Page 19 of Long Past Deadly

Bets pulled at his sleeve. “Mackey is at the entrance. He’ll be here in a moment. I’ll send him your way.”

“Thank you.” Quaid stepped into the room with Alanna. With two of the three men he trusted most arriving, he could let his anger flow. And because he could, he didn’t.

The nurse adjusted Alanna’s IV, glanced at his face, and exited the room at a fast clip.

Alanna’s bland stare gave him hope. “Scaring the nurses now?”

“Hold, Harry.” Quaid grabbed a pad they’d given Alanna and wrote “Stitches, ENT Doc, then we’re out.”

“They told me,” she answered. “What’s next?”

“We get to QM where you can sleep.” He made the sign for sleep.

The twist of her mouth noted her displeasure. He turned away before she could say anything or he touched her, a ragged need to hold her close overtaking him. Which was stupid. He didn’t even like her.

“Update, Harry. Mac is here.”

“The only thing holding Frank Walker off is that this happened in LA County. The good news is we have more pictures from the kitchen and the hallway to compare with the parking lot. Height and weight comparisons say the same man. He left the hotel in a white suburban. No plates. Sloppy. He either didn’t plan enough C-4 or he didn’t plan to kill. He missed in the parking lot, now he’s missed at the hotel. How he found you? Undetermined. Unless one of you has a GPS tracker on you.”

“How’d he get to the cart?”

“Kitchen. Barker is chewing on anyone who gets in his way. It won’t happen again. The cart was delivered by Landers, your regular guy, the same routine as always. There was a new bus boy in the kitchen. The usual chaos. Our assassin/bomber slipped in. Planted the C-4 on the cart. Took out the men in the hallway so they couldn’t do their usual search which implies he’d studied the hotel routine. How in this timeframe, I don’t know. Both men are going to be fine. Landers hadn’t been briefed on the security arrangement.”

“I shouldn’t have been in the pool. I would have checked the cart.”

“Should haves are unproductive. Stuff happens. Leave it alone.”

Quaid snorted. “GPS is a hard no. Neither of us had phones until we grabbed the burners at Hunter’s. I’ve only activated one. So, somebody must have talked. I can’t imagine the man checking every Patton hotel, but it’s possible. I don’t have a phone, by the way. Niles has them.”

“He’ll be there shortly. He checked in with me when he left the hotel. Are we dodging the cops for a reason?”

“I don’t have answers. Christ, we can’t even figure out who he is, let alone why.”

“I’ve surveyed as many of your CIA files as I can. Some I don’t have clearance for. You’re the only one who can review those. I’d suggest you tag Frank and talk it through. Get him on our side. We could use legal access to traffic cams.”

Quaid initial instinct was no. He could handle this himself. He looked at Alanna. She’d dropped off to sleep, her face strained. The cut on her arm was covered with blood-stained gauze. She cradled her arm as if it hurt.

“I’ll talk it through with Mac and take care of it.”

“Where to next? Your grandfather has already called twice. He’s not happy about the damage to his favorite suite.”

Quaid sighed. “He prefers the one in Tokyo, not here. Don’t believe him. It’s his way of staying in emotional control.”

“That may be, but Elizabeth is distraught. I’m going to transfer your call. Reassure her, would you? Then come back to homebase so we can help. He got in the parking lot not the building. There’s protection here.”

“I’m worried about collateral damage.”

“Better professionals like us than hotel employees with families. We’re clear of all the wedding extras.”

“All right. We’ll see you soon. Thanks, Harry.”

The phone clicked, then rang. “About damn time, mister.”

Elizabeth didn’t sound distraught. She sounded…pissed. “We’re both okay, and Niles handed off the money. Thanks, Liz.”

“Come back here. It makes no sense to avoid the one place that has the expertise, fire power, and resources to help you. Come home.”

Quaid recognized the fear in her voice, the loss of her son coming back to bite her, and acknowledged that’s what he meant to her, too. “We’ll be there soon. Alanna needs a hearing assessment and stitches. It’ll take a couple more hours.”