Learning to Stand (46 page)

“
I’m sorry,” Alex said. “I
had no control...”

“
I know,” Roger said. “Thank
you for the boxes this year.”

“
I sent them myself,” Alex
said. “Well, Raz and I did. The Army was going to send everything
to his parents and I...”

“
Don’t ask, don’t tell,”
Roger said. “Jax never ever cared about being gay. Ever. He
believed God had infinite wisdom. And being gay was part of God’s
plan. His parents were a different story. They wouldn’t speak to
him. For twenty-six years. ‘Not until he gave up being gay.’ That
was their condition. Now they’ve erected a memorial to him.
Ridiculous.”

“
Guilt and grief create a
kind of insanity,” Alex said.

“
I saw you fight that
cretin,” Roger said. “At Wahoo’s? Jax would have been
furious.”

“
I miss him horribly, Roger.
I can barely say him name… He took such special care of
me.”

“
He loved you,” Roger said.
“He loved the way you and Jesse did your jobs regardless of what
people said. Egoless. He admired that about you. He says that over
and over again in the journals.”

“
Weren’t they in
code?”

“
He taught me the code,”
Roger said. “It was a fun game for us. Writing in codes. When
you’re a gay Southern gentleman, a little espionage comes with the
territory.”

Alex smiled.

“
Why did Jax want me to meet
him in Paris?”

“
He wanted to ask you to
marry him,” Alex said. “Paul stuck a bug in Jax’s ear about it.
Paul planned to ask Greta. Jax asked me to find out if it was even
possible. He wanted to ask you in Paris, and then marry you in
Montreal.”

Nodding, Roger gulped at his emotion.

“
I have something for you,”
Alex said. “Well, two things. Can you wait here?”

“
Are you going to your
office?” Roger asked. “Why don’t you take these?”

He held up a small messenger bag. He flipped
open the top to reveal Jax’s journals.

“
Did you receive any
journals from the Army?”

“
No, I don’t think it
occurred to anyone that Jax and I… I wasn’t on anyone’s radar. I
only received the boxes from you.”

With a nod, Alex took the journals from
Roger.

“
I’ll be right back,” she
said.

“
We have to GO!” Troy yelled
as she ran past him on the basement stairs.

She opened her office, grabbed a small
plastic bag from the safe, relocked her office, and then gave the
bag of journals to Matthew.

“
What’s this?” Matthew
asked.

“
Jax’s journals,” Alex said.
“See if you can figure out what’s going on.”

“
Aren’t they in some
code?”

“
Jax never learned any
complicated codes,” Alex said. “He never felt he needed
them.”

Groaning at the pain in her hip, she jogged
back up the stairs.

“
Take them to the carriage
house,” Alex said.

Glancing back, she saw Matthew nod. Alex
entered the sitting room to find Roger weeping again.

“
Sorry,” he said. “Therapist
trick. I can keep it together when another person is around. But
alone... I would have loved to spend my life with Jax. I would have
married him in a heartbeat – anything for Jax.”

“
I’m not sure why these
don’t have a box,” Alex said. She held her hand out to show Roger.
“I think because they are men’s rings.”

“
What?”

“
This is what I was trying
to give you last year,” Alex said. “We have a lot to go over,
but...”

A helicopter flew overhead.

“
You have to go,” Roger
said.

Alex took a single ring from the bag. It was
a simple gold wedding band with a one carat diamond held in a
pressure setting.

“
Read the inscription,” Alex
said.

“
For my one and only true
love ~~ Jax” To keep from weeping, Roger slipped the ring on his
ring finger. “It fits.”

“
Paul and Jax went to great
pains to make sure the rings to fit,” Alex said. “He had this made
for himself. So it would match.”

“
You should keep the ring,
Alex,” Roger said. “I’d like you to.”

Alex shook her head.

“
Really,” Roger stared at
the ring on his finger. “If I could bury it with him, I would. The
next best thing is to give it to you. You’ll keep doing the
work?”

