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

  Gesturing to the patrol officer, Caldwell explained, “Constable Fargusson has been assigned protection detail and will be stationed outside Constable Broderick’s room. I will allow each of you a moment with Constable Broderick to assure yourself of his well-being then you will need to leave.”

  Looking at the TRF team he continued, “You are to consider yourselves sequestered, no further discussion of today’s cases with anyone until after your statements are given. We will convene for statements and interviews tomorrow at one o’clock in the afternoon at TRF headquarters. Any questions?”

  Blaze asked, “We’re not TRF, does that mean we have to leave?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. In the case of an injured subject officer, the compassion protocol states that only family may stay,” Caldwell answered.

  Their faces dropped. No one wanted to leave Blondie alone. “Could we just remain outside the room without speaking to him, just so if he wakes he knows he isn’t alone?” Patch tried.

  “No, I’m sorry that isn’t allowed. It’s also doubtful he will wake tonight. The doctor informed me that Broderick has been given a sedative to help him sleep and recover,” Director Caldwell replied.

  Gambrill looked at his officers and then stated, “You’ve all have had one hell of a day. You’re dead on your feet. Go home, sleep. That’s an order. Broderick will be okay. I need you clear headed and focused tomorrow.”

  They all realized that they had no choice at this point. They also agreed they all were dead on their feet. He was right, Dan would be okay now. Patch had assured them that once the proper medication was given the intense pain Dan had been in would subside quickly as he slept through it. Patch also indicated that when Dan awoke he’d only feel a normal level of pain associated with his injuries. He also told them the doctor was now fully briefed on Dan’s needs and onboard with his recommendations.

  Patch invited Blaze and Winds to stay at his apartment since they were planning to meet up with the TRF team in the morning to discuss additions to this Proper Care and Feeding of Dantastic manual that Loki mentioned.

  July 16

  St. Michael Hospital – ICU – Inside Room A – 12:01 a.m.

  Blaze, Patch, and Winds all entered Blondie’s room. Patch immediately went to his left side and placed his hand on Blondie’s left bicep, but he remained quiet, just looking at Blondie’s face.

  Winds stood at the end of the bed and gripped the footboard tightly. His voice was quiet, “He looks like shit. I’d hoped I’d never see him beat to hell ever again. What the hell happened to him? Where the hell was his backup?”

  Blaze gently laid his hand on Blondie’s thigh as he looked at his bruised and abraded knuckles. A small chuckle emitted. “He sure put up one hell of fight. I saw the face of the dead guy. Blondie gave as good as he got. Maybe more. The guy’s nose looked to be shattered.”

  “Ripsaw would be proud,” Winds stated.

  Patch nodded. “He’s been here for a year. A fucking year—and we never knew. How come we couldn’t find him?”

  Blaze shook his head. “Don’t know. This is not like any blackout protocol I’ve ever known. Something isn’t right.”

  A hard edge entered Winds’ voice as he ground out, “The General. He has something to do with this I’m sure of it. That cold bastard. He has resources that he could use to make it impossible for us to find Blondie.”

  His eyes moved from Blondie’s face to Blaze’s. “I’d give that bastard a piece of my mind and a taste of my fists if it wouldn’t get me court-martialed. I don’t give a damn about me, but …” Winds released his left hand and looked at the thin white scar. “But we need to be where we are right now to fulfill our oath.”

  Blaze nodded and turned his left palm up. The scar was a reminder of their blood oath to kill every last animal that had tortured Blondie. An oath not to leave the field before they kept their promise. He sucked in a breath and spoke to Blondie, “Hey, kid. I’ve seen you worse. You’re gonna get better and now that we know where you’re at, we’re gonna sit down and have a long talk. A way overdue talk. We’re not going to fail you again. I promise you that. You rest now, kid. We’ll be by tomorrow to check in on you.”

  Patch grinned and said, “Actually, we’ll be in later today, little brother.” He squeezed his bicep again. “Sleep well.”

  Winds patted Blondie’s leg and said, “You know, fate finally dealt you a good hand, kid. What are the odds that you’d end up a constable in the same city where Patch is a medic? See ya later, brother.”

