BELONGING: Hope, Truth And Malice (Beauty 0f Life Book 3)

by Laura Acton

  “Absolutely. I’ll call Dr. Fraser and have it sent over in the morning with the oral pain meds. Want to go to bed or out in the main suite with the others for a bit?” Patch asked then waited.

  Dan was tired, but he needed to be close to his chosen family right now. He answered, “In the main suite … for a little bit.”

  CFB Halifax – 9:15 local time (7:15 Toronto)

  Able Seaman Kyle Broderick was lost in thought as he scrubbed the head on this deck. He’d spent the entire day cleaning every head on this ship. After his dad called him and told him about Dan, Kyle had gone to his Commanding Officer to request leave. He’d asked for a week’s leave starting in two days. His CO had denied him and then set him to the task of cleaning all the heads.

  His CO was a prick on a power-trip and hated him because he was a Broderick. No, that wasn’t right, his CO hated everyone below his rank. Chief Petty Officer Foccard was an equal opportunity prick who loved to make their lives miserable. Kyle was thinking of ways he might get his CO to change his mind and was lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear his CO approach.

  “Broderick, you’re not done yet?” Foccard yelled. He wanted to see the peon jump to attention. A Broderick coming attention to him—now that was a beautiful sight.

  Kyle dropped the scrub brush and in his scramble to get up from the floor to come to attention, he knocked the bottle of toilet bowl cleaner off the counter. He watched in horror as the bottle bounced on the floor and the contents, which contained bleach, splashed all over his CO’s dark pants. Shit! He was gonna pay for this one big time. Kyle came to rigid attention and swallowed hard. “I only have four more heads to clean.”

  Foccard jumped back as the liquid splashed all over his pants. “Broderick, for that you’ll be cleaning heads for the next month. Consider yourself on my official shit list.”

  Kyle nearly groaned. Now for sure he wasn’t going to be able to swing leave. Dammit, he wanted to be there for Dan. Kyle tuned out his CO’s rant as he thought about Dan. How badly was he hurt? He hoped it wasn’t too bad. His dad said there were things he couldn’t tell him over the phone, but he could tell him that Dan hadn’t ignored the family and that Dan needed all of them right now. Kyle tuned back into his CO when his tirade started to taper off.

  “I was coming to tell you I’d approved your leave after consideration. But now, you’ll be scrubbing down every inch of this ship while we are in port. You can kiss your leave goodbye. When you finish here, report to the mess and begin a deep clean on the ovens.” Foccard turned and strode out without a backward glance. That had been fun chewing out a Broderick.

  Kyle relaxed when his CO left. Perhaps he should’ve gone the university route after all. Then he would be a higher rank than Foccard and he could put him in his place for treating them all like gum on the bottom of his shoe. Kyle decided he might just have to put a call into Dad if he was gonna be there to help Dan. Calling in a favor from his dad was the last thing Kyle wanted to do, but for Dan, he’d do it. Kyle picked up the scrub brush and set to work again.

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  July 18

  Grand Citadel Hotel – Main Suite – 7:25 p.m.

  Patch stayed close to Blondie as they reentered the main suite. He needed to be near in case Blondie faltered in his step, which was still shaky, but getting stronger. After Blondie sat down in a comfortable chair he put a pillow in his lap and gently positioned Blondie’s left wrist on it. Then he headed over to the table to get him some water.

  Dan smiled up at Ray and Loki when they moved an ottoman close to him and lifted his legs up on to it. Dan felt the heat of embarrassment and knew he was blushing. He didn’t do well with all this attention. He shook his head when they asked if he needed anything. He was glad that most everyone continued doing whatever they were doing.

  After he took a sip of water, Dan said, “Boss?”

  “Yeah, Dan?” Nick asked looking up from the file he was reviewing. He glanced at Dan and liked what he heard, his voice sounded clear and strong. Dan’s appearance however was different story—he looked so wiped out.

  “What’s today’s date?” Dan asked.

  Nick closed the file. “Today’s the eighteenth.” He watched as Dan appeared to be working through something.

  Wow three days. Another thought entered Dan’s mind. “Boss, did I miss Aaron’s funeral?”

