Alex Rojas

**Age**: Mid-thirties

**Occupation**: Dog Trainer for Hope's Crossing Kennels

### Physical Appearance

Rojas is described as a tall man - 6' give or take an inch - with dark hair, a strong jaw, and eyes the color of dark chocolate. He has powerful hands with callused fingertips and nails trimmed short by necessity. His smiles are rare and lopsided.

### Personality Traits

Rojas is a veteran suffering from PTSD and the loving father of ten-year-old Serena Rojas. He's resisted getting treatment for his condition out of fear that his daughter might be taken away from him. He hates crowds and is triggered by rapid movements and fear reactions in the people around him. He has a temper, but he tries very hard to keep it in check - especially around his child. Rojas isn't a terribly verbal person and usually communicates in monosyllables whenever possible. He is, however, very patient, careful, and aware of both his surroundings and his effect on other people. When he meets Elisa Hall, he discovers a mischievous impulse to rile and tease her. His previous marriage left him emotionally scarred and with a loathing for addiction and addicts, but he still believes in second chances and has a soft spot for rescues.

### Biography

Rojas is a retired Navy SEAL who saw a lot of action overseas. During that time he had a wife and a daughter. Unfortunately, his wife couldn't handle the uncertainty of his profession and the long absences it required. She developed an addiction to prescription opiates and began an affair with a doctor who could keep her well supplied, enlisting her mother's help to conceal everything from Rojas until she presented him with divorce papers. Rojas spent the next couple of years only seeing Serena occasionally. He was on his way home after his final deployment when he received word that his ex-wife was in the hospital, having been found by her parents when they grew worried about her. She'd been masking the symptoms of pneumonia with her pills, and by the time they got her to a doctor it was too late. Her parents tried to claim that Rojas was an unfit father and take Serena, but she objected and the court awarded him custody. By that time, Brandon Forte had retired and conceived the idea of Hope's Crossing Kennels. He invited Rojas and David Cruz, both former military comrades familiar with dogs, to come and help him create his dream. As part of the deal, Forte offered to let them live on the property.

With a safe place to raise his daughter, Rojas settled in and tried to forget the past. Unfortunately, that just made his PTSD worse. He was finding it more and more difficult to manage his condition or to leave home - the only place he feels safe - when he met Elisal in *Ultimate Courage*. She made his life simpler by reducing the chaos of people around him, touched his soft-spot for rescues, and rekindled a desire for romantic involvement that he'd thought entirely lost. Her bond with the German Shepherd Dog, Souze, whom he'd already been training, helped open his eyes to the dog's potential as an emotional support service animal. He adopts Souze, and he and Serena together invite Elisa to come live with them.

### Relationships

Rojas is on good terms with his father, who lives in Peru. He lives with his daughter, Serena, him on Hope's Crossing Kennels property. He is tight friends with Cruz and Forte - both retired military comrades - and he works with them on a daily basis. He is also friends with Evelyn Jones and Sophie Kim, both of whom work for the kennels and are attached to Cruz and Forte, respectively. Rojas and his daughter train at Revolution Mixed Martial Arts Academy, where they are on good terms with the other students and are particular friends with the owners, Gary Boulding and his husband Greg Boulding. In *Ultimate Courage*, Rojas adopts Souze as his emotional support dog for his PTSD, and falls in love with the fleeing Elisa. His ex-wife is dead, and he isn't on good terms with her parents.

### Trivia

Rojas...

* has no idea what anime is.
* sounds gruff when he's trying to be nice and feels awkward about it.
* frequently catches Elisa with her shirt up around her head, apparently by happy accident and not design.

### Quotes

"The great thing about kids and dogs: they don't know how to lie. Not really. They don't know how to hide themselves from the world, and it gives them a simple perspective. When I suspect I'm thinking too hard, I fall back to their opinion."