Before Sunrise (73 page)

Liam eased over her. His trousers rode at
his hips and his pelvis pressed against hers. He thrust every inch
of his cock into her channel with such force she gripped the bed
sheets. Having him on her like this, she could smell the wonderful
masculine scent of his skin and her fragrance on his breath. It
turned her inside out. He moved in her and dropped his forehead to
hers to control his pace.

“
So good, babe, so tight and
good.” He groaned.

Kennedy met each forceful strike of his hips
with thrusts of her own as she gyrated underneath him. She anchored
her nails into his broad shoulders, wanting him to fuck her into
oblivion. She relished his compliance with her wish as he lost all
control and began to take her. His thrusts increased in speed and
their climax hit them both without warning, as if someone had
flipped a switch between them. She cried out loudly from the pure
force of their union.

Liam dropped on her, still moving, his
erection ebbing. She clung to him, squeezing him as well, needing
the feeling to last between them forever.

“
I couldn’t wait.” He kissed
her cheek.

“
Me either. God, me
either.”

“
I love you, babe. I missed
you so bad.”

“
Shhh…don’t talk. Just hold
me.”

***

“
Just like that they brought
him home?” Angelina asked.

“
Girl, just when I thought I
would lose my mind with worry, he drove up.”

“
And?”

“
And what?”

“
Well, what happened? Why
did they keep him? Where did they keep him? Did you two talk at
all?”

Kennedy blushed. “Not exactly. You know how
it is. Our men tell no tales.”

Angelina laughed. “I’m so jealous. The
baby’s here but once again my husband isn’t. I’m thinking of
holding a press conference of my own.”

Kennedy and Angelina both laughed.

“
Kennedy, seriously, I’m
happy for you, girl. You got your man back. Good for
you.”

She heard Liam coming down the stairs. “I
got to go. Finishing breakfast for my soldier boy.”

“
Okay, call me
later.”

“
Love you. Bye.”

Kennedy hung up the phone. She turned to
find Mackenzie in the kitchen with Liam behind her. She held the
puppy in her arms. “We named her, mommy.” Mackenzie said.

Kennedy smiled. “Really?”

“
We had to give her a better
name than Dog.”

“
We named her Sweetie. It
was my idea.” Mackenzie smiled.

“
I love the name. It’s
perfect.”

“
C’mon Sweetie, let’s go
play.” Mackenzie chased the puppy into the dining room.

Liam slipped his arms around her waist.
“Breakfast starting?”

“
In a few.”

“
I have to leave this
morning, see Dr. Abrams today.”

“
What time?” she asked, a
little wary of an immediate separation.

“
Ten. It’s for our initial
meeting. I think you and Mackenzie should come.”

“
Really? Why?”

“
I want you to know about
the therapy. We’re going to do this together.”

She touched his arm and stopped him from
turning away. “Do you want to talk about it? Did things…get
bad?”

“
It happened, Kay. None of
it matters now. I don’t want the past anywhere near our future. Dr.
Abrams can help us make sure of it.” He cupped her face in his
hands. “Surviving the past weeks was only hard because I knew you
were alone and hurting. It’s my job to make you happy, and I’m
going to focus on that happiness. Just as I did from the first day
you said you’d be mine.”

“
And Dr. Abrams can help us
do this?”

“
I have PTSD. I know that
now. I accept it. Dr. Abrams will help us both move on.”

“
I’m proud of you,
Liam.”

“
I’m in love you babe.
Anything for you. Always.”

Epilogue

Two Years Later

“
Three years and she still
surprises me,” Liam said. He pressed his hand up to the cool
surface of the glass window. His heart had stopped beating wildly
in his chest. The adrenaline rush of the past four hours compared
to no mission he’d ever had in his life. Eric, to his left, dropped
his hand on Liam’s shoulder and squeezed. Vasquez stood over to his
right. His hands were shoved down his pockets, his gaze focused on
the parade of tykes before them. It felt right standing with his
boys at the moment of the greatest transition in his life. Their
brotherhood, sealed in blood, was intact. No war, mission, or
inactive status could undo it.

