Page 64 of Long Past Deadly

“I want time with you alone, Lani, not squeezing in moments on this madman’s agenda to kill you.

She moistened her lips. “I won’t let him succeed. I’ve been fighting him and his ghost for so many years. I need it to stop.”

“I’ll be right here.”

“Do you know what happened to your friend?”

“Yes, got a letter from him, mailed before his death. Explained everything and nothing. I’ll show it to you sometime.”

“You were his friend. Sounds like a good one. And you looked for him. There is only so much you can do, and you did it.” She kissed his eyelids again.

He plundered her mouth to chase away ghosts, savoring her response, and wished it were that easy.

&&&&&&&&&&

Quaid lay back on the bed, and Alanna went with him. She shifted her legs, ending up next to him full length with her head on his shoulder.

“Mackey came in while I was dealing with Dubai. They got a hint of Whit.”

Alanna raised up, temper barely in check. “Way to lead with that.”

“I got distracted.” His eyes traced over her mouth to breasts straining against the buttons.

“Describe said hint.”

“Church. Sanctuary.”

“That’s it?”

“Did Whit ever go to church?”

“No, but he had relationships with a lot of people in the streets – business owners, junkies, priests. It was all the same to him.”

“I left Mackey working with Kerry to explore the churches. They’re going to visit each one. They’ll call if they find anything, and we’ll join them.”

Alanna wanted to argue. She wanted to go out and search with them, but she’d already walked those streets and found nothing. Obviously, QM had the resources and people to use who had good information sources. Her sense was they would get the job done.

“Any word from Frank?”

“Not yet. And I don’t want to nag him. He’s not someone I want mad at us. What did your boss say?”

“Keep the reports coming. He’s sorting through the classified information and will inform me if any of it can be passed on.”

“I’m stuck on where you fit with all these puzzle pieces.” His deep voice sank into turbulent emotions and soothed.

“You mean why didn’t he kill me when I was fifteen?” Alanna wanted to press closer when Quaid’s hands tightened on her back, and she shivered deep at the care. Something unfurled inside – her grandfather used to pat her on the back. Go get ‘em girl, he’d always say. He had cared. Did this mean the same thing? Alanna sighed, then tipped her head away from Quaid’s neck and a spot she desperately wanted to kiss.

His stillness signaled his serious thought process. “I’m trying to be pragmatic. He raped and killed Esme. She was most likely dead after she hit the pavement. His compulsion slaked so to speak, he left you to hide her body. When he came back for you, Whit stopped him.”

“I’ve always wondered if I remembered everything that happened or if I blocked it out.”

“From their record, we can surmise Whit and Mercer used an adversarial relationship to test each other’s strengths.”

“Boys will be boys?”

“No, not boys. The behavior is stupid when you get to the levels they were at in the military. I admit I’m a biased Marine, but I’m not sure what kind of broken chain let the two of them keep at each other. Mackey agreed. His training was much more disciplined. He was the Army pinnacle at Delta, though, working with a bunch of crazy men who took on the hardest stuff is incredibly difficult.”

“We’ll put that at the top of the list to ask Whit.” She didn’t want to talk about it anymore. She tilted her head and gazed at Quaid, studying his jaw line.