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

by Laura Acton

  “Yes.” Yvonne’s lips curled into a slight smile.

  Ann continued, “In theory, quite creative and workable. Metal would slide easily on snow. But Scott wanted to go faster and got the not so bright idea to coat the pan with car wax. When he finished, he had Dan spray furniture polish all over the bottom too. You know, that slippery spray wax. Their sled ready, Scott held Dan’s hand as they trudged up to the steepest hill out back.”

  Yvonne shared, “Erik, Ann, and I stood at the base of the slope when they began their ride. Scott sat behind Dan, and they both held on to the rope. They zipped down so fast, but with Scott weighing more than Dan, the makeshift sled turned around, and they ended up going backward.”

  Ann picked up the story. “We all screamed ‘tree, tree’ when they headed straight for the pine at the hill’s bottom. But our boys were laughing and shouting so loud they didn’t hear us or see the tree. Scott’s head whacked into a low-hanging limb and sent them both flying. Scott lay unmoving face first in the snow, and I thought he was dead for a few moments.”

  Switching off effortlessly, a tag-team conversation style they used ever since they were kids, Yvonne said, “We raced as fast as possible through knee-deep snow. It seemed like hours to reach them but was only seconds. I began freaking out when none of us could find Dan. I settled after Erik carefully rolled Scott over. Dan was buried underneath Scott.”

  Ann chuckled, recalling Danny’s infectious smile. “Dan had no clue Scott had been knocked unconscious. At three, that is to be expected. When Erik uncovered him, Danny grinned his little WOW smile, making his sapphire eyes dance with merriment as he laughed and asked to fly down the mountain again. Luckily, Scott roused quickly and only suffered a tender bump on his noggin. No stitches needed that time.”

  Yvonne shook her head with a smile. “I swear those two will be the death of us, Ann. As I remember, Erik threw away the oil pan and bought a new sled and helmets for the boys that afternoon.”

  “Yes, he did. Getting our daredevils to wear the helmets proved to be difficult because they declared them uncool. I believe Erik solved that problem when he provided them spray paint to turn them into camo helmets. Though they are eight years apart in age … those two rascals sure engaged in a ton of monkey business. Just like we did as little girls. Probably a twin thing.”

  Yvonne and Ann nodded as they shared a glance, their emerald eyes reflecting recollections of shenanigans from their youth.

  Lily peered over at her sleeping babies. “So, you think that is what I’m in for with the twins?”

  Ann patted her shoulder. “I’m afraid so dear. That is unless they got your luck and not Scott’s or Dan’s.”

  “At least Scott knows what kind of mischief they are likely to get into. Perhaps he can head them off at the pass,” Yvonne offered.

  Lily snorted and giggled. “More likely, Scott will join in their larking about, especially if Dan comes to visit.”

  The sisters laughed.

  Lily sighed as her eyes wandered to the telephone. “I really should’ve insisted on Scott taking a satellite phone.”

  The Spaghetti Dragon – 6:20 p.m.

  “Am I boring you?” Enzo Fukui lifted his glass of wine and swirled the contents when his date yawned for the tenth time. “If I am, we can part ways, no harm, no foul.”

  Lexa shook her head at her blind date. She only agreed to come tonight because Hailey badgered her, and she needed something to take her mind off the weird and disturbing dream of Dan, which woke her today.

  “I’m sorry. It isn’t you. I woke before four this morning and spent most of the day working on my renovation project. I guess I’m more tired than I thought.” Lexa dropped her gaze to her plate of unappealing food, pushing it around, not all that hungry.

  Enzo smiled. “How do you like your miso-ricotta ravioli?”

  “Never had Italian-Japanese fusion before. Full of flavor.” Lexa tried to be polite and not lie at the same time since Enzo’s parents opened the restaurant, and she didn’t want to be rude, but she was not a fan of the dish. His father was of Japanese descent and his mother Italian, so apparently, they uniquely combined their love of food.

  They dropped into a painfully long silence again. Lexa regretting allowing Hailey to play matchmaker. Her friend meant well, trying to help her move on from both Dan and Duke, picking the next letter in the alphabet … since she bombed with ‘D’ and ‘S’ names. But like the miso and ricotta, she and Enzo appeared to be a strange pairing. He was a librarian at the local junior college, and she, well, an elite cop. Their worlds couldn’t be further apart than the actual distances between Italy, Japan, and Canada.

