Soldier Mine (Sons of War #2)(37)
It takes every ounce of will power I can muster not to turn the truck around, walk into the diner and hide Claudia away in our house. My father and I have a collection of weapons, both antiques for show and functional for the shooting range in the basement, that would leave any aficionado drooling. A single man has no chance against me let alone my father, me and all our weapons.
But I stay focused on the road, comprehending Claudia’s nightmare is twofold: she fears trusting anyone, and she fears settling down in one place when she’s convinced she needs to leave town soon.
“You can’t tell her I told you,” Todd adds. “I’m never supposed to tell.”
“The Monster … he’s why you want to take karate and asked me the questions about killing someone.”
“Yeah. I’ve seen what he does to Claudia. I want to be ready but I don’t think I have years, Petr.”
“Todd …” I drift off. I would never tell anyone they don’t have a right to defend themselves. I can’t fathom, either, how much the two have been through. But Todd is a kid with his whole future ahead of him. I’m torn between knowing I would kill any man who got near my sister, no questions asked, and not wanting Todd to end up in prison for it. “I have a sister and understand how you feel, but –”
“You’re going to tell me violence isn’t the answer I’ll ruin my life, like Claud does,” he says moodily.
I smile faintly. “No, I’m going to tell you that if you end up dead trying to take on The Monster, your sister will never recover. Trust me. I know what it means to lose a brother.”
He sighs. “Yeah.”
“I want you to promise me something,” I continue. “If he finds you again, if you have to leave, call me immediately. Promise me.”
Todd is gazing at me. “Okay. But you can’t take him on either, Petr. Claudia likes you.”
“Debatable,” I say with a snort.
“I know she does. She spends all night working on your father’s projects and when she’s done, she always asks me if I think Petr will like them, not Baba.”
This woman is twisting me inside out. I can’t explain it. We barely know one another yet the connection between us is stronger than the metal leg holding up my two hundred and twenty pound frame.
“I care about you both,” I respond. “I’ll take care of you both to the extent your sister will let me.”
He starts to smile. “She’s stubborn.”
“You have no idea.”
The tension seems to ease from him, and he shrugs his shoulders and leans back, the troubled expression gone.
I wish I could relax so easily. Now that I know more about what Claudia’s been through, I have the urge to do something about it. I’m a man of action and activity. The past six weeks of our cat-n-mouse game have taught me newfound patience. But hearing what she’s been through, combined with the Orion visit and inability to purge the image from my mind of her being hurt, I just want to … break something. Run a marathon. Spend the next week in the gym or …
“Ah. You know where we’re going next?” I ask him.
“Soldier’s home?”
“You know, we’ll go there next week, before Christmas, with a truck load of presents instead. We’re going to the house to do something that will probably piss off your sister.”
Todd brightens. “I won’t tell.”
I probably will. I don’t like the idea of lying to her or deceiving her in any way. It’s what’s prevented me from pressing Todd for details about what happened. Now that I know, I can’t not do something.
“One condition.”
He’s leaning forward eagerly, waiting.
“What I’m going to teach you is for defense only. You can never, ever use it to hurt anyone for any other reason, even The Monster. You got it?”
“I think so.”
“I need another promise.”
“Okay. I promise. Defense only.”
“I’m going to teach you to shoot.”
He gasps and then quickly tries to shutter his emotions, as if not wanting me to suspect he wants to learn badly enough to buy his own.
“I’ll be like you?” he squeaks finally. “A real soldier?”
“With some practice.” I smile. “You know what makes a damn good soldier?”
Todd shakes his head.
“A good person. You have to know when to use force and when to walk away. You have to think for yourself. You must be compassionate and gentle with the people around you but strong enough to stand up for what’s right.”
“I have to be a man.”
I almost laugh, but he’s so serious, I don’t. “Yeah. You have to be a man.”
“A damned good one.”
“There ya go.”
“Don’t tell Claudia I cussed.”
I do laugh this time. His sister will surely kill me when she ever finds out. I can’t stand the idea of them being defenseless, and I know her well enough that I suspect she won’t call if something happens.
Todd will. Giving him the responsibility of knowing for a fact how to kill a man is a gamble, but it’s also something my father taught Mikael and me when we were seven. With the right instruction, and reminders about Lance, Henderson and others who will never recover from their battle wounds, I think Todd is malleable enough to listen and follow the rules.