Her Master Defender (The Masters Men Series) (12 page)

Inside she found a book and what looked like breath strips. With his hands shaking so much she figured he wasn’t after the book. She picked up the other and took out a strip. Though his jaw seemed clenched tight he managed to open it a little and she slipped the strip onto his tongue.

Her heart in her throat she moved to go get his brothers. Dos grabbed her wrist. Copper met his pained, but determined gaze.

“Okay,” she said softly. “But I’m staying.”

Pulling her wrist from his unbearable hold she stroked his cheek as a spasm tore through his body. He fell backwards onto the bed, his back arching and his muscles rigid. Copper crawled up next to him.

Starting at his head she began rubbing his temples and worked her fingers down over the rock hard muscles and tendons of his face. His breathing was very shallow and she started to worry about a heart attack. She wanted to get help, but his gaze stayed locked with hers and she couldn’t look away. Couldn’t break the connection feeling it was important he stay connected with someone.

She kept working. Her fingers kneaded the corded muscles of his neck. His pulse was racing as she reached the base of his neck and began working his shoulders. After a moment she felt the tension ease a little. Checking his pulse she was relieved to feel it slowing down. She ran her hand to the middle of his chest and smiled at him as his breathing slowed and deepened.

Taking a deep breath of her own, she brushed back the sweat dampened hair from his forehead. “If you wanted a massage, all you had to do was ask,” she whispered, unable to hide a slight shaking in her voice.

“Sorry,” he whispered back closing his eyes.

Copper started to climb off the bed, but again he caught her. She looked back then patted his hand. “I’m just getting a cloth to cool your head.”

Returning with a damp cloth and a glass of water she climbed back up beside him. Dos hadn’t moved, which told her a lot. Placing the cloth on his forehead she reached behind him. “Here,” she said holding the glass to his lips.

Pleased when he took a few swallows, she reached across him and set it on the night stand. “We’ve been in here almost fifteen minutes. They’re going to start to wonder if we don’t get back soon.”

“Yeah,” he said after a deep breath.

“I can go back out and distract them for a few more minutes. I’ll say the Colonel’s giving you a reaming for not calling last night. If your brothers know anything about him, they’ll believe that.”

Dos looked at her smiling down at him. He found it hard to believe she wasn’t asking a ton of questions. Or worse, hadn’t screamed for his brothers.

And now she’s covering for you.

“Why?” he asked in a raspy whisper his throat still aching from the attack. He reached up and stroked a knuckle down her cheek. A soft sadness entered her eyes.

“This is your business, your family, not mine. It isn’t my place.”

She smiled that mischievous way he’d seen her do before spouting a zinger. For some reason it warmed the place where he used to have a heart.

“You’d better make a miraculous recovery though, or they’re going to know I lied.”

Dos smiled. “No problem.”

She touched his cheek again with those soft fingers. Dos felt it all the way to his soul. Or whatever was left when your soul was torn out of you. He rolled his head to the side watching her leave.

Wondering why God would send an angel to rescue his sorry ass, Dos pulled himself to a sitting position. Hell, the army didn’t even want him anymore. A clerical position on a different base? He might as well be dead. He definitely wasn’t worth rescuing. The big guy upstairs had made a mistake this time. Shaking his head, he slowly stood upright.

Needing to change his shirt, as well as his train of thought, he walked to the closet. No one would notice because most of his clothes were the same. Various shades of black and gray filled the space. He pulled off both shirts at the same time and tossed them on the closet floor. Snagging a t-shirt off the shelf he was pulling it over his head when his phone rang again.

“Masters,” he said without looking at the readout and harsher than he meant to.

“Hey, that’s the kind of greeting I get for doing you a favor?”

“Sorry, G. Bad morning. What did you find?”

“Nothing yet. You know we don’t have the lab facilities here. That will take a while. I just wanted to remind you two I need you to come in to take care of the paperwork.”

Dos grabbed hold of the excuse like it was a lifeline. “We’ll be down shortly. I just have to clear out the house.”

“Huh? Did she bring a family with her?”

“No, Ace did.”

“You’re kidding?”

“No, he just can’t learn to leave things alone.”

“That’s Ace.”

“You could run interference. I’m not blind. You’ve been after him for a long time.”

“I gave up.”

“Don’t do that, G. He’s the only one worth having.” Dos and Tres might not be interested in relationships, but Ace was made to be a family man. Despite his frustration with his oldest brother, Dos wanted him to find happiness. At least one of them deserved some.

“Now that’s a lie, but I’m not going to waste my breath. As to your brother, he had his chance. Besides, you have Tres to run interference. He always sides with you.”

Not always, Dos thought, remembering when he came out of the coma or whatever had put him out for days. He’d been furious to see them both standing beside his bed. The Colonel had no right to call them. And they’d had no right to ignore his demands they leave.

Shaking off the frustration he forced himself to concentrate on the present. “Fine, feed me to the wolves.”

“You know the wolves are afraid of you, Dos,” she said laughing.

“We’ll see you soon,” he said and flipping the phone closed shoved it in his pocket. Why was it the only person listening to him was basically a stranger? In his frustration he slammed the bathroom door.

He waited a minute to hear the reaction in the outer room. When it came he shook his head and grinned. Copper’s voice reached his ear first.

“That would be frustration from being given an order he didn’t like. Dad’s good at giving those.”

When his mother started asking Copper about her father, Dos turned his attention to facing his family. Looking in the mirror he saw the shell of a man he’d become staring back at him. He splashed water on his face to help bring back some color as well as to hide his sweat dampened hair. After brushing his teeth and using the facilities he faced the fact he couldn’t stall any longer.

