by T. K. Leigh
Tyler
TOO EARLY FOR MY liking, the morning light started to peek through the shutters. I had barely slept since going to bed just a few hours before. The smell of cinnamon haunted my dreams. I felt an intoxicating electricity that now invigorated me with a renewed sense of determination to do everything I could to make Mackenzie mine once more.
Stretching in my bed, I fought the temptation to close my eyes and go back to sleep. It had been months since I had slept on a proper bed and I didn’t want to leave the comfort surrounding me. My eyes drooping, I threw my legs over the side of the bed and padded to the en-suite bathroom. After splashing some water on my face, I rummaged through my bag and found some gym shorts and a t-shirt. I tossed them on and laced up my sneakers, heading quietly from my room and out of the house for an early morning run.
Time passed as I escaped into my thoughts, running through thousands of different scenarios as to why our agency contact had disappeared, whether Charlie had any involvement in his disappearance, and whether we were all being played. I wondered if Alexander had made any headway into what was really going on. I had so many questions and was anxious to get back to Texas so I could pick up where I had left off…with the job and Mackenzie.
Before I knew it, the sun began to beat down on me with more intensity. When I left my mother’s house, the sun was just starting to rise. Now, it was shining brilliantly, and I knew I had probably been gone for a few hours. I circled back toward the house, putting in another few miles, and entered the foyer, hearing voices from the kitchen. Not ready to face Mom and her special overnight guest, I dashed up the stairs and hopped in the shower. After shaving and dressing in a pair of cargo shorts and a light green linen shirt, I found the email I had kept with me since receiving it and placed it in the pocket over my chest…over my heart.
Checking the clock to see that it was nearly ten, I hurried through the remainder of my morning routine. I still needed to cook my mom breakfast, then get to the airport in time for the noon flight Eli had arranged on one of the company jets.
Dashing down the stairs, I entered the kitchen and came to an abrupt stop.
“Alex…,” I said nervously when I saw him sitting at the table. I felt like an employee who had been caught in a lie after calling in sick. “What are you doing here?” I sat down opposite him, studying his every move.
“Tyler.” He raised himself from his chair, a knowing smirk on his face as he straightened his crisp suit. Heading toward the coffee machine to prepare a cup, his expression remained fixed. “Mom called and asked for a family breakfast this morning. I tried to say I had work to do, but she mentioned you were home, which certainly got my attention.”
My eyes narrowed at him, my blood boiling every second I was in his presence. His odd demeanor made it readily apparent he was not happy I was home. I would have rather had him shout at me. I could handle that, but the fake smile, the niceties, the even temper… I just wanted him to get on with it so I could get on with what I needed to do.
“I was going to wait until you were settled, but I have a new assignment. You’re on a transport to Afghanistan tomorrow at sixteen hundred hours.”
I remained quiet as he returned to the table with two cups of coffee, placing one in front of me.
Sitting down, he reached into his laptop bag, retrieved a file, and slid it across the table toward me. “We’ve opened a shelter for girls who have been the victim of abuse and are at risk of further harm, possibly even death. Honor killings and all that. These girls–”
“Just stop,” I interrupted. My voice was soft, my lips barely moving.
He snapped his head up, his green eyes meeting mine. “Ty–”
“No. Enough, Alex!” My voice rose with the anger that was slowly building within me. “I’m not going to be told what to do by you anymore, not when it’s readily apparent you only have your best interests at heart and no one else’s!”
“Where is this coming from?” he asked in an authoritative tone, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat.
“Oh, you know…,” I sneered, standing over him and leaning on the surface of the table. “Just being sent to Sudan for four months, having little to no means of communicating with anyone except you! Whenever I mentioned coming home, you gave me orders to stay on longer, saying I was needed! But I wasn’t, Alex! I trusted you and followed your orders, even though I knew I didn’t belong there. At first, I refused to believe it. You’re my brother. There’s no way you’d make me stay just to keep me away. I agreed to a month to let you figure out what was going on, but as time passed, I knew I was wrong about it. I knew I was wrong about you. You didn’t send me there to keep me safe. You probably never even tried to look into what was going on! You ordered me to stay to keep me from seeing Mackenzie!”
He rolled his eyes. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He returned his attention to the folder in front of him. “Now, this shelter has been open for a few months, but there are still threats of–”
“Bullshit!” I roared, tearing the file out of his hands and throwing it to the ground. “Bullshit, Alex! You’re purposely doing this to keep me away from Mackenzie! Of course, it’s completely normal for you to not feel any guilt about lying to anyone. Hell, be enough of an asshole and they’ll learn to love you, right?” I taunted, recalling how Alexander had kept so much information from his wife about their past, it nearly tore them apart. He had lied to her from day one, claiming it was the only way to keep her safe, but he was lucky enough that she learned to look past all of that. “It worked for you and Olivia so why the fuck should anyone else be happy?” Picking up my full coffee mug, I threw it against the wall and charged my brother, trying to tackle him to the floor.
“What the hell do you mean by that?” Alexander asked, placing his hands on my forearms, attempting to free himself from my hold.
