dead, you and the others were out of touch. I didn’t even know the information
on the delivery system was still missing until the actual trial. I tried to reach out, but when no one answered I knew what was coming. Someone had to answer for
the op going sideways, and I was the only one standing before the panel. It wasn’t like I had options.”
“You wouldn’t have been answering alone if I could’ve been there,” Tag
offered.
Maybe, maybe not, but not wanting to ruffle the tenuous truce, I blew out a
harsh breath. “I still don’t know how they got Ellery into custody.”
“Liza warned us something was off,” Kayden said. “It took time to clear out
the two snipers nests. By then, all hell was breaking loose on your end.” His gaze flickered to my scars. “When we hit your position, Ellery was so focused on you, he didn’t get a chance to get away. We took out his partners and took him into custody. After turning him over, we were sent back out to retrieve the
missing information.”
“You never found it.” I could tell.
He shook his head.
“I didn’t leave you, Cyn. You left me.” Tag’s quiet comment wasn’t quite an
accusation, but it still felt like one.
“You left the team,” Kayden added. “When we got back, you were already
gone. Tag said you weren’t answering your calls. We figured you wanted nothing
to do with us, so we steered clear.”
“What a mess.” Lowering my head, I acknowledge the truth in what they
said. For the first time in six months, the resentful anger and hurt I lived with began to recede. My choices were clear. Either I continued to blame Tag and Kayden for a shitty situation, or I accepted my culpability and moved on.
Run, or stand and fight?
I was tired of running. Kelsey deserved justice, so did Liza, Mike, and Nate.
It was time to face the nightmares and fight back.
AT TAG and Kayden’s urging, I moved back inside to the larger, kitchen table where there was more space to spread out the gory details contained in the file.
During my years in the service, I witnessed things I wish I hadn’t, the images forever branded on my cerebral cortex. Those images took turns starring in some
of my more inventive nightmares. During those nights, sleep was a stranger, but
whiskey was my best friend. After wading through the most recent reports, the
photos only added to my certainty that human cruelty knew no bounds. The more deviant the imagination, the more brutal the outcome.
Working past the initial repulsive horror, I started comparing the coroner’s reports against the crime scene photos. As I laid out the phots in sequential order, the angles of the shots allowed me to follow the evidentiary collection of the crime scene techs. When I hit the last report, complete with photos, I sucked in a
breath.
Captain Eric “Flash” Fowler.
My stomach cramped, but I carefully set the items in place. Hard didn’t
begin to cover how it felt to see the familiar face spread across on the marred wooden surface. Absently, I rubbed the itchy sensation running along the scar lines on my neck. As difficult as it was, I spent a few minutes letting the chaotic
mix of anger, grief, rage, and pain storm rage before clearing my head to focus.
Counting Kelsey, we were looking at eight confirmed victims and one
missing person. Flash had been killed first. Then there were the two guards during Ellery’s escape mid-transport, before he focused on the joint team.
Sergeant Major Michael Layton was killed just over two months ago. Layton
was Flash’s friend. I remember Flash mentioning they had a fishing trip planned
once our last mission was in the box. Then, closing in on five weeks ago, Staff
Sergeant Nathan Visic was found. Three weeks later, the bodies of First Sergeant
