Ultimate Courage

by Piper J. Drake

Rojas stood with his arms crossed, struggling to maintain a properly mock-fierce visage as the kids battled.

  Elisa had been “paralyzed” about a dozen times in Nerf scrimmage. She was currently lying slumped to her side on the mats feigning paralysis while two kids used her body as cover. One of those children was his daughter. Extremely practical child, his Boom.

  The opposing team was on their last man. It looked like Boom’s team was going to win. It’d bugged him, the first time he’d overseen parents’ night. He’d thought this game was a bad idea. Emphasis on bad.

  But Elisa had joined in the fun and the kids loved her. She’d laughed and gone down with all the drama of a Broadway actor. The kids ate it up. Plus Souze sat at his side, calmly watching over the chaos with him. It made the cacophony easier to handle somehow, having Souze with him, almost helping to keep an eye on things.

  The kids took the competition and kept it friendly and fun. None of them claimed to be killing the other. The children’s rules were to be tagged meant you were paralyzed, frozen until the end of the round.

  He could live with those rules.

  Movement in the lighted area outside the front doors of the school caught his eye, confirmed as more than simple passersby when Souze came to all four feet and issued a warning bark.

  Hard not to notice every person walking past with the huge floor-to-ceiling windows facing out onto the parking lot. He’d drawn the blinds across most of the front of the school, leaving the door exposed so he could see the parents returning. Night had fallen, and it was a few minutes early, but, hey, some parents ran out of energy faster than the kids did. But these two people didn’t move on after a quick glance in the doors. They remained waiting.

  He didn’t recognize the two men standing outside the door. Scowling, Rojas studied them as they peered through the glass. When one of them looked directly at him and pressed a badge to the glass, Rojas nodded and held up an index finger to indicate they wait.

  “All right, recruits.” He pitched his voice to carry over the delighted shouts and squeals. Over a dozen pairs of eyes locked on him and the room fell silent. “We’re doing a new thing tonight. We’re going to send everyone into the big changing room and see who can stay silent the longest. Whoever the winner is gets first chance to choose their team next parents’ night.”

  One of the young boys pumped his arm. “Nice. I’ll win!”

  A chorus of challenges came from the various children.

  “None of you can win if you don’t pile into the changing room and go quiet. I can hear everything from that room so you have to be absolutely silent.” Rojas tapped his ear. “Consider this an exercise in discipline. Move out.”

  Elisa herded some of the less focused kids to the changing room in the back, her gaze going from Rojas to the men at the door.

  He waited until their eyes met. “Text Gary and Greg. Our visitors flashed a badge, but I don’t recognize them as any of our local police.”

  And he’d had reason to get to know some of them over the last several months. A few trained with Revolution MMA and at least one of their local police had his kid here tonight. But the staff at Hope’s Crossing Kennels had interacted with the local police a few times when Lyn had first come to the kennels. It’d been interesting times and he’d gotten to know quite a few of the police in the area as a result.

  Once Elisa had nodded and gone with the children safely out of view, Rojas headed to the door and snagged a kali stick out of the bin at the corner of the mats to bring along. Souze kept pace with him, leash dragging along the floor. Rojas wanted at least one hand free to act, and he trusted Souze to obey verbal commands.

  Smiles and geniality weren’t his thing, but he tried for as neutral an expression as possible as he unlocked one side of the double doors and cracked it enough to speak to the visitors. He kept his hand on the door bar, effectively blocking entrance across the opening. He carried the kali stick in his other hand, loose and relaxed at his side, away from the opening. Souze stood at heel at his left side, an added obstacle in the partial entryway.

  “Officers.” He nodded at each. They were both average height, not quite as fit as the police who trained at Revolution, and average build. Fairly non-descript. Their police uniforms had no name tags. “How can I help you this evening?”

  There was a beat of hesitation as the other two men assessed the situation. They each returned his nod, glanced down at Souze for a long moment, then took a closer look at him. Hey, a handsome black and tan GSD standing ready to act had that sort of effect on a person. People had a range of reactions. Some were delighted. Others were intimidated and kept their distance.

