One Lucky Hero (10 page)

One Week Later

V
IOLET PULLED INTO
the parking lot of Alpha Dog Training Program and parked in an open spot right in front of the large brick building. Peering at it through the windshield, she smiled.

“Hey, it doesn't look so bad. It doesn't have any bars on the windows.”

She glanced over at Casey, hoping to see his normal glimmer of optimism, the one he always used to have, even during their hardest struggles. Instead, he was huddled against the door with his face turned away. Casey's public defender had encouraged him to plead guilty and apologize, which he had balked at until Violet had warned him that if he didn't cooperate, he wouldn't get to come home with them. He'd been sulking and silent since, lashing out at Daisy and her like they had been the ones who had gotten him in trouble. Violet had been trying hard to be patient with him, hoping that he would tell her what seemed to be bothering him, but he just kept shutting her out.

When they'd gone back for his sentencing on Friday, the judge had ordered him to report to Alpha Dog first thing Monday morning to begin his six-week sentence. Even though Violet had tried to convince him that it was a great opportunity and it could have been worse, his attitude hadn't improved.

Unbuckling her seat belt, she placed her hand on his arm, but he shrugged it off with a jerk.

So much for patience.

“Look, I know this sucks, but there is nothing either one of us can do to avoid it. You need to go in there, serve your time, and hopefully, the experience will teach you something.”

“Like what?” Casey finally turned, his green eyes blazing at her. “Is it going to teach me how to be a man? How to say, ‘Yes, sir?' ”

“Maybe how to respect other people's property, for one thing!” she snapped.

“Screw you.” Casey practically leapt from the car, slamming the door so hard the windows shook.

Violet took a deep breath and counted silently, trying to rein in her temper before exiting the vehicle. She was at her wit's end. She had tried everything she could think of to get Casey to talk to her, but he just said he was fine. She'd look into getting him a psychiatrist, but the only way insurance would cover it was if he was referred by a doctor.

When she'd brought up the idea, Casey became even angrier. The last thing she wanted was to push him so far that he took off—or worse.

Sometimes it made her question whether she'd done the right thing, keeping them together. Should she have let them go into the system? They might have ended up in good homes . . .

Violet shook her head.
Stop being an idiot. This is just a rough patch, and you love him. That's the most important thing to remember: You are stronger as a family, and you will get through this.

At least, that is what Violet had told herself a thousand times over the years.

Another car pulled up alongside her, and a man in military camo got out of the driver's side. As he walked in front of her car to go inside, Violet watched him, imagining a different set of shoulders beneath the jacket.

Stop thinking about Dean.

It was hard, though. It seemed like anytime she had a moment to breathe, his face would flash through her mind and steal away all the air.

She'd made the decision not to call, not to continue the friends-with-benefits situation. It just wouldn't work with her life, and besides, if she was this distracted by him after one night, she couldn't imagine what multiple hookups would do. Getting involved with him would only derail her plans. She needed to focus on school, on getting Daisy off to college, and on Casey . . .

Why are you trying to convince yourself? It was one night. Eventually, you'll forget all about him.

Casey rapped on the car window, and Violet turned to find him pointing to the trunk impatiently. She popped the lever and stepped out just as Casey slammed the trunk shut, his backpack slung over his shoulder.

He hit the sidewalk before she did, but she was still taller than him and caught up without any trouble, grabbing his arm. “Casey, I don't want to fight with you. Please, just talk to me.”

“There is nothing to say! We're going to be late.” Casey jerked away and kept walking inside.

Violet wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him, but that probably wasn't the best plan outside of a building filled with guys who carried guns for a living. She walked behind him through the glass doors. Casey handed his backpack over to a security guard to be searched, and another waved a wand over him, scanning for weapons most likely. Violet waited patiently until it was her turn, letting her gaze wander over the spacious lobby and beyond to a narrow hallway . . .

Two men stood just before the opening, both in green camo pants and green T-shirts with hats covering their heads, and the one on the left was familiar to her . . .