  His question grabbed the attention of the entire room. They all stopped and listened.

  “No, it’s tomorrow afternoon at three. But I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go … given the threat against you. The Major will be there,” Nick stated firmly.

  “I have to go,” Dan replied firmly.

  Nick was against Dan going, but needed to listen to understand Dan’s thinking. He remembered all too well the price they all had paid for not listening. Nick simply asked, “Why?”

  “Because Aaron was under my command when he died. It would be a dishonor if I didn’t go. He was a good man.” Dan noticed the looks of disgust on many of their faces. He narrowed in on Lexa and Loki who were seated close to each other at the large desk. “What’s that look for?”

  Uncomfortable at being the ones called to account for their reactions, Lexa and Loki shared a look. Then Lexa firmly stated, “Because of Aaron’s attitude and behaviors toward you when we were searching section seven. His level of disrespect was uncalled for and unprofessional.”

  Loki added, “Aaron was a first-rate jerk. You should’ve heard the things he said about you to Kirk and Frank before we all headed out.” Then Loki recounted everything they had overheard.

  Blaze, Winds, and Patch bristled hearing how Blondie was maligned.

  William sighed and closed his eyes—goddamned Plouffe’s.

  Dan thought about Aaron’s last words. “Aaron didn’t have to like me personally—not everyone likes everyone. He was entitled to his opinion, even if it was wrong and based on crap the Major told him. And no matter his opinion of me, it doesn’t discount the fact that Aaron put his life on the line every day to protect the citizens of Toronto.

  “I shouldn’t say this because I haven’t met with NRB yet, but in the end, Aaron had my back. He did the right thing no matter what he may have thought of me personally. Aaron came upon me and Basto when Basto had my gun leveled at my head. Aaron caused a distraction that allowed me to go for my MP5. Without his action, I’d be dead—shot with my own gun.”

  Dan took a steadying breath. “Another subject appeared out of nowhere and shot at Aaron. Blood dripped into my eye and I was too slow to save Aaron. I shot the unknown subject. Then Basto and I fired at each other at the same time. I hit Basto and he missed me.”

  He sat quiet for several moments, clearly shaken, reliving the event. “So whatever Aaron may have said, whatever crap he gave me, whatever his bastard Uncle has done, Aaron deserves to be honored for the man he was. A good man—an honorable man who served and made the ultimate sacrifice. I need to pay my respects to him. Without him I’d be dead. He saved me,” Dan finished resolutely and added silently to himself … And I failed him.

  Everyone was silent. They had all wondered about the four shots and what had actually happened in the ravine. Each had speculated various scenarios, but none had placed Aaron in the role of saving Dan. Lexa and Loki both crossed their arms over their chests. Neither was sure they could forgive Aaron just yet.

  Nick sighed, he understood Dan’s need, but also understood the threat. He was about to say something when Dan looked directly at Jon and softly said, “I will go—with or without your help. Do not doubt that. Will you help me do it without taking unacceptable risks?”

  Jon thought, Damn, he’s good—points, shoots, scores a bulls-eye with his words.

  Before he could reply William walked up behind Daniel and placed a hand on his shoulder. Unintentionally, Daniel stiffened to attention. General Broderick sighed. Would that ever stop? Probably not—it’s too ingrained.

  Knowing how important this wa
s to his son, William offered his support. “I understand Daniel’s sense of duty and his need to honor a fallen officer. I’ll help him. Who else is willing to support Daniel?”

  Dan was shocked for the third time by the General’s action tonight. He never expected his father to support him—let alone be the first one.

  Jon looked at Dan and saw the steel determination in his expression. “Dano, I’m only going along with this because the church will be full of officers. The Major would be crazy to go after you at a funeral with so many witnesses.”

  Dan nodded.

  Lexa shivered as she thought about Dan’s words about Basto aiming Dan’s own gun at him. Reluctantly, she gave in and uncrossed her arms. Lexa was proud of Dan for wanting to honor Aaron despite Aaron’s odious words and actions. “I’ll agree. We’ll have your back if the Major’s stupid enough to try and do something at the funeral.”

