The Summer I Fell (The Six Series) (32 page)

“Hello.” The line was static filled, but I swear I could hear someone breathing on the other end.

I pushed the phone against my ear as hard as I could, hoping to hear better.

“Riley… so sorry…” I knew that voice. I could pick it out of a crowd of a hundred people.

“Ace!”
The connection hummed and popped in my ear. Garbled noised scratched at my eardrum, but he never answered. It sounded as if he stood in the middle of a crowd, and the noise drowned out all else. “Ace, can you hear me?” Nothing. Absolute silence. “Jake?” He didn’t answer. I pulled the phone away from my ear and saw that the call had been dropped. I pushed the number and tried to redial it, but all I got was a weird tone, and then it disconnected.

“Is everything okay, Riley?” Mary asked, putting her hand on my arm.

I looked at her and slipped the phone into my back pocket. “I don’t know. That was Jake. I’m sure of it, but the call dropped, and I can’t call it back.”

She nodded her head and plastered a smile on her face. “I’m sure he’ll call you back as soon as he gets a better connection.”

She was right. She had to be. There was no way Ace called just to tell me he was sorry. What the hell did he have to be sorry for, and why call just to say that? I’d rather he’d said ‘I’m coming home’. I shook my head to keep the bitterness from setting in. There was a reasonable explanation, and I wasn’t going to get angry with him. That he’d called would be enough until the next time I spoke to him. When I did, I’d tell him his phone conversations were severely lacking.

No matter how much I wanted to push it aside, it nagged at me for the rest of the day.

After all the furniture was moved back into place, I jogged up the stairs and grabbed a shower. I was probably the worst painter in the world. There was more on me than the walls.

Mary and I ordered pizza for dinner. Neither one of us had it in us to cook. Between moving, cleaning, and work, both of us were exhausted. It was a good kind of tired though. The type where you fall into bed, have a dreamless sleep, and wake up refreshed enough to tackle a new day.

IT HAD BEEN TWO DAYS since Ace’s mysterious call. He hadn’t called back, and a niggling sense of worry danced on my nerves. When Mary and I packed his stuff up, we’d put the boxes in my closet. I decided that I’d put them away when I got home from class. My English Lit professor was long winded, and I found myself drifting off as he spoke. Most days, I fought just to keep my eyes open, and my grades reflected it. I couldn’t wait for class to be over with. I just needed to get through twenty more minutes, then I’d be able to jump in my truck and head home. I had to pass the class, so I forced myself to pay attention.

When the hour was up, I all but ran out of the room and to the parking lot. My truck roared to life and I rolled my window down, letting the fresh air wake me up. Ten minutes later, I pulled into the driveway and parked. A car I’d never seen before sat in front of the house, making me wonder if maybe Mary had company that stopped by.

Upon closer inspection, I could see someone sitting inside the car. I slammed my truck door shut and took a step towards the other vehicle, when the driver’s side door opened and a man dressed in uniform got out. He closed his door with a soft thunk and pulled his cap onto his head. Confused as to why he was there, I waited for him to walk up to me.

“Excuse me, Miss, but does Mary Aceton live here?” he asked, looking from me to the house.

I felt myself stiffen. “She does. May I ask why you’re here?”

“I need to speak to her, please.” He wasn’t giving an inch, but neither was I.

The front door opened, and Mary called out. “Riley? Who’s here?”

The man in front of me spun on his heels and walked over to where Mary stood in the open doorway. “Are you Mary Aceton?”

Her hand flew to her throat. “Yes.”

The man gestured to the doorway. “May I come in for a moment?”

Mary stepped back, disappearing inside the house, and I found myself moving forward without even thinking about it. That man dressed in uniform wasn’t welcome here. He had bad news. I could feel it.

I made it into the house, as Mary dropped into a kitchen chair. The sharply dressed soldier had removed his hat and held it in front of him with a hand that clutched it tight.

I walked over, stood behind Mary’s chair, and put my hand on her shoulder. Her hand shot up and grasped at mine.

“Ms. Aceton, my name is Sergeant Phillip McKinney. I served in the same special ops team as your son, Jake. Ma’am, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just…” He paused for a second, and I watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “Jake’s team was sent in on a mission. The mission was compromised. The transport carrying part of my team was taken out. Jake was one of the men who didn’t make it.”

I felt my knees giving out on me, and I swayed behind Mary. Her sob cracked something that I thought I had a hold on wide open. I shook from head to toe and forced my legs to hold me. “There has to be a misunderstanding. Ace just called me the other day.”

Sergeant Phillip’s lips pulled flat along his teeth. “That’s impossible, ma’am. The attack happened last week.” He shoved his hand inside his pants pocket and pulled out a long chain. It dangled from his fingers in a flash of silver. “This is the only thing that we could find.”

I reached out, snatched the dog tags from his fingers, and ran my thumb over Jake’s name. “I think you better look into this a little more. Jake called me two days ago. I know it was him!” I shook the dog tags in the air between us. “How can you say this is all that’s left? He wore these, correct?”