“
Isn’t he beautiful?” Liam
asked.

“
You got one helluva boy
there.” Eric said. “Kid looks like a linebacker.”

Liam felt his chest expand with pride. He
asked his wife for a son and she delivered. Literally. It was just
that simple. Nothing in his life had been that simple until he fell
in love with his dream girl.

“
How much does he weigh?”
Vasquez asked.

“
8 pounds and 12
ounces.”

The nurse wheeled his son out of the line of
sleeping infants. The baby had a round, cherub face and dark curly
hair that nearly covered his brow. He was pink and swollen, and
swaddled in a white blanket with tiny blue teddy bears on it. The
doctors said that he was a bit jaundiced when he was delivered.
They wanted to put him under a light. Otherwise he’d be in the room
with his sleeping wife and little girl. Liam smiled at his son. The
baby snoozed, not even aware he had an audience. “She just pushed
him out. No drama, no fanfare, three pushes and my boy was
here.”

“
Kennedy is one of kind,”
Eric noted.

Liam nodded. He heard tales of how hard and
traumatic Mackenzie’s birth had been. A large part of him was
grateful that their blessed event didn’t take that kind of toll on
her.

His son was wheeled away. Liam stepped back,
contentment filling him to the brim. Life was good. It was better
than good. On most days, he felt like he was living a dream. “Yeah,
she is. I guess we’ve had enough drama for a lifetime.”

“
Speaking of drama. Vasquez
tell you?”

“
About Alexa? Yeah. Can’t
say I’m surprised. I know she did some wicked shit but I feel bad
that things went down the way they did.”

“
She’s lucky her ass wasn’t
court-martialed,” Vasquez added. “That mess she created in
Washington took another election to clean up.”

“
Where is she now?” Liam
asked, but didn’t care. When he was trapped in that prison that
pretended to be a hospital, he realized the depths of Alexa’s
obsession. She had the nerve to visit. He saw her madness plainly
then. She’d used him. Put his wife and child in jeopardy by baiting
Sarkhir and keeping him in the dark. Told others he was compromised
when he refused her offer to join in her crusade to defeat the
enemy. Her reasoning was as twisted as her false feelings for him.
The talk of him being a traitor would ultimately benefit them both,
she said. Once she got him to remember the critical details of
Sarkhir’s operation she believed were buried in his head she’d
bring down the Taliban and bin Laden with it. Even Eric was buried
in too much bureaucracy to stop her. So Liam had been drugged and
given intense therapy. No one would admit to him that his sudden
illness was a ploy to weaken him. Nor could his sudden recovery be
explained. All he knew was he was detained and the psychological
exams he was put through nearly drove him mad. If it weren’t for
Eric and Vasquez, his sanity might have been lost in that hell they
dragged him through.

The information the doctors
obtained—information he wasn’t even consciously aware of—eventually
led a strike team to put a bullet between the eyes of the devil
himself eyes. Amir Sarkhir was found and neutralized. Liam took
some small comfort in that.

The last time he saw Alexa Sinclair was the
day he was cleared. She never said a word to him. But the
non-verbal exchange between them was crystal clear. If he ever saw
her again in this life, he’d snap her rotten neck for all she’d put
him through. Liam thought about her motivation over the years.
Alexa was drunk on power and greedy, all the things a good leader
shouldn’t be.

“
They busted her back a few
and gave her a subcommand in the Korean DMZ. Watches a fence for a
living. She’s been there for months.” Eric shrugged.

Liam and his friends walked away from the
nursery. He moved without a cane now. The knee brace that he’d been
fitted with, thanks to the VA hospital, helped. Add to his recovery
a very progressive physical therapy regimen and he felt almost like
a new man. That meant he could run with his son, toss a ball to
him, be a father to him and Mackenzie in every way that
counted.