“Exactly what I said! You lied to her for months and felt no remorse! What kind of person does that? I’ll tell you. A cold-blooded prick who wouldn’t know what love was if it slapped him in the face!” Pulling my fist back, I landed a hard blow to his jaw, forcing him to the ground.
Alexander grabbed onto my leg, swiping at my other one with his foot. I lost my balance and, in an instant, he had the upper hand, pinning me against the tile floor.
“I did that because I love her!” he bellowed. “Don’t assume you know how I feel about that woman, Tyler!”
“Oh,” I groaned out, unrelenting in my assault. “Looks like I hit a soft spot, doesn’t it? Now you know how it feels.” I raised my knee to kick Alexander in the groin unsuccessfully. My brief stint in the navy was no match for his SEAL training. I wrapped my hands around his thick neck, trying to break his hold. “How would you feel if someone refused to let you see her?!” I grunted, my breathing becoming labored. “I just want to see her! To explain! Stop trying to control–”
“Boys!” a shrill voice echoed through the kitchen. “What in God’s name do you think you’re doing?!”
As if we were two errant children instead of grown men, we quickly released our hold on each other and craned our heads toward the doorway. Our mother was standing there, Olivia and little Melanie close behind.
“Ma…” Alexander scrambled to his feet. I mirrored his movements, brushing my shorts off and trying to make it appear as if I hadn’t been trying to kill my brother.
“Don’t Ma me. I brought you two into this world and I can damn sure take you out of it. Alexander,” she scolded, glaring at him, “you’re thirty-seven, almost thirty-eight! You’re married with a child who’s nearly six! Right now, she’s acting more mature than you are!”
“We were just–”
She held up her hand. He quickly snapped his mouth shut.
“And you, Tyler!” She turned her attention to me and I cowered under her gaze, more scared of her than I ever was of my drill sergeants during basic training. “We haven’t seen you in four months and this is how you behave?!”
“B
lame Alex,” I muttered.
Mom shot her head toward Alexander. “Why does he want to blame you?”
Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he shrugged sheepishly. “Because…” He avoided her eyes, not giving her an answer.
“All right!” she bellowed, her voice firm.
I cringed. I hadn’t heard that tone since I was a small child. It was the voice that always made me stop whatever I was doing and pretend I was the perfect angel she raised me to be. Her nostrils flaring, showing her heavy Irish temper, she stalked toward where we stood and grabbed our hands, yanking us out of the kitchen and into the living room. Alexander and I towered over her by more than a foot, but she always had a way of making us feel slightly terrified.
“Sit!” she ordered. “Alex, you over there.” She gestured to one end of the couch. “Tyler, you over there.” She nodded toward the other end. “This way, I know you won’t kill each other.”
Alexander and I quickly obeyed, both of us lowering ourselves onto opposite sides of an oversized cream-colored sectional set against a large window, the sunlight streaming in behind us.
“This has gone on long enough. You two are going to talk, and you’re going to talk now.” She ran her hand through her nearly white hair. Looking at the ceiling, she took a deep breath and returned her eyes to us, her expression softening. “We should have done this ages ago, but I thought you two would be mature enough to handle it on your own. Apparently, I was wrong.”
I crossed my arms in front of my chest and stared straight ahead, not wanting to be the first to speak. I wasn’t the one who had been acting unreasonably.
“Olivia, dear,” Mom called over her shoulder to the tall, slender brunette. “I think it’s best you join us, as well. You seem to make Alexander less of a stubborn ass and more of a rational person. Melanie, sweetie…” She directed her attention to the dark-haired little girl at Olivia’s side. “Can you go down to your playroom for a little while and play with your toys? Grandma will buy you a brand new doll if you do what I ask and don’t get into any trouble for the next twenty minutes. Can you do that?”
Grinning and showing a few missing teeth, she said, “Okay, Grandma.” She was about to head away before she ran toward me and flung her arms around my neck. “I missed you, Uncle Tyler,” she whispered softly.
I returned her hug and placed a kiss on her cheek. “I missed you, too, munchkin.”
Releasing herself from my grasp, she spun around and bounced toward the stairs leading to the basement, which had been modified into an extravagant playroom of which any child would be jealous.
“Now,” Mom said once younger ears were no longer present, “it’s time you boys stopped acting childish. Tyler, you’ve kept everything inside for a while now. Get it out.”
“What are you talking about, Ma?” I asked quietly. “I haven’t–”
“Bullshit, Tyler. You’re still carrying the guilt of what happened to Melanie and it’s strained your relationship with your brother…with everyone. I am the last one to ever demean someone for wanting to join the military, but I voiced my opinion with Alexander and I’m sure as hell going to voice it with you. Your reasons were fucking bullshit and cowardly. Instead of learning to cope with losing Melanie, you went into the service.” She took a deep breath before softening her expression. “I’m so proud of you.” She glanced from me to Alexander. “Of both my boys. Your father was never a great communicator and I fear you both inherited that trait from him. So, please, I’m getting old. I don’t want to feel like I’m walking on eggshells around you two.”
Alexander narrowed his gaze at me. “What’s going on, Ty?” he asked quietly, holding Olivia’s hand in his.
