Forever Freed

by Kathleen Brooks

  “Jackson!” came the demand from across the diner.

  “You better go. It sounds like a wedding emergency.”

  Jackson stood up and stared down Walker as he made his way to him. But his friend didn’t seem worried about the wedding. He kept looking down at his phone.

  “What is it?” Jackson asked. Walker didn’t reply, just handed Jackson his phone. There were text messages from Edie, Walker’s sister in Shadows Landing. Jackson’s breathing stopped as he continued to read the texts coming in from Edie.

  Bomb found.

  Evacuated.

  Detonated.

  Jackson swallowed hard and shoved the phone back to Walker before hurrying outside. He was already dialing Shadows Landing as he pushed open the café’s door and stepped out into the cold night air.

  “Fox,” Granger snapped as he answered.

  “It’s Jackson Davies. What is going on?”

  “Talk to Kord. I’m busy.”

  The phone was handed off as Jackson put it on speakerphone. Kordell King, or Kord, as everyone called him, was Granger’s deputy. “Damn, bro. That girl is in trouble,” Kord said the second he picked up the phone.

  “What happened? I have Walker with me.”

  “We took your warning seriously. The town was swept this morning and was clear. Then a guy showed up here a couple of hours ago asking about Evie. He said she was schizophrenic and he had been hired to find her by her family who just wanted her safe. Unfortunately, he talked to Stephen Adkins. That stupid prick told him he’d hadn’t seen Evie since the other night right before, when, and I quote, ‘Jackson Parker went back to Kentucky.’”

  “What happened next?” Jackson asked as his heart turned to stone and instincts kicked in.

  “The man asked Stephen where in Kentucky you were going. The prick told him you were from Keeneston and were Evie’s boss’s cousin. The man went to the restroom and then left.”

  “What about the bomb?” Walker asked. Walker had been in DEVGRU, the elite Naval Special Warfare unit formerly called Seal Team Six. He knew a thing or two about bombs.

  “Harper thought the whole thing was fishy and called Granger. Granger agreed and called Agent Castle from the Charleston FBI who brought in a bomb sniffing dog, all within thirty minutes. We didn’t think we’d turn up anything. We thought we were overreacting. The dog scented a bomb in the bathroom. Harper had already rolled a keg out to the sidewalk and called it Fallfest, so people weren’t in the bar. But when the dog got a hit, we got everyone out of all neighboring buildings and homes and over to the church per evacuation procedure. There was a timer on the bomb. There wasn’t enough time for bomb squad to get here so your cousin Trent remembered Gil had a large metal dumpster. We all ran down and pushed it to Harper’s back window.

  “Granger broke out the bathroom window when it wouldn’t open and covered the bomb in all the bulletproof vests the sheriff’s department had. Then he slowly lifted it up and handed it to me so he could crawl out the window. I handed it back to Granger who leaned over the dumpster ledge and set it down inside. Then the guys closed the lid. We had three minutes left on the timer when we pushed it the farthest point in the back alley away from buildings and ran like hell,” Kord told them.

  Walker let loose with some very creative cursing. Jackson couldn’t even form words, he was so angry. They’d come after his family all because Evie had been there. He was going to kill every member of this group, regardless of the fact that Evie’s stepbrother was one of them.

  “The bomb went off with a fireball that shot up in the sky, thirty, forty feet. The dumpster seemed to contain most of the damage. I mean, the dumpster is shot to hell, but it saved all the buildings and no one was hurt. Granger’s with Castle as they collect evidence from inside the bar while they’re waiting for the bomb techs to get here to examine what’s left of the bomb.”

  “Everyone is safe?” Jackson asked.

  “Yeah. It was just luck that Harper got a bad feeling about this guy.” Kord said as the sound of sirens in the distance could be heard. “Well, bomb squad is here. I need to get going. I’ll make sure we send everything we find to Ryan.”

  “Thanks, Kord.”

  “Just keep Evie safe. This dude is bad news.”

  Jackson hung up and looked at Walker who was reading more texts from his sister. “Edie is spending the night with Tinsley at Ryker’s house.”

