SERENITY: A Path Home (Beauty 0f Life Book 6)

by Laura Acton

  Nick held fast to his blank expression—hopeful Dan had the answer this time. The light of ah-ha shone in those blue orbs.

  Uncertain Dan said, “I didn’t spot cues because he didn’t display any.”

  Jon lowered the unloaded weapon, watching intently as Dan’s mind worked on the solution.

  “And if that is true, why?” Nick asked as a hint of a smile appeared.

  Lexa shared a quick glance with Ray—both hoping Dan understood.

  Dan answered reciting information he read in one of the books Boss had given him. “Because the subject is a true sociopath. Sociopaths lack a conscience. Though they comprehend the intellectual difference between right and wrong, they don’t experience remorse or guilt. Possessing no inner moral compass, they do precisely what they want at any given moment.

  “This lack of conscience means they aren’t constrained by limits and are therefore capable of anything—making up their own unethical, ever-changing rules. They are adept at using tactics like mirroring, deception, projection, gaslighting, pity plays and other forms of emotional and physical abuse to idealize, manipulate, confuse, and intimidate others.” Dan stopped to check if he was on the right track as he studied the boss’ reaction to his dissertation.

  The team clapped as Nick patted Dan on the shoulder. “Exactly, Dan.”

  Dan blinked at the team’s response.

  Lexa patted his back. “This isn’t a scenario you can win. Fortunately, we rarely run into true sociopaths. But we all need to experience what it feels like when we do so we can recognize and deal with the situation appropriately.”

  Bram patted Dan’s back as he walked to his seat. “You’re doing better than you think with negotiations.”

  Dan only nodded once. He didn’t feel that way, but it was nice his team had confidence in him.

  Nick said, “I believe we’re getting out of here on time today.”

  “Hope you didn’t just jinx us,” Loki grabbed the last cookie.

  Resuming his seat, Ray said, “I’ve been thinking about something one of the boys said.”

  “What?” Jon asked as he sat down, happy to be off his feet. Playing a sociopath was exhausting.

  “Well, he said, we get to have a Christmas tree. It made me wonder. I don’t recall there being a tree at the Larkin Children’s Home. Do any of you?”

  The team’s faces all became reflective with small shakes of their heads.

  “Now that you mention it, no I didn’t. And it was rather drab in that home.” Jon remarked. His mind conjured up an unwanted image of Joey being placed in a home like that after he became an orphan, grateful he and Jen brought Joey into their family. The joy he would witness on Joey’s face Christmas morning when he received his drum set outweighed and discomfort his ears would endure.

  “Perhaps we should do something about that,” Dan suggested.

  “I like the idea, but what do we do?” Lexa glanced around the table.

  An idea sparked in Nick’s mind. Turning towards the dispatch desk, he said, “Tia, can you get us a list of the ages and gender of all the kids at Larkin?”

  Having overheard their conversation, Tia replied, “Absolutely! I think the other teams might like to help too.”

  Nick turned to his team and said, “Here’s my idea.”

  After he explained, Ray said, “Let me call Father Lopez, I’m sure he can help out too. Larkin is within his parish boundaries.”

  The team all pulled out their phones and began making calls as they quickly pulled together Mission Save Christmas.

  Larkin Children’s Home – 8:30 p.m.

  Christmas carols set the merry mood as Lexa watched the faces of the kids light up while they decorated the tree. Everyone at the TRF had pitched-in to provide a Christmas for these children. Wives, girlfriends, and even some of the guys whipped up holiday treats of all sorts and delivered them to headquarters by seven thirty. Others contributed monetarily or went shopping for presents.

  Many of the congregation from Ray’s church stopped by with donations of all kinds including lights and ornaments for the fresh tree which Father Lopez personally bought and had delivered to the home. Lexa’s heart filled with joy knowing each child would receive several presents on Christmas morning.

  She glanced at Dan, Loki, and Ray, all three with ear-to-ear grins as they passed out cookies and hot chocolate with tons of mini-marshmallows to the children. Her eyes moved to Bram who lifted a little girl up so she could place the star on the treetop. She smiled as Jon sat on the floor surrounded by three younger boys as they created paper chains of red and green construction paper to string around the room. My TRF family is incredible!

