Chapter 2 #3
Gail was still trying to process this new information. “But you’re okay now, aren’t you?”
He laughed, but it lacked humor. “Sure, as long as you can define okay as a metal rod in my back, missing most of one leg. Yeah, I would call that my new normal,” he declared, with a dry laugh.
“Oh, and I’m missing a couple of ribs. But who’s counting all my injuries? You know, all that good stuff.”
She slammed back into her chair, as if she couldn’t get far enough away from him, the sound echoing throughout the coffee shop. “I had no idea.”
He searched her gaze for a long time before relaxing. “I wasn’t sure whether you knew or not,” he shared, before dropping his gaze again. He didn’t even know how much to say and had already told her more than he intended. “I have to admit at the time that I thought you had put him up to it.”
“No, God, no,” she cried out in disbelief. “You’re actually saying that he did that?”
He stared at her and added, “He’s your dad. What do you think he would do in the circumstances your sister put us into?”
All the color faded from her face again, and she closed her eyes, whispering, “I didn’t know.”
He just nodded and didn’t say anything. Whether she did know or not, it was old news.
It was definitely not something he would argue about now.
“Well, that’s what happens when you cross your father, or rather, when somebody says that you’ve crossed your father, even if you’re innocent of all charges. ”
The waitress returned with the coffeepot and topped up both cups.
He nodded his thanks, and, when she walked away, he added, “I didn’t have anything to do with any of it, but not only did my entire relationship with your family get blown up, my fiancée did not trust me, did not listen to me or believe what I was saying, and her father arranged for me to be immediately shipped out into an ongoing war zone. ”
He added, “If you remember back then, I was training K9s at the time, here at the airport.” Her gaze was locked on his, as if finally hearing what he needed to say. Words he’d tried to get out many times but couldn’t because she hadn’t given him a chance.
“But instead, your father had to do even more to make sure I didn’t come back and mess up his family again. And, too bad for him, I survived, though damaged and no longer on active duty, but alive. I’m sure it pissed him off when he heard.”
He watched as she tried to swallow and then pushed away her coffee cup and buried her face in her hands.
He asked, “You really didn’t know, huh?”
She shook her head, her voice barely above a whisper as she replied, “No, I did not know.”
“Well, that’s your dad for you,” he said casually, “but whatever.” Whatever was what he felt.
He hated the man with a passion but had realized that the anger and the wish for revenge wouldn’t do Riley any good while he was recovering.
As with his mom, Riley had to put that anger at Mr. Montoya off to the side.
“If I were the vengeful sort, I would be here to get revenge on the shit your father put me through,” he admitted, “but, the good thing for him is, I’m not. ”
She immediately stared at him, her gaze intense, and she asked, “Are you sure?”
“Oh, I’ve thought about it a lot. I’m not saying that, if the opportunity presented itself, I wouldn’t take it.
Still, when you’re healing or you’re trying to heal,” he explained, “you have to let go of that level of anger, pain, and trauma from other people. Don’t think I’ve forgiven him, and don’t think I ever will. ”
Her bottom lip trembled. “Yeah, … I don’t know that I can forgive him for that either.”
“Well, you hated me,” he reminded her quietly. “So, if he could have done anything to make your life easier, including getting rid of me permanently, he would have done it in a heartbeat.”
“Yes,” she agreed, “he absolutely would have. But I had no idea that he did something that awful though. I’m shocked that he went that far. … It’s hard to believe.”
“It’s the truth, whether you believe it or not,” he stated as he studied her, realizing she really still didn’t fully believe him. “Sometimes things go too far, and you don’t have any way to get back from it.”
A heavy silence deepened between them.
“So, why did you want to meet?” he asked her.
Her bottom lip trembled. She steadied it as quickly as she could and finally spoke, “It’s not … It’s not easy.”
“No, it sure isn’t,” he agreed with a drawl that seemed to almost make her shake.
Just then her phone rang. She sighed, frowned as she glanced at the number, then over at him.
He shrugged. “Go ahead and take it. I don’t mind.”
“Hey, Selene,” she said. “What’s up?”
“Jackson told me that there’s a report the War Dog was seen down in the catacombs,” she shared, her voice rising in excitement. “That also means that the guys, now that they have a clue where the dog is, are going to look for him. They are also hoping for any leads as to what happened to Timmy.”
Gail frowned at that. “Okay, I guess that’s a good thing, but I don’t know how finding the dog would be a clue about what happened to Timmy.”
“Of course it’s a good thing,” Selene cried out, her voice ringing through the phone. “Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that a team will be going down there looking for the dog.” At that, Gail looked over because Riley had sat up and leaned forward.
“Is this the missing War Dog down in the tunnels?” Riley asked.
Her girlfriend asked, “Hey, is that Riley?”
“Yes, it’s Riley,” Gail confirmed.
“Oh, wow. Tell him that’s a yes. It’s the War Dog. Why? What does he know about it?” she asked, her tone both curious and excited.
Gail looked over at Riley. He held out his hand for the phone.
Cautiously she handed it over. He put it on Speaker so she could hear, then spoke into the phone.
“Hey, I’m here to find that dog,” he began.
“It’s a War Dog with a lot of years of service, and it was supposed to be with a specific person. ”