No return, p.1
No Return, page 1
Also by Stacy Claflin
An Alex Mercer Thriller
Girl in Trouble
Turn Back Time
Little Lies
Against All Odds
Don't Forget me
Tainted Love
Take On Me
Danger Zone
Curse of the Moon
Lost Wolf
Chosen Wolf
Hunted Wolf
Broken Wolf
Cursed Wolf
Fall Into Romance
Lost in Romance
Gone
Gone
Held
Over
The Gone Trilogy
Dean's List
Indigo Bay Second Chance Romances
Sweet Complications
Indigo Bay Sweet Romance Series
Sweet Dreams
Sweet Reunion
The Hunters
Seaside Surprises
Seaside Heartbeats
Seaside Dances
Seaside Kisses
Seaside Christmas
Bayside Wishes
Bayside Evenings
Bayside Promises
The Hunters: A Collection
The Transformed
Deception
Betrayal
Forgotten
Ascension
Duplicity
Sacrifice
Destroyed
Transcend
Entangled
Dauntless
Obscured
Partition
Fallen (The Transformed Prequel)
Silent Bite: A Transformed Christmas
Hidden Intentions
Saved by a Vampire
Sweet Desire
Valhalla's Curse
Renegade Valkyrie
Pursued Valkyrie
Silenced Valkyrie
Vengeful Valkyrie
Unleashed Valkyrie
Standalone
The Transformed Series - Four Books
The Transformed Box Set
No Return
Tiny Bites
Haunted
Dex
When Tomorrow Starts Without me
The Only Things You Can Take
Lies Never Sleep
Watch for more at Stacy Claflin’s site.
Contents
Title Page
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Gone
Other Books
Author's Note
NO RETURN
A GONE SAGA STANDALONE NOVEL
by Stacy Claflin
http://www.stacyclaflin.com
Copyright ©2016 Stacy Claflin. All rights reserved.
©Cover by Cormar Covers
Edited by Staci Troilo
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is purely coincidental or used fictitiously. The author has taken great liberties with locales including the creation of fictional towns.
Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited. Do not upload or distribute anywhere.
This ebook is for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be resold or given away to others. If you would like to share this book with others, please either purchase it for them or direct them to StacyClaflin.com for links. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.
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One
Rusty Caldwell first learned of Mandy Oates’s suicide while standing in a grocery store line on a sleepy Tuesday evening. He put his energy drink on the conveyor belt and stared at the local newspaper headline, unable to read the article.
His mind spun the harder he concentrated, making it appear that the words danced before his eyes. He couldn’t have read it right. It had to have been a mistake.
Hometown local, Mandy Caldwell Oates, dead from suspected suicide.
Rusty stepped out of line, stumbling, and left his drink. Gasping for air, he glanced around.
He needed to sit. There weren’t any chairs in sight.
Benches—there were some just inside the entrance.
He made his way over to the nearest one and collapsed. He surely looked like one of the drunks he spent his nights towing.
Rusty’s heart raced against his constricted chest. He took slow, deep breaths. It didn’t help.
How could his sister be dead? Surely it was joke. A horribly cruel one.
“Are you okay?” asked a familiar feminine voice. “Rusty?”
He snapped his head up. It was Alyssa Mercer, a friend he hadn’t seen in a long time. Rusty shook his head.
She sat next to him, placing her hand on his arm. “What’s the matter?”
“I…” He couldn’t even bring himself to say it. His sister was dead. How was it possible?
Alyssa’s dark eyes widened. “Talk to me. You were there for me when I desperately needed a friend.”
“My sister.” Rusty gasped for air. Maybe if he didn’t say it, it wouldn’t be real.
“Is she okay?” Alyssa pulled her long, dark hair behind her shoulders, still giving him the look of concern.
He shook his head and braced himself. “Suicide.”
Alyssa’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, no. Rusty, I’m so sorry. Were you two close?”
Rusty nearly snorted. They couldn’t have been further apart—estranged years earlier. He shook his head. “I always thought we’d… you know, make up one day.”
“What do you need me to do?”
He stared at her. What could Alyssa possibly do? What could anyone?
“You probably need to go home. Can I give you a ride?”
How ironic was that? He was the one who drove people home for a living.
“No. I’ll drive myself. I can’t leave the tow truck here all night, anyway.”
