BEFORE SOPHIE went to work at the pub on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, she headed to the Secret Service Field Office. C.J. had told her how to get to the undisclosed location when Sophie had called and asked to see her. At the entrance to the nondescript building she stopped at the reception desk. “I’m Sophie Tyler. I’m here for Agent Ludzecky.”
The uniformed guard, who was a member of the second branch of the Secret Service—C.J. was a special agent—checked the list. “I’ll show you to her office.”
He led her through several corridors; off of them were some cubicles and one larger room with desks where agents were looking at numerous wall screens and a maze of other equipment.
C.J.’s office was at the end of one of the hallways. She was sitting at her desk with earphones on, taking notes on a pad. It was odd to see her in the traditional government outfit of a black suit and white blouse and the American flag lapel pin. When she looked up, she motioned Sophie in.
Wandering around, Sophie studied the wall plaques behind C.J., the large window looking out at New York City and the computer setup that looked like it came from an episode of the Outer Limits. The desk was organized, and there was a picture of C.J.’s family, and one of Aidan, perched on it.
After a minute or so, C.J. took off the device. “Sorry about that. We’ve got a threat and the accent of the caller is tough for even me to crack. Take off your coat. Have a seat.”
Removing the wool pea coat she wore over jeans and a sweater, Sophie sat in a chair. “Your job must be exciting.”
“Yeah, it is. Not quite the merry-go-round the vice presidential detail was, but it keeps me busy and happy.” She cocked her head at Sophie. “Wish I could say the same for my fiancé. Which is why you’re here, right?”
“No, I didn’t come about Aidan.”
C.J.’s hazel eyes flickered with understanding. “Ah. Then it’s about Liam having trouble with your job.”
“Did he tell you that?”
“No, Aidan used it as ammunition when we had our last fight about my getting shot.”
Sophie frowned. “Liam seems to be dealing. Aidan’s not?”
“He’s being a baby.” She shook her head and a few blond tendrils escaped the knot at her neck. “We already rang this bell, and now he’s reneging on his promise to handle my job. I’m furious at him.”
“You got shot, C.J.”
She rubbed her arm. “I guess I’m overreacting, too, but hell, he’s talking about calling off the wedding.”
“I’m sorry.”
“He won’t. He’s just mad. Amazing how you forget you just wanted to be together and would work anything out to accomplish that.” She watched Sophie. “But let’s talk about you and Liam. Can I ask you something first?” Sophie nodded. “Is it serious between you two?”
“I’m in love with him.”
C.J. smiled broadly. “And he feels the same?”
“Yes. But there are issues.” She recounted their concerns about Mikey and the schedule Liam was already having trouble with. Hell, he’d even brought up having babies.
“Those O’Neil men. They’re all alike.”
“I was hoping you could assure me that things will work out for me and Liam.”
“I think they will.” She leaned back; her expression conflicted. “I’m not giving up on Aidan, if that’s what you’re asking.”
No response.
“Sophie, you were supposed to say you weren’t giving up on Liam, either.”
“There’s something I need to ask you. I’d appreciate it if you’d keep it confidential.”
“Whatever you want.”
“As an agent, you must have learned to control your own fear along the way. I know I had to as a firefighter.”
“Yes, of course.”
“After you fell in love, did it change? Did you ever get scared in a way you hadn’t before?”
C.J. stared hard at her. “My answer needs to be confidential, too. If Aidan ever found out...”
“So you did.”
“I do. Fleetingly. I think about him and it makes me scared for a just a second.”
“Does it affect your ability to perform your job?”
“No. I’ve learned to cope with it. And it doesn’t happen much anymore. When I got shot, it wasn’t Aidan I was thinking about.” She waited a beat. “You having a problem with this?”
“Just a couple of times. It’s thrown me, though. And my captain caught on.”
“Not good. But for what it’s worth, I do think it’s manageable.”
“If it isn’t?”
“I don’t know, Sophie, maybe you’d have to choose.”
