Come Back to Me

By Claudia Terry Pemberton

Seanna Brewer is blessed and cursed at the same time—blessed to be married to the love of her life, but cursed with living with the fact that he is about to be in harm’s way again.

First Sergeant Ethan Luke Brewer of the 75th U.S. Army Ranger Regiment is poised for his eighth and final deployment to Afghanistan before retiring from the army.

Neither Seanna nor Ethan has any delusions as to the difficult task before each of them, until fate steps in and deals an unexpected and devastating blow that neither of them could imagine.

It will take all the love, willpower, and courage that each of them has in order to survive the unspeakable situation that they have been thrust into.

Come Back to Me is a beguiling tale of mystery, revenge, love, and the indomitable power of the human spirit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Dec 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781663215000

Claudia Terry Pemberton

Claudia Terry Pemberton is retired from the Cabell County Public School System where she worked for thirty-eight years. The award-winning author of the novels, Love Leaves No One Behind, Love Leads the Way, Her First Breath, The Cost of Her Heart, The Butcher’s Run, Seeing with the Heart, and Come Back to Me is a proud member of the Military Writers Society of America, the West Virginia Writers, Inc., and is also a PRO member of the Romance Writers of America. Claudia resides in Huntington, West Virginia.

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 Claudia Terry Pemberton.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by

any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author

except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents,

organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products

of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-6632-1499-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-1500-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020925228

iUniverse rev. date: 12/30/2020

Contents

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Chapter 1   Saying Good-bye

Chapter 2   One Last Time

Chapter 3   A New Normal

Chapter 4   First Contact

Chapter 5   Call Day

Chapter 6   Luke

Chapter 7   Intuition

Chapter 8   Coming Clean

Chapter 9   Control

Chapter 10   Missing

Chapter 11   Crossroad

Chapter 12   Investigation

Chapter 13   Notification

Chapter 14   Insanity

Chapter 15   Home

Chapter 16   A Living Nightmare

Chapter 17   Forgiveness

Chapter 18   The Will

Chapter 19   Hope

Chapter 20   Needle in a Haystack

Chapter 21   Waiting

Chapter 22   The Fight

Chapter 23   Time

Chapter 24   On Her Own

Chapter 25   Coming Back

Chapter 26   Still

Chapter 27   Stalked

Chapter 28   Protection

Chapter 29   Cruising

Chapter 30   A New Beginning

This book is dedicated to all first responders,

police officers, and the heroic military men and

women who safeguard this great nation of ours.

All of you have my utmost admiration, love,

and respect. From the bottom of my heart, I

thank you for your service and protection.

Acknowledgments

I have many people to recognize and thank for generously sharing their expertise and knowledge with me in order to make my work of fiction as realistic as possible.

I would like to thank Huntington city manager and former Huntington police chief, Hank Dial, for his technical assistance in authenticating some of the police work and details of my novel.

I would like to thank Maurice Hartz, retired firefighter and deputy fire marshal; and Lt. Ian Trent, firefighter, for their knowledge and help with the protocol for the search and rescue process.

I would like to thank Angela C. Juniper, LPC, for her invaluable counseling expertise and advice.

To my editors and proofreaders—Allyson, Hannah, Keri, and Pam—thank you very much for your hard work on my behalf. As always, I appreciate you more than I can say.

Prologue

September, 1996

Earl Conner lay in wait for his target to arrive. After having stalked twenty-three-year-old Nathan Sanders for the past month, Conner had a pretty good idea of Sanders’ comings and goings. Sanders seemed to be a creature of habit, with going out and getting inebriated as his top priority for the day.

Dressed in black clothing, Conner waited until dark to pick the lock on the back door of Sanders’ apartment. Once inside, he took up his position in the bedroom closet. He knew it would be a long wait, but he could do it. He had been waiting for thirty days to take his revenge, but he was nearing the end of his patience. He had heard it said that revenge is a dish best served cold, but Conner didn’t agree. Exacting his vengeance on Sanders couldn’t come soon enough to suit him. The past month had felt like an eternity. He wanted his retaliation now, while his fury was still burning hot in his veins.