“Then let me follow you—just to make sure you get there safely.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not. I’m offering, and I don’t mind. I’ll just call my friend and let her know I’m going to meet her a little late. It’s not a big deal.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I definitely owe you.”
Rusty relaxed. At least he wasn’t alone. Even though his whole world spun out of control, he had a friend keeping him grounded.
A family walked by with two kids screaming.
Alyssa rose. “Let’s get out of here.”
Rusty forced his feet to comply. His legs weren’t very steady, but they would get him to his truck.
“You sure you’re okay to drive?”
He took a deep breath. “Yeah. We’re not far from my place, anyway.”
“I’m still going to follow you.” She pulled out a phone and texted. Then she glanced at him. “Is there anyone you need to call?”
“Nothing’s changed since I last saw you. No next of kin.” No new girlfriend or wife. No more kids.
He couldn’t open himself up to that kind of pain again.
They walked out to the parking lot. “I’m over there.” Alyssa pointed to the right. “I see your truck. I’ll just follow you.”
“Okay, but I’ll be all right.”
“You didn’t leave me alone when I told you the same thing, did you?”
He thought back to the night she had been alone and drunk in a bar she didn’t belong in. She’d been wallowing in misery she had every right to. And she never would have made it home safely. “No, I didn’t.”
“See you at your place.”
Rusty nodded a thanks and headed for his tow truck. It took three tries to pull the keys from his pocket. Maybe it was a good thing Alyssa had crossed his path.
Once inside, he radioed into the office of his small towing business.
“Hey, boss,” came Andy’s voice. “Where you towing to?”
Rusty took a deep breath. “I’ve had a family emergency. I might have to fly out of town. Think you can handle things for a week or so?”
“Yeah, whatever you need. Is everything okay?”
“Death in the family.”
“I’m sorry, man. Anything I can do?”
“Thanks, but no. I’ll check in tomorrow.”
“No, I got everything covered, boss. Just take care of your family.”
“Thanks, Andy.” Rusty turned off the radio. It was hard to leave his business, but Andy could easily handle it as well as Rusty. He knew all the ins and outs, and all the drivers respected him.
The only thing that no one replaced was Rusty’s per
Alyssa’s sedan pulled next to him. He waved and then started driving, staying focused on the road and not allowing his thoughts to drift to Mandy. Not yet.
Somehow, he made it to his house. Alyssa pulled up beside him and got out of her car.
He cut the engine, got out of the truck, and locked it, which he didn’t usually bother to do. Who knew how long it would sit there? He would likely fly out to see Mandy’s kids and husband.
“Well, I made it safely.” He tried to smile, but failed miserably.
“Are you sure you don’t need anything else?” she asked. “Something to eat?”
“I doubt I could eat if I wanted to.”
She nodded. “I get that.”
“I know you do,” he said. “But I don’t want to keep you from your friend.”
“She’s fine. Are you?”
“Yeah. Well, I will be.” Rusty ran his hands through his hair. He’d just had it cut, and the new barber had gone too short. The familiar curls were missing. “I need to get inside and call my parents.”
He closed his eyes. That was a conversation he wasn’t looking forward to.
“You’ve got my number, right?”
Rusty nodded and opened his eyes. “I think I have it somewhere.”
She pulled out a business card. “Call me if you need anything. Day or night.”
“I might have to fly out of town.”
Her eyes lit up. “Then I’ll keep an eye on your place.”
“You don’t have to. Don’t feel obligated.”
“I don’t. To be honest, I’ve always wished I could pay you back.”
“And I was just glad to help. I better get inside.”
“Sorry. I don’t mean to keep you. Call if you need anything.”
“Okay.”
Alyssa climbed into her car and waved.
Rusty waved back and made his way to his front porch. He watched her drive off, and then he sat on his swinging bench. The cool, night air felt good in his lungs. The stars were out bright in the cloudless sky.
He closed his eyes and stretched his arms out across the top of the swing. In his imagination, his wife—his late wife—Lani sat next to him and snuggled close, nestling her head against his. Then their two boys climbed up onto their laps, cuddling with them.
Rusty enjoyed the moment as long as he could hold onto it and then opened his eyes. He was alone on the bench. No matter how much he willed them back, they never returned.
And now he had to deal with the loss of his younger sister, along with the guilt that he’d never made the first move to restore their relationship. He’d known that their parting had been because of her drug usage, not her. The real Mandy would have never acted the way drug-Mandy had. She certainly never would have said the horrible things to Rusty that she had.