  His eyes shining, Nick sauntered up to Lexa. “Does my heart good.”

  Lexa smiled. “Agree. The kids appear so different from this morning.”

  Marybeth approached the TRF sergeant and overheard Lexa’s comment. “They are different. They’re happy tonight. You all brought joy to them. We can’t thank you enough. I was working on getting a tree once I learned of my promotion to facility director. Unfortunately, I discovered Crudele emptied the home’s holiday coffers, so the staff and I began rounding up donations. The call we received from you … well, all I can say is miracles do happen.”

  “Congratulations on your promotion.” Nick offered a hand to the caring young social worker.

  “Thanks. I sincerely hope Crudele is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.” Marybeth sighed. “What she did to these children was so wrong.”

  Somewhat baffled, Lexa asked, “How could she get away with this for years? Shouldn’t someone have realized sooner and turned her in?”

  Tim arrived at that moment and answered, “I asked that too. We found out Crudele fired workers all the time. Marybeth and I are the longest-term staff. We’ve only been here four months. She hid a lot by turning over the caregivers so frequently.”

  “Makes sense. I’m glad the kids will have a merry Christmas,” Lexa said.

  Marybeth beamed. “They will now, thanks to all of you.”

  Dan sauntered over as he checked the time. “Boss, we need to be going.”

  Nick nodded, and they went to gather their other teammates. The team slipped out as the jubilant kids sang carols and sprinkled tinsel on the tree.

  Blackwatch Military Academy – 9:00 p.m.

  Dan knocked on the door, and it was opened by Osmund Bodhran.

  Osmund’s eyes widened, a bit surprised the TRF team stood on his doorstep wearing santa hats and holding festively wrapped gifts. His face broke into a grin. “The elves have been busy. Please come in.”

  The team entered and stood in a massive common room adorned to the hilt in Christmas decorations. In the center of the room stood a huge, real pine tree. Along the far wall, a roaring fire danced in an over-sized fireplace. Several comfortable couches and chairs were situated around the beautiful tree. Sounds of boys laughing filled the room as they hung ornaments.

  Osmund went to his wife. “Dear, these are the constables who found and protected our boys, safely guiding them on a path home.”

  Carol Bodhran’s face brightened as she greeted the remarkable TRF constables. “Welcome to our home.”

  Alban and Craig turned as Nick said, “We brought some gifts we would like to leave for the boys. We don’t want to intrude on your evening.”

  Carol shook her head. “Nonsense, you aren’t intruding on anything. The more, the merrier. Please come in. If you can stay a while, we’d love your help decorating our tree.”

  The team was a little hesitant until Alban said, “Please stay.”

  After quick shared glances, they nodded and moved further in the room. They set the presents down under the Christmas tree, and after introductions, they began helping to hang ornaments. Besides the Kettle boys, three other boys appeared overjoyed to have more people involved in the fun. Mrs. Bodhran served everyone punch and cookies, and when they finished decorating, they all stood back as Osmund turned on the ligh
ts.

  Dan observed the brothers carefully, and their smiles shone brighter than the colorful twinkling lights. Today was a day he would always remember. He made a positive difference in several people’s lives.

  Loki cleared his throat to gain everyone’s attention. “You all don’t know this, but I created a song. I call it the Twelve Days of TRF Christmas. Each verse comes from something we encountered this year. Today’s verse is inspired by the unbreakable bond of twelve courageous brothers and their faith they would remain a family. Want to hear my song?”

  Everyone nodded

  Loki began singing, “On the twelfth day of Christmas, Alpha Team gave to me, twelve brothers believing, eleven bagpipers caterwauling, ten leopards a leaping, nine ladies flirting, eight maids a gun-running, seven swans a sinking, six geese attacking, five onion rings, four falling birds, three mother hens, two lovey-dovies, and a frozen sniper in a pear tree.”

  Dan’s Apartment – 10:30 p.m.

