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Fifty-Seven
Lightning cracked and thunder rolled around the chopper. Jack Lowe gazed into the black clouds. It was as if the sky cried out with anger against the cruelty his sister had endured. As the high winds tossed the chopper around, he ignored the elements and stared again at the message on his phone. It would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Jack, I know you’ll never read this but I have to tell someone. Earlier tonight four members of the Black Rock Falls football team drugged and raped me. You know them, Jack. Lyons, Court, Devon, and Jacobs. Seth Lyons threatened to do the same to our little sister if I went to the sheriff. They have pictures and a video of me, Jack. Mom and Dad would be so ashamed if this was spread all over social media. They’re like terrorists to women on campus and Lyons told me I’m not the only girl they’ve done this to. My roommate tried to warn me about them. I’ve been such a fool, Jack, and it’s best if I end this now. Like you, I’m not afraid of dying. See you on the other side, big brother. xxx
Heart aching, Jack gripped the cellphone so hard it cut into his palm. Her message had remained unanswered for ten minutes before he’d returned to base after one hell of a mission. His chopper had gone down but most of the team had walked away without a scratch. He’d been out of contact with base for a few days, but after completing the mission with a depleted team, he’d returned to base. At the debriefing, Jack had discovered his status was MIA and would remain so until his unit had completed the retrieval of all the members of his team.
He’d turned on his phone and sent her a message but his reply to Chrissie had remained unanswered. Devastated, his gut told him he’d missed the window of opportunity to save her by less than fifteen minutes. How many more young women’s lives would these men destroy? The creed he lived by had played in his mind: I humbly serve as a guardian to my fellow Americans, always ready to defend those who are unable to defend themselves.
He’d pulled in a few favors and within the hour was on his way home on a fake passport. After arriving, he’d gone straight to Chrissie’s residence hall and the scuttlebutt surrounding her suicide had near shattered him. He’d dropped into a different zone, engaged a protective shield to ease the pain, and then gone about gathering intel on the run, with the help of his drone. People had little idea how easy it was to spy on them and discover their innermost secrets. Infiltrating the influx of new students for the fall semester had been easy, after making friends with the football team the previous semester. It had been by pure chance that during his downtime, a friend had asked him to replace him as the medic for the college football team for a couple of weeks and this semester he’d slipped into the college without question. Having field medic training had paid off in spades. He’d also used his expertise to disable the college CCTV cameras, hack the mainframe, and, like a ghost, hunt down the targets. It had only taken a few days to take out the trash.
He’d not gained any satisfaction by killing Jacobs, Devon, or Court, and their faces would never haunt him, but he would remember Seth Lyons. The disgusting animal had wet himself when he’d told him he was Chrissie’s brother and given him the reason he was in Black Rock Falls. He’d dangled the flash drives in front of his face and grinned. After messing up his pretty-boy face, he’d threatened to disembowel him and hang him from the nearest tree by his entrails if he gave the cops his name. Hoping Lyons would leap to his death into the ravine, the man had decided his own punishment by taking the coward’s way out and opting for the bridge.
Yeah, he’d taken a risk by sticking around to make sure the sheriff had all the evidence she needed to ensure Lyons would rot in jail for the rest of his miserable life, but it was worth it. Moments later, he’d vanished like smoke and then called the team to evacuate him. Later, when the news had come through about a reward for the man who’d given the sheriff the flash drives, he’d arranged for one of his buddies to drop by the sheriff’s office. With a similar build and features, they were often mistaken for each other on base. His friend had donated the reward to a charity for battered women. As his friend had an iron-clad alibi, having arrived in Black Rock Falls on the morning of the bridge collapse, his ruse had worked.
Jack allowed his humanity to slip through one more time to read Chrissie’s message again. He brushed away the sting of tears in his eyes and then, with his mask firmly back in place, he hit delete. His mission was over and it was time to return to base. Rest easy, little sister. I’m done here.
