Forsaken Duty (Red Team #9)(5)
“But she’s alive?”
He nodded. “She doesn’t want to see you. When I finally found her, after everything she’d gone through, I couldn’t violate that trust.”
Owen left Jax’s room and went back to his. She was alive. It wasn’t much to go on…and it was everything. He’d take it.
2
Twenty-five Years Ago
Fairfax, Virginia
Owen looked out the window from the senator’s gym. His and Jax’s mixed martial arts class wasn’t due to start for another half-hour, which suited him fine. The two of them had been practicing the whole week in preparation…and Owen had the bruises to show for it.
Jax’s sister was outside on the playground. Alone. The hairs lifted on Owen’s neck in a way he’d long ago learned was an alert to danger. He walked outside and went straight to the playground where she was halfheartedly swinging. He looked around for her nanny and found her relaxing in the shade at a table about a hundred feet away, too far away to get to Addy if trouble came.
Owen slipped into the swing next to Adelaide. “What’s shakin’, short stack?”
She gave him a baleful glare. Without straightening out of her slump, she spread her arms wide, indicating the gossamer costume she wore. Her nanny must have been letting her watch princess and knight fairytales again.
“I’m a princess, Owen, not a pancake.”
He grinned at her. “Why the long face? It’s a beautiful day.”
“Wendelly’s friends are coming in for the class and they didn’t bring their families. I have no one to play with. I can’t be a princess without a prince.”
“Oh. Well, I’ll be your prince.”
“You can’t be my prince. You can only be my knight.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because Bruce Williamson is my prince.”
Bruce was the younger brother of one of their MMA classmates. “Ohhh. You sweet on him?”
All kinds of color flooded her face. She looked away, hiding her unsuccessful attempt not to smile.
“Never mind. I’ll be your knight, Addy.”
She frowned at him, the glow she’d had seconds ago quickly receding. “I don’t like that name. Everyone calls me that.”
“It’s just a nickname.”
“I want you to call me something else.”
“But ‘Addy’ comes from Adelaide.”
“So does ‘Laidy.’”
Owen laughed. It was easy to slip into her make-believe world—its rules were so clear to her that he had only to follow her lead. He got off the swing and went to stand in front of her, where he gave her a low bow. “Tell me, my Laidy, how I may serve you today?”
She straightened in her seat and beamed at him. “There’s a dragon attacking the kingdom. You must go kill it.”
“Must I? Even dragons have a right to live.”
She waved her hand as she glared at him. “That’s not how this works, Owen. You have to do what I say. I’m the princess.”
“Oh. Right. And that’s Sir Knight to you, my Laidy.”
“The dragon is blowing fire and burning people. You must stop it.”
He bowed again. “As you wish, my Laidy. But I have no weapon.”
“It’s there.” She pointed to a cardboard box with props from all of her make-believe worlds: costumes, plastic guns, swords, lightsabers, stuffed animals, dolls.
He grabbed a sword then faced her again. “Where’s the dragon?” God help him if he started slashing at the air when she thought the dragon was someplace else. He looked where she pointed; Jax was closing in on them. Owen glanced back at Addy. “Is Wendell your dragon?”
She nodded vigorously.
“That would have been nice to know ahead of time,” he muttered as he waited for Jax to join them.
He didn’t have to wait long.
“What are you doing?” Jax asked, stopping only when he was nose to nose with Owen. Though they were born the same year, Jax had almost eight months on him. It showed in his size and dexterity. Owen’s dad said what Owen lacked in size and strength against Jax, he made up for in wits. Owen never was sure what that meant, but he’d gladly take any advantage he could muster at the moment, facing Jax with Addy’s plastic sword.
“Shut up and play along,” Owen growled between clenched teeth. Everything with Jax was a competition. He judged everything based on physical strength.
“Why would I? Why would you?” He gave Owen a disgusted look. “We aren’t babies.”
“I never said you were a baby.”
“Well, I’m saying you are.”
Owen laughed and pushed Jax back. “Prepare to be skewered, dragon.”
Jax’s eyes narrowed. He stepped back, out of the way of Owen’s wicked sword thrusts. At the prop box, he grabbed a lightsaber and began fighting back. Owen laughed. They both got good swings in.
Off in the distance, Owen could hear the sounds of their sensei and some other adults coming out of the dojo. The kids’ class was about to start. He supposed that Jax heard it too, for the tenor of their play changed. Jax knocked Owen’s sword out of his hand then gave him an evil grin as he thrust forward. Owen twisted so the lightsaber slipped between his arm and body, then began to dramatically fall to his death.