by Laura Acton
William wished he paid more attention to his assignments while Daniel served. Daniel might not have left if he had more balance in his life. He most likely suffered from burnout after Brody’s death and required a little longer to rebalance and recharge—an extended R&R leave.
Thinking about Daniel’s state of mind, William realized perhaps he should’ve been more hands-on and kept closer track of Daniel’s temporary assignments. He came to a quick conclusion. Yes, I have a duty and desire to watch over him. When Daniel returns, I will be more attentive. Daniel will not miss another Christmas at home. I’ll make sure he takes his leaves.
As William exited the room, he nodded to Drake, who fell into step behind him. His mind shifted back to the letters. Daniel’s pilfered mail affected the entire family. Yvonne aside, he must wait until they uncovered the blackmailer and comprehended the motive behind targeting Daniel before communicating details to Daniel and the rest of the family. Though he wanted to tell them now, he understood disclosing intel might endanger Daniel. William would never carelessly place his son in harm’s way—his son meant too much to him.
Reaching Out
21
January 14
Outside The Pond – 10:30 p.m.
Lexa waited for Dan in the parking lot. They were the last to leave as she planned. She enjoyed the evening. The team mostly talked sports and drew Dan into the conversation when they discussed hockey. Dan fit right in with the rest of the guys when he declared himself a Leafs fan.
However, she avowed her loyalty as a steadfast Edmonton Oilers fan. Having grown up in Cold Lake, Alberta she rooted for them. Once, when she was ten, her father took her and her brothers to a live game. The two-day trip to Edmonton had been fun and exciting. Lexa sucked in a breath and pushed the memory away. Thinking about her family hurt too much.
She turned her attention to Dan as he exited the bar. Lexa took pleasure in viewing the unabridged view of his smooth, confident stride some might classify as a sexy swagger. Dan’s relaxed appearance now contrasted the fear and loneliness she witnessed in his eyes in the boat, which had compelled her to reach out to him tonight.
Dan shifted his helmet to his other hand as he approached his motorcycle. He noted Lexa standing near her Jeep. She should’ve left already. Why is she still here? “Everything okay?” Dan came to a stop at his Ducati.
Lexa shifted a bit, not as assured as when she decided to wait for him. “Yeah. Thought maybe you’d like to grab a coffee.”
Taken by surprise, since they just finished having drinks with the team, Dan took a moment to consider his response. “We’ve got an early morning. Planned on heading home. Jon will read me the riot act if I’m late. He keeps threatening to put me in the truck if he catches me catnapping. Said something about the bottom of a zodiac being an unacceptable nap location.”
Lexa chuckled. “Yeah, well, … Jon’s like that. How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. You? You took a dunking, too.”
“Yeah, I’m fine, but I was not in the water as long as you. Can I ask you something?”
Dan stiffened but nodded.
Lexa bit her bottom lip as she tried to come up with the right phrasing. She decided humor would be best. “Did Special Forces teach you that awesome swimming stroke?”
Knocked off-kilter by the humor, Dan snorted and responded in kind, “Yeah, they did. Pretty cool, huh?”
Lexa’s eyes danced at hearing the lightness of his tone. A first, and she liked the sound a lot! She bantered back, “They should teach that to Navy Seals.”
A lopsided grin graced Dan’s face as he shook his head. “Can’t, it’s top secret, and takes awesome skill to learn the technique. Only a select few ever master the stroke.”
Her grin broadening at his awesome smile, Lexa transitioned to her real topic as she reached out a hand and lightly touched his bicep. While waiting, she internally debated asking him outright if he suffered from loneliness. Reasoning a direct approach would result in Dan firmly clamping a stoic mask in place, she took an indirect route. “I’m an excellent listener if you ever want to talk. We got off to an unpleasant start which is my fault, and I’m sorry. I’d like to be more than teammates … perhaps we can become friends.
“This city can be lonely when you first come here. When I moved here from Edmonton, it was tough at first not knowing anyone. So, if you want to hang out, you know, as friends, grab a burger or coffee, or want someone to chat with, you can always call me. You have my number now.”
