Before Sunrise (69 page)

Chapter Twenty-five

The night had ended unexpectedly swift. As
much as he wanted the chance for some alone time with his lady, he
regretted seeing the day come to an end. Tomorrow he’d be buried in
bureaucratic bullshit. He’d be the prize pony for the president to
parade in front of the press, and the test subject for every punk
smartass military official to dissect. Hopefully it would end
there.

“
I think I’ve packed
everything.” Kennedy walked down the stairs.

“
I still think we should
bring her with us.”

“
We talked about this, Liam.
She’s exhausted from the day. We don’t need to put her on a plane
and take her to DC in the morning. Mom and daddy are going to stay
here with her. It’s best.”

Liam reluctantly agreed. He felt more in
control if he kept them with him always. But his wife was the voice
of reason.

“
I’ll take the bags and put
them in the car.”

“
Wait.” She sidestepped him
and blocked his escape. “I never got a chance to give you your
wedding gift.”

Liam smirked. “Sweaters? Jackets?
Undershirts?”

Kennedy blushed and he knew he was right.
She was practical and that’s why he loved her. Everything she
bought him was something he could use, but wouldn’t stop long
enough to buy for himself. “I love it already, babe. We can open
them at our place. C’mon.”

“
No. I have something else.”
She took his hand. “You know every time you were called on a
mission, you left your ring with me. To keep it safe.”

“
You kept it?” Liam brows
lowered and his gaze sharpened. “You kept it, Kay?”

“
I could never part with it,
Liam.”

She revealed it in the palm of his hand.
“Confession time. You were right. I bought you clothes and shoes
for Christmas. I feel guilty for donating your things, giving them
away. I did so because it hurt to see your clothes, smell your
scent. Your ring was the only piece of you I had all to myself.
Even when you returned I couldn’t bring myself to let go of it.
What if you left again? What if you couldn’t forgive me for
remarrying? I had to be sure I could let my heart truly believe we
were going to be together, forever. Now it’s time for me to let go
of my fear, and to trust us again.”

Liam stood there, stunned. “My ring?”

She took his hand and eased the band along
his calloused finger. “With this ring I do pledge that I will make
a new life with you Liam. We’ll have the family we always wanted.
Everything we ever dreamed of. Because we’ll have each other. I
love you so much. I’m so happy.”

He drew her closer and swept her up in his
arms. Kennedy peppered the side of his face with kisses until her
mouth naturally found his. The kiss sealed their vows. And Liam
believed, for the first time since he’d been thrown into hell, that
he deserved a bit of heaven again.

“
You ready to go home? Our
home?” she asked.

He lowered her to her feet. “Sit down.”

“
Huh?” She blinked at him,
confused. Liam took her hand and guided her to the sofa. He sat
next to her. “I’ve been struggling, Kay, all day. How much should I
tell you. If there is a need to tell you.”

“
Tell me what?”

“
The mission I went on. The
reason why Alexa and people you don’t know don’t want to cut me
loose.”

“
You said that you would be
getting out of the service.”

“
I intend to. Still, I know
how things work. I can’t explain it all to you but I can tell you
there is a chance they may try to keep that from
happening.”

“
No. No.” Kennedy shot to
her feet. “No, dammit! Not again, Liam.”

He stared up at her sadly. Maybe he should
have kept it to himself. He didn’t want to scare her. But he needed
her. They needed to be a team. “Kay, listen to me.”

“
No! I can’t!” She started
away.

Liam struggled to rise and nearly fell from
the sudden movement. She returned to his side immediately and he
seized her arm. Despite her protest he brought her down to his lap.
“I want you to know something, something that may be useful one
day. Never speak of it, unless you have to. A last resort. Do you
understand?”

“
No, Liam. I
don’t.”

He kissed her lips. “The mission I went on
was an Easter-egg hunt. We had to recover nuclear warheads Sarkhir
planned to use for another attack, a bigger attack. These weapons
weren’t stolen, but sold to them before there was a war. Sold by
special interest groups in the government. Men lost their lives
keeping this secret. We stopped them, but it came at a big
cost.”

