Truth In The Lie (The Leonidas Corporation Book 2)

by Tarina Deaton

  She shook her head. “No. There was a raid on the castle immediately after we got you and Michael out. She stayed behind to coordinate that, I think.”

  “And you and Devon pretended to be a couple?”

  She took a large gulp of her tea and made a sound of uh-huh.

  Braedon studied her for several moments, and she tried not to fidget. “And it was just pretend?”

  Her heart fluttered in her chest. Wasn’t that the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question because she had no idea. They hadn’t had a chance to talk since they’d arrived in Germany. Really, since they’d left their room in the castle.

  She didn’t want it to be pretend, but she also didn’t want to pour her heart out to her brother without the chance to pour it out to Devon first. Maybe not pour…maybe trickle. That way, if he didn’t feel the same, she could turn off the emotional tap and chalk it up to a good time had by all.

  “Of course, it was pretend. It’s not like you can develop a relationship with a stranger in less than a week—especially under those circumstances.” Maybe she was laying it on a little thick.

  “Uh-huh.”

  He didn’t believe her, but he wasn’t going to push the issue. At least not right then. He’d bring it up down the road when she least expected it in order to ambush an honest answer out of her.

  Stupid twin.

  “So you and Devon were pretending to be a couple. How did you find me?” he asked.

  Addison froze, a fry halfway to her mouth. “You don’t…?” She dropped the fry back in the container. “You don’t remember seeing me?”

  His brows drew together. “When?”

  “She took us down there—all of us—to see you and Michael. A preview of the merchandise is what she called it. You were sitting on the bed in the cell. You looked really out of it, but you stared directly at me.”

  Braedon’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t remember most of it. I remember seeing the charges in the house and telling everyone to get out. I remember the explosion throwing me. I remember the heat.” He ran his fingers over his eyebrows, as if making sure they were still there. “I remember a truck and a boat, but every time my mind started to clear and I could think, they drugged me.”

  She scooted her chair closer and took one of his hands in hers. He dropped his head to her shoulder, and she rested her head against the top of his.

  “I think there was another guy with us at the beginning,” he whispered.

  “One of your teammates?”

  “Yeah. But I’m not sure—it’s all fuzzy.”

  “Have you talked to Michael about it? Asked him what he remembers?”

  His head shook under hers.

  “I think you need to,” she said. “Maybe he can provide pieces you’re missing, and you can provide pieces he’s missing. The shrinks at Walter Reed will probably want to talk to you together at some point, plus all the debriefing you’re going to do.”

  He lifted his head from her shoulder. “You’re right. I’ll talk to him on the plane.”

  “What is it?” He was leaving something out.

  “If there was a third guy with us…where is he now? Was he given to someone else? Was he killed? Should his family know?” He shook his head. “Would they want to know?”

  “That’s a tough call,” she said. “It would give them hope, but it might be false hope. Tell the debriefers and let them decide. At the very least, they can change his status to missing in action instead of killed in action.”

  Braedon bumped her with his shoulder. “How’d you get so smart?”

  She smirked. “I got all the good genes.”

  “That’s because I got all the good looks—I had to leave you with something.”

  Addison stuck out her tongue and crossed her eyes. He retaliated by poking her in the ribs.

  A knock on the door interrupted their burgeoning wrestling match. “Am I interrupting?” A woman in uniform stood in the doorway, a stethoscope hanging around her neck. One of the nurses stood behind her, trying not to laugh.

  “Hey, Doc,” Braedon said. “She’s picking on me. Beating up on me when I’m weak and defenseless.”

  The woman came into the room. “I’m sure that’s exactly what happened. Up on the bed so we can get your vitals and go over some things for your transfer.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He stood and hopped up on the bed.

  She held out her hand to Addison. “Lieutenant Colonel Justice. I was on leave through yesterday so I wasn’t here when you arrived.”