A bolt of electricity shot through Dan at her touch. It scrambled his senses. He could only nod as he gazed at the sincere eyes. The golden flecks in her soft hazel eyes reflected the parking lot lights. An urge to pull her in and kiss her sweet, soft, succulent, and oh so kissable lips became overpowering. He remembered her taste and the scent of jasmine.
How he didn’t act on his desire, Dan didn’t quite fathom, but he lifted and pulled on his helmet as he found his voice. “Thanks, I’ll keep what you said in mind. Goodnight, Lexa. Catch you tomorrow.”
Lexa scrutinized Dan as he mounted his bike and revved the engine. When the noise died to a low roar, she responded, “Night, Dan. Ride safe.”
As he nodded and put the bike in gear, she strolled to her Jeep. Her insides quivered as she recalled the moment she touched him and fire built in her core. She tingled remembering the night they spent together. Desire to be with him again bloomed. Lexa closed her door and lay her forehead on the steering wheel trying to recompose herself and stifle her wayward reactions to the sexy, blond man. “Oh, God! This man tempts me to be reckless.
“Friends. He can only be my friend. He’s lonely, and I can’t take advantage of him. Dan needs a friend.” Lexa blew out a long breath. Her logical mind would win this battle. She sacrificed too much to risk everything for any man. Men let her down. She couldn’t trust a man with her heart again.
I can’t date Dan and have a bit of fun with him then move on to the next guy because he is my teammate, and a sexual relationship is forbidden. Another thought struck her. Forbidden. That is the problem. The allure of forbidden fruit. Dan is the apple in my garden of Eden.
Lexa smiled having a rational explanation. She always fought to attain things people declared off limits or unattainable. He father forbade her to become a cop, so she strove to be the best-damned constable with the goal of joining the male-dominated ranks of TRF.
She started her Jeep and backed out of her parking spot more secure in her knowledge. “Dan’s forbidden because the rules say he is. I’m attracted to him because he’s forbidden. I can deal with this now. We can be friends.”
As Lexa drove home the little devil on her shoulder covered its mouth and snickered as it whispered, “Yeah, right. Good luck with that, Lexa.”
Jon’s Home – 10:30 p.m.
Jon punched in the alarm code to rearm the security system. The quiet and dark house indicated Jen and the boys were in bed. He dropped his go bag at the front door and headed for the kitchen.
He found a note from Jen on the fridge and sighed when he read her missive. Shortly after he began with TRF extended hours became a regular occurrence, and they agreed Jen wouldn’t call his work unless an emergency existed at home and he promised to call before going out with the team after shift. Dammit! I forgot tonight was Jen’s book club meeting. I failed to contact her, so she assumed I was busy with work and she missed her night out.
Jon slumped down into the chair, wearied by the thoughts of failing everyone around him. He became so consumed with trying to right things with Broderick he wronged Jen. In his defense, today messed with his mind when Dan went over the railing. He wanted to rush to his aid, fearing he could drown, but he maintained his gun on Mr. Hettich. Though, if Dan had hit his head and became unconscious, things would’ve ended much differently.
Finding out Dan didn’t swim well, didn’t please him either. Didn’t Special Forces soldiers go through all kinds of training? Wouldn’t swimming be an essential sk
ill? Just one more thing to add to his exceptionally long list of worries which was topped with being a ghost dad and husband. Failing to treat his family as he should, Jon worried if he kept making Jen subservient to the job, she would become fed up and leave. A thought which scared the hell out of him.
Facing life without his high school sweetheart … wholly unimaginable. She captured his heart when he was fourteen. It took him three years to build up enough nerve to ask her out, and she turned him down cold. But he continued asking and wore her down or wooed her, depending on who told the story.
She finally agreed to go out with him, and they had been together ever since. Jen supported his desire to become a constable, his choice to join TRF even knowing the long hours it would require, and she encouraged him to take the tactical lead position when Jason Gordon retired.
