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28
LIAM
THE ROOM IS dark, and the light hanging above me gives me a killer headache. I can’t tell how long I’ve been in here, but the air has become stale and the coffee in the cup that rests beside my hand has long since grown cold.
They told me it wouldn’t be long before the director would be in to talk to me, but it’s been hours, and at this point I don’t even know what day it is.
I’m still wearing the tux I wore to our wedding—our fake wedding—and Ford’s blood is still splattered across it. They told me he would be okay, but I couldn’t see him as he’s being held in the hospital and my free will is no longer an option, at least not for the time being.
The light catches on the gold band that wraps around my left ring finger. I stare at it and then feel a slow smile spread across my lips. I close my eyes and picture the moment when she walked down the aisle. I’d never admit it out loud, but my heart was beating so hard I was worried everyone in the room could hear it.
When she stepped up next to me and placed her hands in mine, it felt so real. Everything about it was so natural, and for the first time in my life, I knew I could see myself with her for real, long term. All those words I’d said before about being with her, having a normal life and normal jobs and real, normal dates—they all suddenly become a clear vision in my head.
I pictured us moving in together and walking along the streets in whatever city we ended up in. I saw us arguing over what meals to eat, what food to buy, what kind of furniture we should put in our house, even though I couldn’t care less about all that as long as I am with her. As long as I can wake up to her in the morning and see her face, I don’t care what I do any other time. I don’t care where we live or what we do; I just need us to be doing it together.
When she said I do, my heart about burst from the joy I felt. I knew when I said it to her, I meant it. When I slipped that ring on her finger, I was really committing myself as her husband.
It was real for me.
The fact that she is God knows where right now, spending our wedding night alone, makes my chest ache. She deserves better than that, better than the FBI saying, Have a nice life.
She deserves better than me, but I am going to do everything I can to make sure I give her the life she’s always dreamed of.
The door finally opens and Hayes walks in. He looks as worn out as I probably do, and it’s not a good sign that the stack of paperwork he’s carrying is a mile high.
“You’ve gotten yourself into quite the situation, Stokes.”
“Yes sir.” I learned a long time ago that treating him with respect goes much further than being a cocky son of a bitch.
“We’ve reviewed everything you’ve tracked for the last few years, and…” I know everything I’ve given them will show the truth, but my breathing still pauses, waiting for him to sentence me. “It checks out.” He finally looks at me and gives a smirk.
“Any idea how they kept finding Margaret?”
“Yeah, actually, turns out your little theory that someone in the FBI was in on it was actually true.”
My eyes widen slightly, and I try to quiet the rage inside me. “Who?” My voice is hard, and I wait for him to tell me one of my worst nightmares has come true.
“I don’t know if you know him. His name was Thomas Perk, and he was working directly under Agent James. She’s pretty pissed about it—punched him in the face when we brought him in.”
“So he’s in custody.”
“Dumbass was at the chapel with his new buddies.”
Fucking idiot. I grit my teeth before I lose my shit. I hate that it’s so believable that one of our own was behind helping the Russians run their business, that he was feeding them everything they needed in order to operate quietly and not let me get the jump on them.
“Where’s Margaret?”
Hayes looks at me as he contemplates his answer. “She’s on her way home.”
I deflate slightly and look back down at the table. It’s not like I thought they’d have her outside the door waiting for me, but sending her home sucks. I won’t be able to see her for a long time.
“What about her record, everything that’s happened?”
“You think she’ll tell people?” His brows crease with worry, and I shake my head.
“Nah, but I do think this shit on her record would make her life harder than it needs to be.”
“Her record is clean.”