“
I don’t know…
maybe.”

“
You’ll find out who did
this?”

“
I intend to,” Alex
said.

“
Give it back to me when you
can tell me why someone killed the single finest human being on
this planet,” Roger said.

Sniffing at her tears, Alex nodded her
head.

“
Jakker’s here.” Troy stuck
his head in the door.

Roger hugged her.

“
I’ll show myself out,”
Roger said.

“
Nice to see you, Roger.
Let’s not wait so long.”

He nodded. She was almost to the door when
he said:

“
Thanks for giving Jax back
to me.”

She nodded. Slipping on her heels, she ran
out the front door.

FFFFF

One and a half hours later

Tuesday afternoon

April 1
–
2:00 P.M. MDT

Near Morrison, Colorado

“
Do I look okay?” Trece
asked. “The Rock helped me pick out this outfit. He said big guys
like us look better with the white T-shirt and a tux
jacket.”

“
You’re more nervous than
Troy,” Alex said.

“
I’m not nervous,” Troy
said. Wearing a tuxedo, he paced back and forth in the Black Hawk
passenger compartment. “Why would I be nervous? After all, it’s
only a little party for my famous father… who loves me… his Army
loser son. Ah fuck...”

“
Alex? Will you fix my
tattoo?”

“
Sure.”

Alex took the tattoo concealer from him and
began working on the teardrop tattoo next to his left eye. This was
Trece’s first time mixing with ‘normal people.’ He was afraid he
would stand out, or worse intimidate people.

“
Why don’t you get that
thing taken off?” Troy asked.

“
Why don’t you shut the fuck
up?” Trece asked. “Some things are not your business.”

Troy opened his mouth then caught Alex’s
‘leave it’ look. Troy put his hand on Trece’s shoulder.

“
Sorry man.”

“
Nah, I’m sorry I barked at
you. We’re a team and it’s a legitimate question,” Trece said. “My
fucking cousin, that’s why. You think you got family problems. Man,
my cousin will kill you for no reason at all. I have to wear this
brand because he told me to take his cop hit. I was ten years old.
Fuck. If I get it removed, he will kill my mother.
Period.”

Trece’s eyes shifted to Alex. Her kind smile
melted the bundle of tension in his chest. He let out the breath
he’d been holding.

“
Hasn’t stopped you has it?”
Alex asked.

“
Because of Pershing and
your dads,” he said.

“
Because of you,” Alex said.
“There you go. Troy, can you see the tear drop?”

“
Nope.”

“
Now tell me again about
this Dahlia?” Trece asked. “I’m not sure if I should shoot her or
fuck her.”

Troy laughed.

“
Maybe we should do both,”
Trece said. “Except you, Alex. No girl on girl action for you
today. We don’t want Troy to get too aroused. He might go crazy
then what will his father say? He’ll have to admit to being a sex
starved... What’s it been Olivas? Twelve hours?”

Standing, Alex adjusted her short linen
skirt and tucked in the white blouse. Samantha bought this designer
outfit for Alex. She should be grateful, but why was the skirt so
short? Sighing, Alex tugged on the skirt.

“
Weapons?” Alex
asked.

Trece pulled an automatic handgun from a
shoulder holster and another from a waist holster. Troy lifted his
pant leg showing a Smith Wesson .38 on his leg. Alex pulled her
Glock from its sacrum holder.

“
Ammo?” Trece
asked.

Alex opened her clutch purse to show two
clips. Troy had two circular clips in his pocket. Trece had two
clips in his pants pocket.

“
Body Armor?” Troy
asked.

He pushed at Alex’s chest then raised a
finger to Trece. Trece growled at him and Troy jumped back. Trece
laughed then lifted his black T-shirt showing his Dragon body
armor. Troy unbuttoned his dress shirt.

“
Then we’re set,” Alex
said.

She tugged on her shirt

“
Your outfit doesn’t match
your purple cast,” Troy said.

