Breakfall (19 page)

“Asbjorn Lund is a fellow student. He’s the current president of their Shorin Ryu Karate Club.”

Gino peeked out the window, assessing the guy. “Karate, eh? Is he any good?”

“Fourth dan is usually considered adequate.”

“Adequate?” Gino tried to detect sarcasm in her voice, but there wasn’t any.

“Asbjorn has recently become a student of Ken’s. As such, we’ll train him not only in
kenjutsu
Japanese swordsmanship, but also in jujitsu. Sean has been learning some fighting from Asbjorn and other people he knows. Asbjorn has been attending Sean’s aikido classes. We all enjoy learning from one another.”

Gino remained still, trying to process the information. Burrows-sensei would have a conniption for sure. Not that Gino would tattle, but learning new things would change Sean’s style, and….

Margaret’s voice shook him from his reverie. “Pardon?”

“I was asking, how did you meet Sean?”

“In San Diego. See, my mom was in the Navy and my dad taught English, so we lived there while I was in high school. I started to take aikido with Burrows-sensei.”

Margaret got a faraway look in her eyes. “Ah. I see. Another student of Burrows-sensei. He turned into such a handsome man. The way he throws and falls, it was always so beautiful to watch.”

“Did you learn from him, too?” Gino asked, happy to be making conversation.

“No, young one. I was his
sempai
.”

His stunned gaze met the laughter in her black eyes. If this short, plump woman was a senior student to Burrows-sensei, then she was also a senior student to him, which meant….

“That, of course, means that I will always be glad to extend my hospitality to you, young Gabrielli. You are welcome to stay with us for as long as you need—there is a futon in the office.”

S
EAN
’
S
FACE
was buried in Asbjorn’s neck as the snowstorm howled around them.

“And I’m telling you there’s nothing to be scared of, Sean. None of this was your fault.”

“But Burrows-sensei…. Burrows-sensei was so proud of me after that alley thing. And Casey—his sister—I always thought I’d end up dating her, y’know? It was almost expected. And he’ll be disappointed that I’ve dishonored the school, and she’ll be upset I don’t want to court her anymore….”

Asbjorn sighed. They were in the lee of the great tree, both huddled under Asbjorn’s bomber jacket. Their shared body heat kept them warm enough for now, although when the snow started to accumulate on Asbjorn’s unprotected neck, he began to wish they could have this conversation somewhere warmer.

“Wait. Hold on a second. Why do you think you’ve dishonored the dojo?”

Sean lifted his sad eyes to meet Asbjorn’s, sacrificing the delicious body heat. “Because first of all, I attracted the perp’s attention.”

“By saving that other kid.”

“Well….”

“No ‘well.’ You did. End of story. Next!”

“Then I studied other styles. I know Sensei doesn’t like that.”

“If he’s any kind of a martial artist, he studied a bunch of styles before he decided what’s right for him.”

“….”

“Next!”

“I failed to detect the opponent in time. I failed to win—”

“You suffered a strategic retreat, not a rout. You used whatever skills you had at the time. And, Sean, it’s not over. Do you realize you may not be his first victim? And if you’re not the first, then you most definitely aren’t the last.”

Sean seemed shocked at the string of connections. “You mean somebody before me failed to catch him….”

“Yes.” Asbjorn’s voice was full of emphasis. “And if you help the police catch him now, you will save several people down the line.”

Relief spread over Sean’s frozen face. “So I’m not totally useless.”

“Far from. In fact, you’re the only one who can do this. And, Sean?” Asbjorn picked up his chin and looked into those beautiful, warm brown eyes. “I got your back. I got the ground under your feet. Whatever you need, if it’s within my power to do so, I’ll do it.”

Asbjorn kissed him then, their frozen noses sharing snowflakes, their crossed eyes watching them melt.

“J
UST
ABOUT
time you two came in. I don’t need anyone down with hypothermia on my watch.” Margaret snapped. “Go sit by the fireplace, and I’ll bring you some hot tea.”

