Page 18 of Stay with Me
As Brody watched, Jared’s shoulders dropped and he shook his head then nodded. “Maybe.” He wasn’t an expert but hecould tell when someone was ashamed. He didn’t know what was going on.
Approaching the situation with kid gloves and empathy, Brody asked, “Are you safe?” He thought the man was in the barracks; he was only a specialist and wasn’t married…that Brody could remember. Cap had them keeping up with evals, training, and PT but wasn’t strict on command structure. Technically, Brody was one of the platoon leaders. He remembered listening to Drew’s brother at the pinning —soldiers are your best resource. Listen to your senior NCOs. Brody hadn’t interacted with the first sergeant much. He was going to figure out what was going on with Jared and then see what they could do to help him out. No one was going to be overlooked on his watch. He just had to figure out how to get him to open up.
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New Year’s Eve. Drew wasn’t sure what the new year was going to bring for him but he knew he was happy this one was over. Between finals for his Bachelor’s to cramming every bit of knowledge into his skull during basic, he was exhausted. He’d thought his captain was blowing smoke up his ass when he said he’d get his choice to work with the MWDs and their handlers. He’d been 100 percent honest with him. The past two weeks had been eye-opening. He knew that the dogs were amazing; he remembered watching the teams when he went with Uncle Danny after a hurricane hit Surf City. The partnership he watched between the handlers and the dogs wasn’t something he’d ever forget.
Tonight, Drew had offered to be CDO so others could ring in the new year with their significant others. It wasn’t like he had anyone to kiss at midnight. Christ, the amazing kiss he’d shared with Brody was the last action he’d had in… yeah, betterstop that thought in its tracks before he got melancholy. He remembered way too many holidays without his dad there. His mother had made every moment special. He, Tris, and Julia never lacked support or family holidays. He remembered having two Christmases one year when his father had been deployed and gotten R&R in January. He’d been eight that year, if his memory wasn’t playing tricks on him. He still didn’t know how his mother had kept the tree alive and green that long but she’d made that miracle happen. Note to self – call Mom and tell her he loved her.
“Lieutenant Nolan?” Drew turned to see Sergeant Provo standing beside the desk. There was something about the sergeant that had Drew on edge. He didn’t know what, but something…
“What’s up?” He didn’t remember hearing the radio go off, thank fuck. If the night could be a laidback one? Yeah, he’d be a happy officer. Might be propping his eyelids by four a.m. but he would take it. Drew should’ve thought ahead and planned something for those on duty. Maybe a potluck? Lesson learned for the next holiday shift.
“There’s a guy here for you. Said he’s your uncle. But he looks nothing like you,” the specialist finished.
“Drew, get your ass out here,” Uncle Mike called from the desk area. Drew jumped to his feet, moving to the desk.
“He’s my uncle, Provo. It’s okay. Uncle Mike, why are you here? Shouldn’t you be dancing the night away with Aunt Trish?” Drew asked as he grabbed his uncle in a hug. Yeah, he’d been feeling lonely since he’d moved into his apartment. He’d yet to have his family over. Hadn’t taken the time to put everything away. He knew he’d be at JBSA for two years but he just wasn’t sure he liked the complex he’d found. Something didn’t feel right to him. He’d taken over a lease from anotherlieutenant that had eleven months left on it. If he didn’t get comfortable soon, he’d start looking for another place.
“Your aunt would kick my ass if I even thought about going out on New Year’s. She is not fond of watching people act like idiots. You should know that. Nope, we had Nova, Keith, and Nicole over for a quiet celebration,” Uncle Mike was grinning from ear to ear. Yup, that little girl had her grandpa wrapped around her little finger.
“Doesn’t explain why you’re in my MP station, though. You should be home, curled up in your recliner with Nicole sleeping on your chest.” Drew really couldn’t figure out why his uncle was here.
“Oh, I will be and soon. We knew that you’d volunteered for the shift so your aunt and cousin decided that we— and I use that in the royal form — needed to bring you food. Take care of you and your soldiers. So, move your ass outside and help me unload,” he commanded as he turned to walk outside.
Drew just shook his head. “You and Aunt Trish can’t help yourselves, can you? Once a senior NCO, always a senior NCO.”