  People who planned to do shady things got fidgety and wary of the dog. These men both changed their weight from one foot to the other before steadying themselves. They also each had their hands on their guns.

  Rojas’s attention focused and he kept his limbs loose, his joints relaxed to maximize his range of motion if he needed to counter an aggressive move on their part.

  “Are you the owner of this school?” the one who’d flashed the badge asked as he leaned in and placed his own hand on the edge of the door at about eye level. Not tugging it open, but definitely making sure to get a modicum of control on the door. He tapped his chest. “I’m Officer Wegner and this is Patterson. We’re looking for an Elisa Hall. She’s needed for questioning back at our division headquarters.”

  Rojas tightened his jaw a fraction. The guy’s demeanor was meant to intimidate and it was scraping at Rojas’s temper. The issue here wasn’t whether or not the man made a move. Rojas was more concerned about the children in the other room and not giving these two creeps an excuse to remove Rojas from the premises.

  Wegner leaned in a fraction more. “Do I need to repeat myself?”

  Well. They were all in relatively defensive positions in the entryway. Hopefully things could be resolved with conversation, but they were all prepared to take action. This was a clear threat and Rojas settled into a cold analysis of the situation.

  Souze was completely silent.

  Which was a sign in and of itself. In relaxed situations, Souze gave the brief bark or warning growl. This was a serious encounter, and the dog had gone completely quiet. It was a personality quirk and a dangerous one. Souze was watching these men with potentially deadly intent.

  “I’m actually not the owner.” Rojas opted to answer the first question as pleasantly as possible. His dog was taking cues from his attitude, his voice, his body language. As long as he was in control, he was in control of Souze. Having the backup also reminded him to keep his reaction in check. This wasn’t overseas or a combat situation. Response with deadly force would not be called for. Especially not with children nearby. He needed to restrict himself to the minimum force required to maintain control of the situation and that was it. “But they should be back in less than half an hour. We’ve got a special children’s event going on here at the school this evening. We’d like to keep the kids feeling as positive as possible. The presence of anyone they don’t know can be stressful.”

  There, he’d been completely reasonable. The next couple of minutes were going to be telling. Could be easily diffused or things could get ugly, fast.

  Wegner bared his teeth in a smile, not a friendly one. “No problem. Send Miss Hall out here and she can come with us directly back to division headquarters.”

  Rojas allowed his features to twist into a grimace of disappointment. “We’d like to cooperate, officer, but there’s reason to believe Elisa Hall is being pursued by a stalker. I’d rather not have her out anywhere without someone she knows. If you’d be willing to wait until after this event is over and all the parents have come to take their children home, I’d be happy to accompany you all back to your division headquarters. Where is that, by the way?”

  It was Wegner’s turn to disregard a question. “We’re not waiting. You’re not going. Just send out Elisa Hall or we will come inside and take her into custody.”
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  All of them were being so careful with their words. Rojas hated word games. Souze’s hip brushed his on his left. The big dog was watching him, ready for the slightest cue.

  Time for a direct question. “Is Elisa Hall under arrest?”

  Wegner scowled and Patterson shifted uncomfortably a step or two back and to the side. Rojas resisted the urge to grin. No, Elisa wasn’t. This was unofficial business, as far as Rojas could tell, maybe as shady as some off-duty extracurricular activity.

  “Last chance,” Wegner growled, dropping any semblance of pleasantry. “Send her out or we come in and take her.”

  Rojas raised his right hand up with the kali stick and brought it down smartly on the other man’s fingers. Wegner withdrew his hand from the door immediately, cursing, and Rojas immediately yanked the door closed and locked it.

  Wegner took a step back and drew his weapon, shouting through the closed doors, “Open the door or I will fire!”

  Rojas dodged to the right of the doors for limited cover behind one of the counters. Was this guy crazy? Even with the kids in the back changing room, the walls were only sheetrock. There was no telling what could happen when he opened fire.

