Page 23 of Caught in the Crossfire

She smiled, the ball of ice in her stomach melting at not having to face the four walls of her bedroom for a while longer and perhaps getting to know the PSI instructor better. “All right. Thanks, Linc.”

After a nod, he left the house by the kitchen door and disappeared into the darkness.

Dawn rummaged through Grace’s tea collection. She selected one, dumped the tea bag in a mug filled with water, and nuked it. After refreshing the coffee in Linc’s mug, she carried her mug and his into the living room, and curled up at one end of the couch with her tea in hand. When she finished her drink, Dawn draped an afghan over her legs and settled back to wait for Linc.

When Linc returned, she handed his coffee and asked, “Everything okay?”

“Exactly as it was thirty minutes ago. I also spoke to Josh for a minute. Bonnie is home with her boyfriend, Clyde. No mishaps or problems. According to Josh, she polished off Mrs. Waterman’s bush and two family-size bags of potato chips on her adventure tonight. Daybreak will reveal other camel snacks because I’m sure Bonnie ate more than one bush. That girl has quite an appetite.”

She grinned. “You’re familiar with her?”

“Hard not to be. I run frequently at night, and that’s Bonnie’s favorite time to wander around the area.” He grimaced. “She’s also made off with several strands of my hair when I didn’t move fast enough to evade her attention.”

“You can’t sleep at night?”

“That’s part of it. The other part is running five miles or more a day is more comfortable at night because of the lower temperature. More peaceful, too. Less traffic.” He stationed himself by the front window again and sipped his coffee.

“Is running that much required for your job?”

A soft chuckle. “It doesn’t pay for trainees to be in better shape than instructors. To train them, we need to be better than they are. They respect strength and skill. If I let myself be a couch potato, I won’t have as much impact. My job is to impart as much knowledge and training as possible to keep them alive on the job. I don’t take that responsibility lightly.”

“What did you do before you came to PSI?”

Linc paused, then murmured, “Military.”

She noted his utter stillness. Sore spot? “How long were you in?”

“Seventeen years. I left for boot camp the day after my high school graduation.”

“What branch?”

“Army.” He was silent a moment, then asked, “Does it bother you?”

Dawn blinked, surprised at his question. “Of course not. I was an Army brat. My father served for 30 years.”

“Are you going to ask what my job was?”

“If you’re teaching bodyguards how to handle weapons at PSI, you weren’t in charge of supplies like Dad.”

The stiff lines of his body relaxed. “No, I wasn’t. Thanks.”

“For what?”

“Not asking me details.”

“I wasn’t born yesterday. It’s obvious you don’t want to talk about your military service and aren’t allowed to talk about your work. I don’t know anything for sure, but people around town talk and speculate about what really goes on behind closed doors at PSI. Many of the operatives in charge of PSI are something other than run-of-the-mill soldiers. You fit right in with them.”

Linc snorted. “Gossiping is a favorite town pastime.”

He didn’t deny her assessment of him and his military service. Good enough confirmation for her to know that the PSI weapons master had been in Special Forces. The quiet man had hidden depths. “I’ll listen with an open mind if you ever want to tell me about your work or service. Otherwise, I won’t push.”

“I believe you mean that.”

Dawn lifted one shoulder. “I mean what I say. I don’t know what you went through during your stint in the military, but I appreciate your service and sacrifice, Linc.”

“Think you can fall asleep now?”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?”

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