Chapter 8 #2
Doc hadn’t previously talked much about this particular detail with Ember.
It was personal for Grover, not to mention tied to top-secret Army business.
But he trusted her enough to tell her what he could.
“Well…sort of. But we also became aware that no one had seen her in months. And now it’s been almost a year.
She disappeared without a trace soon after she sent the letter. ”
Ember gasped. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. And you’re right, Grover’s definitely not happy because he just assumed she wasn’t interested.
Now it looks as if that wasn’t the case, and if Grover had known then what he knows now, he would’ve pushed harder for someone to do something about her disappearance.
She actually said in her letter that things had been ‘weird’ on the base, but she didn’t explain what she meant. ”
“So where did she go? What happened to her?” Ember asked.
“Nobody knows. But there have been several incidences of contractors disappearing from the same area where she was working since she and Grover met,” Doc said.
Ember sucked in a breath. “Holy shit. She was kidnapped?”
“Maybe. Possibly.”
“And she’s been gone for a year,” Ember said. “That’s horrible.”
Doc didn’t mention the fact that it was unlikely she was still alive. Shahzada wasn’t known for being merciful. If she’d been taken—and what other explanation could there be for her disappearance?— she’d probably been tortured and killed. “Grover’s beside himself,” Doc said.
“Yeah, I can imagine. Maybe… I have followers from all over the world, Craig. Do you think it would help if I posted about her? Maybe put up her picture and ask if anyone knows anything about where she is, to contact the authorities?”
Doc loved Ember’s huge heart. “I don’t know that the people who follow you would be from the area where she disappeared,” he said gently.
“You don’t know that. Craig, she was on an American Army base.
I bet the soldiers there have social media.
They might be back in the States now, but maybe they saw or heard something and my post could trigger them to remember.
Maybe she was moved. Taken across borders.
Put into the sex industry. Maybe someone bragged about their American captive.
You said it yourself, you don’t know what happened to her or where she is. It couldn’t hurt.”
Doc nodded. “You’re right. It’s a great idea.”
“And I could do the same for other missing people. The media seems to concentrate on kids and white women, but I could highlight more adults that have disappeared. People of color. Men as well as women. It’s heartbreaking…and maybe I can help.”
Once again, Doc’s pride bloomed for this woman. Ember was one of the most tenderhearted people he’d ever met. “I think that’s a great idea.”
“Craig?”
“Yeah?”
“I miss you.”
“I miss you too, Em. I sent you something yesterday, you should get it soon.”
“You did? What is it?”
He chuckled. He’d learned Em both loved and hated surprises.
He would’ve let the package be a complete surprise, but he needed to explain it.
“The third-highest personal decoration for valor in combat is the Silver Star. It’s awarded to members of the US Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an enemy.
I’ve received a few of them over my career, and my commander told me he’d be nominating me again for what I did in Seoul.
I have no idea if it’ll be approved or not, and even if it is, no one will know about it except for me and my team.
But I got to thinking that it isn’t fair I might be awarded such a high honor, and you aren’t.
It’s not an Olympic medal, but…I dug out one of my Silver Stars from the shoebox under my bed, polished it up, and sent it to you. ”
“I…I don’t know what to say,” Ember whispered.
“You don’t have to say anything. I know what happened out there, and without you by my side, things might not have gone so well. You saved a lot of people that day, Em, and I want you to know how much I respect and admire you.”
“I’ll treasure it,” Ember told him.
“I’m sorry we can’t tell the world that you’re a hero,” Doc said.
She snorted. “I’m no hero. If it was up to me, I would’ve run in the opposite direction.”
“Wrong. A hero does what needs to be done even when their knees are shaking and they want to throw up.”
“You feel like that?”
“All the time,” Doc admitted.
“Thank you for what you do,” Ember told him.
“You’re welcome. Now…have you eaten? I know it’s two hours earlier there, and even though you’re holed up in a hotel, don’t forget to eat.”
She chuckled. “I won’t. Promise. I’ve already scoped out the room service menu.”
“Good.”
“You know what else I’m looking forward to?” she asked.
