The Archer Brothers, page 37
“I agree and I know that things between us are rocky, I can respect that.” I take a deep breath and ready myself for what I’m about to say. “I don’t know where things are going, if anywhere, with Cara. Seeing her brought back so many memories and made me realize that the love I have for Ryley doesn’t even scratch the surface of what I feel for Cara. One look and I was taken back to the day I met her and all the time we took falling in love with each other. I know that’s what you feel for Ryley and I should’ve stepped aside. I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted,” he says, but I hold my hand up.
“I’m not done,” I say with a shake of my head. “I love EJ. But I also love Cara and I know in order to have a future with her, if she’ll even consider it, I’m going to have to let that part of EJ go. As much as it’ll kill me to leave, I need to find some happiness.”
“Leave?” he questions.
“Cara has a life away from here. I can’t ask her to move but I’m willing to move for her. She came here for me one time in her life, so I would do the same for her. I thought you and I could go to the Clarke’s and just spend some time with EJ and let him see that we’re brothers and not two men vying for his love.”
“All right,” he agrees, but I feel as if he’s skeptical. I guess I would be, too.
“But before we go, the other reason I wanted to meet you here is because I have some stuff to show you. Yesterday, Cara and I met with Carole’s contact at the NCIS.” I hold the file folder in my hand. “This shit,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s deep and it hurts. As your brother, I’m furious this even happened. Someone we know knew you were alive.”
Evan’s face deadpans as he reaches for the file. I hesitate, but only briefly, before handing it over. “Special Agent Blaine will be making an arrest later this afternoon. Carole asked that you be given the opportunity to confront the people concerned and he’s allowing it as a favor to her.”
He nods as he opens the folder and visibly stiffens. Cara arranged the documents as such that everything he needs to know is on top. He looks up at me with a mixture of anger and sadness. The realization that someone we trusted took away six years of his life is written all over his face. For the first time since I buried a body I thought was my brother, I’m angry. His pain is mine. We share it. Not only has he lost something, but so has EJ, Ryley, our sister and mother, even the Clarke’s. What these people have done is unthinkable and they need to pay.
“Um…” he clears his throat and grips the side of the table.
“This is why I want you to see EJ first. Let him calm you down and remind you of what’s at stake. You’re just like me and your first thought is that you want to kill them, but not today. I won’t let you. You’ve suffered enough, we all have, and Ryley and EJ need you. They’re…” I jab at the folder with my index finger, “not worth it. They’ll get theirs in the end. I can promise you that.”
Evan rubs his hands over his face and yells at the top of his lungs. Bystanders stop and look, but I ignore them. They’re lucky that’s all he’s doing. His leg bounces, a clear sign of agitation and my cue to get him out of here and to a place where I know he’s welcomed.
“Come on,” I say standing up. “Carole and Jensen are waiting for us.” I pick the folder up off the table and tuck it under my arm. Pausing next to his chair, I’m banking on Evan being more like me in the sense that when I’m on edge, when I need to be talked off the cliff, EJ has been the one to do it. I realize now that could’ve all been because he was my link to Evan, but regardless, I need to try.
I put my hand on his shoulder and squeeze. “Let’s go see your son,” I say, the word son rolling off my tongue easily. Evan stands and slams his chair into the table, causing the other patrons to jump.
The drive over to the Clarke’s is a short jaunt from where we are and as soon as we pull in, the garage door opens with Jensen and EJ standing there waving at us.
“I’m not going to stand in the way of you and your son,” I say, as I turn off the ignition and exit the car. EJ runs up to me, just like I knew he would. I scoop him up and hold him in my arms.
“Hey buddy.” I pull him into a hug and walk us off to the side of the house, giving us privacy and letting Jensen and Evan chat. I squat, setting EJ down on his feet. When I look into his eyes, I see Evan. Everything about this little boy is Evan, aside from his hair, which is a mixture of Evan’s dark brown and Ryley’s red.
“Remember at the park when you asked about Evan being your dad?”
He nods. “’Cause my name is Eban junior and he’s Eban. He kinda looks like me but really look like you.” EJ smiles and that alone makes everything right in my world.
I sit down, resting my back against the house. In my head everything works out and what I’m about to say makes sense. But in reality, it probably doesn’t and I know I have to tread carefully here. EJ sits in front of me crisscross style and starts picking at the grass.
“So, I wanted to tell you today that I’m going to move to a new house, and it’s my hope that Evan moves in with you and your mom.”
“Why? Don’t you lub me?”
“I do, and I love your mom, but Evan is your dad and he wants to be your dad. He wants to take you fishing and teach you how to throw a ball. When we were kids, your dad was one of the best football players in our state and he played basketball and baseball. He just wants a chance to teach you what he knows and to show you that you are the most important person in his life.” I look for any sign of resistance or hesitation from EJ and see none, so I continue, “I know it’s hard to understand right now, but maybe when you’re a little bit older, you’ll sit down and talk about everything that happened when you were little.”
“Are you still gonna be my dad?”
I don’t want to say no, but it’s the truth. “I think I can be someone a bit cooler than a dad.”
