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“Getting there.”
I surprised her at her college graduation by coming home early and standing at the end of the stage. This crazy girl jumped off the stage into my arms. My baby sister, the architect.
She started working for small firms around the city just as my time in the military was up. Then fucking Greg Johnson came back into my life. He was a pompous asshole who was in charge of another platoon. We casually spoke since our two squads had worked together at times. He was now working for a government contractor who recruited prior service military for jobs. Adjusting to civilian life is not as easy as some might think. The rigid life that we are accustomed to didn’t sit right with the wayward minds of citizens who didn’t care about getting the job done. The “whatever” attitudes of civilians, were always met with a military eye roll. It blew our minds that if they didn’t do their job, it was no big deal. Move on, right? If we didn’t do our job, someone died.
When we were sent overseas for deployment, I was part of planning the travel. Our assignments were mostly to observe and then pinpoint the threat. Before we were ever set to leave, I would help organize the employees’ financial budgets, including what they were going to be paid and how it could affect their families. Insurance and tax forms, all that good stuff. I just had looked over a few of the statements and a logo caught my eye. I kept seeing it in the original documents.
I asked Greg one day, and he laughed. “Oh, that?”
I looked at him, confused. Yeah, douche, that.
“Don’t worry about it. Part of a foundation that keeps us here.”
I tried not to, but curiosity got the better of me. Every time I went home for leave gave me more time to look into the DuPonts. I didn’t understand what their involvement was. I would casually meet up with Greg, and the first time he met Reese, I could see the change in his demeanor. He became more invested in me being a part of his team, but I always declined. I was not a trigger-happy dude. I attended a fundraiser with him and saw that they were trying to raise money for our missions. Money.
Reese came home one day and admitted that she and Greg had been talking. She wasn’t that interested in him, but he offered to give her résumé to a friend who was looking for an architect. Ended up being DuPont. This job would set her up for life and the biggest career move. I encouraged her to go for it and she fought tooth and nail for this job. The pressure and anxiety mounted, so she had to get manicures in order to stop biting her nails. In the meantime, while they preoccupied her with a new job and she distracted Greg, I dug deeper and found the connection to DuPont Enterprises. Hidden assets, the way money had moved around, creating a ticking time bomb of shit. A cover company that claimed to be building wells in countries that needed water. This whole time I worked for them and covered missions. It wasn’t about the extremist; it was about getting people out of certain areas for DuPont to swing in and buy the land up for next to nothing. He would build little sweatshops and offer jobs to struggling families, creating things for his buildings and business. Pieced things together. Fundraisers for this nonprofit foundation went to clearing these towns out one way or another. The money came from all over and it included his own employees. Maybe if I could find a different place to pull money, it could save these villages.
I got home completely wiped with what I had found. I was going to confront Reese and tell her to quit, but that same day she told me about her meeting with Greg. This sack of shit convinced her to give money, part of her retirement fund, to the cover business. It pissed me off beyond measure. I remember screaming, but not sure what I said exactly. I stomped off in anger, ready to burn DuPont down. I couldn’t let them pull her in for this. She fought so hard to do better in this life. I was determined to not allow that to happen.
I received a call from Greg to leave immediately for a job. This was a major threat that needed all hands on deck, and I went to keep up the clueless facade. Couldn’t let Greg see how much I had found. I grabbed my go bag from my car and left for the airport. I needed to distance myself from Reese to get my mind sorted on how to make this next play.
When I arrived, my team of men met me. I watched how they stood around, blindly ready to strike. What I did not expect was for half of the personnel to be sent home the next day. They gathered the small group of us and a few other men who were added at the last minute. During the meeting, they stated that they had just got intel on a terrorist camp. A village that housed some of the top extremists and it needed to go. Greg led the pack that day and told me because of a personnel shortage, I needed to go along. I could feel the setup happening. He was on to me. He asked about Reese, not in a curious way, in a warning way. I found myself pitted between doing the right thing and being a good person versus protecting the only family I had left.
What happened next haunted me. There was no time to warn anyone. There was no time at all. I watched in horror as those men destroyed the town. It happened so fast and I was powerless. I didn’t fire a shot, but even the small detail of my dropping my weapon was enough destruction for me.
I left that mission a different man and spent months and months trying to figure out what to do. Hidden in Reese’s house, I was not ready to face the outside world. One of my episodes left me paralyzed. Reese faced me as I was sitting in the middle of the hallway, blubbering apologies to people who couldn’t hear me. Reese’s big brother came home broken. I cried. For the first time in years, I cried. I openly admitted that I couldn’t save them. Reese started to see a therapist about my PTSD and left hints about a support group she went to. She was sleight of hand, letting me know that it was her intention that I go too. I helped her feel better by attending, but I never went in. The lobby was as far as I could let my body proceed. I waited until she drove off to safely leave.
Now we have Adam. I never expected this man. The week of torture before he approached Reese was a painful release. I happily endured everything he gave me. One, to keep Reese safe. He had been tracking her to get to me. Two, the torture felt needed. My soul craved the idea of an eye for an eye, but I was on the other side of that analogy.
Adam has convinced me that Reese is in excellent hands and is being looked after. A man who truly understands my situation. The night terrors, the constant paranoia, the waking up in a pool of sweat, and forcing myself to live as normally as I can. I’ve woken up to spare clothes, medicine, and water sitting on a bucket next to me. Adam is no longer chaining me to the house, but I have chained my body to this cabin. For the first time in a long time, I can be as messy as I need to be and not have to worry about scaring Reese. I have held these emotions in for far too long. This cabin provides me a place where I can properly sort my feelings and not have to feel bad. Adam gets it.
Currently, I am sitting on the porch of the cabin listening to the crickets chirp as the sun sets in the distance. The swaying of the trees from the breeze that flows through is a simple reminder to breathe. Back and forth, in and out, one breath at a time.
Adam’s car pulls up and he gets out of the car. He looks like he rolled in the dirt and I stand confused.
“My ex is back.” Adam shakes his head. “She is the definition of crazy.”
“They all are.” I snicker.
“She is the kind that a protective order won’t stop. She’s got Reese’s scent and Jessica is on the hunt.”
The fuck. I twist my hands into one another to keep myself from punching Adam or the house. He can see my frustration. It matches him.
“She tried to take us out when we were at the park. That bitch signed her death certificate,” he spits. “I’m making plans. You want in?”
My whole life has been about protecting Reese.
“I’m in.”
CHAPTER 17
SLEEPING BEAUTY
Adam
Kevin is no longer a prisoner of mine. He has created a cell in his head that he is trying to break out of. I haven’t locked him up or told him he had to stay with me. He’s been free to roam about the cabin and just leave. I always return home and find him there on the couch or in the basement, processing the episodes. I can understand why he hasn’t returned to civilian life or to stay with Reese. You become your own worst enemy when life as you know it changes. Your mind creates a fictitious world that is hard to escape from.
The brain, your brain, is a three-pound organ that holds the essentials of who you are. It tells you when to breathe, when to move a body part, creates action and response for the physical body. The heart, your heart, is an organ that beats for life that the brain provides. It fills and releases, circulating a process to keep you moving. The eyes, your eyes, are the windows to the world. They have the biggest job of all. They see all, witness all, look for everything for the brain to process. Tampering with any of these in any form can leave a tidal wave of destruction. The human anatomy is an amazing anomaly that ceases to amaze even the most educated person.
