Page 16 of Securing Samantha
“Maybe it’s for the best. You wouldn’t like who you see,” he threw back.
“I don’t know, but I don’t like what I see now.” She turned and walked into the house, leaving the groceries on the deck.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Whiskey tromped back to his cabin. What right did she have to feel angry? She didn’t know what it felt like fighting dogs for food. Getting bit in the process. Listening to the screams of women and the sudden silence after a barrage of gunfire. Lives cut short for the enjoyment of monsters. He cowered in the corner as they dragged him from his space. They burned his feet, beat him, strapped him to a pole and stripped the flesh from his back. He slammed the door and made his way to the refuge of his closet to shut out all the noise.
He slung his arm over his head as if to ward off the memories flooding his mind. The first six months he waited for his team. Leo never left a man behind. He clung to the visions of his wife and the child he never met. He prayed she knew how much he willed himself to endure to fight his way back to her. When a year rolled around, and they starved him to the brink of death and laughed when he woke to cry out to let him die. He became a game. He vowed each time to refuse to give them the pleasure of fighting and he willed his bag of bones to let go. Each time, he opened his eyes, and cried out at his body’s betrayal.
She didn’t understand. Did she want to hear how he suffered while she lived in the serenity of the mountains, oblivious to what he suffered?
His heart pounded. The anger built in his body like a pressure cooker ready to explode. Stepping out of his safe place, he paced. Thoughts raced through his mind. Something niggled in his brain, he needed to call Leo. No. The team and Leo mentioned working on an assignment. They didn’t need to run to his rescue.
He walked into the kitchen to drink a glass of water. The bag of tea he purchased sat on the counter taunting him. Whiskey and Sunshine his ass. He grabbed the bag and ripped it open and threw it against the wall. Tea exploded all over the room.
He rounded the corner of the structure. Olaf was in trouble. Ash stood staring as he stopped. The world exploded as he leapt on top of Olaf to protect him from the blast. The moment seemed suspended as he flew in the air. He saw Olaf’s body, realizing his rescue came too late. His friend lay lifeless on the ground. Ash stared in shock. Someone stood next to him. His body and build appeared familiar, but Whiskey tried to place him. He knew the situation turned dire. He felt true fear for the first time. It wasn’t for him. His last thoughts before the rubble covered him remained on Sunshine and his son. Did he prepare her to live a life without him?
He knew now how she handled his passing. She went on with life, raised their son and made Whiskey a legend in his boy’s mind.
Samantha closed the door to LJ’s room and walked into the kitchen. Her newest batch of face cream sat in boxes, and she sighed as she pulled out the labels and carried the box to the living room. At least it wasn’t a chore which required too much thinking.
Her conversation with Whiskey caused her to tear up. She didn’t expect him to forget what he went through. She wanted to help him cope. If it meant listening or helping him through a tough day. Yet, every time Claire ushered her from the room. When she expressed her frustration, Claire explained her reasons. But it didn’t make her feel any better. She closed her eyes as she thought of the next meeting with Claire and Whiskey. She knew he’d use her missing the appointment to show she didn’t care to try. In truth she left each visit feeling more miserable than the last. When she woke in the morning, a ball formed in her stomach at the thought of sitting across from her husband and getting blamed for having no patience.
An urgent pounding on the door made her jump up to answer it. She flung open the door to find a wild-eyed Whiskey.
“You want to know what happened, I’ll tell you.” He moved into her space as she backed up.
“Whiskey, it’s late. Let me call Leo,” she told him.
“No. You want to know what happened? You want to know how I ate food not fit for dogs. How I listened to women scream as my captors violated them in the worst way. How I begged for them to kill me.” He advanced toward her making her step back until she hit the wall.
“Liam, listen to my voice. It’s me. It’s Sunshine, come back to me. I know you’re in there and you’re scaring me right now.”
“You’re a dream. Sunshine doesn’t know I lived. You’re lying. I’ll make you pay for pretending she’s here.” Samantha gripped her phone and held it out to him. His hand gripped around her neck. Her voice penetrated his mind and eased the pressure from her neck.
“Whiskey, Leo needs to talk to you. Put the phone up to your ear.” She hit something on the screen and Leo’s voice came over the phone.
“Stand down, Whiskey, that’s an order. I want you to sit down and wait until I arrive,” Leo ordered.
“You left me here to die. You don’t know where I am. You left me…” he dropped the phone and cried out.
“Mama?” The little voice penetrated the dream. “He’s a soldier. He told me. Did he get hurt? He fixed my airplane.”
Samantha grabbed her son and held him tightly against her.
“Whiskey, listen to me, I need you to wait for orders,” Leo’s voice filled the room.
“Why’s Uncle Leo calling him my daddy’s name?” The little boy turned to Samantha.
Like a movie in his head, he watched as she cried and hugged her son as she kissed his cheeks. He became what he predicted, the monster within him.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Leo handed him a cup of coffee. He sat in the kitchen of the team building.
“How’s Samantha and the boy?” he asked worriedly.
“Claire came over and assessed them both. Samantha didn’t say much. LJ’s confused. Edie and Saint extended an offer for Samantha and LJ to stay with them. They packed up last night.”