 Daniel did what any self-respecting man would do when he’d broken up with the absolute love of his life, shoved him away, literally, and drove off. He got drunk. Not just any drunk, no, he got himself rip-roaring plastered. The half a case of beer he and Kyle had at home lasted about twenty minutes before he cracked open the hard stuff. As the alcohol haze pickled his brain, Daniel asked himself what he had done. Things he’d vowed never to do, that was what. He’d broken rule number one and let himself get involved. As if that weren’t bad enough, he’d abandoned Kyle. Left him alone and confused. In the entire time Kyle had been with him, never once had Daniel left him alone. Once in a while, nightmares still plagued Kyle, reliving his abduction and flight for freedom. Daniel had promised to protect Kyle, keep him safe and love him. Great job he was doing since he’d now left Kyle alone and unprotected in a place he wasn’t entirely sure was safe. Why wasn’t the barracks safe for Kyle? The booze swirled slowly over Daniel’s mind and he tried to put together little things that had been bugging him for weeks, maybe months now. The missions they’d been sent on. How long it’d taken others to accept Kyle, how some had taken to him right away. Nothing made sense and Daniel knew he’d dismiss these thoughts when he was sober. Which didn’t look to be anytime soon. He’d passed out and come to again, washing the bottom-of-a-bird-cage taste from his mouth with a half-bottle of whiskey. His phone rang a few times, Kyle and then Pierre trying to reach him. He’d ignored them. Once he had his belongings packed, he’d go back to the barracks and have Keller ship him off somewhere else. Preferably a place without strays for him to take in and love. When it was Sally’s number on his caller ID, he answered. The next sound was a semi-automatic being fired outside his building, which had him jumping out of his skin and falling off the couch. A couch he’d made love to Kyle on so many times he’d lost count. “What the—?” Daniel clambered to his feet and stumbled at the window. "Sorry, Sally, are you—?” More gunfire and then someone, not Sally, was shouting at him on the phone. “You goddamn, stupid, pigheaded moron. Get your ass down here now before I come up there!” That was Pierre. He looked out the front window; Pierre was indeed standing on the beach just outside the fence. “You seem a little agitated.” “Now, you stupid fucker!” This time he aimed the weapon at the building, firing. Instinctively Daniel ducked away from the window, but the bullets pinged off the brick above them. Daniel opened the window. “Stop that! Gimme a minute.” More falling down the stairs than walking down them, Daniel made his way outside, unlocked the fence, and waved Pierre inside its perimeter. That was when Pierre drew back an arm and landed a solid, large fist right in Daniel’s face. Staggering backward, he fell, ass hitting the sandy ground hard. Pushing up on one hand, Daniel rubbed his chin with the other. “What the hell? My life is none of your—” Pierre strode forward, grabbed Daniel’s shirt collar and hauled him to his feet… then punched him again. This time Daniel slid a few feet after his ass hit the sand. “Stop that!” He scrambled to his feet and backed up when Pierre took a few steps toward him. “Are you sober?” Pierre’s voice was still raised, but he seemed less violent. Brushing sand off his jeans, Daniel looked at the man and mumbled, “More than I was ten minutes ago.” Pierre took a few deep breaths and glanced back at the van Daniel now saw parked a few yards away. “It was a set up. The whole thing, that’s why your team didn’t find anything. There was never anything to find.” “What?” “It was an inside job. We’ve got a mole.” Daniel stood and blinked stupidly at his friend, trying to wrap his head around what Pierre was saying. His gaze shifted to the van, looking for signs of Kyle. He suddenly needed to know if Kyle was alright. A cold shiver slithered up his spine. Then Pierre said the words Daniel never expected. “The first suspect was Kyle. Keller said it was out of his hands. He turned Kyle over to the government.” “He—” Daniel’s lungs deflated and his head spun. “Why?”      Comments are closed.
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