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  A Promise Never Forgotten

  Never Forgotten Trilogy, Book Two

  KaLyn Cooper

  Contents

  A Letter to Readers

  Acknowledgments

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Also by KaLyn Cooper

  About the Author

  A Promise Never Forgotten

  KaLyn Cooper

  Cover Artist: Drue Hoffman

  Content Editor: Trenda Lundon

  Published 2019

  Copyright © 2019, KaLyn Cooper

  Printed in the United States of America

  ISBN-13: 978-1-970145-10-6

  ISBN-10: 1-970145-10-2

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

  * * *

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

  A Letter to Readers

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for purchasing A Promise Never Forgotten, the second book in the Never trilogy. This book has many genres including; contemporary, military, seasoned/mature romance, and romantic suspense, all tied together with a friends to lovers trope.

  Although A Love Promise Forgotten is a complete romance novel with a happy ending for Logan and Teagan, it picks up at the end of A Love Never Forgotten. You may want to read that book first, so you get to meet the characters and understand the overarching suspense plot.

  All the members of the failed mission in Syria ten years ago are included in A Love Promise Forgotten.

  I hope this book makes you smile, cry, cheer, and shake your head as Teagan and Logan find their way to true love.

  Don’t worry, there’s more to come. A Moment Never Forgotten will release late in 2019 where all mysteries will be discovered, as well as love for Micah.

  I hope you enjoy A Love Promise Forgotten.

  Always,

  KaLyn Cooper

  * * *

  For the latest on works in progress and future releases, check out KaLyn Cooper’s website

  www.KaLynCooper.com https://kalyncooper.com/

  Follow KaLyn Cooper on Facebook for promotions and giveaways https://www.facebook.com/KaLynCooper1Author/

  Sign up for exclusive promotions and special offers only available in KaLyn’s newsletter http://www.kalyncooper.com/newsletter.html

  I dedicate this book to all the unconventional military families.

  Acknowledgments

  A lot of people were involved in bringing you A Love Promise Forgotten.

  I’d like to sincerely thank USA Bestselling Author, Maryann Jordan*, for “loaning” me Tony, a primary character from her popular Alvarez Security Agency series. I truly appreciate her friendship and advice, and the privilege to use of a book character.

  As always, I’d like to thank the members of the Black Swan Book Club for all their valuable input. The following members assisted in the selection of trilogy character names; Denise Poteete, Melissa Marie, Michelle Lambert, Melissa Hultz, Sara Spence Conger, Jessica Whiteway, and Tamara Graham. Carol J. Thomas suggested Teagan’s handle, used in this book.

  Many thanks to Leigh Hale for naming the children.

  I am a stickler for military accuracy and although I do a lot of research online, sometimes I need a hands-on expert. Thank you, Beth and Daniel O’Neill, for answering my helicopter questions and leading me to Teagan’s job.

  I can’t thank my lunch bunch author friend, Kimberly Grace, enough. As an attorney, she guided me through the legalities of child services so I could be as accurate as possible.

  My sincere thanks to my wonderful content editor, Trenda London, who helped me think through everything from character motivation to conflict development.

  Special thanks to my publicist, Drue Hoffman, for this awesome cover, formatting, and putting up with multiple changes.

  Last, I thank my husband for showing me silver/seasoned romance and military romance every day.

  * * *

  * Check out all Maryann Jordan’s romantic suspense books and series at www.MaryannJordanAuthor.com

  Prologue

  “Teagan is going to meet us in the hotel room in ten minutes. Logan and Micah split a two-bedroom suite on the top floor so we should have plenty of room.” Lizzie clasped her tense hands around her phone and bounced it nervously in her lap.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Matthew Saint Clare watched his new wife grin in satisfaction before she added, “They’ve already swept the place for bugs.”

  “I hate like hell that they had to do that, but I guess they’re as accustomed to it as I am,” Matt admitted. Logan Jackson was the Marine lieutenant colonel currently in charge of 2nd Marine Raider Battalion. Their friend, U.S. Navy Captain Micah Reid, was the commanding officer of Naval Special Warfare Group Two.

  As of two hours ago, Matt had been promoted from an assistant director to Director of Special Activities Division of the Central Intelligence Agency.

  Although each of the organizations had a different mission, together, the three men controlled over three thousand special operators conducting covert activities around the globe. None of them took personal safety for granted. The American public could be so naïve believing they are safe simply because they live in the United States of America. These men knew the truth.

  Thinking back to the meeting he and Lizzie had just left at Langley, Matt fought to tamp down the anger growing within him. When she touched his knee, he knew it was to soothe, not to arouse.

  “We’re doing the right thing,” she reassured. “I don’t give a shit if Noah Hennel is the Deputy Director of Operations for the whole damn CIA. I don’t trust him. Besides, maybe the rest of our team can help us figure out what gold Gabe was talking about.”

