by Mary Alford
I nodded and looked away for a moment before Doren spotted the tears. “So who will take over Ed’s command?”
Doren chuckled and when I looked at him, I saw the truth.
“You’re looking at him. I’m the new man in charge. Just got the official word tonight. Apparently, the powers that be didn’t want to wait. They’re afraid the events listed in those documents might actually take place.”
“How many casualties did we take tonight?” I asked. I still couldn’t begin to comprehend the enormity of tonight’s attack.
“Half a dozen, at least. But the other side was far worse. The ones who didn’t die in the fighting took their own lives. A few escaped and those are the ones I’m worried about. Still, we broke their backbone tonight. They’ll be regrouping for some time to come.” He stopped and shook his head. “Can you believe after all those years in the field, I’m being called in?”
“You’re going to make a great leader, Doren. I’d be proud to serve under you.”
Doren’s sad smile told me there was more to come. “You won’t have to. It seems all Agency records have mysteriously disappeared along with any record of yours and Roc’s existence. You are both now officially done. It’s over for you both. You’re just a pair of average, run-of-the-mill civilians.”
“But how?” And then it dawned on me. Doren had done this for us.
“Don’t know. Can’t really say. But you’ll soon have nothing to worry about but what to name that baby.”
“Thank you, Doren, but you know there are still dozens of terrorists who know who we are.”
“Yes, I know. That’s why, for a little while, you will be relocated. You’ll have a new identity and we’ll keep a close watch over you. I really think you’re safe this time, Lena. It’s over for you.”
“Thank you so much.” Then something dawned on me. “But how will Roc find me if…” I couldn’t finish that statement because I didn’t feel Roc’s presence anymore.
“He’ll find you, Lena. I’ll make sure of it.”
I smiled at Doren’s assurance. “You’re a good friend, Doren. I’ll never forget that.”
“Lena McClain, you are one extraordinary woman,” he said and smiled at me.
“Will I ever see you again?” I asked because I considered Doren a friend and I’d lost enough of them recently.
“Oh, I’ll never be too far away that you can’t find me.”
“You’ll tell me if you hear anything about…”
His smiled faded and he looked so serious. “You know that I will. No matter what, I’ll always tell you the truth.”
“Where are you taking me?” But the destination no longer seemed important. No matter where I ended up, Doren had given me the chance at a normal life again. I’d seen enough darkness and death to last a lifetime. I craved normalcy more than anything, but I wanted Roc to share it with me.
Please, bring him home to me, I prayed.
I didn’t know what I would find in my new home. Whether Roc would be there waiting for me or whether, in spite of all his assurances otherwise, he had moved on. Maybe I would prove nothing more than a bitter reminder of the past he needed to forget as well.
The sun had just begun to rise on the distant horizon when we reached the outskirts of the small town where Roc and I once stopped for coffee.
“Wait, can we stop for a moment?” I asked when we drew near the small diner where Gladys worked.
“Sure,” Doren said. I read all the questions in his eyes but I couldn’t answer even one of them.
I wasn’t really sure why I had this need to see Gladys again.
Doren and I walked into the diner and we took a seat in the same booth where Roc and I had once sat. When a waitress brought us coffee, I asked her about Gladys. The look on her face told me something had happened that she didn’t want to share.
“She works the late shift,” I persisted, thinking maybe the girl was new and just didn’t know Gladys. “I was in the other night just before closing, and she was here.”
“I know who she is, miss. It’s just that…well, Gladys passed away a few days ago.” Tears filled her eyes before she reached inside her apron and brought out a napkin to wipe them away. “She was my best friend. I still can’t believe she’s gone.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” My words sounded inept and empty. “She was a wonderful lady. She helped me to realize…” I couldn’t finish those words. Couldn’t tell her I would remember everything Gladys said that night for the rest of my life.
“Thank you for saying so, miss.” I could see she didn’t want to talk about her loss any longer. After another moment, she walked away.