Kennedy’s eyes welled with tears. He knew
her fear. He never spoke of his missions, never even hinted at the
intelligence he knew.

“
Why, Liam? Why tell me
this?”

He forced a smile. “I’m not sure, Kay. It’s
been five years, and nothing I know from before can change the
present.” He rubbed the side of her face. “If it does, then I need
you to be strong. To protect Mackenzie, and to trust no one. Do you
understand?”

“
I think so.”

He brought her face to his and kissed her
deeply. She returned the kiss and soon he felt her trembling cease.
He smiled and slipped her more tongue. “Are you ready to go home,
beautiful?”

She sniffled and nodded.

“
Good. So am I.”

***

“
No more!” Kennedy
laughed.

Liam collapsed on top of her. He kissed her
face and fell over to her left side. Though his strength and
endurance improved daily, making love with his sweetheart exhausted
every inch of him. She curled up next to him and he ran his hand
down her sweaty backside. He needed a reprieve to catch his breath.
Liam couldn’t formulate another word.

“
We need to get showered.
The car will be here to pick us up in about four hours.”

“
Sorry,” Liam gasped. “I
should have let you sleep.”

“
Are you kidding me?” She
glanced up. “No way in hell I could sleep after the day we had.”
Kennedy propped the side of her face in the palm of her hand and
pressed her elbow into the pillow. “You surprised me,
Liam.”

“
When?”

“
With Phil. I don’t know. I
just thought you’d lose it when you learned about the whole baby
mess. Then Phil’s lies? Even I wanted to murder him.”

“
I did lose it.” He opened
his eyes and fixed his gaze on her. “But I’m man enough to know my
weakness. It’s you, Kay. Always. Besides I was just as much to
blame. The way I see it, we’ve faced tougher shit than what Phil
and Alexa tried to pull.”

“
What do you
mean?”

Liam didn’t answer. He didn’t want to add to
her worry. Though they didn’t mention the earlier discussion, he
saw her reflecting quite a bit. He knew how his baby’s mind worked.
She’d see conspiracy in everyone and everything if he didn’t keep
it in perspective.

“
What did you mean by that
comment, Liam?”

“
It was a setup.”

“
What was?”

“
Babe, they came together to
break me. This was all Alexa. She played Phil for a sap. She wanted
me to lose it. If I did, Alexa would have pulled my card and had me
confined for assaulting a higher-ranking officer. She fed me a
bunch of bullshit before I found you two outside. She knew what my
response could be. What it would mean. She even told me how Phil
played you. All of it. I wasn’t going to let her win.”

“
You sure Phil wasn’t in on
this?”

Liam rolled his eyes. He didn’t want to
defend Phillip Freeman, but he doubted the man understood the
conniving lengths Alexa would go to in order to get what she
wanted. “Maybe he was, possibly not. Alexa is trained for…let’s
just say she knows how to get what she wants.”

“
And she wants you?” Kennedy
said softly. “Why, Liam? Did you two share…something? Years
ago?”

Liam cut Kennedy a look, surprised by the
accusation and hurt in her eyes. “Hell no. Never. Listen to me
babe.” He sat up. “I had to cut myself in half when I went in. The
training, you know what they put us through. You saw how hard it
went down. But I handled it. The people we become, the bonds we
form, they’re for life. Alex couldn’t be a SEAL, women aren’t
allowed. But she was in on some missions with us. She flew us in
and out of some tough shit. She became part of a brotherhood few
men can even belong to. So yes, we shared something. But I wasn’t
unfaithful. And it wasn’t love. Our thing was based on survival. Do
you understand? I never betrayed you, Kay.”

“
Then why can’t she let you
go? Why does she hate me so much?”

