Page 1 of Justified Fear
One
Ryan Morrison pulled up to the curb of his captain’s house.The street was littered with cars and trucks from Team Bravo.Seth Harrison had been a SEAL before taking on the job of captain to the newest group, and he did this from time to time.Cookouts were a way of life for all of Task Force Hawai’i.Since Seth was married to a member of Team Alpha, he assumed a few of them were there as well.
He turned off his SUV and looked at his companion.
“I want you to accept that you are not getting any steak tonight.The doc said that it wasn’t good for you.Also, we aren’t staying all night.I don’t care if you want to socialize.”
Maya’s dark brown eyes stared at him, her look full of German Sheppard condemnation.
“I’m tired.”
If she had eyebrows, his girl would have lifted one.It was hard to explain to a dog that he had tried his best to keep a safe distance from members of his team.He’d done that when he had been a cop, and it had blown up in his face.But he understood that camaraderie was good for the team, and in the back of his mind, he heard his mother chastising him.It wasn’t easy having parents who worked with PTSD sufferers.Yes, they knew how to help you, but they also knew exactly how to push you.It sucked sometimes.Thankfully, they were still back in California.
“Come on,” he said, undoing her doggy seatbelt and slipping out of the car.Maya, being Maya, didn’t jump over the console.She waited for him to walk around to the other side of the vehicle like the prima donna that she was.He opened the door and waited for her to jump down.He grabbed the potato salad from the back seat, then took Maya’s lead.
They walked around to the back of the house.After opening the gate, he followed Maya through.The party was in full swing, music playing, kids—mainly from TFH Team Alpha’s team members—were running around the yard.The scent of grilled food intermingled with the sweet smell of plumeria.
“Please tell me that’s your potato salad,” Autumn Bradford called out, walking toward him with a smile.The boss’s fiancée was a gorgeous woman with a quirky personality.She had the appetite of a Hobbit, but none of that showed on her toned body.A little taller than the average woman, she had one of those strides that ate up the yard.Dressed in a pair of board shorts and a t-shirt, Autumn looked normal.Lookedwas the key word.Raised in a cult by her cult leader father—or who the world thought was her father—she tended to look at the world a little differently than most people.She also had no problem telling you exactly what she thought about a situation.
“It is.”
“Huzzah!”She took the bowl from him, then leaned down to pet Maya.“Hello, pretty girl.Your daddy said you can’t have any more steak.”
Yes, last time they’d had a cookout, Autumn had made sure to have a steak just for Maya.His search partner loved it, until it gave her a bellyache.Four hundred dollars later, he was told never to do that again.
“Orders from the doc,” Ryan said, ignoring the side eye his dog was giving him.And, yes, he knew he was probably imagining it, but it felt as if Maya understood the conversation.
“Well, I have some chicken and rice you said she could have.And you can take the leash off.She’s safe here, and you know the kids love her.”
He nodded and undid the leash.
“Come on, Maya, let’s get your chicken and rice.”
Maya followed Autumn, ditching him without a backward look.He shook his head and headed over to his team, grabbing a soda on the way.The boss lived in Aiea, and Ryan lived in Kapolei, so he had a bit of a drive to get home, so no beers tonight.Plus, he had a niggling at the base of his spine that told him something would happen.They were supposed to be off for tonight, but he got called in to assist HPD at times.They were considered the best search and rescue team on the island.With it being the weekend, there was a good chance that they would end up getting a call—especially with the nice weather they had today.Many locals and tourists would be out and about.
“Hey, was that your potato salad?”Nikki Kekoa asked.She was his only female team member, small in stature, but she was a black belt in several martial arts and amazing with a long-range rifle.Her diminutive figure, along with her pixie haircut and big brown eyes, worked to her advantage.Most men took one look at her and thought she would be easy to take.It was arguably the worst mistake of their lives.If anything, she was the most badass of their group.
“Yeah.”Other than cooking on the grill, it was the only thing he could actually make that was edible.
“You know we’re off the clock,” Robbie Rameriz said.The former SEAL was holding a Longboard bottle.He still kept his hair military short.Ryan had heard him use the term high and tight.He knew you could take the man out of the SEALs, but you rarely took the SEAL out of the man.He was a couple of inches shorter than Ryan, but he was built like a prizefighter.He also had a reputation with women.
“I live on the other side of the island.Plus, I got a feeling.”
“Dude, don’t say that shit,” Kapone Hanson complained.Kap had been an NCIS agent before joining the team.The agent hailed from Georgia.“You’re going to jinx us.”
“Who’s jinxing us?”Seth said as he stepped away from the grill.Their captain and Ryan were about the same height, although Ryan was leaner.
“Morrison,” Kap spat out.
“I had no idea you were so superstitious,” Seth said with a chuckle.
“I come from a long line of people who understand bad juju,” Kap said.
“Bad juju?”Rami asked, snorting.“Are you saying that your Gullah ancestors were into Voodoo?”
Kap flipped off his team members.
“I think I know what bad juju Morrison conjured,” Nikki said, an ominous tone filling her voice.
