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  unbroken

  Riley Edwards

  Unbroken

  Riley Edwards

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 by Riley Edwards

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Written by: Riley Edwards

  Published by: Rebels Romance

  Editor: Jay C. Layne Monograph Editing

  Proofreader: Janice Owen

  Unbroken

  ISBN-13: 978-1-7339667-4-0

  Second edition – April 2019

  Copyright 2017 Riley Edwards

  All rights reserved

  This book is dedicated to our first responders. Those brave men and women who put their lives on the line each and every day. And to the families who stand behind these heroes and support them. Thank you! We are forever in your debt.

  "There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.”

  ~Washington Irving

  Contents

  Prologue

  1. The whistler

  2. Craziness and Cloves

  3. Titty Twisters and Nipples

  4. Trouble

  5. White Knight—no armor needed

  6. Pack a Bag

  7. Vodka and Diet Coke

  8. Friend’s List

  9. Basketball and Pancakes

  10. A Hundred Large

  11. Jimmy Fucking Kelley

  12. Cop Killer

  13. In Color

  14. Mine

  15. The past comes back to bite

  16. Iron Claw

  17. Hush

  18. Rivers Of Blood

  19. In Color

  20. Relief

  21. Dark Chocolate With Raspberry Frosting

  22. Ready

  23. Unbroken

  24. Aftermath

  25. Godfather

  26. We’re A Team

  27. Twisted…Again

  28. Our Girl

  29. John 15:13

  30. The New Ava

  31. Surprise

  32. My Sister

  33. We All Fall Down

  34. Amazing Grace

  35. Logan Smith

  36. Heaven

  37. Good-Bye My Love

  38. Full Circle

  Afterword

  Also by Riley Edwards

  Riley’s Rebels

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Prologue

  End of Watch

  I had news!

  Big news that I couldn’t wait to share. I checked my watch for what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour. I was like a kid on Christmas morning, giddy with excitement. I’d been on pins and needles keeping this secret for the last three weeks. But with Jacob’s birthday so close to me finding out we were pregnant, I thought I would give him a birthday surprise he’d never forget. He was going to be over the moon with excitement, and JJ would be thrilled to have a new baby brother or sister.

  Today was the day!

  “JJ, come here, it’s time to put the frosting on Daddy’s cake,” I yelled for my son. I heard the toy he was playing with hit the floor and his little feet scampering down the stairs. “Slow down, little man. A trip to the ER is not on tonight’s agenda.”

  Jacob Junior came sliding into the kitchen with a smile so full of five-year-old enthusiasm I couldn’t help but pick him up and pepper his cute little face full of kisses.

  Today was the best day.

  “You ready to decorate Daddy’s cake? We have…” I checked my watch again. “…thirty minutes until Daddy gets home. Do you think we can fit all thirty-two candles on his cake?”

  JJ’s nose scrunched up in concentration as he tried to puzzle out where thirty-two candles were going to go.

  “We can make them fit, Mama. But we have to put on an extra one for the good luck.”

  “Silly Mommy, I forgot the good luck.”

  “Mama, can I put on the chocolate this time? I never get to use the spreader. Please? I’ll be extra careful with the spreader,” JJ pleaded.

  “Sure, baby,” I said, handing him the spatula.

  With a kiss to JJ’s forehead, I left him with the chocolate frosting and a cake to decorate. This was sure to be a mess of epic proportions.

  I watched as my son made a mess of his father’s birthday cake. When he finished, there were globs of frosting on the top, and the sides were completely bare. It was perfect.

  Today was the best day ever.

  “Mama, this is gonna be Daddy’s favorite birthday cake ever. Is it time to put on the candles?” JJ beamed with pride as he licked the extra icing off the spatula.

  “I think you’re right. It’s perfect. He’ll love it.” Pushing aside my need to smooth out the globs of icing, I grabbed the candles and handed them to JJ. “Here you go. Want to count them out?”

  Before he had a chance to answer, the doorbell rang.

  “Hold on, baby. Let me see who’s at the door. Don’t touch the cake until I get back.”

  I hurried to answer the door. I knew I only had minutes before JJ decided to add the candles himself.

  “Who is it?” I called out from behind the closed door.

  “Ava, it’s Mac,” Jacob’s best friend from the station answered back.

  I quickly unbolted the door and threw it open. “Mac! What a great surprise…” My words died in my throat.

  The Chaplain.

  I blinked my eyes rapidly and prayed to God they were playing tricks on me. It was at this very moment my world tilted, shattered into a million pieces; jagged and sharp pieces that would forever cut me.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, praying when I opened them he would be gone, but when my eyes slowly focused on the men on my front porch, the Chaplain was still standing there.

  “No! No, Mac, you can’t be here!” I whispered. “Please, Mac.”