  “Good. But I think the danger has passed. The guys are on their way here. It’s Keeneston that’s now in danger.”

  17

  Jackson looked through the window to see Evie pretending to be happy and talking with his family and friends while she cast worried looks over her shoulder at him. Across the room, Aniyah and DeAndre were talking and laughing with her family while the townspeople sat near them with wedding binders at the ready. They were in full wedding planning mode. Inside the café was filled to the brim with happiness, but outside there was nothing to smile about.

  However, Jackson’s family was smart. And they saw everything. First Greer pulled cousins Porter, Parker, Landon, and Colton over to the table and introduced them to Evie. Then came cousins Layne and Piper to join the conversation with Sienna close behind them. As Sienna joined the table, Greer and Ryan slipped from the café and before the door could even close, their father and most of their uncles were outside.

  “What’s going on?” Uncle Marshall asked. Jackson’s uncles were all former Special Forces, except for Cy who had been a spy, and Pierce who was an inventor and farmer.

  Jackson filled them in as quickly as he could.

  “Thank goodness everyone is safe,” Uncle Cade said as he ran his hand through his hair in agitation.

  “What did I miss?” his wife, Annie, asked as she too slipped out to join them. Cade gave her the shortened version and Annie nodded. “Good. I get to shoot someone. I won’t let Aniyah do it, even if she is the bride.”

  “I need to tell my boss and I want to bring in Lucas and Talon,” Jackson told the group.

  “We can help,” Walker added as everyone nodded in agreement.

  “Besides, your boss won’t authorize you to do anything in an official capacity. This is Ryan’s show,” Jackson’s father reminded him. “If Lucas and Talon come, it’s on their own time.”

  “I’ll go get Matt,” Cy said. “Since my son-in-law is the biggest badass, he’ll help too.”

  Miles’s eyes narrowed. “Are you drunk? Walker is clearly the biggest badass,” Miles said, slinging his arm over his son-in-law’s shoulders.

  “Whatever, Deacon will find out more than any FBI search can since he’s not hampered with bureaucratic BS,” Marshall said with confidence.

  “One word—Nash. I totally win,” Cade said as he smiled.

  “Actually,” a soft little voice said from behind Jackson. He turned to see his Aunt Tammy who stood all of five foot two on a good day. She was Uncle Pierce’s wife and mother to Piper, Dylan, Jace, Cassidy, and little Cricket, who was currently perched on her hip. “I have Aiden and Abby. Hands down, I have the biggest badass son and daughter-in-law.”

  “Regardless, what you’re saying is I have help,” Jackson said, ending the badass debate.

  “Exactly. Just tell us what you need,” his father said as his family all nodded in agreement.

  “Let me get Talon and Lucas here and then we’ll have a meeting with everyone and get a plan of action,” Jackson told them right as the door opened and Aniyah stuck her head out.

  “I’m getting married next week, y’all!”

  She squealed with excitement, shut the door, and then there was silence.

  “A wedding and a bomber on the loose,” Annie said. “I haven’t had this much fun in years. I can’t wait to tell Bridget.”

  “Why would you tell Bridget?” Cade, her husband, asked.

  “Because they like to work together, don’t you, Aunt Annie?” Ryan said innocently.

  “But Annie doesn’t work anymore,” Cade argued.


  “Except working on our tans on our girls’ trips. We like to relax and talk about our favorite cases. I’m sure you all do the same when you have your guys’ trips, right?” Jackson watched as the uncles all very quickly nodded and rushed inside. Aunt Annie grabbed Ryan’s shirt and pulled his face down to hers. “I may be getting older, but I still know people. You keep your mouth shut or I’ll have you reassigned to northern Alaska with only Bertha to keep you company.” Then she smiled sweetly and patted Ryan’s cheek before happily heading inside.

  “What the hell was that all about?” Jackson asked.

  “I think I’d better not tell you,” Ryan said slowly as he watched Aunt Annie send him a quick glare through the window.

  “We’d better get inside and fill in our wives. They keep looking at us,” Walker told them.

