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?!”
“Blame 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.