The Lies That Shatter by A.V. Asher
Chapter Nine
Adam turned down the lane and took in the sights of the sun-drenched vineyards. It had been a long time since he’d been back, and an ache for home struck him. Sometimes, he wished he could go back to the innocent man that had left here.
This week had been particularly hard. The gruesome death of a target was never something he rejoiced in, but to have played such a role in setting up her demise and then seeing her execution through to completion didn’t sit well with him. He needed a recharge. Just something to remember his purpose.
Adam pulled the pickup into the drive and killed the engine. The house looked the same but needed a touch of paint. He wished he could stay and help work on it, but it was better if he didn’t stick around too long.
Shannon stood and stepped out of the flower bed. Her short copper hair caught in the breeze. She brushed the dirt from her knees and tugged off her gardening gloves. “Oh, my lord, Timmy! Why didn’t you let me know you were coming? I’m a mess!”
He opened his arms, and she grabbed on to him. “I wanted to surprise you.”
“I can’t believe you came all this way. It’s so good to see you.”
Adam held her tiny body tight to him, she’d lost more weight since the last time he’d seen her. Fear of what that meant stabbed his heart.
“Well, come on in and have a drink. I made some sun tea.”
Adam smiled at the simplicity of Shannon’s life. To sit on the porch and drink iced tea was something that young Timmy Barlow had done. The man that had become Adam Wilson had little use for porch sitting.
As he walked through the door, the overwhelming scent of warm, fresh bread filled his senses. He breathed it in, letting the memories assail him.
He followed her through the house to the kitchen, stopping to take in the pictures of two gap-toothed kids on the wall.
“Are these the new ones?”
Shannon smiled. “They are.”
“You know I’m going to need some copies.” He grinned at her expectantly.
Shannon laughed. “Let me get you some right now.” She riffled through her paperwork until she found a large envelope. Then she began cutting out the school pictures.
Adam studied the photos with an ache in his chest. “They’re getting so big.”
“Yeah, that tends to happen when time passes.” She handed him the pictures and went to pour the tea.
Adam grimaced. He was missing so damned much. But he’d known what was expected when he’d taken this job.
Dark circles were heavy under Shannon’s eyes, and her fair skin had a tinge of gray shadowing her narrow cheeks.
Maybe it isn’t working.
“How have you been feeling?”
“I’m alright. A little run-down. But the doctors think I’m still in remission.”
Adam sighed with relief. “That’s good. That’s really good. You have everything you need? Do you need any money?”
She shot a soft smile at him and shook her head. “We’re getting by.”
Adam sipped the sun tea to clear the tightness in his throat. “Sorry I can’t be here more often. I know it must be hard.”
“We manage. But we miss you when you go away for so long.”
Shannon had no idea how much safer she was without him around.
Outside, a yellow school bus stopped at the edge of the driveway. The brakes hissed, and the double doors swept open. Two black-haired children ran from the bus and up the length of the driveway, shrieking with delight.
Adam went to the door and waited. His chest warmed when their tiny feet stamped on the porch. Then the door burst open, and they launched themselves at him.
“Daddy! Daddy!” They were both squealing.
“Hey look at you. Look how big you are!” Adam held their perfect little bodies to him. “I’ve missed you so much.” Tears welled in his eyes. He had never had to lie about how he felt with his children. They were his world and his reason for everything.
“Daddy, come and see. I made the honor roll,” Maisie said, pulling him to the desk in the living room where they did their homework.
Adam spent the rest of the afternoon cuddling them and looking over art projects and science fair entries. He listened to them squawk on and on about their friends and the plans they had for summer. Jackson was starting T-ball and Shannon had enrolled Maisie in a music class. They were getting the childhood he’d always wanted for them.
Adam helped Shannon make dinner, and the four of them sat at the table to eat.
“I wish we could do this every night,” Maisie said.
“Do what?” Adam asked her.
“Eat like a real family.”
Adam’s eyes caught Shannon’s. His sweet little girl didn’t know how much she’d torn apart his heart.
When it was bedtime, he read them stories and tucked them in. Adam was tempted to keep them up for a few more hours, but they had school in the morning.
Shannon had left a glass of wine for him on the counter. Adam grabbed it and joined her on the porch swing, looking out over the sleeping vineyards.
“Are you seeing anyone yet?” she asked.
This was a tricky question to answer. Adam shot her a tight smile. “Nope.”
“Why not? You’re so sweet. You deserve a good woman.”
Adam snorted. Sweet wasn’t a word usually used to describe him.
Shannon ignored him. “Not to mention smoking hot. Any woman would be lucky to have you.”
“I was seeing someone, but she moved away, and it didn’t work out,” he said. Shannon gave him a soft, empathetic smile. “What about you, huh? Any man would be lucky to have you, too. But I don’t see you getting out there.”
“No man’s going to take me on when I’m such a mess.” Shannon laughed. “Besides, I’d like to see you settled, in case something goes wrong.”
“Don’t talk like that.” Fear and grief swirled through him. “This is working. Right?”
“I don’t mean to alarm you. I am feeling better.” She sighed and lay her head against the cushion. “I have a lot of time on my own to worry. If something happens, who would I give my babies to if it weren’t to their father?”
Adam didn’t know the answer to that, because there was no way he could take care of them. The life he led and the things he’d done disqualified him from ever playing a major role in their lives. His children deserved better than the man he was.
When he looked at Shannon, she was still his high school sweetheart. She’d been the homecoming queen and he was the captain of the football team, the cliché American story come to life. The best decision of his life was to ask her to marry him.
He joined the military and somehow made it through BUD/S training and became a Navy SEAL. But Shannon struggled with the demands of the military, especially when the children came along. They had no life together while he was working, and he was always working. Some particularly harrowing deployments left him increasingly bitter and angry when he was home.
When Shannon asked for a divorce, Adam had seen it coming. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be married, either.
They separated and found out they were better friends than husband and wife. Neither of them pushed to finalize the divorce and were happy living their own lives. Shannon got a stable home life and the freedom to explore who she was, and Adam could go on missions knowing his children were loved and well cared for.
Until one day, while he was on a mission, The Red Cross contacted him and told him his wife had collapsed at the grocery store. It had taken fifteen hours of flights over two days to get home to her.
When they got the diagnosis, he nearly threw up. Shannon had a rare form of cancer in her right kidney that had spread throughout her body. Adam hunted for specialists and looked for anything he could find to help her.
But there was nothing. She would die within eighteen months.
That was, until Marcus Cooper found him.
Cooper Pharmaceutical offered an experimental treatment that had shown to be incredibly effective against the cancer she had. Unfortunately, it wasn’t available except in human trials. But if Adam did a little work for him, just a little job here and there, maybe Cooper could see his way into making sure that his wife was in these trials.
And so, Timmy Barlow sold his soul to the devil himself.
With it, he had bought the life of an irreplaceable woman. As she sipped her wine in the evening twilight, he knew it had been worth every drop of blood.