Jack chuckled. Boyd was lucky to have such an attractive and determined contract negotiator.
"He's very well paid, Dani. Trust me, he's doing just fine."
Alex pulled up the recording and hit play. He listened, shaking his head, certain there had to be a mistake. A cold dread filled his body as he listened to a voice from the grave.
"Alex? Alex, you're white as a sheet." Dani took his hand. Ice. "You're scaring me. Tell me what’s wrong."
"I know that voice," he rasped out.
"Who is it?" Jack asked anxiously.
"A dead man."
PETE LANDRY WAS alive. Alex kept saying the words over and over again in his head, trying to make them compute, hoping it was just a colossal mistake.
Dani was at his side, trying not to look as worried as she must have felt and failing miserably. He put his arm around her but had nothing to say—not yet.
"What can you tell us, Alex," Jack asked, exchanging looks with Drew. Dani didn't care what mind meld psychic messages they were passing, she needed to get Alex off his feet before he collapsed.
"Sit down." She moved him towards the couch. It wasn't easy. Alex's mind was no longer engaged, but his body finally gave in and went where she directed it.
No sooner was Alex down then he was jumping back up.
"Where's Boyd?"
"Just outside, do you need him?" Dani was happy to see Alex's color returning, the determined set of his jaw and the hardness in his eyes was a little disconcerting.
"I want to make sure he's with you. I need to make some calls and Jack and Drew are going to be busy. Will you go be with Rose and Tyler?"
"Thank you for asking," she smiled slightly. "Though I doubt it was a request."
"No, but I do want you safe. You would be here, but there's nothing for you to do but wait."
"And I might as well do it with my friends."
Alex gave her a lingering kiss and whispered in her ear, "So smart and so practical. I'm a very lucky man."
"I'm the lucky one." Dani hugged him with all her might. "Now, go and do your thing and don't worry about me."
Alex gave her a telling look.
"Okay, don't worry too much."
"Deal."
Alex escorted her out to where Boyd was waiting.
"I will come to you as soon as I finish." He helped her into the truck. "I know I don't need to tell you to be extra vigilant. But if this guy is who I think he is, I don't have to tell you that he won't stop at anything."
"With my life, brother."
The two men clasped hands and thumped each other on the back. Boyd jumped in behind the wheel, giving Alex a quick salute, and then headed up towards Jack's house.
"Were you in the Army with Alex?" Dani asked. And why hadn't she already known that?
"Alex was my commanding officer. He saved my life."
"So you know what this is all about. You were there?"
"He saved my life." And that was that. Subject closed.
Dani felt like she wanted to cry, but her eyes remained dry. She wouldn't shed tears for the living, not when so many brave men and women who had given their lives deserved them more.
"Just one thing and then I'll let it go."
"What?" Boyd ground out the word, his jaw clenched.
"I'm grateful."
"YOU LIED TO me," Alex shouted into the phone. "You told me the bastard was dead, that I'd killed him. And now I find out that you not only fed me a line, but that everyone I care about is in danger because of it."
"It was classified information."
Alex shook his head, wondering how many times he'd used those very words. Classified. Need to know. What had made so much sense then just seemed like so much bullshit now. General Knox Wheeler still had to stick to the company line, Alex didn't.
"And at the time I still had clearance. I hadn't resigned my commission. At that point I had no plans to."
"And it was decided that you no longer had a need to know."
There it was.
"Do those words ever stick in your throat, General, or at this point are they so automatic you don't even realize what you're saying?"
"There was a time, Captain—"
"Not anymore."
Alex heard a sigh. "No, and not a day goes by that I and the Army don't miss you."
"I didn't call for sentimental reminiscences, General. Tell me what you know. How did Pete get away, why didn't you tell me, and where has he been?"
"You want it straight? Here goes. How he got away and why you weren't told doesn't matter anymore. Pete Landry fell off our radar and now he's back."
Well, it was brief and to the point. Knox Wheeler had once taken a young Alex under his wing and he owed the man. He couldn't put all the blame for the shit storm onto his old mentor. This one ran deep and stretched wide. So he would use what he could get and put aside the recriminations for another time.
"What can you tell me."
"He went rogue, you know that. We believe he had backup waiting for him, they got him out and that was the last we'd heard until today."
"So you want me to believe this is all about evening an old score?" Alex scoffed. "If he has done such a good job of disappearing why wreck it all by coming after me? There has to be more to it. If I'm right, he had plastic surgery to completely change his appearance. He could have taken me out any number of times and done it from a distance. Walked away, no one the wiser about who he was."
"He was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor just over a year ago. Our doctors believe it's why his behavior is," there was a pause,"less than rational."
"Then why the hell was he still on active duty?" Alex wanted to reach through the phone and do some damage. "Forget I asked. As you said, it hardly matters now."
"He's always envied you, Alex. I know it was hard for you to see, you thought he was your friend. But if he can hurt you before he kills you, he'll do it."
Alex hung up with the General's words echoing in his head. Pete had nothing to lose and the tumor had taken a once sharp, rational mind and turned it upside down. It helped explain some of Pete's actions, but it didn't make them any easier to take. No matter what General Wheeler thought, the man had been his friend.