“
So what’s up with this
garage of yours? How’s it doing?” Eric asked.

Liam brow’s shot up. “Garage? Excuse me? You
mean auto body repair shop. I guess if you’d been there in two
years, you’d know, right? It’s running great. You need to come
by.”

“
Might do that, brother. My
bike needs tuning. The new administration is headed in a different
direction. Means I could settle a little more.”

“
War ain’t over,” said
Liam.

“
Yeah, well the fight is.
And I’m really no desk jockey. Need action, you know?”

Liam nodded in agreement.

Vasquez cleared his throat. “Thinking of
retiring.”

Eric and Liam both stopped. Vasquez kept
walking and they had to quickly catch up. “Come again? Did I just
hear you say retire?” Liam asked.

“
You heard Eric. The new
administration wants a different kind of fight. Besides, Angie’s
been patient enough. M y kids are growing up without me. It’s
time.”

“
You’re a lifer. No fucking
way you’ll retire.” Eric snorted. “Neither of us will.”

Liam knew differently. Eric didn’t have a
family or a woman he’d give it all up for. But his friend Vasquez
had both. Every man, even those in the brotherhood, reached a point
where they wanted a chance at the other side of life. The need to
settle down could supersede any other calling. He lived that
truth.

“
Well, I got your back and a
job for you if you do.” Liam smirked.

Vasquez gave a half lipped smile, evidently
tortured by his decision. The men arrived in the corridor with the
family. Gail came out of Kennedy’s room. She beamed up at Liam.
“How is he?”

“
He’s perfect. Why don’t you
and Andrew go down to the nursery and see for
yourselves?”

“
I think we’ll do that.” She
reached up to give Liam a brief, motherly kiss on the
jaw.

Sally wasn’t able to arrive in time, but he
knew he’d have to pick her up from the airport soon. Angelina
walked over with baby Hector on her hip. “Anthony, maybe we should
go now.”

“
Yeah, you’re right,”
Vasquez answered.

Liam faced his brothers. “You two saved my
life more times than I can count. Thanks for being here today.”

“
Call me man.
Congratulations.” Eric gave him a fraternal hug.

Liam watched them go, then slipped inside
his wife’s room.

***

“
Eric? Eric Drake! Is that
you?”

He almost stepped into the elevator. A
glance back over his shoulder stopped him. He told the Vasquezes
he’d catch up later, and the doors to the elevator closed. Harper
smiled sweetly at him. He hadn’t seen her in three long years. Not
to say he hadn’t thought of her. The few times he saw Liam and
Kennedy over the years, she was always off in school. He didn’t
dare call her. It had been easier that way, though when she
graduated, he nearly broke his vow and reached out to her to offer
congratulations. He heard she got accepted into medical school.

Harper stopped in front of him with a big
blue and silver stork balloon tied to a furry white teddy bear.

“
Hello, beautiful.” Eric
leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

Black women didn’t blush, but that shy smile
on her face was close enough to it. Harper had dark, smooth skin,
darker than his. She’d cut her long locks for a short pixie style
and it made her sexier. She wore a red fitted summer top and jeans.
He tried not to let his gaze go lower than her chin, though he was
sorely tempted.

“
I didn’t know you were
back. No one told me,” Harper said.

“
Yeah, well, got in this
morning. Made it just in time.”

“
So sweet of you to be here.
I know Liam must have been excited. He’s so happy now.”

“
He deserves to be happy.
They both do.”

Together they stood in front of the
elevators in an uncomfortable silence. He wanted to ask about her
life. But he didn’t need to. He’d peeked in on her life from time
to time. She and Jason didn’t work out, but she did date a guy
named Craig for almost a year. The dude even moved in with her. Now
she was single again, and traveling, backpacking through Europe
with friends after graduation and before medical school.

“
You seen momma and daddy?
Are they in with Liam and Kennedy?”

“
Uh, I think they went to
the nursery.”

“
Oh.” Harper
nodded.