Find A Way Or Make One (19 page)

Damn,
damn, and double damn. The fact that he could think that of me and still claim to love me makes me realize something; he is either lying or not the man that I thought he was. How can anyone with the slightest moral compass say they love a child abuser?
“You know what
Wyatt? FUCK YOU!!! You think you can come to me with this condescending act about how you love me,
even though
I rap
ed a child???
Marilyn Monroe was right. If you can’t handle me at what you
think
is my worst, you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.”

I turn around and run back to the house, feeling the final nail in the coffin of Wyatt and I pierce my heart.

***

Once I get back to my house, I notice the four rental vehicles that currently belong to Cale, Ken, Sunny, and Chip and I am pissed. I can’t handle putting on a dog and pony show for them right now. When I walk through the door, the scene that meets me has me instantly alert.

Mav was pacing up and down the living room and Cian and Seamus are sitting between Cale and Ken, and they have been crying. No they haven’t been crying, they still are balling their eyes out.
“What is going on?”
I move to squat in front of my two youngest sons who fall instantly into my arms.

Cale finally notices me. He and Ken share a look and get up to give me a second with my boys before he walks back over to the couch to get my attention. The look on his face as he walked over to me told me something was really wrong; really, really wrong. Once he was standing right in front of me he gently grabbed my arm and led me into the kitchen.

It was only after he went to the sink and turned the water on that he began talking in a low, hushed voice. “There was a home invasion Kye and Tiarnan was taken.”

My heart fell to the floor. I was sure I hadn’t heard right. “What? What do you mean “taken” Cale? You don’t mean…?”

Cale pulls me into a tight hug. “No. I don’t mean taken like taken from
this mortal coil, I mean taken like kidnapped or abducted. Good God little girl, I am sorry.”

As I work at controlling my breathing, I ask Cale to tell me exactly what happened. “About twenty minutes ago, Seamus called my c
ell and told me he needed us. That
some bad men had broken in, hurt Mav, and taken Tiarnan. Ken and I busted are asses to get here. So what’s the plan? How do we get him out?”

“First, who has him?”

Cale reached to his back pocket and pulled a folded piece of paper out. He very hesitantly held it out to me. The note is short and simple, but still caused my blood to turn cold.

Kyliana,

You made a deal with me five years ago: A life for a life. I have come to collect. I will only let MY son go when you pay your debt.

Z

Oh my God!!! Zandoville is back. How do I get my son back from a man who wants me dead? Five years ago I made a deal with him that if he let Wyatt go I would take his place. There had never been any intention for me to stay, just buy the platoon enough time to get Wyatt out. Now I have to find a way to keep all my sons safe, regardless of what it costs.

25

“Love always involves responsibility, and love always involves sacrifice.”

William Barclay

Cale

I have always been fascinated by Kye. I remember the first time that I met her was when I got back from a mission that half my platoon and I had been sent on with Toby. Joint ops with the DEA were fairly common, given that we were part of the team that
mainly handled conflicts of interest to the U. S. in Latin America. I had become friends with Toby during our op, and when he asked me to go home to have dinner with his family when we got back to the States, I readily accepted. At the time I needed a distraction from the “work hard, play hard” life of a Seal, and his invitation had provided the perfect opportunity.

I was expecting to meet his wife and maybe one or two kids, so when he introduced me to his best friend Kye, I was completely blown away. I mean I could tell they were close, but I had never really thought that a guy and a girl could be “just friends.” When Kye had brought out a six month old Seamus, and I realized that Kye was helping Toby raise him after Seamus’ mother had died during childbirth I had thought that she must be secretly in love with Toby and grasping at straws to remain close to him.

By the end of the evening, I realized how wrong I was. Kye looked at Toby like he was her best friend, and
I could tell they shared a special bond; but I couldn’t pick up on any romantic overtones radiating from Kye. Toby; now he was another matter entirely.

He never allowed Kye to pick up on it, but I caught him a couple of times that night staring at her when she wasn’t looking, and I don’t know if even he realized the longing
that had been on his face.
At first I believed that Kye was using Toby. Leading him on and faking her affection for his son so that she could be taken care of, but I soon realized that
was so untrue it was laughable. Why would a young, beautiful woman who was intelligent enough to have earned
an MBA from Oxford, was well versed in Spanish, French, Arabic, Swahili, Anatolian Turkish, and Hebrew, that had passed the FBI’s BAU program in flying colors need someone to take care of her?
After one evening in Kye’s company, I could see how genuine Kye was. She loved Seamus; you could tell by just by watching her interact with Seamus.
I became friends with the two of them and became an “uncle” to Seamus, and later Cian and Tiarnan as well. I had helped Toby get rid of Christien on some of the countless times that he had shown up to try to win back Kye, and I had listened to Toby drown
out his worry about Kye getting over the shit in her past enough to realize that Toby was in love with Kye; even if he hadn’t owned up to it yet to himself or anyone else.

And I could tell that she loved Toby; she might not be in love with him, but she did love him. That was why
it had shocked me when a couple of months later she had showed up in Peru with this idea on how to get Wyatt out of Zandoville’s dungeon. I didn’t understand why she would do this, until she told me that she knew Wyatt, and didn’t want him hurt.
I would have questioned her feelings for Wyatt, if Toby hadn’t moved
in with a ruthless determination to get Kye to begin a romantic relationship when we got home. Less than six months later, Toby was gone, and Kye never seemed to look at anyone with any kind of interest again.

But through all the time that I had known Kye, and all the surprising truths about her I uncovered, I have
always been astounded by the single minded determination she shows when protecting those she loves and cares for, and this meeting tonight is no different. After
reading the letter from Zandoville, she had a small breakdown for a couple of minute
s. She had then picked herself up, told the boys she would get their brother back, but that she needed them to go with their
“Unca Rash”
to see their grandparents. After they had left,
with Mav acting as an extra bodyguard, she said she had to be alone for a while to plan, but once she had a plan, she would call us.

