Before Sunrise (48 page)

“
You don’t get
it.”

“
I do. You think your leg
has changed you, handicapped you. It was never your physical
strength that made you a great leader. It was your mind, Liam.
It’s—”

“
Full of holes! I can’t get
through the fucking day without—” Liam stopped himself. Alex stared
at him. “I have my wife back. Kay has come back to me. My little
girl sees me as her father. They’re all I need right now. I want
out and that’s it. Discharge me.”

“
You heard the man,” came
Eric’s voice from the doorway.

Alex frowned. “What the hell happened to
your face?”

Liam didn’t have to look back. The
expression on Alex’s face said that Eric’s was worse than he
remembered. His friend had been hit harder, he was sure. Hell, they
both had taken worse beatings. It came with the job.

“
I’m fine. Fell in the
shower.”

Alex scoffed. “Bullshit.” She looked from
Eric to Liam, then to Eric again. She smirked. “Lieutenant
Flanagan? Do you know anything about Commander Drake’s little
bathroom accident?”

Eric stopped next to Liam’s chair.
“Discharge him, Alexa.”

“
No,” Alex said flatly. “I’m
sorry, Liam. But I have my orders. Day after Christmas you’re to
report here. You will be traveling with me to the
Pentagon.”

“
The vice president will be
making a call to you this afternoon. I’ve gotten a new
appointment,” Eric said. “Discharge him now, or I’ll release him in
two days when the appointment’s official. Giving you a chance to
look like a hero, Alexa. For your ego’s sake, I would take
it.”

“
You’re bluffing.” Alex put
her hands to her hips. “What appointment?”

Liam looked up to Eric. He stood there in
jeans and his motorcycle jacket. His left eye was swollen where
Liam had hit him with the cane. Liam dropped his eyes. He was still
angry, but more importantly he felt ashamed.

“
You’ll know soon enough. I
heard your little speech. Things are changing. The elections have
shown that. The vice president wants to shift things before he
leaves office. And what do they say, Alexa, shit rolls down hill.
Liam is out. My call.”

“
It’s not your call.” She
laughed.

“
We’re done here,” Eric
said.

Liam rose. Alex cut him off. “I can help
you. You need to trust me.”

“
I want you to stop,” Liam
said. “Stop interfering, stop caring. I have a wife and a life and
there isn’t room in it for the way you and I were over there. You
understand me?”

Hurt and humiliation flashed in Alex’s eyes.
She stepped back. “Fine. But let me warn you, without my protection
you are responsible for your actions and the safety of your family.
You have no idea what has happened in the world the five years
you’ve been gone.”

“
Yeah, well I’m learning.”
Liam walked out.

He heard Eric following. He wished he
wouldn’t.

“
Got a second?”

“
No.”

“
Well, you need to make
one.”

Liam sighed. Eric pointed to an office. He
used his badge to open the door. Liam had no choice but to follow
him inside. “What is it?”

“
I was bluffing. I haven’t
heard back from the VP. If my proposal to him goes through, then I
can neutralize her, but Liam, if I can’t…” Eric blew out a breath.
He put his hands behind his head. “You can’t lose your cool again.
Do you hear me? What happened between you and me at the house stays
with us, but I’m telling you, you can’t lose your cool.”

“
I get it.”

“
I spoke to Ant. I know
about what happened at Fun World.”

Liam averted his gaze.

“
Do you think you saw
someone?”

Liam shrugged. “You both think I’m
crazy.”

“
Hell no, brother. You got
the strongest instincts of any of us.”

Liam’s gaze slowly returned to Eric. “You
believe me?”

“
If you say you saw someone,
then you did. Something triggered you to go off, and it damn sure
as hell wasn’t an arcade clown.”

“
There’s more. I’ve seen a
car, too. Twice.”

“
What kind of
car?”

“
Black, Chrysler, looks like
a…um, not sure. Not up on models now. I don’t know.”

“
Here’s the thing. Alexa has
marked you as a security risk.”

