Before Sunrise (10 page)

“
That’s—that’s a lie,” Phil
stammered.

“
No, it’s the cold, hard
truth. Remember the intelligence we received on Amir Sarkhir? We
sent Vasquez and the team into the region. Turns out our little
strike mission became a rescue and recovery. The infamous Liam
Flanagan has been Amir’s POW for five years. He’s alive, Phil, and
he knows you married his precious little Kennedy.”

Phil blanched. “This makes no sense. His
transport was shot down. You saw it yourself. Confirmed that he was
blown out of the sky. You were so sure, all of you.”

Alexa nodded. “And then he
just up and walks out of the desert. Hey, we can’t explain how he
survived. Every man around him died, but he survived. And he’s the
same old Liam. With just
her
on his mind.”

“
She’s my wife.”

Alexa let go a sharp peal of
laughter that felt like ice cubes poured down his back. “You’re
kidding, right? The moment he walks through the front door you’re
divorced. Wait. Isn’t it annulled? I mean it’s not
really
a marriage. Oops,
come to think of it, she can just cancel you without so much as a
Dear John note.”

“
This is funny?”

“
Humor…irony…I can’t
decide.” She shrugged.

“
Five years is a long time.
Things have changed.”

Alexa stared across at him. “Really? You
sure? She was so obsessed with him, we thought we might have to
commit her after he died. It took you four long years to get her
down the aisle. My guess is she didn’t let you touch her until the
wedding night. Probably still calls Liam’s name when you—”

“
You can be a nasty
bitch.”

Alexa shrugged. “I’m a realist. He wants her
and she wants him. Trust me, it’s like nothing’s changed. Never
could figure what he sees in her. Can’t stand the spoiled
brat.”

“
Don’t call her that!” Phil
snapped.

Alexa shot him a smirk. “Or what?”

He turned away, fuming. “Thank you for the
warning, but I’ll protect my family.”

Alexa rose behind him with a snort. “And
who’s going to protect you? Liam’s not too happy and his psych
exams are borderline. All that pent-up anger and resentment. Liam
needs someone to direct it to.”

“
Oh please, are you actually
standing here telling me that the government is about to turn some
shell-shocked POW loose on the streets? With the secrets in Liam’s
head, just from Scorpion alone, he should be contained somewhere
for years.”

“
Senator Clayton agrees, but
we have to tread carefully.” Alexa sighed and for a minute he
thought he saw sadness in her eyes. “He’s been through a lot, Phil.
I can’t stand to see him suffer. He won’t give up, won’t let her
go. He needs to see her. My only hope is that one look at your
happy family, and the magic is gone. He’ll think of her as spoiled
goods, so to speak. Then he’ll accept the situation, and be back on
board with us.”

“
Wow, you do have a heart in
the cold chest of yours.”

Alexa situated her cover on her head. “Good
luck, Phil. You’re going to need it.”

Phil waited until she was well down the hall
before he pounded his fist down on his desk in anger. He grabbed
his keys and bolted for the door.

***

Kennedy stole another glance at her
husband’s profile. She smiled. Phil Freeman was amazing at times.
He called her at work and told her that he’d been neglecting them
both. He wanted her to pick up Mackenzie from school and meet him
at home right away. He put up such a fuss she made up some lame
excuse to her bosses and did as he asked. At eleven in the morning
he whisked them off to the State Fair. It turned out that during
the work day, most of the rides along the midway were empty. They
had the run of the grounds. Mackenzie nearly burst with excitement.
She laughed, skipping and giggling her way from attraction to
attraction.

Kennedy was always thrilled to see her
daughter happy. She lived for one person now. Her daughter. That’s
how Phil had won her over. She could have gone her entire life and
not taken another man into her bed, much less her heart. But his
connection with Mackenzie sealed the deal.

She and Mackenzie rode every age-appropriate
ride . The Ferris wheel, they rode twice. Gorging on junk food came
next. Phil took his turn, helping Mac win as many stuffed animals
she could carry.