  The three of them turned and headed out so the others could visit with Blondie. Not one of them was happy that they couldn’t stay, but for now, they wouldn’t make waves. Blondie was safe here. It wasn’t like the General was anywhere near and could cause him harm.

  Loki, Ray, and Jon visited Dan next.

  Jon looked at Dan’s face—it was a mass of colorful bruises, but at least it wasn’t covered in blood now. He cleared his throat and said, “You did good out there today. I’m glad that you made it and that you are on this team.”

  Loki gently grasped Dan’s right hand—the left was now in a brace. “Still holding on and not letting go.” He didn’t know what else to say to an unconscious man. It was never his strong suit.

  Ray’s was reeling inside. There was the very real possibility that Dan could’ve died today like Aaron had. He hadn’t seen the ravine but Loki had described it to him. He wondered if one of them, Jon, Loki, Bram, or him had been with the team instead of Aaron, if this would’ve happened. Where had Aaron been? By sounds they heard, that damned fight went on a long time.

  Regardless of his inner turmoil, Ray calmly said, “Get better soon. You owe us all a round at the Pond.”

  Jon chuckled. “More than one round, I’d say.”

  That made Loki grin. “Yeah, my count is three. Two in the vest and one in the arm. Maybe we can add one round for each injury.”

  Ray shook his head. “Nah, we don’t want him to go broke. He’d just pick up extra shifts and then he’d be in the same boat again.”

  Jon patted Dan’s leg. “We’ll be back later. Rest easy, Dano.”

  Loki released Dan’s hand and followed Jon and Ray out of the ICU room. He turned back to look once more. What a difference a year made. Loki sighed.

  Nick, Bram, and Lexa were the last to enter the room. Bram headed straight to the left side of the bed and lightly gripped Dan’s left bicep. He’d stopped Patch outside when he came out of the room and asked about the gesture. It really was prying, but he needed to know.

  Patch had looked down at his hands and not offered anything at first. Bram had then shared that he’d done it a few times and gotten an interesting reaction from Dan. Patch disclosed that it was how he conveyed to Blondie that he cared and it started when Blondie was badly injured. It was something that communicated comfort and love for his brother without words.

  Bram had been right in his assumptions. It would be something he would adopt too since Dan seemed to respond well when he did it. Bram blew out a breath and said, “It looks like Allie used all her crayons on you. When you’re released, I want you to come stay with Kellie and me. The girls will take good care of you. I promise not to let them paint your fingernails while you sleep.”

  Nick stood still at the end of the bed. Today—yesterday really—had been an ungodly day. It had started out with such promise. Dan had smiled—really smiled. He sighed. It could’ve been worse though. They could’ve lost two officers today.

  He wondered about the four shots in rapid succession. What happened in that ravine? If Aaron had failed to back up Dan, Nick wouldn’t forgive himself. Nick sighed again as he watched Lexa stroke Dan’s hair. She had such a gentle heart that she hid from view of most everyone. Lexa’s day had been terribly stressful, too.

  Nick put his hand on her back and whispered, “Dan’s going to be okay. You did good today. I don’t want you thinking about all the would’ve, could’ve, and should’ve. It was what it was and y
ou did as you were trained to do. None of this is your fault.”

  Lexa stopped her hand. She didn’t realize she was doing that again until the Boss placed his hand on her back. Oh man, this wasn’t good. What did the Boss see? Had she given away the fact that she and Dan had slept together? She blew out a breath and dropped her hand to her side. She decided to use his words to cover her real thoughts—which were nowhere near thinking about fault. “I know, but thanks for saying that. He’s strong and he will heal and come back to the team.”

  Nick grinned. “That’s the spirit. Positive thoughts.”

  Dr. Fraser stepped in and said, “It’s time to go. Dan needs to rest and by the looks of it you all do, too.” He stepped forward to check on his patient. Guilt ate him for failing to recognize his patient’s pain and for not heeding the medic’s words. He’d gotten too full of himself and this was a wake-up call he was going to heed. He would never again allow something like that to happen to any patient in his care.

  Lexa, Bram, and Nick left the ICU room. Nick turned back to the doctor and said, “I’m his medical proxy. Call me if there is any change.”