  Enzo sipped his wine. Lexa was a gorgeous woman, but he couldn’t see how his friend, a friend of Lexa’s friend Hailey, thought they would have anything in common. “Truthfully, it’s okay if you want to call it a night. I won’t be offended. I don’t think we are, well, compatible. And while I’m being honest, I have nothing against women being cops. However, I don’t think your job, the risks you take, the things you do out there, is something I can handle in a relationship. I need something more stable and reliable.”

  Nodding, Lexa wiped her mouth and set the napkin on the table. “Thank you for your candor. I believe I will head home.” She stood, and he did too. “Pleasure meeting you. Thanks for dinner.”

  Glancing at the barely touched food, Enzo asked, “Would you like your meal packed to go?”

  “No … goodnight.” Lexa pivoted, grabbed her purse, and as she strode out, breathed a sigh of relief. She wouldn’t go along with any more of Hailey’s bright ideas or allow her to pick any more men. She would rather be dateless because she doubted any man would ever measure up to Dan.

  Outside, the snow fell lightly but would pick up by tomorrow when the storm would reach Toronto. She climbed into her jeep, and her mind turned to her snowbound teammates, though mostly Dan. His, ‘I’m sorry I failed’ played in her head all day, and she couldn’t make sense of her dream. Hacking off the black tentacle from his leg left her unsettled with a nagging sensation he was in danger.

  Threat Assessments

  34

  November 24

  Hospital – ER Treatment Area – 6:20 p.m.

  Minna rechecked her newest patient, pleased to find Jonas’ vitals stable. A half-hour ago, she administered painkillers and a sedative based on Vanessa’s orders, and now he rested comfortably. The poor man must’ve been in agony the last few days, and being able to relieve his suffering gave her a sense of purpose. She made notations in his chart before moving to check on Scott.

  “How’s he doing?” Scott asked as Minna wrapped the blood pressure cuff around his arm.

  “Sleeping. The small amount of sedative helped him to relax. He surely needed relief after his terrible ordeal.” She pumped up the pressure and put her stethoscope in her ears and on his pulse point.

  After Minna finished and removed the cuff, Scott said, “Can’t imagine being left for dead. He’s lucky the officer found him.”

  Loki nodded, keeping his nagging thought something was off to himself. He reasoned Scott needed rest after his ordeal, and not worry unless something concrete surfaced. “I’m happy Dan is sleeping peacefully now too.”

  Unbeknownst to all, Dan began crawling up from the dark abyss entrapping him. Coming closer to consciousness, his fingers curled, seeking purchase on something, anything, as a dull pain rolled through his body. Beeps and soft familiar voices with indistinguishable words coaxed him to lift his lids, shutting them as the bright fluorescent light penetrated. Attempting again, his lashes rose once, twice, three times before they remained up.

  Dan’s world came into slow focus as he spied sectioned ceiling tiles. He deduced he was no longer in the cabin, but he possessed no clue how he came to be here or how much time passed. Turning his head, noting firm padding of a pillow under him, Dan found a pair of hazel eyes peering at him.

  Though the facial features were not similar to Lexa’s,
her diminutive stature, auburn hair, and eyes brought forth images of Lexa, causing a pang of loss once again. With difficulty, Dan pushed the longing for his Beauty away. His voice soft, and a little raspy, he asked, “Where am I?”

  “You’re at Craig Hospital. I’m Minna, your nurse. How do you feel?”

  Catching Dan’s voice and the nurse’s response, Loki turned and bounded over to the end of the bed. “Dantastic, you’re awake.”

  Dan switched his eyes to Loki. “How did I get here?”

  “Long story, buddy. Scott’s here too, so you gotta answer Minna honestly.” Loki moved to the side to give Dan a straight-line view of Scott.

  Grinning, Scott waved from his bed. “You gave me quite a scare. Your fever appears to be under control. Amazing what medicine can do, huh?”

  Thoroughly confused by the change in venue and why Scott lay in a hospital bed, Dan scrunched his brows. We were snowbound … is he hurt or ill?