Gino sat on the floor next to Sean. He elbowed him in the arm. “Hey, Sean. You need anything, you let me know, okay?” Sean nodded, well aware that his friend was weighed down by what he left unsaid.

Sean elbowed him back. “No way, dumbass. Then I’d owe you even more.”

“You will ask for help!” Gino’s words were backed up by action. Gino put Sean into a headlock, ignoring the slick, wet hair that pressed against his ribs.

Sean reached over Gino’s head, grasping his sensitive nostrils on the hooks of his crooked fingers, and tugged.

Gino gave a howl of pain and let go of Sean’s neck immediately. “What the fuck was that, man?”

“Hey thanks, dude! I was hoping to work on that move.”

“Not inside.” The stern voice interrupted their scuffling, making them freeze in place. “Margaret will be mad if you fight in the living room. If you wanna fight, go to the salle.” Ken bit back a hint of amusement, and Asbjorn flashed a grin in Gino’s direction.

“Before you two go and have a fighting break, check out these pictures. That’s the computer-drafted, artist-aided composite of the perp.” Mark pulled a folded manila envelope from the inside pocket of his blazer. “I almost forgot. Those are the pictures of the so-called ‘Joe Green.’”

Sean reached for the envelope and pulled out the colored computer printouts. The man was portrayed according to his best description and a brief clip from a security camera at an ATM near the alley where Sean first fought him.

“Yeah….” Sean felt his stomach do a flip. “That’s him all right.”

“So could you recognize him, say, if you ran into him on the street?” Mark was in work mode again, his voice serious.

“I guess, especially if he wears the stupid bandanna and earring.”

“Look at the pictures without his bandanna and earring. Memorize them.”

Sean felt Asbjorn’s heat against his back as he leaned over his shoulder. Asbjorn reached and took the print out of his hand, canting it toward the light. His face paled and his body grew tense.

“Asbjorn, what do you see?” Mark asked.

“This is no ‘Joe Green.’ This is Frank Pettel.” Cold, arctic blue eyes met Mark’s deadeye cop gaze. “He was in my recruit class in the Navy. Dishonorable discharge. No witnesses ever showed up to testify.”

A
RINGTONE
went off in the dark. Sean woke to it as he always did, stretching his arm over the unfamiliar body of Asbjorn, reaching, fumbling.

Wordlessly, Asbjorn handed it to Sean.

“Yeah.” His voice hoarse from sleep and the long conversations of the previous night, Sean answered it.

“It’s me.”

Instantaneously, the silhouette of a large body leaping through the air flashed through Sean’s mind. A crack of splintering wood and the incongruous, cheerful sound of spilling glass, like a surreal wind chime, resounded in his ears. He almost felt the heavy body land on top of him in the darkness.

Sean flipped the phone shut.

“Sean. What’s the matter, Sean?” Asbjorn’s quickly became alert.

Sean stared into the darkness, stiff like a board, not moving, barely daring to breathe.

The small reading light clicked on. The spell was broken.

“Who was it?” Asbjorn opened his eyes. His gaze was both inquisitive and concerned.

“Sorry… I’m sorry the phone woke you up.”

“T’wasn’t the phone. I heard you scream, Sean.”

Once again the image of the door caving in under the crushing foot inundated Sean’s senses, and he turned away from it and into Asbjorn’s chest. “Honestly, I’m not sure who it was, but it could’ve been the guy. Just waking up like that, you know, and hearing the voice….” Sean’s voice trailed off.

“Keep talking.”

Sean felt lips nuzzle his hair and relaxed just a bit, a deep sigh making its way in and out. “It felt like it was happening all over again.” Sean shuddered, hating himself for his weakness.

“A flashback.” Asbjorn named it, robbing it of its power, clearing the path for Sean’s words.

“Yeah. The door being kicked in and breaking, seeing the guy jump at me, the lamp being smashed….”

Asbjorn pulled him into a tight embrace. “That’s okay. Do you want to keep the light on?”

Sean hesitated. “Yeah… if you don’t mind.”