Epilogue
One week later
A shimmer of excitement ran through Jenna as she stepped onto her porch and surveyed her ranch. It was an incredibly beautiful day. The sun shone and not a cloud marred the blue sky. The scents of fall came to her on a surprisingly warm breeze as if nature had made this day special to mark one little girl’s birthday. Wolfe’s youngest, Anna, had stolen a place in her heart, but she enjoyed spending time with all his girls. Emily and Julie had become close friends, and it was great to have someone to go on shopping trips with and not be the sheriff for one day. Best of all, this year she’d persuaded Wolfe to allow her and Kane to arrange Anna’s birthday party. Surprisingly, Anna had only invited three friends from school but insisted that Rowley, Webber, and Atohi be there as well. The little girl had asked her shyly if she could have a big person’s barbecue and horse rides. How could she refuse?
It had been a busy week, tying up loose ends and writing reports. The FBI had moved swiftly and contacted more of the young women raped by Lyons and his friends. Fifteen had come forward, and as the proof of the crimes was unchallengeable, Samuel Cross, the lawyer, had found himself inundated with queries about compensation. As the majority of the offenders were loaded, he’d agreed to represent them all in a number of class actions for damages. Lyons had pleaded guilty at his hearing and was awaiting sentencing, but like Stevens, he would spend the rest of his life in jail.
The day a man with a buzz cut had walked into the sheriff’s office to claim the reward had been the cherry on the cake. At last, she’d been able to tie up all the loose ends and close the case. He’d claimed he’d come home on leave and taken a walk when he ran into Lyons and Jenna but hadn’t witnessed a fight. He’d gotten there after Lyons had run onto the bridge and found the flash drives on the edge of the ravine. After Kane had shaken his hand and thanked him for his service, Jenna had stared at the man for a long moment before checking out his story. A Navy Seal like Jack Lowe, the resemblance between the two men was uncanny. When he’d left, she’d looked at Kane. “I’m sure glad he came by. You have to agree he looks like Jack Lowe.”
“I never doubted you, Jenna.” Kane had smiled at her. “I’d have figured the same thing.”
The rodeo crowd had left, and after the usual Saturday night dance, the town had thankfully returned to normal. Soon the chill of winter would arrive and Kane had offered to take her for a weekend at the new Black Rock Falls ski resort—just as friends, of course. It would be a luxury. Hot chocolate, skiing, and nights in front of a log fire… Bliss.
The warm comfort of friends surrounded her as Kane strolled back to the porch. He’d spent a great deal of time attaching balloons to the driveway and now walked back, chatting with Atohi, Rowley, and his girlfriend Sandy. She smiled at them. “You’ve all done a great job.”
“The ponies are very gentle.” Kane slapped both men on the back. “Thank you for bringing them; it will mean all the kids can ride and Anna is going to love her gift.”
Jenna opened the front door and went inside. “Her pony is so pretty. Thank you so much, Atohi.”
“The mare is gentle and I’ve worked with her this week to make sure she has no vices.” Atohi looked at her. “She’ll be perfect. Her name is Raweno and she’ll take care of the young one.”
Jenna looked over the gifts piled high on the coffee table then led the way into the kitchen. She’d made the birthday cake, and although it tilted slightly to one side, and Kane had helped her with the frosting, she considered it quite an achievement as she had only one good arm. As Kane moved around the kitchen, filling bowls with various snacks and candy, Jenna handed Rowley, Sandy, and Atohi drinks from the refrigerator. “So, who plans to do the cooking?”
They looked at each other and a smile spread over Rowley’s face. “Shane.”
“He’s the master of the grill.” Kane chuckled. “Wolfe has m
any talents.” He cocked his head as if listening. “I hear vehicles.”
Emily and Wolfe were bringing all their guests, and after taking a quick look around the rooms, Jenna headed for the front door. As the children spilled out of the trucks, she moved down the steps to greet them. “Happy birthday, Anna.” She bent to hug the little girl.
“I can’t wait to ride the horses. I saw the ponies in the corral. Are they for us to ride?” Anna looked at Kane and beamed when he nodded. “Can we do that straight away, Uncle Dave? Daddy can help with the barbecue.”
“Don’t you want to open your presents first?” Kane crouched down to look at her. “And Jenna made you a cake.”
“I’m not sure they’ll sit still long enough.” Wolfe chuckled. “All they’ve been chatting about is the horses.”
“Yeah, they’ve been driving me nuts.” Julie pulled a face. “Horses, horses, horses.”
Jenna laughed. “The cake can wait. They’ll need a boost once they’ve run out of energy.” She gave Atohi a wink and he slipped off toward the stables.
