“I take it you’re Jason,” said Dante.

“Yes, sir,” Jason said. He had a deep, booming male voice.

“Welcome. I’m glad you’re here. You can put your things in one of the rooms on the right down the hall. Then come back here. I’ll brief you.”

Laurie wandered in from the kitchen.

Dante introduced Jason to Laurie when he came back from putting down his bags, and then Dean and John decided to head to bed.

Jason was a quiet character, solemn.

Laurie sat on the couch reading.

Dante sat writing his report beside her.

Jason sat in the chair, reading a magazine or the newspaper.

Laurie did manage to draw Jason out a tiny bit. She learned he was from San Francisco, and he was divorced from his first wife. He had a four-year-old boy he showed Laurie pictures of on his phone.

“He told me yesterday he wants to be a police officer for Halloween.” Jason grinned, but Laurie thought of David.

Jason put his phone back in his pocket. He stood up from where he had perched on the arm of the couch beside her.

“Wonder where he got that idea from.” Laurie toyed with the remote.

Jason’s smile stretched up to his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. He excused himself, as he retreated into the hallway toward the bathroom.

Laurie stared at his retreating back as the young man strode away.

Laurie’s eyes fell to the cover of her book, sitting in her lap. It had worn edges and dog-earned pages, but Laurie saw none of it. She saw David’s face, then the picture of Mary he had shown her, and she thought of the son David would never get to see. She swallowed hard, taking a deep breath. Pain lanced her heart. She looked up and met Dante’s steady gaze. She looked back down at her book, then back to Dante.

“Can we try to call Cheyn and Max again?”

“Yeah.” He reached into his pocket for his cell phone.

He dialed what was supposed to be Cheyn’s number, she prayed for it to connect. It rang once, twice, three times. It just kept ringing until the machine picked up. She saw worry flicker across his face as he left another message. Max’s line just did the same. Dante’s concern transformed into her anxiety.

“We’ll reach one of them soon, Laurie. Rick said they’ve both been on a lot of painkillers, but they’re both fine,” he said.

Laurie nodded, but she didn’t meet his gaze.

“Are you calling the guys who survived?” Jason asked, as he re-entered and took his seat.

“Yes.” Dante looked up, his mouth set in hard lines.

“That’s bad business,” Jason said. “But with two former Marines, you’ll be just fine, ma’am.”

“That’s not what worries me.” Laurie shifted in her seat, looking at Dante.

“Maybe I’ll just try the hospital switchboard.” Dante looked up the hospital’s number.

He dialed. A machine picked up. Dante punched in the numbers to spell Cheyn’s last name. He jabbed at each number with his index finger, each hit increasing in vehemence and pure annoyance. The computer confirmed Cheyn’s name, but it gave him a different room number than the one Rick had given him. He hit one to transfer. The phone began to ring. Dante let out a breath in a whoosh of air from his mouth.

“Hellooo?” Laurie could hear Cheyn’s answer. She leaned towards Dante, her heart lifting. His voice was raspy. He sounded drugged or half-asleep or both, but to Laurie he never sounded better.

Dante smiled at Laurie.

“Cheyn! It’s Dante. How are you? I’ve been trying to call but Rick gave me the wrong room number.” Dante swatted at Laurie’s hand as she tried to take the phone.

“Dante, man. It’s so good to talk to you.”

“How are you doing? Are they treating you right over there?”

“There are some very sweet nurses here, man. They have me all patched up. I should be released tomorrow.”

“Good. I’m relieved. You had everyone pretty shaken.” Dante reached for her hand, surprising her.

She glanced at Jason, but he was reading his newspaper.

“How are you, boss? Did you make it out okay?”

“A bullet grazed me, but I’m fine. After they put you in the helicopter, I grabbed Laurie and got the hell out of there.”

“How’s Miz Laurie? Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she’s fine. We drove to the other safe house. She’d like to talk to you, too.”

“I’m so glad she made it out. I should be able to come back soon. Real soon.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. You can’t come back to active duty that fast.”

“Aww, come on boss. You know I live for the job.”

“I know you do, Cheyn, but you gotta rest up for the next one. I’ll take care of Laurie.”

“Yeah, I bet you will.” Cheyn let out a drug-induced giggle, and it made Laurie nervous. What if Cheyn said something to Rick?

“Uh, well, we got a new Marshal from California. He flew in this morning. Dean and John came last night. So I’m all set. You need to go back to your place and get ready for the next assignment.”

Cheyn chuckled on the other end of the phone.

“Can I talk to him? Please?” She gripped Dante’s hand, while holding out her other one for the phone.

“Cheyn, Laurie’s about to wrestle me for the phone. I think she wants to talk to you now.”

Dante turned his head away from Laurie, as she tried to snatch the phone from him. His hand still held one of hers, so he held it up to block her.

“Yeah, let me talk to Miz Laurie.”

“All right, all right. I’ll give you the phone,” he said to Laurie. “I gotta go, Cheyn. She’s getting insistent. You take care of yourself. I’ll see you soon.”

“You take good care of her. Be very careful. Real careful with these Kaimi people.”

“We will. I’m giving the phone to Laurie before she attacks me. Bye.” Dante handed over the phone.

Laurie gave him a light punch on the shoulder. She turned her head away as she took the cell phone.

“Cheyn! I’m so glad you’re okay! I’ve been worried.”

“Aww, Miz Laurie. Of course, I’m okay. Are you okay?”

“I’m good. I’m good. Getting a little stir crazy, but I’m okay.”

“How’s Dante been treating you? You know if he gives you any trouble, you can tell me. I can take him out.” Cheyn giggled.

“No. Dante’s been good to me. Saved my life the other night. You both did.”

“I was just doin’ my job.”

“Well, thank you. Thank you for protecting me. I’m sorry you were shot, and Max, and…David.” Her voice had lowered to a scratched whisper.

Dante put his hand on her back to soothe her.

“I know, Miz Laurie. I know. I’m fine. I’m leaving the hospital tomorrow. So don’t you worry about me, okay?”

“Okay. I’m glad you’re going to be fine. We were concerned when we couldn’t reach you.”

“They just kept switching my room around. Must’ve been in three rooms already. I’m just fine, Miz Laurie. You need to take care of yourself.”

“Yes, yes, I will. Dante will take good care of me. They all will.”

“Well, you take good care of him too. That’s my partner right there. Someone needs to have his back while I’m out of commission.”

Laurie smiled into the phone. She looked up at Dante. His eyes were a dark chocolate she wanted to loose herself in. Her heart constricted under his tender gaze.

“I will. I’ll take good care of him too.”

Dante smiled at her. His fingers contracted on her back in an imperceptible caress.

“Have a good night, Miz Laurie.”

“Okay, Cheyn. You have a good night too. Feel better!”

“Aloha.”

“Aloha.” Laurie hung up the phone.

Next Dante dialed the operator again and got Max’s new room number. Max didn’t pick up the phone, but Dante saw the hospital care pages. He decided to try to reach Max that way. He and Laurie wrote a very nice ‘get well soon’ message to him, which made them both feel much more lighthearted by the end of the day. The hospital still had Max listed as a patient. Even if he couldn’t pick up the phone yet, he was at least alive.