Page 4 of Master Vidar & Vali

I tore my gaze away from my troubled friend and took a moment to appreciate Erik’s castle in the sky. For a man who’d grown up poor, he made up for it in spades with this place. Itshould be added as the eighth wonder of the world and have tours.

The foyer was marble, with twenty-foot wooden beams and posts that made you feel like you were in a Viking Hall. The entrance hall led down into the living space, where a spring-loaded, plexiglass floor covered an underwater universe.

Fish of all sizes swam peacefully, and I never tired of watching them. When we’d returned from active duty, I’d spent a lot of time at the local aquarium. Looking for a little peace and diversion from the visions that seemed to haunt me suddenly, anytime, day or night.

When Erik bought this place, I’d made recommendations on what fish to purchase based on my hours of observations at the aquarium. He didn’t know that I’d named them all, not that he’d care, so coming to his place was always a therapeutic experience for me.

Erik and Noah sat at the hand-carved dining table that was fit for a king. Raia and Shelby were seated on their laps and giggling at each other about something. I loved seeing the four of them.

The elevator pinged and Gabe stepped out. Our fearless leader was the last to arrive. We all were in the service, but Gabe’s time had ended two years prior to mine and Colin’s. He returned to the States and started a small protection company called G&H security. In Norse mythology, Heimdall, which is Gabe’s club name, was the guardian of the realm of Asgard. Fitting, considering he’d outfitted our three clubs with the best security money could buy.

The G stood for Gjallarhorn a mighty trumpet and the H was for Hofuð the war sword. It was a blatant statement for anyone who cared to inquire as to the origins of the name. He brought in Colin and I on our return, and the company had grown ever since.

Gabriel’s expression was pinched. Bags under his eyes told me he was still recovering from the hectic month. First, losing an employee who decided traveling through Greece with his lover was more important than a paycheck. Then hiring Rose and dealing with her kidnapping. Finally, the building of their relationship. It was enough to exhaust anyone.

I was about to go and speak with him when I saw him and the only female member of our friend group, Marissa, make eye contact. She followed him out to the patio, where Gabe collapsed onto a deck lounger.

Hell, ever since we left the service, I’d had my bad weeks or sometimes months, but he was usually the one pushing me away from my computers and back into life. But if things were so terrible he couldn't even relax at the weekly dinner, it was time to push him to talk.

Colin was leaning against the deck railing, looking out over the city as if completely lost in thought. I grabbed a drink and headed toward him and had to dodge Erik as he snatched a tray heavily laden with appetizers from his housekeeper, Mrs. Goodwin. The woman was more akin to a mother to most of us than an employee and Erik spoiled her rotten.

I shook my head at the antics of my friends as they descended on the food like the rabid animals they sometimes resembled.

“Are you ready to talk about it yet?”

“Good seeing you too, Linc.”

Whenever Colin’s Scottish accent slipped out, I knew he was either worried or trying to pick up a girl. As there were no girls in our vicinity except for Mari, and those already in a relationship with our friends, it had to be the former. The corner of his mouth tipped up in the ghost of a smile. “Ever wonder if you’re going crazy?”

“All the time, brother, but I think you are alluding to something specific. What is it?”

He knew about my PTSD. All my friends did, but none of them knew how often the guilt and horror of what we’d seen and done affected my actions. My therapist told me that it was impossible to know every contingency, but it didn’t stop me from trying. It was why I preferred working on the digital side of G&H security. Making sure we had access to all the necessary information legal or not, was my obsession.

“I’m not sure if something is really wrong, or if my mind is playing tricks on me.”

“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you.”

Colin laughed and tilted his glass toward me in a salute. “True.”

“So, what has you worried?” I mentally reviewed the different contracts the company had been working on recently. Other than the attempted kidnapping of one of our clients that ended up with us having to rescue Rose, things had been pretty quiet.

“The Aziz account.”

I hadn’t worked that one with Colin since it had been a simple review of their overseas office locations and physical security recommendations. We wouldn’t be providing staff or anything on the digital side, so none of us thought a deep dive into them was necessary.

Damn it, had I fucked up?

“Tell me.”

“There was a woman.”

I took a drink, trying to hide my grimace. There was always a woman. Ever since our college days, Colin and I had enjoyed sharing our partners, and due to our time in the service, being a trio had become necessary for anything that involved an overnighter. Sometimes it was hard to decide which one of us had the more disabling PTSD.

Colin was definitely more affected while he slept and his monsters came out to haunt him in his dreams, which were often violent, with flailing limbs that could hurt someone if I wasn’t there to do damage control.

We both avoided talking about his episodes and my debilitating need to not be in public, where the busy sounds of the city could throw me into a tailspin. Shit went down where we were stationed, and I knew he felt guilty about some decisions he’d made. Jared was my best friend, but Colin was my brother in every sense of the word and for as long as I’d known him, he’d struggled with following the status quo. Was he feeling guilty for an obsessive hookup, or was it something more?

“Was she hot?”

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