Collateral Damage (23 page)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Fayetteville, North Carolina

1000 hours

Roger paced and the nurses running up and down the hospital hallway gave him a wide berth. He not only felt like hell, but he was pretty sure he looked it too. Beck hadn’t answered his phone despite the numerous calls Roger had made over the last few hours, and Roger had reached the point where he was going to have to let the brass and his cousin Paul, the President, know. They had to be made aware of Beck’s state of mind. That Roger had yet to inform them of Beck’s instability was unforgivable, but Roger had found himself between a rock and a hard spot. He had the responsibility of taking care of his men. That meant cutting Beck some slack when dealing with shit that Roger himself was struggling to handle.

If he took the human element out of being a commander then his men would lose heart for the team. Courage, loyalty, perseverance, everything that made a soldier stand true in the most hellish of battles came from the heart. He was keeper of their hearts and he’d failed miserably since Lebanon. His only hope was that they’d get through this. That his men would heal and they’d once again regain their solidarity for the team. Restoring the same respect that he’d had before wouldn’t happen but he didn’t necessarily deserve it now.

His phone vibrated and he read the text. It was from Beck.
Gag order still in place
.
No guarantees though. In DC for the day
.

The man’s destination had Roger biting another bullet. Since DT was in Georgia that left only Pecos for Beck to visit at Walter Reed. Pecos who had been blinded in the explosion. One minute in the company of his wounded men and Roger himself was screaming inside to be honest with them. Just exactly what shape was Beck going to be in when he got back?

But as Beck was on leave there wasn’t a damn thing Roger could do to stop him.

Which meant he had no more excuses to avoid Mari.

His cell rang and Officer Cain’s number showed on the screen. Hopefully there was good news. As in the madman after Mari was dead.

“Weston here.”

“Lt. Col., I think we may be on to something. Unfortunately, it’s bad news.”

“What do you mean?”

“We ran the name Dugar through the system along with Mari’s description of the man and if we’re right then the situation is serious. Ever hear of Frank Dugar?”

“It’s not ringing a bell.”

“Extremist. Part of the Washington Viper Militia the FBI took down two years ago.”

“The group behind the Vigilante Bombings?” The knot in Roger’s gut was practically suffocating. The Viper Militia had set themselves up as America’s judge. They were suspected of bombing abortion clinics, burning migrant camps and health departments for aiding and abetting illegal aliens, and assassinating several local judges and city officials for crimes against America when court cases or legislature didn’t line up with their philosophy. The FBI had raided their camp. Most of the militia had died when a cache of explosives had detonated during the gunfight. Several of the extremists, though, had escaped over the border into Canada and had disappeared.

“That’s right. Before hooking up with the Viper Militia, Dugar spent most of his life either in jail or in mental institutions. His last conviction was for aggravated assault. Nearly beat a man to death over a traffic dispute, but the judge went light on the sentencing because the other man pulled a gun on Dugar first. Sucker missed the shot and Dugar didn’t give him another chance. Stay alert and let me know if you see anything suspicious.”

“Will do.” Roger disconnected then looked up to see Dr. Stewart exit Mari’s room and it startled him. He must have been so absorbed in the conversation that he’d missed the doc going in. It could very well have been Dugar .

Kicking his own ass, Roger greeted the woman then asked about Mari. “So what’s the prognosis?”

“Good. The cramping is gone. Her blood levels are okay. The baby is fine as far as any tests can determine this early in her pregnancy. She can go home, but I am going to preface that by saying she absolutely must get into a prenatal care program and she must start eating properly. She’s going to need some help functioning with both her hands bandaged and the cuts on her knees are going to make walking painful, but she needs to get up and walk about the house every few hours until she is ready to venture out.”

“I’ll see that she does all of the above, Doc.”

“Good. Here’s my card. She needs to set up an appointment in about a week for her stitches to come out. The nurse will give both of you Mari’s home care instructions before you go.” The doctor glanced at Mari’s closed door and lowered her voice. “Two other things, she refuses to take anything for pain, afraid that it will harm the baby. I’m sending a prescription home with her, but if she won’t take that perhaps she’ll take Tylenol. Also, I think it would be good for her to see a counselor, one who deals with victims of violent crime. Mari may not have been seriously hurt in the attack, but emotionally she is very traumatized.”

“I’d already thought of getting her into counseling. She’s been through—a lot.” Roger then clamped his mouth shut. Mari had been through a lot and he was the man responsible for it. Thanking the doctor again, Roger stepped into the room and braced himself for the impact Mari had on everything about him. Emotionally and physically the sight of her delivered a one-two punch that had him reeling in his boots.

It didn’t make a damn bit of sense and had to be a mixture of his guilt and his long-starved libido. There wasn’t a thing about her that didn’t prey on his mind. He hadn’t seen her gloriously long hair since the grocery mart’s bathroom yesterday, but he could remember every nuance of the blue-black curtain. Her golden eyes were rich and perfectly framed by thick lashes. She’d been given a traditional Muslim headscarf and gown this morning and she hadn’t wasted a second before putting them on. The hospital employees had asked around after her admission last night, and had located the clothes for her to wear. He supposed he should have done that for her, but then, burying her beauty under a mound of clothing hadn’t been uppermost in his mind. Keeping her safe from being buried six feet under had.

An hour later Mari was discharged from the hospital and he’d driven his car to the front pick-up area for her. The nurse brought her out in a wheelchair. There were other patients loading to go home and he winced as he saw the numerous bouquets of flowers accompanying them. Something else he’d neglected to do. Exiting the SUV, he left it running and moved around the car to help Mari.