  Addison grinned, thinking about when the doctor would have been Major Justice and how kick-ass that would have been. “Addison Foster. That one’s sister.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Colonel Justice said. “I heard about what you did. It’s truly inspiring.”

  “I—” Addison blushed, at a loss for words. What was she supposed to say to that?

  Colonel Justice smiled. “Better get used to it. People are going to want to talk to you as much as they’re going to want to talk to your brother.”

  “I didn’t really do anything.”

  “Bullshit!” Braedon said.

  She shot him a dirty look.

  “He’s right,” Colonel Justice said. “You didn’t give up. You didn’t take no for an answer. And then you traveled halfway around the world and rescued your brother from a human trafficking ring. I’d say that’s more than not doing anything.”

  “Uh…well…thank you. I had a lot of help.”

  She smiled. “You’re welcome.”

  “I’m…gonna go…do something else while you poke him.” Addison pointed toward the door. “Feel free to poke him hard.”

  “I heard that,” Braedon said.

  The doctor laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Addison yawned and rubbed her palms over her eyes. The worst part of military flights were the ridiculous show times. Why did they need to be at the terminal two hours before the flight? At least they were in the VIP lounge instead of the regular waiting area.

  She looked up when the door opened. Paige entered the lounge, followed by Graham. The door closed behind them. It was just them.

  Her heart plunged, and that uncomfortable sense of disappointment roiled her stomach. She plastered on a big smile.

  “Hey. What are you guys doing here?”

  “We’re on our way to the airport and wanted to say goodbye one last time,” Paige said.

  Addison stood and hugged her. “Thank you for everything. I know I’ve said it already, but there’s no way I’ll ever be able to thank you enough.”

  Paige squeezed her and leaned back. “You know…since you’ll officially be out of the Air Force in a couple of weeks, TLC is hiring. I can put in a good recommendation.”

  Addison laughed. “Thanks, but after talking to Braedon this afternoon, I think I’m going back to school to get my doctorate and actually put my degree to use.”

  “What’s your degree in?”

  “Psychology.”

  “Well, you’ve seen how crazy we all are,” Paige said.

  Addison laughed again. “Fair point. Are the rest of the guys stopping by?” She didn’t want to come right out and ask where Devon was.

  “They left about two hours ago. They didn’t say goodbye?”

  He left. He was gone, and he didn’t even bother to say goodbye. She fought to control her breathing. “No, but they might have stopped here and didn’t realize we were in the VIP lounge.”

  Paige rubbed her shoulder. “I’m sure that was it.” Yeah…she didn’t believe it any more than Addison did.

  Graham pushed Paige out of the way and pulled Addison in for a huge bear hug, lifting her off her feet. It was exactly what she needed at that moment. Setting her back down, he said, “Take care of yourself. Call us if you need anything. Anything, Addison—I’m not kidding.”

  “I know. Thank you so much.”

  He kissed her on the forehead. “Let us know when you get to D.C.”

&
nbsp; “I will.”

  Paige and Graham said their goodbyes to Braedon and left with a wave.

  Addison took a deep, shaky breath and sat back down. Guess that answered her question whether Devon felt the same way. If he did, he wouldn’t have ghosted.

  Chapter 24

  “According to an official Navy spokesman, both Senior Chief Petty Officer Braedon Foster and Petty Officer First Class Michael Drake are recovering with their families after their surprise rescue.”

  The anchor looked at her co-anchor. “It really is a miraculous event, Jeff. I can only imagine the relief these families are feeling.”

  “And I understand there’s a rumor that the sister of one of the SEALs took part in the rescue,” the male co-anchor said.

  “That’s true. Senior Chief Foster’s sister is an Air Force officer and was involved in the rescue. I think this nation owes this brave woman a huge debt of gratitude.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Addison rolled her eyes and turned off the T.V., tossing the remote onto the table next to her.