“You made a choice. You chose Aidan.”
“I could live without the VPPD but not without him.” She motioned to the office. “Luckily, I can still do work I love.”
“I don’t know anything else but line firefighting. It’s been my dream since I was ten. It’s who I am.”
“Don’t panic. Maybe the fear thing will even out like it did with me.”
“Maybe. I hope so.”
Sophie left C.J.’s office unnerved. She hadn’t gotten the assurance she’d wanted. It hit her when she boarded the subway that maybe what she wanted was impossible to get.
o0o
WITH THE WIND kicking up snow and reddening their faces, Liam held Sophie’s hand as they walked down Fifth Avenue. Silver garlands and red bows decorated posts and storefronts. The odd Christmas carol drifted out of cars and businesses and bell ringers were on every corner. Despite the weather, December in New York was one of his favorite times of year. Hers, too, she said.
“Wait.” She stopped at a Salvation Army red bucket. Digging under her coat into her pants—she never carried a purse—she pulled out some bills. He took a minute to admire how the black jeans hugged her hips, and the boots she wore accented them.
When she was done, he pulled up the coat’s hood and took her gloved hand again. “Let’s go in FAO Schwarz. I want to get some things for Tyler and Angel and Isabella.”
She chuckled. “Three babies. Fun to buy for at Christmas.”
He bit his tongue. They could have a baby of their own by next December twenty-fifth. He’d been thinking about that since Thanksgiving. But he was determined not to spoil today. They had a whole day together, for a change, and he was sick of the bickering.
As they entered the world-famous store, they were greeted by a three-story clock tower singing “Welcome to Our World of Toys.” Little kids ran from display to display screeching with excitement. Liam grinned at them, broadly. “Man, I love this place.”
She’d taken off her hood and unbuttoned her coat. “I can see. Were your Christmases fun when you were young?”
“Let’s head left. Yeah, they were fun except for the year Dad was gone. We were all a bunch of sad sacks on Christmas morning, even though he came over.”
“That’s right. You said your parents split for a while.”
“Yeah, they were both bullheaded then. Problem was Pa hooked up with another woman for a few months and ended up with a daughter that he never knew about.”
“Wow, you never mentioned that.”
“It’s tough to talk about. Pat has trouble with Pa on occasion because of the whole thing.”
“What happened to her?”
“She was in a gang and died He looked down at her. “People have issues—huge ones—and resolve them, Soph. Anyway, to answer your question, we didn’t have much money, but they managed some great gifts and there was always good food. My brothers and I doted on Bailey so she got more than usual.”
“Sounds wonderful, with or without a lot of material things.”
“How about you?”
“We had almost nothing until I was ten and my mother died. She didn’t really do Christmas. Then, everything changed.”
“The fire department.”
“Gifts flooded in every year after we went to live with my grandmother. It was almost embarrassing. The Carusottis helped us give some away to children’s shelters. Tommy never liked doing that though. He said we should keep them.”
“I haven’t met any of them.”
She stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Soon.” They arrived at Spanky, the Gund Where Bear, where they could get directions. “Doll department,” Liam said.
After Spanky told them where to go, Sophie socked Liam in the arm. “Seriously, we’re getting them dolls?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Tyler, too?”
“Uh-huh.”
“You’re lying. You weren’t planning on that until I said something.”
“Of course I was.” He raised his chin. “Then we’re heading to the baseball section and getting them all mitts. That was the plan, scout’s honor.”
“Yeah, sure.”
They did purchase the dolls—baby ones with big brown eyes and cute outfits. And pint-size mitts like he’d bought his boys when they were little. When he and Sophie were finished at the store, they walked outside to blasts of cold air. They both buttoned up. “Hungry?” he asked.
“Are you kidding?”
“There’s a sushi bar down the street. Let’s eat there.” He pulled her as close as the gifts would allow. “Then maybe head to your place.”
“Now I believe you planned that.”
