She nodded. “I learned some of this from Nikolai. Why did Yelena defect?”
“She was afraid for her life. Nikolai had advanced quickly in the KGB, but the Party disapproved of his marriage. Yelena’s family had a history of publicly disagreeing with the Party policies. She feared the KGB would have her killed to save her husband’s career.”
“What happened to her?” Kellee knew what Nikolai had told her, but she truly wanted to understand why her birth mother died.
“She didn’t know she was pregnant when she defected,” Byron said. “Had she known, I doubt she would have left Russia. At the time, she believed she was saving Nikolai’s career by leaving. She was the type of a woman who would sacrifice her own happiness to do whatever was best for others.” He leaned toward Kellee and touched the back of her hand. “You’re like her in that way.”
His touch at that moment meant he must still love her in spite of all that had happened.
Byron continued, “During Yelena’s debriefing, she and Katherine grew very close. Katherine taught her English and helped her understand what life would be like in the States. I swear, sometimes the two of them thought alike. Yelena truly believed her best option for survival was to defect, but she loved her country. She almost returned when she discovered she was pregnant.”
“Why would she want to go back?” Kellee asked. “Wouldn’t her life still be in danger?”
“Not if she was having Nikolai’s child.”
“So why didn’t she return?”
“Katherine persuaded her that raising her baby in America would be a better life for her and the child.” Byron grew contemplative recalling the past. “Katherine also sensed a change sweeping across the Soviet Union. I still don’t know how, but Katherine was convinced that one day Yelena would be able to return to a free Russia.” He shook his head slightly as though shaking off the past. “Of course, Yelena died before that could happen.”
“Exactly how did she die?” Kellee asked.
“We started the naturalization process at a safe house in the English countryside, with plans to move her to the United States after a couple of months. Once we discovered she was pregnant, we thought it best to keep her in one place until the birth. The process took several months. Then she went into labor three weeks early. There were complications. Katherine was there alone with Yelena when you were born. Yelena named you Katya and made Katherine promise to raise you as her own. Shortly after, she died.”
Kellee saw the pain in his face deepen, but she didn’t stop him.
“We chose not to keep the name Yelena gave you. We knew we’d have to convince our friends and colleagues that you were ours. We’d been away from the States for almost a year. When we returned, everyone believed Katherine had gotten pregnant while we were in England. Only Dr. Kosov and a handful of others knew the truth. The CIA helped with the adoption paperwork.”
“Nikolai would have tried to take me sooner if he had known.” The realization brought a shiver.
Byron nodded. “Yes.” His shoulders heaved. “After the Soviet Union fell, Katherine and I were going to tell you the truth. We decided to wait until your eighteenth birthday, when Katherine gave you the pendant.”
Kellee touched the pendant around her neck. “I remember Mom told me it was handed down between generations. Why didn’t she tell me about Yelena then?”
“We’d planned a special dinner for the weekend. The day before the dinner, Katherine was on an investigation. She was ambushed and killed.”
Hearing about her mother’s death again brought the sense of loss directly to the surface. Tears welled, and she blinked them away.
“I’d just lost my wife, my partner of thirty years.” O’Neal voice broke. “I’m sorry, Kellee. We’d planned to tell you together. I couldn’t find the courage to finish what she and I started. My omission is unforgivable.” He stopped speaking. For a long time, he simply sat there—not moving, barely breathing.
Kellee swallowed the lump in her throat at the bald admission from a man who’d seemed to never do wrong. He slumped back on the chair. In those few short minutes, he’d explained her birth, his wife’s death, and how all of it played into the deception of her life. He’d shrunk from the pillar of society she’d known him to be, to a mere man. With flaws and mistakes staining his own past.
Slowly, Byron squared his shoulders and sat straighter. “You’ll find as you grow older, how quickly the days pass into years. And you never seem to find the right time for a confession.”
As he looked at her, she saw some of his pain had bled off during his soul-cleansing revelation.
“I’m not making excuses for myself,” he said. “It is what it is.”
“Does Riley know? About my biological parents, that is?”
O’Neal shook his head. “No. We were going to tell your brother after we told you.”
