Authors: MJ Eason
We’d spend our days talking about our pasts. During the afternoons we’d sit on the back deck of my small house among the rows and rows of cornfields.
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 told me 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?”
“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?”
“Yes. He knew about the baby, but it didn’t matter to him. That’s just the type of man he is.”
“Does your family know what type of work you do?”
“Some. 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…”
“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 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. Rainie, Justin has been dead for years.”
“How…how long?” I asked, not really surprised by the news.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
“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, Rainie. He fooled an awful lot of people. Jeremiah Silvers was good at what he did.”
“That’s certainly true enough. He had me fooled. Oh, Doren, 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, Rainie. Roc was always on your side.”
“I can’t believe Ed’s own daughter was the mole all along. That spoiled-rich-girl act of hers had us all fooled. Did she kill her own father?”
“Yes. I got the official word the day we left D.C. Ed knew about Lissa. 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.”
A few days later, Doren left me. He promised to let me know the minute news of Roc came in.
There wasn’t much time to say all the things I wanted to say to him before he left. I couldn’t seem to find the words, but I think he understood.
“It’s okay, Rainie. We’ll talk some other time, I promise.”
“Can I ask a favor of you?” We stood next to the car and I couldn’t let go of his hand.
“You know you can ask me anything.”
“Will you call Margaret for me? She must be going out of her mind with worry by now.”
“Of course. I’ll let her know when she can contact you again.” Doren kissed my cheek and then left me to what felt like a future filled with nothing but regret and uncertainty.
Each day, 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 from Doren. 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.
The sun never sets in Alaska. There is no more darkness and no more danger. A great place to raise a family. 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.
I found myself smiling as I went back inside the house and started packing. I’d need to find my warmest coat. There might not be darkness in Alaska but there were mountains and cold.
While I still didn’t know what lay ahead for Roc and me, I did know he was alive and he wanted me with him. I could only pray that this time it meant forever. No more secrets, no more shadows. No more past.
Perhaps this time, The Agency had set us free of its entanglements and we could live our lives out together as husband and wife. Mother and father. Finally free of the shadows that had clouded our happiness for so long.
While no one ever really leaves The Agency, sometimes, if you’re lucky, The Agency lets you go.
The End
Publisher’s Note
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MJ Eason 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 sister, MJ had plenty of time to entertain herself. Making up stories seem to come natural to her. As a pre-teen, MJ discovered romance novels and knew instinctively that was what she wanted to do with her overactive 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 romantic comedy and was hooked. Today, MJ still lives in Texas, and still writes about romance. In fact, she can’t think of anything else she’d rather do.