Page 143 of The Archer Brothers

But nothing has ever prepared me for what I’m feeling now. My life and the life of my daughter is a continuous movie reel showing me everything that I remember and conjured up in my mind.

As I stand here, my heart beats slowly as the fear I’ve been trying to avoid seeps into my system. The shock I’m going through will eventually go away when my endorphins kick in and my fight or flight reactors engage.

I’ve been duped. I should’ve never listened to Cara and jumped at her vague answer regarding Nate. And Ryley—the one person who in a matter of moments made me believe I could trust someone—has lied. They’re not here to flesh out Frannie, they’re here to deliver me to her.Theywork for her.

I step back from the man in the doorway and shake my head. I’m trapped. I have nowhere to run and everyone in town is at the Village Green. It’s the perfect set up and I’ve walked right into it. The thought of Claire being taken and Ray being hurt as he tries to save her run rampant through my mind. I let out a cry, only to be comforted by Ryley.

“Don’t touch me,” I scream. “You people are sick. I just want to be left alone. Why couldn’t you leave me alone?”

“Penny,” the man in the door says my name, as if he knows me. He doesn’t. He can’t.

He’s dead.

I look at Ryley, who has tears rolling down her face. I can’t understand why she’s crying. Has her mission failed?

“Penny, I know you’re in shock right now, but please listen to me,” Ryley says as she reaches for me. I step back and try to remain upright when the back of my knees touch the bed.

“I don’t have to listen. This is sick, Ryley. Having someone pose as your dead fiancé to get me to help you? Why would you do that?”

“I’m not dead, Penny. Give us a chance to explain, please,” the imposter pleads. I slowly shake my head, but know I have no choice. He digs into his pocket and pulls out a piece of paper, handing it to me.

“What’s this?”

He sighs, running this hand over the top of his hat. “Read it, please. It’ll help with what I’m about to tell you.”

Unfolding it carefully, I read the words at the top of the page:

In an instant I think back to six or seven months ago when Ray said he saw a news report, something about a conspiracy. His words are clear, “Anyway, it was about a Navy SEAL who was reported dead, but they found him alive.”Him. He said him, notthem.

“What about—”

Ryley sets her hand on my shoulder and then I know. Evan was the one they found alive, not my Tucker.

“Finish the article, Penny.”

Nodding, I wipe away my tears with the back of my hand so I can see clearly.

“Is this some type of joke?”

“No,” he replies, shaking his head. “We’re alive and we’re home. We’ve been back for a little over six months. Shit’s bad, Penny. We had no idea what was going on back home.”

“And we had no idea Frannie was sending the guys care packages,” Ryley says. “They came home thinking we knew they were alive, that they were still on their mission.”

“This is unbelievable. This is the type of stuff that happens on television, not in real life,” I whisper, sitting down to re-read the article again, focusing on the word “four”. Ray heard one and that one could be Evan, if it’s the same story, but this four.

Four Navy SEALs dead, only to return home six years later.

There were four in Tucker’s deployment, Evan being one of them. My hopes soar as I try to form some sort of coherent sentence, but I can’t. My breathing picks up, my heart rate increases, and I feel dizzy.

Tucker …

Claire …

… Ray.

It’s only in that moment I realize what the article is telling me. “It says four. Are you telling me that Tucker is alive?” My voice breaks as I look at Evan, desperate for confirmation.

“Yes,” he, Ryley, and Cara all say at the same time.

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