Sergeant Phillip’s stance never changed. He remained calm and kept a steady eye on me. “I understand it’s hard to believe, ma’am. Trust me, I know.”

I snorted at what he said and rolled my eyes. “You claim he was under attack wearing these. I find it odd that there isn’t even a single black mark or scratch on them. You’re lying, and I want to know why! And I want to know where Ace is!”

Mary shot up from her seat and grabbed a hold of me, catching me before I shoved the man standing in front of me. It was like she knew I was at the end of my rope and about to snap.

Sergeant Phillip’s stance changed. He relaxed and slapped his hat against his leg. “Ace said you were a spitfire.” One side of his mouth kicked up at the corner. Not quite a smile, not quite a grimace, and I wanted to scratch it off his face with both hands.

“Ms. Aceton, I’m truly sorry for your loss. I know it in no way brings back your son, but I’m sorry all the same. You’ll be contacted by personal later in the week with routine paperwork that will have to be filled out. Until then, here’s my number if you need anything.”

Mary’s hand shook so hard that Sergeant Phillip had to steady it with one hand and put the card between her fingers with his other. He didn’t let her go right away. “I considered him a friend and am honored to have served with him.”

Mary nodded and clutched the card in her hand. I looked between the two of them in shock. “That’s it? Here’s my card, sorry for your loss?”

“Riley…” Mary went to put her hand on my arm.

“
No!
I refuse to believe this lie! Get out of my house. Ace is not dead! Do you hear me?
He’s not dead!
” I shoved him, and I kept shoving him, until he was out the door and I’d slammed it, locking it between us. Nothing bad could happen when you closed the door and locked it. No more lies could be spread to your ears if you couldn’t hear them. I caught myself as I teetered forward against the door, sliding until my forehead pressed against the wood and clutched at the silver chain still wrapped around my fingers.

He was not dead. He couldn’t be. He called me… told me he was… told me he was sorry! Sorry for what? For pretending he was dead? For allowing someone to come to his mother and say he’d died while on a mission?

Why would he lie like that? He had to be in trouble. That had to be the reason for the farce going on around us. I refused to accept it. I refused to let Mary accept it. I pushed myself off the door and watched as Mary crumpled to the ground.

I pulled her into my lap, and she wrapped her arms around me. Her heart-wrenching sobs shook both of us, and I let her cry. She needed to cry because she believed Sergeant Phillip. She believed the lies he so easily gave us.

I held her until her soft, keening wails were further and further apart. I made her stand and walked her to the couch. Pulled a blanket over her and shifted a pillow under her head. The same thing she’d done for me the day she found me on the floor, when I’d found out that my father had died. I watched her eyes flutter closed, as she breathed though the choppy breaths that crying leaves you with. When I knew she was asleep, I went upstairs and pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. Who could I call? Who could help me uncover the lies given to us by a uniformed man who claimed to be Ace’s friend?

I rubbed at my head and took a long, deep breath, blowing it out on a sigh as my eyes pricked with unshed tears. I would not mourn him. I refused to let myself feel that pain because deep down in my heart, I knew he was alive. He had to be alive. I couldn’t lose another person I loved.

I blinked, clearing my wavered vision, and went to the recent call list, selecting the number that I’d repeatedly tried to get through to. It didn’t even ring as it went to an annoying, steady beep that told me the number was no longer any good. Lies and deception. How the hell was I supposed to fight against the government? Who would believe me? Who would stand up and fight with me?

Aiden was military. He might be able to look into it, but then again, he might just accept what they said too. I didn’t need to be told to accept what they’d told me, and I had a feeling that Aiden would say just that. Eli was halfway around the world, and I couldn’t ask him to come home early for me. Josh was in no place to help me; he had a hard enough time helping himself most days. Paige and Mark? They were finally happy together, both on the fast track with their careers. No, they were out. That left Jared. Could I call him and ask him for help? Would he help me without it jeopardizing his rock-n-roll lifestyle? Maybe he could help me hire a lawyer or a private investigator… somebody to help me figure out just what the hell had happened. Maybe he could ask his parents to help me. I knew I was reaching at straws, but it was all I had.

I pulled his number up and put the phone to my ear, as I chewed on my thumbnail. When he answered, all I could hear was what sounded like an argument. Jared yelled at someone and then something scratched across my eardrum. I pulled the phone away and was about to hang up when I heard Jared’s voice again. He let out one final string of curse words before he answered with a sigh.

“Hey
, Riles.”

My throat closed up. My words died on my lips. I’d never been so scared to speak about something in my life and Jared, he’d want all the details.

“Riley… you there?” I could hear the concern in his voice.

I shuddered as I forced myself to answer. “Jared…” My voice came out sounding like a scared child, and I heard him suck in a deep breath.

“What happened? What’s wrong?”

“Jared… it’s Ace.”

“Just stay put, Riley. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” The phone disconnected, and I dropped it on the bed. Jared was coming home. He’d know what to do. The tears I’d tried so hard to keep at bay broke free and I curled into a ball on my bed, crying until I couldn’t breathe.

Jared was on his way. Jared would know what to do. Ace was not dead. We’d move heaven and hell to prove it.