  Souze was a reassuring presence at Rojas’s hip. The situation still didn’t require deadly force. Rojas struggled to consciously plan his next moves while he still had time to keep things at the appropriate level of response.

  “Stop!” another, familiar voice called out. Even muffled through the glass doors, Rojas recognized the local policeman whose child was currently hiding in the back with the rest of the kids. “Hold your fire. Upper Makefield Township Police.”

  Silence.

  Cautiously, Rojas rose up from behind the counter and took stock of the scene in front of him.

  Officer Kymani Graves was approaching the two strange policemen, his own weapon drawn. There was a terse exchange of words. Rojas watched, tense, and decided to set the kali stick down on the counter in plain sight and easy reach. He’d let Graves handle things, but be ready to react again if things escalated. He didn’t relax even once the men holstered their weapons. After a few minutes, they left looking murderous.

  Rojas stooped to pick up Souze’s leash and returned to the door, letting Officer Graves in.

  “Excellent timing, Ky.” Rojas shook the other man’s hand. Rojas had some decent height at six foot, give or take. But Kymani Graves stood several inches taller.

  The lean man smiled, brilliant white teeth showing in cheerful contrast to his dark skin. “I see you’ve battened down the hatches, Rojas. Tell me where you’ve hidden all of our children.”

  In answer, Rojas kept his eyes on the parking lot beyond Ky but called out over his shoulder. “Game’s over, everyone line up on the mat! Miss Elisa gets to tell us who the winner is.”

  The kids poured out of the back changing room, babbling and full of questions. Gary and Greg arrived at a run, and Rojas gave Ky the quick version of what had happened.

  Ky’s eyebrows rose, then rose higher as Rojas added in some context with Elisa’s situation.

  “Good timing is right, then. If you’d had to resort to any additional action to keep them out, there could’ve been some major complications and possibly some charges for assaulting an officer.” Ky sighed. “As it was, they were outside their jurisdiction.”

  Rojas jerked his chin up and down once. “They didn’t actually say where they were from, just stated their names.”

  Ky pressed his lips together in a grim smile. “We’ll have to look into exactly who they were and where their district headquarters are. But in the meantime, thank you for keeping my child safe.”

  Rojas shook his head. “I’m sorry we couldn’t avoid it altogether.”

  Gary and Greg joined them. “Kids all seem okay. Some of them heard what was going on but Elisa kept them straight with the idea that you were having a discussion with strangers and because no one knew if they were police, they were not allowed in.”

  Ky’s daughter Grace came running up. Because Souze had turned first to face the oncoming child, Rojas was warned that she was coming and he didn’t jump.

  Grace looked way up at her dad. “I didn’t win the discipline contest, so I can’t choose teams first next parents’ night, but can Boom still sleep over tonight like we planned?”

  Rojas winced then blanked his expression. This incident had probably left Ky with mixed feelings, and Rojas didn’t want the other man to feel obligated to still look after his daughter for the evening.

  Ky only smiled his generous smile, though, and placed his hand on his daughter’s head. “Of course. Are you both ready to leave?”

  Grace held up two fingers. “Two minutes! We’ll say good-bye and get our shoes on.”

  Then she was running off.

  Rojas caught Ky’s gaze. “I understand if you’d prefer not to.”

  Ky’s smile sobered a fraction. “I was sincere when I thanked you for my daughter’s safety, Rojas. And I know something of what it cost you to keep things calm here. Not every man could do that. I’m honored that you’d trust me with your daughter after such an interesting evening.”

  Rojas didn’t know what to say, so he put his hand out. Ky took it and shook it firmly. “When your Elisa feels comfortable, bring her in to see me at the station and we can see if there’s enough evidence of stalking to have a restraining order put in place. We’ll do our best to help her.”

  “She’d appreciate it.” Rojas smiled then, genuine and sincere. “Thank you.”

  The other man nodded.

  “Speaking of your Elisa”—Greg edged past Rojas—“I’m going to take her on upstairs. She looks like she’s about to lose it.”

