Page 1 of The Veteran

PROLOGUE

SAGE

Two suitcases sat on the front porch as I walked up the stairs after school had let out for the day. They were my father’s, but I couldn’t remember him mentioning that he was going anywhere. Frowning, I entered the hallway, intending to find him and ask what was happening, but raised voices coming from the living room stopped me.

I winced. They were fighting again. It seemed like Mom and Dad were always arguing these days. Sometimes, I wished they’d just get a divorce so I didn’t have to listen to them yell at each other anymore. At least I’d be out of here in a few months. I’d been accepted into a prestigious dramatic arts college and would be moving into a dorm until I finished my studies.

Deciding I’d rather not face my parents while they were angry, I turned off the hallway and into my bedroom. Their voices grew louder so I closed the door to drown them out. Back when they’d first started fighting, I’d tried to figure out what their disagreements were about so I could help, but that hadn’t done anything other than upset them more than they already were. I’d learned it was best to give them space when they were like this.

I stripped off my school uniform and changed into a pair of patterned jeans and a t-shirt advertising my friend’s band, then paused for a moment, listening hard. When I realized they were still going at it, I grabbed a bright pink nail polish from the cabinet and sat on the floor to paint my toenails. I’d finished one foot and started the other when an almighty crash echoed through the house.

My hand slipped, smearing nail polish across my toe. My heart thumped madly as I waited for the arguing to resume, but there was only silence. Eerie silence. After so many months of being a bystander for these fights, I knew what was normal and what wasn’t. Something was wrong.

My pulse beating a rapid tattoo, I put the nail polish away and crept down the hall. When I reached the living room door, I edged it open and peered through the gap. Mom was lying on the floor, her long hair splayed around her. She wasn’t moving. Dad knelt over her, muttering frantically. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her but she didn’t respond. I threw the door open and raced to her side.

“What happened?” I demanded, staring down at her. Her eyes were closed, her face slack. I cupped her head with my hands and felt something wet and sticky. Heart sinking, I withdrew my hands and saw they were coated with blood. I scrambled backward, away from Dad. He watched me, his complexion pale and his eyes wide.

“I didn’t mean to,” he whispered, looking horrified. “We need to leave, but she wouldn’t come. It was taking too long.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “I pushed her, and she… she…”

I glanced from Dad to Mom, noticing for the first time that an electrical cable was tangled around her ankle and that her head was only a few inches from the tiles around the fireplace. Red droplets stood out against gray stone. I could imagine exactly what had happened. They’d gotten angry, egging each other on, then he’d shoved her, and she’d tripped and hit her head. And now she wasn’t moving.

“I didn’t mean to,” he repeated, staring blankly. “I’d never—”

“We need to call an ambulance,” I snapped, grabbing my phone from my pocket. I started dialing but the sound of a vehicle pulling up the drive made me pause. There weren’t any sirens, but perhaps Dad had already called for help. I looked at him to confirm and saw the remaining color leach from his cheeks.

“Go,” he hissed, his eyes locking on me. “Out the back, over the fence. Call the police, but whatever you do, don’t come back.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Are you crazy? Mom needs help. I’m not going anywhere.”

He reached behind himself and brandished a gun. I gasped. He leveled it at me, his expression frantic. “Get out, Sage. Right now.”

My lips trembled. “You’re insane.”

He undid the safety. “Go!”

I stumbled away from him, hurrying toward the exit. I yanked the door open and slammed it shut behind me, then sprinted across our short back lawn and around the garden shed, to the broken board in the fence that I could use to climb it. I shoved my foot into the gap and pushed myself up, flinching as what sounded like a gunshot came from the house. I heard a shout, and then men’s voices. Terror coursed through me as I fell over the fence and hit the ground on the other side. The rough landing jarred my teeth but I kept my mouth shut and didn’t make a noise.

The voices were louder now, and I got to my knees and crept along the edge of the fence, then straightened just enough to see over the timber and into our backyard. My father stood in the center of the lawn, his gun aimed at a man with short brown hair and cruel eyes, who was also armed—as were his two companions. Another man emerged from behind the threesome. He was the shortest of the group, but something in his confident stride told me he was in charge.

“Where is it, Brendan?” the short man demanded as he joined them.

I tasted blood and realized I’d bitten my lip. Should I call out to distract the men, or stay hidden? Dad had sent me away. He must have known they were coming and wanted me gone, but could I really stay here while they were threatening him?

I fumbled for my cell phone and called 911, ducking low so there was no chance of them seeing me.

“I didn’t take it,” Dad said as I waited for the call to connect. “I swear to you.”

A gunshot sounded. Then another. I clutched a hand to my mouth to mask a whimper. Who’d been shot?

“What the fuck?” It was Dad’s voice, strained but strong. Thank God. I crawled away from the fence, toward my neighbor’s house, and then darted around the side until I was sure the men in my backyard could neither see nor hear me.

“I need the police and an ambulance,” I said into the phone, then gave the woman my address. “There are five men with guns. One of them is my dad. My mom is injured.” I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn’t bring myself to admit she might be dead.

“Okay, I’ll send officers immediately,” the woman said. “Are you in a safe place?”

“I think so.” Although a few minutes ago, I’d thought home was safe, so who the hell knew for sure?

“Stay put. I’ll give the lead officer your phone number and they’ll call when it’s safe to come out. Do you understand?”

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