It was stifling in the closet. Conner could feel perspiration running down his back and chest, but he didn’t care. Compared to the emotional pain he had endured because of Sanders, this short-term bit of discomfort meant nothing. Conner would stand there all night if he had to.

He looked down at his watch. It was after two o’clock in the morning when he heard the lock on the front door of Sanders home being turned.

Conner’s fingernails dug into his palms as he tightly clenched his fists. His heart pounded with unbridled anticipation. Now that it was almost time, he wondered if he could contain his rage until the most opportune moment to strike.

He heard his target moving around the apartment until finally Sanders came into the bedroom. From the glow of the living room light, Conner could see him through the opening of the closet door.

Sanders was so drunk that he could barely stand. Conner watched as he undressed down to his underwear. He was a large man—a good six inches taller than Conner, but Conner could not care less.

After pulling down the covers on the bed, Sanders climbed in. Within just a few moments, he was snoring loudly.

Conner waited until he couldn’t stand it any longer. Salivating, he licked his lips in anticipation of what he was about to do. Quietly, he opened the closet door and crept to the side of the bed. Standing there, he gazed at the man who had ruined his life—the man who had taken away his humanity.

Angrily, he drew his foot back and kicked the side of the bed as hard as he could. Sanders shot up into a seated position. With his hands molded into tight fists, Conner watched the man’s startled face when he saw him standing beside his bed.

What the hell are you doing here? the man asked just before Conner landed his first blow. He hit Sanders in the face with all of his might. As if in slow motion, he could see his victim’s bright red blood spraying from his mouth onto the white sheets. Sanders fell backwards onto the bed.

Get up, you murderer, Conner yelled. He could barely contain his fury. His entire body trembled with rage.

Sanders shook his head as if in a stupor. I can’t—what are you talking about, you psycho?

Stand up, and I’ll show you a psycho, Conner said. He took a few steps back as Sanders rose to his feet. Now we can make this a fair fight. Conner laughed.

Sanders lunged forward and swung his right fist. Conner easily dodged it and chuckled. Surely you can do better than that.

Sanders swung again and missed.

Now you’re just starting to piss me off, Conner said as he retaliated with an iron-fisted blow to the side of Sanders’ head, causing him to fall backwards onto the floor. He landed with a loud thud. Conner straddled the man’s body, pinning him in place. He began punching him in the face over and over with his fists.

Sanders put his hands up defensively against the flurry of blows, but it didn’t stop Conner. Conner’s knuckles were hurting and felt as if they were broken, but still he continued to swing and land punches. Long after Sanders had lost consciousness, Conner sustained his violent assault. It was only when he was too exhausted to lift his arms that he stopped the attack.

Looking down at his victim, he could tell that Sanders was dead. He could see the man’s lifeless stare through the slits in his swollen eyes. Barely recognizable as human, his face was engorged, cut, and bloody.

Conner fell backwards, depleted but satisfied. He had done what he came to do. He had exacted his revenge.

Chapter 1

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SAYING GOOD-BYE

Twenty-two years later, March, 2019

Thirty-seven-year-old Seanna Brewer sat on the sofa next to her husband of nineteen years. Seanna and Ethan had become instant sweethearts when her family moved from Pennsylvania to West Virginia during her sophomore year of high school. The two married just after Ethan enlisted in the US Army at the young age of eighteen.

As was their custom the night before a deployment, the couple had a delectable and romantic candlelight dinner at their favorite little Italian bistro. Just like newlyweds, they held hands and gazed into each other’s eyes in the dimly-lit restaurant.

After dinner they sat side by side on the sofa in front of a roaring fireplace with their wedding photo album on their laps. They relived every moment as they turned page after page.

Ethan pointed to a picture of Seanna in her flowing, chiffon wedding gown. The photographer had captured a candid shot of her looking out at the turquoise waters of the Caribbean. She was barefoot and her wedding dress was blowing in the ocean breeze as was her long ebony hair.

I know I’ve told you this many times before, but this is my favorite picture of you, Ethan said. You looked like an angel standing there, and you looked so deep in thought.

I can remember exactly what I was thinking at that time, Seanna said. I was about to marry the love of my life. I couldn’t believe God was so good to me. He gave me a perfect wedding day to the man of my dreams.

