I nodded. “If you have the keys, I can fix the damage. It wasn’t much.”
“Before we undertake that task, do you remember Heath Palmer? There’s a guy in our crew who suggested you guys might have crossed paths at some point, so Casper dug into it and found that you and Heath trained together at Camp Mackall. He was new, and you were probably doing some qualification training before deployment,” Raleigh explained.
“Heath Palmer? God, I—”
“Not a big deal if you don’t remember him. There was a post on social media about this young guy who is missing in North Carolina. Came up on Benji’s feed while we were all down there for the christening. Heath’s a former soldier, so we always check things out in our group of friends if it involves anyone in the military. Anyway, Smokey seems to have an eidetic memory when it comes to people he met during his time in the military. He doesn’t remember personally crossing paths with you, but he knew your name, and he knew Heath from a short deployment with him in Serbia. Casper found Heath’s information and tried to call him, but the guy never answered. He then called the guy’s mom, and she said she hadn’t heard from Heath or his cousin, Harper, in a few days. It’s suspicious because she said they were supposed to be staying at a place in Southern Pines.
“Casper traced the Defenders of the Faithful to that area, and Heath’s mother said Harper, the cousin, was excited about a lead on a story about a hate group. Also, she said Harper’s gay, so the fact that he’s missing is a huge red flag for us, especially with what’s happening to Sean and the possibility it’s because of the Defenders.”
I searched my memory for the nameHeath Palmer, and after a few seconds, it clicked. I remembered his bright blond hair and easy smile.
Heath Palmer was just starting out with Special Forces operational training as a sniper when I was getting my recertification for live-fire exercises before deploying to South Korea.
Heath was a nice kid who didn’t seem to want to be there but was determined to make the most of it. I tried to support him as best I could while we were both at Mackall, encouraging him on the range and offering tips here and there. After I received my recert, I was off to South Korea, and we didn’t see each otheragain. Be it a benefit or a detriment, I’d do anything I could for a brother-in-arms.
“Barely, but yeah, I remember Heath. Young blood, fresh out of boot. He was a crack shot though. We trained together, me acting as his spotter until they assigned him a partner. I was getting a recert before deploying. Is he okay?”
“Not really. He just got his separation papers a couple of months ago, so he’s trying to relearn how to be a civilian, and now his younger cousin’s gone missing. The guy’s name is Harper Palmer, and he just graduated from George Mason University with a degree in journalism. He writes for an online LGBTQIA+ magazine,Colors of Pride, but he went undercover to pursue a story in North Carolina on an alleged hate group. The kid was hoping to sell the story to a large news outlet to get some exposure,” Raleigh further detailed.
I knew for a fact that there were a lot of soldiers who were approached to join some radicalized groups while serving. I’d been in the closet during my time in the Army because I’d heard stories of soldiers who were out and proud and the punishments they’d received at the hands of others. “No offense because you’re from there, but that area around Fort Bragg and Camp Mackall is a breeding ground for trouble. Was the cousin alone down there?”
“Heath was staying in a motel nearby in case Harper needed him, but Harper never called him. His cell phone is off. Did you have any exposure to anyone in the Defenders of the Faithful group?”
My eyes bugged at his words. “Fuck yes. I was just starting out at Camp Mackall for training at the beginning of my career when I was approached by one of our training officers. The SUV that did the drive-by at the police station in DC had a magnetic sign on the back with their logo. They were supposedly a religiousgroup for young men, but I had my doubts and steered clear of them.”
“Well, there’s no doubt they’re a hate group now, regardless of what they started as. Based on the chats Casper has been monitoring on the dark web, they’re coming for Sean. Right now, they’re offering a ten-thousand-dollar bounty for Sean’s whereabouts.
“If they figure out he’s here with you and your mother, they’ll come this way and that puts the two of you in a lot of danger. We only asked you to help protect him for a short time until we could free up resources, Jericho. We’ll take it from here. This is getting more and more dangerous, and we want no harm to come to you and your mother,” Wallis said.
Sean quickly stood from the table and focused his gaze on me. “I don’t have time for this bullshit, and I’m not one to run from a fight. I’ve put off business for a week and it’s time for me to get back to work. I’ll be letting a lot of people down if I don’t.
“I’ll deal with any personal repercussions, but I can’t let these nutjobs scare me into hiding. I won’t let them get in the way of what I’m trying to accomplish. If you’re going back to DC, can I get a ride?” His gaze turned to Wallis, which was probably a blessing. My heart was breaking at the idea of him leaving, and it was about to leak out of my eyeballs.
“Don’t you want something to eat, Jer? You didn’t stop for lunch today,” Mom asked as she was putting the leftovers into containers to store in the fridge. My mind wouldn’t stop repeating the goodbye I’d had with Sean.
His quick, “I’ll call you,” and the kiss on my cheek left me empty as my heart cracked in half. The worst part was that I was powerless and without a reason to stop him, and I couldn’t go with him. I had my own responsibilities.
“I need to go lock up the barn, Mom. I might eat something when I come back. Go ahead and relax. I’m fine,” I said as I finished my glass of tea.
Not since I’d begun my sobriety journey had I craved a glass of whiskey as much as I did right then. There had been times when a cold beer would have hit the spot—after a day on the back of a rank horse or working out in the sun fixing fences—but I’d resisted. Now, I wasn’t so sure I could.
“That little angel was beautiful, wasn’t she? You have so much to look forward to, Jer. I don’t think this will be the last you’ve seen of Sean, honey.” Mom’s voice cracked a little, just like she could read my mind.
I could feel her worried stare behind me as I opened the back door. I knew what she wasn’t saying:Please tell me you don’t have a bottle hidden out there.
“I’ll be fine, Mom. You don’t need to worry.”
When Mom returned to the kitchen with Ben and Rachel after the diaper change, Sean had explained to her that he had to get back to his job. She’d insisted on giving him a doggy bag with pasta and sauce, writing down the directions to reheat it on the top of the container. He kissed her cheek and thanked her for her hospitality. It sounded as if he never planned to return, contrary to what he’d said to my sponsor earlier in the day when he mentioned weekend visits. I wasn’t holding out hope for any of that.
I hurried out to the barn and rattled the bucket, watching as the horses in the pasture headed toward the barn for bedtime. The sun was setting, so I reached over to flip on the lights.
Nothing happened, which was when I remembered the broken bulbs. Apparently, that Langer kid must have broken the outdoor bulbs as well as the motion sensor lights. If I had that kid near me, I’d strangle the little fucker.
To be honest, I needed to call and check on him. I decided the next morning was soon enough, and I went about putting the horses to bed. I gave them some range cubes as they settled into their stalls, turned on the radio, which they’d become accustomed to, and then closed and locked the doors for the night.
When I got to the house, I closed and locked the doors and windows before I turned down the temperature of the air conditioner. Mom didn’t like to run it very often, but I couldn’t sleep when I was hot. Though, as I thought about it, it wouldn’t be as warm as it had been over the last week when Sean and I shared the bed. I’d be sleeping alone, once again.
I sat on the side of the bed and removed my boots, my mind wandering over all thewhat-ifsandcould-have-beenswhen it came to Sean and me. “What did you think was going to happen, dumbass?” I whispered to the stars outside my window.
