Текст книги "Slaying the Dragon"
Автор книги: T.K. Leigh
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Текущая страница: 24 (всего у книги 25 страниц)
Mackenzie
A WEEK AFTER BEING shot by my father to save my life, I lay in the hospital bed, surrounded by all my friends and family as they fussed over the little bundle I held in my arms. It took me a few days to finally be able to stay awake for longer than five minutes at a time, and once I felt the pain all over my body, I knew why the doctors had been keeping me drugged. It would still be a few weeks until I could comfortably walk around, but I didn’t care. I was here and so was my son.
I looked to my right, Tyler standing there with a wide grin on his face. He had spent nearly every minute at my side, vowing to stay with me until I was strong enough to leave which, according to the doctors who had checked on me this morning, could be tomorrow. I was itching to finally leave this hospital…as a family.
“Have you picked out a name yet?” Jenna asked.
I met her brilliant blue eyes and smiled warmly. Over the past few days, she had apologized over and over again about what Richard had done, how she should have seen the signs, how she should have known there was something off about him. But there was no way for her to know any of that. I had trusted him, too, thinking he was the perfect catch for someone like Jenna. He was charming, smart, debonair, always knew what to say and when to say it. He had put on the perfect act and we all fell for it. Brayden had been doing his best to keep her mind off of everything. He even went to the hotel, packed all her belongings, and relocated her to my old condo, which had been released and was no longer considered a crime scene.
“Yes,” I said. “Francis Charles Burnham… Charlie for short,” I said with a slight lump in my throat.
“He looks like a Charlie,” Brayden commented.
“Well,” Colleen said, leaning down to kiss her grandson on the forehead. “Welcome to the family, little man. You better give your father as hard a time as he gave me when he was growing up.”
“Hey!” Tyler exclaimed. “I was a complete angel. At least compared to him, I was.” He gestured to Alexander.
“Oh, really?” Alexander said, rushing his brother and putting him in a headlock.
“Boys!” a small voice shouted. We all turned our heads to see little Melanie standing next to Olivia, her hand on her hip in mock irritation. “Play nice! Or Grandma’s going to take away your toys. Isn’t that right?” she asked, looking toward Colleen.
Shrugging, she responded, “That usually is the punishment.” She winked.
“Well, I’m sure you’re tired,” Jenna said, squeezing my arm. “Why don’t you get some rest? We’ll stop by in the next few days when you’re all settled back at home, okay?”
I nodded. “I’d like that.”
Everyone said their goodbyes and began to file out of the room. “Dad, wait,” I said, grabbing his hand as he was about to follow everyone else.
“Yes, mi bichito?” he asked, his eyes brimming with love and affection.
Once the last person had left and it was just Tyler and us, I faced him. His shoulder was in a sling, but other than that, it didn’t appear as if he had suffered a gunshot wound to the chest just a week ago. “How did you know?” I asked. The question had been eating me up for days.
“Know what?”
“Where I would be?”
A smile crossed his face as he kept my hand clasped in his. “I knew Agent Suarez was dirty, particularly when I made arrangements to turn myself in and he asked me to surrender at a location other than the local police department. When he took me into ‘custody’, he didn’t really search me too well, so as he was driving around the island with me handcuffed in the back seat, I put one of my old skills to use. It’s amazing what a bobby pin can get you out of these days.” He winked.
“So you got out of your handcuffs, then what?”
“Suarez stopped in front of the house, saying it would be his big pay day. When he opened the back door to let me out, I easily overtook him and snatched his weapon from him. Then I made him call 911 and confess to everything. How do you think the police arrived so quickly?”
He raised his eyebrows at me, a satisfied look crossing his face. “It’s a good thing, too, because during the internal investigation, they found a video file Suarez must have confiscated when looking into Charlie’s death. Charlie hid a camera in your condo and got his murder on video, including Richard’s confession beforehand. He always was a smart guy.” He squeezed my arm and I fought the lump in my throat now that I had confirmation Charlie had sacrificed himself in his quest for the truth. Kissing me on the temple, my dad walked away, leaving Tyler and me alone.
“So he knew all along…,” Tyler mused.
“What do you mean by that?”
“He came to me that day and said he was going to turn himself in. He must have known it was a setup and that he would finally be able to put everything to rest.” He slouched into his chair. “Damn. He’s good.”
A small laugh escaped my mouth. “He was in Counterintelligence, after all. What did you expect? The truth?”