  She was rewarded with a lopsided grin, which looked pitiful with the swelling on his face. Lexa fought the urge to gently kiss away his aches and pains. Needing a distraction from those thoughts, Lexa stood up and walked to the table to grab a water bottle. It was hard to push the desire to comfort him away. Damn, he truly is under my skin. What the hell am I gonna do?

  Blaze knew that Blondie’s threat about going with or without help wasn’t an idle one. The kid was too damned skilled. If Blondie wanted out of this room, he’d get out. It was safer for Blondie if they agreed to help.

  He assumed his command persona, then Blaze firmly stated, “Blondie, I agree but with conditions. The Major isn’t to be given the slightest opportunity to get close to you. You’ll wear a vest, me and my men will be armed, and we need to work out a security plan. And finally, you’re not to step more than five feet away from me. You got that kid?”

  Jon grinned when he saw Dan simply smile and nod at Blaze. He could see Dan held a great deal of respect for Blaze.

  Winds looked at the TRF team and added, “I think Blondie’s team should be armed too. That bastard has been playing us for years. I wouldn’t put anything past him. I don’t like this one damned bit, but if Blondie’s bound and determined to go, then I’ll be there to protect his six.”

  Nick nodded. “I agree. We’ll be armed. We also need to alert the other teams to the potential risk. The more eyes we have watching, the safer Dan will be.”

  Loki wasn’t about to forgive Aaron right now. This wasn’t a good idea. He didn’t like it one damned bit, but Loki went over to Dan and patted his shoulder in a show of support. Dan was family now, he’d do anything for him—even if he thought it was the dumbest thing in the world to do.

  Glad of all the support, but feeling worn out, Dan had one more thing to ask before he went back to bed. “Boss, one more thing. I want to get the NRB interviews over with. Seeing that the funeral is in the afternoon, can you schedule them for the morning?”

  “You sure you’re up to that?” Bram asked. “You know those can wait until you’re feeling better.”

  Dan shook his head. “Aaron’s family can’t be told anything until after the interviews. They deserve to know and they shouldn’t have to wait on me. I’ll be fine—” Dan looked at Blaze and changed it to, “I’ll be okay.”

  Jon caught the look to Blaze and the change from fine to okay. Now he definitely knew Dan had some personal meaning attached to the word fine. He’d have to find a moment to ask about that because Dan used the word fine a lot when they asked him how he was.

  Nick conceded, “I’ll make the arrangements. For now, I think you need some more rest.”

  Slowly swinging his legs off the ottoman, Dan found Ray and Winds there helping him to stand up. This was getting to be a bit too much coddling. He groused, “I can do it myself.”

  Ray and Winds both stepped back as Winds quipped, “Okay, but don’t complain to me if you ruin your pretty boy looks by falling flat on your face.”

  Dan chuckled. “Bit late for that, don’t you think? I look like a Zombie.” Then he made his way to the bedroom at a snail’s pace.

  The sound of Dan’s laugh and his joking eased everyone’s tension.

  Stopping just inside the bedroom, Dan looked back at all the people in the main suite. He smiled and it lit his eyes. It felt so good to belong. He turned and reached for the door.

  Just as Dan was about to close the door, Bram called out to him, “Dan, if you need anything at all, I’ll be right out here all night.”

  Dan nodded and closed the door. He picked up Beauty from the nightstand, put in the earbuds, turned it on, then got into bed. He was so drained he knew sleep would eventually come, but right now his mind was still jumbled. He needed to sort out enough to be able to deal with the NRB interview and Aaron’s funeral. Then he’d be able to lock those memories in his safe place and focus on trying to figure out his future.

  When Dan’s door closed, Blaze asked Jon, “What’s an NRB interview?”

  Jon explained that the Nonpartisan Review Board was an independent civilian authority whose purpose was to maintain police accountability in the use of force. Then he explained what the interview entailed. Jon felt a slight twinge of guilt remembering that he hadn’t even explained it to Dan before he had to participate in one. Christ, that first one had been done by Donner. He shuddered slightly. Who knew the man was so unbalanced?

  Blaze shook his head. “Wow, you mean you have to go through that every time you use lethal force? That’s intense. I mean, I get the reason why and all, but that’s gotta hurt sometimes. I doubt I’d ever be TRF material, don’t think I could handle doing that every time. And you say Blondie has to do five of those tomorrow? I hope he’s up to it.”

