Damnation Code (William Massa) - William Massa Page 0,7
trying to reach him refused to take no for an answer. After the fourth call, his cell vibrated with two incoming text messages. Someone desperately needed to get in touch with him. Not tomorrow, or in an hour, but right now. Cursing under his breath, he pulled away from Michelle.
“I’m sorry…” He scanned the phone and his face fell.
“Is it Erik?” Michelle asked with concern. She remembered the sergeant all too well.
Talon nodded. Michelle’s lipstick and mascara were smeared, her hair tangled. God, she’s beautiful, he thought.
“He needs your help, doesn’t he?”
Damn! Talk about perfect timing!
Judging from the slurred, rambling voicemail and incoherent texts, Erik was having a bad night.
“He sounds like he’s in bad shape,” Talon said.
“You think he might hurt himself?”
Talon shrugged. The Erik he’d served with was a force of nature, a man whose will to fight burned with the intensity of a bright star in its prime. This new Erik was a pale shadow of that man.
“You should go to him,” Michelle said.
Talon’s face fell and Michelle cupped his rugged features in her hands. “If something should happen to him, you’ll never forgive yourself.”
Michelle’s selfless words reminded Talon why he loved her so much. He rose reluctantly and sent Erik a quick text to say that he was on his way. He kissed Michelle and it lingered, almost reigniting their passion. Michelle gently pulled away. “Go help your friend.”
She handed him her car keys. “I’m parked about five cars down the block. I’ll be here waiting for you when you come back.”
Talon gave her an earnest look and said, “Love you.”
Her smile always knocked his socks off. “I love you too.”
Once outside, his eyes probed the dark road and spotted Michelle’s car — a red Nissan. The keys jingled in his hand as he walked down the abandoned sidewalk.
Talon got into the Nissan and slid into traffic. He never noticed the black SUV with tinted windows, parked across the street from Michelle’s place. He was gone by the time its hoodie-wearing occupants got out and approached his fiancee’s home.
CHAPTER THREE
ERIK APPEARED IN the entrance of his rundown Oakland home and a wave of body odor hit Talon’s nostrils. His former commanding officer was a disheveled, stinking mess. Long hair clung to his scalp in greasy clumps and a sagging belly pressed against a belt that had run out of notches.
Talon entered the house and struggled to hide his shock. Erik’s abode mirrored the sorry state of its broken owner. Fat cockroaches scrabbled among a wasteland of pizza boxes and empty beer bottles.
“Looking good, old friend,” Erik slurred.
“The bad guys are keeping me in fighting shape.”
Erik grinned at that. “Let me get you a beer.”
As Erik headed for his fridge, Talon once again took in the squalor of his surroundings. “Love what you’ve done with the place.”
Erik returned with a bottle of Bud and said, “Fuck you too, man.” They toasted and took deep swigs from their beers.
“Man, thanks for coming over. I nodded off and I was back on that fucking mountain…” Erik’s voice trailed off. A part of him had never left Afghanistan.
Talon had tried to get through to his former comrade-in-arms on numerous occasions, with little success. His only option left was to be there for Erik during his darkest moments, hoping the man would ultimately find the strength to break free of this terrible downward spiral. For the next two hours, Talon listened to Erik talk about the old days. Good and bad memories competed in his old friend’s mind. It was good to reminisce with someone who’d been there.
Eventually, Erik’s probing gaze locked on Talon. “So what’s going on between you and that reporter broad? Hope you know the girl is crazy about you.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
“So what are you waiting for? A girl like Michelle comes around once in a lifetime. You don’t want to let her get away. Step up to the plate and make an honest woman out of her.”
“I just did, a few hours before you called.”
“Oh shit, no way. Oh man, I’m so sorry. Fuck, the day you propose you end spending the evening up with a loser like me.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m proud of you, kid. You two will be great together.”
I think so too, Talon thought.
“So what happens next? Might be tougher risking your ass every day knowing there’s someone back home waiting for you. A whole family, maybe…”
Talon was impressed by how Erik had redirected the focus from himself. No wonder the man had