Before Sunrise (37 page)

“
I never….” Liam sat up. He
had forgotten. He did ask Phil to be on point for his young,
pregnant wife. He paid him a visit the day he got his orders. The
dumb idea was put in his head by Alex of all people. It was a way
to prove to Kennedy he wasn’t such a caveman about the prick, after
he took a swing at Phil at a barbecue for taking her hand and
stepping in too close. Kennedy rarely got mad at him but after the
incident she gave him the silent treatment. That shit always fucked
with his head, made him crazy, just like it did now. Apparently
Phil was just updating her on the contacts he was using to get her
into law school. This, Liam learned from his C.O. after the fact.
He wanted his girl to achieve every last one of her dreams. He’d
practically handed his Kay over to the spineless bastard. “I guess
I did forget.”

“
Come daddy! Come on!”
Mackenzie ran over, grabbing his hand. Liam was forced to stand. He
left the new cane behind and dragged his leg with him as he lifted
her up into his arms. Mackenzie knew all the spots. So she told
him. But she settled on the arcade. There she tried to shoot a
basketball on the kid-size hoop game. Winning tickets, she moved on
to play skee ball, and some child video games. He listened to her
laughter and it soothed him. He began to understand Kennedy better.
Why she resisted forcing their union on their daughter until she
was ready. He would have to earn his daughter’s trust and love. For
her, he had been some mythical creature, a hero, a Christmas wish.
But Phil had been the one to catch her when she fell and hold her
after a nightmare. He wanted those memories, those bonds. He would
focus on forging those memories going forward.

Eventually, Mac tired of her old man and ran
for the foam factory again. When he returned, Vasquez had ordered
two large cups of beer and three pizzas: one for him, one for Liam,
and one for the kids to share. Liam sat down, smiling.

“
You know I never knew I
could love someone as much or more than I love Kay.” He waved back
at his daughter.

Vasquez took a big bite of pizza. He nodded,
wiping with a napkin at the string of cheese hanging from his
bottom lip. “Why you think I keep trying to knock Angelina up?
Something about having them in your own image. You know?”

“
Got me to thinking that I
want Kay to have a baby. Another baby. I love Mac, but I missed it
all. The pregnancy, the birth, her first steps. As soon as the shit
clears, we’re going to start working on a baby.”

“
Whoa, there! Don’t you
think you ought to ask the lady if she wants another kid
first?”

Liam smirked. “She’ll want one. We always
talked about kids. Having them together. So yes, I can’t wait.”

“
How are things with you two
other than the incident last night? Were you on track to getting
back together?”

“
Man, I wish I knew. She’s
hot and cold. One minute she’s my Kay and its like there’s nothing
in the world but us and the next she’s running from me. It’s
driving me nuts. I feel like she’s keeping something from
me.”

Vasquez shot up to his feet and cupped his
mouth with both hands. “Joey! You do that again and you’re getting
out! You hear me!” he shouted in that authoritative voice that
certainly rang of his military status. Joey had jumped in the air
and karate kicked his brother before flipping in the bounce house.
Vasquez shook his head at his son and sat back down. “I need to
spend more time with the boys. Angelina lets them get away with too
much.”

“
It has to be hard to be
away from them now when they need you,” Liam agreed, noticing
Mackenzie trying to get out of the bounce house and Joshua helping
her. She slid out in her socks and ran to the large yellow
slide.

“
I’m thinking about
retiring. I’ve done my time and I’ve been given the
option.”

Liam shrugged “Doesn’t look like I got much
of a choice,” Liam said bitterly, hitting his bum leg.

Vasquez looked at his friend. “Oh, you got a
choice. The war isn’t on the front lines anymore Liam. It’s behind
a desk. That’s why Alexa and Eric got the appointments, and me
mine. They want strategic minds constantly on the hunt for the next
homeland threat, and right now they are all abuzz about Sarkhir and
your time with him. Heard Senator Clayton is nervous they’ll dig
into Operation Scorpion.”

