Before Sunrise (27 page)

“
Go ahead, ma’am,” the
sergeant said, bringing her out of her fantasies.

A reporter touched her arm, and she snatched
away. The petite brunette with fire-red lipstick and too much
mascara shoved a microphone in her face. “Did you say you were
Kennedy Flanagan Freeman’s sister? Do you want to give a statement?
We have reports that Lieutenant Flanagan is inside.”

Harper shot her a fuck-off look, then
marched up the flagstone path. She had dressed in a hurry, driven
like a madwoman, and wasn’t about to waste any more time getting
inside. She had a key, but the double-bolt lock was engaged. So she
knocked and rang the bell.

Kennedy opened the door and Harper
immediately threw her arms around her sister’s neck.

“
Ugh! You’re cold, you’re
bringing the chill in.” Kennedy shivered.

Harper laughed. She came inside. Kennedy
closed and re-locked the door. Harper shed her coat. She hadn’t got
the first question out before she saw Liam step toward her. She
froze with coat in hand. Hearing he was alive was one thing. Seeing
him was something else.

“
What’s up, squirrel?” he
asked, leaning in on his cane.

She squealed. Tossing her coat at her
sister, she rushed Liam and jumped into his arms like a crazy,
star-struck teen. She almost took him over backward, but he was
still as strong as she remembered. Despite his obvious leg injury,
he held her to him. She kissed his jaw and hugged his neck tightly.
“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it! Hot damn, my boy is
back!”

“
Me either,” he
said.

“
Does Sally know? Have you
seen her yet?”

Liam let Harper go. “Not yet.”

“
What?” Harper turned on
Kennedy. “Have you called Sally?”

“
I-I didn’t. Liam, you have
to call her. She can’t hear this on the news.”

Harper nodded in agreement. “But she’d have
to be on the moon to not know he’s alive. It’s on every station.
It’s on the radio, hell, it’s practically written in the sky.
You’re being called a hero. The president is supposed to address
the nation tonight.”

Liam sighed. “I don’t want to deal with any
of it now.” He turned back to the family room.

“
Not even Sally?” Harper
yelled after him.

“
Harper, stop.” Kennedy took
her arm and pulled her away. “He’s been through a lot. He and Sally
only made peace just before he left on deployment. He’ll call her
when he’s ready.”

“
Shit, I’m sorry. You’re
right. I just want to celebrate. Shout it from the roof. Don’t
you?” She threw her arms around Kennedy’s neck. “It’s a miracle!
He’s back!”

“
I know. I keep thinking I’m
going to wake up and it’s all a dream.”

“
A dream come true, girl.”
Harper rolled her neck.

“
What does that
mean?”

“
You have got to kick that
loser ‘Phil the Drip’ to the curb, and soon. Right now, Kennedy.
I’m going to be all over you until you do.”

Kennedy walked off to put
Harper’s coat in the closet. Harper narrowed her eyes on her sweet
but naïve sister. It was time to put
Operation: Fix This Shit
into
effect.

Chapter Twelve

“
What do you want?” Phil
barely lifted his head, he sat slumped over paperwork before him in
his small office, on an uncomfortable swivel chair, buried in file
folders of unopened cases next to a bottle of Advil. This visit was
the last thing his migraine needed.

Usually, when Colonel
Sinclair entered the room, every man and woman in stood at
attention.
Well
,
fuck her
.
Phil grimaced. She sauntered over to the sofa and made herself
comfortable.

“
I don’t have time for
this.”

“
How are things?” came her
whispering, sultry voice.

Of course she’d ask the one
question she knew would cut to the marrow.
Things
, such as, his life, his
marriage, his sense of belonging, were unraveling. Alexa crossed
her legs. A small smile tugged the corners of her rose-colored
lips. Phil clenched his pen. That smile of hers was mockingly
sweet. It said it all:
told you she would
kick you to curb for her GI-Joe hero
.

“
I have work to
do.”

