I looked up as if I could see him in the living room. “I’m not sure. I’m at a loss here on how to handle him. I guess you’d know better than I would.”
Dare huffed. “He’ll get quiet for a while, then seem like nothing is wrong. But don’t let him push you away. Give him some space, but not for too long. His parents weren’t the best after his brother died. Who knows what this will do to his mother.”
I nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
“Hold on a minute.”
I heard him talking to Greer, so I got up and looked in on him. He sat on the chair, staring out into space with his phone in his hand. The outside light picked up the reflection of the tears on his face.
It wasn’t difficult to see he was reliving something, and if I had to guess, it was when Matt died.
“Commander,” Dare said, drawing my attention back to him.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Jason can have you in the air in two hours. Go to the private terminal at PDX. Brent knows how to get there. You can leave the car parked in the lot while you’re gone.”
“Thanks, Austin. And tell Greer I appreciate it.”
“Yeah, no problem. Keep me updated on what’s going on, will you? I’ll come out for the funeral.”
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that.”
“Okay, I’ll call GQ and Phantom. Talk soon.”
The call disconnected before I could thank him, and I got up to go back to Brent. He was bent over, his head in his hands. I hated to interrupt him, but it couldn’t be helped.
Walking into the room, I sat down next to him on the sofa.
“I haven’t checked flights yet.”
I put my arm around him. “That’s okay. We’re taking Greer’s plane. He’s already called the pilot. We need to be there by six-thirty.”
We sat another moment before he got up. “I need to shower and pack.”
I stayed seated on the sofa as he walked into his bedroom and closed the door.
Ninety minutes later we rolled up to the private terminal at PDX. I followed the signs as Brent stared out the window. When I parked the car, we got out and collected our bags from the back.
Brent was quiet as we walked through the small terminal. I wanted to hold his hand, but he had them both stuffed in his pockets.
We checked in at the desk where the attendant pointed us to the plane. We exited the building and made our way to the tarmac where a leer jet sat waiting. But as we walked around the front of the plane, Austin and Greer stood by the steps talking to a lady who looked to be our flight attendant.
Brent stopped and looked down at the ground. I stood and watched as Austin left Greer’s side and walked up to grab him into a hug. He held on to him and spoke quietly as they embraced. Brent shook his head as if he agreed, then pushed away from him. He wiped his face, then looked over at me.
I smiled softly and gave him a single head nod to reassure him I wasn’t upset that he’d pushed me away. If Dare could bring him comfort, then I was okay with that. Or at least I’d try to be. I was only human.
Dare came over and shook my hand. “Keep me posted. Have a good flight. Sandra will take good care of you, and you should let her. She’s Greer’s second biggest fan after me.”
I chuckled. “Okay. Will do. And let me know if anything comes up on finding the shooter.”
When the lady and Greer approached us, I reached for Brent out of habit.
“We’re ready when you are, gentlemen. Jason says we’re good to go.”
I nodded. “Thank you, ma’am.”
She laughed. “I’m Sandra. Ma’am is my mother-in-law.”
