Born to Fight

Chapter 2

The next day, I escaped to my dorm room during lunch.

It wasn’t that I hated people.

I just preferred them from a distance.

While everyone else crowded into the cafeteria, I usually took the opportunity to enjoy some peace and quiet. My room was my sanctuary. I could study, read, or simply sit without having to deal with anyone.

I dropped my books onto my desk and opened my laptop.

I wasn’t expecting anything.

Which was why the email waiting in my inbox caught me completely off guard.

From: Chief Petty Officer Jamie Fox

I stared at the screen for a moment before clicking it open.

Dear Celeste,

I have to admit, I was surprised—and more than a little amused—to receive your email.

I got a good laugh out of it.

But I also understand where you were coming from. Talking to people online that you don’t know can be dangerous. So, for the record, I am not a psycho, serial killer, or criminal of any kind.

You have nothing to worry about.

And I’m happy to answer any questions you have. None of them were intrusive.

I’ve been a SEAL for three years and I’m currently the K-9 handler for my team. My partner is a German Shepherd named Freeze.

Before you ask, I have absolutely no idea how he got his name.

I’m pretty sure someone thought it sounded cool.

I have to admit, I think your English teacher has come up with an interesting assignment, despite your obvious concerns about it.

Now, what about you?

Are your parents in the military?

Do you plan on joining when you graduate?

And if you do, have you thought about which branch you’d like to join?

Hope to hear from you soon.

CPO Jamie Fox

I couldn’t help smiling.

He’d actually replied.

And he’d replied quickly.

I clicked reply.

Dear CPO Fox,

I have to admit, I’m surprised you replied so quickly. I assumed military personnel were far too busy to answer emails from random teenagers, especially SEALs.

Thank you for getting back to me.

And I have to say, I love your German Shepherd’s name.

Freeze.

Very cool.

Get it?

Okay, I’ll stop.

I have a German Shepherd too. His name is Loki. We named him that because he is a complete menace and spends most of his time getting into trouble.

He’s four years old now, but Mum insists he never received the memo that his puppy stage was supposed to end.

My mum is in the military. She works in Military Intelligence.

I don’t think I want to go into Intelligence, though.

I definitely want to join the military after graduation. I’m just not sure which branch yet. I’ve been thinking about the Marine Corps.

My grandfather was a Marine.

He was kind of a big deal while he was serving.

He and I were extremely close.

Unfortunately, he died two years ago.

As for my dad…

Well, that’s complicated.

He was in the military when he and Mum were together, but I don’t know what branch he served in.

Actually, I don’t know much about him at all.

He left before I was born.

It’s always just been Mum, Grandpa and me.

Mum doesn’t talk about him much, so I’ve never really had the chance to ask questions.

I guess I’m used to it.

Anyway, enough about my depressing family history.

My mum is pretty cool for a mum. We get along really well, and we’re always doing something together when I’m home.

I miss her when I’m at the Academy.

And Loki.

Especially Loki.

I go home every Friday afternoon and Mum brings me back Monday morning. We try to squeeze as much girl time as possible into the weekends.

Right now, I’m wishing Friday would hurry up and get here.

So, what about you?

Are you close with your family?

Do you have any brothers or sisters?

Regards,

Celeste

I reread the email before sending it.

Then I hesitated.

I’d told a complete stranger a lot more about myself than I’d originally intended.

But strangely, I didn’t regret it.

I closed my laptop and headed back downstairs.

Jamie Fox was becoming an unexpected bright spot in my otherwise miserable week.

Still, I couldn’t stop thinking about home.

About Mum.

About Loki.

I hated being at the Academy full-time.

Everyone talked about military life being built on camaraderie and brotherhood.

Maybe that was true once you actually joined.

It certainly wasn’t true here.

The girls were mostly stuck-up.

The boys seemed to think their primary purpose at the Academy was figuring out which girl they could get into bed.

And anyone who outranked you seemed to think that gave them permission to spend their free time reminding you of it.

I didn’t fit in.

I’d never really fit in.

Home was different.

Home was Mum laughing at something stupid I’d said.

Home was training together.

Home was Loki stealing my socks and pretending he had no idea where they’d gone.

Home was where I belonged.

I couldn’t wait for Friday.

⸻

The rest of the day passed in a blur.

By the time my final class ended, I was exhausted.

I practically ran back to my dorm room.

The first thing I did was open my laptop.