The restaurant was crowded at three in the afternoon with businessmen and women dressed in suits and shoppers with bags from the toy store, Bloomingdales and Macy’s. Halfway through the meal, Sophie’s cell phone rang.
He grasped her hand across the table. “Don’t answer it.”
“I have to see who it is. I won’t take it unless it’s Nate.”
“Fair enough.” He popped a spring roll into his mouth as she checked the caller ID. Her eyes were apologetic when she looked up. “It’s him.”
Faintly irritated, he said, “Go ahead.”
“Hi, buddy.”
He felt guilty as he watched her eyes moisten when she heard her brother’s voice. He knew she really missed him. For a minute he wondered what it would be like to be separated from Pat, Dylan and Aidan. It was bad enough having Bailey in DC.
Sophie glanced over at Liam and saw him staring at her with a scowl on his face. He was irritated about this call. Jesus.
“So, how’s my favorite sister doing?” Nate asked. Static made him hard to hear.
“Great. Did you get my last e-mail?”
“Yeah. But your tone doesn’t match what you said in it.”
“You’re breaking up, Nate,” she said, hoping like hell they didn’t lose the connection.
“Just a sec. That better?”
“Yeah.”
“You sound upset, Soph.”
“No, no. I’m out for lunch with someone.”
“Liam?”
“Uh-huh.”
“How’s it going?”
“So-so.”
“Well, I got great news.”
“I could use some.”
“I got a week at Christmas just to spend with you. We have to meet over here, though, or it’d be just a few days.”
Uh-oh.
“Soph? Did you hear me?”
“Yeah, I heard you. It’s great news. What and when did you have in mind?”
“Greece. There’s this little island called Santorini. You’ll love the sunshine. We can veg, catch up. And this is the best part—I’ve got the actual day of Christmas off. You’re not working that week, right?”
“No, I took it off like we discussed last year. What about flights?”
“Pulled some strings. My colonel’s daughter is a bigwig at one of the airlines. She already got you a ticket.”
Again a silence.
“Honey, I need to see you.” His voice was gravelly—how it got when he was upset. “It’s been tough here and I have some things I have to talk to you about.”
“Of course. Anything you want. I can’t wait to see you.”
“Sweet. I’ll work out the details and be in touch.” After a moment he added, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Until I get off the phone. “Yep. I love you, Nate.”
“Love you, too. See you soon.”
When she clicked off, Liam angled his head. “You’re frowning. Bad news?”
“No. At least I don’t think so. Nate has furlough at Christmas.”
“Hey, great. I can’t wait to meet him.”
“You won’t. He only has a week. I have to fly over to Europe to be with him.”
His face blanked. “You’re joking, right?”
She shook her head.
“Sophie, you can’t do that. We’re invited to DC for Christmas at the vice presidential residence. It’s all planned.”
“Without consulting me?” she asked.
“I knew you had the time off. I was saving the good news as a surprise today.”
“Well, I am surprised.”
“Yeah, me, too.” His voice was cut glass cold.
“I’m really tired of this seesaw.”
“We agree on that, at least.”
Music filtered around them. The song currently playing was “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”
Liam glared at her. She matched it.
Suddenly, the day had gone south, like too many of their times together lately.
o0o
“IT’S NOT WORKING.” Liam faced Jay Yost over his desk and said the words out loud for the first time. They made him cringe.
“With Sophie?” Liam nodded. “I’m shocked. The last time you were here together, things were great. What happened?”
“The latest is the holidays. But that’s not all of it.”
“Tell me about the holidays first.”
As he told the story, he got angry all over again. “I suppose I could handle it this year, but fuck, Jay, I don’t want to live this way. And I’m concerned about Mikey and Cleary.”
He told Jay how his youngest had come to him soon after Sophie had dropped the bomb about her brother...
Mikey held a little Christmas tree ornament in his hand. It was crudely shaped like a helmet and decorated with a number. “Do you think Sophie will like this? We made it in school. For our mothers in the shape of whatever they did for a living.” Mikey’s face wasn’t sad, though. “It’s okay if I made it for Sophie, isn’t it?”
