If Tomorrow Never Comes (Harper Falls Book 2) (35 page)

It had been a mistake to go to that fitness center. It had been an even bigger mistake to get caught watching Dani Wilde. He'd become fascinated with her, trying to figure out what she had that made Alex such a sap. She was attractive enough, but the world was full of beautiful women. No, it had to be more, but in truth, he couldn't see it. And because of his curiosity, he had lost an excellent place to stay while waiting to make his move on his old friend. Jilly Underwood had been such a pathetically easy mark. With very little encouragement, she had invited him to move in after only three dates. Her very comfortable residence was no longer safe. Alex had a man watching her around the clock.

It was better this way; roughing it in the woods kept his senses sharp his objective in focus. He raised his binoculars one more time. Out for the night? Enjoy each other while you can. Soon, very soon, he would take it all—he would have his revenge.

"THERE ARE NO guarantees. Hypnosis can be a useful tool to help you fill in gaps missing from your memory, but it doesn't always work."

Another week, another session with Dr. Tolliver. Only this time Alex was ready to find the missing pieces that had been haunting him. Somewhere in his subconscious were the answers. He was tired of struggling on his own, hoping that with time, it would all come back. He had resisted the idea of hypnosis because he hated putting someone else in control. Now it was time, for himself and for Dani.

"Are you trying to talk me out of this?"

They were in Dr. Tolliver's office, the shades drawn. She had given him a mild sedative, just enough to mellow him out and now they were about to begin. Nothing was a surprise. She had given him all the information on what to expect, but she still needed to remind him, this was not a miracle cure.

"Reactions vary. I've had people give up on therapy altogether when they haven't gotten the results they were hoping for. I don't want that to happen with you."

"Sorry, Doc, you're stuck with me. Now, can we get this show on the road?"

Smiling, she patted Alex's arm. In a very short time, she had become quite fond of this young man, something she couldn't say about all of her patients.

"I want you to close your eyes and clear your mind of every thought but one. There is a clock in the corner of the room. Concentrate on the sound of it ticking. Tick, tock, tick, tock."

"ACCORDING TO MY inside source, Portia Nessmith still has her job."

Dani felt a rush of relief. It had been a niggling worry, the thought that her careless, impetuous actions might have cost the woman her livelihood. Tyler had done some asking around and had just called with some very welcome news.

"I was certain she would be out on her rear-end," Dani said. She stood back and looked at the layout she had created. Good composition, but something was still missing. She wanted every page of the Harper Falls Centennial book to be perfect. This one definitely needed more work.

"Admittedly, it isn't like Reggie to let something like that go," Tyler said. Dani could hear the sound of hammer on chisel and could picture her friend with the phone under her chin, carefully sculpting away on her latest project.

"What are you working on today? Wood, marble, granite?"

"It's that life size sculpture of the Golden State Warrior. His wife wants it for his birthday in two weeks. I'm just finishing up the first stage, which makes me very happy. I now have all that extra time to tweak and polish and still have time to spare." She let out a puff of air. "It also keeps my mind off a certain decision that will be made a week from tomorrow."

Ah, yes. It would seem they both had their minds on the Harper Falls Centennial. "I'd tell you your design is a shoe in, but we both know how these things sometimes go. But I can say with all sincerity that yours should win and with Queen Reg's two cents back in her bank, your chances are better than excellent."

"Now why can't everyone be as completely unbiased as you and Rose?"

"Did she already give you the pep talk?"

"About an hour ago. Don’t be surprised if I'm reaching out for a daily dose between now and when I get the call—or don't."

"Day or night, bestie. Oh, and don't you dare send that seven-foot six-inch granite basketball God off before I see it in person. Pictures will not suffice."

"You got it."

Smiling, Dani put her phone down and headed for her kitchen to get something to drink. Deciding nothing hit the spot like good old water she filled a glass. Then thought about Boyd upstairs and got out another glass. Sometimes he insisted on staying in his truck, sometimes, like today, she talked him into sitting up in her lounge area. He never watched TV but had an ever present book instead to pass the hours. She quizzed him and found his tastes ran the gamut. Biographies, mysteries, westerns. Today? Much to Dani's delight, big, old Boyd was reading a romance novel and wasn't the least bit embarrassed.

"Have you ever read Nora Roberts?"