“
He sent us on a suicide
run. Would serve his ass right if it all came out. Fuck it all. I
don’t care. I gave that desert and Sarkhir my life. I want it back.
No fucking way, bro. Even behind a desk. The thought of it makes me
want to….” Liam swallowed. He beat back the tightness in his chest,
mentally concealing his discomfort. Over the dinging bells of the
arcade and the children’s laughter he could hear the tortured moans
of the men trapped who were away in hell with him. He could hear
the laughter of Sarkhir when he was kicked out in the street as a
dog and forced to walk a mile on his leg until it gave out under
him.

“
Liam?”

“
I don’t want to do it
anymore,” he sighed.

“
Even if they offered you
the financial security for your family.”

“
Honestly, I wouldn’t do
special ops if they offered me my leg back. Fuck it. You don’t know
the shit I’ve seen. But I need a career, I want to provide for my
family, make Kay believe in me again. I’ll find a way. My family
needs me and I…well I need them. So I’m done.”

“
Someone better send Alexa
the memo.” Vasquez said.

Liam scowled. “I’ll handle Alex.”

Mac rushed him. She could barely talk from
panting so hard. Liam lifted her to his knee and gave her some of
his bottled water. She gulped and looked up at him with wild
excitement in her brown eyes. “Daddy I need more money for the
machines. I want to play the game with Josh and Joey.”

“
How about you play with
me?” He smiled and rose.

“
Yes, I want to play with
you,” she said, slipping her small hand in his.

Liam pointed to the Speed Racer driving game
and Mac ran straight for it. Liam moved her over, sliding inside.
Mac sat between his legs. She grabbed the steering wheel while he
dropped in tokens. The game lit up, telling the racers to start
their engines. The sound of his baby girl’s giggles forced a
permanent smile to his face just as the checkered flag dropped.
Mac, excited, turned the wheel to a hard right, then the left. Liam
tried to correct her steering and she shook her little head
fiercely. The video car crashed into the wall.

“
I can do it, daddy! I can
do it myself!” she said, pushing his hands away.

Liam smiled at her independence and let her
drive them off the road in the opposite direction of the racecars.
He leaned over and noticed the determined look on her face as she
put the little video racecar into a spin. He couldn’t help but
laugh. The game reminded him of his love for fixing and restoring
classic cars. He’d had a Pontiac GTO before he left on assignment,
but he hadn’t thought about that car since his return. He’d spent
over a year rebuilding that engine. What happened to his things?
Swallowing, he realized he’d been declared dead, so his things
surely had been sold.

“
See, daddy, I’m doing it.”
Mackenzie squealed.

Mac crashed the car into another and it
burst into flames. “This thing is broken!” She hit the steering
wheel with her tiny hand.

Liam sat up and kissed her cheek. “Can daddy
show you how to drive it now?”

“
No. It’s broken,” she
pouted, squirming to get off his lap.

“
Let’s try again.” He
stopped her and put in more coins. Mac. no longer interested,
sighed and let him choose the racecar for them. When the flag
dropped, he put his hands over hers and drove up the racetrack. She
smiled at the way they passed the other racecars.

“
We gonna win!” she said,
grinning.

“
Looks like it.” He knew how
he would get his family back. He would show Kay he could take care
of them. He didn’t need therapy. He needed them. It would be the
first step to rebuilding his life.

The trumpet roared and confetti sprayed.
They placed first in the race. Mackenzie screamed with delight.
Liam dropped his head back with a wide grin of satisfaction. It was
fleeting. A cool foreboding gnawed at his insides and made the
hairs at the nape of his neck rise. The anxious, instinctive sense
of danger he’d carried since he found the footprints in the yard
followed him the rest of the day. Not even his daughter’s
excitement could compete.

“
Daddy? Daddy? I want to
play again. Do it again, daddy.”

He blinked out of the malady of his mind and
focused on her. “Sure, sweetheart.”

Liam shifted her weight and tried to dig in
his pocket. Mackenzie began to wiggle out of his lap. “Nevermind,
daddy. I want to play with another one.”

“
Mac, sweetheart, wait a
sec.” He struggled to get hold of her and work his bum leg. Cramped
down in the driver’s seat, he caught her by the hand. He looked up
at the crowds of kids and parents who strolled through the arcade
as he rose out of the cramped space.

