Lucca pats Clay’s back and walks toward the building. Clay sits back down beside me and takes my hand. The atmosphere around us is somber. All of my fallen soldiers have been on my mind lately, but sitting here now, it’s the only thing that I can think about.
“I need the bathroom. I’ll just head into the main building. It won’t have changed much since I was last here.” I stand up and steady myself.
“I’ll walk you over.” Amber stands from behind me. “I’ll look after her, boss.”
I didn’t even know she was here. She didn’t come in the cars with us. Is all of Shawland Security scattered around?
“Anything out of the ordinary and you reach us.” Clay holds his earpiece. “The only reason I’m not marching right along with your ass is because I trust Amber to take care of you.”
I roll my eyes and make my move before he changes his mind.
I’m glad to see Clay trusts Amber enough to let her come with me. I don’t want to go alone, but I also don’t need a male escort to relieve myself.
“How did you get here?” I ask Amber when we’re far enough away from my family.
“I’ve been here since early doors. I’ve been keeping an eye on things. Right now, Clay wants everyone on your watch.”
“He’s worse than my dad.”
Amber chuckles. “He loves you. And, from what I know, Clay doesn’t love easily. Everything he does is for a reason.”
Everyone keeps telling me that Clay doesn’t love easy, but I haven’t been brave enough to ask Clay what everyone means, because in the army he was there for us all. He was kind, caring, and even though he never said it out loud, he loved me with everything he had.
“I hate these fucking things!” I chastise my walking aids.
“You’re doing well. Don’t be harsh on yourself.”
I can tell Amber is one of the Shawlands now; she sounds just like them. Positive, positive, and even more positive.
We push through a double door and look around us. “Bathroom?” Amber asks the receptionist.
“Down the hall on the right.”
We take off in the direction we’re given. It’s weird because I’ve been here so many times, but right now, I feel like a stranger. I always expected to feel like that outside of the army, but so far, at Clay’s house, it feels normal. Here, on the other hand, feels like I’m in strange territory.
“I don’t care! Just make everything go according to plan! We don’t need any more bad press,” a voice booms from a semi-closed door to our left.
Amber and I pause for a moment, but she points for us to keep going. A small part of me wants to wait and hear what they’re talking about, but I know I can’t. I need to get out of here. Amber points to the door we’re looking for and we step through just as the door we passed bangs against the wall. Amber looks out, but I remain out of eyeshot. She shakes her head and joins me.
“God knows what that was all about. I’ll wait out here for you. Will you manage?”
I chuckle. “I think I can manage to pee.” I stagger into the cubicle and lock the door.
It’s amazing how hard it is to maneuver when you don’t have your full mobility. I’m glad I managed to keep my legs. This is killing me. In fact, it’s killing me more than my injuries ever could. My physical health is doing well. Better than any of us ever expected, but it’s a pity I can’t say the same about my mental health. There are moments I feel fine, but there are also many moments when I feel terrible for being alive and well with my family. Seeing Josh’s mom and dad has only made me feel more guilt.
A bang startles me from somewhere in the bathroom. Everything becomes still.
“Amber?” I call out.
Nothing. I hear shuffling on the outside of my door, but I stand up and fidget with my pants. Once I’m fully clothed and standing, I make my stance strong and click open the door. I know something bad is about to happen, I can feel it in my blood. I need to face whatever is waiting for me beyond this door.
“Amber?”
Why isn’t she answering me?
I stand back enough to let the door swing open. The area in front of me is still. No one is in sight, not even Amber.
“Amber!”
I take in a deep breath and step out of the cubicle. Before I can look to the side, a bag is tossed over my head. I fight to get free, but that only makes me weaker, because my balance is gone, and I’m being tossed over someone’s shoulder.
“Put me down!” I yell.
I try to kick out, but a tight grip is held over my legs and the pain is excruciating.
“Shut her up!” booms a gruff voice.
A voice I know too well – The boss.
I listen to my surroundings, but a whack to the head knocks me speechless. I bite my tongue and feel the tears sting my eyes. My head is spinning. I feel too far away from here to do anything.
They’ve caught me again.
Clay was right. I had a target hanging over my head the moment I stepped out of that SUV.
Chapter 26
Clay
I look over to my left where Shay and Amber walked, but they’re nowhere in sight. They’ve been gone ten minutes. That might not be a long time to some, but to me it feels like eternity.
“Relax, bro. Amber is better than me and you.”
I nod to Caleb. I know what he means. I’ve witnessed first-hand what Amber is capable of. I’ve sparred with her enough to know that she could knock me on my ass if I let her.
Something just doesn’t seem right. The army officials start to take their seats on the stage. People take their seats around us. But Amber’s seat behind me is empty, and Shay’s seat to the right of me is too. I turn around and look behind us. Mike catches my eye and lifts his hands up to ask what’s wrong.
I jump up and knock my seat back, but Caleb catches it before I make a scene. “Something is wrong.”
I take off running toward the building. I know my team will be hot on my heels. I crash into the reception area and bang my hands down on the surface. “Women’s bathroom,” I demand.
“Down the hall.” The receptionist stands and points me in the direction.
I take off running, crashing through the bathroom door. I expect to see Shay and Amber laughing, applying makeup, lost track of time, but in front of me Amber is lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. I kneel beside her and check for a pulse. She’s breathing, and I pull my hand away, covered in blood, as my team joins me.
“Call for medics!” I yell. “Stay with me, sweetheart Help is on its way. Chris, get someone from our team in here to stay with Amber. I have somewhere to be.”
At that moment, Mike barrels in the door and drops to his knees beside me. “Go. I’ll stay with Amber. Get Shay back.”
I take off out the door and look up and down both sides of the hall. Fuck trying to find someone in here, I run back out toward the gathering. I wipe my hand down my pants, because Amber’s bright red blood is a reminder that we could lose more than one of our own today.
I run out onto the stage and pull the first person up onto his feet. “I need camera footage from in that building. Now!”
“I-I can’t,” he stutters.
“Clay, what’s going on?” asks Lucca.