"I have."

"Then enough said."

She really liked Boyd. She wondered how old he was. Forty-five? Maybe fifty? She knew he was single, liked women and lived alone in a house on the south end of town that he was renovating in his spare time. Dani had never been much of a matchmaker, but for some reason decided that Portia Nessmith would be perfect for him.

"Hey, Boyd."

"Yo." His head appeared over the second-floor railing.

"Come down and join me. I still have some of my mother's blueberry muffins."

She didn't have to ask twice. Nobody with half a brain and an ounce of taste ever turned down Bobbi Wilde's baked goods.

She popped the muffin in her microwave and gave the cook's prescribed twenty seconds and then served it on a piece of her grandmother's china. He seemed to get a kick out little touches like that. For Dani, it was just the way things were done.

"Boyd," she began, handing him a cup of freshly brewed coffee. "Are you seeing anyone right now?"

"Seeing as in…?"

"Dating another human being. You do prefer women, right."

He choked a bit on his bite of muffin but recovered quickly.

"Ah, all my life."

"Fine, it's just that it can be awkward to try and set someone up and then find out you got their orientation wrong. Because I do have gay friends who would do cartwheels if I showed them your picture."

"No, I mean I like women."

He was trying not to squirm and Dani gave him big points for holding it together. She hadn't meant to make him uncomfortable. She sometimes forgot that a lot of people found the subject of homosexuality an uncomfortable one, whether they were okay with it or not.

"Then do you remember meeting—" Her phone signaled that she'd received a text. "Sorry, I need to check that, I'll just be a minute.

Major Showalter. At first the name didn't ring a bell but it only took her a moment to recall. He had wanted to meet in regards to some mysterious project. She'd forgotten all about it.

Miss Wilde. Will be in your area tomorrow. Still interested in securing your services. Name the place and time. Maj. F. Showalter.

Dani felt a slight tingle up the back of her neck, almost as though she were being watched. She looked out her front window, wondering if her imagination had started to get the better of her.

"Is something wrong?"

"You tell me."

Dani handed Boyd her phone and waited for him to tell her sometimes a text was just a text.

"I KILLED THEM. All of them."

Dr. Tolliver handed Alex a bottle of water and watched carefully as he unscrewed the lid and downed the entire bottle. He had come out of the hypnosis well, extremely well, considering he'd been able to recall everything. His hand shook a bit, but that was to be expected, he had been on an adrenaline high and was still feeling the after effects of the inevitable crash.

"You already knew that," she reminded him. She was a bit shaky herself. That had been as intense a session as she had ever been a part of. His descriptions had been so vivid, so detailed, she had sworn she could almost feel the desert heat and smell the blood. "You read the report."

"But I felt like I was reading about someone else. I killed five men, Doc. It wasn't right not to remember."

"You're a hero."

"Jesus, I sure as hell don't feel like one." Alex ran a hand over his face. He was so damn tired like he'd run a marathon. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not sorry. I don't feel guilty. It wasn't even the first time. But no man should end another's life, no matter the circumstances, without acknowledging it. I might not respect those men, they betrayed me, their fellow soldiers and their country. But in all likelihood someone loved each and every one of them. I regret the suffering I caused those people."

"That's what makes you different then the men you killed, Alex. They didn't care about who you or your men left behind. They didn't care about the hole they put in you or that it almost killed you."

"
They
didn't shoot me," Alex corrected, and it still hurt to say it, to even think about the ultimate betrayal. "It was Pete Landry, one of the few people I would have bet anything on having my back. I was sure I could trust him with my life. How's that for irony?"

"And in order to save your men and yourself, you killed him."

"Yes," Alex said, still angry that he'd been forced to choose. "I'd do it again, no hesitation."

"This man you killed, the one who betrayed you. You'd known him a long time?" She knew the answer. It was all in Alex's file. But now that he was finally opening up, she wanted him to get it all out.

"We met about a month after I joined. We didn't have a lot in common, not on paper. But we clicked right away. Over the next ten years, we worked together so often we developed a kind of shorthand in the field. We knew each other's moves. It saved time; once or twice it saved our lives. Ultimately it was how he could betray me and our mission. It's also what got him killed. He had me dead to rights. He should have been the one to walk away, but I knew how he thought. So I took the only chance my men and I had. You see, Pete loved to talk, especially when he could point out why he was smarter. It's one of those things you put up with from a friend and exploit from an enemy. He also made the mistake of letting someone else disarm me. Pete would have found the gun I'd hidden next to me in the sand. I waited for my moment and took out the other traitors first. He was able to get off a round, the one that got me."