She is my rock, and I’m a piss poor husband and father. My sons are growing up, and I rarely spend time with them. Reflecting further, Jon comprehended he failed spectacularly as a mentor to Dan Broderick. Jon dropped his head and pinched the bridge of his nose as another tension headache started.
Everything began piling up, and coping by himself became difficult. Perhaps time to go to the support group again. Jon shook his head. No, too many cops in the group. This is not about my capacity to create the emotional vacuum necessary for taking a lethal shot, but my ability to be a quality spouse, father, and supervisor.
Jon couldn’t allow these pressures be known to anyone in the police force. He would be sent to the shrink, and that would probably spell the end of his career in TRF. That would only increase his troubles because quite frankly, he was not suited to any other line of work. Being a member of the elite Tactical Response Force defined him. Needing to figure this out on his own, Jon rose and trotted down to his basement to wale on the heavy bag.
Nick’s Home – 11:00 p.m.
Nick stood in the doorway of Martin’s room, staring at the preserved trappings of his four-year-old son. Unbelievable how fast the years flew by … nine years now. His eyes shifted from the hockey posters adorning one wall to the artwork of race cars on another. He stopped on the poster of his all-time favorite racecar drivers, Alastair Loving.
Nick admired the racer, a fan since childhood. As a surprise and a remembrance of one of many races he attended with his dad as a boy, Nick’s father procured an autographed print from the acclaimed racer. His dad framed the treasured poster the next day and ever since it hung with pride in his home. He handed down his print to Martin, hoping to share his love of racing with his son. To that end, he also purchased Martin a racecar bed, which still sported the racecar sheets Janie found.
His heart clenched recalling Martin’s unbounded joy and bright smile as he jumped on the bed and made engine noises as he pretended to drive. They watched their first race together on the TV that afternoon, and Martin proclaimed he wanted to be a racer when he grew up.
A tear slipped out. Martin never got the chance to grow up. His little boy died less than a week later. The desire to drink away his anguish surged up, but Nick quickly corked the bottle. Alcohol consumption is no way to deal with the pain of Martin’s or Janie’s deaths.
Reaching rock bottom, he crawled out of his bottle of Canadian Rye and decided to honor their lives. While they lived, they motivated him to be a better man. In death, they became the reason he rose every morning and went to work to fight the dark side of humanity. Though no longer physically here they inspired him to carry on and make a difference protecting other families.
Nick slowly closed the door and wondered if it might be time to move on, to pack away Martin’s things and redecorate his room. He could turn it into a spare room for guests.
He snorted. Guests? He never accommodated overnight visitors. His family for all practical purposes was gone. He did have distant family, an uncle he never met and who may or may not still be living. Whoever said ‘blood is thicker than water’ didn’t know his relations. His father and his brother apparently had a falling out eons before Nick was born. He had no idea if his uncle ever married or if he had any cousins.
A smile grew as Nick ambled down the hall. My family isn’t all gone. They are only a call and shift away. My chosen family … my team.
Lying in bed, he reviewed tonight at the Pond. Things appeared to be turning out well as they made progress with the rookie. Dan actually laughed a few times tonight. A slight smile, one not reaching his eyes, gave him hope. A portent, indicating they were making headway with their rookie.
Along those lines, he noted Lexa hung back when everyone left. He realized she planned to reach out to Dan just as she did with Loki. She helped Loki a great deal. Somewhat shy, well, not quite shy, more awkward, especially around women, Lexa befriended Loki and drew him out. Nick witnessed Loki’s confidence in social situations increase over the years and attributed the growth to Lexa’s gentle guidance.
It did his heart good to see Lexa encourage Dan in the same manner. Lexa is the heart of our team. She will make inroads with Dan none of us can dream of making. Sure, Bram made the initial connection, which made their job easier, but a sociable relationship with Lexa would assist Dan as he came to grips with his profound grief. Well aware of her abilities, she had aided him in overcoming long-held sorrow, creating a bright spot in his life, Nick believed Dan would thrive in Lexa’s safe hands.
