ChapterSeventeen
Emery was exhausted when she finally got to her cottage early the next morning. She’d left Greer’s truck and switched to her car at Grand Junction before midnight and it was less than a six-hour drive at that point. Even with a stop to pee and get gas.
She tried to lie down on her bed, but sleep wouldn’t come. Finally, she got up and soaked in the tub, then put on a comfortable white sundress and wandered around her small home. Why she put on a sundress, she wouldn’t let herself analyze.
She should go on a walk or try to sleep or call … who would she call? She didn’t know if she could share the story with any of her friends. All she wanted was to talk to Greer. But that was dumb.
Rolling her eyes at herself, she made some eggs and toast and forced herself to eat. Her phone rang. She snatched it up. The Voice. This nightmare was over, and it was time to be done with this guy. She had to stand up to him at some point.
“Where are you?” he demanded.
Interesting. Apparently the compassionate Voice was gone.
“Home. I’m out.”
“You’reout? I’ll tell you when you’re out.” He was yelling now. It was scary, but also a relief that he wasn’t trying to snowball her with his fake kindness and platitudes.
“I’m sorry,” he immediately backtracked. “Forgive me. I’m just so anxious that the Deltas not hurt or kill anyone else like they did Travis … and my son.”
Emery froze. He’d mentioned his son earlier. The poor man had lost a child. “I’m … sorry,” she managed. She sank into the sofa in her living room, her legs too shaky to support her.
“Me too.” His voice was soft, full of sorrow. “I wasn’t part of my son’s life, but I watched Flynn from afar. He excelled in the Navy, and I was very proud. I thought this mission might be his chance to prove the caliber of soldier he was and receive advancements he wouldn’t otherwise be considered for. I knew with Travis along he couldn’t fail. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have sent them.” His voice caught. “I would’ve gone myself, but she wouldn’t let me …”
Who wasshe? The man’s boss? His son had been Travis’s friend and killed as well. And the Voice blamed himself. The poor guy.
“I’m sorry about your son,” she managed.
“I’m sorry about your brother.”
Silence came on the phone. She felt awkward and awful. But she wasn’t going after whatever the secret was, no matter how guilty she felt about Travis and this man’s son.
“I’m sorry I can’t get the secret for you,” she said quietly.
“Emery, you have to. You’re our only hope.” His voice was begging. “Please. Do it for your country. Do it for Travis. Do it for Flynn.”
“I can’t. I left.”
“Word is that Greer Delta has been racing across Colorado and Utah to find you.”
“Greer’s coming here?” Her heart leaped. She tried not to get excited about seeing Greer. Could it mean he loved her despite everything? She had to forget about love right now, or maybe forever where Greer was concerned.
“He is. This is your chance, Emery. He’s chasing you and he obviously cares deeply for you. Find out where the weapon is hidden and you could save so many lives.”
Emery was more confused than ever. She didn’t know that she could ever forgive Greer for killing Travis, but she’d been praying for the spirit of discernment and now she could clearly hear the falseness in the Voice’s voice. She believed his son had been killed and he felt deep sorrow for the loss, but he was lying about other things and he was desperate to get the weapon.
“I won’t do it,” she said. “Whatever this weapon is, whatever Travis believed he was fighting for, I don’t trust you or know you.”
Quick breaths were her only answer.
“No matter what Greer has done”—she couldn’t believe she was saying this—“I trust him. I know him. He’s good all the way through. I don’t understand why he shot my brother, but I do know the weapon in your hands would be far more dangerous than in the Deltas’ hands.” Maybe it was a shot in the dark but as she said the words she felt the truthfulness of them. This man wanted the weapon for his own agenda and purposes, not to save America.
There was silence, and then the Voice came as a snarl. “You get the information I need from Greer Delta, or you will both die.”
Then he hung up.
Emery stared at the phone. The Voice had just threatened to kill her and Greer. She’d instinctively known he was lying, and he’d just confirmed he was evil. Had he used her brother? She thought he’d lied to and used Travis and his own son, ultimately causing their deaths. For his own purposes or whoever his boss was, a she?
It was too much to muddle out, but she had to tell Greer everything the Voice had said and let him make sense of it. Was he truly coming? The words to that song played through her head as she looked down at her sundress. She couldn’t be thinking about country songs and her tenderness for Greer right now.