“
Mommy, I want ice cream,”
Mackenzie said from her booster seat, swinging her
Dora-the-Explorer-clad feet. Kennedy shot Phil a pleading look not
to give in. He smirked, and steered the car out of the fairgrounds.
They began the half-hour drive back home.

“
Mac you’ve had popcorn,
cotton candy, and french fries. Don’t you think that’s
enough?”

“
No.”

Phil’s smile broadened. “Hey, she gave you
an honest answer.”

“
Well, here’s another honest
answer. No, there will be no ice cream.”

“
Aww!”

Phil reached for Kennedy’s
knee. His hand eased smoothly up her thigh, then went higher,
between, to cup her intimately. Kennedy, caught off guard, scooted
back in her seat. Phil then rubbed her
there
. She blinked at him for the
message behind his touch. He gave her one of his famous looks that
clued her in to what the night would bring. She reached between her
legs and removed his hand from her crotch.

“
Have you been to the
doctor?” Phil asked.

Kennedy nodded. “I’m not pregnant yet, Phil.
It’ll happen.”

When he didn’t speak, Kennedy noticed the
worry lines wrinkling his brow. She felt bad for rejecting his
touch. He was such a good husband, and to be honest, other than sex
he didn’t ask for much. “I’m fine. The doctor says it takes a while
sometimes for your body to adjust after the Pill.”

“
Why did you stay on them so
long?”

“
Cramps. I told
you.”

“
I just think that if you
had agreed to starting a family sooner, we’d have a baby by
now.”

“
Where’s this coming from?”
Kennedy asked.

“
Me wanting to start a
family with you, and you doing everything to prevent
it.”

“
Are you
serious?”

Phil switched lanes, taking the far left so
he could accelerate past several slow-moving cars. He knew how she
hated when he drove past the speed limit, especially when Mackenzie
traveled with them. He did it to piss her off. He was actually
angry at her. “You can’t seriously think I’m not pregnant on
purpose? I wouldn’t lie to you or manipulate you. I’m in this with
you, and I want this baby. Hey, look at me.”

He did, and then returned his eyes to the
road.

“
I love you, Phil. We’re a
family. It’ll happen, okay?”

“
Tonight. Let’s make it
happen tonight,” he said.

Kennedy laughed lightly. “Well, okay, we can
try.”

He smirked. “All night?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, all night.”

Mackenzie, all ears, couldn’t contain her
giggles. “We’re going to have a baby!”

“
We’re going to try,”
Kennedy corrected.

***

Liam climbed back into the Expedition,
disappointed. It took a lot of courage— and restraint—to walk up to
the door and knock, not kick it in. Vasquez made some calls to
locate Kennedy. He learned that Phil had taken his family out for a
mid-afternoon adventure and shared that information with Liam, who
didn’t speak. He just sat there in silence. His eyes never left the
Freeman home. Their two-story English-style house with the black
and white shutters and emerald green, perfectly mowed grass was a
big improvement from the rundown two-bedroom shack he’d bought her.
He remembered how excited she’d been when he got the loan for their
house. Let Kennedy tell it, it had been a castle.

“
Fuck. Let’s just
go.”

“
Wait a second bro, check it
out.”

A platinum Mercedes sedan pulled into the
driveway. Liam sat up and held his breath. The passenger door
opened and his lady stepped out. She wore dark designer sunglasses
over her eyes and a white tennis shirt under a leather jacket. The
thick hair he loved to bury his face in was straight and long. She
wore it back in a ponytail.

He put his hand on the door, flexing to open
it when Phil emerged. The bastard hurried around the car and
reached into the back seat for someone. For his daughter. Liam let
go of the handle. Mackenzie was lifted up in Phil’s arms. Her locks
blew in the wind. She wore bright yellow all over, except for black
Converse sneakers. So his little girl liked yellow, huh? Kennedy
walked off toward the front door.

She was still beautiful to Liam. His eyes
went over her shapely figure, the soft sway of her hips. When she
opened the door and Phil appeared behind her, he popped her fanny
and went inside.