“What?” he asks, full of excitement.
“An uncle... and let me tell you why it’s cooler. Being an uncle is the best thing ever because it means I get to do whatever I want and your mom and dad can’t say anything about it. And when you’re upset, you just pick up the phone and call me and I can help you.”
He looks at me with furrowed brows and shrugs. “Are you and mom still getting married?”
I shake my head and point to the garage behind me. “I think your dad wants to marry your mom. He’s been waiting a really long time to do that.”
“Oh,” he says and continues to pick at the grass.
“Maybe you want to go see your dad for a little bit.”
EJ stands and wipes off his legs. “Do I have to call him ‘Dad’?”
Hearing him ask this breaks my heart, but I shake my head. “Not right now, but I’m sure someday you’ll want to.”
Evan and I drive in silence. There’s tension in the car but it’s not between us. For the first time, I was able to witness my brother bond with his son, something that should’ve happened on the day he was born. After EJ and I had our little chat, the three of us went down to the beach and tossed the football around. I excused myself shortly thereafter and went back to the house and watched the two Evan’s have a chance at being father and son.
When we pull up outside the house, Special Agent Blaine is sitting in his car. He nods but stays there, giving Evan a chance to get some answers. Evan stops at the bottom of the steps leading to the house and looks around.
“This is some seriously fucked up shit.”
“I know,” I say as I pat him on the back, encouraging him to continue. When he gets to the door he knocks and when the door swings open, I place my hand on his shoulder to hold him in place. River is not the enemy.
Evan and I walk in, both taking a seat on the couch, the folder resting in my lap. Evan takes a deep breath and turns his gaze to River who is seated in the chair next to him.
“Where’s Frannie?”
River shrugs, knowing that his first instinct is to protect his wife. “She left last night. Said that with us being apart for so long, she grew accustomed to a lifestyle and now that I’m back, she can’t deal with it.”
I hand Evan the folder and he places it on the coffee table with a thud. I pull out my cell phone and text Cara, letting her know that Frannie isn’t here, hoping she’ll get the message to Blaine. There isn’t a single piece of me of that feels sorry for River right now.
Evan clears his throat and says, “Frannie knew we were alive. She’s the one who was sending the care pack –”
“How dare –”
Evan stands, towering over a seated River. I stand, as well, in solidarity with my brother. “No! You listen to me! Your wife knew that we were alive and chose to help her sick, twisted, fucking excuse for a brother. Weeks ago I found a cell phone in the bathroom and turned it over to NCIS. Each email they found is printed out, detailing every aspect of what went down. Registered in your name is a black SUV currently in Mexico for auto body work, the same SUV that tried to kill Ryley and Carole.” Evan starts to pace and I put myself between him and River. From everything I’ve read, River didn’t have any clue about any of this and was just the unlucky man who married into this dishonorable family.
“Six years we stayed in that jungle to protect that piece of shit Senator, who, as it happens, is your brother-in-law. We were there because he was having an affair with Christina Charlotte and when it ended, he kidnapped her daughter, raping her repeatedly before sending her to Cuba as a sex slave. Charlotte called her father-in-law, Brigadier General Chesley, and from there, favors were called in and we were sent to get the girl – which we did – but we stumbled onto something huge. When I shot Renato, it sent off a chain reaction.”
“Evan, I didn’t know.”
“How could you not know who your wife’s father is?” Evan roars. “He decides when we take a god damn piss.”
River looks shaken and confused. He rubs his hands through his hair. “Frannie told me she was adopted. I never asked if she knew her family. I didn’t…”
“Your fucking wife kept me from my son,” Evan says, adding salt to an already wounded man. “Rask doesn’t have a family because of her and who the fuck knows where McCoy’s wife and daughter are.”
Evan sits back down and holds his head in his hands. “She tried to kill Ryley,” he says defeated. “She watched Ryley go through hell, pretending to be her friend and yet she knew everything. She took Ryley’s pain and wrote me letters. She wrote you, Rask and McCoy, telling us how we were their heroes and they couldn’t wait for us to come home. School pictures, art work and pages from coloring books, all sent by her and for what?”
River shakes his head. “I don’t know,” he says, as his voice breaks and tears fall down his face. “I thought she was sick. I talked to her about getting help because I had a hard time understanding why everything was exactly how I’d left it, why there was cold beer waiting for me. I’m sorry, Evan.”
“You were our leader and she was supposed to be the leader at home, but instead she’s destroyed all of us because her brother is a fucking pervert.”
“I didn’t know,” is all he says over and over again. I put my hand on Evan’s shoulder, signaling that there’s nothing left here for us and that we need to go.
“You were my friend, my brother, but no more. I can’t trust you.” With those words Evan walks out of the house. I take one look at River before picking up the folder. He never once asked for proof, choosing to believe his fellow SEAL over his wife.
Walking out, I find Cara with her arms wrapped around Evan. There’s no jealousy coming from me and I’m thankful she’s there to comfort him. When she sees me, she lets him go and greets me with a kiss, making me believe we’ll be okay.