“It’s fine. She’ll love it.”
“I’m gonna give it to her at Aunt Bailey’s house.”
“Maybe you should do it before, buddy.”
“Why?”
“I don’t think she’s going to make it to DC.”
Mike’s face had flushed. “You mean she won’t be with us on Christmas, either?”
“No, she’s flying over to Europe to see her brother, Nate. Remember, he’s in the army.”
“You said she’d be with us.” His voice rose. “That she couldn’t spend Thanksgiving here, but she would Christmas. Dad, she’s got to spend Christmas with us.”
“I’m sorry, son. She hasn’t seen her brother in a long time.”
Mikey had stomped off, and been sullen the rest of the night. It had broken Liam’s heart when he found Sophie’s gift in the trash that night...
“Did you take it out of the trash?” Jay asked.
“No. I thought about it, but then he had a bad dream that night. About his mother.”
“Tough situation, Liam. You said Cleary was upset, too?”
“Uh-huh. Mike told him about Sophie’s Christmas plans, and he came stomping downstairs...”
Dad, you need a new girlfriend. This is bullshit.
Cleary, you like Sophie. I know you do.
Yeah, but what good is it if she doesn’t want to be with us? I vote for finding somebody else.
“What about you, Liam?” Jay asked after he told the therapist that story. “Do you vote for finding another woman?”
He was seriously considering it. Especially after what happened when they made love after the fiasco at lunch. Almost wordlessly, they’d gone back to her place. And had nearly brutal sex. It had only made things worse.
“What are you thinking?”
“That maybe Cleary’s right. Maybe I need to consider my options.”
“Want some advice?”
“Of course.”
“Don’t burn any bridges. What you do now will affect the course of the rest of your life. And your kids.”
“Either way. If I marry her, we’re in for a lifetime of these ups and downs.”
“You were lucky with Kitty. Most relationships are up and down.”
“Yeah, but you can hedge your bets. Falling for a New York City firefighter wasn’t one of my best moves.”
“But you did fall.”
“I did. I’m in love with her.”
“Be sure to consider that in what you do now.”
“I get the point. I won’t be rash.”
o0o
“WOW, BRIE, this is lovely.” Sophie followed C.J. in to Patrick and Brie’s house in Rockaway Beach. It was a redbrick, two-story structure, with a beautiful foyer and rooms spread out from each side.
“Thanks. We like it. Come onto the porch.” They followed Brie down a ceramic-tiled corridor that flowed into a kitchen that was a chef’s paradise.
“Won’t the porch be a little cold?” Sophie asked. Her hands were freezing because she’d forgotten gloves.
“It’s heated.” C.J. was already whipping off her outerwear. “It’s sweet being out there when the snow falls.”
C.J. was right. It was fun to sit on the flowered rattan furniture and watch the snowflakes kiss the six glass sliding doors. As the tiny crystals fell to the ground they melted. “How long have you lived here?”
“My grandparents left me the house. I’m an only child and they were from the city. Pat and I moved in when the kids were little.”
“Brie’s rich. Don’t hold it against her.”
It was obvious the two of them were close enough to joke.
Brie shrugged. “My family’s well off. What can I say?”
“You are, too,” C.J. added. “You’re raking it in with your business.”
Again, a very genuine smile. “I’m doing all right. We’ve been able to renovate to make it like we want.”
Sophie watched Brie as she crossed to a side table to fix drinks. She had to be the most stylish woman Sophie ever met. For today’s girl’s lunch, she wore an emerald-green lounging outfit that made her eyes look like jade. On her feet were little gold slippers that Sophie would never have thought of buying. Hair, nails, makeup—everything was perfect.
She didn’t seem like Pat’s type at all.
“Eggnog or wine?”
Both women chose wine, so Brie opened a bottle of Chardonnay. When it was poured, she joined them and they all lifted their glasses. “Shall we toast to the O’Neil men?” Brie asked.