  Lexa lounged on Dan’s sofa as Dan excused himself to change into something more comfortable. She already ensured he took his meds, in fact, that was the first thing she did when they arrived ten minutes ago. Loki had offered to drive Dan home when the team left Blackwatch Academy, but his home was in the opposite direction, so Lexa stepped in, glad for the opportunity. The team wouldn’t read into her driving Dan—only being a helpful teammate.

  But she wanted time alone with him. Just a few minutes since he would be leaving for Ottawa tomorrow and they wouldn’t see each other for several days. She couldn’t stay long, even though Jon cancelled workout for tomorrow. After the holidays, Jon would work them hard—especially with the enormous volume of cookies they had all consumed lately. One additional perk from the Kettle boys spending time at TRF … they demolished the remaining sweet treats. No more temptations lurked in the breakroom or the dispatch desk.

  Comfortably attired in shorts and a threadbare t-shirt with a faded logo, Dan strolled out carrying his heating pad. He stooped to plug it into the outlet near the couch. Sinking into the soft cushion opposite Lexa, he positioned the thin cloth-covered foam over his aching muscles and switched the control on to low heat. He let out a sigh as the warmth provided soothing relief. Raising one brow as he eyed Lexa. “Happy now?”

  Lexa graced Dan with a smile. “Almost.” She twisted, lay her head in Dan’s lap, and peered up at him. “Now, I’m happy.”

  Dan grinned as he moved his hand to her hair. “Me too.” His fingers lightly threaded through her silky waves, gently tingling her scalp.

  “Hmmm, I see why you like this. Relaxing.” Lexa squinted at the t-shirt trying to make out what it said. She noted he still wore Brody’s tag. Wanting to ask, but not sure she should pry, she opted to say, “What does your shirt say?”

  A small snort came from Dan as he said, “Woody’s Wonderlounge.”

  Lexa’s eyes popped open. “Why do you have one of their shirts?”

  “You know the place?”

  “Yeah. I went to University in Edmonton. Everyone knows that bar. So why do you have a t-shirt from a gay bar?”

  Dan chuckled avoiding Lexa’s question. “You lived in Edmonton—thought you hailed from Cold Water. How long did you live there?”

  “Just over eight and a half years. Four years while attending university and almost five with the RCMP. Now answer my question.”

  “A souvenir of sorts from some grateful guys.” Dan slouched down a bit more getting comfortable—enjoying having Lexa in his lap and just talking. His fingertips surged with electricity as he touched her.

  “There’s more to that story. Come on. Tell me and then I’ll tell you something you want to know about me.”

  Dan blew out a breath. “Promise?”

  “Yeah. Anything you want to know.” Lexa’s body began to tingle and relax with the soothing ministrations of Dan’s fingers. Part of her wanted to set boundaries to his question, but in the spirit of inviting him into her heart, she opted to leave it wide open.

  “Alright. But if you chicken out, I’ll make you pay.” Dan presented her with a lopsided grin.

  “How?”

  “You’ll have to wait to find out.”

  “Okay, so what’s the story behind that shirt?” Her eyes locked on his. They needed to move beyond only the physical—a relationship couldn’t be based on sex alone. Leastwise, not one that would last beyond the initial infatuation.

  Dan closed his eyes, and his free hand absently rubbed Brody’s tag under the shirt. “Well, Brody and I had been at CFB Edmonton for about three weeks. Our first opportunity to go off base we headed into town to a local bar. One of our buddies pranked us by suggesting a popular bar which attracted a lot of hot chicks. So we ended up at Woody’s Wonderlounge.”

  Lexa giggled. “So how’d that work out for you?”

  Chuckling, Dan said, “The women were definitely hot. Though, it wasn’t until after our first beer arrived that we realized they had no interest in us. We chose to stay, finishing our beer as we plotted our revenge on Harry. While we drank, Brody pretended to be an affronted lover when guys asked me to dance. Me, I only laughed when they approached Brody. Which made Brody pretend to be trying to make me jealous, which in turn caused me laugh harder.”

  Lexa liked the smile on Dan’s face as he shared a humorous memory of Brody. “Sounds like you two had fun.”