There it was.

Another email from Jamie.

My exhaustion disappeared almost instantly.

Dear Celeste,

I have to admit, I appreciate your sense of humour.

You’ll need one if you’re going to survive life, especially these days.

I also noticed you seemed a little down toward the end of your last email.

So I’m giving you my phone number.

If you ever feel like talking, call me.

Or email me.

Whatever you’re comfortable with.

And I had to laugh at your description of Loki.

He sounds like quite a character.

I think your mum has done an incredible job raising you on her own, especially while working in Military Intelligence. That’s a demanding career.

You sound like a pretty well-adjusted young woman.

I’m sorry you never knew your father.

But honestly?

His loss.

He’s the one missing out.

As for my family, I have a sister. Her name is Cindy. She’s a surgeon and has absolutely no interest in joining the military.

I also have a best friend who’s more like a brother to me.

His name is Josh.

He’s on my SEAL team, and we’ve known each other since we were kids.

He’s quite a character himself.

I think he’d give Loki a run for his money.

I’d probably be lost without him.

Hang in there.

Only a few more days until Friday.

Jamie

I stared at the phone number he’d left at the bottom of the email.

For some reason, my heart started beating faster.

I didn’t know why.

It was just a phone number.

Nothing more.

At least, that’s what I told myself.

⸻

Over the next few weeks, Jamie and I continued emailing each other.

What started as a ridiculous school assignment slowly became something I actually looked forward to.

He told me stories about military life.

I told him about the Academy.

We talked about dogs.

Training.

Family.

Life.

Sometimes we’d exchange only a few emails.

Other times, we’d write back and forth for hours.

And somehow, talking to him became easy.

Too easy.

There was just one problem.

I hadn’t told Mum.

I knew she wasn’t going to be thrilled when she found out I’d been communicating with a stranger.

Especially a male SEAL.

But keeping it from her wasn’t going to make things better.

So, that Friday afternoon, as soon as I climbed into the car, I decided to tell her.

“Mum?”

She glanced at me.

“Yeah?”

“I need to tell you something.”

Her eyes flicked toward me before returning to the road.

“Okay.”

I took a breath.

“Our English teacher gave us an assignment.”

I explained everything.

The pen-pal program.

Jamie.

The emails.

The questions we’d been asking each other.

I waited for the explosion.

It never came.

Mum said nothing.

Not a word.

She simply continued driving.

I frowned.

“Mum?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

But she wasn’t.

I knew my mother.

And something was wrong.

Her hands tightened around the steering wheel.

Her expression had gone strangely blank.

“It’s just work,” she finally said.

I didn’t believe her.

At dinner, she barely spoke.

“Mum, seriously. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“You’ve barely said two words.”

“I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

Work.

That was all she’d give me.

Eventually, I stopped asking.

But something about her silence stayed with me.

Something wasn’t right.

⸻

Later that night, I sat on my bed staring at the phone number I’d written down.

Jamie’s number.

I’d had it for days.

I’d just never worked up the courage to call.

I picked up my phone.

Put it down.

Picked it up again.

“Come on, Celeste.”

I finally hit call.

Then immediately panicked.

I ended the call before it could connect.

Coward.

Instead, I typed out a quick text.

Hi, Jamie. It’s Celeste. Sorry I didn’t call. I’ll talk to you soon.

I sent it.

Then I changed into my pyjamas, climbed into bed and fell asleep.

I had no idea that I’d never get the chance to call him again under normal circumstances.

⸻

CRASH!

I bolted upright.

For a moment, I had no idea where I was.

Then I heard shouting.

Downstairs.

My heart began pounding.

Another crash echoed through the house.

Loki started barking frantically in the backyard.

“Mum?”

No answer.

I climbed out of bed.

My hands were shaking.

I opened my bedroom door and stepped into the hallway.

The voices downstairs grew louder.

Men.

Several of them.

And then I heard Mum.

I crept toward the staircase.

Every instinct screamed at me to stay in my room.

But I couldn’t leave her down there.

I slowly descended the stairs, keeping to the shadows.

The closer I got, the clearer the voices became.

I pressed myself against the wall beside the living room entrance.

Then I looked inside.

My world stopped.

Mum was lying on the floor.

There was blood everywhere.

One of the men had his knee pressed against her chest, pinning her down.

She was struggling to breathe.