Uncle Mike called back over his shoulder, “You know it and I know it. Can’t resist taking care of soldiers. And while I know that you are perfectly capable of taking care of those under you, we both know that you didn’t think ahead to coordinate something. So, take this for the gift it is.”
He felt tears behind his eyelids. Uncle Mooney might say that the kids were going to kill him one day but his uncles knew how to do it, too.
Chapter Eleven
The past few months working with the MWDs and their handlers had proved to Drew that this was what he wanted to do with his life. Where he wanted to see himself in ten, twenty years. He enjoyed training with his soldiers and their dogs. The level of dedication that they had for each other was amazing. Watching them in real-time action was stunning. He was shadowing one of the MWD teams today as they helped at a state roadblock for illegal substances. The block was set up on 1283 going west toward Medina Lake; it was a two-lane road just outside of Mico.
The Texas Rangers had been working in the area and had received some information that a shipment of heroin was being brought in over the next few weeks. In order to not give their source away, they were setting up random blocks. Bringing the MWD team out to work this one in the guise of training was a great cover and, hey, it was never a bad thing to work under real conditions instead of made up scenarios.
Standing off to the side in the shade, Drew watched the individual dog and handler teams check over each vehicle. Soldiers, including himself, were in ACUs with their MP patches. Drew had his 9mm on his right hip; the soldiers were carrying M-16s. They didn’t have on full Kevlar but the MWDs had on their ballistic vests. Never a bad thing to protect such a valuable asset to the military.
The team had asked the occupants to step out of the vehicle as Kali was sniffing around the passenger side, acting as though she’d smelled something. Kali hadn’t alerted that she’d found something but she wasn’t acting right. If Drew didn’t know better, he’d think that she was nervous. He’d watched Kali andSergeant Lucas run through similar scenarios, so he could tell something was off.
Something glinted and almost blinded Drew. Suddenly, he was moving toward the current vehicle without conscious thought.
A man had climbed out of the passenger’s door and, before anyone saw it coming, he pulled a wicked knife out from somewhere and lunged toward Kali. Drew was only a few steps away and threw himself in the downward trajectory of the man’s arm. All around, soldiers started yelling. Kali yelped as Drew landed on her and he felt the knife slice through his uniform. Before the man could pull back for another blow, Drew saw him face down with an M-16 pointed at his back with one of Drew’s soldiers commanding him to not move.
“Lieutenant Nolan? Sir? Are you okay?” a voice asked him from far away. Drew rolled off Kali who promptly sat down next to him and howled.
“Is Kali all right?” Drew asked, ignoring the question he’d been asked. He thought he was going to be sick. He looked down at his arm and saw blood welling up in the crook of his elbow. Shit, this wasn’t going to be stopped with a Band-Aid. His mother was going to kill him. How does anyone get injured observing a detail? Leave it to him to make it happen. Drew closed his eyes and dropped his head down onto the ground. He felt someone put pressure on his arm, making him gasp.
“Shit, sir? We’re going to need to take you to Brooke Medical ASAP. I don’t like the amount of blood that’s coming out. Someone get me a fucking med kit, now!” Drew opened his eyes and the team leader, Staff Sergeant Cain, was kneeling next to him.
“Did Kali find something? Is the vehicle secured?” Look at him not being a complete moron and remembering his job even while bleeding. Tris wouldn’t have gotten injured. He would’ve seen the knife coming and kicked the shit out of the guy instead of ending up on his back with the prospect of a trip to the emergency room in his future.
“Yes, sir. The vehicle is being secured and the occupants are being put into the back of the cruiser. The Rangers are taking them into custody. A quick glance in the back seat showed a small cache of weapons and about ten kilos of cocaine. Kali did her job. You protected her, and Sergeant Lucas is going to have some remedial training in his future. He should’ve seen that knife before you,” Cain told him. “Now, are you through being a bad ass so we can take you to get this looked at? I’m not a medic and my knowledge is extremely limited, so…”
Drew nodded slowly and tried to sit up. He only got about halfway before he knew he wasn’t going to make it. He reached out his hand to grasp Cain’s shoulder but didn’t get his hand anywhere near him before his eyes rolled back in his head and he hit the ground again. The last thing Drew heard was Cain yelling, “LT!”
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