He took a deep breath and stood. It was time to face the music—his parents, more specifically. He needed to speak with them to find out how to contact his sister. Even though Mandy had refused contact with any of them, their parents had kept tabs on her. They knew when she got married and had her two kids. It was a form of self-torture since they’d destroyed their relationship with her.
Not unlike Rusty’s solitary existence. Making himself pay for his own mistakes.
His chest tightened at the thought of going inside and making that call. But he needed to. There had to be more to the story than just the suicide. Sure, they were in a pretty small town, but for his sister’s death to make a headline… it had to have been more than a death. He had to have missed something.
If he’d been able to read the smaller print—anything beyond the headline—he would have surely found out.
Rusty slid the key into the deadbolt and unlocked it, his hand shaking. Then he unlocked the knob. He took more deep breaths and opened the door.
The empty house hit him like a slap on the face. He had barely changed a thing. It was exactly as it had been when his family had lived there. Even after so many years, he still expected to hear feet running his way when he got home.
He closed the door behind him and locked it. Then he went to his office and sat in the swivel chair, staring at the screensaver of pictures from happier times.
His cell phone rang. Rusty jumped and picked it up. It was his parents.
“Hello?”
“Did you hear?” his dad asked.
“I saw a headline. How long have you known?”
“We heard the news a bit earlier. Your mother has been drinking all afternoon, and finally passed out.”
“Wonderful,” Rusty muttered. “And how are you taking it?”
“I always told Mandy drugs would get her killed.”
“Right.” Dad would stay angry for a while before allowing himself to feel anything. That was typical. “Do you guys have her husband’s number?”
“Why?”
“I’d like to see if I can do anything to help.”
“Doubt he’d take it from any of us. Mandy no doubt made us all out to be monsters.”
“In times like this,” Rusty said, “he may be more willing to hear from us.”
“Or find more reason to blame us.”
Rusty shook his head. Was it any wonder his sister had fled? Their family was incredibly messed up. Rusty was lucky to have had as normal of a life as he’d had before the accident. It was also a miracle his parents hadn’t disowned him, too. He’d nearly lost his house after turning to alcohol and pot in the wake of losing his wife and kids.
“Can I just get his information?” Rusty asked. “What’s his name? Chris, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I’ll text you.” The call ended.
“Let’s hope he’s more pleasant than you,” Rusty muttered.
The text came in. He added the number to his contacts and called his brother-in-law.
“Hello?” asked an exhausted-sounding male voice.
“Is this Chris Oates?” Rusty asked.
“Who’s asking?”
“Rusty Caldwell.”
Silence.
“Mandy’s brother.”
“I know who you are. What do you want?”
Rusty’s stomach twisted in knots. “I’d like to help out however I can.”
“How so?” Chris sounded suspicious, and for good reason, no doubt.
“I know what it’s like to lose a wife. I’ve never had a chance to meet my niece or nephew—or my brother-in-law.”
“You want to fly across the country? You still near Seattle?”
“Yeah. All I have to do is pack.”
Chris sighed. “You know, Mandy never really had much bad to say about you. She wished you guys could have made up, but she was afraid to call. She never forgave herself for whatever she put you through.”
Rusty ran his hands through his hair. Tears blurred his vision. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. If you want to fly out and help, I won’t refuse you. My kids are going crazy, and the police—don’t even get me started.”
“Sure, okay. Is this your address?” He glanced down at his phone and read off his dad’s text.
“Yep. Thanks, man.”
“I’ll let you know when I’m due to arrive.”
“Okay. Crap. The cops are calling again. Gotta go.” The call ended.
Rusty set the phone down and typed his password into the laptop. He searched for more information on his sister’s death. There wasn’t a whole lot of information, except that the suicide was suspicious and they were investigating Chris.
That certainly explained the complaints about the police.
He searched for flights to Florida, found a flight the next morning, and booked it. That would give him a chance to get some sleep before traveling. Or at least try to rest.
His body ached from the stress. Rusty went into the kitchen, drank a couple glasses of water, and then went to his bedroom and packed. It had been so long since he’d traveled, he wasn’t even sure what was allowed on flights anymore. He pulled out his phone and did a quick search.
After he was finally packed, he fell into bed and stared at the ceiling. How could Mandy be dead? His baby sister. He’d always meant to get back in touch with her. But with life… his own tragedy…