  Minna wrote down Dan’s vitals, noting his squinted eyes and drawn together eyebrows. “Are you in significant pain?”

  “Huh?” Dan returned his gaze to her.

  “Your brows are knitted … how much pain are experiencing?”

  He shifted back to Scott without answering, fighting the fogginess of his muddled mind. “Scott, what happened to you? Are you sick or hurt?”

  “No deflecting. Answer Minna, Danny.” Recalling what he learned from Jim, Scott rephrased, “Better yet, what is your health status?”

  “Shitty,” Dan groused, shivering and his whole-body aching, especially his head, shoulder, and shin.

  “Well, that’s descriptive, but not useful. Status, now!” Scott demanded with concern lacing his tone.

  Dan tried to rise to view Scott better but didn’t have the strength required to push up with one hand. So he laid back as he ran through a mental check of his condition, finding it difficult to concentrate.

  Minna raised the bed’s head a bit. “Better?”

  “Yeah, thanks.”

  “I’m waiting for your report, Doppelganger,” Scott pushed.

  Allowing his eyes to shut, Dan licked his parched lips and cleared his throat. Swallowing, he hoped the saliva would moisten his dry throat enough to speak since his mouth seemed to be stuffed with cotton, but he relented and provided an abbreviated status. “Overall level six. Exhausted, jumbled.” He coughed.

  “Hot yet cold, right shoulder hurts,” he halted, attempting to produce more saliva and swallowed. “Left arm stings, head throbs, shin on fire.” Opening his eyelids, Dan peered at the petite nurse. “Thirsty. Water, please.”

  Minna shook her head. “No, sorry, I can’t give you water. Doc Landry still needs to check you before you can have anything by mouth.”

  The doctor’s name rang a bell with Dan, but knowing how old the doctor was when he came here with Wilson, it surprised him Dr. Craig was still practicing. “Old Doc Landry is still working?”

  “You know the doc?” Minna inquired.

  “Yeah, he treated me when I was a teen. I got sick on vacation, and he stitched up my leg once too when a skate blade sliced me.” Dan shifted in the bed and registered his right arm was strapped to his chest. Man, I must be really out of it not to notice that until now. “Dislocated?”

  Loki lay his hand on Dan’s arm. “Yeah. Scott reset your shoulder after you tried to climb the cabin’s wall in the wee hours of the morning. The deer rack couldn’t hold your weight and came off the wall, and you fell.

  “Could’ve skewered yourself, but luckily only gashed your bicep and dislocated your joint. You’ve been out of it with a raging fever and delusions all day, so I’m not sure how much you remember. We were so worried about you, Scott decided to go for help.”

  Dan’s eyes widened with shock, realizing the risk his cousin took for him. Old beliefs of his insignificance compared to others and his desire to protect family at all costs, even if it meant sacrificing his life, surged forth. His expression changed as he pinned his icy glare across the room on Scott.

  Overwhelming fatigue contributing to his lack of emotional control, Dan’s tone carried all the heat he could muster. “Are you fucking suicidal? I’m not worth you risking your life going out in the blizzard! What about Lily? She could’ve been widowed. And my God, Anna and Jerrell. They need you. No one needs me!”

  Scott’s eyes turned to icy fire. “You are just as important! Get that through your thick skull. You’d be dead if I didn’t go! I refused to let that happen. I failed you once before and vowed never to fail you again.”

  “Please lower your voices,” Minna admonished.

  Loki gaped, his focus bouncing between the cousins, astonished by their wholly unexpected fury, and saddened by Dan’s claim no one needed him.

  Anger dissipating, realizing he shouldn’t have yelled, Scott teared up. “If you tell me you wouldn’t do everything in your power to save someone you love and is important to you, a family member, a brother, then you are a liar. You would do exactly what I did if our positions were reversed.”

  Scott swiped at the welled liquid. “Your shin is seriously infected, possibly with MRSA. Sepsis set in, and dammit, Dan, we didn’t know if you would survive, and if you did, you still faced the possibility of losing your leg.”

  Dan blanched, shifting his gaze to his blanket-covered leg. Panic rose as he sought Scott’s eyes. “Lose my leg?” came out shakily. His eyes returned to his leg. “No. No. Uh-uh. No way. It is only a small cut … it can’t be that bad.”

