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He screamed in anger like some crazed lunatic. The gun fell to the side of her as Derrick grabbed Lori’s throat with both hands, choking the breath, the life out of her. The police were still yelling stop. They didn’t see him release the gun, and Lori was losing strength as she reached for the gun, grabbing it, pointing at Derrick’s side and firing. He released her throat and sat up on top of her as the police stormed the room. Derrick kept fighting, hitting officer after officer as they responded with mace, which just enraged him even more. One officer pulled Lori out of the way and as he pulled her toward him she dropped the gun onto the floor.

She was in the hallway and could hear the officers yelling, “No! Stop right there!” Then there was a gunshot followed by two more.

The police emerged unharmed, calling for an ambulance, as Derrick lay on the bedroom floor already dead. He had lunged for the gun and turned it on the officers, who responded by shooting him.

The officer helped Lori down the stairs and outside the house where Maggie and Ben held one another waiting for Lori to appear.

As Lori emerged from the doorway, she ran toward her sister and Ben. They were crying, holding one another, relieved that they were all alive.

Chapter 1

Charlie sat on the back porch with his feet up on the wood, drinking a beer. It was a quiet, peaceful night, but he couldn’t sleep. He felt restless and even his jaw hurt. Instantly he thought of his mother Terry’s words from last week.

“It takes more muscles in your face to frown than it does to smile. Don’t you remember how to smile, son?”

What a loaded question that was. He wanted to respond to her. I forgot, Mom. There’s nothing in my life, in my memories, to make me smile.

As the sour thoughts went through his mind, he took a slug of beer, thinking it tasted just as badly.

He felt restless, tired, pissed off, grumpy, and downright ornery. He knew it. He could tell, by the way people avoided him constantly, that he showed it, and he really didn’t give a shit. He was fine with being alone but that wasn’t a possibility with his two brothers Dante and Trevor living with him. They built this house from the foundation up. At least his brothers Andrew and Matt were on their own, married or getting married. That was never going to happen for him.

He heard the floors inside the house creek. He had great hearing. Being in the service, working in Special Forces, he could sense an enemy, or even a friend approaching from quite a distance. The back door opened.

“Can’t sleep?” Dante asked as he walked outside, shook a little from the chilly evening air, then sat down.

Charlie reached down to the small refrigerator, pulled out a cold beer, and passed it to his brother.

“Thanks.” Dante took a slug then stared out toward the darkness. “It sure is dark out there at night.”

“Hm.” Charlie hardly responded. He wasn’t one for chitchatting about bullshit. If someone had to tell him something, then he wanted them to just spit it out.

“Did you take anything to help you?” Dante asked.

“Don’t work,” Charlie replied.

“I’ve been using some over-the-counter stuff, you know, to take off the edge. I might not fall completely asleep, but at least my body is at rest. I wonder when we’ll finally get past these sleepless nights and move on in peace.”

“Beats the crap out of me.”

Dante was quiet a minute and then turned toward the same sound Charlie just heard. Their brother Trevor must be coming from his room, too. Sure enough Trevor arrived and Charlie glanced at Dante. They shared a nonverbal understanding that they detected Trevor’s approach early.

Charlie’s brothers were also part of Special Forces. They did shit they could never talk about or would want to. The nightmares they had were enough to last a lifetime. However, Trevor and Dante seemed able to ease back into civilian life better than Charlie. That pissed him off, too. Then again, there wasn’t much that didn’t piss Charlie off.

“What are you two doing out here this late?” Trevor asked. He had to duck under the doorway to come outside. He was six feet three just like Dante. Charlie was an inch taller than both of them.

This time Dante reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. He passed it to Trevor who shrugged his shoulders before taking a sip.

“Couldn’t sleep either?” Dante asked.

“Nope.” Trevor sat down on the swinging bench and stared out into the darkness.

He appeared on alert a moment. Charlie understood how he felt. It had taken the last three years to get used to the fact that he was safe here. The enemy wasn’t lurking in the darkness of the woods surrounding their home or their neighbors’ homes. The shimmering glow in the distance was fireflies, not the reflection of moonlight off the scope of a sniper rifle.

He sighed in annoyance.

“I’m glad we’re out here together. I’ve been meaning to discuss something with you guys. Something we’ve talked about before,” Trevor stated.

Charlie sighed again. Trevor wanted to be in a relationship so badly, but his nightmares and PTSS plagued him as well as Dante and Charlie. They visited their friends, Gunner, Garret, and Wes last week and saw how happy they were. A lot of their military buddies were finding happiness in ménage relationships and Dante and Trevor were pushing to give it a try.