Chapter Sixteen
Alanna’s phone was in the back pocket of her slacks.
On the floor. She smiled against the pillow at the why, and was currently as comfortable as she’d ever been in her life.
Good timing didn’t happen for her. Usually.
Last night had been a miracle. One she didn’t know she badly needed.
She lifted her slacks and pulled the phone from the pocket, planning to get an update on Whit.
There was a message already there from Cait.
He’s awake. You can see him any time. ICU fourth floor.
Thank God. She had to talk to him. She also had to find a way to ditch this anger before she asked questions.
He’d avoided her for weeks, wouldn’t let her help him, and the slight burned like a thousand bee stings.
His time in the military and on the streets had made him introverted and defensive, but he was protective as hell.
As the years rolled by, he worsened in protecting himself, too.
She was lucky he’d taken her under his wing.
Anger wouldn’t coax his story out of him.
She threw off the covers, cracked a blind to enjoy the early morning sunrise, and tested for hot water in the shower.
She stood under the spray longer than she should have, lost in memories of long periods without water, food, clothes – all the basic necessities.
It had been a long, hard slog to earn those things for herself.
She bounced from those memories to yesterday’s bombing to next steps for hunting Mercer to an obscure fact about Seth Tenney and his missing niece.
Her mind wouldn’t settle. Learn about good sex, sleep five straight hours with no wakeups, and stay against Quaid the whole time gave her an excuse to be scattered.
She pawed through her bag and settled on black jeans and her FBI t-shirt.
God, she needed to go to her apartment in LA and get clothes.
She could say something to Niles, but damn she’d been taking care of herself for a long time.
It went against everything she’d built to let Niles buy and hand her things using Quaid’s money.
She would smile and thank him, but if she was staying around, she couldn’t live like that.
Was she staying around? Rich boy. Poor Girl.
No. Wrong framing.
Retired warrior. FBI Agent. They were real with each other, and the past didn’t make the future. Something she was slow to understand.
Coffee in hand and a breakfast bar in the other, she entered the third floor admin area from the stairwell.
Things were popping in Operations, but Harry had it in hand, so she went around to Quaid’s office.
The owner group of Quaid, Mackey, and Elizabeth stood together in the middle of the office.
She didn’t want to interrupt, but getting to the hospital was growing more urgent.
She stopped and admitted it. She was afraid Whit would escape, walk off, disappear again.
The man was deathly sick and in no shape to be running in the streets or fighting Mercer.
Quaid raised a hand and signaled her to his side.
“Good morning, Alanna.” Elizabeth clinked her coffee mug to hers. “We survived another day of this mayhem.”
Alanna smiled. “Yes, we did.” She turned her gaze to Quaid. “I need to get to the hospital. Whit is awake.”
“I’ll take you.”
She glanced from Mackey to Elizabeth. “I don’t want to pull you away from what you’re needed for here.”
Mackey tapped off a chime on his phone. “We’re getting everything back in place. We need a plan for what’s next.”
“I have to talk to my boss.”
“Why?” Elizabeth straightened the cuffs on a gorgeous black pinstriped suit.
“The next phase needs his permission to implement.” She sighed at their expressions.
“I want a statewide manhunt. California Highway Patrol, FBI, SDPD, SD Sheriff, QM, Marshall Service, Warrant squad. The works. I want to make the atmosphere in San Diego so toxic it flushes him out. He’ll do one of two things.
Run. And we’ll have the airports, trains, buses, freeways covered.
Or he’ll confront. Us. If we set it up right. ”
Quaid’s mouth opened and closed, his face clouding. “Who are you planning on bait?”
“You and me. We’ve pissed him off. Let’s push.”
“Shoot to kill?” Mackey’s frown said how much he liked this plan.
“At the team’s discretion. We’re not going into this alone. Hence, why I need my boss’s cooperation. Frank could be useful, too.”
“Good plan.” Harrison stood in the doorway listening. “Navy might want in. They’ve hunted him a long time.”
Having not considered the scope, she took a moment to think. The Navy had gathered all the assassin information, identified his signature. She wanted every direction he could go covered.
“Done. Make a call.” Quaid answered when she didn’t.
Alanna’s commitment to the plan settled. “Agreed. Let me give Ryker a warning.”
Quaid grabbed her hand when she would have left.
He looked to the other three. “Give us a minute, can you?”
“Not a problem.” Mackey followed Harrison out.
Elizabeth paused, then kissed her cheek. “Be safe. I hope you get the answers you want.”