When it hit her why, her stomach roiled violently, and bile burned its way up her throat.

Tyler. Tracy's Tyler.

“Shit!” Violet's hand flew to her mouth as Casey and the security guards glanced her way, all of them frowning.

Clearing her throat, she grimaced at the vile taste in her mouth and the awkward slipup. “Sorry, just remembered that I left my coffeepot on.”

“You didn't have coffee this morning,” Casey said.

Crap, she hadn't. “I know. I was making it but forgot.”

They finished with Casey and waved her forward. While they went through her belongings with a fine-tooth comb, Violet's gaze kept shifting back to Tyler.

And then it hit her. Tyler and Dean worked at the same place. So if Tyler was there, that meant Dean ran this place.

Oh, God, what am I going to do?

She couldn't escape. Couldn't just leave before Casey was settled.

“Just wait right here while we get someone,” the security guard with the wand said.

“Sure.” Violet stood next to Casey, trying not to look at Tyler. The last thing she needed was for him to notice her and go find Dean.

It wasn't just that she hadn't called him after their one night together; it was that he had seen her at her weakest, and she hated it. She didn't let anyone see her like that, and yet he had been there when she'd broken down like an idiot. She'd been too embarrassed and reasoned that as sweet and understanding as he'd seemed, he was probably relieved that she hadn't called. After all, what normal guy would want to get into an FWB relationship with a woman who had locked herself in his bathroom and cried for a half an hour?

“What is up with you?” Casey asked.

“Nothing, why?”

He stared at her with suspicion, and Violet glanced down to where Tyler had been, but he was gone. The man he'd been talking to was walking toward them with a large smile on his handsome face.

“Hello, there. I'm Sergeant Oliver Martinez. Welcome to Alpha Dog.”

Sergeant Martinez held his hand out to Violet first and then Casey, who didn't even bother taking it. His deep blue eyes narrowed at Casey's rudeness, but Sergeant Martinez dropped his hand without comment, as if it happened all the time.

“I'm Violet Douglas, and this is Casey.”

“Yes, ma'am, we've been expecting you. Follow me, and I'll give you the tour and show Casey where he'll be bunking.”

With any luck, she'd be able to escape the place without any awkward encounters.

Violet nodded and fell into step beside Casey . . . just as Dean stepped out of a room a few doors down.

Too late.

D
EAN BLINKED AND
rubbed his eyes as the words seemed to jumble together on the page. One thing he hated about being the director of a nonprofit was all the paperwork. He was going to have to get glasses if he kept at this for much longer.

As soon as that damn shrink gives you a pass, you are back in the field and out of here.

Dean got up from the desk and stretched. He had only been in the office for an hour and he was ready for a nap. He'd been having a rough time sleeping, and he couldn't blame it completely on his nightmares. It was hard to get a good night's rest when he couldn't erase the sweet scent of Violet from his bed.

Tracy had been right when she'd said Violet wouldn't call, but here he was, mooning over her like some lovesick kid anyway.

Why are you obsessing over a woman you spent one night with? You didn't want anything serious, right? She is doing you a favor, and you are fucking moping around like a pussy.

Dean didn't know why he couldn't shake her. The sex had definitely been amazing. Maybe he was afraid it would never be that good again?

Suddenly, Best burst into his office, grinning.

“Don't you ever knock?” Dean grabbed his coffee mug from the desk and started to walk past Best so he could refill it, but Best stopped him.

“I'm not sure you want to go out there, dude.”

“Why not?” Dean snapped.

“ 'Cause Violet—you remember Violet, right? Your one-night stand?—well, she just showed up with a kid for the program. Figured I'd save you from the drama,” Best said.

Violet's here? With a kid?

Dean pushed through Best and almost slammed into Sergeant Oliver Martinez in the hallway. “Whoa, slow down, man. Miss Douglas, Casey, this is our director, Sergeant Dean Sparks.”