I tore my eyes from Tyler’s as little Charlie began to stir. I still couldn’t believe we had created this adorable little man in my arms. I never saw myself being a mother, but now I couldn’t imagine my life without him in it, even though he was only a week old. For the first time, I got it. I understood why my father had done what he did all those years ago. I knew I would do everything I could to keep Charlie safe, and that was exactly what my father had done.
Over the past week, I had begun to process everything that had happened. All of the questions I had been searching for were answered. I finally had the closure I had looked for throughout the years. Now that Richard was dead and the truth was revealed, I no longer had to hide who I was. I could finally be me again. The only thing that was missing was Damian. I was desperate to know if anyone had found him, but Tyler only said he was waiting on news. I didn’t know if that meant he was still looking into it or he was trying to shield me from the truth.
Tyler’s cell buzzed, bringing me out of my thoughts. He grabbed it off the side table and looked at the screen before turning to me.
“I need to step out for a minute. Want me to put him down?”
I nodded, my arm growing tired.
I gave Charlie a kiss on the forehead and allowed Tyler to place him in his crib beside me.
“I’ll be right back,” Tyler said as he headed toward the door. Just as he was about to walk outside, he glanced over his shoulder. “I love you, Mrs. Burnham.”
I smiled. “And I love you. Now hurry back. I miss you already.” I closed my eyes and enjoyed the momentary break from visitors.
What seemed like seconds later, the door opened once more and Tyler walked in, a man who was about six-foot with dark scraggly hair and medium build following. I met his eyes through his glasses and gasped, wishing I could get out of my hospital bed and run. But I was still sore, and probably couldn’t make it more than a few steps without needing to take a break.
“Damian?” I said in bewilderment, almost not believing my eyes. For years after I was forced to leave North Carolina, I had dreamt of the day we would be reunited. He was my best friend, my first love. It had been nearly two decades. We had both grown and matured, but I saw the same little boy who used to look at the stars with me.
“Hey, Fi,” he said, gently wrapping his arms around me.
“How did you know I’d be–”
“I told him,” Tyler interrupted and we both turned to him. “The night you were…” He trailed off, taking a deep breath. “Well, Eli found the iPad Richard had at the scene. Maxwell was able to run a trace on where the camera feed was coming from and, although it was being bounced off a dozen different satellites, he finally isolated it and we found him.”
Damian looked down on me and grabbed my hand in his. “I’m so sorry, Fi. You have to understand. I didn’t want anything to do with what that sick bastard was planning, but I didn’t have a choice. He threatened to kill everyone close to me, including you. After I saw what he did to my parents and how they set Charlie up, I just couldn’t take that risk. I never meant for all of those people to get hurt, but I just couldn’t let anything happen to you.”
“How did you know Charlie?”
“Through a mutual acquaintance. I had confided in a friend about you and how I couldn’t shake the feeling you were still alive, but even after using my access at the FBI to locate you, I was coming up empty. He put me in touch with Charlie, saying he could usually see between the lines and find things that aren’t there. In no time at all, he found you. I was thrilled, but Charlie warned me it could be disastrous if I approached you because someone could put the pieces together. I didn’t know what he was talking about, but he made me promise to be patient while he tried to figure things out. Then he was locked up and I couldn’t shake the feeling it had something to do with what I had asked him to look into, so I kept my distance, not wanting anything to happen to you.”
I nodded. “But it all caught up to you, didn’t it?”
“I wasn’t tracked down because I asked Charlie to help.”
“It was your father,” I muttered, recalling Richard’s confession.
“I suppose this guy wanted to make sure my dad didn’t stray too far from the plan and he used me as a guarantee. I don’t know how he figured it out, but he knew about my…computer skills.”
“You mean hacking?” I raised my eyebrows.
He shrugged. “More or less. One day, as I was leaving work and heading to the gym, my car was pushed off the road and into a ditch. The next thing I remember was waking up in a cold cement room, chained to the wall. Two days later, my father joined me. I hadn’t seen him in years and, at first, I didn’t believe it was him. He didn’t look like the man I remembered him to be. Hell, I thought he was dead. When I heard his voice, I knew it was him, despite how he had changed his appearance for whatever deep cover job he was on. He told me everything… How he had been blackmailed into killing your father. How he planned the embassy attack to do just that, never expecting him to make it out of the fire. How he planted evidence to cover up all the deals so no one caught on. How relieved he was when his superiors signed off on the results of his investigation that your dad was responsible. How things started spinning out of control once Charlie began to ask questions. How he followed him one night, saw him with your mother, and grew concerned all over again that someone would figure it all out. How he had Charlie locked up and did nothing when Richard planned to kill your mother.