“
She’s jealous of you, of
us. Alexa came from a privileged background. Her father was Navy
brass way up the chain. He ignored her mother, who eventually took
her own her life. He ignored Alexa too, so she pretended to not
care. She said once that she had nothing and no one but the
corps.”

“
Doesn’t excuse everything,
Liam.”

“
Right. I know. But she
vowed never to be weak, which, yes, is a vow we all make. For Alexa
it was different. Love, family, all the things we believe in, she
loathes. I think deep down inside she envies what she
loathes.”

“
She told you
this?”

Liam gauged his words. There were some
situations when he didn’t think he’d come out alive. One in
particular where he and Alex had to stay close for body warmth
after their transport crashed and they had to hike out to their
evac point. He told her things, and she him. That was what happened
when you prepare to meet your end. However, through all of his
confessions he always spoke of Kennedy. He made no secret of his
devotion. No woman compared to her, and never would. Alexa’s hatred
of his wife simmered beyond his understanding until now. He just
didn’t see it. He chose not to see it. He could kick himself now
for being blind to her jealousy.

“
Yes. She told me
this.”

“
Do you really think she
will back off now?”

“
I don’t think she wants me,
Kay. She wants that soldier who died in Afghanistan, the man I left
in that hole. I’m done with him, I’ve given them as much of my life
as I plan to give. I’m yours now. I’ll tell the vice president,
hell, I’ll tell the president if I have to. It’s over.”

Kennedy nodded. He opened his arm to her and
she scooted up against him. They both knew that his proclamation
meant little. If the government wanted him, have him they
would.

Chapter Twenty-six

“
You are an American hero.
Your country thanks you, and the men who died fighting courageously
at your side. Welcome home!”

Liam shook the president’s hand to a
thunderous eruption of applause. Kennedy rose to her feet and
clapped in celebration as well. From her viewpoint she could see it
all so clearly. As his wife, they granted her permission to sit
with him on stage, next to the First Lady. The whole morning seemed
surreal. She kept pinching herself.

Alexa was there too, in a sharp blue uniform
and white cap. She felt her glares a few times but didn’t
acknowledge her. The woman made a bit more sense to her now. She
found her quite sad.

Instead of being drawn into hostility, she
reveled in Liam’s moment. She couldn’t be more proud of him. He
deserved his medal, and more.

The afternoon sun beamed hotly down on them
despite the chill blasting over the White House lawn. Kennedy
squinted up at the clear sky and the sun, realizing how perfect the
day had been for this ceremony. It would soon be Liam’s turn to
speak. Kennedy sensed the speech had been prepared for him. But she
returned to her seat and listened attentively. In the end, he
personalized the words he read from the page by acknowledging the
fallen men by name. He shared with their families gathered a brief
story of their bravery.

“
I—I owe them my life.” For
a moment, Liam stared down at the podium, oblivious to the whining
chirp of camera shutters clicking in burst mode. Kennedy tensed,
waiting, wondering if the stress of the attention was triggering
him. He turned and looked at her. He extended his hand.

Kennedy shyly rose to her feet and stepped
to his side at the podium. She stared out at the reporters and
politicians gathered, and did her best to ignore the cameras.

“
I want to thank my wife and
our family for believing in me, for keeping a home for me, and for
making me feel like I belong.”

She felt flushed but hugged and kissed him
in front of flashing bulbs and the narrowing video camera lenses of
networks from all over the world. There came more applause.

The press immediately began to raise their
hands for questions. Kennedy wanted to step back but Liam held her
hand firm.

“
Lt. Flanagan, it’s said
that Amir Sarkhir’s people kept you alive while others perished.
Can you share with us why you think that is?” the first reporter
bellowed.

Liam cleared his throat. “I’m not sure of
his motives.”

She squeezed his hand in support.

“
Lt. Flanagan, did you learn
anything on Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts? Is he alive? Did you see
him?”

“
No.” “Lt Flanagan, welcome
home. It’s been reported that your wife remarried, but you’re
together now? How hard has the transition been since your
return?”