Guarding Cora

Chapter One

Chapter One

Liam "Sunshine" Macintosh stood at Cora's threshold getting up the nerve to knock on her door. Four days ago, she had attacked his former Commander to save Hannah from being dragged off to who knew where. His team had rescued Hannah about a month ago. They had been sent to rescue hostages and intercept a shipment of drugs. The mission had been doomed to fail from the beginning. Their prior commander had been working with Alejandro, a known terrorist working with ISIS, and a drug, and human trafficker, and sent his team and another from Texas to Alejandro’s base in Panama. No one had been expecting the trap that awaited them or for Midas to bring the woman back to California with them. But Hannah had been a hostage for over a year, and in Alejandro’s custody for a few weeks. Once she was rescued she had told them everything she knew about him and his shipments. Their previous commander found out about Hannah and feared she could expose him so he tried to get rid of her. He and Midas saved her and Cora that day.

Liam hadn't been so sure about Hannah when he realized Midas had feelings for her. He let his experience with Cora cloud his judgment. Not everyone was in a f****d-up situation like he was guarding so many secrets. It wasn't that he hadn't trusted Cora with them. They were just his burden to bear. It tore him up when Cora broke up with him though he couldn't blame her. Secrets didn't belong in a relationship. When he saw Cora bleeding after Commander Brady attacked her, was the first time he had seen her since they broke up five months ago. His protective instincts kicked in and he ran to her without thinking. Midas was pounding on their commander and didn't need him. Cora pushed him away and rejected his fussing over her and retreated to her house. Hence why he stood in front of her door to see if she was healing alright. More than that he just wanted to see her period. Cora was the closest woman he had ever said I love you to. She understood his military drive and need for military secrets. It was his personal secrets she couldn't deal with. Not that he blamed her.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he knocked on her door and waited with baited breath. He knew it was late in the evening, but he knew Cora would still be awake. Her lights were on for one thing, and the woman never knew when to put her work down. There were nights he had to drag her to bed she was so wrapped up in her work. It was one of the many reasons why he liked her. Her dedication to her work.

He only had to wait a few moments then the front door opened, and Cora peeked out from behind her half-opened door. Her pixie cut brown hair was in disarray, and it looked like she was still in her bathrobe. Liam knew from experience Cora worked from home and sometimes didn't bother to get dressed. ‘I don’t have anyone to impress,' she had told him.

He couldn't see all her face, but what he saw looked pale and drawn. When she saw that it was him her face pulled tight and she glared at him. "What are you doing here, Liam?"

It never failed to shock Liam hearing his real name. Only his family and Cora ever used it. He winced at her hostile tone. He was to blame for that. He drove the wedge between them. She used to open her door and sigh his name. He missed that. He missed a lot of things. Things he had taken for granted until she left him.

My fault.

"I wanted to make sure you're okay after..." He let his words trail off trying to find the right words.

Cora’s eyes darted towards her office before looking back at him. "After your boss attacked me and tried kidnapping Hannah?" Leave it to Cora to say things how they were. He blamed her dad. As a former Marine, the man never beat around the bush.

"Yeah, that." Liam scratched the back of his head, a nervous tick he had as a kid.

Cora's features softened slightly, and her lip twitched in half a smile. "I'm fine, Liam. I told you that before when it happened."

"I know but there are some people who are fine at first, and it kicks in afterward."

"I know how PTSD works. I've lived through it with my family. No nightmares. No sudden need to board up the windows. I'm fine." He heard the words, but he didn't believe them for a second. Dark circles stood out under her eyes. Her nose and eyes were slightly red. She wasn't sleeping, and she had been crying recently. He wanted to comfort her but knew she would push him away. Cora didn't like to be babied. She always wanted to be strong.

"Good. Well then. Glad everything is fine with you." They stood in an awkward silence. Liam wasn't ready to leave her yet. This was the longest they had talked in five months, and he wasn't ready for it to end yet.

"Well, thanks for stopping by-" Cora started to shut the door on him.

Feeling a rising panic that he wouldn't get another opportunity Liam blurted out, "Have dinner with me."

Cora paused and looked at him like he had grown a second head. He might as well have. He just asked her out. Why? His circumstances hadn't changed.