“He told me he jumped at the opportunity the CIA gave him to go under deep cover. He was scared for us, and for himself. This gave him an out and he took it, disappearing from my life and leaving me with a thousand questions…and a thousand more when he showed up that day in that cold cement room. He said he had tried to make amends, had told Richard he was done and was going to turn himself in. Apparently, that didn’t go over too well.” He swallowed hard, closing his eyes. “Two days later, my father was gone, and I knew he was…”
“Damian, I’m–”
“This guy kept me down there for what seemed like an eternity,” he interrupted. “I was under constant surveillance. He had me use what I knew to look into anything and everything, to use my skills to plant evidence, incriminating certain people in crimes I’m certain he committed. Sick of being there, I tried to send a message to someone one day about where I was and what was going on. Hell, I had all these computers in front of me. I was done living in fear.”
“Who did you try to send a message to?”
“My mother.”
I nodded, briefly closing my eyes.
“It’s my fault she’s gone,” he admitted, a quiver in his voice. “I was stupid and didn’t think about the repercussions. I was valuable to this guy. He needed me, but that didn’t mean he was willing for me to get away with what I had done. So, the following day, he placed a newspaper on the floor in front of me. The headline announced my mother’s and her new husband’s death. From that day forward, I did everything asked of me, not wanting this guy to get to anyone else I cared about, including you.”
“It’s okay,” Tyler said, giving Damian a sympathetic look. “No one here could have done anything to stop this. You did what you had to in order to survive.”
He nodded, squeezing my hand. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“And I’m glad you never stopped trying to find me.”
“Never,” he said. “Like I told you all those years ago, it would take a hell of a lot more than just new orders to tear us apart.”
He wrapped his arms around me and I relished in his embrace for the first time in nearly two decades. I met Tyler’s eyes, a satisfied smile on his face. Everything had come full circle. All my prayers had finally been answered. That was the moment I learned to never give up hope. I had shielded myself for years, remembering how alone I felt when I was younger, wishing upon a star and praying to whomever would listen. I thought all those prayers and wishes had gone unanswered, but that wasn’t the case at all. They were just waiting until I needed them to be answered.
Two Years Later
Tyler
SNOW FELL AGAINST THE windows of our house in Beacon Hill, the streets of Boston sporting a fluffy white coat.
“I have no idea how you suffer through this, Mack,” Brayden’s boisterous voice cut through all the laughter and frivolity surrounding us as we celebrated Charlie’s second birthday. I couldn’t believe two years had passed since he entered this world in what I thought would be the worst night of my life. Instead, it ended up being the night I received the two greatest gifts a man could ask for…a son and a second chance – or third, depending on how you looked at it – with the woman of my dreams, my lightning strike.
About three months after Charlie was born, Mackenzie was finally cleared to travel and she couldn’t wait to get to Boston. We finally got the new start we both needed and left the past in the past. True, everything Mackenzie had endured made her into the person she was today, but she stopped living in the shadows.
For the first time in her life, Mackenzie finally had everything she ever wanted. Her father was back in her life. In fact, he had been recruited by one of the top private security firms in the country…mine. Now that his name was cleared, he was more than eager to get back into investigations. Plus, he was close by so he could spend as much time as he wanted with Mackenzie and Charlie.
Even better, Mackenzie finally had Damian back in her life, who came up to visit as much as he could. The sound of her laughter echoing through the house as they reminisced about their childhood always brought a smile to my face, knowing I was able to give that to her.
Jenna and Brayden remained in South Padre, where she continued looking after the restaurant operations, although she had been spending quite a bit of time in Boston to prepare for the opening of a second location of their restaurant in the Financial District. She seemed to have forgotten all about Richard, although it was hard to tell with her.
“Daddy!” a small voice called to me, breaking me away from the snow and my thoughts. Charlie ran into my arms and I swung him around, making him squeal with delight. “Presents?” he asked.
“Did you ask Mommy if it was time yet?” I replied, glancing up to see Mackenzie laughing with Jenna and Olivia. A warmth spread through me as I caught sight of the little bump on her that was starting to show. I missed the early stages of her first pregnancy and was thrilled that I would be here every day of this one, morning sickness and all.
“She said to ask you.”
I chuckled at what had become our parenting style. “Do you want to open presents?” I asked in hushed tones.
He nodded, his eyes growing wide.
“Then you can open your presents.”
When he squirmed, I put him down and he darted from me, shouting, “Daddy said it’s time!”