Closing his eyes, Nick gradually drifted to sleep, with pleasant thoughts. The daughter of my heart is strong, confident, and compassionate. If anyone can help Dan realize he belongs, she will. The rest of us can follow the path she blazes.
Never Saw It Coming
22
January 29
TRF SUV – Bram and Dan
Bram glanced at Dan in the passenger seat of the SUV as he continued to tell the story, “… after corralling Allie and dressing her, no small feat, we finally buckled everyone in the minivan. Kellie was frazzled ‘cause we were running late, and she hates to be late. I went about a mile before she realized we forgot the directions to her parents’ new house and housewarming gift.
“Kellie and I disagreed about which exit to take. As I did a U-turn to return home and retrieve the gift, Kellie huffed at me and muttered something about, men and directions, that we always forget directions, won’t ask for them, and we’ll end up taking the wrong exit without directions.”
The rest of the team listened with interest to Bram’s story over their headsets. With no warrant calls on deck today, Nick paired them up for patrolling. Dan with Bram, Jon with Lexa, and Nick rode with Loki and Ray.
“When I pulled back into the driveway and jumped out, our neighbor was outside shoveling his walkway and talking with his elderly mother. Morris called to me asking if everything was okay. I only waved and nodded. In such a hurry, I left the van door wide open as I rushed toward the front door.”
“Five steps from the car I stopped in my tracks as Allie yelled at the top of her lungs. Daddy, don’t forget your erections! Mommy wants erections! She wants to get off with the erections!” Bram chuckled recalling his wife’s face.
The entire team burst into laughter. Dan chortled so hard his sides hurt, and he couldn’t say anything for a while. Darling Allie’s malaprops made him smile. He remembered Christmas at Bram’s last month when Allie told him she would make his favorite cookies, oatmeal raisin walmut cookies, the way she mispronounced Santa Claus, and several other altered words.
This one, though, was one for the history books. Hilarious! After a bit, Dan settled down and took a breath. “Christ, Bram, what did you do?”
With amusement still in his tone, Bram shared, “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I froze with mortification at the expression on old Mrs. Hobson’s face. Priceless. The humor of it hit me, and I burst out laughing when I caught sight of Kellie. Thoroughly embarrassed, her face turned bright, beet red.
“Quick to recover, Kellie took one glance at the neighbors and loudly corrected Allie saying, ‘The word is directions. Daddy is getting the di
rections to Nana and Papa’s new home. Can you say directions?’”
Another round of mirth accompanied by lots of teasing and joking filled the next ten minutes of their eventless patrol day. Everyone enjoyed the infrequent, slow days, but no one ever said out loud they liked them fearing it would jinx them. With only an hour until the end of the shift, the team hoped they would be able to leave on time today.
Unfortunately, Dan was unaware of this and innocently said, “We could do with more days like these. It’s nice when the criminals take a break.”
“Noooooooooo. He jinxed us,” Loki moaned.
Dan gazed at Bram confused, and he grimaced as Dan inquired, “What?”
From the TRF headquarters dispatch desk, Tia called out, “Alpha Team critical call. Domestic violence. A woman and man are screaming. The caller said he overheard the woman yelling she is going to shoot the man and be done with him.” Tia provided them the address.
As the team kicked into gear, all heading to the location from various directions, Bram spared a glance at Dan and said, “That’s what.”
Outside Home of Deon and Tessa Kaufman
Jon and Lexa arrived first. Shortly afterward Nick, Loki, and Ray rolled up. They gathered at the back of one SUV as Lexa and Loki shared the information on the owners of the home.
Lexa said, “Deon Kaufman, age thirty-nine, and his wife Tessa, thirty-four, have four kids Thomas, Mary, Fiona, and Charlie. The kids are between eight and fourteen. The Kaufman’s own a dry-cleaning business on Ebony Drive.”
“I located floor plans.” Loki positioned his laptop so he and Jon could review them together.
“Need eyes in. Lexa, go around back. Loki, where is the best spot for a snake cam?” Jon questioned.
Nick directed Ray, “Find out if they have a history of domestic violence.” As everyone worked, Nick said, “Bram, ETA?”
