Page 65 of Redemption's Inferno

“I don’t know,” Emilie admitted, “and I can’t seem to put the pieces together. Dammit!” Tears of frustration sprang to her eyes.

“Honey, whatever it is, maybe we can help?” Kate asked. “Erin is pretty badass, for a mom and all, you know…even in the Marine Corps Reserves she kicks ass and takes names.”

“Emilie…” Becca’s voice held a warning as their eyes met across the room.

“I…” Emilie was torn.

“Shay was my ex-husband’s brother, but he was also one of the two great loves of my life,” Erin said after a moment. “He died in my arms on the side of a dirt road in Afghanistan, and even though I wouldn’t trade Drake for anything in the world, if I could go back in time and do something different, do something to change what happened that day, so that he didn’t die—even if he didn’t love me anymore—I would.”

“I don’t want to put anyone else in danger,” Emilie whispered.

“Just by virtue of being friends and family, we’re already in danger,” Kate pointed out. “Did something happen to Chains?”

“I don’t know…all I know is he was afraid someone from his past might come after him again. Something happened on his last mission in Iraq. It was a joint intelligence thing with a Marines unit, some British ground troops, MI6 and I think maybe some Israelis. I don’t know anything about the mission, except that something went wrong. The helicopter Chains and several others were in was shot out of the sky. As they were going down, Chains said he figured he’d rather live with a bunch of broken bones than be in the helo when it exploded, so he jumped. Somehow, he got tangled in a tree and was fine. Everyone in the helo was killed, as well as most of the ground troops. He and the Israelis were the only ones who survived. I didn’t get the impression he blamed them, though.”

“What does that have to do with Shay?” Erin asked. “He was in Afghanistan with me from February until August, 2010—the day our Hummer drove over that IED and I got these…” She pointed to the deep, rough scars that mottled her right arm and leg.

“He said he was really torn up about the deaths—he was friends with the men on that mission—and the day he got back to London he found out his good friend Shay, whose last name I only just learned from his mother, had been killed the same day. He knew he was betrayed by someone in MI6, but never found out who and he hinted that maybe the same person was responsible for Shay’s death. When he couldn’t find any answers, he left MI6 and London.”

“That IED in Afghanistan was meant to kill me,” Erin said quietly. “I didn’t find that out until a few years ago, but someone in my unit was feeding information to Shay’s mother—who hated me for ruining both her sons. It’s a long story but even though I loved Shay, I stupidly married his brother and supposedly ruined their family. She paid mercenaries to place that IED in our path because Shay was our unit commander and he wasn’t supposed to go on patrol that day. It should have been me and one of the other guys.”

“She killed her own son?” Emilie looked shocked.

“I don’t see how what happened with Chains’ mission in Iraq could be related to what happened to Shay in Afghanistan, even if they happened around the same time,” Kate reasoned.

“Unless the mercenaries who placed the IED in Afghanistan were part of the same group who betrayed Chains and his friends in Iraq,” Becca suggested.

“We need details,” Erin muttered, pulling her phone out of the pocket of the robe she wore. She lifted it to her ear. “Hey, Louie… Yeah, everything is fine, I just need a favor… Fuck you, friends don’t ever run out of favors!” She laughed. “Okay, listen, I know this is going to sound weird as hell, but can you pull information about another mission that went wrong on August 17, 2010… No, in Iraq. Yes, a Marine unit with some spooks from both the CIA and MI6, possibly Mossad… Yup… Thanks!” She hung up and looked around. “Keep your fingers crossed Louie can find out.”

“Guys, I don’t…” Emilie sighed. “Thank you.”

“Do you think something has happened to him?” Erin asked finally.

“I do. I know he would never leave me without a reason. Either someone took him, someone killed him, or he ran and is in hiding because he’s afraid they’ll go after me or his mother.”

“The note he left made it sound like he broke up with you,” Kate said, her brown eyes gleaming.

“To protect me.” Emilie nodded. “We’d agreed he would do that if something ever happened. And I’m so afraid he’s enduring something terrible so no one comes after me.”

“All this time?” Kate whispered, horrified. “He’s been gone more than two months.”

Emilie’s eyes filled with tears. “Yes. That’s why I had to tell you—even though I hate putting you in danger—and that’s why I’m going to do something.”

Chapter 24

Curled up in the corner of the sofa in her office, Emilie had her laptop on her lap as she tried to look at the vendor orders that would be arriving next week. She’d been distracted and things had been slipping through the cracks; last night they’d run out of orange juice at the bar and this morning Franny had told her there were only three rolls of toilet paper in the storeroom. She had to get things back on track so she could focus on Chains, but it was hard. Not only was she worried about her friends now that they knew what was going on, but she would become nearly paralyzed with fear every time she thought about where he was or what might be happening to him. She clung to the hope he was still alive; it was the only thing keeping her going.

She looked up as Franny came in, a list in her hand. She peered over her glasses at Emilie and frowned. “You look like hell, girlfriend.”

Emilie shrugged. “I’m single and nearly nine months pregnant—how else should I look?”

“You really haven’t heard from him at all?” Franny asked in a soft voice.

“Not even a damn postcard from the edge.” Emilie sighed. “The worst thing is not knowing how he is. I mean, even if he doesn’t love me anymore, to just drop off the face of the earth is weird. His mother hasn’t heard from him either, which makes it worse. I don’t know whether to smack him for worrying all of us or to cry because I’m never going to hear his voice again…” Though she hadn’t confided in Franny, it was easier to talk about Chains in terms of a broken heart, versus her real fear, which was that he was dead.

“Believe me, I know.” Franny perched on the edge of the couch. “It’s been nearly six years since I lost Gary and sometimes I still go to send him an email—that’s how we kept in touch when he was deployed. I dream about him and it’s so vivid, so real, I wake up and think he’s coming home…”

“It must have been awful,” Emilie said sadly. “You must miss him terribly.”

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