Dean didn't even acknowledge Martinez; his gaze was riveted to Violet's wide brown eyes staring back at him, excitement racing through his body to his heart, jump-starting a pounding that deafened him. Her already light skin paled to a frightening shade of white with a hint of green, as if his being there might just make her toss up her cookies, and disappointment churned deep in his stomach.

What had he expected? That she'd throw her arms around him with some excuse? That maybe she had lost his number and been wanting to call, but couldn't?

“What are you staring at?” a surly young man asked as he stepped in front of Violet.

Dean looked down at the kid. There was a definite resemblance between him and Violet, although the boy's eyes were green and his hair wasn't a brilliant red. He was also sporting the greenish-purple evidence of a fading bruise on his face.

Holy shit! If this boy was hers, she must have had him when she was barely a teenager. There was no way she was older than thirty.

No wonder she didn't want to get involved with you; she was protecting her kid.

Dean imagined what life had been like for Violet, and he wanted to beat the hell out of whoever her son's dad was.

“Sorry, your mom just looked like someone I'd met before.” Dean held out his hand to the kid, who sneered.

“She's my sister, dumbass,” the kid said.

Relief flooded through Dean, even as Violet gasped loudly. “Casey, apologize now.”

Dean's eyes narrowed, but Casey's stony silence and fixed stare told Dean the kid was going to be a hard egg to crack.

“I'm sorry for my brother, Sergeant Sparks.” Violet's voice trembled, and he wondered if it was her brother's behavior or being around him that was causing it.

“Don't worry about it.” Dean caught her gaze again briefly before she shifted it away, looking at anyone but him.

Her brother getting busted must have been why she'd broken down at his place, but looking back, why? It should have been her parents' problem, not hers. Dean would have to study Casey's file. At least that would give him some insight into why the kid was so fucking pissed off.

“I was just showing them around before getting Casey settled in B,” Martinez said.

“I can show them.” Why was he pushing this? From the pinched grimace on Violet's face, he could tell she was probably praying he would go away. Why chase a woman who obviously didn't want to be caught?

This was a legitimate question, yet he couldn't give a reasonable answer. He just couldn't believe that something that had been so good for him could be so forgettable to her.

Martinez arched a brow but ultimately shrugged. “Sure, I just thought you'd be too busy.”

Violet finally met his gaze and gave him a tiny shake of her head, a silent plea to stop.

“Nope, I'm free.” Dean wasn't sure if he was punishing her for her rejection or just hoping to satisfy his curiosity about her, but he wouldn't back down now.

“Really, Sergeant Sparks, that's not necessary.” She sounded guttural, as if she was speaking through gritted teeth, but that was too bad.

Dean's eyes bored into hers, silently telling her she had no choice. “I insist, Miss Douglas.”

V
IOLET SEARCHED THE
area for any means of escape, but the hallway didn't allow for anywhere to hide.

When the judge had assigned Casey to Alpha Dog, Violet had researched the program. It had opened four months ago, taking in nonviolent juvenile offenders and putting them in barracks. Each teenager was assigned a dog rescued from a local shelter to train. Once their time was up, Alpha Dog helped place the kids with veterinarians, shelters, or ROP programs in animal behavior and health. There had been a bunch of testimonials from parents praising the program, and Violet had been so hopeful.

If only she had checked out the staff.

“Well, I'll leave you to it then.” If Sergeant Martinez was aware of the tension between Dean and Violet, he didn't say a word.

Violet noticed Tyler grinning like a fool behind Dean, but Sergeant Martinez grabbed him in a headlock and led him away, laughing.

God, this was humiliating. Had Dean told all his friends about their night together? Now she wasn't just looking to escape, but silently willing herself to disappear. What if it got back to Casey?

“If you'll follow me, I'll give you the rest of the tour,” Dean said.

Violet put her arm around Casey, who shrugged her off immediately. She tried to ignore the sting of his rejection, but his moods shifted so fast, sometimes it made her head spin.