“Who drive us crazy,” C.J. added.
Sophie’s eyes misted and the other two women lowered the glasses.
“What is it, Sophie?” Brie asked.
She shook her head. “You two have O’Neil men. You’re married or engaged. This is all new with me and Liam and I’m not sure we’re going to make it.”
Brie blew out a heavy breath. “Join the club. I’ve never been sure Patrick and I will last.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Trouble from day one. We separated for a while.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Isabella was conceived in the middle of it. Separation sex.”
C.J. chuckled. “Aidan and I had it, too, when we broke up.”
“Would you have reconciled anyway?” Sophie asked Brie. “Or is that too personal to ask?”
“Who knows? We have a shaky history. I got pregnant when I was in college. We had Sinead but didn’t get married until he was a year old. A long story I don’t talk about much.”
“Wow.”
“My point is there are no guarantees in a relationship. In making one or staying in one.” She shook her head. “But I love him so much. I just hate how he acts sometimes and how strained our relationship gets.”
“I’m sorry, Brie. I was whining about my own problems with Liam.”
“I’m telling you this because I love Liam like he was my own brother. And I know he loves you. Please, tread carefully with his heart. It’s been broken once, and we all thought that was irreparable.”
C.J. squeezed Sophie’s arm. “We’re not ganging up on you, girl. Just...trying to make you part of the family, I guess.”
“I don’t feel ganged up on. I appreciate your honesty. As I said, I love him. I want our relationship to work.” She swallowed hard. “Your stories help.”
Brie’s cell rang. She leaned over the table. “Speak of the devil. It’s Liam.” She put her finger to her mouth. “Don’t talk. Hey, Liam...What? Oh, my God. No, no, he’s not here. Um, no, he’s not with them, either. Because C.J. and Sophie are sitting right across from me. What can I do?” Another pause. “Yes, of course. I’ll tell them, too.”
“What is it?” Sophie asked, panicking at the part of the conversation she’d heard and the way Brie had gone totally pale.
“Liam can’t find Mikey. The schools had a half day today, and he didn’t come home on the bus.”
“What?” Sophie whipped out her cell to check her messages. “Nothing from him on my voice mail.” She stood. “I’ll head back to the city and call Liam on my way.” Forcefully she suppressed the thought that Liam hadn’t called her nor had he asked to talk to her. This wasn’t about their relationship.
C.J. stood, too. “I’ll come.
Brie wrapped her arms around her waist. “Liam asked me to stay home in case Mike makes his way out here by himself.”
Now, Sophie felt a different kind of fear. One that she’d never, ever experienced before. “Stay in touch. Here’s my number.”
After Brie punched it into her cell, C.J. and Sophie left.
All the way back to the city, Sophie felt the worry in her heart increase with each mile. It was a mother’s worry for her child.
o0o
“HEY, MISTER, can you help me?” Mike shivered; he was wearing his winter jacket, but he’d forgotten his gloves and hat this morning.
The cab driver who was hanging out on Thirteenth Street rolled down the rest of his window. He’d been smoking and blowing white puffs out the opening. “What’d you say?”
“I need a cab.”
“What are you, eight or nine? I got a kid that age.”
“Eight. I need a cab.” He handed the guy a piece of the phone book he’d torn out of the yellow pages. “To here.”
“Sorry, I can’t...” The driver looked down and frowned.
“Somebody you know there?”
Mike nodded. “I got cash.” He took his stash out of his backpack. “I know how much it is. My dad took me there. I got enough to come back, too. Cleary says cabs wait for people.”
“The meter runs while I wait. You got enough money to cover it?”
Mike didn’t know that. He just stared at the driver, his heart beating fast, his lips beginning to tremble.
“What the hell? Get in. I’d just worry about you getting picked up by somebody else who’d do God knows what.”
Mike climbed in the cab. It smelled like smoke, but he didn’t care. It reminded him of the firehouse where Sophie worked. He watched the scenery pass as the car went through the city, then out a ways. “It’s the second entrance with the arches. By the big stone thing with the huge angels.” He knew where to go because his dad had taught him how to find it.
