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Sadie, he was in love with you. I shake off Maxen’s confession and answer my father, “No, but he was one of the best friends I ever had.”
“What then? I know there’s more to this story. Does his death have anything to do with why your mission was cut short?”
After taking a deep breath, I sigh long and low. And I tell my dad everything. By the end, he’s leaned forward with his elbows resting on the table. “Sadie, I don’t know Hosfeld as well as you, but there’s no way he did this. What I don’t understand is what this has to do with that cabin.”
“I think he’s there. I came here to find him.”
I tell him about Aaron’s note, and my father stands. “Let’s go then.”
“Dad.”
“Don’t dad me. You may be a badass Marine, but you’ll always be my little girl. I’m taking no chances with your safety. We either go together, or I’m calling the Wrecking Crew.”
Shit. The last thing I want my father to do is involve my brothers. I now realize telling him about this mess had been a mistake. Especially since his set jaw says he’ll be checking the cabin with or without me.
“Ok, Dad.”
The two of us clear the table, gear up, and set off on a couple of four-wheelers. We arrive at the small clearing just under an hour later to see smoke rising from the stack. Dad dismounts his ATV and grabs his shotgun. “I’ll check around the outside. You check the cabin.”
I don’t bother telling him that neither of us will find anything. Aaron would have gone into the woods at the first sound of our engines. He’s out there somewhere watching, waiting. We won’t see him until he comes to us.
Not long after I step inside, I hear the unmistakable sound of a shotgun racking a shell. Apparently, he didn’t wait long.
I run back out in time to see Aaron walking slowly from the tree line twenty feet away with his hands in the air. My father lifts the nose of the shotgun and says, “You’re in a lot of trouble, son.”
Humbly but boldly, Aaron closes the last few feet with his hands still up. He tips his chin in greeting. “Sadie. Mr. Phelps.”
Though we’re in a huge mess, I’m immensely relieved to see my friend. I don’t know where he’s been the last couple of days, but his tired eyes and beard scruff tell me he’s not been on vacation. He certainly doesn’t need to be staring down the barrel of a gun after our friend was just shot.
Carefully approaching from the side, I step into my father’s line of sight. “Dad, put that gun down.”
He doesn’t look my way, opting to keep his eyes on Aaron. “I’m good like I am, thank you.”
Arguing with him won’t work, so I decide to ignore him and turn to Aaron. “What the hell are you doing, running away like this?”
Aaron doesn’t answer fast enough for my non-existent patience. “Dammit, talk to me.”
“I was… informed of the charges against me. I don’t know why, but someone is content to let me take the fall for that fuck-up of a mission. I didn’t kill those men, but the prosecutors think I did and aren’t interested in looking for other suspects. I figured someone needed to investigate, and it may as well be me, given it’s my life at stake here.”
I don’t argue with Aaron because he’s not wrong, but he is wasting time. “I don’t know what you think you can do from here except hide out and look guilty.”
“I’m not hiding out. I’m regrouping.”
“Then let’s regroup.” I gesture toward the cabin, noticing that my dad has lowered the shotgun.
Unsurprisingly, Dad follows us inside, and the three of us fill up the small, one-room cabin. I’m not thrilled about him hearing the details we’ll discuss, but I know I have zero chance of him leaving me alone with Aaron.
“First off, I need you to tell me where you went after our argument at the airfield.”
“Argument?” my dad pipes up.
“Not now, Dad. Aaron?”
“I left to find Avara and kick his ass for what he did to you.”
Oh shit. Here we go. “Sadie, what’s he talking about? What happened to you?”
“Dad, we’ll talk about this later.”
