Before Sunrise (23 page)

Phil turned the child to face her. One look
at the baby with its smooth, caramel skin and fat cheeks, Kennedy
knew exactly who.

“
Is that our
baby?”

Kennedy wept. She took a step toward them
and Phil stepped back. The earth split with a loud cackle of
thunder. Under their feet, sand poured into a sinking hole from
which the wails of tortured souls drifted upward and out. Kennedy
stumbled to avoid slipping in. The sandy ground continued to cave
inward and a hole the size of a car spread between them. Kennedy
cried out when flames shot up from its depths. The acrid smell of
sulfur and burning flesh singed her nostrils.

“
There she is, the woman
who abandoned us both,” Phil said, his voice cracking with emotion.
He narrowed angry, unforgiving eyes on her. “You don’t want our
child, then neither do I.”

To her horror, Phil Freeman threw the infant
into the flames.

Kennedy woke upright in the bed, a strangled
scream in her throat. Gagging, she grabbed her chest in fright. She
sucked down deep breaths and tried to shake off the nightmare. The
fear, the terror, the guilt had her heart pounding furiously. She
squeezed her eyes to shut out the screams in her head. “It’s only a
dream, a dream, a dream, a dream,” she whispered.

The chant began to ease her into reality.
Her heart stabilized.

Kennedy reopened her eyes and searched her
room. She remembered: Liam, Phil, Mackenzie, sleep—where had
Mackenzie gone? Her side of the bed was empty. It may have been
irrational, but after what she’d seen in her dream, Kennedy needed
Mackenzie in her arms immediately. She snatched back the comforter
and hurried to her daughter’s room. She wasn’t there. Chilled to
the bone, Kennedy rushed on shaky legs to the stairs. The death of
an innocent dream-baby remained front and center in her mind. On
the brink of tears, she started down the stairs, hand to the wall.
“Mac? Mac where are you?”

“
In here with daddy!” she
heard Mackenzie call out.

Daddy
?
Liam
?
Kennedy’s heart began to pound. She arrived at the bottom step to
find Phil at the breakfast table, pouring flakes into Mackenzie’s
bowl.

“
Hi, mommy.” he glanced
up.

Kennedy stopped cold. Phil winked at
her.

“
What are you doing
here?”

“
He come home to fix me
breakfast before he go to work, right, daddy?” Mackenzie
said.

“
I never miss breakfast,
cupcake.” He kissed the top of Mackenzie’s head.

Kennedy approached them both. She gripped
the top of the dinette chair and glared at her husband. Phil sipped
his orange juice, holding her stare over the top of his glass. The
accusation in his eyes remained the same as the dream and her
anxiety pitched another degree. Kennedy tried to act as if things
were normal, but Phil’s return left her incensed, and for the first
time a little fearful. “I asked you a question.”

“
How did you sleep,
beautiful?”

“
M’kay, I guess.” Mackenzie
answered, as if he was speaking to her.

“
You going into work today?”
he asked pointedly of Kennedy.

“
No. What are you doing
here?”

“
I came to warn
you.”

Kennedy saw Mackenzie scoop hefty spoonfuls
of cereal into her mouth. Milk dripped down her chin. She looked so
happy, basking in the affection Phil showered upon her. All of it
knifed at her heart. She gave Phil a nod to meet her in the living
room. She went to the sofa and sat on it, and waited. She had no
idea when Liam would show up, but she felt too drained for another
incident between these men. Besides, the nightmare still had her
reeling.

Phil sauntered across the carpet and settled
onto the ottoman with a very serious look on his face.

“
What is it?” she
asked.

“
When I got to the base last
night, things were crazy. Eric is back, and Alexa showed up with a
team from the Pentagon. Looks like the media knows about Liam.
They’ll swarm this house today, Mac’s school, the firm. You’ll need
me here to—”

“
No.”

“
Kennedy, I—”

“
No. Phil, we talked about
this. I asked for space.”

“
Yes, but this is different.
Those people are vultures. And there’s something else.”

“
What?”

