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Chapter 12
Clay
“What the fuck is taking so long?” I pace back and forth in the office, waiting for answers.
The mayor never showed up when Caleb summoned him, but he text saying he was following a lead enquiry, and he’d be in touch. What fucking lead enquiry? While he’s fucking about, Shay could be taking her last breath somewhere. That’s the image I have in my head and it’s killing me inside.
“Okay, the army is aware that we know Shay is alive. They’re going to follow enquiries and look into it,” says Caleb.
“Enquiries!” I snap. The full room goes quiet and all eyes are on me. “It’s kind of funny that no one had anything to offer a few days, weeks, or months ago, but suddenly they’re all following enquiries. Bullshit! They’re trying to cover their backs.”
Caleb walks toward me. He squeezes my shoulder and offers his support.
“I agree with you.” My brother sighs. “But we’re helpless without authorities giving us the green light. We can’t just turn up in Iraq, all of our heads will be handed to our families on a plate, that’s if we even get into the country.”
“What do we do then?” I ask. “We can’t sit here and do nothing.”
“I’ve been tracing the number that called Clay, but I’m getting nowhere fast. I’ll keep trying though,” says Mike.
“I’ve narrowed the coordinates down to where Shay’s last known whereabouts was, but there are no secure units or camps nearby. There is a large area about thirty miles south, but the only thing on it is an old army base. According to files I’ve sourced, it is closed. Has been for eight years.”
Why would an army base be closed in a country that’s at war? I think about all the reasons why, but there aren’t any.
“Weird. Can you print out all the information you have on the area? We’ll hand it over to the army,” says Caleb.
“The army is going to do jack shit to help us!” I fume.
I feel like a ticking time bomb. Nothing is happening fast enough for my liking. I’m not the type of person to tick all the boxes and make sure everything is above board before acting. I act first and ask questions later.
Caleb’s cell rings, and he walks away to answer it. Everyone is busy following leads, not that we have many, but it’s a start. I look at my own cell in my hand and sink down the wall until my ass hits the floor. I look through pictures of me and Shay, Shay on her own, Shay with her family. She has an infectious smile. It reaches her soul. She’s like an angel. I won’t be able to live without her in my life.
“Clay.” Caleb sits down beside me. “The army is going to search the area Amber found.”
“So they say.”
“I just spoke with someone called Michael. He’s organizing the search, and the team is going out as we speak.”
“I want to go. I need to go. Shay needs to see a friendly face when they find her.” I jump up to my feet and Caleb follows me.
“You can’t go, buddy. You’re not in the army anymore. Let them do their job.”
I laugh. “Their job. You’re real funny, bro. They left her out there to suffer. They didn’t care then, and they won’t care now. You’re all deluded if you believe a word that comes out of their mouths.”
I walk away from everyone and slam my office door closed. I need some space away from my nearest and dearest, but I don’t want to leave the compound until I know that Shay is safe and on her way home. I won’t forgive myself or the fucking army if she gets killed. I’ll crucify every fucker that did nothing to help her, and I’ll take great pleasure in watching their world crumble, just like mine and Shay’s.
***
“Where are we going?” I ask Caleb and Chris.
I was told to be ready to leave the compound in five minutes, I was bundled into the back of Caleb’s SUV, and now I’m wondering where the hell we’re off to.
“The mayor wants to see us at his office,” Caleb answers.
“Why?”
“He wouldn’t say.”
I growl. I’m like a rabid dog now. I could rip heads from shoulders without a second thought. Instead, I think twice about biting my brothers’ heads off and sit back. I watch the night lights of Chicago pass me by. People are finishing work, going out to enjoy their evening, or just out for a leisurely stroll. It’s a city that never sleeps, and I know how that goes, because I can’t remember the last decent sleep I had. I’m used to being sleep deprived with working in the army, and that’s helping me right now, but I know I’m about to crash and burn with the way I’m going. I’m never going to rest until I get Shay home. I can’t.