Because he missed her.

Losing Cora had been one of the worst things to have happened to him. He would do anything to be with her again short of telling her his secret.

"I...I don't think that's a good idea, but thank you for the offer." She stammered out.

"Please, Cora." He'd beg if he had to. "Only dinner."

Cora opened her mouth several times before she shook her head. Tears glistened in her eyes. "I can't," she croaked, before slamming the door in his face.

Liam felt his heart tare. He shouldn't have expected her to say yes. He shouldn't have even asked. He wanted Cora and to keep his secret, but when Cora left him, he realized he couldn't have both. It was one or the other. Would Cora even understand if she knew why he kept things a secret? Some of his teammates knew, and no one judged him. For some reason, he couldn't tell Cora and risk her resentment of him. Not that her anger was any better. Liam shook his head and took off.

~

Cora St James signed and leaned against the door. Seeing Liam again was like a punch in the gut. Five months separation had not dulled his good looks. He still looked amazing in his shirt and jeans. He looked good in anything. And here she had greeted him with bedhead and a bathrobe, but who did she have to impress? She didn’t even have a pet. It was just her. She had inherited her grandmother’s house ten years ago and rarely left it except to buy groceries. It had been a coincidence she met Liam one day while she had been watching over Ben’s house. Ben worked with Liam on base as a fellow Delta Force operative. Both were recluse workaholics but Ben had to leave a lot for work and so asked her to check on his house from time to time. One of those times he had been gone she had met Liam who had stayed at Ben’s after arriving late from a mission. They had hit it off immediately. Then everything changed and not for the better.

Why did Liam have to show up now? Didn’t he realize she couldn’t see him anymore? He broke her heart once with his lies and secrets. She couldn't go through with that again. It didn't matter how much she loved him. So many times, she had asked him what he was keeping from her and why he would take off without warning. In the beginning, she thought it was for the Army, and he couldn't tell her. But he never took any of his military gear. Only a duffel with a few clothes. After he would go on a mission, she could tell the difference on how he would act when he'd come back. After a mission, he would be tired and have a few bandages. From this mystery place, he was still tired but he would look drawn and be more distant. She didn't think he was cheating. Liam may be a pretty boy, but he was always loyal. So why did he come back into her life now? She had given him five months to apologize to her and explain. It wasn't like she had changed her number or moved. Had he only come to see her because his ex-commander had tried to kill her? She didn't want his pity. All she ever wanted was his trust and love.

He had asked her out, but it had sounded like a hasty request. Said without thought. A request she had to turn down. If she accepted one date, it would become another then another. And before she knew it she would be right back here where she started. No, it was better to nip it in the bud before it started. Unless he was willing to tell her what his secret was, she wouldn't give him another chance.

Cora fiddled with her necklace then realized she had better things to do then think about Liam. She went back to her office and sat down in her computer chair. She had created her own computer security company at thirty. She had worked at numerous computer companies since graduating college, but she realized she liked working for herself and keeping her own hours. She created software to protect client’s computers and investments by making it near impossible to hack data or steal identities. She had even worked with the base, Fort Irwin, more than once.

Cora saw Liam from a distance from time to time when he would visit Ben but she made a point to avoid him. She still loved him. But as long as he kept secrets from her she wasn’t willing to give him another chance. Getting over a heartbreak once was bad enough. Twice? Forget it. She was better off without Liam. She had everything she needed. A good job, a great house. What more could she need? Nothing.

Cora focused on her computer screen that Liam had pulled her away momentarily. She had a new client from Panama that just moved to California in the past few days paying her triple her normal rates to get security up and running for him. She had no idea what he did for a living to pay such an amount of money to protect his investments, but it must be lucrative. She didn’t know what any of her clients did for a living. To her, they were a paycheck. She just loved writing codes and working for herself.

Cora looked at the clock on her computer screen and tried not to wince at how late it was getting. It wasn’t unusual for her to work late and normally she would be heading off to bed by now but when a client was paying her as much as this guy was and asked for expedite delivery, she knew she was in for an all-nighter. Before long she was pulled into her computer world and forgot about everyone and everything around her including Liam.