When the cab pulled up to his destination, Mike had trouble with the door because his hands were shaking, but he finally got out. It was even colder here. And nobody was around. “Y-you’re gonna wait, right?”
“Yeah.” The cab driver looked at him. “Ain’t you got no gloves or hat?”
He shook his head and felt the shivers travel though his body.
“Then hurry up, kid.”
Mike trudged over the bumpy gravel; the wind howled, scaring him. But he kept going. Finally, he was there. He knelt down, feeling the ground beneath his knees. “Hi, Mommy. I came out here because I was hoping you could hear me better.” He touched the cold headstone, which read Loving Wife and Mother. “I feel bad. I thought you said it was okay to have Sophie with us. But she didn’t come to Thanksgiving, and she can’t come to Christmas, and she’s in danger all the time. You gotta tell me. Are you sure this is okay?”
o0o
LIAM HAD CHECKED everywhere. Called everybody he could think of. And nothing. He’d come back to the pub, hoping Mike was here or had called. The only way he was getting through this was by blocking everything but the ways he could find his son. When he entered the front door of the pub, Dylan and Aidan looked up.
“Nothing,” Dylan said. “You?”
“Cara thought he got on the bus. He didn’t tell her or anybody else where he was going.” His heart thrummed in his chest. “So that must mean he didn’t go anywhere of his own free will.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Aidan circled around the bar and came over to him. “Don’t go there. It’s only been a couple of hours.”
“If a child isn’t found in the first twenty-four hours, chances are he won’t be.”
“Right now, I wish you never went on the Internet.”
“I saw it on TV.”
The front door burst open and in hurried C.J. and Sophie. For some reason, they’d been together at Brie’s.
“Liam?” Sophie asked. “No word?”
He shook his head. “I even went to the firehouse. He isn’t anywhere. Nowhere.” It was inconceivable that this could happen to their lives.
And in a staggering moment of clarity, Liam knew he’d never be able to deal with something happening to Mike. It would, quite simply, destroy him.
C.J. crossed to Aidan and Sophie came to him. She put her hand on his arm. “What can I do?”
He stared at her. “Nothing. Nobody can do anything.”
“I can.” C.J. fished out her cell phone out. “I’m calling the police. I have a lot of contacts there. The service works closely with them.”
“Isn’t it too soon?” Liam asked.
“Not this time. Not for the nephew of the vice president.”
“Oh, my God, I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I’m sorry.” C.J. spoke into the phone. “I didn’t mean to scare you more.”
Liam dropped onto a stool and buried his head in his hands. “Somebody went after Rory. They could go for Mike. I never thought of that.”
“Rory’s a whole different story.” Sophie was rubbing his back. “Hang on, Liam. Don’t buy trouble yet.”
He didn’t have to buy trouble. He had enough of his own.
A half hour passed. He was dimly aware of his mother making coffee. Of C.J. talking on the phone. Of Cleary in the corner, playing a video game. Liam needed to go talk to his other son, so he forced himself up. As he passed by the front door, a yellow taxi swerved into the curb and stopped.
“Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.”
Outside in the late afternoon shadows, Mikey said something to the driver, then calmly walked toward the pub.
And Liam fell to his knees sobbing.
His boy opened the door. “Dad?”
He heard commotion behind him. Bursts of crying. He felt a hand soothing on his back again.
“Mike, where were you?” Dylan asked.
“I went to see Mom.”
That made Liam drop his hands. “Mom? At the cemetery?”
“Uh-huh. I’m sorry I worried you. But I had to go.”
“Any one of us would have taken you, honey.” This from C.J.
“I wanted to talk to her alone.” Mike crossed to him. “I’m sorry, Dad.”
Still on his knees, Liam grabbed his son and clutched him to his chest. He was real, and solid and here unharmed; nobody had taken him. Right now, that was all that mattered.