She squeezed Elizabeth’s hand. “Thanks. I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Oh, no worries about me.” She kissed Quaid’s cheek and shut the office door behind her.
Quaid put hands on her hips and pulled her against him. “Let’s talk this through.”
Well, at least he wasn’t going overprotective on her.
“My reasoning is simple. We should pull all the agencies into this because the man is not only a one-method serial killer. He’s an assassin, and we need expertise on our side that tells him he’s targeted and hunted.”
“Agreed. But will he try for us again?”
“I’m not sure, but he believes he’s smarter, more skilled. And in some ways he is, but he’s on a plan I don’t understand.”
“Maybe Whit can help?”
“We won’t know until I talk to him.”
“Let’s go.” He went to his desk and handed her a weapon.
“One more thing.” She stayed in place but tracked him. Crazy to want to know exactly where he was.
“What?”
“You can’t keep handing me guns. I have several of my own. Somewhere in this schedule, I need to go to my apartment in LA and get them and some more clothes.” She hadn’t meant to be so adamant.
“Understood. We’ll figure it out. Your current service weapon is with Tinkerton. She was cleaning and reloading it. This is my backup. We can square this later.” He handed off her credentials and badge.
She grabbed his hand. “I’m grateful you’ve covered me, but I’ve fired my weapons repeatedly. I know their feel and what they’ll do. With all the threat, I’m better equipped with my own on my belt.”
“I get it. Might have to send Niles to your apartment.”
“He does so much.” She expelled a breath, not happy with the plan. She’d put things in order when she left, but she’d expected to be back, not to be stuck in San Diego for a week.
“He’s glad to do it, and it’s what I pay him for.”
“He’s family and you’d let him. It has nothing to do with pay.”
“True. But I’ve insisted on the salary because it’s right and fair.”
“Is he paid by you or QM?”
“Both.”
She leaned in. “There’s a story there. I’ll need to hear details. But not today. Come on. We need to go. My ear is bothering me, too. And Cait’s going to meet me and check it. I popped some Tylenol after my shower, but it’s not enough.”
Quaid gave her a stern look. “You should have told me that first. Everything else all right?”
“Yes.” She emphasized the word so he wouldn’t worry there either. “I think you exaggerated how sore I’d be. I’m fine.”
His smile was full of masculine ego. “Good to know.”
&&&&&&&&&&
It was a process to get past all the concrete barricades in the parking lot, but Alanna let Quaid deal with it.
QM security – Bailey Tanner and Grady Welker – were in front of the SUV. She and Quaid were in the back.
She was having trouble keeping her emotions in check. Wheels were in motion to implement her plan, so in the privacy of the backseat, she put a call in to Ryker. It took several minutes to get through.
“Explain this to me, Williams.”
“Navy called already? Harrison didn’t waste any time.” She opened her eyes wide at Quaid.
“You’re putting a trap into play. For an international assassin.”
“He attacked QM yesterday.”
“Yes, you told me. Sounds like a PD matter.”
Exasperated, she swallowed a pithy comment. Quaid slid a hand to her knee.
She put a hand over his. “I would like to request we implement a manhunt. I want to flush this rat out of his maze.”
“And if I don’t agree, you’ll go around me?”
“I didn’t go around you. I want everybody searching for him. San Diego Police are already involved. FBI is already involved. We need San Diego County Sheriff, US Marshall Service, and the California Highway Patrol.”
“And all cities around San Diego. These manhunts don’t operate in a vacuum.”
“It’s what we need to flush him out.” The conversation was long and involved a good deal of justifying what she wanted to do.
After walking through all the investigative steps, her patience was gone.
The SUV pulled into the parking garage at UCSD by the Emergency Division.
Tanner parked the vehicle in the first slot she could find and gave Alanna a thumbs up.
The support of the former agent settled her down.
She could convince Ryker. He made things difficult so the agents would keep on the legal side of their actions.
Her boss sighed. “Step Two? You’re drawing him out. To what end?”
“He’ll either try to run and get snared or turn back and try for me again.”
“You’re gambling he’s losing his focus, counting on him to abandon years of discipline to get to you.”
“He’s managed his compulsions by assassinating people, and its not working for him anymore. He hasn’t been credited with a kill for close to eighteen months. He’s reverting back to a pre-military killing pattern.”
“Your not confronting him alone.” Ryker’s protective snarl surprised her. “I’ll assign a team from here.”