  Dr. Fraser nodded. “I have your number in the records.”

  Gambrill was surprised to hear that. When did that happen? It made him happy and sad. Dan had family that loved and cared about him, but they were estranged. But he’d been right about Nick Pastore and the rest of Alpha Team. They were here to help Dan heal. He was also surprised with Captain Blain, Corporal Simons, and the medic Jim Shea. Dan’s old unit buddies certainly didn’t look like they turned their backs on him. William would be pleased to hear that—although he wouldn’t be pleased with the rest of it.

  After everyone but Officer Fargusson and Reed Caldwell finally left, Gambrill turned to Director Caldwell and stated, “I don’t like this at all.”

  Reed shook his head. “It’s just a precaution. I really don’t think anything is going to happen.”

  Officer Fargusson had to agree with the Commander. He didn’t like this at all—not one bit. But he pulled over a chair in front of Constable Broderick’s room, sat down, kept his thoughts to himself, and sighed. He watched the two men walk down the hallway. Nope, he didn’t like this one damned bit.

  Lexa’s Home – 12:30 a.m.

  Lexa opened her door then sluggishly closed and locked it behind her. She was so worn-out both physically and mentally. But right now, it was the physically that was the problem. She had climbed up and down so many ravines today that her leg muscles were mush. The stairs to her bedroom looked like Mt. Everest. She wasn’t up to scaling another mountain, so headed directly to the living room couch.

  She would shower in the morning Lexa decided as she lay down tucking one of the couch pillows under her head and pulling the throw blanket over her. Sleep is what she needed now—she was emotionally spent.

  As Lexa settled in, her mind wandered a bit and landed on the thought of her stroking Dan’s hair in front of the guys. Would that action give them away, or would they just see it as a caring gesture? Part of Lexa hoped that they’d teased her about it so she could just play it off as if it didn’t mean anything.

  But she knew better—it meant something—but what that something was, she wasn’t in a fit state to even begin to analyze. Lexa’s last thought before falling into an exhausted sleep was, Glad my bedroom wall is the same color blue as his gorgeous eyes.

  Loki’s Home – 12:35 a.m.

  Loki quietly let himself into the house. He didn’t want to wake his ma. Today had been unparalleled to any he had before. He quickly reset the alarm and headed for the kitchen.

  He saw the note on the fridge from his mom. What a wonderful mother she was, she always took care of him. A huge dinner plate ready for reheating. It looked delicious, but he was too wrung out to eat.

  Loki had lots of questions for the Special Forces guys. Things the team needed to know, but didn’t necessarily want to know. He needed to be well rested to deal with the raw emotions that would come with the answers he expected to get. He decided to just take a quick shower then sleep.

  Ray’s Apartment – 12:35 a.m.

  Ray sat at his kitchen table finishing off a quick sandwich. He’d been in a lot of bad situations in his youth, did things he wished he hadn’t, things that still hurt today if he thought too closely about them.

  He had wanted desperately to be something different, something better, to help people instead of hurt them. Thinking over the past few months as they had begun to get to know Dan, Ray saw those same feelings reflected in Dan.

  Tomorrow should be interesting. Talking with Dan’s old unit buddies would give him insight so he could help Dan if he ever wanted to talk to anyone. Not that Ray thought Dan would. Ray thought that he and Dan were alike there as well. Ray kept his past in the past—it didn’t belong in the present and forward was the only direction.

  Ray switched off the light as he left his kitchen and headed for bed. It would be a short night’s sleep, but Ray was so exhausted he would sleep like the dead. He grimaced at that analogy as he thought about Aaron. Even though Ray didn’t know what happened at the ravine, part of him blamed Aaron—he should’ve been there to back up Dan. What took Aaron so long? Why wasn’t Aaron there to back Dan up sooner?

  Bram’s Home – 12:40 a.m.

  Bram walked slowly down the hall and opened the door to Allie’s room—the last of his four daughters to peek in on before heading to bed. His sweet little girl was nestled safely in her bed. As he watched her sleep he thought about what he’d said to Dan before leaving.