She looked over at Ethan. He met her gaze. She stared into his familiar and loving hazel eyes. I still can’t believe how blessed I am.

Ethan reached out and gently touched her face. I can’t believe that you haven’t changed. You’re still just as lovely as that day on the private beach in the Caribbean.

Seanna smiled. She wanted to believe him. She prayed that he would always find her beautiful.

Are you excited about going back there when I get back from Afghanistan? Ethan asked.

Seanna’s eyes immediately filled with tears. She tried to ignore the gnawing in the pit of her stomach—a knowing of sorts that they would never return to that isolated island where they were married. She had always felt apprehension when Ethan deployed, but this time was different. The uneasiness was much more intense.

This was Ethan’s eighth deployment during their marriage. She should have been accustomed to it by now, but this time something told her that she would never see her husband again.

Please don’t cry, Ethan said as he gently wiped away her tears. I’ll be back in just five shorts months, and we’ll take that September anniversary cruise—just like I promised. It’s already booked, so you can’t back out on me now. It’s a non-refundable trip. He laughed. He had the most charismatic laugh, and she loved how his eyes smiled when his mouth did. She laughed too and tried to forget about the fact that this might be their last night together.

After they turned the final page of their wedding album, Ethan placed it on the coffee table. He then turned to Seanna and gathered her into his strong arms. There’s a good chance I’m going to kiss you now. He smiled at her just before he gently placed his lips against hers. His kiss was familiar but just as enticing as the first. She moaned contently as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She stroked his short, dark brown hair.

He coaxed her lips apart with the tip of his tongue. She moaned again as his kiss deepened. His embrace was intoxicating.

She felt his deft fingers unbuttoning the front of her dress causing her to quiver. She loved the way he toyed with her body, making it succumb to his bidding.

Following his lead, she unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off his arms.

Laying her down on the sofa, he broke their kiss only long enough to slip her out of her dress.

Her entire body responded to his gentle and searching fingers.

As he nibbled on her earlobe, he whispered, You are so beautiful.

He placed warm wet kisses down her neck and chest. She melted at the sensation of his tantalizing kisses.

When he finally lay down on top of her, she felt the familiar heaviness of his naked body against hers—a sensation she would never tire of for as long as she lived.

He kissed her again. I love you, Seanna. He groaned.

I love you too, Ethan, she whispered breathlessly.

As she felt them become one, the heaviness in her heart disappeared, replaced by the euphoria of making love with the man she cherished more than life itself.

Chapter 2

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ONE LAST TIME

It was a cold, late March morning when Seanna watched her husband, First Sergeant Ethan Luke Brewer of the 75th US Army Ranger Regiment, and the rest of his company of one hundred and fifty soldiers, get ready to board the buses that would take them from their unit area at Ft. Benning, Georgia, to the Lawson Army Airfield. From there they would be deployed to the war-torn country of Afghanistan. Of course Ethan couldn’t tell her anything about his mission, which still frustrated her as much as it did with his first deployment.

Still plagued with the foreboding premonition that this would be the last time she would see Ethan, she tried her best to keep it hidden. However, her attempt seemed to be in vain.

Ethan looked at her sympathetically. Everything’s going to be okay, baby, he said reassuringly as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her toward his warm body. I can’t bear to see the heartbreak in those deep blue eyes of yours. Please smile for me.

Seanna did her best to force a smile. The last thing she wanted to do was cause Ethan any kind of unnecessary worry about her. She wanted his focus to be on completing his missions and staying alive.

I’m sorry, Seanna said. I’m not being a very good soldier’s wife, am I?

I couldn’t hope for a better wife—a soldier’s or otherwise, Ethan replied while staring into her eyes. I still can’t understand why you fell for the likes of me. He chuckled sexily as he held her tightly. But I’m glad you did.

I’m glad too, Ethan. I’ll love you forever, she whispered tearfully.

I love you too, baby. I always have and I always will, he said just before he kissed her.

Seanna closed her eyes and savored their last embrace. Oh, how she wished he wasn’t going away again. Five months seemed like a lifetime.

Seanna could hear the word good-bye being uttered all around her. She knew she had to let Ethan go. It took all