  He really did wonder how Blondie did that. His eyes searched the room a moment then he called out, “Patch, you got the charger for Beauty? Blondie might need Beauty tomorrow morning.”

  Jon looked at him questioningly and Blaze smiled. “Just being prepared.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Jon responded.

  General Broderick cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention, “How are we going to protect Daniel tomorrow? What’s the plan?”

  The group discussed the options and decided that enlisting the help of the other teams was the right course because although they were aware of Plouffe, Pletcher was still on the loose and they had no idea if he posed a threat to Dan. However, due to the top-secret nature of the Plouffe and Pletcher situations, they would have to be vague with details.

  Blaze suggested they show pictures of Pletcher and Major Plouffe to the other TRF officers so they knew who to watch for. Then tell them that Dan had a rocky history with the Major and in his grief, the Major might blame him for Aaron’s death. Not a lie, but definitely not the whole sickening truth.

  Nick placed a call to the Sergeants of Charlie, Delta and Echo teams asking them to join a planning session tonight. Bravo Team wouldn’t be attending the funeral because they would be on shift covering for all the teams. About twenty minutes later, Charlie Team’s Sergeant Colton Harmon and Tactical Lead, Paul Miller arrived.

  A few minutes later, Trevor McBride from Echo Team arrived. Trevor explained that Sergeant Winter and their TL, were unable to make it tonight, so he’d offered to come and would brief them in the morning. Frank Hudson, from Delta Team arrived shortly after. His Sergeant and TL were busy with arrangements for Aaron’s parents for tomorrow so he was their representative.

  Lexa asked, “Frank, how’s the arm?”

  Frank grinned. “Fine. It’s great for getting sympathy from my whole family. I’ll be back to active duty when my team returns to duty in a few weeks.”

  Then everyone gathered around the large table and set to work developing a plan. It wasn’t anywhere near perfect, maybe just adequate because there were too many possibilities. It was just too open and exposed.

  As they were working, Heather made her way into the main suite, grabbed a cup of coffee and strolled towards Dan’s room.

  Patch saw her, disengaged from the planning sess
ion, and caught her before she went in. “Hey, Heather.”

  Heather smiled. “Hey, Patch. How’s our patient?”

  “Unattached.” Patch grinned.

  Heather teased, “Oh, I’m glad he’s single. He’s so handsome.” She saw a little flash of something in Jim’s eyes. She was new to flirting—never felt the need to do it before.

  Damn, Blondie got all the girls. Patch forced a grin, “No, I mean no IV.”

  Heather laid her hand on his arm in the same manner she’d seen him do to Dan many times since she’d been here. “I was just teasing. I figured you meant the IV was out. What if he needs pain meds?”

  Patch’s arm tingled where Heather’s hand remained. “He shouldn’t need any before the oral meds get here. I have two doses in syringe form, but if he needs it, you need to call me—I’ll handle it.”

  Heather nodded. “Anything else?”

  “I allowed him to take a shower tonight, do me a favor and check his gunshot wound several times. He only has a partial spleen and he tends to have problems with infections. It looked fine to me when I wrapped it, but it can happen fast with him.” Patch opened the door for her.

  As Heather went in she allowed herself to brush against Jim’s body lightly as she whispered, “Dan’s not the only handsome man—I prefer your looks.” Then she caught his eye for a moment as she blushed. Oh lordy, she’d never done that before either.

  Patch sucked in a breath. Wow! He grinned as he closed the door. He might just give Heather a call when this was all said and done. Take her out to a real nice place and get to know her better. He headed back to the table with a dopey grin on his face.

  Blaze nudged Winds as he saw Patch heading back to the table.

  Winds looked up at Blaze who tilted his head towards Patch. He grinned and whispered, “Me thinks Patch is besotted.”

  Blaze chuckled lightly. “Yeah. She seems nice. Hope she doesn’t break his heart.” He switched his focus back to the planning session—happy that Patch was moving forward. He needed to do that. The past years had been difficult on all of them, but especially so for Patch. His brother was a true empath—Patch absorbed all their pain and felt everything to the extreme.