  Matthew wished he could remember what happened during the failed mission ten years ago to blow up a munitions dump in Syria. He’d been left with a traumatic brain injury, a new face, and a rewritten past. But when he met Lizzie, the cap on all those memories started to fracture. The truth had been slowly seeping back into his brain, bits and bursts at a time.

  Matt reached over and took Lizzie’s left hand in his.

  He could feel the wedding ring he had slid on her finger the first-time over a decade ago, mere hours before they had been deployed on that disastrous op in Syria. He had recently met the son they had created that night, and a daughter she’d had since. He loved them both. As soon as the paperwork could be filed, they would legally be his children. Well, the children of Matthew Saint Clare, since technically, the CIA had officially buried Mason Sinclair, the man he’d been the first thirty-two years of his life.

  Until they could figure out who was behind his brainwashing, and what gold Gabe had been talking about just before he tried to kill both of them, Matthew and Lizzie agreed not to reve
al his past to anyone.

  He pulled the SUV into a parking space in front of a brightly lit, high-end hotel mixed in with half a dozen others. As they walked toward the front door, he glanced over at the extended stay hotel where her mother was entertaining their children.

  Since Gabe had been shot in Matt’s living room, the CIA had immediately moved him out of his home as part of the cleanup. Closer to cover up, he speculated.

  Grabbing Lizzie’s hand, because he loved the fact he could touch her anytime he wanted now that she was married to him once again, this time as Matthew Saint Clare, they strode across the parking lot. Ignoring the front desk as though they were guests returning from a long day of touring the DC area, they made their way to the top floor. Before they could knock, Logan opened the door.

  “Come on in.” He looked down the hall. “I was hoping Teagan would be with you.”

  Hugging him, Lizzie noted, “She’s a few minutes behind us.”

  “I’m so sorry we have to meet under these circumstances. It seems like the only time we’re together anymore is for a funeral.” Micah stepped in for a hug from Lizzie. “I know you and Gabe were close.”

  When she stepped back, she punched her balled fists on her hips and scowled. “I take it you don’t know how Gabe was killed?”

  A chime filled the air.

  “That’ll be Teagan,” Logan said with a smile as he checked the video on his phone. “I’ll let her in, then, Lizzie, you’d better explain.”

  Teagan blew through the door like a tornado. “So, what the hell was so fucking important that I needed to come here first before meeting Marsha and helping her get the kids ready for the funeral?”

  “I think we should all sit down,” Matthew suggested, taking Lizzie’s hand and guiding her to the living room area.

  When everyone was seated, Lizzie started, as they had agreed on the way over. “Gabriel Davis was not who we thought he was. He was a traitor.”

  “Whoa, what the hell are you talking about?” Micah jabbed.

  “No fucking way,” Logan spat.

  “Why would you think that?” Teagan asked and she leaned forward.

  Lizzie threw her hands up in the stop position. “Just hear me out.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t know what you’ve been told, but Matthew shot and killed Gabe.”

  That hadn’t been the way they’d planned to tell their friends. Both Logan and Micah shot from their chairs. Matthew bolted to his feet. “He was going to kill Lizzie. He’d already tried several times.”

  Aghast, both men stared at her.

  “Lizzie, what the fuck is he talking about?” Logan demanded, glaring down at her.

  “Robert wasn’t killed by accident,” she said of her previous husband. “I was supposed to be in that car demolished by that big truck. I was the intended victim in the mall stabbing.”

  “Why?” Teagan asked as she put her arm around Lizzie.

  “Everything seems to go back to our mission in Syria.” Lizzie glanced from one face to the next. “And I think we’re all in danger.”

  Matthew didn’t miss the exchanged looked between Logan and Micah. He knew both men received death threats on a regular basis and laughed it off. They were highly trained special operators. It would take a lot for someone to get the drop on them.

  “Sit down,” Teagan ordered the men. “I don’t have a lot of time right now and I want to hear this.” She turned her attention to Lizzie. “Start from the beginning.”

  Logan checked his watch. “We don’t have time for the entire story. Why did Gabe want to kill you, Lizzie?”

  She turned those piercing silver eyes toward Matt. They had talked about this, as well, but had agreed his true identity needed to remain a secret. Their greatest fear was that they, whoever the hell they were, would try to use the children against them. With a barely perceptible shake of his head, she returned her attention to the others.

  “You’re right, Logan. We don’t have time to explain everything.” She glanced, once again, at Matt. “Besides, I’m not sure we can.” She took a deep breath and let it out. Then, as though clarifying an after-action report, she began. “Three days ago, while I was at Matthew’s house, Gabe showed up and pointed a gun at me. He had Matt’s house wired for audio and visual and had heard us talking about the Syrian mission. He kept asking us about gold.”

