Ultimate Courage (True Heroes #2)(61)
He didn’t recognize the two men standing outside the door. Scowling, Rojas studied them as they peered through the glass. When one of them looked directly at him and pressed a badge to the glass, Rojas nodded and held up an index finger to indicate they wait.
“All right, recruits.” He pitched his voice to carry over the delighted shouts and squeals. Over a dozen pairs of eyes locked on him and the room fell silent. “We’re doing a new thing tonight. We’re going to send everyone into the big changing room and see who can stay silent the longest. Whoever the winner is gets first chance to choose their team next parents’ night.”
One of the young boys pumped his arm. “Nice. I’ll win!”
A chorus of challenges came from the various children.
“None of you can win if you don’t pile into the changing room and go quiet. I can hear everything from that room so you have to be absolutely silent.” Rojas tapped his ear. “Consider this an exercise in discipline. Move out.”
Elisa herded some of the less focused kids to the changing room in the back, her gaze going from Rojas to the men at the door.
He waited until their eyes met. “Text Gary and Greg. Our visitors flashed a badge, but I don’t recognize them as any of our local police.”
And he’d had reason to get to know some of them over the last several months. A few trained with Revolution MMA and at least one of their local police had his kid here tonight. But the staff at Hope’s Crossing Kennels had interacted with the local police a few times when Lyn had first come to the kennels. It’d been interesting times and he’d gotten to know quite a few of the police in the area as a result.
Once Elisa had nodded and gone with the children safely out of view, Rojas headed to the door and snagged a kali stick out of the bin at the corner of the mats to bring along. Souze kept pace with him, leash dragging along the floor. Rojas wanted at least one hand free to act, and he trusted Souze to obey verbal commands.
Smiles and geniality weren’t his thing, but he tried for as neutral an expression as possible as he unlocked one side of the double doors and cracked it enough to speak to the visitors. He kept his hand on the door bar, effectively blocking entrance across the opening. He carried the kali stick in his other hand, loose and relaxed at his side, away from the opening. Souze stood at heel at his left side, an added obstacle in the partial entryway.
“Officers.” He nodded at each. They were both average height, not quite as fit as the police who trained at Revolution, and average build. Fairly non-descript. Their police uniforms had no name tags. “How can I help you this evening?”
There was a beat of hesitation as the other two men assessed the situation. They each returned his nod, glanced down at Souze for a long moment, then took a closer look at him. Hey, a handsome black and tan GSD standing ready to act had that sort of effect on a person. People had a range of reactions. Some were delighted. Others were intimidated and kept their distance.
People who planned to do shady things got fidgety and wary of the dog. These men both changed their weight from one foot to the other before steadying themselves. They also each had their hands on their guns.
Rojas’s attention focused and he kept his limbs loose, his joints relaxed to maximize his range of motion if he needed to counter an aggressive move on their part.
“Are you the owner of this school?” the one who’d flashed the badge asked as he leaned in and placed his own hand on the edge of the door at about eye level. Not tugging it open, but definitely making sure to get a modicum of control on the door. He tapped his chest. “I’m Officer Wegner and this is Patterson. We’re looking for an Elisa Hall. She’s needed for questioning back at our division headquarters.”
Rojas tightened his jaw a fraction. The guy’s demeanor was meant to intimidate and it was scraping at Rojas’s temper. The issue here wasn’t whether or not the man made a move. Rojas was more concerned about the children in the other room and not giving these two creeps an excuse to remove Rojas from the premises.
Wegner leaned in a fraction more. “Do I need to repeat myself?”
Well. They were all in relatively defensive positions in the entryway. Hopefully things could be resolved with conversation, but they were all prepared to take action. This was a clear threat and Rojas settled into a cold analysis of the situation.
Souze was completely silent.
Which was a sign in and of itself. In relaxed situations, Souze gave the brief bark or warning growl. This was a serious encounter, and the dog had gone completely quiet. It was a personality quirk and a dangerous one. Souze was watching these men with potentially deadly intent.
“I’m actually not the owner.” Rojas opted to answer the first question as pleasantly as possible. His dog was taking cues from his attitude, his voice, his body language. As long as he was in control, he was in control of Souze. Having the backup also reminded him to keep his reaction in check. This wasn’t overseas or a combat situation. Response with deadly force would not be called for. Especially not with children nearby. He needed to restrict himself to the minimum force required to maintain control of the situation and that was it. “But they should be back in less than half an hour. We’ve got a special children’s event going on here at the school this evening. We’d like to keep the kids feeling as positive as possible. The presence of anyone they don’t know can be stressful.”