounded the corner leading the re-captured subject back to a squad car and now understood their banter and laughter. Dan and Loki were covered from head to toe in grime. He grinned, happy to keep their injury-free streak going. “You two mud pups will need to put plastic on the seats before heading back to HQ and spray off before you come inside, or the janitor will have your heads on a platter.”

  “Copy,” the mud-encased officers replied as they handed off the prisoner.

  TRF HQ – Men’s Locker Room – 2:00 p.m.

  The cold, soaking wet men of Alpha, Delta, and Echo teams all sought a warm shower before going home or returning to duty. Although Loki and Dan left the scene with the rest of the constables, they remained outside for a preliminary scrub down. They cleaned the plastic sheeting used to protect the interior of the SUV before turning the hoses on themselves, hoping to remove the first layer of caked-on mud from their uniforms and boots. Neither desired to create extra work for Paulie, the day janitor.

  When originally designed and built, TRF headquarters provided a Roman-style communal bathing area that accommodated the full complement, but that was back when the five teams were all male. Once TRF positions opened to the female constabulary, the single changing area had been split between the sexes and remodeled to provide privacy for all. The men’s zone now contained thirty-six cages for gear and nineteen shower stalls.

  With twenty males on duty today, the last two freezing men started a childish competition to grab the only vacancy. Dan and Loki rushed inside, each claiming they would reach the shower first. They stripped down to boxers as fast as possible, leaving their dirty clothing in a heap on the ground, and both rushed for the stall at the same time.

  Racing Loki, Dan evilly chortled as he edged out in front of the techie. Almost there, he hit a patch of wet, polished concrete flooring and went sliding. His forward motion halted abruptly, as did his laughter when his shin rammed into the wall’s sharp corner.

  “Shit!” Dan wrapped his hands around his lower leg, clenching his jaw to hold in the groan and a string of curse words as pain shot through his limb.

  Loki’s boisterous laughing stopped the instant Dan crashed into the bathroom wall. Careful not to slip himself, he knelt next to his friend, concern wafting off him like cheap aftershave. “Let me check.”

  Holding pressure on his throbbing shin, Dan didn’t want to lessen the tension of his grasp as he strove to ride the wave of agony.

  Loki pried Dan’s hands away and sucked a breath in. “Dang, that’s nasty. Wait here, I’ll grab something.” Up and back in seconds, Loki began pressing the washcloth to Dan’s leg, his unease increasing as white fabric turned red.

  Heading back to his locker, his mind still on the raid, drying his hair, and not expecting anyone to be on the floor, Nick rounded the corner and almost tripped over his men. Noting Dan’s pained expression and the blood, he crouched down. “What happened?”

  Loki and Dan shared a glance … neither wanted to be called out for horsing around in the locker room like kids. Loki answered, “Dan slipped on a wet spot and hit the edge of the wall.”

  By their exchanged glance and Loki’s body language, Nick perceived there was more to this, but he let it drop for the moment. “I’ll get the first-aid kit.”

  Dan opened his mouth to say something to Loki but halted as Jon, Bram, and Ray all exited the showers. They stopped in their tracks upon finding their teammates on the ground. Jon asked, “What the hell happened?”

  “I slipped,” Dan said in a monotone, becoming embarrassed.

  “Boss is getting the kit,” Loki added.

  Bram squatted. “Think you can stand? If so, let’s get you off this cold, wet floor and over to the bench.”

  As Dan nodded, Jon and Bram assisted him up, the cloth fell away, allowing blood to flow, so Ray suggested, “Make a cradle with your hands and carry him so Loki can hold pressure, or we’ll be cleaning up a trail of blood.”

  While they lifted Dan, Loki grabbed another clean cloth to cover the wound before they made their way to a bench. Ray grabbed two towels and cleaned up the blood and the large puddle of water, so no one else would slip.

  Nick returned and found Dan on one of Alpha’s benches with his leg stretched out. He set the medic kit down and crouched to examine the damage. He shook his head. “So much for our injury-free streak. Dan, this is gonna need more than a bandage.”

