Page 10 of Shielding Soledad

“She’s a good dog,” I commented. “I’m glad you rescued her.” Surely this was a topic that Soledad would take up.

“Yep,” Soledad said without elaboration, and I gave up any attempt at conversation as we took a circuit around the park and headed home.

We’d just about reached my house again when a curvy woman with blonde curls appeared on the sidewalk ahead of us. She wore strappy sandals, too high for a casual walk, with a short black skirt and a bright pink, clingy shirt.

Trinity Maki. Shit. I’d forgotten that her brother lived just down the street.

“Alex,” Trinity exclaimed, dashing up to us and throwing her arms around my neck. “It’s been forever since I’ve seen you.” She squeezed me tight, not something I’d ever enjoyed—too confining—and sure as hell not now.

I let the hug last about two more seconds for politeness’s sake before untangling myself from the woman I’d dated several years earlier. We’d gone out maybe half a dozen times when I was between deployments. Trinity had been fun, an easy fling, but what we’d shared hadn’t meant much to either of us—or so I’d thought. I watched as Trinity’s eyes tracked to Soledad and Luke, who was sleeping in the baby stroller.

“Are you on leave?” Trinity flipped her curls behind her shoulders.

“Trinity,” I said, choosing to ignore the question, “this is…”

Soledad, with only the briefest nod to Trinity, had continued toward the door to my house. I squinted after her. Her back was ramrod straight, each movement looking almost mechanical. She’d already been unhappy with me. Now she was just plain pissed off. Christ.

“I guess you’ve been busy.” Trinity touched her hand to my arm, forcing my attention back to her. “Your kid?”

“He is.” I gave the barest answer. I wasn’t sure how to explain my situation with Soledad, and I for damn sure didn’t want to fumble around for answers in front of Trinity, one of the biggest gossips I’ve ever met.

Trinity’s gaze did a rapid dip to my left hand, and she almost beamed when she saw I didn’t have a ring on.

“He’s adorable,” she gushed.

“Thanks,” I said, doubting that she had even looked at Luke. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I was across the street visiting my brother. You know, I’ve thought about you. A lot.” Trinity’s smile was at full wattage. She was pretty, with a ton of sex appeal, and she knew it. That didn’t mean I had to respond. I had gladly done so at one time, but my life was different now.

My front door slammed shut, and I imagined Soledad throwing the newly installed deadbolt in place and arming the security system. Good thing I had the code to get in through the garage.

“So,” Trinity said, not backing up an inch, “if you’re on leave, maybe we could get together.”

“I don’t think so.” I didn’t have to be with Soledad to know that I wasn’t interested in reopening that chapter in my life. “I have other responsibilities now. In fact, I should be getting back to them, but it’s been good to see you.” I stepped away, breaking the connection between us.

“Well, if you change your mind, my number’s the same. Bye, Alex.” She turned and crossed the street. Trinity had always had plenty of wiggle in her walk, but I thought she added an extra swing for my benefit.

I didn’t bother to watch the full show, knowing what it would be. Trinity would lean into her car, pretending to search for something, and make sure her skirt slid up when she got in. A few years ago, it would have been enough to engage my attention, to have me following after her looking for a quick hookup. But I liked to think I had better taste now. A certain woman had raised my standards, taught me what real allure looked like.

Even at the beginning of my relationship with Soledad, when we were still flirting, she’d never resorted to those sorts of tricks. She hadn’t had to, since she’d captured me with her beautiful eyes and genuine smile. I hadn’t been able to resist, and even though she was angry at me now, if she’d wanted to, she could still draw me in.

But no. I couldn’t let that happen. My eyes scanned the street, looking for anything out of the ordinary. I’d been vigilant during our walk, keeping a constant watch for Bruce as I had for the past days, but I’d let myself get distracted with Trinity.

When I saw nothing to worry me, I tried my front door and was mildly surprised to find it unlocked. I closed it behind me and armed the system. From where I stood, I could see Soledad in the living room with Luke. He’d woken up, and she had him in her arms, swinging him gently from side to side and making him coo. She smiled at him before bringing his face to hers and kissing his cheeks.

They were beautiful together, and I wanted to be part of the happiness passing between them. I took a step into the living room, catching her attention. Her expression changed to the wary one she’d worn around me for the past days.

“There’s some mail for you,” she said. “I left it on the table by the door.”

I didn’t give a damn about the mail, but before I could say anything to her, she announced that Luke needed a diaper change and went up the stairs without another glance at me. With nothing better to do, I turned to the letter on the table. It was a card in a blue envelope. We’d received plenty of baby congratulation notes in the past weeks. I slit it open and yanked out the card. The front had a cartoon of a blue rattle and a baby bottle.

The message inside chilled my blood, though. “You’re a lucky bastard, Golden Boy. But for how long?” The card was unsigned, but I knew instantly who the sender was. I’d seen Bruce Lewis’s handwriting on dozens of reports. The neat, small, slightly slanted script was unmistakable. So was the term Bruce used for me: Golden Boy. I had heard Bruce sneer those words often enough.

I crushed the card in my fist, squeezing it into a tight ball, as my heart thudded in my chest. On the second floor, Soledad sang to Luke, unaware of the danger that hung over them. It was my job to keep it that way. My duty to keep them safe. I needed to look at it like a mission, one that I had no intention of failing at.

6

ALEX

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