“
A what?” Liam
frowned.

“
She says you’re a loose
cannon. Certain senators are nervous. The casualties lost in that
mission were never fully reported. That’s why they want you at the
Pentagon. It’s not for debriefing. It’s containment.” Eric paced
before him. “Alexa will force therapy on you, isolate you from your
family, and in her warped little mind, convince you that working
with her is what’s best for you.”

“
Is she fucking
crazy?”

Eric stopped. “You surprised? How many times
did I warn you about that bitch? Her obsession with you?”

Liam sucked down a breath. “She knows I
won’t go.”

“
If you lose your cool, like
you did with me today, like you did at Fun World, you won’t have a
choice. Feel me? Go see the fucking doctor, Liam.
Today.”

“
I already did,” Liam
mumbled.

“
You did?”

“
I didn’t go inside, but
yeah. I went to the VA hospital. I’ll go back.”

“
I’ll check out this tail
you say you saw. Black sedan? I’m sure it’s one of ours. You stay
sharp. See anybody, you hit me up immediately.”

“
What if it’s in my
head?”

“
What if it’s not? I’ve
trusted you through some of the toughest shit I’ve ever been in. I
believe in you, brother. Whatever it is, we’re brothers, right?” He
extended his hand.

Liam grasped his wrist and pulled Eric into
a hug. Eric hit him on the back twice and let him go.

“
About Harper.”

“
Do you love her?” Liam
asked.

The frown lines around Eric’s mouth deepened
and his jaw clenched. Liam’s brow arched as he waited for the
truth. They dealt in truth, so he knew Eric wouldn’t bullshit him.
Not on this.

“
Yeah, man you know I do,”
Eric said through clenched teeth.

“
Are you in love with
her?”

“
Hell, man, I don’t know
what that means. She acts like I’m some kind of trophy. I can’t be
anything to her. It’s not who I am.”

“
Then stay the fuck away
from her. Do you hear me?” Liam seethed, not because he wanted to
strike. But Eric’s actions would do nothing but hurt
Harper.

“
I told her it couldn’t
happen again. I’ll keep my distance. Trust me.”

“
I shouldn’t have hit you. I
lost it, and I…I was wrong.” Liam touched his arm and squeezed it
to emphasize his point.

Eric grinned. “A good ass kicking always
helps a brother clear his head.”

Liam chuckled forlornly. “Thanks for not
fighting back. You could have wasted me with this leg.”

“
I want you to get back on
solid ground.”

“
Me, too.”

***

Maybe things were changing for the better.
Maybe not. The day had been a good one. She got to the office and
everyone was so supportive. The partners told her to take the rest
of the year off, with pay. She could return to work after the new
year. Kennedy left for the mall. Amidst the shopping mania, she
found a parking space right at the door. Luck continued to be on
her side, when her first pick of a lingerie choice, a really cute
black sexy number, was on sale for half off.

Then Harper called.

“
What happened next?”
Kennedy asked. The sad tale had her panting through Harper’s
account of the events. She turned down the street that led to their
new home, bracing for the rest.

Harper sniffled. At times, her words became
garbled with deep, wrenching sobs. “He left. But Eric was pretty
bad. His face…his back…he beat him until he was bleeding.”

“
Are you okay? Did
Liam…attack you too?”

“
No. He stopped when he saw
me trying to protect Eric. It was horrible. What’s wrong with him?
Why would he do that? You had to see him, Kennedy. He looked like
he wanted to kill Eric, that he could kill him.”

“
Harper, it’s complicated.
Liam. He’s different. He’s been through a lot and it…it changed
him.”

“
This is my fault,” Harper
wailed. “Eric asked me to go. He nearly begged me to leave. But I
wouldn’t. I’m in love with him. And last night, after we made love,
I could tell that I had pushed things too far between us. Now he
says he doesn’t want to see me again. That we we’re a
mistake.”

