“We tried really hard to make a family relationship. My wife obviously had a much harder time with it than I did. Ally welcomed him with open arms.”
“She seems like the type,” Axel said.
“Her heart is big,” her father said. “Unfortunately she trusts a little too easily, like that ex-boyfriend of hers.”
“Right, he seems to have been a number one pain.”
“Lawyer fees, court case, it was ugly, very nasty, and she’s still paying for it,” he said. “That man has no honor and is just drainage under the sewer. If you ask me, he deserves everything coming to him and more. So I hope you go pound him into the ground,” her father said in frustration. “Unfortunately I’m not living near my Ally, still reside here in Australia, and I’m not physically fit enough to do it myself. But, believe me, I’ve wondered about hiring someone else to.”
“Leave that be,” Axel said. “It’s not something you want to get into.”
“No, but he shouldn’t be out walking around after what he did,” her father said.
“Can’t disagree with you there. Now tell me what happened with Rory’s and Thomas’s deaths.”
“They were visiting New York City, walking through one of the worst areas of town. It was a drive-by shooting, and two other people were on the street. They were shot as well. Both my son Rory and his friend Thomas were shot. Neither survived. Of the two other people shot, one survived, and one did not.”
“So there’s obviously a police file somewhere then?”
“Yes, they were visiting at the time. You’ll have to contact the police department there for a case file.”
“Anybody ever convicted?”
“Gang war,” he said. “Nobody convicted. Probably a dozen suspects, but nobody they can pin it on.”
“Got it,” he said. “Typical, isn’t it?”
“Unfortunately it’s the innocent who suffer all the time,” he said. “And I’m getting damn tired of it. First, my daughter was victimized by her boyfriend—or fiancé at the time actually. And that was followed by her brother being victimized as well.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “We’ll see what comes out of this.”
“No, we can’t,” he said. “The problem is, she is being victimized all over again,” he said. “I can’t just sit here and let that happen.” Ally’s father got very emotional.
Axel rushed to assure him. “That’s why I’m trying to help, sir,” he said. “I can’t guarantee what’ll happen though.”
“Of course not. The navy does what they do, but that’s no excuse for picking on her. She wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“Then we’ll have to prove it, sir,” Axel said. “I have to trust in what I’m doing. I have to trust that this is possible.”
“Maybe,” he said. “The problem is, when the military wants something to go away, they make it go away. And, if they want a scapegoat, they make a scapegoat. My daughter’s already been traumatized by men in her world,” he said. “I don’t want it to happen again.” Something about the tone of his voice made Axel lean forward.
“What was her relationship like with her brother?”
“Which one?” the father hedged.
“Don’t mess with me,” Axel snapped. “You want my help to keep your daughter safe and to get her out of all this? Then you need to come clean.” There was a moment’s hesitation.
“Rory resented her,” he said. “He was still paying student loans, whereas I had helped her through school, and she’d gotten scholarships most of the way. So she was free and clear of student debt and had already made it to the military. I think, drawing parallels with her academically—and seeing the potential difference in his finances, lifestyle, and career path—he saw how different it would have been, had he been part of our family from the beginning. The whole thing took a toll.”
“And he resented her specifically?”
“Yes, though I’m not exactly sure why. I think because they were both in the same field, and that bothered him too. Plus both were in the navy, but she was fast-tracking up, and he wasn’t.”
“Was he a bit of a sexist?”
“He was gay,” her father said. “I didn’t mind, but I do think he resented women. He had a tough relationship with his mother as well.”
“Interesting,” he said. “And you’re sure he’s dead?”
A bark of laughter came from the other end of the call. “I saw his body myself. He took one full round to the chest. There was no saving my boy,” he said. A moment of hesitation came before he cleared his throat, and he added quickly, “Please save my daughter.” And, with that, he hung up.
Chapter 6
When the doctor showed up in the late afternoon, Ally immediately asked him, “When can I leave?”
He frowned at her, but she just glared right back. “I’m not sure that you’re being allowed to leave,” he said in a mild tone.
She froze, and her eyebrows slowly lifted. “What? What are you saying?”
“This is a military hospital on a military base. There is some question as to your involvement in the scenario that put you here,” he said, “but that’s not my department. However, two naval guards are outside your room now.”
“Are they to keep me safe or to stop me from leaving?” she asked in a low voice.
“I can’t answer that,” he said. “I was kind of hoping you would.”
“I didn’t have anything to do with it,” she said, “but I did think that I saw the shooter here at the hospital.”
At that, he froze, staring at her. “Are you serious? And you didn’t tell anyone?”
“I did tell someone,” she said. “I told the SEAL who was here this morning.”
His fingers tapped on his upper arm. “I wonder if that’s what the guards are about.”
“I don’t know,” she said, “but that shooter visit was also why I was hoping to leave.”
“Meaning that, he knows you’re here, and you may be safer out there?”
“I was hoping so,” she reached up, rubbing her face again, “but I feel like shit. So I’m a sitting duck either way.”
“That wasn’t just a simple break, young lady. The bullet did terrible damage to the femur. It’ll take quite a while to heal. We had to put pins in there and a steel bar.”
“I know,” she said. “And I’m very grateful for what you did.”
“But you’re only grateful in little ways,” he said, with a note of humor. “Understood? That head of yours, on the other hand,” he said, “must be giving you a crazy headache.”
“Well, it was doing okay,” she said. “And then it came back again.”
“Your painkillers are probably wearing off,” he said, checking his tablet. He nodded. “Yeah, you’re due for more.”
“So, that’s what it is?” She groaned as she stared out the window. “I was hoping it was just a temporary setback, and I could get up and leave.”