Leaf, Erin M. - Tango Trio [Dream Marked 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (15 page)

“You are so feisty. I like that in my woman,” he said, faking a hearty, patronizing tone.

Tessa glared at him then laughed when he crossed his eyes at her. “You’re lucky I know you’re teasing.”

“I know I am. You won’t hurt me on purpose. The cop? Him I’m not so sure about. If he’d kept it up, you’d have smacked him.” Jared tossed the duffle on a chair and came over to Tessa, running his hands up and down her arms. “Relax. It’ll be okay. We’ll go to Parker’s, get a good night’s sleep, and worry about this
shit
in the morning.”

Tessa sighed and leaned back into Jared. “Okay.”

Chapter 10

Tessa reluctantly swam up through the layers of her dreams. She was warm and cozy and didn’t want to wake up, but the sound wouldn’t leave her alone. She sighed, disgruntled, and rolled over, burrowing her face deeper into Parker’s neck. She’d been dreaming she was some sort of big cat, a mountain lion or a jaguar maybe. She’d been running through the forest with Jared and Parker. Everything was a gorgeous, dark jewel-color as they followed their prey through the moonlit landscape—dark-green trees, gray-green meadows, black water sparkling with the light of a thousand stars on the edge of the forest. She’d just stopped to take a drink, her bond-mates pressing close, when the noise intruded. She inhaled, trying to enjoy the fresh scents of her bond-mates and ignore the noise, but it was no use. She woke up. The noise stopped, but now she could hear Jared talking.

“What? Are you sure?” Jared paused, listening. Tessa rolled over, opening her eyes. The room was shrouded in early morning light, that fragile moment right before the sun rises. She felt a gut-pinching instinct that all was not well. Parker lay awake beside her, his large frame stiff. She ran a palm down his arm, relieved when he took her hand. Jared was sitting on the edge of the bed, facing away from them. She knew she could poke at his mind, get him to open up to her, but she didn’t want to intrude. He sounded upset.

“Okay, I’ll drive out as soon as I can.” Jared ran his hand through his hair. “God. I can’t believe this.” He laughed, the sound more horror than amusement. “Yeah, I know, you’re the one who should be upset, but I can’t help it. Damnit, Charlie! This is not how I envisioned your retirement gig. It was supposed to be easy, not fatal.”

Tessa frowned. Fatal? What was going on? Jared twisted to look at her inquiringly. She shook her head slightly, and he returned to his conversation as she bit her lip. She hadn’t meant to distract him.

“Yeah, all right. See you in a couple of hours.” Jared snapped his cell phone shut then tossed it on Parker’s nightstand. Tessa waited for him to explain what was going on, but instead he dropped his face in his hands. Parker sat up and put a hand on Jared’s shoulder. When her bond-mate finally looked up, Tessa was shocked to see tears on his face. She prodded gently, and the light mental barrier he’d held collapsed, and the full-force of his grief crashed in. Parker stiffened then pulled Jared into a rough embrace.

“What’s happening?” Tessa asked quietly. She slid across the bed to fit herself under Jared’s free arm.

He shuddered, letting Parker and Tessa comfort him for a minute. Then he took a deep breath. “My old buddy Charlie is dying.”

* * * *

Jared sipped the coffee black, grateful that Tessa had brewed it so strong. She was a good woman, a good person. He could feel her sympathy and concern in the back of his head. Parker was there, too, his gentle understanding and support unwavering. Jared welcomed them both, more relieved than he could articulate that he had them. His bond-mates. He didn’t know how else he’d manage to get through this.

“You’ll be careful driving, right?” Tessa said, setting a plate of scrambled eggs down in front of him.

He smiled at her and picked up his fork. “Of course. Don’t worry. It’s only a couple of hours west of here.”

She shook her head and sat down next to him. “It’s not the distance. It’s what’s waiting there for you that worries me, actually. Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

Jared swallowed his mouthful of eggs and cocked his head at her. “No, I’ll be okay. You know I can take care of myself, right? Especially now that you fixed my hip.” He took another sip of coffee, savoring the bitterness. It seemed appropriate, given what he had to do today. He looked around the small kitchen. Parker lived simply in a one-bedroom apartment in Bethlehem close to the main drag downtown. The kitchen looked out over a small backyard with a single tree. There were three cardinals in the tree squawking at each other. Jared smiled at their antics.