And now, Chip, Crow, Sunny, Ken and I were walking into her house to find out what we were going to do. The fact that five Seals had never even tried to help Kye plan the op was a testament to her tactical skills. We all knew Kye was one of the best, and we all knew she wouldn’t let anything happen to any of her sons.

We all sa
t down at the kitchen table as Kye proceeded to tell us what was going to happen. “Ok, I have been able to uncover where Zandoville’s compound is, and acquire satellite and infrared images of it as well.
In three hours, we are going to wire the main house on the compound with enough explosives to send everyone in it to hell and back and back to hell again. Then I am going to go in and try to make a deal with Zandoville; Tiarnan’s life for mine. Now I know he won’t go for it, but he will use the opportunity to bend me to his will in front of his followers. After two hours you and the guys
will go in and extract Tiarnan. Once you are all safely off the compound you will blow the fuck out of it.”

This sounded like a good plan; there was just one thing missing. “Ok, so far so good, but how do we get you out?”

I knew something was wrong when Kye refused to look me in the eye. “You and I are going to talk about that plan while everyone else goes to get everything we need ready.” As the guys quickly left, I
grabbed Kye, by the arms and looked at her until she looked at me. That is when I knew.
“You don’t have a plan to get yourself out do you? Damn Kye, you can’t just plan to die, and not expect any of us to do anything!”

Kye quickly walked to look out the window over the sink. I could tell her shoulders were shaking, but I couldn’t decide if it was from crying or trying to get her breathing under control. After a long silence she said in a soft voice, completely devoid of emotion, “To make sure he never bothers any of my boys again
, I have to be there to watch him burn.
I
have to
make sure he is dead. This is the only way it works.
He will be expecting me to be quickly extracted. It is what we did last time.
I have to stay in long enough to make
sure that he and all his minions are in the main house to see my downfall, and the only way that I can do that is let him kill me.
This is the only way.
Please don’t do anything that
will put any of my sons in jeopardy.”

I am pissed. Not because I know she is right; she is, and even if it sucks I have to accept it. But mainly I am pissed because I know that if she hadn’t gone to save Wyatt, extracting her
after we get her son
would have been a lot more possible. “God damn that mother fucker straight to hell!”

Kye looks at me with a sad look on her face, “Hopefully tonight that is exactly what I will do.”

I stop the erratic pacing that I have fallen into; “No not Zandoville, even though I know there is a special place in hell with Hitler getting ready
to push pineapples up his ass waiting just for him. No, I mean Wyatt. If you hadn’t gone to Peru to save him, we could hav
e used the plan we used before and you
both
could be safely extracted.”

Kye
turns to me and smiles. She quickly reaches out to hug me. When she begins speaking, I can barely make out what she says; it is muffled by my chest. “First; thanks for the
Little Nicky
reference. I needed
that. And second; don’t be mad
at Wyatt. Barclay had it right.
‘Love always involves responsibility, and love always involves sacrifice.’
I love Wyatt, so I did what I had to do to make him safe. I love all my sons, so I will do what I have to do to make them safe as well. Now go get ready. Wheels up in an hour, and I have a letter to write before we leave.”

As I walk out the door I can’t help but to shake my head in wonder. Maybe if I had had a little of Kye’s ability to love and give it all for love I wouldn’t have lost the best thing in my life.

Once I reach my car, I notice a figure standing a few hundred yards away. At first I am tense, and reach for my gun, but when I can make out who it is, I know having my hands on a gun right now wouldn’t be a good idea; why tempt my self-control that way?

As he gets closer, I can make out his face. He is wrecked, and he deserves to be. “Look at me and know Fucktard, none of us have the time to deal with your shit. Leave.”

Wyatt looks down at the ground and then slides his
gaze to the house I just left. “I wanted to give us another shot. I love her, and all she had to do was stay away from the kid she fucked. I would have loved
both her boys, because they were a part of her, but I couldn’t stand to see him and think of them together, so I told her she had to stay away from him. She wouldn’t do it.”

As soon as I hear him say, ‘both her boys,’
I knew he didn’t realize that Tiarnan was her son also. But right at this moment, I could care less what he thought. Because of him;
because of her
saving
him, I knew she was going to her own execution tonight. All I could think of to say was “Fuck you
and
your dumbass.” Then I pushed him away, got in my car and left. I couldn’t put up with his whiny bullshit when I was going to lose one of my best friends tonight.

26

“I have more important things to do.”

Kye

Kye

As I finish my letter to Tiarnan, I can’t help but let a wave of sadness take me under for a moment. This was not supposed to happen.
I was supposed to grow old and watch my boys grow into good men; not have to trade my life for one of my sons.
I wasn’t going to see my boys grow up, and I wasn’t going to be there to protect them. At least I would be able to neutralize one
potential threat before I go.

I really don’t understand how Zandoville found me. I thought my cover had been air tight;
I know that I hadn’t gone to any of his or his minions typical hangout spots. I had stayed out of the news; it just didn’t make sense.

Yeah, I was supposed to be doing a little clandestine recon to see if Zandoville was making progress in his quest for European domination of the Cocaine market while helping out with the training exercise, but I had been careful. He shouldn’t have seen me. As I methodically get ready for tonight, I can’t keep from racking my brain to see where I could have possible have messed up. That is when it hits me; the bitch with Wyatt.

I remember the day that she came to get Wyatt and the shock she had shown when she had seen Tiarnan.
She
was the one; the woman that had used my boy to get back at his father.
She
was the one who had made him believe that Cian was his son. That fucking bitch!!!