  Rojas quickly scanned the room for Elisa and saw her standing near Boom, holding Boom’s backpack. Her smile was trembling, and her already pale skin had a faint gray tinge to it. “Yeah. I’ll—”

  “Finish up parents’ night.” Gary clapped Rojas on the shoulder. “We’ll take her to unwind while you tie up loose ends here and straighten out the kids’ stories so we know what kind of damage control we’ll have when their parents ask about it.”

  Fantastic.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Sorry.” Elisa sat on the edge of the small bed as Gary hovered near her. “Sorry.”

  “No worries. Don’t you worry at all. This place needs a little excitement to keep us all on our toes, anyway.” His voice was gentle, kind. There was no trace of anger.

  A knock at the door to the room made her jump, despite knowing there was at least one trusted police officer and Alex between her and anyone planning to take her away. Not to mention any number of children and their returning parents still downstairs as witnesses if anything should happen at this point.

  Greg entered the room carrying a small tray with three steaming mugs. “I brought up some tea.”

  Gary made an odd noise. Sort of a cross between a growl and a groan.

  Greg rolled his eyes. “I brought coffee for you, ruffian.”

  “You like it rough, lover.” Gary grinned and took a mug covered in cat images.

  Greg rolled his eyes, but there was an affectionate smile playing around the corners of his mouth. Maybe they’d interrupted a good date night between Gary and Greg.

  Another thing Elisa felt guilty about.

  “I noticed you like the mint tea in the evenings when you’ve come back.” Greg sat next to her and brought the tray close enough for her to see. “I brewed us a couple of mugs of this fantastic blend of mint and chamomile, with a hint of orange and rose blossoms. Doesn’t it smell incredible? Most of the people we have training here don’t have the palate to appreciate it.”

  Most of the people training at Revolution MMA drank water or sports drinks, as far as Elisa had seen. They always had their sports bottles with them and the only people drinking tea or coffee were parents waiting as kids were taking classes.

  But then, it was one of those thoughtful touches. Elisa imagined other places mig
ht only have a water station. Gary and Greg went out of their way to have comforts and conveniences available for the people who came to their school. Even this room had been created for people who trained with them to have a quiet place to rest the night before a fight. It spoke volumes about the two men and the environment they’d created within their school.

  Thinking about it, Brandon had wanted those sorts of touches for Hope’s Crossing Kennels, too.

  Here she was, bringing insanity down on all these wonderful people. “I’m not good for all of you. Every time I think I might be in a place to stand up for myself, my ex yanks the footing right out from under me. Worse, he threatens to hurt the people around me. I shouldn’t stay anywhere near any of you.”

  “You should stay right where you want to be,” Gary said quietly. He leaned against the far wall, sipping his coffee from his cat mug.

  Greg lifted a mug with a German Shepherd Dog silhouette and a caption that said I can make it to the fence in 2 seconds. Can you?, holding it out to her until she took it from him. He took up his own mug, covered in cockatiels, and breathed in the rising steam from it. “You’re a kind person, Elisa. And I can understand why you wouldn’t want to cause trouble for the people around you. But you’d do more harm than good just up and leaving us all. For one thing, we’d miss you. And Boom would be heartbroken.”

  Elisa bit her lip, wrapping her hands around her mug until the heat almost burned her palms. “How is staying and letting my ex take potshots at you any way he can better? He’s going to try to ruin your school or the kennels next. This was too public not to cause some trouble for you. He’ll try to mess up the careers of anyone who gets between him and me.”

  “He’ll try,” Gary agreed. “But trust me. Greg and I have had plenty of people try to ruin us over the years. It’d be one more challenge. Not the end of the world.”

  Greg nodded. “And don’t you worry about the boys at Hope’s Crossing. Every one of them can handle himself.”

  She didn’t reply, chewing on her lower lip.

  “You’re worth it.” Gary came over to sit on her other side. “Don’t doubt it for a minute. Alex is out there doing what he does because there’s something about you that brings out the best in him.”