  Matthew carefully watched the faces of Logan, Micah, and Teagan. He wanted to see if there was the slightest recognition when the gold was mentioned.

  Nothing. Not even a flicker in their eyes.

  Lizzie continued, “From what Gabe said, there were gold bars under that building.”

  Given the shock on all their faces, they didn’t know anything about hidden gold bars either. Damn.

  “By blowing up the building, we were supposed to bury the gold bars.” The corners of Lizzie’s mouth turned up a fraction of an inch. “That part worked. The only problem is; the gold is now missing. Gabe ranted about someone double-crossing him and moving the gold.”

  Lizzie sidled next to Matt and put her arm around his waist. “When Gabe tried to shoot me, Matthew threw me on the floor.” She looked up at him with those loving crystalline eyes. “Thank you for saving my life,” she said, just above a whisper.

  Matt lowered his head and kissed her gently before sliding his lips to her ear. “I had just found you, again. I wasn’t going to let anybody take you away from me.”

  Glancing at the others, Matthew picked up the story. “I grabbed my gun and double tapped the fucker. Two to the head. At the same time I shot, someone with a high-powered rifle shot him through the heart. They must’ve been hiding in my backyard.”

  “He’s surrounded by woods,” Lizzie interjected.

  Matt shook his head. “I thought he was my friend. For the last ten years, I’ve worked with him, and for him. He’s been my mentor at the agency for a decade.” Hugging Lizzie to him, he placed a kiss on her head. “He showed up at my house, started talking crazy, and tried to kill the woman I love. I had no choice.”

  Teagan nodded her head once. “Okay. Matthew, thank you for protecting Elizabeth. I have no idea what came over Gabe, or anything about any damn gold, but if you two think we may be in danger, I’ll be more vigilant.” She looked at her watch. “Now, if that’s all, I really have to go.” She stood as though to leave.

  “There’s more,” Lizzie announced, and stared up at Matt.

  “We just came from a meeting with Noah Hennel, Deputy Director of Operations.” Matt wrapped his arm around Lizzie’s shoulders in a half hug. It was support for both of them. “The agency is declaring this a terrorist attack on a senior agent. As far as they’re concerned, Gabe died in the line of duty and will be buried as a hero. His years as Director of Special Activities Division, the innumerable lives he saved, and the threats to the United States government he eliminated in that role, overshadow this one indiscretion. Supposedly, he was influenced by pain medicine he was taking for past injuries.”

  “The good news is, they have cleared Matthew of any wrongdoing.” Lizzie smiled up at him. “Deputy Director Hennel feels that I am no longer in danger. Matt and I are still on administrative leave for the next two days, standard operating procedure for any agent involved in a shooting. Then we are taking a much-needed vacation as we honeymoon in the Caribbean.”

  Matt gave her lips a quick peck before he added, “We’re taking the children with us.”

  Lizzie smiled. “Thank God it’s a two-bedroom condo…with kid activities all day long.”

  “Given the circumstances, will I see you at the funeral?” Teagan asked as she started toward the door.

  “Yes.” Lizzie walked beside her. “Director Hennel asked us to put everything that happened that night aside and remember what a good friend he had been to us for so many years.”

  “Can you do that?” Teagan looked over her shoulder at Lizzie.

  “Although Deputy Director Hennel is not in my chain of command,” Lizzie glanced at Ma
tt. “He’s Matthew’s boss, which makes this a command performance. I still haven’t reconciled the man we knew with the one who tried to kill me just days ago. I’m going today to bury the man I once thought I knew and be there in support of Marsha. By the way, how’s she doing?”

  Teagan shrugged. “She and Gabe had been separated for almost a year, so in a way, he was already gone from her life. She’s much more concerned about the kids, but between us, he wasn’t involved in their lives very much. That’s part of the reason she was divorcing him.”

  Although Matthew would never say anything, least of all to Teagan, he knew that Gabe had stepped out on Marsha most of their married life. The man had an unusual way of looking at relationships. Gabriel believed that sex was separate from love. A wife was for love and children. But if you were offered sex—as Matthew and Gabe often were since they trolled the bars together on a regular basis—it was perfectly okay to accept the proposition, as long as there was no emotional attachment.

  Matt looked at the love of his life, overjoyed that they had found their way to each other once again. The Mason Sinclair part of him regretted all those other women he’d been with, but Matthew Saint Clare had been single. Now, he could never be with another woman other than Lizzie. He loved her to the depths of his heart and soul.

  After hugging Teagan goodbye, Lizzie announced. “We need to go get ready.” Walking over to Logan and Micah, she held out her arms. “This is far from over. Promise me you’ll watch your back.”