“I know you said you were old friends, but he’s an addict.” Parker pulled out the third and last chair and sat down next to Jared with his breakfast. “You have to be ready for anything.”

Jared nodded. “I will, but I have to go. He’s dying. And I know him. He was with me in North Korea. I believe him when he says they gave him the drug unwillingly.” Jared rubbed his forehead. “He’d never take something like ‘Path on his own. Never.”

“How did they give it to him? I thought it had to be injected? No way he wouldn’t notice that, unless they lied and told him it was a vaccine or something.” Tessa picked at her eggs, and Jared felt her exhaustion as he took in the tired set of her shoulders. It was his fault she was so tired.

“Even then, how would they explain regular injections of a vaccine?” Parker interjected.

“No, he said he thinks it’s in the food at the base. He said it’s not as strong as what you get on the black market to inject, and it’s only enough to give soldiers a bit of an edge out in the field. Not enough to incapacitate, just enough that everyone could chalk it up to a good sense of intuition.”

“But I don’t understand how he figured it out then? And why would he be dying?” Tessa asked, her sweet face worried.

Jared loved her so much. He leaned over and cupped her cheek, running his thumb over her mouth. She stuck her tongue out at him and nipped his finger, making him smile, despite his grief. “He went on vacation. He was cut off from the source, cold-turkey. That’s what clued him in. He ended up in the hospital with a severe migraine. They did some tests on him, and to his shock, they found traces of ‘Path in his system. He had no idea how it happened until he got back on base and had lunch. Suddenly he felt better. And his extremely good rapport with his students came back, abruptly. Apparently he wasn’t supposed to be getting any doses at all since he’s no longer active military, but he’s one of those teachers who likes to eat with his students. And his favorite dessert is the red Jell-O.”

Parker laughed. “The red Jell-O? Seriously?”

Jared smiled. “Yeah, can you believe it? My friend is dying because they spiked the Jell-O.” His smile felt brittle, and he sensed Parker and Tessa’s empathy.

“That’s crazy,” Tessa whispered. She kept adjusting and readjusting her coffee cup.

“Why is he dying, though? If he can still get doses through lunch, can’t he wean himself off it?” Parker asked.

Jared shook his head. “Charlie was discharged same time I was.” He looked at his bond-mates, using his connection to them to help him explain without reopening the pain of that memory. They looked back at him, confused. He let his mind touch theirs.
Medical discharge. Charlie took a shot in the head during the extraction of the refugees. We didn’t think he was going to make it, and the surgeons had to drill a hole in his skull to let the pressure out from all the internal bleeding. He ended up with permanent damage to his optic nerve and some other parts of his brain.

He’s blind?
Tessa asked, her mind voice shocked.

Yeah. And that’s why the ‘Path is killing him. It wouldn’t be impossible for a healthy person to wean themselves off of it, but the damage to his brain from his old injury made his brain tissue fragile.

Tessa sat back as he explained this, her face creased in thought. When she looked up, Jared knew she’d thought of the same thing he told Charlie.

“But I can heal him! You have to take me with you,” she demanded.

Jared was already shaking his head. “It won’t help, Tessa. He’s too far gone. I told Charlie about what you could do, and he explained that the drug did something to his nerves, too, not just the neurotransmitters or whatever it is that ‘Path does. He’s losing myelin faster than you could fix it.”

“You don’t know that!” Tessa cried.

Parker looked like he wanted to argue, too, but Jared knew it was futile.

“No. Charlie told me that when he found out what was happening, he managed to get a pure supply of the stuff. He injected himself with it last week.”

What? Wouldn’t that make it worse?
Parker sent, his mental signature horrified.

Yeah, exactly,
Jared sent, grim.

Why did he do that?
Tessa asked.

