Dragon Bridge
Chapter One
Key Alder raised his glass to his lips joining in the
toast. This was the last day at the office for a colleague. A long serving
agent and source of excellent ideas, the woman would be missed. The farewell
gathering after work served for her to receive her leaving gift and good wishes
from everyone. The pale golden bubbles in Key’s glass swished against the seam
of his lips. His car waited in the underground car park that day so Key didn’t
taste the expensive champagne. He sighed inwardly. Key’s fatigue weighed on him.
It often brought inexplicable sadness with it. Tired from the daily battle to
keep the public safe from internet crime, Key watched Maria shake hands with
the special agent in charge of their department, and then, along with all his
colleagues, he applauded.
An hour later as he drove home, Key’s eyes misted. He
shook away the gathering tears, alarmed at his tumbling emotions. Stopped at a
traffic light he opened his window. The blast of cold late February night air
stung his face. He drove on home.
Key heaved a breath. Someone had taken his space in
the communal car park of the small apartment block again. He stopped behind the
vehicle, blocking its exit and narrowing the route in and out of the lot so that
not many cars would be able to pass the rear of his. Fucking hell. Key rubbed his forehead. The urge to ram the
offending automobile into the wall surrounding the parking area bit at him. He
closed his eyes. Moments passed. Then with a deep sigh, Key reversed his old
Mustang and drove around the back of the enclosure. He parked under an arch of
trees, their bare, black, claw-like branches clasped together. Key got out and
locked the door. Patches of the damp blue roof glistened in a filtered shower
of light from one of the streetlights nearby. Drops of water from the branches
above fell on his cheek like tears. Sadness flooded Key.
Warmth from the central heating greeted Key as he
entered his lonely home. He tugged off the scarf around his neck, pulled off
his overcoat and threw both onto the hall table. A small succulent in a prettily
decorated pot took the force and wobbled toward the edge. Key grabbed it. He
liked the Mexican designs on the pot and
his last boyfriend had given him the plant. He righted the keepsake. Key caught
sight of his reflection in the mirror over the table. The dark shadows under
his eyes told the tale of his many sleepless nights. He drooped.
On his way to the fridge to find a beer, his
smartphone beeped in his suit jacket pocket. Key checked the caller on the
screen. Wesley. He took the call from
his brother. Ten years older than Key and with a different father, Wesley was
technically his stepbrother, but neither Key nor Wesley referred to each other
as such.
“Hi, Wes, what’s up?” Key slumped on the couch instead
of completing his journey to the kitchen.
“I’m good, but I can tell from your voice that you’re
not. Have you given any thought to my suggestion?”
Key sighed. “I don’t know, Wes. Taking off overseas,
well, it’s daunting. I’m tired.”
“Burnt out more like—please take a vacation. How much
accrued leave do you have?”
“Months, I think. It’s still important to me, the job,
you know keeping people safe from cybercrime, especially when they lose everything
they have, and suffer the stress of it all. The trouble is, I think, is that I
feel all their sadness now, and, Wes, I’m so tired of how people can be so cruel to others.”
Key heard his brother sigh. When he answered, his
voice held kindness.
“Ten years of seeing the seamy side of life is bound
to affect anyone.”
“Yeah, it’s definitely sensitized me to all the
sadness in the world. I’ve stopped reading or watching news on the TV. The
sight of people starving, kids being killed, poverty, war, hatred—it brings
tears to my eyes.” Key stopped confiding in his brother as tears welled in his
eyes right then. His voice wavered.
“Key, you’re only just thirty. You have time. Have you seen Mark at all
recently? I bet you haven’t been out for weeks.”
The reference to his last boyfriend brought a smile to
Key’s lips. “Wes, Mark and I have been broken up for nearly a year.”
“Sorry. Time trickles away. Did you tell me about the
split? I don’t think I knew. What happened?”
Key heaved another sigh. “My job—his job. Actually, I
don’t think I did tell you about Mark and me breaking up. I was on a horrendous
case at the time. It was a mutual decision. We’re still friends. We’d probably
catch up over a beer now and then if he wasn’t living so far away. I don’t have
time to meet guys…”
“Key, why not take your leave? Look after yourself for
a while. Find someone to love. I don’t know how I’d be without Jennifer and
she’s said the same of me. Don’t go through life alone. You must be lonely.”
Key nodded to himself. Dreadfully, if I admit it. “Sometimes.” He couldn’t burden Wes with
that, too.
Wesley’s voice fell to a whisper. “If you just carry
on as usual, I fear you’ll break somehow.”
Key heard the love in his brother’s tone. He
recognized the truth in what Wes said. He was
on the edge. He softened his voice as affection surged for Wesley.
“Thank you for your concern, Wes. I think I’ll do it.
I’ll apply for leave tomorrow.” He talked with his brother for a few more
minutes asking about Wesley’s wife and daughter. As he ended the call, Key knew
he’d made a radical decision about his job. He was going to quit.
Copyright E. D. Parr, Evernight Publishing, All rights reserved, July 28, 2022
Dragon Bridge
Tired from his high stress
work fighting cyber-crime, handsome, Key Alder takes a vacation on a beautiful
Italian coast. He travels from one gorgeous town to another and after a
perilous journey lost in the mountains, he settles into his hotel and relaxes.
In a beachside café, next to
a warm pale-blue ocean, a performer hands out fliers for an arts festival in a
mountain village. Lured by adventure, Key attends an evening performance of
fire juggling acrobats in the legendary village piazza.
Beautiful, enigmatic Claudio
Di Fiore, the star of the show, sees Key in the audience and is captured by a
wonderful feeling he’s unaccustomed to.
Claudio wants Key.
Key is enchanted by Claudio.
A passionate love grows
between the two men.
When Claudio’s mysterious
ancient family threaten to tear them apart, will Key risk everything to stay
with his loved one?
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