“
I hear he’s over there
now.”

Phil bristled. He dropped back in his chair.
The bitch wasn’t leaving. It was best to get the visit done and
over with, so he could make it through the rest of the day. He
tossed his pen over the blotter. His anger and hurt had been on
simmer all day. He’d gotten updates of the day’s activities, and
they left him incensed. That was his house, his woman. “They have
some things to discuss.”

Alexa nodded. “Of course they do. Poor
Kennedy. What’s a girl to do? Dead husband shows up and standby
husband doesn’t want to step aside. I’m curious as to how this will
play out. Will your missus shove her new hubby aside? Will she
sacrifice herself for the good of both men and work out a deal
between you? How will this all end?”

“
How will it?” Phil asked,
giving Alexa the floor.

“
Well, I have it on good
authority that several cells have been activated since the news
broke. The SecDef is concerned. Vice President is breathing fire
down his neck. And Senator Clayton wants to contain Operation
Scorpion. Fucking liberals would have a field day if they knew why
Liam and his team were on that mountain. Remember, we have an
election year approaching. The administration wants to go out
without the stain of another attack. My feelings are we all need to
consider where Liam truly belongs. The president has already
mentioned an honorable discharge. He wants to get all ceremonious.
I can’t let that happen and I’m sure Clayton won’t.”

“
What are you saying,
Alexa?”

She cut him down with her cobra-like eyes.
Her smile, once playful, had a sinister twist to it that made his
stomach sour. “I’m asking you Phil. How badly do you want Kennedy?
How far will you go to keep her? Because if I can prove that Liam
is a violent time bomb, well, then I can get him the help he needs.
And he can help us while he recovers.”

“
And?”

“
And I think you’re the
spark that can set off a nuclear explosion.”

***

“
I’ll get it,” Kennedy
offered.

Liam looked up from the game board. He was
playing Chutes and Ladders against Mackenzie and Harper. Her
daughter’s nap had lasted all of twenty minutes and she was back
downstairs. Liam seemed to tense each time the phone rang or her
attention was called away. Almost as if she herself would slip
away. She hoped this disturbance would be one of the sergeants
coming to inform her of a schedule change, not a rogue reporter
slipping past them to pound on her door again.

The day had progressed nicely, the less
drama the better for her and Liam. Most of the morning was spent
joking over old times. They effectively avoided the awkward topic
of his captivity. When Kennedy fell out of the conversation, Liam
would say something to her to bring her back in. She felt closer to
him. Though they hadn’t touched physically, besides a little hand
holding, it reminded her of the old days when he used to charm
Harper into going to sleep. Then he’d sit with her and just watch
TV, understanding the interruption of a pesky kid sister. Like
then, she wished now for privacy. Part of her remained grateful she
didn’t have it. Who knew what privacy between them would lead
to.

Kennedy opened the door. To her delight,
Angelina stood on her front step. Her best friend’s round belly
protruded under a purple and white maternity shirt. In her hands
she held a covered dish. Before Kennedy could utter a word the
twins nearly bowled her over. The boys rushed in, shouting for
Mackenzie. She noticed Vasquez on the lawn, speaking with one of
the soldiers. The press had thinned. Just a van remained camped
out. Immediately its doors opened and a crew jumped out to film the
latest activity.

“
Hi, you.” Angelina leaned
in to give her air kisses. She then presented her warm casserole
dish of her famous baked macaroni and cheese.

“
Hi, Angie. Come
in.”

Kennedy waited while Vasquez hurried up the
walk. He winked at her as he passed over the threshold. Having them
there felt like old times. Angelina had been pregnant before Liam’s
final deployment. When the twins were born, Liam had whined over
wanting a baby of his own. Little did they know Kennedy was already
a few weeks pregnant herself.

Kennedy carried the dish into the kitchen.
The sounds of children’s laughter and Liam with friends warmed her
heart. This was what home should have been. She never had such a
feeling with Phil’s friends and their respective families over the
holidays, though she hadn’t noticed the difference until now.