Alex's phone rang again. Dani.
"Hey, are you at Rose's already?"
"Actually, she and her bodyguard are just leaving the parking lot. Seems there was a little delay with a disconnected water hose. But don't worry, it was minor compared to the damage I'm about to inflict."
"Pete." Alex knew the voice, but it had a wild, almost sing-songy quality that had never been there before. He put his hand over the phone and hit the intercom.
"Jack, I'm on the phone with Pete Landry. He can see the compound."
"Shit, I'm on it. My guys will find him."
"Don’t bother mobilizing the troops, Alex. It's too late, for me and for you. But your girlfriend is going first. See you soon, buddy."
Dani. Alex wanted to believe she was safe. What could happen between here and Jack's place? He hadn't even put the phone down when he heard the explosion. Grabbing his gun from the desk's bottom drawer, he hit the door running. Jack and Drew were right on his heels.
"What the hell was that?" Jack shouted as they got to the parking lot.
"Over there." Drew pointed to the plume of smoke rising into the air above the road leading to Jack's house. Alex wouldn't let himself think what it meant, just kept on at full speed hoping he wasn't too late.
IT HAPPENED SO fast Dani didn't even have time to brace herself for impact. They were barely out of sight of the H&W compound when something exploded through the driver's side window. The impact made Boyd's body jerk towards her and his hands pull the steering wheel a sharp right. They crashed into a huge pine tree, deploying the airbags. Dani was slightly stunned, her first instinct was to check on Boyd and get them both out of the vehicle as quickly as possible. But she heard a faint moan. Boyd was alive. And for some reason, once she knew that, a vo
ice inside her head told her to stay put and not to move. No sooner had she decided to do just that then her door was being pulled open.
"Well, that was easier than I'd hoped," a male voice said with obvious delight.
She felt the straps of her seatbelt fall away and she was lifted from the truck. She kept her eyes closed and her breathing even. Stay still and stay alive. Good advice that she almost couldn't follow when she felt two fingers checking the pulse on her neck. But she didn't flinch. She stayed limp but peaked just enough to see a tall man with dark hair standing over her. She recognized him and his voice—Jilly's boyfriend and Major Showalter.
Alex had to have heard whatever it was that took out the side of Boyd's truck. She had no doubt he would be here at any moment. She knew as soon as he ran into view, Showalter, or whoever he was, would kill him. Or at the very least, wound him badly enough to put him at this monsters mercy. Alex wouldn't be thinking about protecting himself, just about getting to her. That gave her minutes, maybe only seconds, to take the man out first.
Her advantage was that like most people, he wouldn't see past her fairy princess exterior. It would never occur to him that turning his back on her was the last thing he should ever do. Dani planned reminding him of an old but very accurate saying, never judge a book by its cover.
Pete Landry was ready to die, but he planned on taking Alex Fleming, his girlfriend, and anyone else who got in his way with him. Any second now. He checked his position, his gun and the unconscious man in the truck. He didn't look over his shoulder.
"Hey, asshole."
Pete swung around, but before he could raise his gun he felt the bone in his forearm snap. The sound was sickening, but the pain drove him to his knees.
Dani didn't give him time to recover delivering another well-aimed kick, this time to his chest and then the finishing blow—right to the side of his head.
"Take that, you son of a bitch."
Alex raced around the corner, expecting the worst, and that was what he found— that is if you were Pete Landry. Dani stood over the unconscious man, poised for battle and her mouth letting out a stream of the filthiest swear words Alex had ever heard.
"Holy crap," Jack said.
Drew stood beside him, both men taking in the damaged truck, the scorched earth, but mostly the large broken man lying in an unconscious pile.
"Check on Boyd," Alex told them, his eyes never leaving Dani. He walked to her on less than steady legs, his breathing ragged, his heart still in his throat.
"Dani." He spoke softly, not wanting to startle her. Alex knew what it was like to be in fight mode, and there was no doubt that was where his warrior princess was. He didn't even think she was aware yet that he was there."
"Dani." This time he used a firmer, louder tone as he moved up close. Her head whipped around, emerald eyes shooting fire. When she saw him, recognized who it was, her shoulders slowly relaxed and she straightened. Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Your lip is bleeding." Seeing it, Alex was about to pick up the unconscious man and beat the hell out of him all over again.
"Airbag," Dani said, holding him tight.
"Did he touch you?"
"Just to pull me out of the truck. He thought I was knocked out, so he put me over by the tree and forgot about me."
"Big mistake." Thank God.
"You think? That—" Dani thought for a moment and then let out another stream of language. Alex had heard all the words before, he'd just never heard them all in one sentence.
"Does your mother know you talk like that?" he asked. The sound of sirens getting closer meant he could leave the clean up to someone else and get his lady to the emergency room.
"She does not. And you'd better not tell her." Dani sighed as Alex lifted her into his arms and rested her head gratefully on his shoulder. She didn’t have a drop of adrenaline left. If she'd had to walk out of there under her own power? Well, no one would have seen her for at least a week.