“He wanted to find out what was going on, so he used the drug to eavesdrop on certain people at the college. Remember, it increases empathy? In large doses, it might even promote telepathy for a short time. Charlie found out what he wanted to know but sacrificed himself in the process.” Jared drained the last of his coffee. He dreaded this trip. He wondered if he had time for another cup, then looked out the window. No, the sun was already rising.

“I just don’t understand why he’d do that. Why sacrifice the rest of his life?” Tessa whispered, distraught.

Jared took her hand, rubbed his thumb over her beautiful skin. “He didn’t have a wife or kids. His parents are dead. All that he had that was important to him was his honor and service to this country. That’s why he became a tactics professor at the war college after his injury. He didn’t need his eyes to pass on his knowledge. When he found out that they’d essentially betrayed all that he held sacred—” Jared dropped her hand and sat back in his chair, terribly weary.

“That sucks,” Parker said, his voice quiet.

“Why did he call you?” Tessa asked.

“We were the only ones that made it out of North Korea. We owe each other our lives. And he knows that I pretty much broke off all ties with the military, so I’m not involved with the ‘Path drug problem. He said he has a flash drive with data on it that incriminates the college with unauthorized drug administration. He hinted that there was more, but I don’t know what it is. He insisted I go meet him.” Jared looked at his bond-mates, hoping they understood why he had to do this. “I
have
to go. He’s dying.”

* * * *

Two hours later, Jared turned his car onto the dirt road that led to his friend’s house. Right after they’d both received their medical discharges, Charlie moved out here. At first, Jared didn’t understand why his friend wanted to live out in the middle of nowhere. He didn’t understand how Charlie would manage. Blindness wasn’t an easy disability to handle all alone in the woods. How would he go grocery shopping? Pay the bills? He’d argued with his friend, but the man was adamant. After a year or so, Charlie invited him out for a week, and that was when Jared figured it out. The woods were calming. The solitude was calming. There were no neighbors to bother him, no grass to mow, no traffic. The college assigned him a couple of aides who took turns picking him up every morning and driving him home at night. They helped him with his shopping and whatever else Charlie needed. Jared wished he’d understood sooner. He wouldn’t have worried so much. Well, at least until he found out the college had poisoned his friend. Jared ruthlessly suppressed his grief. Now was not the time to dwell on it. He’d figure out what to do after he talked to Charlie.

When the house came into view, Jared smiled. It looked like a rustic cabin in a small clearing, but it had all the amenities—running water, heat and air conditioning, even a hot tub out back on the deck. It was only one level, with a single bedroom, but it was perfect for Charlie. The few times Jared came to visit he slept on the couch. Jared drove slowly up the dirt track and pulled the car into the gravel driveway. After turning it off, he sat there for a few minutes, listening to the engine tick as it cooled down. Was it only Monday? He sighed and ran his hand over his face. He couldn’t believe all that had happened since Saturday. It seemed like he’d known Tessa and Parker for much longer, but it had only been three days.

“Hey! You gonna sit there all day, dumbass?”

Jared chuckled and opened the car door. “Who you calling a dumbass, Moyston?”

The thin man on the porch laughed and stepped out, letting the screen door slam closed behind him. “Get on up here, Nolan. It’s been too long.
 
And don’t call me by my last name. Gives me the creeps.”

Jared smiled as he strode onto the porch and hugged his friend, slapping him on the back. “I won’t call you Moyston if you promise not to call me Nolan. Makes me feel like you’re talking to my dad,” Jared said, swallowing his shock at his friend’s appearance. He’d tried not to hug him too hard. Charlie was so gaunt Jared could feel his bones rattling around inside his skin. How could a man be so thin and still be walking around?

“Jesus, Charlie, you look like shit,” Jared said, stepping back.

Charlie huffed. “You’d look like shit, too, if you were dying.”

Jared flinched, unsure what to say. Charlie cocked his head. “I can hear you fidgeting around, you know. Just because I can’t see doesn’t mean I can’t still read you like a book.”

Jared sighed. “Yeah, well. I didn’t expect this, Charlie.”