Kennedy released the breath she carried
tight in her lungs. She drove up the paved, icy driveway. Liam’s
car was parked outside of the garage. “Sweetheart, Eric is too old
for you, he—”

“
You’re a hypocrite! Don’t
you sit on the phone and lecture me about age. Look at you and
Liam.”‘

“
Look at us, Harper. Look at
what we went through, what we’re going through now. Look at mama
and daddy, what strain I put on their marriage. I was selfish. I
left you when you were just eight. I paid a price for it. I’m still
paying.”

“
But you two love each
other.”

“
Yes, we do.”

“
And I love Eric. I do. Help
me.”

“
Harper….”

“
Fine. Whatever. I shouldn’t
have called you.”

“
Harper? Harper?” The line
clicked off.

Kennedy bit down on the inside of her jaw.
It took her several minutes to digest all she was told. Liam
attacked Eric? Hit him with his cane? The violence could be
dismissed as an exaggeration but she’d seen different. She’d seen
his black rage. How it came over him, took him over. She remembered
how scared she was. She needed to get him some help. Now.

Kennedy eased open the car door. She grabbed
the overnight bag she’d packed and the shopping bag she bought.
Quickly she hurried up to the front door and found it unlocked.
When she walked in, she saw him immediately. He sat over in the
corner of the living room. The Christmas tree was on, but no other
lights. Natural light spilled into the room from the windows. He
sat with his back to the wall and his wounded leg out straight
while his elbow rested on the bend of his other knee.

Kennedy closed the door. He didn’t even
bother to look over. She dropped her things at her feet and
approached, shedding her coat. With nowhere to hang it, she tossed
it back to her bags. Her eyes however, never left him. The only
sound between them was the hollow clicks of her heeled boots over
the hardwood. Liam moved, more like shifted a bit. He lifted a beer
and took a sip from it. But he remained locked in his thoughts,
apparently focused on the twinkling red, yellow, blue, and white
lights of the tree.

“
Hi.”

Did he know she was in the room? He didn’t
act as if he did. Kennedy rubbed her hands at her sides. She went
closer, stopping to stoop then sit next to him on the floor. She
ached to touch him. Instead, she reached for his beer and took a
sip from it. Finally, his heavy-lidded gaze slipped over to
her.

“
I hear it’s been a day,”
Kennedy said.

“
Harper okay?” he rasped in
a strained, hoarse voice.

“
She will be. How’s
Eric?”

“
He and I worked it out. I…I
was wrong to attack him,” Liam said softly. “I lost it, I
guess.”

Kennedy lifted her arm and brought it up to
his head, drawing it down to her lap. Liam stretched out and hugged
her waist, pushing his face in the crease of her thighs. Kennedy
stroked his hair. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“
I’m sure she gave you the
playback.”

“
What happened to you, I
mean? What came over you?”

“
I…I…I don’t know. I saw her
with him and I knew. I knew what they’d done. What we’d done. How
there’s no going back. There was just…anger.”

“
At who, Liam?”

He didn’t answer her.

“
Liam? Who were you angry
with?”

“
Myself. I was angry at
myself. I can’t change anything, yet everything has changed. All of
this is because of me, because of what I’ve done to
you.”

Kennedy stroked his head. The last place she
wanted to return to was the one of his guilt. How he regretted
coming between her and her mother. How he hated leaving her,
sometimes for six months at a time. How he pushed for her to have
Mackenzie when she graduated, even after she told him over and over
that she wanted a baby, too. His guilt went deeper than hers. She
always knew it. It started with a five-year-old girl who died of
leukemia and left him behind.

“
We need counseling. I’ll go
with you.”

“
I went.”

Kennedy’s caressing hand stopped. “You
went?”

“
To the VA Hospital. I
signed up for a meeting with Dr. Abrams. He deals with PTSD with
soldiers. He’ll meet with me starting tomorrow. And I’ll go, Kay.
I’ll go every day to get better. I swear it.”

Kennedy sighed in relief. Liam lifted his
head and looked at her. “I let you down. Didn’t I?”