“
I was debriefed. The
terrorists that had Liam may be targeting you and Mac. Now do you
understand why I came back? I have to protect you,
sweetheart.”

“
Stop.” She put up her hand.
“Fine. I get it. But, is there a way we can just get a man posted
here, to watch over the family or something?”

Phil heaved a defeated sigh. He shifted
against the ottoman, not answering.

“
Phil, you said you
understood.”

“
I lied.”

“
I need this.”

“
There are men posted
outside. Alexa and Vasquez have already arranged it. Still, I think
if there is danger I need to be here.”

“
I know you do. I know. But
we will be fine at least for the next couple of days. Besides, you
said the media will be swarming. I won’t be leaving the house.”
Phil rose and came over to the sofa. Kennedy cut her eyes away but
didn’t object when he sat next to her. He put an arm around her and
his hand to her tummy. She ignored the implication. Phil wouldn’t
leave it alone.

“
How are you
feeling?”

“
I’ve had nightmares,”
confessed Kennedy.

“
Want to talk about
it?”

“
No,” she said
sadly.

“
And the baby?”

“
We don’t know if I’m
pregnant.”

“
Miracles happen, Kennedy.
Liam’s proof of that. I think another one has happened, too. I
think all of it is destiny.”

“
I would never have an
abortion, Phil, if that’s what you’re thinking. Never.” Kennedy’s
eyes welled with tears.

“
I know you wouldn’t,
sweetheart. You’re a good mother and we will be good
parents.”

Though she knew he was right, she closed her
mind to the prospect. They’d been actively trying for weeks. There
was a strong chance she was pregnant. What then?

“
Don’t cry,
sweetheart.”

He tried to turn her face to kiss her, but
she turned away. She rose, crossing her arms under her breasts. “I
think you should go. Now.”

From the corner of her eye, she registered
Phil’s anger, which he controlled with a thin smile.

“
Okay. I’ll come back
tomorrow evening.” He rose and stepped in close.

“
Call first.”

Phil stood there as if he wanted to say
more. She prayed he wouldn’t. One more word and she was liable to
scream at him. He remained mercifully silent. He kissed her brow,
then her cheek, and he was gone. Kennedy stood perfectly still,
staring at nothing. She didn’t move until the phone rang. She
didn’t even hear it ring until Mackenzie called her name.

Forcing her mind and body to work together,
she answered on the final ring before the voicemail claimed the
caller. “Hello?”

“
Hi. I-I-I’m looking at the
news, sis. Is this for real? Is Liam alive?” Harper
stammered.

“
Yes.” Kennedy smiled
slowly. “He’s alive.”

“
But how? How is that
possible?”

“
It’s a miracle.”

“
A Christmas miracle,” said
Harper.

With all the disruption, Kennedy had
forgotten about the holiday. This would be Liam’s first Christmas
home since the nightmare began. She could see him standing before a
tree, with Mackenzie. Oh, she longed for that moment. “Yes, it’s a
Christmas miracle.”

“
I’m on my way over there
right now. As soon as I get dressed. Girl, can you believe it? Liam
is alive. I want to cry and laugh at the same time. I can’t wait to
see him!”

“
He’s not here, Harper.”
Kennedy picked up the empty cereal bowl. She carried it to the sink
as Mac raced for the TV room.

“
Oh, crap. What am I
thinking? What does ‘the pretender’ say about all this?”

Kennedy rolled her eyes. “I told you not to
call Phil that.”

“
Whatever. I guess I was
right, huh? He can’t pretend to be Liam with my boy alive, now can
he? Too bad for him Liam ain’t gonna stand for that
crap.”

To this, Kennedy couldn’t respond. Her
sister was eighteen now, and of her own mind. Harper had told
Kennedy on more than one occasion that Phil’s devotion appeared to
be more that of a stalker than a suitor. Harper found everything
genuine about Phil creepy. But Phil never deviated from his
affection or support, and had tried to change her sister’s mind
about him many times.

