“Taron’s fine, but Marley’s…” He turns his face to the side, and I can tell by the flex in his jaw it’s bad. “We’re going deep to get him back. I might not be able to contact you for a while.”
“Please be safe.” Desperation is in my voice. “Take care of… all of you.”
“I will.” He nods. “You and Leon okay? You need anything?”
We need you. “We’re good. Don’t worry about us. Nothing ever changes around here. You know that.”
“I love you, sis.” His hazel eyes meet mine, and my heart beats faster. Anxiety twists my chest.
“I love you, Sawyer.” I don’t want to hang up. “Please call soon… or anything, send me a letter… And please just… Tell Taron—”
“I’ll tell him.”
The line goes silent, and I drop my face in my hands.
It’s the last I hear for another month. Leon starts his senior year of high school. Classes begin at the college, and I do my best to show up mentally and physically. Miss Jessica comforts me with stories of when her brother was in Vietnam. Stories along the lines of “the darkest hour is always before dawn.” I love her so much, I don’t want to tell her they don’t help at all.
I should start cleaning out her old feed shed. I should introduce more products to my line. I should talk to Digger about having the peach trees pruned… So many things I should do. All I do is wait.
The sun comes up every morning, breaking golden over the rows of green-leaved trees. The sun goes down every evening, casting long shadows with no answers or relief.
I go to church every time the doors are open. I go to bed and pray God will please not take another person I love from me. My prayers are always the same. Please, God. Please let me have lost enough.
Every day is one long line leading into the next, until the day comes.
I’m standing on the hill, looking out toward the horizon. My eyes follow the narrow dirt road that runs past that old house on the hill, and right where the blue meets the beige I see a faint cloud of dust rising.
My heart leaps to my throat, and I’m running down the hill. Leon’s in the yard, and he calls to me, but I don’t stop. I don’t feel the ground beneath my feet. I don’t notice the scenery as I pass. It’s all a tunnel of blur centering on the Chevy Silverado growing closer at a rate of twenty miles per hour.
Tears coat my cheeks, and I see the vehicle stop. The door opens, and a dark figure steps out. His hair is messy, long, and a beard covers his cheeks. I don’t stop running until we’re in each other’s arms, hugging each other long and hard.
“Sawyer…” I can only say his name. “You’re alive.”
His large hand grips the back of my head, and I listen to his heart beating. “I’m home. I’m home for good.”
18
Taron
Sweat coats my body. We’re in a place so hot, it’s hotter than the summer days in the peach shed.
A shed. I’m in the canopy of darkness. Slick leaves surround us, and the cinder block hut hides in the banana trees and vines. It’s my job to test the door. My rifle is in my hand, and Patton is directly across from me in the undergrowth. Sawyer is covering the back of the house, and I’m making my way across the face, ducking under empty black windows devoid of glass.
The cell phone signals, the satellite imagery, the IP addresses, all of it led us to this place. Weeks of torture videos, of watching Marley being beaten, strapped to a chair… We’re here to set him free.
My heart beats in my ears. Anyone could be on the other side of that door, and it’s my job to open it. Reaching out, I see Noel in my mind’s eye one last time.
I rap hard on the wood and pull back, allowing the cement blocks to shield my body.
Silence.
The noise of cicadas rises around us. The scream of a bird somewhere in the distance. I wait, looking deep into the forest until I find a pair of black eyes. Patton has my back like always.
He gives the signal, and I step back, lifting my leg and kicking the door open before dropping to a knee, my gun at the ready.
Again, silence is the only greeting.
Then I see him.