Liam froze. A man with deep olive skin and
thick jet-black hair met his gaze. He looked to be in his
mid-twenties, with an army green jacket over a green sweatshirt,
and jeans. He was definitely Middle Eastern.

“
Daddy?”

The man smirked and turned toward the skee
ball games.

“
Daddy, c’mon, I want to
play some more!”

Liam’s mind blinked to consciousness, to
action. He snatched Mackenzie close to him. Not hard, but
purposefully.

“
Daddy what’s wrong? You
sweating. What’s the matter?”

He couldn’t catch his breath, but he managed
to speak calmly. “Go…go get Uncle Tony.” He turned her to face the
area they’d left. Liam’s mind went singular. He grabbed his cane
and scanned the arcade for the man. “Go now, Mac!” he yelled at
her. She turned and ran toward Vasquez and Liam charged in the
direction he knew the enemy had to have fled. From his viewpoint,
there was no escape. The bastard would definitely be trapped and
he’d have his hands on him soon enough. Liam shoved others who got
in his way and limped hard and fast in pursuit. Unfortunately, his
breathing worked against him. He couldn’t pull enough air into his
lungs. He staggered and half-ran wildly, scanning face after face.
The room spun with confused, frowning faces but none of the enemy.
He wheezed, gripping his cane tighter, and knocked a mother in
pursuit of her kids aside when she stepped unknowingly in his
path.

The enemy is here. Civilians, close
quarters. Possible collateral damage. Mission must not be
compromised. Eradicate the threat. Stop by any means necessary.
Make it quick. Daughter. Daughter? My daughter is here? Change of
plans. Kill. Swift. Save. Save Daughter.

The back of the arcade
turned into a dead end. Kids were lined against the skee ball game
in rows, each waiting for their turn. But the enemy had slipped
past.
Where
?
How the fuck could he have gotten
past me
? Children’s heads turned. Small,
frightened faces looked up at him. Liam heard himself yell. He
yelled for everyone to run….

“
Liam! Liam!”

The voice pounded at his skull until he
blinked and his vision cleared. Vasquez had him pinned to the wall.
“You with me, brother? Look at me.”

“
What?” Confused, he shook
his head, trying to make it clear.

“
Do you hear me?”

“
Yeah, I hear you. Let me
go.” He shoved back.

Vasquez looked around at someone, then to
him. He released him. “He’s okay. Can you give us a minute?”

Who is he speaking to?

He watched as the other man behind Vasquez,
wearing a purple and green Fun World shirt, nodded and backed out
of a small office. That’s when he took in his surroundings. The
office had signs of a struggle, a turned-over chair and
knocked-over desk. “What the hell is going on?”

Vasquez panted. He looked flushed. His hands
clenched into fists and his nostrils flared. “Drink this.” He
turned to a water tank and filled a paper cone, then forced it on
him.

Liam accepted the cup. His kept his eyes
trained on Vasquez as he paced. “Talk to me.”

“
You lost it, man. Scared
the shit out of these people.”

“
No. I didn’t.”

“
You fucking did!” Vasquez
shouted at him. “Fuck! Maybe they were right. Maybe we should get
you back in.”

“
No. Ant, wait. Wait. I’m
cool. I saw someone. He looked familiar. He watched me, um, I
followed, and dammit, I saw someone…”

“
There was no one. Just you
yelling at the top of your lungs and swinging that damn cane!”
Vasquez shouted back.

“
Mac? Where’s Mac.
Shit!”

“
She’s fine. She and the
twins are out front playing. I got it under control. Luckily she
came and got me when she did.”

“
Jesus.” Liam righted the
chair. He couldn’t remember much of anything.

“
Liam, I have to say
it.”

“
Don’t. I’m good. I swear. I
just. It’s been weird, and I’ve been weird.”

“
Well, I’m taking Mac back
to Kennedy. You need—”

“
Bro, wait! Please!” He
grabbed his arm. “Hear me out. I’m cool. My trigger, it was just
the noise and the place. Okay? I am good now. I swear it. You tell
Kennedy, or take Mac from me, and I’ll lose them. Please, brother.
Trust me. Please.”