Walking out of the bathroom, he found Ace and Tres in their leather chairs while all the women were in the kitchen. It wasn’t that they were chauvinistic. All three of them could clean a kitchen as well, if not better than most women do. No, this was about their mother’s need to take care of her boys any way she could, since they didn’t give her many opportunities anymore. Right now, though, he wanted some peace.

“Gina called. We need to head down to the station,” he said to no one in particular.

The way they all turned and considered him said they hadn’t totally bought Copper’s story. The glare he received from Tres let Dos know his brother did not appreciate the call to Gina instead of him. The concerned look his mother wore moved from him to Copper, telling him another worry had been added to her prayer list.

Meeting his step-father’s gaze he saw understanding. Dos knew then and there, if he couldn’t have his real father around, Jamie was definitely the best he could have hoped for.

“Okay, everybody, you heard the man. They have places to go and things to do. Let’s get out of their way,” Jamie said.

“But the dishes aren’t done,” Dos’ mother argued.

“I can wash dishes, Mom. Gina’s waiting.”

After a ton of hugs and kisses they started to file out. Dos released some of his tension. Then his mother turned back with a smile and all the tension came back.

“We’ll go, but I expect to see you tomorrow at church,” she said then turned to Copper. “And you can bring this wonderful girl with you.”

“I--" he started to say he couldn’t, but Copper interrupted him.

“Thank you, I would love to,” she said and hooked her arm in his mother’s turning her back toward the door.

Dos didn’t hear what else she said as they stepped outside. He hoped it was something to the affect that she would be going to her own church. That way, he could come up with an excuse to not show up tomorrow. Before he could think more about it Ace came up beside him.

For a moment they stared at each other.

“You going to disappear now?” Ace asked.

As much as Dos wanted to say yes he couldn’t. “I should.”

He saw a glimmer of fear in his brother’s eyes as he spoke. Unhappy with himself for putting it there he shook his head. “Don’t do this again, Ace. To be honest, as much as I used to enjoy being around everyone, now it’s just too much for me. Some of the distance I keep forcing is because I physically need quiet. I promise, if I need you or Tres, I’ll call. But for the most part there isn’t anything you can do for me. You have to give me space.”

Ace nodded and walked out the door. That left Tres.

“I’m sorry,” Dos said when Tres started out the door.

His brother stopped, but didn’t look at him.

“I understand wanting to be alone, Dos. You know that. But a police matter? You should have called me.”

“I know. The only excuse I have is getting in his truck right now.” They both waved as Ace started the engine. “I didn’t want you jumping on the bandwagon. But I would like to ask a favor now.” Dos knew Tres wouldn’t turn him down. They had always been the closest of the three.

“Would you check out Copper’s place on your way down?”

“Gina knows what she’s doing. I’m sure she found anything there was to find.”

Dos understood Tres’ defense of his partner’s aptitude. He also agreed, or he wouldn’t have called her last night. But his gut told him something bad was going on. He didn’t want to take a chance with Copper’s welfare.

“I agree,” he said, then glanced at Copper playing with Kismet on the front lawn. “Unless they waited until she left.”

Copper saw the two brothers talking at the door. She could tell it was personal the way they avoided looking at each other. Deciding to give them some space she played with Kismet on the front lawn until Tres got in his truck. Calling to the dog she walked back in the house.

“Did Gina really call?”

“Yeah, we should head down.”

“We can take a few minutes,” she said, walking into the kitchen to clean Kismet’s bowls.

“What for?”

She heard the suspicion in his voice. “What did dad say that upset you so much?”

Pulling some paper towels off the roll Copper turned and leaned against the sink while drying the bowl. Dos’ expression was as guarded as a Swiss bank vault. She didn’t care. “I saw the devastation in your eyes. I watched the attack it brought on.”

“One has nothing to do with the other?”

“How can you say that?”

“Because I can be totally relaxed watching a game on television and have an attack. I’ve been mad as a hatter and not had one.”

“Then what causes them?”

“We’re not having this discussion,” he said and turned away.

Setting the bowl on the counter she followed him. “Yes, we are.”

He turned back. “No, we’re not. You don’t need to know. You’re my ex-C.O.’s daughter not my wife!”

Copper stopped halfway across the room. His words felt like a sucker punch to her stomach. Not the insinuation that she wasn’t important to him, they’d only just met. No, it was the ex-C.O. part that got her. “You’ve been discharged?”

The eyes that reminded her of hot fudge earlier were now boiling, narrow, and hard as obsidian rock.

“We need to go.”

“I’m sorry, Dos,” she said stepping forward and reaching out to him. Of course he backed away, obviously soft touches were only allowed when he was all but incapacitated.

“Get your bag and let’s go.”

She watched him walk away. Copper could only imagine his hurt. All you had to do was look at him to see he was a soldier. It was his life. It would be like someone telling her she couldn’t help people anymore. Why bother breathing?

Gathering her coat and bag she decided it wasn’t worth fighting about coming back to get things. He needed to be in charge of something, she could allow him some leeway. Kismet, already sitting by her waited for her to clip his leash on. When she and the dog reached the door to the garage Dos opened it and followed her through.

“Do we have time to develop the pictures before we go to the station? I have a darkroom at my house, it shouldn’t take too long. Plus, if we stop there I can get my car so you don’t have to chauffeur me all over.”

“I don’t have a problem with developing the pictures before going down, but there’s no sense in taking two cars. We’re going to the same places.”