If Tomorrow Never Comes (Harper Falls Book 2) (36 page)

"THERE IS A Major Showalter," Jack informed Alex an hour later. "But
she's
stationed in Germany and hasn't been back in the States in over a year."

Alex let the information sink in. Though not a complete surprise, using an alias that could be shot out of the water so quickly seemed, well, sloppy. If Dani had had any reason to mention it at the time of the first contact the cover would have been blown even sooner.

"Any ideas?" Drew asked.

"At the moment I'm just trying to process," Alex admitted. "If we could figure out the why, maybe the rest would fall into place, but right now I've got nothing."

"What about the recording Dani made?"

"She and Boyd should be here any second."

Alex had come straight to H&W, making record time from Spokane to Harper Falls. He'd spoken to Dani first, gauging that she was a little shaken but holding up, just as he would have expected. That didn't stop him from wanting to scoop her up and hide her away until all this crap was cleared up. But that wasn't realistic even if she had been willing—and good luck with that. So he'd trusted Boyd to get her to him and come to meet with Jack and Drew.

"Again, none of this makes sense. Why make the phone call? Why set up a meeting he had to know Dani would never keep? It just doesn't seem smart."

"And that, Jack, is why military intelligence can make the average person want to beat their head against the wall." Alex began to pace. "It's so often about taking incongruous information and give it some meaning. Eventually, it starts to come together. I'm hoping that phone call will give us a few answers."

"Well, all it did was leave me with more questions."

Alex went to Dani and took her in his arms. He'd known she was safe, but having her here, touching her—there was no substitute.

"You feel good," she whispered, burrowing in for a second. Then she pulled back, her face creased with worry. "I've been thinking," she said, looking around at all three men. "This feels like it's moving to some kind of conclusion and I think it's time to let all our peripheral people know. They need to be aware so they can stay safe."

Alex nodded. "We've increased security surrounding your family. Lila is out of town on business."

"Rose had orders to stay put. No one is getting past the firewalls I have at my house, but just in case, the place is under watch from every side. If push comes to shove, we can move everyone there."

"And Tyler?"

Drew gave an impatient growl.

"What?" Dani asked, ready to panic.

"Your friend is being her usual pain in the ass. We sent bodyguards, two burly ones. They requested that she come with them and stay with Rose for a few days."

That sounded good to Dani, but she could imagine how well the idea was received by Tyler.

"Let me call," she said to the room but looked at Drew.

"Good luck," he muttered, but she could see the relief in his eyes.

It took some doing. Tyler didn't cave easily for anyone, but Dani finally convinced her to pack up for the day and stay with Rose at least until the next morning. After that renegotiations would have to occur.

"That takes care of everyone, let's hear that recording."

Dani handed her phone to Alex.

"If Boyd hadn't been there I don't think I would have thought of it. He really deserves a raise, you know."

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 voice 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."