Page 40 of Long Past Deadly

“I haven’t had a great deal of range practice since I moved to LA from Virginia six months ago. Job isn’t giving me a lot of time for it.”

“FBI Qualification not the same as mine.” That was the most words from him all morning.

Alanna chose silence. She liked that Mackey demanded more. Especially now. Yesterday still weighed on her. The time spent telling Quaid about her past had helped get her thoughts in order, so when she talked to the rest of the search team, she’d been able to succinctly state the order of events without losing her shit. But the immersion in the mess meant her body was tight with fear and flush with anxiety. She’d hardly slept. She’d beg for coffee, but would Mackey understand how essential that was to her mental well-being? The excuse sounded lame.

Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Mackey frowned. She ignored him and took out the device. Her boss. Great. She hadn’t reported in. He wouldn’t be happy with her either.

“It’s my boss. I have to take this.” She stepped away, answering as she went. “Good morning, sir.”

“Why am I only now finding out from both the San Diego Police Department and the LAPD that you were involved in a shooting two days ago and were possibly hurt in an explosion?”

Nick Ryker hated getting slammed sideways by things he wasn’t told. He was a great boss, much like Mackey, who had no tolerance for lack of communication.

“I’m trying to figure out what the hell is going on before calling you.”

“You’re first call, Williams, is always me. Hear me?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Can you hear me?”

“Yes, sir.” The ringing was tapering off, so it was only a little lie.

“Brief me.” She slipped outside the range to the parking lot and went to their car. The alarm beeped. Jerking, she turned back to the front of the building. Quaid stood there, key fob in hand, and let her in the vehicle. Stupid safety mistake, and she knew it.

“Williams.”

“Getting somewhere I can talk, sir.”

He stayed silent while she got in the car and slammed the door. The silence of the car eased the pressure on her ears.

“Minor injuries, sir. And QM has a great doctor. I’m getting good care. Not exactly sure of the parameters. Assassin attempted to shoot Quaid Daniels in the parking lot at QM two nights ago, only it turns out he might have been after me.”

“Say that again” His demand struck a nerve.

“I triggered something.”

“How? Not this cold case I sent you there for?”

“No, sir. That one is progressing.” How the hell did she tell him she’d been using off time and FBI assets to search for Esme? Straight out. She hadn’t been on his team long enough to get away with anything else. “Something on me, I think.”

“One of your cases?”

“No, my past.”

“I admit I’m not up to speed on your background, Williams, so you’d better go into detail.”

“I only have what I suspect, sir. Nothing concrete.”

“And yet, it triggered something. Sounds like it’s more concrete than you think.”

Thankful again that Quaid had walked her through the attack, she started at the beginning. “An incident from when I was fifteen and homeless. I interrupted a man assaulting a friend.”

Did she spit it all out? Would she lose all her credibility?

“Honestly, I’m looking for this old friend. I was hurt in the altercation, and she disappeared. It’s a sixteen-year old cold case. I’m searching Southern California morgues for Jane Does.”

“And you think this assassin is the man?”