  I tried to slam the door, but Mac’s hand quickly shot out and caught the heavy piece of wood before it fully shut.

  I knew. I knew what this was. There was only one reason a Chaplain came to a police officer’s home in his dress uniform.

  “Mrs. Kelley, please, may we come in?” the Chaplain asked.

  “No!” I shook my head.

  The tears swimming in my eyes made it impossible to see the two men as they walked into my house uninvited. They had to leave. They couldn’t be here. This was my worst nightmare. This exact scenario had plagued my dreams when Jacob first joined the academy.

  A hand was on my shoulder, and I fought the urge to scream, not to touch me. “Ava. Sweetheart. Let’s sit down,” Mac suggested.

  “No! Please God, NO! Mac, you can’t be here. Where’s Jacob?”

  “Ava, you have to sit down. Where’s JJ?” Mac’s voice was more demanding this time.

  I shrugged his hand off, my ears were roaring, my head pounding, and my gut was in knots. This wasn’t real. This wasn’t happening! This could not happen. Jacob promised! He promised me he would always come home. That’s what he said, ‘Ava baby, you know I am always safe. I will never leave you and little Jacob.’

  “Where’s my husband?” I screamed, ignoring his suggestion to sit.

  In hindsight, I should’ve sat down. I should have listened. Instead, I continued to stand. Screami
ng and stomping my foot, demanding answers I knew I didn’t want to hear. Demanding he confirm my worst fears.

  “There’s been a shooting. I am so sorry Ava, but Jacob didn’t…”

  I heard nothing after that. My husband lied to me. He was a Goddamned liar. He wasn’t coming home.

  He left us.

  My body was cold, and I was numb. I continued to stand even after I felt my knees shake and my body sway. I realized my mistake too late. I should’ve listened. I was falling, and there was no time. No time to protect my belly before I hit the corner of the coffee table on my way down.

  “MAMA!” I heard JJ scream before my world went black.

  Today was the worst day of my life.

  Five days later.

  Miles and miles of flashing red and blue lights lined the streets. Officers and citizens stood shoulder to shoulder on the sidewalk as the funeral procession crept by. JJ sat next to me in his new suit, gripping my hand with a strength I didn’t know a five-year-old could possess. His little face was pressed against the window of the limousine, watching all the people on the street.

  I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t be strong for my son when I was so broken. I tried not to cry in front of him, to be the strong mother that Jacob would want me to be. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t hide my tears; they were never-ending.

  I was hollow. My heart was shattered. I was literally empty, the baby I had been carrying ruthlessly stolen from me as well. A child I would never get to hold, never get to watch grow. He or she would never know my love. In an instant that was taken from me too.

  Fire trucks, police cars, ambulances, and EMT vehicles had taken over the cemetery. I had barely made it through the church service. How was I going to watch my husband being lowered into the ground? JJ sat next to me, stoic yet blissfully unaware. Five. He was five-years-old and could not begin to fathom what forever meant. He would forever be without his father. He would forever have a mother who was half the woman she once was.

  We were forever changed.

  The limousine came to a stop at the graveside. The large mound of dirt next to my husband’s gravesite was covered with fake green carpet. Why did they do that, hide the dirt; was I supposed to pretend that my husband would not be lying at the bottom of a hole with all that dirt on top of him?

  Jacob’s casket was already out of the hearse. Six pallbearers held the flag covered casket. All in full dress uniform, all staring straight ahead. Emotionless.

  Mac made his way over to us. I had refused to allow him to ride to the cemetery in the limo with us. It was just JJ and I now. I had to learn to be on my own. I didn’t have Jacob anymore.

  I couldn’t stop the tears when Mac knelt down in front of my son with a black leather badge holder in his hand. I knew what it was. I had seen it on the nightstand almost every night.

  Wordlessly, he placed the chain over JJ’s head. The badge fell over JJ’s heart, and Mac put his hand over it. “Always, JJ. Your daddy will always be right here, inside of you.”

  “Thank you, Uncle Mac.” JJ wrapped his little hand around his father’s badge and stood tall and proud. My brave boy.

  Mac stood and wiped the tears from his face.

  There were hundreds of people gathered around the gravesite. Some in uniforms, some were dressed in black. Some were softly talking. Others were crying. I wondered who all these people were. I didn’t know but a handful of them.

  “It’s time, Ava,” Mac whispered.

  Afraid of my own voice, I nodded my head in acknowledgment.

  This was it.

  With my first step, the bagpipes started, and I closed my eyes, taking in the first chords of Amazing Grace. Every officer was standing at attention, saluting as we passed. I knew my husband’s casket would be right behind us as we walked to the graveside. His fellow officers carrying him to his final resting place. My strong, brave husband was being carried. I was completely numb.