  Dan was absolutely welcome here anytime. Kellie and the girls adored him and would want to take care of him. The only part that concerned Bram was that he didn’t want to see Allie’s reaction when she saw Dan. His face would still show in bright colors the damage from today. It would break Allie’s little heart to see Dan hurt like that.

  He stepped into her room, gave her a kiss and tucked her covers around her. Bram consoled himself with one thought—at least Dan was alive. He didn’t have to tell his girls that Dan died today. Allie would’ve been devastated—they all would’ve, if Dan had died today, like Aaron. Then he smiled. Dan would be here for the team BBQ next week—just a little more colorful than normal.

  After he showered, Bram slid carefully into bed so he wouldn’t wake Kellie. He scooted in close and placed his arm over her. She was his rock, his port in the storm that allowed him to do the things he did and still feel safe and cared for. As sleep slowly overtook him, Bram wondered if Dan had someone like Kellie in his life. Dan was closed mouthed on his personal life—it was possible. If he didn’t, Bram hoped Dan would eventually find a good woman.

  Jon’s Home – 12:40 a.m.

  Jon rearmed the alarm after entering his home. Jennifer had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for him tonight. The TV was on with the volume turned down low. The news was on.

  He saw Dan’s official TRF picture flash on the screen followed by an amateur video taken at the gas station incident. He grabbed the remote and turned up the volume. He sat dumbfounded as a newscast from earlier that night replayed.

  Man, he hated the inane commentary and wondered how much of this garbage Jennifer and Kent had watched. He switched off the TV and lightly shook Jennifer awake. She looked at him with sleepy eyes and smiled then wrapped her arms around him and said, “Bad day?”

  He just nodded drawing comfort from her warm embrace as they stood and headed towards the stairs and up to their bedroom.

  Nick’s Home – 1:00 a.m.

  Nick lay in bed, the grime of the day cleansed from his body but not his mind. He couldn’t have ever imagined what had happened to his team today. They dealt with emotionally charged situations all the time, but nothing could compare to today.

  He hoped nothing would ever come even remotely close to this again. They had endured so much today and except for two times had acted professionally. There was nothing to forgive for those two times. They were human and they had feelings.
This team was family and family protected one another. He was so very proud of all of them.

  His mind shifted to Dan and what had been discovered about him today. Nick felt a deep sadness for Dan. To lose a sister in front of him at the tender age of nine. To be held captive and tortured. To have killed his best friend. To watch a fellow officer die. To have a family that wouldn’t bother to come when he was badly injured. That was just so very sad.

  As sleep finally came for him, Nick thought, I’d be proud to have someone like Dan for a son. General Broderick was a pathetic man if he couldn’t see what he had.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  July 16

  St. Michael Hospital – ICU – Inside Room A – 1:00 a.m.

  Dan woke slowly keeping his eyes closed and his breathing steady—a habit born of need. Ookay dokey time to me assess—wait, order wrong—assess ne, ne, ne, ne, ne, me. Ah hell, should be fun.

  Physical? Injured? Yep! Feels like I went ten rounds with my hands tied behind my back—not fair, not fair at all. Wait … I did, sorta. Wrap … mean crap, Basto got the drop on me after we shared such nice little trip down the ravine. Sucks. I’m a mummy, wrapped in too much gauze.

  Deep breath in, crap … that hurts. Shallow breaths it is. Hey, I got new holes in me, great! Ooh and stitches too. Gonna lose the pretty boy face if I keep gettin stitches there. Not much pain now, well … no shit Sherlock … pumped full of the good shit … loopy … definitely sucky weird feeling. Think no straight. Hey, the only part that doesn’t hurt is my … wait … nope, that hurts, too. Ah crap … hate this loopy shit.

  Where the fuck am I? Hospital, definitely hospital. Damned incessant beeping … not nice for sleeping … beep, damn beep, beep, beep, damn beep. Shut the fuck up! IV … uncomfortable bed … nicer than ravine … not by much.

  Ok, mental? Yeah, I’m mental alright. Status? Well … that’d be up fucked! Can’t worth think shit. Yeah, gonna leave this … sleep now … sleep good … nighty night.