  “I’ll call my boss and let him know what’s going on,” Jackson said, pulling out his phone. “Just wait to say anything until I have a chance to tell Evie.”

  “You got it,” Ryan agreed before he and Walker headed inside.

  Jackson waited until he was alone and called his boss at home. Fortin picked up on the first ring. “I already know.”

  “I want Talon and Lucas to join me here to help protect Evie,” Jackson said, cutting to the chase.

  “Protecting isn’t your job. Ryan can handle it.” There was a pause as Jackson took a deep breath. “Of course, if Lucas and Talon were to join you on their time off, then there’s nothing wrong with that,” Fortin said.

  Jackson took that as a win and asked what he’d been wondering. “Are the bombs all the same?”

  “The Shadows Landing one was largely contained by the dumpster, so we should learn a lot from it. The whole dumpster is being transported to Quantico, as are all the other bomb fragments from the other sites. I should know a lot more in a couple of days. I’ll be sure to call you and Ryan with the information.”

  “Thanks,” Jackson said, moving to hang up.

  “How is she doing?” Fortin asked.

  “Hanging in there. I haven’t told her about Shadows Landing yet. That will upset her. Everything she’s been doing has been to try to save people. She just needed the right person to listen to her.”

  “Well, she found him. Keep me updated.”

  “I will,” Jackson promised before hanging up and texting Lucas and Talon.

  He received texts back from both of them within minutes. They would be in Keeneston ASAP.

  * * *

  Evie saw Jackson texting and then putting his phone away. He took a deep breath, turned, and looked right at her. His silver eyes seemed to bore into hers and straight into her heart. In them she saw pain and worry even though he had what she could tell was a fake smile on his face. Something was very wrong. She’d known it the second Walker had called him over.

  Then he and half the people in the café went outside. Did he think she wouldn’t know something happened? Instead, his cousins and friends had tried to distract her. Yes, they were nice. Yes, the twins told fascinating stories about the rodeo. And yes, Cassidy told funny stories of her time at the King of Bermalia’s palace over the summer. The trouble was she wanted to know what was going on so she only listened with half an ear as Aniyah and DeAndre announced their wedding in one week. She only heard bits and pieces of wedding planning that took over the café and didn’t hear Piper the first time she said her name.

  “Evie,” Piper said loudly, finally getting her attention. “Look, I know we just met and there’s a lot going on this week, but I’ve been in a situation similar to yours. I think you’ll find you’re not alone here in Keeneston. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or to talk to someone. I know the feeling of constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. For someone to find you and the feeling of guilt for others being put in danger.”

  Then Sienna reached over the table and took Evie’s hand in hers. “I know that feeling as well. I’m always here to talk.”

  “But how?” Evie asked. Certainly these happy people in this perfect town didn’t know what she was experiencing, yet everything Piper said was exactly how she felt.

  “We’ve been there. Sienna overheard a murder and Ryan came back from LA to protect her when the murderer came after her. Aiden was hired to be my bodyguard when someone was willing to kill for my invention. Even Abby—”

  “The scary one?” Evie asked.

  “Well, I’m not sure if Dylan rescued Abby or Abby rescued Dylan. Either way, we’ve been there. We protect our own. By the way, Jackson seems freaked out over you. You mean something to him, which means you mean something to us. You’re part of Keeneston now,” Piper told her.

  “You’re not alone anymore, Evie,” Sienna said meaningfully, and Evie found herself close to tears.

  “Thank you.”

  Jackson joined them and Greer just rolled her eyes at her brother. “So, what happened?”

  “Looks like we have a wedding to plan,” Jackson said with the fake smile still in place.

  “Cut the crap,” Greer told her brother. “We all have eyes and we all know something happened. So, what was it and what’s the plan?”

  “Please,” Evie said and with that one word she saw the fake smile fade and a real look of worry come over his face.

  “They found a bomb in Harper’s bar.” Everyone gasped but Jackson quickly told them that everyone was safe and no one was injured. But it was too late. Evie’s mind was running away faster than Jackson’s reassurances.