We drank our coffee in silence, and I thought about Gladys and her lost love. I wondered if the man she loved and lost ever thought about her, or considered coming back for her.
“Are you okay?” Doren asked and I was surprised to find I was crying silent tears. Remembering Roc and the love we had shared together made me sadder than I’d ever imagined.
I couldn’t answer and he didn’t press. When the waitress returned, I asked her about Gladys’ former boyfriend.
“I don’t think he came to the funeral. I doubt that he even knew about her passing. It had been years since they talked. It’s somewhat sad to think about, isn’t it? I mean, only having one love in your life and giving it up when you were so young. For this?”
I couldn’t find an answer for her. I kept remembering Gladys’ final words to Roc and me.
You don’t let anything come between you two, you hear.
I lifted my hand in a gesture of goodbye before Doren and I left the diner and the memories of Gladys’ tragic love story hung heavy in my heart.
~
I was relocated to a small farming community in Kansas. The CIA wanted to put me in a largely populated city but I’d had enough of the big city life to last me a lifetime.
Doren ended up staying with me for a few days until the agents assigned to me arrived.
During the afternoons we’d sit on the back deck of my small house among the rows and rows of cornfields and talk about our past.
It was during this time that I got to know the real Doren Alderees. He told me his stepfather was the only father he ever really knew.
“I never knew my real father and my mother told me very little about him. She said he was from a wealthy family in Virginia where my mother’s family lived at the time. She was very young when she realized she was pregnant with me. She met my stepfather by accident, literally. His car almost hit her one day. It was love from that moment on.”
“You never tried to find your real father? Did he even know that he’d fathered a child?” I asked because I enjoyed this gentler side of Doren.
“No, my mother never told him. You see, their relationship wasn’t that type. She knew they didn’t have a future from the start.”
“So she married your stepfather before you were born?”
He smiled. “Yes. He knew about the baby, but it didn’t matter to him. That’s just the type of man he is.”
I nodded. “He sounds like a nice man. Does your family know what type of work you do?”
“A little. My stepfather knows most of it, but my mother would only worry, so we both decided the less she knew, the better she would sleep. She thinks I’m in the diplomatic service like my stepfather.”
We sat watching the corn blowing in the warm spring breeze for a moment and then Doren asked, “So how did you figure out Jeremiah wasn’t your brother?”
I smiled, not surprised by the question. In fact, I’d expected it much sooner. “It was the scar. My brother had a very prominent scar on his forehead from a bicycle accident he had as a child. I should have remembered it long before that day—the first time I met him face to face. I guess I was just hoping…”
He grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Yes. He had everyone fooled for a long time. Don’t beat yourself up over this.”
“How long did you know his true identity?�
�
“For a while. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you,” he said when I looked into his eyes. “I wanted to so many times, but I couldn’t. And yes, you’re right, we needed you to believe it was Justin. We needed that connection to him. Lena, Justin is dead.”
Shocked, it hit me that the news wasn’t really surprising. “How…how long?”
“Shortly before your parents started searching for him in North Carolina.”
“How did my brother get involved with the FLA in the first place? Was Jeremiah planning to use my father’s position with the State Department somehow for his own gain?
“No. I realize it would be easier to accept if that were the case, but Jeremiah and Justin’s involvement was merely accidental. Justin was troubled and searching for somewhere to fit in. He was an easy target. Your father knew Roc for years before you met him.” Doren dropped that bombshell on me out of the blue.
I stared at him in disbelief. “What are you talking about? Roc never mentioned knowing my father.”
“I know. Roc didn’t want you thinking he married you for any other reason except that he loved you.”
Tears stung my eyes. Even then, Roc was only thinking of me.
“How did Roc and my father meet?” I forced myself to ask.
“Your father came to him for help in finding Justin. Through Roc’s connections with counterterrorism, he found out what happened to Justin. Apparently, Jeremiah got wind someone might try to get to Justin so he eliminated the problem. I guess Justin was more valuable to him dead than alive. When your parents started nosing around, he got rid of them as well by staging a car accident.”
