Night and Day (Book 2): Bleeding Sky (47 page)

He
was tall and slender, with close-cropped white hair and a goatee, his skin
the color of a well-used saddle. Dressed simply in a white tee shirt and
blue jeans.

Martinez
jerked her head in his direction, eyes wide.

“Nothing
to say, Carlita?” he said.

“Papa?”

Before
he could respond, she was off the couch and had her arms around him, her
face buried in his chest. Behind him, Takeda watched impassively.

The
man’s eyes met mine. “Richard Martinez,” he said. “I understand you’re Mr.
Welles, my daughter’s CO.”

“Yes,
sir,” I said. “At least for the past few days.” I paused. “She’s a hell of a
soldier. You should be proud.”

He
looked down at her. “I’d be proud of my Carlita if she was the sorriest
trooper in the Security Force,” he said softly.

Takeda
brushed past them and stopped next to me. “You’re out of uniform, Miss
Martinez.” she said.

Lita
pulled away from her father and looked at Takeda, her face streaked with
tears. “Sir?”

“The
closet, Lita,” I said.

She
walked slowly to the closet beside the bathroom door and opened it. She
stared for a few seconds, then said, “I don’t understand.”

“We
learned that the 716
^th
Military Police Battalion had an opening
for a platoon lieutenant,” Takeda said. “Our records indicate that you
formerly held that position. In the interests of efficiency and inter-agency
cooperation, General Bain made the decision to return you to active duty
status in the United States Army. And we requested that you be assigned as a
first lieutenant, based on your Security Force record. The army
agreed.”

Lita
pulled out the uniform. On the shirt sleeve was the green field with baton
patch of the 716
^th
. On the front of the shirt, a single dark bar. She
held it up and stared at it.

“Hop
to, lieutenant,” I said. “You and your father are booked on a flight to
Nashville that leaves in about an hour. And they’re not gonna hold the plane
for a drag-ass first lieutenant.”

She
turned to me, her eyes wet.

“Move,
Martinez,” I said.

She
nodded and went into the bathroom, closing the door.

“Thank
you,” her father said, looking at me. No tears from him, but his voice was
wavering, just a bit. “For all of this.”

I
smiled. “Thank Miss Takeda,” I said. “I just made the suggestion. She made
it happen.”

“Lt.
Martinez is a fine soldier,” Takeda said. “Her skills and knowledge are
better utilized elsewhere, colonel.”

He
nodded. “I’m just a civilian now, ma’am.”

“You
retain your former rank in my eyes, sir,” Takeda said.

The
bathroom door opened and Lita came out, her Security Force blues in her
arms. The uniform fit well. Takeda had probably gotten her measurements from
her Security Force personnel file.

 “Not
quite, lieutenant,” Takeda said. “I believe you’ll find a beret on the shelf
of the closet.”

“Get
the lead out, Martinez,” I said. “Tick-tock.”

She
hurried to the closet, pulled the black beret from the shelf and put it on.
She turned and saluted.

Takeda
returned the salute. “Better, lieutenant,” she said. “Much better.” She
paused. “Your flight leaves at twenty-three hundred. Orders are waiting at
the airport with tickets for you and Colonel Martinez. Upon arrival in
Nashville, you will take five days of medical leave before reporting to your
unit at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. Quarters have been arranged in Nashville for
you and the colonel. You’ll be met.”

“Sir,”
she said.

“A
car is waiting outside,” Takeda said. “You’re dismissed, Lt. Martinez.” She
saluted again, and Martinez returned it.

When
she took her father’s arm, I could see the barest glint of tears in his
eyes. “Come on, papa,” she said.

I
stepped to one side as they passed. She stopped, turned, and wrapped her
arms around me. “Thank you,” she whispered. Then she went up on her toes and
gave me a kiss on the cheek.

Before
I could say anything, she stepped back and saluted me. “Lex Et Ordo, sir,”
she said. Then she was through the front door, her father in tow.

“Are
you close to your parents, Mr. Welles,” Takeda asked.

I
shook my head. “They’re both dead,” I said. “Died when I was in my
thirties.” I turned to her. “They had me late. My dad was almost fifty when
I was born, my mom a few years younger. They’d given up on having kids. Then
I popped out.” I paused. “When my dad died, I think my mom just gave up on
life. She died about six months later.”

“I
am sorry.”

“No
need to be,” I said. “I was in the Army and then here, with the police
department. Saw them when I was on leave. I wish I’d had the opportunity to
spend more time with them after I grew up, but I guess that’s always the
case.”

Takeda
nodded. “Yes, it is.” She paused. “I must return to Jackson Square. It’s
been a pleasure working with you again, Mr. Welles.”

“Always
a treat, Miss Takeda,” I said.

She
was motionless for a moment, then smiled. “Sorry, no kiss on the cheek in
parting.” She paused. “I thought I’d mention that.”

“Never
entered my mind.”

“I
will see you again,” she said.

“No
doubt.”

I
followed her to the door and watched her walk down the steps and across the
sidewalk. The trooper who’d driven her Hummer up from the square had moved
to the passenger seat. I hoped he’d buckled up.

Takeda
climbed into the car, threw it into gear, and shot down Bacon, tires
squealing. In seconds, she was around the corner at First and
gone.

I
closed the door.

Note

Thanks
for reading
Bleeding Sky
. I hope you
enjoyed it, and I’d appreciate it if you’d leave an honest review on Amazon.
I’m always interested in what you liked and didn’t like. (And if you haven’t
read the first book in the series,
Night and
Day
, you might like that as well - it’s right here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F499XBY/?tag=tr09548-20
)

You
can follow the progress on future books in the series at the Night and Day
blog at
http://www.vee-for-vampire.com.
While there, please
sign up for the series mailing list, to keep up with future releases and be
eligible for free giveaways and other cool stuff.

I’m
also on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/nightanddaybook
and Twitter at
https://twitter.com/NightandDayBook

Thanks
again for reading, and watch out for the third book in the series,
Bandit’s Moon
, coming in the first
half of April, 2014.

Ken
White

Birmingham,
Alabama

December
2013