  “I have to get out of here. Anywhere I go, danger follows. I need to go into the woods. Find a cabin. Live off the grid.”

  “Evie, stop.”

  Evie’s head snapped up at his command. Her mind stopped racing at the serious tone in his voice. “Did you just tell me what to do?”

  “Yes,” Jackson said with no remorse. “And I’m going to tell you more. You are not going to run. You are going to stay here, and we are going to develop a plan. We are going to catch Jon and his entire group.”

  Evie shook her head. “How?”

  “I don’t know yet, but I will. We have some of the best tactical minds in the world here. We’ll get him,” Jackson promised.

  Evie looked around the table and everyone nodded their agreement. “I think many of us thought about leaving Keeneston when we had trouble,” Sienna told her. “But Jackson’s right, this is the safest place for you.”

  “Plus,” Greer said with a smile, “the uncles have a school full of other law enforcement and military people here on training exercises who can be called in if necessary. And Bridget has a whole kennel full of drug and bomb sniffing dogs. She could have the class sweep the entire town twice a day and have the class pay her to do it.”

  “Lucas and Talon, the two top guys on my team, will be here by tomorrow evening to help. We’ll all sit down and come up with a plan. We’ll even let the town vote on it. Would that make you feel better?” Jackson asked.

  Evie took a deep breath and looked around the café filled with happiness, love, and community. What kind of monster would she be if she put them in danger? Yet, no one was running from her table. No one was blaming her. In fact, they all wanted to help her. “I’ll stay but only if everyone agrees to the plan.”

  “Deal,” Jackson said quickly and shook her hand. “Now, let’s get home and get some sleep. Then tomorrow we can begin our planning.”

  Evie stood up when Jackson did and everyone smiled their goodbyes. Evie was hugged more times than she could count. Jackson placed his hand on the small of her back and let her lead them from the café after promising to call his parents the next day. Evie took one look over her shoulders and saw his parents talking to Greer. Their smiles dropped from their faces as several from Jackson’s family joined. The jovial night was quickly turning somber and Evie knew there was no way they’d agree to let her stay. What was she going to do now?

  18

  Evie was going to run. Jackson knew it. She’d turned around and saw the serious expressions on his
family’s faces, and he’d felt her whole body tense up. He linked his hand with hers as they walked back up Main Street to the apartment. Evie didn’t say a word and neither did he. Jackson had a plan of his own. While it might lack in finesse, it would be effective.

  He needed Evie to stay put until the next night when he’d had time to think this through. He needed time to meet with Ryan. He needed to call Dylan and Abby. He needed to do so many things to put a plan that would work in place, and he couldn’t worry about her running.

  “My family can be overwhelming, not to mention everyone else. It was early to throw you into it. Most people have been dating for months and months and practically engaged before they bring their girlfriend into the café,” Jackson said, trying to lighten the mood.

  “Girlfriend? Did I miss this discussion?” Evie snapped as she yanked her hand away from his.

  “We were clearly into each other in Shadows Landing. We talked all night. Plus, I thought that every time we touched, we ended up practically devouring each other was a good indication of the beginning of a relationship,” Jackson said dryly.

  “The only relationship I have right now is the one with myself where I try to stay alive.”

  Jackson reached out and gently took her shoulders into his hands, forcing her to stop walking and face him. “I know you don’t believe me, but I will protect you, Evie. I won’t tell you not to be worried or scared. It’s a scary situation. But I am asking you to trust me to keep you safe.”

  “Is that what this? Some kind of hero complex? You keep me safe and I give you sex? Is that why you’re interested in me?”

  * * *

  Evie saw Jackson’s eyes flash in the darkness. For every block they had walked in the quiet, her mind had run a mile and was now wrapped in the idea of death and destruction following her wherever she went. She couldn’t get it to stop. She couldn’t get her mind and the increasingly panicky thoughts to slow down. It was like a runaway train, careening downhill toward the broken bridge. There would be no survivors. She couldn’t find a way off the runaway train even knowing her thoughts were far from the truth and nonsensical.