When we’re finally in the cab and I can successfully navigate my phone to find our address we’re on our way home.

“Hey, thanks for the save back there.”

“You bet. I just hope I wasn’t too pushy. If you wanted to go home with him I’d understand. The man is hot as fuck. You just seemed to hesitate.”

“Yeah. I did. I’m not sure why.”

“Well, then, it’s a good thing you brought me along. You should never do something you aren’t one hundred present certain you want. Especially cocks. Always be certain about those.” Our driver clears his throat and I stifle a giggle.

“Do you care if I take my leg off now? I hate to be a little bitch, but it really hurts. Probably from all the rehab today and then dancing tonight.” Alex rolls her pant leg up to her thigh. Her words are spoken carefree and lightly but the severity of them makes me sad. She slides down the fabric lining and sure enough pulls off her prosthetic. “Here, will you hold my foot?” She snickers and I force a giggle as we both take in the nosy cab driver through the rear view mirror.

“Eyes on the road, buddy. Nothing to see here,” I call out and earn a full laugh from Alex as she pulls off several socks and a silicone looking tube.

“Ah. So much better.” She releases a sigh of pleasure.

“You are my hero, you know that?” I’m dead serious but she laughs.

“What are you talking about, Kate?”

“I just—You’ve given up so much for me, for our country. It’s so selfless and I walk around every day worrying whether my nail polish is the same shade as my lipstick. I’m such a selfish person.”

“Hey! Stop! I’m sure that’s not true.”

“No, I really do worry whether my lips and nails match. It’s unhealthy how stressed I can get about that sort of thing.” She bursts into laughter, but when I don’t join in she meets my concerned gaze.

“Okay, but that’s why we do what we do. We make sacrifices so people in this country don’t have to. Here we don’t worry about bombs blowing up our homes or our children not being able to ride buses to school in safety. We do what we do so you can do whatever it is you want, because we have this glorious thing called freedom and it’s worth protecting.”

“But you’ve lost so much.” I hold up her leg and she nods.

“We’ve all lost so much. My scars are laid out for all to see but make no mistake, every soldier has lost something. It’s not a contest, and if it were it’s not one I’d want to win. We miss birthdays, our families lose precious time, we struggle with PTSD and depression and anxiety. Some come home in a box. But we do it willingly because what we gain is so much more.” My eyes fill with tears and I feel them flow freely down my face.

“Aw, don’t cry, my crazy Kate. It’s okay.” Alex squeezes me in a tight embrace.

“It’ll be twenty even.” The cabbie interrupts our moment. We pull apart and I pass forward the bills before I slide out. Alex wraps her arm around my shoulder and we make our way up to the apartment.

“When I first met you I thought I wasn’t going to like you. I’m glad I was wrong. I’m glad you’re here.” The honesty falls from my lips. “I just wish I could do something to show you how thankful I am.”

We reach the door and Alex hops to lean against the wall while I dig out my keys.

“Headstands.” I slide the key in the lock.

“What?”

“Teach me your ways, yoga master.” I laugh as I agree to Alex’s simple request. Okay, headstands for freedom. Sounds like a fair trade.

KATE INVITED ALEX ALONG TONIGHT and that fills me with relief for two reasons. One, Alex is a badass so I know they’ll be safe; and two, I’ve got work to do most nights this week and I already feel bad about having to leave Alex alone at the apartment. Hey, thanks for visiting, we never get to see each other; now, sit in an empty apartment. Kate, outrageous as she can be, will be the perfect hostess.

I grab my bag, toss in a few protein bars, and I’m out. I have a meeting with one Mrs. Bryant, aka Kate’s mom, in thirty minutes at a Starbucks near the neighborhood we all grew up in. I’m really curious about what she wants from me.

I walk into the coffee shop and scan the space to easily spot Mrs. Bryant. She looks the same as when I was a teenager, only a little older. Her eyes go wide with recognition and she stands from her chair as I approach.

“Mrs. Bryant. It’s good to see you again.” I extend my hand and she grips in it her own.

“Wow. You sure grew up nice, Jonathan.” Her perusal makes me slightly uncomfortable and I release her hand to sit across the table.

“So, how can I help you, Mrs. Bryant?” She sits back in her seat.

“Oh, please, you can call me Judy.” She winks before continuing. “I heard through Evie’s mother last week that you and her daughter have started a private investigation firm and it got me to thinking. I never know where in the hell my Paul goes most evenings. I’m his wife and I should know where he is. I tried asking him, but it’s same damn answer every time and we end up in a screaming match. Anyhoo, I’m hoping you can find out where it is he goes and maybe fill me in. I have money to pay you.”

She reaches into her purse and slides an envelope across the table. I open it to find a thin stack of Ben Franklins. Still, the woman’s carrying around a thousand in cash like it’s no big deal. This surprises me since it always seemed as if Kate’s family struggled financially.

“Do you have any ideas or suspicions of where your husband goes or who he’s with?” She leans forward on her elbows, glancing around the small shop before lowering her voice to a whisper.

“Whores.”

“Whores?” I’m not sure I hear her correctly and raise my brows in question.

“Do you have wax in your ears? Yes. Whores. Though I have no idea where he gets the money to afford them.” That’s a pretty serious allegation and I don’t appreciate her condescending tone. I force a sympathetic nod.

“Explain exactly why you think your husband is spending time with women of the night.”

“I followed him last week. Went straight to Eddy’s.” She gives me a hard glare and then bugs her eyes when I don’t react.

“So… who’s Eddy? That his buddy or something?”

“You’ve been gone a while. You need to get out more, kid. Eddy’s is a strip club.”

“Ah-ha. Okay, you followed him to a strip club and believe him to be spending time with whores.” I summarize and Judy flashes a pleasant smile.

“Exactly. So you understand.”

“You do realize all strippers aren’t whores?” I don’t know why, but I feel the need to defend the career choice.

“I have it on good authority most are.” Okay, then. Wild goose chase it is.

“Any other information for me to work from?” She scrounges around in her giant bag for a few moments and I inwardly smile. Mother like daughter. Kate’s forever hauling around a giant handbag. God only knows what’s inside. I’ve seen her pull a full meal and an entire outfit from the thing.

“Here.” She shoves a half crumbled piece of lined note paper into my hands. “Paul leaves every evening at the same time. Man is a creature of habit. He’s always home by ten. I wrote it all down. His car, plates, my cell number. Call me anytime if you have questions.”

I take the paper and add it to the envelope of cash, and stand to shove it all in my back pocket.

“I’ll see what I can find and get back to you with an update. It probably won’t be another week before I have anything to report.” She nods and stands.

“Do you happen to run into my daughter now that you’re back?” As she questions me, she looks away to study a display of coffee mugs.

“Every now and then.” Something in the way she won’t meet my eyes when she asks about her own daughter bothers me. I feel the need to protect Kate and her whereabouts.