I open my mouth, but I wait a moment too long. Grief crumples her face. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” I answer softly. “Markay, I’m so sorry.”
A sound—part hiccup, part sob—chokes off in her throat. “Please tell me what happened.”
I want to hug her, to comfort her, but I know she won’t accept this from me. So I simply tell her the truth. “It wasn’t Emerson’s fault. He was as much a victim in this as you.” I swallow hard. “I did everything I could to save him.”
“Did you know ahead of time? Is that why you were here? Were you trying to stop him?”
“No.” I choose my words carefully. “You may not realize it, but the kidnappings were far more widespread than reported. When we figured out that high school athletes were being targeted, my partner and I were assigned to work it from the inside to learn who and how and why. I had no idea Emerson would turn like he did.”
“Why would he?” she asks, heartache plain on her face. “I thought he liked me.”
“He did, Markay. The real Emerson was head over heels in love with you. I saw it plain as day.”
“Then what happened? What turned him into…?” She shudders.
I place a hand on her shoulder. She doesn’t shrug it away. “Markay, the full answer to that is still top secret information. And I’m not sure you’d believe me anyway. But trust me when I say he was not himself. He was forced into a role he didn’t want to play.”
“Like hypnotism?”
“Similar, but so much stronger. So much worse.”
“Did he die in the explosion?”
“No. We tracked him afterward for several weeks.”
“Were you there? At the end?”
“Yes.”
“Did you kill him?”
My eyes fill with tears. “No, Markay. I disregarded orders and tried to bring him back. It almost cost my life.”
“How…?”
I shake my head. “Don’t ask me that. Just remember him as you knew him. Funny, smart, and kind.”
She squeaks, high in her throat. Muscles convulse as she swallows her grief. “You’re still after them? The ones who did this to him?”
I shouldn’t tell her any more. I shouldn’t, but I do. “Yes. We’ve stopped the kidnappings, but the criminals behind them are still at large. We have some excellent leads and we’re doing everything we can.”
Her eyes harden. She sniffs and wipes her nose on the back of her hand. “Get them, Jack. Get the monsters who stole Emerson.”
“I’ll do everything in my power.”
That promise lingers in my mind as I walk back to the main road to catch an autopod to the airport. It’s become the primary focus of my life, and I’m just wondering what Willoughby’s going to propose next when a massive detonation pulls my attention away. I jerk my head up, scanning for the location. The sound was distant, at least a couple miles, a series of blasts so close together they made one singular explosion. I’m not even certain now if I heard a distinction. All my senses are on hyper-alert. I spot a lone hovercraft high and to the west, and there, rising up behind it, a roiling black cloud, right in the heart of the Warrens.
Sign up for my new release list and receive a free download of PROVOCATION, prequel to my Recompense series. Available exclusively to subscribers.
My sister’s gone.
No body. No evidence. No motive.
Only my guilt remains.
Also by Michelle Isenhoff
As slavery pushes the nation toward war, Emily must battle her father in her own bid for freedom. She’s prepared to pay any price to escape the plantation and attend a northern university newly opened to women. Meanwhile Thaddeus Black, her handsome and unwanted suitor, simply won't take no for an answer. While her mind is willing to strike out alone, her heart stubbornly refuses to accept that a choice for independence must be a choice against love.
Available on Amazon
Three young girls.
Three stories of tragedy and triumph.
Connected by the same Civil War.
Available on Amazon
Orphaned at a young age, Song has grown up scoffing at his grandfather’s legends. When an heirloom links him to an ancient prophecy, he learns his destiny lies within the old tales he has scorned. He must follow the path that killed his father.
Available on Amazon
If you owned a pen that wrote the future, would you use it? What if the consequences spread like ripples in a pond? What if they raged out of control? What if the pen demanded tribute...in blood?
Available on Amazon
I was chosen from among all others to complete a task I did not want. I was told I'd have help. I was told I'd be in capable hands. Then I met my guardian angel. I am so doomed.
Available on Amazon
Subscribe
Sign up for my newsletter and receive a free download of PROVOCATION, prequel to my Recompense series. Available exclusively to subscribers.
My sister’s gone.
No body. No evidence. No motive.
Only my guilt remains.
About Michelle
Michelle Isenhoff writes for children and adults. She loves roller coasters, big dogs, high school football games, cycling, swimming in big waves, old graveyards, and wearing flip-flops all winter. Her dream vacation would include lots of castle ruins, but so far she’s had to settle for pictures on Pinterest. Once an elementary teacher, Michelle homeschooled combinations of her three kids for twelve years. Now that the last of them has graduated to public school, she writes full time and feels like she’s on a perpetual summer vacation.
MichelleIsenhoff.com
Recompense (Recompense, book 1) Page 35