Page 24 of Sutton's Shadow

“Of course. Anything you need, I’m there.”

“Mine too?” Annika asked.

“Absolutely.”

The two women squealed with excitement. “I can’t believe we’re going to have a Pulitzer Prize–winning photographer taking pictures of our wedding,” Natalie rejoiced.

“And don’t forget about the movie-star groomsman,” Jolene reminded them, eliciting another shriek, which drew attention from the surrounding tables.

“I have to tell you, Sutton,” Annika said, laying a hand over her own. “That picture that won you the Pulitzer a few years ago was absolutely stunning. It was eye-opening. I never wondered before what happens to our servicemen and women when they die overseas. Knowing there is a company like Sokaris out there is heartening.”

There were sounds of agreement from the other women. She’d been to numerous war-torn countries. Documented atrocities made during conflict. Even had the occasional heartstring tugger images featuring selfless acts. But it figured the image that gained her the most notoriety was taken in her very own country. And it was one of her easier assignments.

Just like Annika, she’d always wondered what happened to the service members after being killed in action. Having witnessed the disrespect other countries could show fallen enemy combatants, she wanted to know. She’d known that the first stop for the deceased was Dover Air Force Base, but she was unsure of what happened after that.

Having been at the base to begin her inquiries, she’d learned of Sokaris Air by chance. While there, she’d witnessed an honor guard escorting a flag-draped coffin to a plane with a pair of angel wings in red, white, and blue emblazoned on the tail.

Sokaris Air, a contract carrier with the government, brought fallen heroes to airports close to their final resting place. It honored Sutton to be allowed to witness the reverse dignified transfer placing the sacred cargo onto the aircraft. She flew with them to the bustling Las Vegas airport. Upon disembarking, they discovered the airport had completely stopped all activity to honor the fallen warrior. With her camera, Sutton had caught the emotions not only on the faces of the family members there to meet their loved one, but also on the faces of total strangers who stood silently venerating the hero who had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Those were the images that had won her the Pulitzer Prize. Images she’d hardly been able to see through the tears as she’d taken them. Even now, remembering the reverence and silence, the sting of tears built in her eyes.

“I’ve never seen them,” Jolene confessed.

Natalie pulled out her phone, and after swiping and typing a bit, showed the screen to Jolene. “These are it.”

Jolene gasped, and her hand flew up to her chest. “Oh, bless their hearts.”

There were tears in the corners of her eyes. It was exactly the reaction she’d always hoped to portray with her photographs. But after Liam’s death, it all felt wrong somehow. While she hadn’t risked her life to take the Sokaris Air photos, there were plenty of others where she had. Was it worth it? What difference did it actually make in the world? She’d opened some people’s eyes, but it never lasted long. There was always more evil in the world that wanted to destroy any bit of good.

As the girls gushed over her photographs, Sutton traced a nick in the wooden tabletop. She had felt pride having brought those images to the world’s attention. But since Liam’s death, she’d felt nothing but shame.

Shame because she had risked her life many times, and the lives of those around her. But her biggest shame was letting the atrocities she’d witnessed in Colombia go unpunished. By the time she’d woken from the coma, she’d learned the soldiers who’d attacked the camp had vanished, along with all the young girls they’d stolen.

She was ashamed to admit that for the first time in her career, she’d feared retribution. And since there had been no evidence of the group responsible for the attack, the evil remained free to spread. She had photographic evidence but was too afraid to share it. Something she’d never experienced before.

She’d been fearless in pursuit of the truth. It had never mattered what kind of evil Sutton was exposing; she was relentless. She had been just as persistent in revealing the good that people could do as well?like her work with Sokaris Air?but it was the dark side of people that got her blood hot. It had been her solemn duty to uncover what she could. Until Colombia.

She yearned to rectify her mistake, but she didn’t know where to start. She’d burned too many bridges when she’d refused to talk to authorities after she’d woken from the coma, allowing her fear to keep her lips zipped. Perhaps, after Wyatt’s sister came home, Sutton could get Dylan’s take on things.

The women continued to gush over her pictures, oblivious to the turmoil erupting in her mind. Pushing aside her downward spiral, she smiled when each of her new friends got on their phones after noticing a link to donate to Sokaris Air’s Honor Journey Fund. By the time they’d wrapped up their meal and headed back to their respective homes, the Journey Fund was several hundreds of dollars richer.

Chapter 7

Unabletosithomealone allowing his anxiety over Bethany to overwhelm him, Wyatt had decided to take his worries to the beach. Maybe the sharp winds would blow the fears for his sister away momentarily. Today was one of those days when a person could feel the seasons changing. Summer was giving way to autumn, and the winds had whipped up the lake to announce the change. The surf battered the pier, which accommodated the lighthouse at the end. Usually, the pier was full of people, but on a day like this, they stayed away. There had been enough deaths on the pier that the locals all knew the dangers.

Wyatt kept his feet firmly planted in the sand, letting the winds batter him as his mind drifted to the summers when he’d been able to visit Bethany. They’d always spent at least one day of his leave on the beach. Even though she was now a teenager, she still loved to hang out with her big brother, telling him she’d never outgrow the special time she enjoyed with him. In fact, just a few months ago, they had spent a warm summer’s day in the very spot he now stood.

They had floated in the calm waters of the lake, devoured ice cream sandwiches, and built an epic drip sandcastle. She’d laughed at his attempts to growl at the teenage guys who were a little too overt with their ogling of his baby sister. With the number of epic eye rolls he’d received that day, he’d been surprised her eyes could still function normally. But she’d never once complained about his overprotectiveness.

A sharp pain hit him behind his ribs at that thought. He’d always been protective of her. Especially knowing what their mother was like. But on the day she’d truly needed his protection, he hadn’t been there for her. And now she was gone.

He rubbed at the ache in his chest, feeling the sting in his eyes and knowing it wasn’t the wind causing the burn.

“Wyatt?” He turned at the sound of his name on the wind. For a moment, he thought the voice belonged to Bethany, and his heart nearly stopped. But it wasn’t a teenager making her way over to him. It was a full-grown woman. One who was spending way too much time in his head when it wasn’t consumed with thoughts about Bethany.

“Sutton. How are you?”

She swiped at a strand of hair that had blown into her face as she stopped in front of him. “I was just about to ask you the same thing. Any word?”

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