“Do we have to tell him?” she asked.
Byron’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you wanted the truth out in the open.”
“I do. I know who I am, now. There’s no need for Riley to treat me any differently, is there?”
His mouth lifted crookedly into the same smile that endeared him to his employees and fooled his enemies. “Riley won’t feel different about you. You’re his sister just as much as you’re my daughter.”
With those words, one of her burdens lifted. She was an O’Neal, maybe not through blood, but through everything else that mattered. For the first time since the storm, she felt she belonged somewhere she could truly call her own. “Then, can we tell him together?”
“Of course. As soon as you’re ready.”
“We still have other matters to discuss.”
“Nikolai.”
Kellee nodded. “I tried to make a deal.”
“You don’t deal with the Russian Mafia, Kellee. They’re a dishonorable den of thieves.”
Kellee’s jaw dropped at the transformation from a disconsolate father on the verge of losing his family to the shrewd and ruthless ex-CIA agent and director of Northstar Security.
“It’s water under the bridge,” Byron said. “I don’t want to discuss it ever again.”
“How can you forget that I was willing to sell you out?”
Byron closed his eyes. When he opened them again, she saw the eyes of her father, not the director. “Your life was on the line.” He paused. “You should know that I don’t like what you did, but I understand why you did it. I also know you aren’t capable of that type of duplicity.”
Kellee found it interesting that Nikolai had shared the same insight of her character. Was she so transparent?
Byron’s face changed again, a telltale sign he was finished with this topic. Suddenly he asked, “Are you sure you’re in love with Egan?”
The question shouldn’t have taken her by surprise. She’d already declared her feelings at Nikolai’s penthouse. She wouldn’t deny them now. “Absolutely.” She smiled. “I love him, Dad. I don’t know what will come of it, or if he feels the same, but I’d do the same thing again if it meant I had a chance to be with him.”
Her father nodded. “Very well, then. I guess we need to make sure you stay clear of the Russians from now on.”
Kellee bit her lip. “I know Nikolai will be deported, but I have a hunch he’ll try to check up on me.”
“I’m not going to have a bunch of Russians trailing us on our honeymoon,” said Egan from behind her.
Kellee jumped off the couch and whipped around to see him standing in the doorway. “How long have you been there?”
He waggled a keycard between his fingers. “Long enough.”
Kellee looked at her father. “You knew Egan was there?”
Byron grinned somewhat sheepishly. “I didn’t see any reason he shouldn’t know what’s going on.” He looked from her to Egan. “I have a feeling that what happens in your future will affect him as much as, if not more than, me.”
Kellee peeked at Egan again. His face had shuttered. The roo
m seemed to shrink as he crossed the entryway toward her. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, but her feet refused to budge.
Despite his earlier declaration about a honeymoon, he seemed to have shut down. She’d dragged him through hell. Could he forgive her for putting his life in jeopardy?
Byron stood and pulled her to him. He squeezed her tightly as though assuring himself she really was alive. “I love you,” he said. “Not because you’re like a daughter, but because you are my daughter.”
Before Kellee could reply, he released her and stepped around the couch. He stopped and looked at Egan. “By the way, you should know that the FBI arrested Congressman Folk for tax evasion and campaign fraud. I couldn’t tell you about the investigation because of the pressure to keep it quiet. The case was still ongoing when you tried to quit. Now that the investigation is completed, his son, the navy seaman who broke your leg, will be brought before the Judge Advocate General for assault charges. I know it doesn’t make up for everything, but I hope you’ll reconsider your resignation.”
Egan gave Byron a long considering gaze. “Thank you for telling me.” He glanced at Kellee, then back to Byron. “I’ll let you know my decision, later.”
Byron smiled. “That’s all I can ask.” He turned and winked at Kellee, then left the room, closing the door behind him.
Kellee was finally alone with Egan. An ache filled her chest and squeezed her heart. What was he thinking? Would he think that she’d compromised too much? He was so honorable. Would he see her attempt to bargain with Nikolai as betrayal?
Of all the destinations her journey could have ended at, not being in Egan’s arms at the end of the day hadn’t occurred to her.