“What?”
“Cooking for myself. It sounds stupid, but we’ve had a cook for so long, I don’t even know how to make ramen noodles. I’ve never had a chance, or the time, to learn.”
“Well, ramen is overrated, but I have a feeling you’ll be an expert in no time. I’m happy to teach you what I know, although that’s not a hell of a lot.”
“Deal.”
Doc realized what he’d said a bit too late. How could he teach her what he knew if they lived a thousand miles apart?
“I’m sure you have stuff you need to do,” Ember said. “So I’ll let you go.”
Doc wanted to protest, tell her that there was nothing he’d rather do than talk to her. That he’d been staring at his yard absently when she called, but he pressed his lips together. He didn’t want to look desperate, even though he felt that way.
“Take care of yourself,” Doc said. “Be safe.”
“I will.”
“I’m proud of you for standing up for what you want to do with your life.”
“Thanks. So am I. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Later.”
“Later.”
Doc clicked off the phone. They’d continued their vow not to say goodbye to each other even on the phone.
Doc stared into space for a few minutes after he hung up. He could be doing several different things to continue to fix his house, but at the moment, all he could think of was Ember and how much he missed her. Talking to her was great, but it wasn’t the same as being with her in person.
The shit thing was that he saw no way of being with her except by her moving to Texas.
And he wouldn’t ask that of her. Her life was in California.
He had no doubt she’d patch things up with her parents and her friends at the gym.
They wouldn’t be able to stay mad at her for long, she was too good a person.
But where did that leave them? Talking on the phone and making quick visits when they could fit them in?
That wasn’t the kind of relationship he wanted.
He wanted what his teammates had. Someone to be there at the end of the day and when he came home from a mission.
It wasn’t fair to any woman; the danger of his job and how often they were deployed made for a hard life.
He and his team had been lucky in that they hadn’t had to change bases all that often, but that was another hardship on a military spouse and any children they might have…
quitting a job, changing schools, and moving to a new city.
Sighing, Doc got up. He couldn’t sit and mope on his couch for the rest of the night.
He needed to do something. Keep his mind occupied.
He ignored the fact that his house seemed quieter than he remembered it being in the past. Ember’s laughter echoed in his head, and he couldn’t help wishing that things were different.
Ember hung up the phone and flopped back on the bed.
She’d checked into the hotel needing some space from her disapproving parents.
But it was past time she took control of her own life.
The attack in Seoul had changed her. It had been frightening, but also life-altering.
She’d stood up for what was right and hadn’t backed down.
Facing that van barreling toward them had scared the crap out of her, but she’d held her ground and persevered.
She knew her bullet had been the one that killed the driver, even if Craig and his team hadn’t admitted it. She’d stared right into the man’s eyes and shot. She’d seen him keel over just before Craig had pulled her to safety.
She should feel remorse that she’d taken a life…but she didn’t. The man would’ve killed others. By taking him out, she’d saved lives. She was proud of that.
She wanted to do more. More to help, not just be a pretty face on Instagram. And the first step toward that had been to change her passwords.
She hadn’t exaggerated when she’d told Craig about her social media managers’ reactions to what she’d done.
She also knew Alexis had gone straight to her parents to complain.
None of them understood what she was doing.
Everyone wanted to keep things the same as they’d been for years.
They thought she should continue to train and post filtered, fluffy pictures of herself with products people paid her to hawk.
She was done with all of it.
She wanted to do just what she’d told Craig, share pictures that would help in some way. Missing people. Highlighting injustices. But first she needed to make a statement about what was going on. About her intent.
She’d been silent for a week, not posting anything at all. The last posts that had gone up were about the Olympics.
Ember knew she’d lost followers already, but that didn’t bother her. If the people who were only there to harass her or to see her fail left, all the better.
She looked through the pictures the photographer hired by her parents had sent after the Olympics.
Many were hard to look at, because Ember knew how much pain she’d been in when he’d taken them.
But the second she saw the picture taken at the end of the medal ceremony, she knew it was the one she wanted to post with her statement.