“N
ONSENSE
,” M
ARGARET
muttered, packing a container with leftover stuffing. “It’s only Friday. I wish you’d use our house and the peace and quiet through the weekend and get some rest. But you don’t want to stay, and I already gave you an earful about that. This way, at least you won’t have to cook.” She looked at Sean again. “You ought to call Burrows-sensei and talk to him.”

His face whitened. “I will talk to him.”

“When? Today?”

“No. Not today.”

Margaret sighed. “Sean. Do not underestimate your teacher.”

Sean paused, his gaze straying away from the formidable woman, and it took some time before he broke his silence. “If I tell him, Casey will find out.”

Margaret leaned over the scarred Formica countertop. “Ah, Casey. But you have Asbjorn.”

“She’ll hate me for this. She’ll hate me for being weak and running to Asbjorn as soon as something bad happened. I was always expected to ask her out, as soon as I got good enough….”

“Good enough?” Margaret hummed, her voice tinged with amusement. “I’d think you’re good enough the way you are.”

Sean bit his lip. His sensei was Casey’s older brother, and he always figured if he failed to impress him, Casey would be out of reach. After his recent debacle, she would be out of reach for a very long time—if not forever. He wondered if his lack of alarm at the thought should bother him.

“You like her?” Margaret persisted.

“She’s one of my best friends.”

“You’re attracted to her like you are to Asbjorn?” Margaret was relentless.

Sean had that hot and dry feeling rise all the way up to the roots of his hair. “Well, I don’t really have to be, right? I mean, I cannot possibly compare anyone to Asbjorn. Casey’s different… kind of pure, I guess. It’s hard to describe.” He looked out the window, his eye drawn to the tree where he and Asbjorn embraced just yesterday while hiding from the bitter wind and snow.

“Courting someone out of obligation is a bad idea, Sean. Look… you’ll be doing Casey no favors if you hem her into some kind of an expected arrangement like that. She may have an opinion of her own about it.” Margaret snapped the lid on the plastic container with considerable force.

“You would know, short stuff.” Ken embraced her from behind. “Temper, temper….” His voice was teasing, and the grin on his face stretched his weather-beaten skin.

“I followed you all the way to Boston, Kenny, and had to look for a job in an entirely new state. And it wasn’t so you could lecture me on my temper.” She turned her head up and met her husband’s gaze. “These young people deserve the same chance we had, and I don’t care how pigheaded David tends to be.”

“We had this chance because you left everything behind, love.” Ken leaned down to kiss the top of Margaret’s long black hair. “If they want their chance, they’ll have to earn it. Nobody escapes that.”

Sean observed the show of Margaret Verbosa’s temperament with quiet glee. Who would have guessed? Gino had already told him she was Burrows-sensei’s sempai all those years ago, yet here she was, appearing entirely ordinary, packing traditional Thanksgiving leftovers for him and Asbjorn, unwilling to let them escape her hospitality just yet.

A
SBJORN
AND
Sean exited Gino’s truck.

“Hey, drive safe.”

“Sure.” Gino smiled. “It’s only Friday. Plenty of time to drive north instead of south and pay Casey a surprise visit.”

Sean grinned. “You do that. But don’t tell her about me, okay?”

“I won’t,” Gino said, his tone low and serious as they clasped hands and slapped each other’s shoulders one more time. Then he was off, almost blending in with the gray road, the truck’s red color nearly obscured by layers of road salt.

Sean’s door was fixed. He was glad to reacquaint himself with his room all alone, using the time to scrub off the stubborn black fingerprinting dust and clean up the wreckage that had been his private sanctuary. Asbjorn would have kept him company, but Asbjorn had work to do and Sean told him off.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

Asbjorn’s eyes narrowed. “You’re sleeping in that room, Sean?”

Their looks clashed. Sean’s stubbornness warred with Asbjorn’s determination.

“Yes. You bet I am.”

“The school already offered to move you somewhere else.”

If at all possible, Sean’s chin assumed an even more stubborn set. “There is no way this asshole is forcing me out of my space. I refuse to be affected by this.”