"You're secret is safe with me, baby."
CHAPTER NINETEEN
IF IT HAD just been a local incident the red tape, interviews and general clean up of a very messy situation would have been bad enough. However, this involved the United States government and that meant nothing was done expeditiously. It was frustrating, but Alex had dealt with it personally for years and knew the routine. Luckily, Dani was out of it. As far as anyone but those closest to her knew, she had been nothing but a victim.
The decision had been quick and surprisingly easy to pull off. Alex had recognized immediately that if word got out to the military, it would only be a matter of time before the press found out. Then neither side would ever leave her alone. What she had done was heroic--superhuman. Under the circumstances, anyone who had done what she'd single-handedly accomplished would have gained instant celebrity status. But a woman? One who looked like Dani? The interest would have skyrocketed, taking forever to die down—to some extent, it never would.
So Alex had acted fast. He had outlined the situation to Dani, Jack, and Drew and then given her a choice. Tell everyone that she had taken down Pete Landry, or instead, tell them it had been the three men working together. If they stuck to their story, made it simple and none of them wavered when telling it, Dani could be kept out of the majority of the publicity.
"It's up to you," he told her. But she had to decide fast. As they spoke, police cars were pulling up. What they said in the next few minutes would determine how this played out for months, maybe years.
Dani didn't even have to think about it. She knew exactly what Alex was telling her and she knew he was right. She'd seen it enough times, been in the middle of the hounding press, took the pictures. It was the last thing she wanted for herself. The endless requests for interviews, pictures. The digging into every aspect of her life and that of her friends and family. Someone would want to write a book, make a movie. Authorized or not, both would be done.
"Keep me out of it."
And they had. As far as the world was concerned, Dani Wilde was just an unfortunate pawn—wrong place, wrong time.
The Army wanted answers, but they also wanted it kept as low key as possible. The story circulated to the general public was a simple one. A disgruntled ex-soldier had fixated on H&W Security as the source of all his problems. It was made very clear that though Alex Fleming had served with the perpetrator, there was no connection between that and Pete Landry's actions. The man was a deeply troubled individual, nothing more. The fact that he had an inoperable brain tumor helped with the overall viability of the official story. It was news, but it didn't explode into anything more. A couple of news cycles and most of the world stopped caring.
As for Harper Falls and its residents, the incident on Crossfire Hill, as it was now being called, was the subject on everyone's lips. That too, died down, though the speculation never really did. Like any small town it was a subject that got resurrected from time to time and then put away again, nothing much ever coming of it.
The most important thing as far as Dani was concerned was that Boyd was going to be fine. He had a concussion and a broken nose, but he would make a full recovery. And she was determined to keep reassuring him that none of what had happened was his fault. They had done everything they could in order to stay safe, a madman had tried to kill them, and they had survived. As far as she was concerned, that last part was all that mattered. They had walked away, which made them the winners.
What she couldn't control and hadn't seen coming, was the Army's renewed pursuit of Alex. They wanted him back. And now that Pete Landry was out of the way, locked up for what she hoped was the rest of his life, they seemed to think Alex would want to pick up his career right where he had left off.
"I'll only be gone a few days."
"I know."
"It just seemed easier to be debriefed in D.C."
Alex was packing one bag, that was all. Dani sat on his bed, watching. She didn't say much
and that made him nervous. She had come through it all with only a few cuts and bruises. Mentally, she was still pretty angry, but it had helped that she had been able to beat the hell out of the man who had been bent on killing them both.
Flying across the country instead of having the Army come to him seemed like another way to keep as much of this as possible away from her. There was no reason to think the brass hadn't bought their story, but he wanted it to stay that way.
"I'll be back by Friday, at the latest."
"Okay."
"I'm coming back."
"I know."
She met his gaze head on and what he saw in her eyes just plain pissed him off. Resignation. Didn't he deserve better?
"Do you?"
"When you get on that plane tomorrow morning, you leave with nothing hanging over you. You came to Harper Falls to start a new life, but only because the old one had blown up in your face. It doesn't matter that it had been through no fault of your own. You walked away." She sighed, trying not to let the worry seep into her voice. "There is nothing stopping you from going back, Alex."
"Not even you?"
Dani toyed nervously with the end of the blanket before looking at him again.
"You asked me not so long ago if I had any regrets. Well, I lied."
That stopped him—dead in his tracks. "You did?"
She nodded. "If I could go back, there is one very big thing I would change. I wouldn't let you go."
Alex joined her on the bed, lacing his fingers through hers. He raised her hand and kissed the back.
"I don't recall you having a choice."
"Of course I did. I chose to act like some tragic, noble heroine. Don't say goodbye. Honestly, what kind of crap was that? I should have fought for you. Instead of meek acceptance, I should have kicked and screamed and caused such a fuss that you would have given in just to shut me up."
"You aren't the make a scene type," he smiled.
"Not normally, no," she agreed. "But if there had ever been a time to give it a try, that would have been it."
Alex smoothed back her hair, running his eyes over her precious face.
If Tomorrow Never Comes (Harper Falls Book 2) Page 28