  Studying the deep gash, Dan’s gut twisted and burned as the thought of sutures brought forth his needle phobia. To avoid a trip to the ER, Dan downplayed his injury. “I’m good. I’ll wash the cut in the shower, apply a topical antibiotic, and a simple dressing.”

  Jon snorted. “Your leg could be hanging on by a gossamer thread, and you’d say you’re alright. I agree you need to bathe since you appear to be more of a chocolate lab than a golden retriever. We’ll help you there, but afterward, I’m driving you to the urgent care. No debate.”

  Peering at the ugly gash, Ray said, “Wow, man, this might put a kibosh on your ski trip.”

  Unable to blot out Dan’s injury and pain, Loki’s face fell at Jon’s attempt at humor. Our plans to hit the slopes tomorrow afternoon might be toast.

  Dan noted Loki’s crestfallen mien. “No, not at all. As I said, it’ll be alright. Won’t need stitches. They will likely only wrap it anyways.” That is all I’ll allow the doctor to do. Stitches are out of the question. Not happening!

  Loki brightened. “You sure you’ll be okay?”

  “Yeah, had worse and hiked for days. This is nothing.” Dan deflected with a WOW grin. “We’ll be skiing at this time tomorrow for sure.”

  Bram retrieved a plastic chair from reception and put it in one of the showers. Nick adhered a waterproof bandage so Dan wouldn’t drip blood as he made his way to the shower with Jon’s help. Loki grabbed towels for Dan and set them on the bench outside the stall then hustled to shower himself.

  After washing, Dan allowed the hot water to cascade on his back for an extended time to warm up. He dried his hair and body before standing on one leg as he wrapped the second towel around his waist. Limping to his locker, Dan put as little weight as possible on his injured limb. Damn, my shin hurts … what I get for being stupid. Gonna suck skiing, but I’m not going to disappoint Loki. I’ll suck it up and pretend this doesn’t hurt like hell.

  Urgent Care – 3:20 p.m.

  Dan sat sulking on the exam table as he waited for the physician. Ticked off at Jon for not only ordering him to the outpatient clinic but insisting he come into the room, Dan didn’t care if his behavior bordered on petulance. Since his TL dealt with this issue as one might with a disobedient youngster, Dan believed his childish reaction justified.

  Jon relaxed in the little chair in the treatment room, secretly amused by the daggers sent his way when he glanced at Dan. Typically, he would’ve remained outside in the waiting room, but Dan tended to downplay his injuries, and Jon refused to allow this one particular mud puppy to talk the doctor out of stitches if required. Though he used the TL card, pissing Dan off, Jon viewed it as a necessity. Dan’s silent, scowling glare would be a small price to pay to ensure his teammate received proper care.

  To br
eak the silence, Jon used his tactical leader voice as he asked, “So, care to explain how you slipped?”

  As Jon’s question knocked around his head, Dan’s humor crept back in. Here I am behaving immaturely, thinking I’m being treated like a child, all because I acted like an overgrown kid racing with Loki.

  A lopsided grin started to play on his lips, and Dan came clean with Jon. “I raced Loki for the last shower. Was winning too until I hit the water.”

  Jon chuckled. “Dano, you two will never grow up.”

  “I might, but Loki won’t.” Dan laughed.

  Grinning, Jon said with authority, “Well, you can start by agreeing to whatever the doc deems necessary for your leg. I don’t want you missing work because you’re stubborn. You got five days off to rest and heal.”

  “Depends on what he wants to do,” Dan said defensively, his humor fading again at Jon’s authoritative tone.

  Jon’s brows rose with his ire. “If this warrants stitches, it’s happening.”

  Dan assumed his cocky mantle and challenged, “You think?”

  “I know,” Jon responded sternly.

  “You’re wrong!” Dan snapped.

  “No, I’m not,” Jon retorted his voice flinty to make his point.

  “Yes, you are,” Dan countered, his tone edgier.

  “Am not!”

  “Are too!”

