Simon pinched the bridge of his nose, finding it difficult to pull himself out of Syria and back to...
“What...happened?” he asked.
“I dropped the hull of the boat we were working on. You’d have thought a bomb went off, the amount of noise it made.” The frown returned. “Is that it? Did the noise trigger you?”
Simon pushed the images, emotions and that sense of loss to the back of his mind, behind the wall he’d worked so hard to erect between the past and present. “I’m fine,” he said, his tone more abrupt than he’d intended.
Rafael held out a hand.
Simon took it reluctantly and let his teammate pull him to his feet.
“You were back in Syria, weren’t you?”
“No, I just lost my balance,” Simon lied.
Rafael laid an arm across his shoulder. “PTSD is real and nothing to be ashamed of. I still drop to the ground when I hear loud and unexpected noises. I still have nightmares about some of the hairier missions. I think we all do.”
Simon shrugged and stepped away, forcing Rafael’s arm to fall to his side. “I’m used to the nightmares,” he admitted. “It’s been a while since I’ve had one in the daytime.”
“That’s on me,” Rafael said. “Wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t dropped the hull.”
Footsteps scraped on the concrete floor and echoed throughout the cavernous area of the old boat factory that the Bayou Brotherhood Protectors had remodeled into their regional headquarters.
Remy Montagne, the leader of their band of brothers, stopped next to the jon boat hull they had been working on minutes before and nodded. “It’s looking good. Your welding has improved a lot since we reopened this place.”
Still wobbling internally, Simon gave a brief nod and muttered, “Thanks.”
Remy looked up from the boat at the two men. His brow furrowed briefly. “Something wrong?”
Simon shook his head. “No,” he answered, hoping Rafael wouldn’t tell the boss otherwise.
“Just finishing up,” Rafael said.
“When you reach a stopping point, join us at the Crawdad Hole. I have some protector work to assign.”
“Great.” Rafael bent to retrieve the welder’s mask from the floor. “We’ll be right behind you.”
Remy nodded. “See you there. Shelby gave me a pass for a couple of hours, but I’m not staying long. She’s had the day off and could use a break from chasing Jean-Luc around all day.”
“I can only imagine,” Rafael said. “He’s a very busy little guy.”
“That boy learned to run before he learned to walk,” Remy said. “Hell, I’m not sure he knows how to walk. He’s going ninety miles an hour from dawn to dusk. He’s a handful all right.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen a happier kid,” Rafael noted. “Every time I see him, he’s always up for a hug.”
Remy chuckled. “He is, isn’t he?”
Simon nodded, remembering that he hadn’t checked in with Lacy and Ty in a week. He grabbed the torch from where he’d placed it on the floor. “I’ll see you two shortly. I want to put this away and wash up.”
“Sounds good,” Remy said. “I’m out of here.” He turned and walked away.
Simon wished Rafael would walk away as well. “You don’t have to wait on me.”
Rafael hesitated. “You could ride with me. That way, I’ll be your designated driver.”
“I won’t need a designated driver,” Simon said.
“So, I’ll see you there in a few?” Rafael hadn’t moved from where he stood.
