Free Save Me by Heidi McLaughlin

need to do this.”
    Evan looks at me, stone-faced. “We’re a team. I want that fucker to pay for what he’s done. He’s hurt each of us in different ways and needs to be dealt with. He needs to know that his sick lifestyle is going to be the end of his life. And besides, we’re family and family supports one another no matter what.”
    “Thanks, Archer, that means a lot.”
    “Don’t fucking thank me. You know I hate that shit.”
    We sit in silence, watching the ships move in and out of the Sound. The activity at the Naval yard seems normal—no nondescript cars or people moving around stealthily—although tonight might be a different story.
    “I don’t know where they’re holding him,” I break the silence, admitting that my plan to see Lawson is flawed. I’m assuming he’s in DC or maybe San Diego, but I don’t know.
    “Cara will make sure we get in to see Lawson. She’ll know where he is,” Evan says, confidently. “Maybe Nate can scope out the area and find us a good vantage point.”
    “To kill him?”
    Evan shakes his head. “No, to scare the shit out of him and bring that fucking bitch Frannie out of hiding.”
    I nod in agreement. I’d never hit a woman, but I’d welcome a few rounds with her. Hell, I’d love to see Ryley take her on. I’d pay good money to watch her take that bitch down.
     
     

AS I SUSPECTED, THE arrival of Nate seems to have Evan on edge. It’s either that or what I told him yesterday about Penny is really messing with his mind. He’s trying to protect Ryley and EJ; all while trying to figure out who set us up and help me find my family. He’s pacing more now than on a regular day.
    The last I knew he and Nate were “okay” and Evan was wanting to work with his brother in the security business, but Nate stayed in the Navy to finish his enlistment … or as Ryley likes to say, he stayed to keep an eye on her mom and to be the eyes and ears that we need on the inside. Either way, Nate is pulling into the driveway and Evan looks like he’s about to have a full-blown panic attack.
    Ryley, on the other hand, is excited for Cara’s arrival. She says with her here they can talk wedding stuff, and it’s something us men wouldn’t understand. She’s right, especially where I’m concerned. Penny and I were married in front of a justice of the peace with no witnesses other than the people who were there to get married after us. I promised her a real wedding, but she got pregnant with Claire and we decided to delay it until our fifth anniversary, which happened while I was deployed.
    Giving her the wedding of her dreams is something I still plan to do, assuming she wants to be with me. I can understand if she’s moved on. I probably would’ve. It’s just hard to think of life being like that since this situation is no fault of ours. I now know she didn’t leave me, or choose someone else. I think she ran to protect our daughter. The question I have is did she know of the danger she was facing, or did she figure it out? There are so many unanswered questions that loom and pop up every day, and I’m afraid I’ll never have all the answers.
    The loud knock on the door sends EJ screaming down the hall until he’s crashed into it. He swings it open and jumps into Nate’s arms. I glance at Evan and see the torment on his face. He has to know EJ loves him, but he isn’t going to forget that Nate was there when he should’ve been. I know he’s thankful, but the pain is still fresh. I pray that I’m not in the same situation as him when I see Claire. To find out your child loves another man as their father has to be the worst heartache ever—that and losing your wife.
    “Rask?” Our teammate’s name falls from Ryley’s lips coupled with a gasp. My eyes land on Justin Rask, standing in the doorway with his bag slung over his shoulder and Ryley’s arms wrapped around him. Nate glances over his shoulder, smiling.
    “I thought this guy looked a little lonely on