Page 108 of Fade (Fighting Fate)

“Move, move, move!”

Footsteps hurried along the concrete. Voices called out from the other cells, desperate to not be forgotten.

“Stand clear!”

Two more charges went off, one blasting the door to my cell wide open. Then, through the dust, came the best sight I could ever hope for. A United States Marine.

“Lance Corporal, are you injured?”

“No, sir,” I said, stepping forward.

“Good. You’re with me. All right, fellas. We have the target. Let’s empty this place and get out of here.”

Handing me a rifle, he signaled me to follow him out. I did as I was ordered, but checked to make sure the other prisoners were being taken care of as I went. The last door was being busted just as we slipped outside. That’s when the RPG hit.

The force of it sent me flying sideways. I landed on the ground, pain ripping through the same shoulder I’d dislocated six months ago.

Voices yelled at me, but I was too disorientated to answer. Arms grabbed me, lifting me up and throwing me into the back of a Humvee.

Then all I saw were the stars in the night sky as we flew through the darkened streets.

Dropping my head to the side, I locked gazes with the marine beside me. Lawrence, his patch said. “How the hell did you find me?” I said, my voice a little gruff.

“We got word there was a marine in captivity a couple months back from an Italian journo, but he couldn’t tell us the location. We tried piecing together what he knew, but it just wasn’t enough. Then, a couple days back, a little Muslim girl landed on our doorstep, claiming she knew exactly where we could find you.”

The breath stuck in my chest. “Mali.”

Lawrence nodded. “That’s the one. She was upset she wasn’t able to get to us sooner.”

Looking back out the window, I said a silent thank you to Mali. She had no idea how much I owed her.

As I watched the stars sail by, I smiled. I was going home, baby.

***

I closed the last e-mail and stared blankly across the room. Emotions were running around inside me completely unchecked. There were so many things to process, and I had no idea where to even start.

The most pressing one was the baby. What Amy must’ve gone through. The stress, the pain, the fear, the anxiety. And she had to go through it all without me. I didn’t know how to swallow that one down. I should’ve been there for her. I should’ve been there to carry some of the weight for her. The pain I felt for failing her was bigger than any I’d ever felt before.

And then there was the baby. Our sweet little angel, Mae. The pictures Amy had sent were heartbreaking. She looked so tiny. So fragile. But as Amy wrote, she was a little fighter. I couldn’t believe she was home already. She was the most perfect little thing a man could ever ask for.

But the deepest worry was Amy’s feelings for me. The tone of her e-mails had changed so much over the course of the last nine months. I was scared she’d given up on me. Given up on us. I wasn’t ready to face that. Not yet.

Giving the phone one last look, I pushed myself to my feet. I just couldn’t bring myself to use it. In less than two hours, I would be on a plane home anyway. I would know soon enough.

Chapter 59

Amy

Deployed time: 35 weeks

MIA: 25 weeks

Hanging the last pink balloon up on the little hook, I smiled. With the help of Amber and Kaeli, Susan’s living room now resembled sugar and spice, and all things nice. The place looked perfect.

Amber sighed contentedly beside me. “I can’t believe today’s the day she should’ve been born.”

Kaeli shook her head. “I know, right? It blows my mind. Did you know she’s exactly one hundred days old today? I did the math.”

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