He nodded and followed her as she exited division headquarters. The pressure tightened inside him as they walked to the parking lot. The sky was purple and orange in the west. Lights were coming on as dusk settled into night.
“Something will break tomorrow. I can feel it.”
He moved away from the car and swore.
Sienna said softly, “I think I know what you need. You still have your duffel in your trunk?”
“Yeah.”
“Got shorts and a T-shirt?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Follow me.”
* * *
A.J. hit the bag so hard, he felt as if his fist was going to come through the other side. He’d been hitting it steadily ever since Sienna had dragged him into the police gym and given him a pair of boxing gloves.
A feeling of despair washed through him, and the frustration only grew deeper until he was pummeling the bag with out-of-control strokes.
Something tore inside him, something that had been building since he’d first heard that Sienna was looking for David. Fear. It raged at him and scored his insides, a fear he’d tried to bury.
He ran out of steam, and a hollow feeling filled him until he was clutching at the bag. Sienna was up and moving, forcing him to let go of the bag. He held on to her instead.
“I don’t want to believe it. I don’t want to believe that my brother could have done something illegal.”
“I know.”
“I’m afraid for him,” he whispered against the softness of her hair.
“I know.” Her hands moved up and down his back in a comforting motion.
“How am I going to tell my parents?”
“We still haven’t found him, A.J. We haven’t gotten his side of the story. You don’t have to tell your parents anything just yet.”
“It looks bad, though.”
“I’d say yes, if it wasn’t for all that maneuvering the Navy types were doing today. Something just doesn’t seem to fit, but I don’t know what.”
Back in the parking lot, he cupped her face between his hands before she could settle in the passenger seat. “Thanks. I was about to come out of my skin.”
“I know that feeling. Punching that bag is the only thing that gets me through sometimes.”
He nodded and got into the car. When he was settled into the driver’s seat, she said, “Being fit in this job may save my life one day. At the academy, we had to jump these hurdles. Everyone hated them, but I loved them. I used to get ribbed all the time.”
“For training in the military, especially in the SEALs, you have to arrive in shape, or you’ll fail almost immediately.”
A.J. pulled up in front of a diner and they got out.
“I’ve heard about SEAL training, and the academy is nothing compared to that. At least we got to go home for rest and relaxation. I guess you didn’t get much R and R during training.”
After settling into a booth, they ordered. “If you consider sleeping in the mud R and R, I guess I got that.”
Sienna shook her head. “You guys are scary.”
“Not really. It’s mind over matter. SEAL training disciplines you to get through so much tough stuff, missions are a piece of cake. Sloughing through mud. No problem. Staying submerged in ice water for an hour. Simple.”