“
You okay?” Angelina asked
behind her.

“
Yeah, I am. I guess I was
getting all sentimental.” Kennedy sniffled, wiping invisible tears.
She smiled out at everyone gathered around the game board. Her
daughter’s excited voice was the loudest. Angelina stepped into her
line of vision, with her hand to her swollen belly.

“
Feels good, doesn’t
it?”

“
Yes.”

“
So are we okay? You hung up
on a girl, had me chewing Anthony’s ass out, until he agreed to
bring us.”

“
Yes, Angie. I can’t stay
mad at you.”

“
Whew, thank God. I’m
preggo. I don’t need the stress.”

Kennedy touched Angelina’s belly. It felt
hard and firm with no movement. But she remembered the days of
lugging a visitor in her middle. She and Liam were robbed of so
much joy with Mackenzie. It had been a miracle she had her daughter
at all. Kennedy realized in that moment she would love to be a
mother again, just not the way she feared she already was.

“
I know what you’re
thinking, Kennedy. You aren’t pregnant.”

“
Shhh!” Kennedy grabbed
Angelina’s wrist and dragged her farther into the kitchen. “Don’t
even say the word today. Okay?”

“
Ow! Okay, okay.”

“
Sorry, girl, but jeez,
those men have supersonic hearing, you know that.”

Angelina smiled. “So what has it been like?
You two have a moment alone yet?”

“
A few. Not much. I would
like more, but this is a good pace for Liam, I think.”

“
Yeah, well, get your time
in too. It’s important.”

Kennedy nodded. “I agree.”

Harper decided to go upstairs with the twins
and Mackenzie to see the famous goldfish her niece raved over. That
left Liam and Vasquez alone at the dining room table with a direct
view of their ladies in the kitchen, whispering and giggling. They
sat in silence for a few while Liam put up the game board. He knew
it wouldn’t be long before Vasquez delivered the news that Alexa
had been trying to share in the hotel last night.

“
So you know we have
orders.”

“
What orders?” Liam asked in
a dry, disinterested tone.

“
They want you to come in.
More questions.”

“
They?”

“
Pentagon. Clayton.
They
.”

“
You mean Alex.”

Vasquez sighed. He dropped back in his
chair. Liam avoided his eyes. They both knew that if Uncle Sam
wanted it, he’d have to bend over and take it up the ass. But he’d
be damned if he’d walk away from his family again, no matter for
how long. He just couldn’t do it. “What’s Alex saying?”

“
That she will give you
until Christmas. That after that, your country needs you. Truth is,
Clayton has concerns over the failed mission. Your resurrection has
many looking into why you were on the mountain in the first place.
No one wants the press to get hold of Scorpion.”

“
I see.” Liam swallowed.
Scorpion was the one thing he hadn’t been directly questioned
about. Central Intelligence knew more about Scorpion than he
did.
Fuck
. He’d
had his orders and he carried them out. Period. He knew Clayton’s
fears were only elevated because of Alex. Liam suspected she’d
traded on secrets to get her appointment.

That wasn’t the only thing bothering him.
He’d allowed her crush. Thought it harmless. And part of him had
always remained uneasy about serving in combat with a woman. He
couldn’t help but want to protect her on those missions she flew
him and his team in and out of. It was in his nature to play the
hero. Where Alex bristled over the attention of others, she
welcomed Liam’s. Soon enough, respect turned into unwavering
devotion. Eric warned him against it, said Alex had become fixated
on him. And of course, Alex always went too far. He ignored it, to
the point she became a distraction from his depressive need to be
home with Kay. A mental substitute. That was on him.

Things had changed since he’d been gone.
Unlike before, her obsession would be a bitch of an inconvenience,
and now, with her power, it could be used for destruction. Who knew
her true motivations? Her inappropriate feelings in the past would
be his undoing if he didn’t think smart. Liam laughed.

“
What’s funny?”