"But you got him first."

"
After.
" Alex saw it play out in his head again. The grotesque choreography, Pete falling backward, more surprise than pain on his face. "Then I woke up in the hospital. I was told my men were all safe, back on the base with nothing more than a few sunburns and some dehydration."

Finished, Alex let it all start to sink in
. Knowing
had been one thing, but this was…liberating. Maybe now he could really start to move on.

"IT'S PROBABLY NOTHING."

Boyd agreed but called Alex anyway. Voicemail. He left a message emphasizing that Dani was fine.

Dani was in the kitchen straightening up.

"This was only the second time he's contacted you?"

"Yes, in fact, I—" Dani looked down at her ringing phone. "It's Major Showalter."

"Okay," Boyd told her. "Answer. Be casual, keep the conversation general, but most important—record it."

Dani nodded, butterflies suddenly knocking like crazy against the walls of her stomach. But she did what Boyd said—casual.

"Hello," Dani greeted the man and hit record.

"Hello, Ms. Wilde. I hope I'm not disturbing you. This is Major Showalter."

"Yes, Major. I got your second text just a few minutes ago. I'm sorry, but nothing has changed. My schedule is just too full to allow me to take on any new projects. Why don't you let me put together a list of other photographers for you to contact?"

"I appreciate the offer, but you see the reason I'm so insistent is because we like and know your work."

"That's very flattering, Major." Dani looked at Boyd for a cue. He whispered for her to keep on talking. "I'm just not sure how I can help you. My time is booked until well after the first of next year."

"Look, I'm in Spokane right now. I can drive up to Harper Falls tomorrow, take you to lunch and at least tell you what the project entails. Then, if your final answer is still no, you will at least have enough information to pick the right photographer for your recommendation."

"Lunch? Tomorrow? Give me just a second to check my schedule."

"Tell him yes, but you'll text him later with the details. Then hang up as quickly as possible." Boyd was already making a call and moving to the other side of the room.

"Tomorrow works for me, Major. I must admit you've peaked my curiosity and I can’t resist finding out about this mysterious project of yours. But I'm in the middle of something that needs my attention. I will text you later today with where to meet."

"I'm looking forward to it. Goodbye, Miss Wilde."

Dani collapsed onto a chair. Her hand was actually shaking when she tried to play back the recording, but she took a deep breath and hit the button. She only listened for a few seconds, just long enough to be sure she got it.

"Alex is still in his session, but Jack and Drew are calling around, checking out this Major Showalter."

Dani thought about that then frowned.

"He must be real. Why go through all this knowing how easy it would be for the guys to check out his story?"

"Now you're asking me to speculate how the mind of a crazy man works."

"Crazy? Way to sugar coat it, Boyd."

The man shrugged. "One of the first things Alex told me when I got this job was to always be honest with you, hold nothing back, give it to you straight. Was he wrong?"

Dani felt her heart expand and fill with a deep, happy warmth. No, Alex hadn't been wrong. He knew her, he got her. And as soon as they figured all this out and it was finally behind them, she planned on spending the rest of her life making sure he knew just how much that meant to her.

A DARK BROWN Corolla pulled away from the curb, the man behind the wheel smiling, humming a nondescript tune. Things hadn't gone exactly as planned since he had arrived in Harper Falls, but then, they rarely did. Thinking on his feet had always been his strong suit. Bob and weave, keep ahead of the pack—stay alive. He'd made the mistake of thinking the woman would be a pushover. A little flattery, appeal to her vanity, he'd thought she would fall right in line. But Alex had gotten himself a smart one. Not that he should be surprised. The man had never settled for run of the mill. So he'd readjusted, moved the timetable around. Nothing was as fun if it was too easy. He wanted his old friend to suffer before he died and the blond was the ticket. Soon his old friend would watch his woman die just before he met his own fate—the fate he had eluded all those months ago in the desert. But this time luck had changed sides and Alex Fleming was going to finally get what he deserved.