“
That motherfucker is dead!”
Liam threw his door open.

“
Liam wait. Wait!” Vasquez
grabbed his arm and managed to prevent his exit from the vehicle.
“Do you want to go to the door now? Do you want to get into it like
this?”

The door to the Freeman home closed. Liam
sat back in his seat. He closed his door in defeat. “You saw her,
man. She’s happy. Hell, even I can see it.”

“
She doesn’t know yet, Liam.
Judge her after she knows, okay?”

“
Let’s go,” he said under
his breath.

“
You sure?”

“
Fuck, just drive away,
okay? I need a minute. I can’t do this now,” he snapped. Liam’s
heart didn’t just race; it beat madly in his chest, threatening to
break through. He closed his eyes and sucked down the strong urge
to charge in and wring the neck of the man who had stolen his life.
The enemy wasn’t Amir Sarkhir. The enemy had become Phil
Freeman.

“
We’ll head to my
house.”

Liam opened his eyes. “Did you tell Angelina
about me?”

“
No. Angelina couldn’t sit
on something like this. You know her, man. So just know you got a
day tops and your secret is out whether you come back here or not.
You understand?” Vasquez asked.

“
Yeah, okay. I will, but
Eric was right. I got to do this right. I can’t go running in there
like some madman. Scare my kid. Scare Kennedy. No, I have to…I have
to do this right.”

***

Kennedy walked to her bedroom, blowing out a
long breath. Phil stepped inside Mackenzie’s room and put her down.
She heard Phil approaching from the other end of the hall soon
after. Kennedy was tired. The day had been an exhausting one. She
wanted a shower first. Yes, that’s what she needed: a long, hot
shower.

Removing her sunglasses, she pulled her
shirt over her head. She began to unbuckle her pants as Phil
hurried to close the door. She looked up. He stood there, staring
at her. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“
Do you know how much I love
you?”

She went to her closet to get her robe but
he stopped her. He took her hands in his and stared down at her
breasts as he spoke. “Do you?”

“
Yes, Phil. You tell me
every day.”

“
Sometimes I feel
guilty.”

Kennedy frowned. “Why?”

“
Because of how…how we came
together. I mean, I could have never predicted this
future.”

Kennedy had to look away. She immediately
grew uncomfortable. She didn’t want to be, but any mention of Liam
always cooled any desire she had for Phil. “It’s okay, babe. Life
takes people down strange paths. But, um, let’s not go there.”

“
Exactly. I want to make
love to you.” He changed gears in a flash. He captured her face
between his palms. “Then I want to fuck you, and make love you to
all over again.” Before she could respond, his mouth covered hers.
He turned her to the bed. He was on her in a hurry. Making love
with Phil always seemed rushed, as if he felt he had to touch and
get inside of every part of her, as if he’d never get enough. She
lifted her arms to his neck and let him walk her back to the bed
while sharing his kiss. He was her husband, after all.

***

Angelina called her sons inside from their
jungle gym in the backyard. Her boys wore distinctive colors to
tell them apart. Joey wore red. Joshua, blue. “Upstairs, now,” she
said, exhausted to the point of tears. She wasn’t this big when she
carried the twins. Anthony joked that this time it must be a girl.
Angelina didn’t care. Three was her limit. She wouldn’t ever
consider going through this again.

“
Why we got to go upstairs,
mama?”

“
Daddy called. He’s on his
way. Get cleaned up.”

“
Yay!” the boys sang, racing
for the stairs. Closing the sliding door, she smiled at the
thunderous sound of their little feet thumping up and over her
head. Her hubby hadn’t been home in four months. Four long,
torturous months of nights without her man. She needed him
now.

Humming to herself, she picked up two
handfuls of Legos and a Tonka truck on the way to the kitchen to
check on the roast. She thought of maybe calling Kennedy to
finalize the plans for Mackenzie’s Christmas-birthday party. She’d
found a great company that would actually send a clown out on
Christmas Day. But it could wait a day. She decided to get ready
for her man’s arrival instead.