“
Thanks. I’ll make certain
to tell Sami not to buy me anything that doesn’t match the cast,”
Alex said.

The helicopter slowed as they approached Red
Rocks Amphitheater. Enormous red sandstone formations jutted out of
the earth as if tossed by a giant discus thrower. The amphitheater
was a fusion of enormous red sandstone rocks and concrete. As the
helicopter made its descent to the upper parking lot, Alex thought
she saw her parents talking to Maria on the upper terrace.

Turning to Troy, Alex put her hands on his
shoulders, she said, “No Dahlia.”

“
No Dahlia, no,” Troy
moaned.

Laughing, Trece took up the call. Alex
groaned.

When Zack joined in, Alex ordered them to
stop. She gave Zack his tux jacket, straightened his bow tie and
gave him a comb.

“
Weapon?” Alex
asked.

Zack showed her a Glock 9 MM from his hip
holster. He took two clips from Trece. Troy poked his chest
ensuring his body armor.

“
Get off me.” Zack slapped
Troy’s hand away. “Only Bestat gets to touch me there. And
you...”

Zack slipped his arms around Alex’s waist
them pulled her to him. Alex hit him with her cast. He screamed but
did not let go.

“
Give us a kiss,” he
said.

She kissed his cheek then rubbed the
lipstick off.

“
You better let me go,” Alex
said.

“
Never.”

“
After the Boy Scout,
Jesse’s been practicing this…”

Zack screamed and jumped back from her.

“
What the fuck was
that?”

“
Jesse can manipulate
electricity. He’s been practicing balling the energy. You remember.
Steve tried to teach us when we were kids. He’s wanted to try it
out on a live person. You’re the perfect candidate.”

Zack gave Alex a peck on the lips.

“
Love you Alex, but not you
Abreu. Fuck that hurt.”

Laughing at Zack, Trece opened the
helicopter door and hopped out. He turned to help Alex out. Troy
and Zack hopped out after him.

Bestat Behur was waiting for Zack with her
security detail. Her waist length dark hair was braided down her
back. She wore a beautiful purple short skirt, linen top, and
matching silk scarf around her neck. Her large rust colored eyes,
with their long eyelashes, followed Zack’s movement from the
helicopter. When Zack and Bestat’s eyes caught, the air filled with
the pulse between them. For all of Zack’s talk, Bestat was truly
the love of his life. He hugged and kissed her.

Alex hugged Bestat. They joined the line at
the entrance to Red Rocks. The Secret Service was checking
identification and taking finger prints.

“
How is your partner?”
Bestat asked. Under her breath, she said, “What do you call
him?”

“
Raz? He’s doing quite well.
His back surgery went well. John’s taking care of him at the
house.”

“
And his arm?”

“
They think he’ll have full
use of his arm.” Leaning toward Bestat, Alex said in her ear, “Your
magic worked wonders.”

“
And your brother?” she
asked.

Alex shrugged.

“
He’s a good man, Alex. He
must get through this in his own way.”

“
Thank you for helping us,”
Alex said.

“
Of course, I wish you would
let me heal your little break,” she said touching Alex’s purple
cast.

“
We’d get caught,” Alex
replied. “I wish you could heal Troy of his Dahlia
fixation.”

Hearing his name, Troy looked up. He blushed
at the sweet smile Bestat gave him.

“
There’s no cure for that
kind of insanity,” Bestat said.

Alex laughed.

The Secret Service was removing weapons from
the party goers and their security details. Stepping forward, she
gave the Secret Service agent her Military Intelligence
identification, signed their form and gave her thumb print. She
waited for Trece and Troy. With a begrudging nod, Secret Service
allowed them into the garden party.

Moving onto the upper terrace, they stood
together to get their bearing. The upper terrace was set with large
round banquet tables. Below them, the stage was set up for the
award ceremony. The guests were drifting down the concrete steps of
the amphitheater. They would have a formal meal after the
presentation.

“
Sister, coming up the
steps, 12 o’clock,” Alex muttered to Troy.