“I arrested Lawson this morning and there’s an APB out for Frannie right now. The San Diego field team is with Ingram. I know it doesn’t make up for what you lost, Evan, but it’s a little closure nonetheless.”
“Thank you, Cara.”
She nods. “The body that was discovered is, in fact, O’Keefe’s. We searched his house and found letters that he had written, detailing his part in all of this. He’s also the one who wrote the sole article that appeared in the paper. From what we’ve gathered, he was trying to be the whistleblower but just didn’t have the chance to really get it done.”
“There will be a trial. You’ll get your day in court. I’ll make sure of it.”
Cara kisses me again before climbing into her car. We have family plans later at Evan and Ryley’s. Our mom and Livvie will be there, as well as Jensen and Carole. It’ll be nice for us all to be together again. We haven’t had that in a long time.
Evan and I get in the car, both letting out a sigh of relief. “Where to?” I ask as I pull away from the curb.
“Magoo’s,” he says without hesitation and I agree with him that we could use a beer right about now. I careen to a stop when a loud boom shakes my car. A quick look in the rearview mirror confirms my worst fears as a fireball projects toward the sky. We get out and run toward River’s, but we’re too late. The house is fully engulfed in flames and before I can call for help, sirens wail in the background.
CHAPTER 30
RYLEY
FOR A LONG TIME I hated coming to the beach because it reminded me of Evan. When he came back to me, he didn’t hesitate to bring me out here. At first I was uncomfortable but those uneasy feelings quickly subsided because he was here with me.
Tonight marks six months since everything came to light, since a bomb leveled River’s house and Frannie went on the run. My life could be so different right now, but by the grace of God, I’m whole. I hate thinking about what could’ve been but when I close my eyes or hear the screech of tires, I know that I’m lucky that Evan and Nate walked out of River’s house when they did. If they hadn’t, EJ and I would be alone right now.
I’ve had enough alone to last me a lifetime.
Evan and I have both been going to therapy and, for the most part, it helps. I have so much anger that I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to curb it. Not until Frannie is behind bars. I don’t know if that will ever happen, but I hope for my sanity it does. I don’t want to always be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life and, as long as she’s out there running around, that’s what I’m going to be doing.
The ocean is calm tonight with only the occasional crashing wave. My toes are buried in the sand and my arms are covered with a sweater. I can’t decide if I’m hot or cold right now. Evan sits down behind me, surrounding me with his hulking form. Leaning into him, he wraps his arms around my shoulders.
“Are you sad that this is our last night here?”
I shake my head. After everything happened, we decided to sell our house and move back to Washington. Our new place is about a block from the beach, but it’s different there. When the Department of Defense got involved, we knew it’d take years before anyone went to trial and we didn’t want to wait. The Navy also offered Evan a very nice “please retire and don’t sue us” package that was too good to pass up. Besides, he said he’s never leaving me again so he really can’t be an active member of the military.
It’s odd to think that he’s retired, though, at such a young age and I don’t know how I’m going to deal with him at home all the time but we’ll manage… I hope. Evan asked Nate to go into the private security business with him, but Nate hasn’t given him an answer. He wants to provide security detail for Washington’s finest, or anyone who needs him. He also wants to have the resources to help McCoy search for his wife and daughter.
I have a feeling Nate is planning on asking Cara to marry him, which means he’ll be moving to the East Coast once his enlistment is done. He’s leaving the Navy too. Nate tells me things, we gossip like high school girls, but it’s mostly for advice. We’re still best friends, and Evan knows that will never change.
My SEALs, my warriors, have chosen home as their battlefield.
“I’m going to miss my parents, though.”
“They won’t be far behind us,” he says, as he kisses my shoulder. “We can stay until your mom retires, if you want.”
“No, I want to be settled before EJ starts school. We’ll fly down. Besides, it’ll be awhile. She’s not ready to quit, not now.”
Evan and I sit in a peaceful calm, watching the sunset over the ocean. I am going to miss this, but I think getting far away from Coronado is for the best. I want to put all the bad memories behind us and start over back where Evan and I began.
I shift in his arms, dropping the folded piece of paper I’ve been holding.
“What’s that?” he asks, picking it up from the sand before I can. I place my hand over his and shake my head. “What’s wrong?”
“I was going to bury it out here tonight.” I adjust so my legs are wrapped around him, so I can look him in the eyes and tell him how I feel. “Before you left for basic, you wrote me a goodbye letter and gave it to Nate. After you came home, he found it and gave it to me. I never read it. I didn’t want to because the words wouldn’t have any meaning since you were home.”
Evan holds the folded square between his fingertips as if he’s trying to read the words. Part of me is curious to know what he wrote. Did he tell me to move on? Avenge his death? Did he promise to come home and never leave me?
“Do you want to read it?” he asks.
“No, I don’t. I have you so that letter is meaningless and you’re never leaving me, so I don’t need it anymore.”
Evan slants his head and kisses me softly as if he’s trying to memorize my lips. When he pulls away, he rests his forehead against mine. “I have an idea,” he says as he uses his strength to pull us up. He carries me to the fire he started earlier and once we get there, he taps my bottom and I unlock my legs so I can get down.