  Outside the room reviewing the chart, Wendell overheard the argument. Geez, they sound like children fighting. He listened as they repeated back and forth ‘are too’ and ‘am not’ several more times. Suppressing his smile, he entered the room, and the bickering stopped. The two men staring at each other with a mix of humor and fortitude gave him the impression this was a much-practiced dance of wills.

  His smile came out in full. “I’m Wendell Sanford, Dr. McCloud’s physician’s assistant. Shall we have a look at the gash?”

  Nodding, Dan pulled up his pant leg to reveal the covered wound. “Not too bad. Don’t need stitches. Just needs to be taped up, and I’m outta—”

  Jon interrupted, “Dano, the PA will be the judge of what is needed.”

  Irritation increasing again, Dan shot a hostile glance at Jon.

  Glaring back with his hard, unyielding command face, Jon crossed his arms over his chest, preparing to lay down the law. He chose this facility because although not a hospital, the urgent care possessed nitrous oxide, which could be used to relax Dan before any needles became involved.

  Wendell lifted the bandage, examined the well-cleaned laceration with smooth edges. As for closing the wound, he believed Dr. McCloud might go with either steri-strips and glue or sutures. What concerned him was the spectacular bruising. “When did this happen, and how did you cut your leg?”

  “About an hour ago. I slipped on a wet floor and hit my leg on a corner.”

  “Appears to be a hard hit,” Wendell thought out loud.

  Jon supplied, “It was. He was running when he slipped and slid into the wall’s corner full force.”

  With the additional information, Wendell lightly prodded the area. “This amount of bruising concerns me. You might’ve fractured your tibia. Can you bear weight on the leg?”

  “Yes. Hurts a little, but the bruising is usual for me, and it isn’t broken.” Dan downplayed his pain level but answered honestly about the rest.

  Skeptical, Wendell peered at his patient with disbelief. “Contusions like this are not normal. You wouldn’t be able to tell if you sustained a hairline fracture.”

  Noting the physician assistant’s doubt, Dan turned his gaze to his tactical lead. “Jon, tell him the discoloration is typical for me.”

  Wendell eyed the other man.

  Surprised Dan would ask him to corroborate his claim, the tension ebbed from Jon’s body as he relaxed in the chair and grinned. “Yeah, this is normal. Dano is one colorful guy. Bruises easily in all shades of the rainbow. Most times, the contusions appear much worse than they are. Scared the crap out of me the first time I saw him bruised up after combat training.”

  Glad Jon backed him up, but rolling his eyes at the rainbow remark, Dan’s lopsided grin returned. “Yeah, and your reaction cost you the course record.”

  “I will regain my record!” Jon declared.

  Dan snorted, his eyes alight with humor. “You can try, Old Man.”

  “Old? Oh, you wait, Broderick. When you return from your five-day holiday, we’ll see who is old, Young Pup,” Jon fake blustered.

  Wendell chuckled, these two were quite a pair. First, they sounded like they might come to blows, and now they teased one another. “Okay, I believe the bruising is usual, but to be on the safe side, Dr. McCloud will most likely order an x-ray. As far as the gash goes, the edges are clean and should mend together well. If I close the laceration with surgical tape, the scar will likely be wider than if I sew you up.”

  Dan jumped on the preferred option. “Use tape. Scar width doesn’t matter to me. And I’m sure my tibia isn’t broken.” He turned to Jon. “Ha, I’m right. No sutures required!”

  Jon arched his brows. “X-rays will tell if your bone is broken, Dano.”

  Thirty minutes later, Dan tugged his pant leg down after the cut had been taped together and bandaged by the PA. He laid back with his arms behind his head. “Now, I won’t disappoint Scott and Loki.”

  “To be determined. Depends on what Dr. McCloud finds on the x-ray.” Jon kicked back while they waited for the results.

  Becoming antsy after another twenty minutes, Dan settled when Dr. McCloud’s assistant entered the room and proved his claim. “I’m happy to report there is no sign of recent fracture, thought the calcification indicates a significant previous break.”