  She flipped aimlessly through a magazine while waiting for Braedon to return to his room. After a week of tests, debriefs, and psych appointments, they were finally moving him to out-patient treatment. Which meant he was moving into her apartment until the Navy figured out what they were going to do with him.

  Throwing the magazine aside, she picked up her phone and opened the contacts app, scrolling to Devon’s number. She stared at it, once again trying to talk herself into calling him. But she hated being the type of woman who couldn’t take a hint, and what bigger hint was there than walking away without saying goodbye?

  She hadn’t said goodbye either, but she’d figured there was time, that there would be a chance—either at the hospital or the terminal—and she’d been wrong. So many should haves played through her mind. Should have been more proactive. Should have taken the initiative. Should have called him and asked to see him.

  She should do it now, but she was too much of a chickenshit. At least this way she could pretend there was a sliver of a chance he’d call her or…something. She had a glimmer of hope.

  Her last senior NCO liked to say that the answer was always no if you didn’t ask the question. If she called and asked the question and he told her he wasn’t interested, that hope would die, and that would hurt. Bad.

  Addison touched the “edit” link. She should delete his contact. She should accept that what happened in Crimea stayed in Crimea and move on.

  “Hey.”

  She jumped and dropped her phone, fumbling it a few times until it hit the floor. Thank God for her protective phone case.

  “You good?” Braedon asked.

  “Yeah. You startled me.” She shoved her phone in her purse. “All done?”

  “Do you know how much paperwork is involved in coming back from the dead? A lot. More than there is to join the military. But yes, I’m done until next week when I have appointments for half the day,” he said.

  “At least it’s only one day a week now.”

  “True.” He grabbed his small duffle bag from the end of the bed. “Did you know Mom and Dad sold all my stuff?”

  She pressed her lips together. “It was one of those things we argued about, yes. Mom kept a lot of your personal stuff though—pictures, awards, and some other stuff. It’s in boxes in the garage.

  “What brought that up?” She followed him out of the room and down the hall, waving to the nurses at the desk as they passed.

  “I’m going to need to buy a car. I don’t want to take the metro right now with my face all over the news and I can’t keep relying on you for a ride.” They entered the elevator, and he pushed the button for the ground floor. “Do you want to go to the USO for lunch? I think they have Subway today.”

  “Sure.” She looked at him and tilted her head.

  “What? Do I have something on my face?” He brushed at his nose.

  “Can you buy a car if you’re officially dead?”

  “Ha. Ha. My resurrection should be official in a day or two.” The doors opened, and he poked her in the back. “Go.”

  “You can borrow my truck. The only thing I have planned next week is to go to an informational session at the college.”

  “Have you officially applied yet?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Not yet. I want to attend the session first. Do you want to drive or walk?”

  “Let’s walk. It’s only five minutes, and then we can work off our lunch on the way back to the parking garage.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  They set off down the sidewalk, Addison lengthening her strides to keep up with Braedon. Finally, she said, “Okay, but you have to walk slower—my legs aren’t as long as yours.”

  He slung an arm over her shoulders. “Sorry, I forgot how short you are.”

  “Quit it, before people think we’re a couple.” She stabbed her finger into his side, getting him to flinch and let go.

  They’d always been mistaken for boyfriend and girlfriend as teenagers. One year, as a joke, their mom had gotten them shirts that said “he’s my brother” and “she’s my sister,” except they wore them whenever they went somewhere together.

  Braedon slowed to an easy stroll and walked the rest of the way in silence. When they arrived at the USO, he held the door for her.

  “By the way, Mom and Dad are here.”

  Addison stopped and slowly turned to face him. “You jerk face. You set me up.”

  “I had to, Addy. Mom said you wouldn’t take her calls.”

  “I’m still angry with them.” She knew she sounded like a petulant child, but her parents’ lack of faith had hurt.

  He grasped her shoulders. “I know, but I’m going to be the asshole who plays the guilt card. I almost died, Addy. I almost disappeared into God only knows where. It puts things into perspective. Life is too short for this kind of bullshit.”