Horrified, my hand flew to cover my mouth. I couldn’t believe the horrible things Jeremiah had done to promote his reign of terror. My parents were innocent. They’d only wanted to bring their child home.
“And he was hoping to use me to get to Roc. What did Jeremiah have against Roc that he wanted him killed so badly? And don’t say it’s because Roc foiled some of his missions. There’s more to it than that.”
It was a moment before Doren answered. “Yes, you’re right. It became very personal for Jeremiah. Years ago, when Roc was still a rookie, he was responsible for stopping an FLA attack which resulted in the death of Jeremiah’s brother. Since that time, Silvers has vowed to avenge his family’s blood.”
Doren stopped to watch my reaction for a moment before adding, “Don’t blame yourself, Lena. He fooled an awful lot of people. Jeremiah Silvers was good at what he did.”
“That’s certainly true enough. He had me fooled.” I stopped and shook my head. “There’s so much I don’t understand about all of this.”
“I know, and you’re not alone. We’re still trying to fit all the pieces together. It could take weeks—possibly months even—to figure it all out. You need to know one thing, Lena, and that’s Roc was always on your side.”
My head swirled with information. “I can’t believe Ed’s own daughter was the mole all along. Hiding right in front of us in plain sight. That spoiled-rich-girl act of hers had us all fooled. Did she kill her own father?”
“Yes,” Doren said slowly. “I got the official word the day we left D.C. Ed knew about Becca. He figured it out, but was hoping to contain it. I guess he wasn’t counting on his daughter being so ruthless. She certainly was the last person anyone would have suspected, including her own father.”
Epilogue
Each day after Doren left, I’d sit out on the deck of my small farmhouse and search for any piece of information from Roc. It had been almost a week since I’d left D.C. and yet there was still no word from Roc or Doren. But I was holding Doren to his promise. I trusted him to tell me what had happened to Roc no matter how bad the news might be.
And then one day it happened.
I checked my e-mail and found a single note from an unknown address. There was no name, just a few simple words.
You were right. God does still answer prayers. He answered mine and let me live. You know, the sun never sets in Alaska. There is no darkness and no danger here. It’s a great place to raise a family. I love you. I miss you. Come soon.
The minute I read those words, I knew they were from Roc. He was okay. And I was going to be with him again.
The End
About The Author
Mary Alford grew up in a small Texas town famous for, well not much of anything, really. Being the baby of the family and quite a bit younger than her brothers and sisters, Mary had plenty of time to entertain herself. Making up stories seem to come natural to her.
As a pre-teen, Mary discovered Christian Suspense and knew instinctively that was what she wanted to do with her over-active imagination.
She wrote her first novel as a teen, (it's tucked away somewhere never to see the light of day), but never really pursued her writing career seriously until a few years later, when she wrote her first romance and was hooked.
Today, Mary still lives in Texas, and still writes about romance. In fact, she can't think of anything else she'd rather do.
You can find out more about Mary’s work on her website, www.maryalford.net. And be sure to check out these books by Mary.
Saving Agent Tanner – Covert Justice Series
Every Beat – Covert Justice Series
Framed For Murder – A Scorpion Team Series Coming soon from Love Inspired Suspense
Deadly Memories – A Scorpion Team Series from Love Inspired Suspense
Rocky Mountain Pursuit - A Scorpion Team Series from Love Inspired Suspense
Forgotten Past – From Love Inspired Suspense
Rescue Me – A Second Chance, Montana Romance
Marry Me – A Second Chance, Montana Romance
Dear Me – A Second Chance, Montana Romance
Love Me Tender – A Second Chance, Montana Romance
A Family For Christmas – Treasure Of The Rockies Series
The Prodigal’s Redemption – Treasure Of The Rockies Series
Montana Skies - Treasure Of The Rockies Series
