Read Online Shelter for Elizabeth (Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes Book 5) by Susan Stoker - Free Book Online Page B

dragging my feet, she moved on to easier prey. The quarterback ended up being the lucky father. I heard she had the baby the summer after we graduated.”
    “Pen obviously forgave you.”
    “She made me work for it, but yeah. She still holds it over my head. I love her though. It almost killed me when she disappeared.” Cade knew he was treading on shaky ground, he didn’t want what he was going to say to bring up her own kidnapping, but wanted to make sure Beth understood his next point. “I saw news reports about some missing soldiers before the Army contacted us to let us know Penelope was one of them. They must’ve had some sort of advance warning what ISIS was going to do, because the very next day the first video was broadcast of her reading that damn manifesto.”
    “What about your parents?”
    “What about them?”
    “I don’t remember seeing or hearing much from them while she was gone.”
    Cade sighed. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents, but they’re more the type to sit at home and wring their hands in consternation. They did everything I asked them to do, but they aren’t the take-charge types.”
    “And you are.”
    “I am,” Cade agreed.
    Beth’s eyes were wide in her face, but she didn’t comment further.
    He continued, “I would move heaven and earth to protect my sister. I emailed and called anyone and everyone in the media and government I could find contact information for, I plastered social media with her plight. She wasn’t some pretty woman on TV to me. She was my sister . My flesh and blood. My parents did what they could, but I wouldn’t stop until the President himself did something to try to get her back.”
    “And you did it. They went in to get her.”
    “They did. It wasn’t easy. I spent a lot of sleepless nights wondering where she was and what she was going through, but honestly, I was lucky.”
    “Lucky?”
    “Yeah. There are so many people out there who never know what happened to their loved one. Kids disappear. Teenagers run away and are never heard from again. Adults disappear off the face of the Earth and are never found. Bones might be discovered, but never identified. I’m lucky. I got Penelope back.”
    “But she’s not the same.” Beth’s words were whispered now.
    “No, she’s not. But you know what? I don’t give a shit. She’s still my sister and I love her as much today as I ever have. Everything in this life changes us. Every experience we have, has the ability to fundamentally alter our path in life. It’s how you deal with those changes that’s important.”
    “What if you can’t deal?”
    “I sure as hell hope you aren’t talking about yourself, sweetheart. Because from where I’m sitting, you’re dealing exceptionally well.”
    “I’m not.”
    “You are . Shit, Beth. You’re working full time. You taught yourself some seriously tough computer code. You don’t sit in here wallowing in self-pity or huddled into a ball. Yeah, you have a hard time going outside, but you don’t hide from it. You grab hold of my sister, and now me, and do it with your teeth clenched. That takes guts. Guts a lot of people don’t have. You have no idea how strong you are. Don’t overlook how far you’ve come.”
    Ignoring his words about her, Beth commented, “Pen’s lucky to have you.”
    “I’m the one lucky to have her ,” Cade countered. “Seriously, she’s worked her butt off. She followed me into the fire service, then wanted to make more of a difference in the world, so she joined the Army Reserves. She loved it, but in the last few years, it was getting old being sent overseas. She was already planning on leaving, but the whole ISIS thing solidified it for her.”
    “I can imagine. You never wanted to do anything else?”
    “No. I love what I do. No two days on the job are the same. We might have a grass fire, automobile accident and a heart attack on the same day. The next day we might have to help deliver a baby. I love