  Scott swung his feet off the mattress, forgetting the cane, ignoring his pain he rushed to Dan’s bed with an ungainly gait, almost face-planting but reaching the bed’s frame in time to catch himself. “Danny, I’m sorry for blurting that out.” Using the rails, he moved to the head of the bed as Minna moved back, giving him space.

  Gripping Dan’s chin, Scott turned his head to him with one hand while he used the other to hold himself up. Forcing Dan to meet his eye, Scott stated, “You are in a hospital. There are doctors and medicine here. They will save your life and limb. You listen to me … you’re not gonna lose a leg.”

  Jerking from Scott’s grasp, Dan stared at the blanket over his limb. Needing to assess the threat to his livelihood and life, he choked out, “I gotta see.”

  “No!” Scott declared.

  Dan flung off the light blanket and sheet, finding his shin covered in a bandage. He struggled to sit forward, and Scott pushed him back forcefully.

  “No, Danny!” Scott reiterated, afraid if Dan viewed the advanced state of infection, he would surrender without fighting.

  “I’m not a kid. You can’t tell me no,” Dan ground out.

  Sucking in a calming breath, Loki sought to understand Dan’s need before jumping to any conclusions. “Why?”

  Dan turned to Loki. “I must know. Help me.”

  “Okay. But if I do this, you gotta promise me something.”

  Waiting, half expecting Loki to request him to promise to be honest about his health, the silence dragged out until Dan demanded, “What?”

  “Give me your word that you’ll remain optimistic and do everything in your power to fight. I don’t think I can handle it if our childish behavior resulted in you losing your leg. So, you will do whatever the doctor says, and you will not give up … for both our sakes.”

  His teammate’s plea at the end snaked into his heart. Dan didn’t want to hurt Loki and fighting, well, that was a no brainer. He wouldn’t crumble. He faced insurmountable odds and beat them before. “I give you my word. Now, uncover it so I can see my shin.”

  Impressed with Loki, Scott hadn’t expected that to be the conditions. Scott recognized Loki would be a stalwart advocate and friend for Dan and was grateful for Loki’s presence because he himself overreacted and forgot Dan rose to challenges. He pressed the button to raise Dan a little more as Loki removed the dressing covering Dan’s shin.

  Dan almost gagged at the sight of his wound. He sought Scott’s eyes again. “In one damned day
, even after all the cleaning?” When Scott nodded, Dan paled, leaned back, and pressed his palms to his eyes, confronting a depressing reality. “I’m gonna fucking lose my leg.” He unleashed a string of multilingual shits. “Shit, merde, stront, der’mo, stercore, merda, scheisse, bok!”

  Scott turned to Minna. “Lower the rail for me.”

  Stepping forward, she did as he requested before moving back, allowing Scott to gather his cousin in his arms. She grew misty-eyed when Dan wrapped his unstrapped arm around Scott and buried his face in the center of Scott’s chest. Scott embraced Dan fully, and the vibration of both men was the only indication of the depths of Dan’s anguish, as he began to cry. As Scott murmured soft words, Minna turned away, busying herself with a task to give the men privacy. She startled slightly as a hand landed on her arm.

  Loki whispered, “I’m going to take a walk … give them some space. They don’t need me to be an audience.”

  Minna inhaled a shaky breath. “Doc Landry and Vanessa will do everything they can to save his leg.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure they will.” Loki pivoted, glanced at Dan and Scott before pulling a chair near Scott so he could sit once Dan calmed. He had only witnessed Dan breakdown like this once … the day the team learned about Brody’s death. He blew out a ragged breath as he exited the treatment area.

  Hospital – Breakroom – 6:20 p.m.

  Noah appreciated the unexpected small hospital since fewer people might challenge him. In the past forty minutes, he showered, changed into scrubs, and helped himself to two cups of steaming coffee. Though they had plenty of food over the last two days, he used the money he found in the officer’s wallet to buy three bags of chips and six candy bars from the vending machine.

  As he sipped the hot beverage, Noah began to plan. Though he wanted to insist the doctor tend to Jonas first before the stupid kid or the other patient in the ER, he had to play his role. At least Jonas would receive painkillers and whatever else he might need while he waited. And the delay would give him time to figure out his tactics.