  I cannot remember how I got to my seat, who spoke when, or what was said. It was all a blur. Through it all, JJ sat quietly between Mac and I, staring at the casket. JJ and I both jumped when the buglers started playing, breaking the silence as Jacob’s flag was being folded.

  I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want to hear the kind words spoken about my husband, about his service and bravery. I didn’t want any of these people to know these things about him. Not because he wasn’t every bit of what they said, and more. Not because he didn’t deserve to be honored. I just didn’t want to have to honor him.

  I wanted to be curled up in bed next to him. Breathing in his scent. I wanted to feel his strong arms around me and his lips on my neck. I didn’t want to hear the bagpipes, I wanted to hear his laugh. What I wouldn’t have given to have him call me, ‘Ava baby,' one more time. He promised me I would never be here. He had sworn I would never have the folded flag.

  “Mrs. Kelley?” An officer knelt in front of my chair.

  I opened my mouth and tried to answer, but no words came out.

  The officer took pity on me and continued. He leaned in, speaking only to JJ and me. “On behalf of the City of San Francisco, the State of California, and all of its citizens, I would like to thank you for your husband’s exemplary service. It is with the greatest respect and deepest condolences that I present this flag to you. May God be with you and keep you.” The officer turned to JJ. “Your father was a brave man, Jacob Junior. He is a hero and loved by all. Always remember, son, greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

  “Thank you, sir,” JJ managed to say through his tears.

  The officer nodded at Mac and they both stood.

  Mac pulled his radio out of his jacket pocket.

  “Foxtrot 257 to dispatch,” Mac spoke into his radio.

  “Dispatch to 257, go,” a voice crackled through the radios of every officer in attendance.

  “Stand by for a special announcement, emergency traffic only.” Mac waited and cleared his throat.

  “Dispatch to 305, come in,” Mac spoke loud and clear.

  The call echoed through the crowd.

  I silently prayed for the miracle of all miracles. That my husband would answer.

  “Dispatch to Officer 305,” Mac called out again.

  The call remained unanswered.

  JJ held onto his father’s badge and crawled into my lap, the flag nestled between us. I snuggled my boy as close as I could. I wanted to absorb all of his pain, take this all away so he would never have to feel an ounce of this tragedy. I sobbed at the injustice of it all. In a matter of seconds, I had lost my husband and my unborn baby. Our lives forever changed.

  “I love you, Mama,” JJ whispered.

  “To the moon and back, baby,” I replied.

  “Officer 305, Jacob Mitchell Kelley, we thank you for your dedication, loyalty, and service to the citizens of San Francisco and to the State of California. You’ve made the people you served proud. You have inspired many, including your fellow officers, with your compassion and unwavering dedication to law enforcement. The people you served with will always remember you.” Mac’s voice cracked as he spoke, he no longer tried to hide his tears as he finished. “Your sacrifice will never be forgotten. Godspeed, my friend. Officer 305, 10-7 forever. Officer Jacob Mitchell Kelley, End of Watch.”

  Mac’s final words boomed through the crowd.

  End of Watch.

  1

  The whistler

  Ava

  “Ava, the weird guy wants pie again,” Laura called out as she frantically rushed into the kitchen, her arms stacked full of dirty plates.

  The breakfast rush was still in full swing. We had at least another hour before we hit a lull and my caffeine high was slowly waning. I needed coffee stat if I was going to get through the morning without killing a customer. Or a waitress. The loud clatter of dishes being dropped into the dishwashing station made me cringe.

  “The whistler?” I asked, ignoring my need to remind her that I had
to buy new plates every time she chipped one.

  “The one and only,” Laura laughed, picking up a new order off the cook’s line. “You know, he’s kinda hot. All mysterious with his fedora pulled down low and all those tats. Bad boy hot!”

  “He’s weird, Laura! Who eats pie at nine AM? And he never talks, just sits in the corner and whistles. You know, I don’t even mind the whistling, but could he possibly pick a new tune? I am now having recurring dreams about Ring Around the Rosy.” I handed Laura a plate of hash browns and stared at her in wonderment. It truly was amazing that she could balance five breakfast plates on one arm, but couldn’t balance a tray full of glasses worth a shit. “And besides, last week, after that Dateline special, you told me you thought Erik Menendez was hot. The man killed his parents. You can’t think someone is hot after they kill their parents.”

  “Oh, come on, that man was fine as hell when he was a teenager. Not so much now, prison did not agree with him.” Laura added the hash brown plate to her stack and went for the door to the dining room. “The pie? Do we have any this morning?”

  “Pumpkin?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

  The whistler always ordered pumpkin. The man needed some variety in his life. Maybe I should introduce him to blueberry cobbler.

  “You guessed it. And Reid and Mac are both out there at the counter.” Laura winked and rushed out with her order. I suspected she had a secret crush on Mac. Anytime he was around she doubled up on her sass.