Of course, Harper remained biased. She and
Liam shared a special bond. After Harper caught Kennedy and Liam
sneaking out of her parents’ boathouse years ago, he’d done
everything in his power to win her over to their team. And it
didn’t take long. Soon Harper had considered Liam her boyfriend,
too, and as a result, their sexytimes were cut short. Most stolen
moments at her parents’ place were spent with Harper right between
them with her head resting on Liam’s arm and Kennedy off to the
other end of the sofa, fuming. Liam, on the other hand, seemed to
love it. Bought her sister presents and talked about her favorite,
silly Disney Channel shows. But all of it had been pre-discovery.
When her mother found out who ‘Liam’ was, everything changed.

“
I’m sorry, sis. You must be
so…this has to be hard for you, and my God, Liam too. Have you two
talked about this?”

“
Not really. More like
screaming, crying, and slamming doors,” Kennedy said.

Harper laughed. “Like old times!”

Kennedy drew down the door to the
dishwasher, she noisily stacked the breakfast bowls and
milk-stained glasses. “Not quite. But yes, it’s not a good time for
either of us. There’s a lot to work out.”

“
Damn, Liam is
alive
. Has he seen Mac?
Oh man, he’s going to flip to know you named her after his kid
sister. Especially when he sees how much she looks like him, got
that cute smile of his. Liam will get such a kick out of
that.”

“
And his stubborn temper,
she has that, too. Yes, they met. Apparently he saw her first. It’s
all screwed up.”

“
I don’t understand. How
could he see her first?”

“
I don’t want to talk about
it.”

Kennedy turned on the dishwasher. The cranky
machine purred into action, then sputtered to a stop. “Shit,”
Kennedy said, surprised to hear the word slip from her lips with
Mackenzie in earshot.

“
What’s wrong?”

“
Nothing. Nothing.” She
leaned back against the counter, chewing on her nail. Not only did
she have to deal with her pregnancy scare, but she had terrorists
out there looking for Liam, and her. She was too stressed out for a
busted dishwasher on top of that. Everything was happening so fast.
When would she be able to catch her breath?

The phone beeped.

“
Harper, hold on,” Kennedy
said. She pressed the button to switch lines. “Hello?”

“
Kennedy?”

“
Mom?” Kennedy’s eyes
stretched wide in surprise. She hadn’t heard from her mother since
earlier that month, when they discussed plans for Mackenzie’s
birthday.

“
Sweetheart, the news
says….” Gail’s voice became tight with emotion. She heard her
father asking for the phone.

“
Babygirl?”

“
Hi, daddy.”

“
Is it true? Is Liam
alive?”

Kennedy burst into tears. If ever she wanted
her father, it was right now. He was the only man other than Liam
who could ease her fears. “Kennedy, sweetheart, we’re getting on
the next flight out. We’ll be there tonight.”

“
No. No. I’m
okay.”

“
Are you sure? So it is
true? It’s really true!”

“
Yes. He’s alive. It’s a
miracle. He’s back.”

“
Sweet, merciful God. Gail,
it’s true. It’s Liam. He’s alive!”

Kennedy heard her mother speaking fast, her
voice raised and animated. With her mother, there was never a good
thing she could find to say about Liam and he felt the same about
her. But Kennedy hoped that this would be a healing for all of
them. She heard her mother take the phone.

“
This is great, um, really
great, sweetheart.” Gail said. “I’m so happy for Mac. She needs her
father.”

“
I need him too, mama,” said
Kennedy.

Gail grew quiet. Then she spoke. “Where’s
Phil? How is he dealing with this?”

“
It’s complicated,” Kennedy
mumbled.

“
I can imagine. We’re
coming, there, to help you both…sort this out.”

“
No. Not yet, everything is
crazy right now. Give it a few days, please. I just got so much on
my plate.”

“
I understand, sweetheart.
Tell Phil to call me. He must need someone to talk to as well. Can
you imagine waking up to find out that your marriage in
jeopardy?”

“
Are you kidding? Liam was
tortured in a desert
for five
years
. How could anyone have suffered more
than him?”