  Dan said, “Yeah, happened several years ago. That is how I knew I didn’t break a bone. I wouldn’t have been able to bear my weight if I did.”

  Wendell’s eyebrows rose. “How did you fracture it?”

  “Sorry, I can’t say. Am I free to go?” Dan swung his legs off the table.

  Studying Dan, Jon realized the occurrence must be related to a classified mission. Dan’s earlier remark popped in his head. Had worse and hiked for days. This is nothing. Whatever the cause, Jon would not ask because the one night he stayed with Dan listening to the torture he experienced, more than filled his dreams with nightmares.

  “Almost.” Wendell handed Dan a piece of paper. “Dr. McCloud wrote a script for an antibiotic. Keep the area clean, dry, and covered. Come back in if there is excessive redness, swelling, or if a foul-smelling discharge forms.”

  “Any restrictions for work?” Jon inquired.

  Wendell shook his head. “None, other than he should take things easy for a few days. Ice and elevate the leg and take OTC pain medication if needed.”

  “What about skiing?” Jon asked.

  “I’m still going. Loki and Scott are counting on me.” Dan wouldn’t allow this minor injury to ruin his plans.

  Wendell perceived the two winding up for round three, so intervened. “Shouldn’t be a problem. Rest between runs, and don’t overdo. Check the wound several times and change the dressing if it becomes wet.”

  “Thanks.” Dan fought the childish urge to stick his tongue out at Jon.

  “You better do as instructed, or you’ll be dealing with me on your return, Dano. And I can guarantee you won’t like what’s in store for you. The truck might be in your future for a long time. Just sayin’.”

  “Copy!” Dan grinned, understanding Jon cared and happy he didn’t say paperwork. He hopped down and balanced most of his weight on one leg.

  Wendell chuckled as the entertaining officers strode out. What an interesting dynamic. The older one cares about the younger one. The blond officer must push the limits often, causing the seasoned constable to worry.

  TRF HQ – Hall Outside Men’s Lockers – 7:30 p.m.

  Lexa chewed her bottom lip as she waited. Having learned what happened to Dan, she decided to take another small step in restoring her friendship
with him. Baby steps were needed because navigating this relationship remained a minefield for both of them. As he exited, she noted his slight limp.

  After taking his time changing and fielding a phone call from Scott, who told him he would arrive by nine tonight, Dan ended up leaving later than the rest of the team. He halted upon finding Lexa leaning on the wall. His fingers itched to run through her auburn locks again. He loved the soft, silky waves and the way her hair accented her delicate facial features when she wore it loose. “Hey, what are you still doing here?”

  “Waiting for you.” Lexa smiled.

  “Me? Why?”

  “Figured you might like a lift home since you biked here today, and peddling might cause further damage. Besides, it started raining, and you must keep your leg dry. With your rotten luck, some jerk will drench you on purpose, like when you ended up with bronchitis. Catching a cold would ruin your trip.”

  Dan chuckled. “Which mother hen put you up to this … Boss, Jon?”

  “My idea … only being a friend.” Lexa tucked a piece of flyaway hair behind her ear. “No conspiracy here.”

  Shifting his go bag on his shoulder, having considered calling a taxi for the same reasons, Dan accepted. “Okay. Thanks.” He wanted to add, ‘How about stopping for a burger and beer?’ but didn’t want to press too fast. He fell in step with Lexa, wishing things were the way they used to be, but also maintaining a flicker of hope someday they might be again.

  Little Piece of Heaven

  16

  November 22

  Remote Mountain Cabin – 9:00 a.m.

  Giddy as a kid, Loki hopped out of the front passenger seat after Scott pulled the rented suburban to a stop. He stood still and breathed in the cold, crisp air as he scanned the outside of a quaint log cabin surrounded by tall pine, maple, aspen, and cedar trees. The deciduous ones, in the process of baring their branches, only had a smattering of remaining red, orange, and gold leaves, which added a pop of color to the whitescape presented by the newly dumped foot of snow carpeting the ground.