I shrugged, trying to ignore the tension building in the room. I had been angry for so long, I didn’t know what I was upset over anymore. I tried to go back in my mind to what started the break between my brother and me…losing Melanie. But I didn’t feel that pain anymore, and I struggled to find a reason to hold a grudge against him. He didn’t kill her. He was no more responsible for her death than I was. It all seemed so childish now.
“I know it probably feels like my words don’t mean anything,” Alexander continued when I didn’t respond, “but you have no idea how much losing Melanie hurt all of us. I know how much you loved her, Ty. I thought I had lost my one true love and the pain was excruciating.” He looked at Olivia, their eyes meeting. “I’m lucky enough that I didn’t lose her.” Standing up, he took carefully measured steps toward me and sat down. “But something tells me this isn’t all about Melanie…not anymore.”
I shook my head. “I loved Melanie, but that feeling is nothing compared to what I–”
“Then you need to go to her,” Olivia interrupted, standing up. Her heels clicked on the hardwood floor as she walked toward us, Alexander’s eyes wide. “Apologize for not going sooner, for having a bit of an overbearing ass for a brother, and for using her and keeping secrets from her in the first place. Trust me. I know exactly what’s going through that poor girl’s mind right now. She’s probably questioning everything in her life, wondering whom she can trust, wondering what’s real and what’s not. There are few things worth fighting for these days, but I can guarantee you that love is one of them.” She sat down next to Alexander and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. “And it’s a damn good thing your brother fought for me.”
“Olivia,” Alexander said, his tone somewhat harsh, “it’s not that easy. This woman was an asset, and our agency contact went missing. I didn’t know which way was up, so we had to do something to protect everyone involved.”
My eyes glued to Alexander, my heart raced in my chest. “What did you do?” I whispered.
He studied me for several long moments before finally speaking. “We gaslighted her.”
“What the hell does that even mean?” Mom interjected.
“It means we made her question her reality, made her question whether she had really met Tyler or not. We removed any and all traces of him from her life, even had a few of my agents move into his old house in the off chance she went over there. They were told to use any means necessary to convince her there never was a Tyler Burnham who lived there.”
An understanding look crossed my mom’s face, as if she had just received the missing piece of a puzzle. “Spies,” she mumbled under her breath.
“Why would you do something like that?” Olivia demanded, her temper rising.
“So she would think she never met him. His cover had been compromised, so we had to do something. Gaslighting is one of the most effective manipulation techniques there is to make the target or asset think what we want them to think…that they never met someone, in this case, Tyler. It’s a way to protect his blown cover, which can have drastic consequences to both parties, especially in this case.”
“This is absurd!” She raised herself from the couch and glowered at Alexander. “Do you really think she’d believe she never met him? For crying out loud, just let him go to her, regardless that you attempted to ‘gaslight’ her!” she sneered. “He needs closure! I’m sure Mackenzie does, too! Then you can all move on with your lives. He can stop moping around, you can stop trying to keep him away from home so he doesn’t go see her, and things can go back to normal…or as normal as they can be in this family.” She plopped back onto the couch and crossed her arms in front of her chest, annoyed.
Silence rang in the living room as we all absorbed Olivia’s words. My mom was right. She was the only person who could ever break through my brother’s thick skull and make him be the compassionate person we all knew was hiding beneath the layers of his tough exterior.
“Ty,” Alexander finally said, clearing his throat. “I hate to admit it, but maybe Olivia’s right.” He met my eyes and I knew it must have taken a lot for him to accept that. “If I were in your shoes and someone tried to keep me from the woman I loved, I’d be pissed.” Sighing, he ran his hand through his dark hair. “I’m sorry. About everything. About getting y
ou into this mess, then trying to decide what’s best for you without asking what you wanted. I’ve been a shitty brother. I should be supporting you instead of trying to keep you down. If you love her like you say you do, I’m happy for you. If you want to be with her, I’m not going to fight you, but you need to be careful. I’ve spent months trying to track down our agency contact to see if there was some sort of trail and I’ve come up empty. I can’t help but think there’s something suspicious going on and that his disappearance has everything to do with this case. The timing is too perfect.”
“Have you looked into his family?” I asked.
“Of course,” he responded. “He had none. Parents dead. Never married. No children. Hell, I can’t even access any of the missions he was a part of. This all makes me believe he had more than just top-level security clearance. So please, promise me you’ll think with your head and be extra cautious.”
“I will. Promise.” I gave him a quick reassuring look before jumping off the couch and bolting from the room.
“Tyler, baby,” my mother called out. “Where are you going?”
Beaming, I glanced over my shoulder. “I have to go see about a girl.”
I ran toward the staircase, dashing up to the second floor and down the long hallway to pack up my stuff as quickly as possible. As I approached my room, the door opposite mine opened, startling me. I halted in my tracks, my jaw dropping as I stared at the woman standing in the doorway.
Mackenzie
I CHECKED MY REFLECTION in the mirror, my formerly loose-fitting yellow sundress now rather snug. I took a closer look, my eyes vibrant for a change. I felt refreshed and rejuvenated after finally getting some much-needed sleep. Escaping South Padre for a little bit was exactly what I needed to help me cope with what had become my new normal.