Meeting my eyes, Mackenzie smiled and sauntered across the room toward me. “You’re incorrigible, you know that? You do understand you’ll be up all night long assembling all the toys, right?”
I pulled her against me, raising my eyebrows. “Well, if I’ll be up all night, I’m sure we can find something more constructive to fill our time, rather than putting together a bunch of toys that will just be destroyed in two days.”
“Oh, really?” she replied, pulling on my blazer jacket, leading me toward the bay window in the formal sitting room of our house.
“Mmm-hmm…”
“And what would that be?” she asked as I folded my arms around her, both of us staring at the snow falling at a steady pace.
“I have a few ideas,” I murmured, kissing her neck.
“I don’t know. I’m exhausted from growing a human inside of me. You could rub my feet and tell me a bedtime story.”
“What kind of story?”
“A good one.” She raised her eyebrows.
“Anything for you,” I said, savoring the warmth of her body next to mine. “Once upon a time,” I began, planting a kiss on her forehead, “there was a little girl who stopped believing in fairytales. She had been hidden away for years, always holding out hope her Prince Charming would come and rescue her from her self-imposed prison. Then, one day, a man appeared. He was a little rough around the edges and may not have had the purest of intentions to begin with, but he fell in love with the woman that little girl had turned into.”
I glanced down to see her eyes closed, a look of serenity on her face. I began to rock her back-and-forth, almost swaying to the music in both our heads. “But there was an evil dragon who tried to keep the prince from his love. The prince knew he had to protect this woman from the monstrous beast who was trying to tear them apart, so he set upon a quest to slay the dragon and free his love.”
“And did he?” she asked, turning to me.
Grabbing both her hands in mine, I simply nodded. “Yes, with a bit of help. And he used his powers to return all the people who had ever been taken from the princess to her so she could finally have the family she had been yearning for her entire life.”
“How did it end?”
“Like all fairytales should,” I said, raising her hand to meet my lips. “They lived happily ever after.”
Losing Your Memory – Ryan Star
Cannonball – Damian Rice
This Woman’s Work – Greg Laswell
Sideways – Citizen Cope
The Space Between – Dave Matthews Band
Your Ghost – Greg Laswell
If You Love Me Let Me Go – Colbie Caillat
Gone Away – Lucy Schwartz
Between The Lines – Sara Bareilles
I’m Through – Ingrid Michaelson
Over You – Ingrid Michaelson, featuring A Great Big World
Everything’s Not Lost – Coldplay
The Lonely – Christina Perri
Cold Blooded – The Pretty Reckless
1000 Times – Sara Bareilles
Awake My Soul – Mumford & Sons
You Make It Real – James Morrison
All Of Me – John Legend
Boston – Augustana
Breathe Me – Sia
Apologies – Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
I Do – Susie Suh
Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered – Ella Fitzgerald
Tamacún – Rodrigo y Gabriela
Magic – Colbie Caillat
In The Embers – Sleeping At Last
Nothing But The Water (I) – Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Weapon For Saturday – LOLO
By My Side – William Fitzsimmons
Future Days – Pearl Jam
The One – Kodaline
The Luckiest – Ben Folds
The Beautiful Mess Series
A Beautiful Mess
A Tragic Wreck
Gorgeous Chaos
Heart Of Light
Heart Of Marley
(A stand-alone Heart of Light prequel)
The Deception Duet
Chasing The Dragon
Slaying The Dragon
For more information on any of these titles, please visit T.K.’s website:
www.tkleighauthor.com
It's not over yet…
A new Beautiful Mess series novel coming your way in 2016!
Rayne Kilpatrick has everything. A job she’s dreamed of since she was a little girl. The perfect house. And a man she loves and is about to marry… Until he never returns from a humanitarian mission.
Gone. Disappeared. Vanished.
When footage of his gruesome murder by a Muslim extremist group is shown across the country and around the globe, she wants the person responsible for the disappearance of the man she loves to pay. She wants him to lose the one person who means the world to him, too, and she won’t stop until he does.
Alexander Burnham has everything… Finally. A job he enjoys where he can actually make a difference in the world. The perfect woman who he’s loved his entire life. And the most beautiful daughter a father could ask for… Until he wakes up one morning and her bedroom is empty.
Gone. Disappeared. Vanished.
It’s a race against the clock for Alexander to put the pieces together and find out who has taken his daughter and what they want from him. As information comes to light, he is forced to bury the guilt he feels after losing his fellow team member and focus instead on finding and saving his daughter… Before it’s too late.
