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TWO
Alex Knight leaned his mountain bike against the trunk of a white pine at the Rocky Mountain Courage Memorial. He removed his helmet and hung it over the bars, then took a few steps to get a closer look at the damaged plaque honoring his father for his sacrifice.
A fist of grief pressed against his chest.
If Alex could go back in time and change one thing, he would start with the small plane crash on Stone Wolf Mountain and figure out how to keep his father home that day. And if he had changed that one day and his father had lived, maybe Alex wouldn’t have ended up halfway around the world, watching others who depended on him burn in a fiery explosion.
Though he couldn’t go back and fix the past, he would do everything in his power to right the wrong that had been done to the memorial—an infraction against those who died and the loved ones they left behind.
Too much crashed into him at once. The vandalism at the monument tangled up with the images flashing through his brain from the last three years spent overseas. Especially the last month.
He closed his eyes, only to see violent images burning through his mind.
The armored Suburban in front of him exploded in flames...
Steady, now.
He breathed in the scent of evergreens and fresh mountain air. Opened his eyes. He was surrounded by acres and acres of national forest. Montana. He was home, not on the other side of the world. Joyous birdsong sounded around him. If he listened, he could hear the Grayback River flowing nearby.
Yeah. That was better. Peace overcame the pulse pounding in his ears, and he tried to put his assignment protecting a high-risk asset in a high-threat region far behind him. That was over and done. If only he could push it totally out of his mind ... And he would, because it was necessary. He’d come home to take a much-needed break and solve a mystery. Here at the place where his hero father was memorialized.
And that was just it. As a special agent working for the DSS, Diplomatic Security Services, vandalism wasn’t the typical crime he would investigate. But as the son of a fallen hero, he was more than eager to dig in and get his hands dirty to find out who vandalized the memorial.
The same person who had taken to vandalism at the memorial months ago? Or someone new? Some kid who thought this would be funny? He took in the destruction. The violence. Each plaque was a tribute to those who’d been killed on the mountain while attempting to save the lives of others.
Hands on his hips, he walked the wide circle around the memorial, then returned to his father’s plaque. Voices drifted up the trail. He glanced up in time to see two figures emerging from the trailhead. United States Forest Service Special Agent Terra Connors and her soon-to-be husband, Detective Jack Tanner.
Terra approached with a tenuous smile. “I thought I might find you here.”
She was dressed in her usual khakis and button-down shirt. No uniform for her since she was an investigator. She and Alex became close friends after an avalanche killed his father and her mother fifteen years ago during a search and rescue mission. Terra and Alex, along with Erin Larson, who’d lost her stepfather. That was years ago, and they’d put the tragedy behind them, each attempting to make the world a better place in their own way.
Terra had called him about the vandalized memorial the night he got back to DC. He’d already debriefed and been told to decompress. It was as good a time as any to make a trip back to Montana and see Mom. As soon as he got back, though, he found himself in the thick of Erin’s troubles. Thankfully, she was okay now, and happily engaged to Detective Nathan Campbell, her old boyfriend. Alex couldn’t be happier for Terra and Erin—he thought of them as the sisters he never had but always wanted.
“Special Agent Connors.” He quirked a grin.
“Hey, none of that formality needed.” Terra gestured toward his bike. “How many miles have you ridden that thing so far this morning?”
He shrugged. “Only about twenty since I came directly here.” He’d taken the road from the cabin he’d rented because it was the most direct route.
Jack shook his head. “You must have some serious leg muscles, dude.”
Alex wouldn’t admit to Jack that the last hill had almost done him in. Overseas, he didn’t have much opportunity to mountain bike. “I never got to officially congratulate you on your engagement, by the way. Glad you were able to come back to Montana and stake a claim.”
“Now, wait a minute. I’m not a claim to be staked.” Terra fisted her hands on her hips, her smile broadening. But it slowly faded as the three of them looked toward the memorial. Vandalism wasn’t necessarily a high priority, like murder or drugs or human trafficking.
Alex blew out a breath. “What can you tell me?”
“We didn’t learn anything from the first incident back in October.” Jack looked up at the nearest tree. “But we planted some cameras.”
“And?”
“Nothing for months. We had to replace the batteries, and a camera now and then. Figured it was kids with a weird sense of how to have fun. Had almost decided it wasn’t worth the time or resources and would probably not happen again. Then a few nights ago, we got this. I would have shared it earlier, but, well, we were kind of busy. So I’m sharing it now.”
“That was some crazy business surrounding Erin. I’m just glad that’s behind us.” And they could focus on something mundane by comparison.
Jack held up his cell and let a video play across the screen. Even in the shade, it wasn’t easy to see. Alex could barely make out the dark, grainy figure. But he could see enough. The headlamp on the vandal’s helmet shone brightly as they bashed away with their sledgehammer, taking special interest in the plaque dedicated to Alex’s father. Then everything seemed to go dark, but light caught the figure disappearing into the woods.
“Wow,” Alex said. “That’s not going to help you much.”