“Let’s try this again,” the man said coldly. “Tell me where he is, and this ends right now.”

Mum glared at him.

“No.”

The man backhanded her across the face.

I covered my mouth to stop myself from screaming.

He grabbed her hair and yanked her head back.

“Tell me where Billy is!”

“I won’t tell you anything.”

Her voice shook, but she didn’t sound afraid.

“You can search all you want. You’ll never find him.”

The man leaned closer.

“Such a waste.”

He smiled.

“Dying to protect a man who abandoned you years ago.”

My stomach twisted.

Billy?

My father?

“Do you really think he’d do the same for you?” the man continued. “Do you honestly believe he’d come running to save you?”

Mum stared at him with pure hatred.

She didn’t answer.

Then her eyes moved.

Straight toward the doorway.

Straight toward me.

For one terrifying second, our eyes met.

Her lips moved.

Hide.

I stumbled backward into the darkness.

I pressed my back against the wall and covered my mouth.

Don’t breathe.

Don’t move.

Don’t make a sound.

I heard footsteps.

Then silence.

After what felt like an eternity, I dared to look again.

“Last chance,” the man said.

Mum said nothing.

“Fine.”

He stood.

Then he walked toward another man.

He slapped him on the shoulder.

The other man nodded.

My blood ran cold.

He walked toward Mum.

Then reached behind his back.

I saw the g*n.

“No…”

The word barely escaped my lips.

The g*n was raised.

Mum looked toward the doorway one last time.

Our eyes met.

And then—

BANG!

I bit down hard on my fist.

I couldn’t scream.

I couldn’t move.

I pressed myself against the wall as tears streamed down my face.

The men began walking toward the door.

I stayed perfectly still.

One of them paused.

My heart stopped.

Then he continued.

A few seconds later, the front door slammed.

I waited.

One minute.

Two.

Then I heard an engine roar to life.

The car disappeared into the night.

Still, I didn’t move.

I waited until the sound had completely faded.

Only then did I step into the living room.

“Mum?”

She didn’t move.

I dropped to my knees beside her.

There was no response.

No breath.

No movement.

Nothing.

She was gone.

My mother was dead.

And the only reason those men had killed her was because they wanted my father.

Billy Avery.

The man I’d spent seventeen years believing had simply walked away from us.

Apparently, I’d been wrong.

I stumbled backward and grabbed my phone.

My fingers were shaking so badly I almost dropped it.

I called emergency services.

Then I called the only other person I could think of.

Jamie.

I didn’t care that it was the middle of the night.

I didn’t care that we’d never spoken on the phone before.

I needed someone.

Anyone.

The phone rang.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

I was about to hang up when someone answered.

“Hello?”

His voice was thick with sleep.

“Jamie?”

There was a pause.

“Yeah. Who’s this?”

“It’s Celeste.”

I swallowed hard.

“Celeste Avery.”

He was instantly more alert.

“Celeste? What’s wrong?”

I tried to speak.

Nothing came out.

“Celeste?”

“My mum…”

My voice broke.

“She’s…”

I couldn’t finish.

“She’s dead.”

Silence.

Then his voice changed.

“Celeste, slow down. Take a breath for me. Tell me what happened.”

“There were men in the house.”

I was crying now.

“They killed her.”

“What?”

“They shot her.”

I looked toward Mum’s body.

“I think they were looking for my dad.”

I heard voices in the background on Jamie’s end of the phone.

He wasn’t alone.

“Celeste, are you still there?”

“Yes.”

“What’s your address?”

“I already called the police.”

“What’s your address?”

His voice was firm now.

“Jamie—”

“Celeste, give me your address.”

I told him.

There was a pause.

Then I heard him speaking quietly to someone beside him.

“Okay.”

His voice softened again.

“You’ve got police on the way?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

“Jamie…”

“We’re coming.”

I frowned.

“We?”

“Me and Josh.”

My heart skipped.

“Why?”

“Because you’re not staying there alone.”

I heard sirens in the distance.

“They’re here,” I whispered.

“Good. Go meet them.”

I moved toward the front door.

“Celeste?”

“Yeah?”

“We’ll see you soon.”

The line went dead.

I stood there listening to the approaching sirens, my hand still wrapped around my phone.

For the first time since my mother’s death, something other than fear broke through the numbness.

Confusion.

Because one question wouldn’t leave my mind.

Who the hell was my father—and why were men willing to kill my mother to find him?