He continued to stand apart from her, studying her. Kellee looked away, feeling unsure. He had every reason to censure her. She’d been nothing but a problem from the start. A mission her father had imposed on him. The mission was over—maybe he regretted making the honeymoon statement and that’s why he hadn’t approached her.
****
Kellee was safe.
Egan let go of the fear he’d been holding since she’d been ripped from his side at the mall. She stood there, looking at him—concern, apprehension, and desire written all over her face. Overwhelming relief bubbled to the surface.
Those seconds in the penthouse between getting his shot off and seeing Kellee bleeding on the carpet were the longest he’d experienced in his entire life.
It had been even harder to let Byron take her up to the hotel room alone. But Kellee needed to work through all she’d learned the past few days. She needed to understand Byron’s side and see that her father hadn’t betrayed her. As much as Egan had wanted to, rushing in to fix things wouldn’t help. She’d had to face the truth alone.
It’d only been a few short days, and already it seemed like his life’s calling was to be her protector. Except he wanted more than that. He wanted to be her lover, her soul mate.
Her declaration of being in love had nearly been his undoing. His heart had leapt with a joy he hadn’t felt since before Rory died—maybe not even then. She filled his soul. She filled him.
His self-control stretched to the limits, he clenched his fists to keep from pulling her to him. “That was some speech you gave,” he said quietly.
Kellee lowered her eyes, and her cheeks turned an enticing shade of pink. “You heard?”
“Most of it,” he said. “The most important part, sweet Kellee.”
She peered at him through her eyelashes.
Walking around the couch, he gingerly gathered her into his arms. She stood on her toes and lifted her face to his. Her breath, warm and alive, brushed across his cheek. He held her closer and squeezed his eyes closed. To think he’d almost lost her.
“Did you mean what you said about a honeymoon?” she asked.
“Did you mean what you said?” A bewildering rush of emotions pulsed through him. He didn’t deserve her. He didn’t deserve to have this wonderful, giving woman in his arms. Her sweet scent wrapped around his senses until he couldn’t think straight.
“I meant every word,” she whispered under his ear, nearly driving him over the edge. “I do love you. But I’m willing to take whatever you offer, as long as you’ll let me be with you.”
“I’m so afraid of losing you, like I’ve lost others.”
She leaned back and took his face in her palms. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”
“I think your father would let you become an agent if you absolutely wanted to.” Egan didn’t know how he’d handle it if Kellee took a position that put her life in danger at every turn. Her spirit was one that couldn’t be chained.
“What do you think?” Kellee asked.
“I think I’d go insane if I couldn’t be there to protect you,” he replied honestly.
“I could just keep doing the files, like I did before.” Her gaze searched his eyes, as she measured her words.
“You wouldn’t be content.”
She dropped her hands. They stood mere inches apart. “What if we were a team? We’d make a good team, wouldn’t we?”
“We might.” It was a compromise that would keep her within his reach.
Kellee started to step away. “I’ll go ask my father.”
Egan grabbed her hands and hauled her back to him. “You’re not going anywhere. And I’m not ready to go back to work just yet.”
Her eyes widened. A smile lit up her face. “Then, what will we do?”
“Whatever it is, it will be something we decide together.” His voice was raw with desire. He leaned his forehead against hers. “I love you, sweet Kellee. From now on, we’ll make all our decisions together.”
“I love you, Egan,” Kellee whispered. “That’s a rule I can keep.”
He pressed her to him, feeling the length of her body slide against his as he lowered his head. “Damn straight, you will.” He captured her mouth and sealed their deal with a kiss as true to the heart as a compass that points north.
A word about the author…
Stanalei’s love of writing romance stems from reading favorites such as Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Barbara Cartland, and Alistair MacLean.
She has over twenty years in the martial arts and holds the rank of Sandan, a third degree black belt, in Aikido.
After a taste of life on both U.S. coasts, she now resides in the beautiful Rocky Mountains with her hero, who is also her best friend and husband. Together they enjoy the open road astride a Harley, visiting museums and exploring ghost towns.
Visit Stanalei at www.stanaleifletcher.com
Thank you for purchasing
this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Dead Reckoning Page 25