  She folded her arms and looked away. “It’s very hard to trust them, Brae.”

  “I’m not asking you to trust them—you have me for that. I’m asking you to accept their apology. For me.”

  She couldn’t ignore her parents forever. As much as she hated to admit he was right, and she would never say it out loud, he had a point.

  “Fine. But if Dad’s drunk, the answer’s no.”

  “I’ll give you that, but Mom said he’s back in AA. And he’s cut Uncle Steve out. Told him if he couldn’t support his sobriety, Dad couldn’t be around him.”

  Her eyebrows rose. “Really?”

  “Yeah.” He spun her around and pushed her forward. “Go give Mom a hug before she loses it.”

  She lost it anyway as soon as Addison hugged her. Her mom buried her face in Addison’s hair and cried hard.

  “I’m so sorry we didn’t believe you,” she sobbed.

  “It’s okay, Mom.”

  “It’s not! You tried to tell us, and we didn’t listen. We could have lost him forever!”

  One day, in the far distant future, Addison would sit down with a theoretical physicist and unpack the paradox of the possibility of losing someone you thought you’d already lost, but today all she could do was hold her mom and assure her it would be all right.

  “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Braedon asked as they walked back to her truck.

  “What? Lunch?” She shrugged. “It was fine.”

  “I meant Mom and Dad.”

  “Oh. It was good. I would have gotten there eventually,” she said.

  “So I was right,” he said.

  “You were…not incorrect.”

  He wrapped his arm around the back of her neck, pulling her into a loose headlock. “It kills you to admit that I’m right, doesn’t it?”

  She dug a finger into his ticklish spot to force him to let go.

  He changed tactics and wrapped both arms around her, trapping her arms next to her body. “Say I’m right.”

  “No.” She lunged ahead as he started to drag behind her
.

  “Say it!” His arms slid down to her waist, and she freed her arms, pushing at his.

  “No. Let go!” she said, laughing.

  “Saaaayyyy iiiiit.” He slid all the way down until he lay on the ground, his arms wrapped around her ankles.

  She stepped out of the circle of his arms. “What are you? Twelve?”

  He popped up and grabbed his bag. “Yes. Always. Now that I have you laughing, tell me why you’re so mopey.”

  “I’m not mopey.” She dug her key fob out of her purse and unlocked her truck.

  He tossed his duffle into the back seat and climbed in. “Sis, you’re so mopey you could get a job at Disney as the eighth dwarf.”

  She glared at him as she pushed the ignition button.

  “Spill it. Is it Devon?”

  Something must have shown on her face because he reached over and pressed the ignition button, turning off the truck.

  “Come on, tell me.”

  Addison leaned back against the seat and slouched down. “It wasn’t…pretend. At least I didn’t think it was.”

  “What happened?”

  She shook her head and shrugged. “Nothing. Nothing happened. I didn’t see him or talk to him after the first day at the hospital. I kept expecting to run into him, but I never did, and then he didn’t come to the terminal to say goodbye.

  “I thought…I thought we had a connection. I thought it was more than physical. I didn’t have to tone it down, or hold back, or minimize my personality. I was able to be who I am without worrying about some guy’s fragile ego, and it was great. I thought everything was great, but now it’s…nothing.”

  “Have you tried calling him and asking what the fuck?” he asked.

  She shook her head, picking at her cuticle.

  “Why not?”

  “I think not knowing is better than knowing for sure.”

  “What if you’re wrong, and it’s a big miscommunication? What if he’s thinking the same thing and trying to get up the nerve to call you to ask what the fuck?”

  “What if he’s not?”

  “Then he’s a stupid fucker who doesn’t deserve you anyway. But the Devon I know isn’t a stupid fucker. He’s a fucker who’s done stupid shit, but he’s not a stupid fucker. You owe it to yourself to find out for sure, Addison.”