Save Me (The Archer Brothers 3)

“No, I tried to thank you as soon as Abigail returned home.”

“Cut the bullshit, Chesley. We had the girl in three days or some shit like that. This was a snatch and grab mission. We did our jobs and should’ve been home for Sunday dinner.” Evan is pissed off and rightly so. All Chesley is doing is feeding us a line of bullshit.

“You may have saved her, but she didn’t come back right away. The day after my son called to tell me she was finally home was the day I paid a visit to Ingram. I expected to find you guys being debriefed, but he informed me you had perished and that he was working on bringing your bodies home.

“I attended each of your funerals and prayed that you guys were at peace.”

“We weren’t,” I tell him.

“And neither was I.”

“Do you expect us to feel sorry for you?” Evan questions.

“No, but I’d like for you to hear me out.”

We both nod and that seems to relax Chesley a little bit. “My son started divorce proceedings as soon as Abigail came back, but Christina wouldn’t cooperate. She lied through her depositions to protect Lawson all because she didn’t want the Vice Presidential nomination to be revoked. That was more important than her daughter. Without her testimony, we couldn’t tie anything to Lawson, and Abigail’s testimony wasn’t enough. To make matters worse, the men who saved her were dead.

“Fast forward to your return. The minute I found out, I was in Ingram’s office being threatened. It was at that point I knew something was up so I played along, figuring you’d come to me for help, but I couldn’t get word out to you. Weeks before you arrived, Christina was in a car accident on her way to see Lawson.”

I glance quickly at Evan and wonder if he’s thinking the same thing. We know Frannie murdered Christina, and I’m willing to bet it’s because she was in the way and not because she was going to testify against Lawson as we’ve been told.

“Why didn’t you come forward?” Evan asks, his voice somber.

“And say what? That I believed Ingram was behind four of the Navy’s finest being dead for six years all because his son was running a sex ring operation with minors? The case we tried to bring against him had already been thrown out. The courts do not like a desperate man. There wasn’t anything I could do except turn over what I knew to the justice department and wait. I knew in order to stay alive I had to keep my mouth shut and keep Abigail protected. With Christina dead, there wasn’t a soul, aside from her, to testify against him.”

“Except Frannie,” I add.

“And your wife,” Chesley says. He sits up straighter and keeps his hands clasped in his lap. “I went to see you and your wife when you came back, but found out that she had left, without a trace, and that’s when I started putting everything into place. I love a great novel with a conspiracy theory, but this was too much for me. The pieces weren’t adding up until Ingram and Lawson were arrested. I obtained a copy of the affidavit and was shocked to see that I hadn’t a clue what was going on. Everything I thought I knew was in there, plus some.”

“So back to your bullshit claim that you’re protecting us?” Evan jumps to the point of why Chesley says he’s here.

“Lawson has hits out on all of you.”

“How do you know this?” I ask, more eager to hear what he has to say.

“Because my son is in the same prison as he is right now, posing as an inmate and informant for the Feds. Lawson has a big mouth and likes to talk. He has friends in there because he has money and someone is making sure he’s protected. The guards know about my son and they make sure he’s within earshot at all times, even sleeping in the next cell over.”

Evan and I both scoff. “Doesn’t Lawson know who your son is, or what he looks like?”

“When you’ve been through what my son has, you age quickly. He doesn’t look the same; his eyes are sunken in and his hair is gray.”

“And you’re saying Lawson is trying to kill us?” I ask, needing more information.

“Yes, he is, which is why I transferred to the shipyard.”

“I don’t buy it,” Evan says as he stands and looks out the window.

“Remember that night you were toying with the fishing boat and they scrambled away?”

“Yep, figured you were peddling drugs and I didn’t want that shit near my kid.”

“They were coming to your home to kill you. You scared them away, but not too far because we caught up with them.” Chesley lets his words sit heavily in the room. I don’t know if there’s anything to say or do right now. Evan thought something was going on, but definitely not this.

“I don’t know if I trust you,” Evan states, still staring out the window.

“That’s fine.” Chesley stands. “I came to say my peace and thank you for saving Abigail. And until Lawson and Ingram are dead, and I’m still breathing, I’ll be doing what I can to protect your family.”

Chesley leaves and I’m tempted to follow him out, but am frozen in place. I don’t know if our lives will ever be fucking normal, and at this point I’m thinking they never will be. Not as long as those two assholes are alive.