  “We did. We stayed a bit longer when a couple of guys bought us a beer, and we ended up discussing hockey. Friendly guys. They recommended another bar to us—one more to our tastes.”

  Lexa noted a shift in Dan’s eyes. This story was not all fun and games. “So what happened?”

  Dan inhaled and gradually exhaled. “We left, deciding to walk the block to the bar they suggested. Brody hammed it up, as he did inside Woody’s, having a merry time. Pretending to beg me not to break up with him. We never noticed the five guys following us. They struck just as we passed by an alley.

  “They hit Brody first and dragged him into the alley. Three guys went after Brody. Two after me. We held our own until the thug, who Brody had rammed into a dumpster, got up holding a pipe in his hand. He swung full force at Brody’s stomach. When Brody bent over, the bastard hit him on the head.

  “The sickening sound of metal making contact with Brody’s skull rang in my ears. Brody went down like a rock and didn’t move. Blood spilled out and covered his face. I believed the SOB killed my brother. When he started to swing at Brody again, I jumped in front of Brody to protect him. The metal pipe struck me in the ribs. After that, I lost control. Everything is still pretty much a blur to me. A few witnesses reported I went berserk.

  “By the time police arrived, all five attackers were laid out, either out cold or unable to stand. Witnesses said I managed to grab the pipe and began swinging. Messed them up bad, but luckily I didn’t kill them. I hit a cop when he tried to pull me away from Brody so the paramedics could treat him.

  “Brody woke the next day with one hell of a concussion. Laid him up in the hospital for five days and off work for another three weeks. Took twenty-five stitches to close the laceration. Damn glad Brody had a hard head, and he suffered no fractures.”

  Lexa shifted and stared at Dan. “Wow! Were you hurt? What happened to the lowlifes who attacked you? Did you face any charges?”

  Dan shrugged. “I had minor abrasions, a black eye, and bruised ribs. Not proud but also not sorry about the ones who assaulted us. I busted five ribs on one guy, broke the arm of another, gave concussions to four, and shattered the kneecap of the man who struck Brody. Witnesses claimed I defended Brody and myself, so the lead inspector didn’t charge me with anything. The officer was understanding and didn’t file assault charges either.”

  He glanced down at the shirt. “Three days after the attack, a few guys we talked to in the bar showed up in Brody’s hospital room. They brought gifts—this t-shirt was one of them. Apparently, the investigation linked the five SOBs who jumped us to a series of ten gay-bashing assaults wh
ich took place over the past eight months. Until that night, the police only had DNA samples of the attackers from prior incidents, but none of them were in the system.

  “One of the men who visited us said his friend had been beaten so badly he became a recluse, afraid to leave his home, and ultimately committed suicide. The assailants were charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault, hate crimes, and culpable homicide based on content in the suicide note. The scum all ended up in prison for a long stretch.”

  Lexa blew out a breath. “Whoo.” She decided not to ask about the tags. His story revealed to her a side of Dan she didn’t realize existed. He always seemed in complete control. Though, she wondered if she might lose self-restraint if she believed someone killed her best friend. “So what’s your question?”

  Dan released the memory, one of the times he nearly crossed the line, some might say he did cross it by using excessive force, but he was sincere when he told Craig he would willingly give his life to protect his brothers. Dan shifted his gaze to Lexa. He allowed a grin to play on his face.

  “Oh, I’m not sure I’m going to like this.” Lexa scrunched up her face at Dan’s expression. Lexa fervently hoped he wouldn’t ask her about her father or brothers. She was unsure she was ready to open up about them. Though one worry dissipated, what he would think of her brother Aidan, Dan didn’t seem to have a problem with accepting gays.

  Dan’s hand slipped under Lexa’s shirt, snaking around to her back. He traced her tattoo. “Why did you choose a butterfly tattoo?”

  Lexa almost laughed. She did breath a sigh of relief. This was one question she could answer. Her face softened. “Reminds me of my mother’s love. She always had the right words to soothe me when I was upset. I went through an awkward stage as most kids do. Mine was complicated when an annoying boy pulled a prank on me which left me feeling ugly. I looked horrible in short hair, and people kept mistaking me for a boy. I hated that.