Free Embattled Minds (Military Romance) (Lost And Found Series) by J.M. Madden

other man. But as he pulled out of the parking lot, he kept his eyes peeled.
    When he pulled up to the spot where he’d seen Aiden before, he stepped out with the bag in his hand. Planting his cane, he carefully walked to the dumpster where he’d been curled up before.
    And stopped dead.
    Blood soaked the snow-covered ground in a wide circle, exactly where Aiden had sat that first night. Duncan scanned his surroundings, looking for a body, but he didn’t see any suspicious lumps. And there was no trail of blood leaving the area.
    What the fuck?
    There was no sign of anything on the ground beneath his feet, so he backtracked to his truck to leave the crime scene pristine. Then he called Denver PD.
    The young officer that arrived hadn’t been on the job long, if the way she paled at the sight of the blood pool was any indication. She quickly called for her supervisor, then the supervisor called for a lab tech and the detective on call. Duncan answered the same questions over and over again, but he didn’t have a great deal of information. He gave them Aiden’s name, but hell, he didn’t even know if that was his real name.
    The detective that came, Roberts, didn’t seem concerned that a homeless person was missing and presumed injured. Didn’t even seem to care that it was a veteran.
    “Even more reason to off himself then,” he shrugged.
    Duncan had never been more livid. “Listen, Officer,” he deliberately left off “Detective”, and leaned into his space, “I don’t know what your problem is, but if you need to ask somebody else in that will treat this with the respect it deserves, I’ll wait.” He crossed his arms over his chest as the snow swirled around them and waited as Roberts blustered through a series of threats. Duncan held up a hand. “I have Quillen’s number. Do I need to call him instead?”
    Using the Captain’s name had been a gamble, but it shut the man up, and sent him scurrying back to the scene. Duncan waited outside as long as he could, but the cold was making his bones ache. He slid inside the truck to stay warm.
    When the lab tech started to pack up his stuff, Duncan stepped out to ask the man a single question, and he didn’t like the answer he received. Yes, from the volume of blood available on scene, it would be enough of a loss to kill an average sized man. The tech couldn’t presume if it had been an attempted suicide or assault, though he did confirm that there were no obvious signs of struggle.
    Duncan climbed into his truck and headed for home, heartsick.
    *****
    Ember tightened her grip on her purse as she walked up the steps Monday afternoon into the courthouse. Her lawyer, Quinn Roberts, stood just inside, and he grimaced when he saw her.
    “Thank you for coming down so quickly, Ember. When I told the judge’s secretary you had moved out, she thought your dad would be a good option for early release, especially since you want to remove the PO. Because of the weather and the holiday, the jails are jam-packed right now, and they need the room.”
    He paused long enough to look her face up and down.
    “I had hoped that the bruising would have faded by now. When the judge sees that he could reverse his decision and leave the protection order in effect.”
    Ember winced. “I could try to go cover it up more, but it becomes more obvious that I’m hiding something after a certain point.”
    He nodded reluctantly and took her elbow to guide her down a long hallway. At one of the many doors, he paused and let them inside. A woman with a plastic smile greeted them, and ushered them directly into the judge’s office. The balding man behind the desk barely glanced up from the folder of papers in front of him.
    “Have a seat, please. I’m just reading over the motion.” He looked up at Quinn. “Your client is aware of the danger of removing the PO, correct?”
    “She is, Your Honor.”
    Shrewd eyes peered at her over the tops of his glasses and the judge frowned. “Was