“It’s a beautiful day.” She gave him a tight smile. One that didn’t hide her painful grimace as she moved her legs to stand and used her elbows to try and push herself upright. He gritted his teeth for half a second and then couldn’t take it anymore.

“Too pretty a day to hurt. Let me help and we can work on the moving around bit a little later.” He scooped her quickly off her feet and into his arms. The nurse moved to open his car door and all hell broke out. The wheelchair Mari had been in seconds ago flipped over backwards as a high caliber bullet plowed through its vinyl back and shattered the plate glass window fronting the hospital behind them.

“Get down!” Roger yelled, crouching low, using his SUV for cover as he scanned the direction he thought the shooter might be. A nearby security guard drew his weapon and started shouting and pushing people down for cover. One lady ran screaming by him and Roger knocked her down to the ground behind a cement pillar. She lay there crying, but at least she was alive.

Another bullet ricocheted off the cement sidewalk less than a foot from where he held Mari. Roger had no choice but to get the hell out of there. Everyone else would be safer too. He had no doubt that Dugar, the crazy SOB after Mari, was on the other end of that rifle. The adrenaline, rage and fear pumping though him was unlike anything he’d ever known. He felt as if he would explode from the nuclear mix. Especially when he saw Mari’s pale face. She looked as if death had already claimed her and she was prepared to leave this world behind.

Over his dead body and damned soul! Neither of which were going to happen, so that meant nothing was getting to her EVER.

Lunging forward, he placed her on the floorboard then dove over the top of her for the driver’s seat. The car’s engine was already running, so all he had to do was shove the car into drive and steer. He did that and managed to stomp on the gas pedal. Within seconds, he sailed down the pick-up lane. The driver’s side back window exploded before he could turn the corner and Mari cried out as she huddled on the floor. He’d expected her to cry out for help, but she wasn’t. She kept asking for forgiveness.

He filed the fact and drove like a bat out of hell.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Fair Play, South Carolina

1200 hours

Jack crossed the state line from Georgia into South Carolina before he realized it. He’d been deliberating how to best approach Conrad Gardner and had decided that a public restaurant would be their best option. He pulled into the parking lot of Pig Out’s BBQ. According to his GPS they were less than five miles from Gardner’s house.

Lauren had called her kids and Angie a few minutes ago to check with them and was still on the phone. He could hear the boys’ exuberance now that he’d killed the engine even without the speaker phone on. With Rico on lookout for Angie and the kids, Jack could relax a notch. Unless one of them made the mistake of communicating their location to someone else and the people after them overheard it—something he was positive the bastards were capable of—no one would be able to reach Lauren’s children. It was her he had to worry about.

“Yeah, Matt. I give you my solid oak. We’ll go to Disney World soon. I love you. Now let me talk to Aunt Angie.”

“Sorry about that,” Angie said. “I didn’t think letting them watch the travel channel would lead to any trouble. You’re likely to be out a couple of grand now.”

“That’s why I stick to Thomas the Tank Engine.” Lauren laughed.

Jack’s insides reacted to the sound. It made him tense, made him yearn. Not in a sexual way, but in an excited about life way, reminding him of the times when Livy was six and she threw herself into his arms when he walked in the door. He would swing her around until they were both dizzy and laughing. Back then it didn’t matter if he’d been gone for a month or just the day, she was always happy to see him. He missed it more than he’d realized.

“We did that first, but James and Henry had a spat in the episode. And, well, Matt thought James was in the right and Mitch thought Henry could do no wrong and World War Three ensued.”

Jack laughed at that and shook his head. Lauren just rolled her eyes. “Well, whatever you do, don’t resort to anything remotely to do with martial arts. The room won’t survive it. There’s always the classical music channel.”

“Will do. Just be careful, okay?”

“I will. Jack wants to talk to Rico again.” Lauren handed over the phone.

At the beginning of the call Jack had let Rico know about the two murders and that they were on their way to see another of Bill’s friends. Rico spoke first. “Be pissed later, but I called Beck to come help. He didn’t answer so I left him a message. I don’t know what’s going on with that boy but we need to find out. Until you know what this is all about, I would feel better having a back up in this situation.”

Jack exhaled, really not sure if he could count on Beck anymore. Two weeks ago, Jack would have put his life and soul in the man’s hands. Now he couldn’t even get a return phone call. “It can’t hurt,” Jack finally said. “That’s if he picks up his message. Expect to hear from us at 1800 hours.”

“1800 it is. Be careful, DT. I’m not liking any of this and you’re still on the mend.”

“Roger that.” Jack hung up then toggled the phone to Gardner’s number and pressed the call button. He gave Lauren the phone. “Tell him you’re alone and have him meet you here.”

She nodded, sliding the phone up to her ear. After multiple rings it went to voice mail and she left Conrad a message to meet her at the Pig Out’s BBQ then disconnected. She immediately called again. Still no answer. A sick feeling gripped her stomach. She’d foolishly thought that by giving Conrad warning about Thomas and Edward he would then be safe. “What do we do now? Call the police?”

“Not yet. Not until we have something concrete to report. It could be a cell reception problem. He could be on the other line and will call us back.” Jack gripped the steering wheel. “Why don’t we go inside, order food, wait ten minutes and call again.”

“I don’t think I can eat. I’m sick that something may have happened to him too.”

“Give it a few minutes. We made good time getting here, so he may not have expected us so soon. And you need to eat a Power Bar or something to stay sharp. Adrenaline and stress will bottom out your blood sugar. If we don’t hear from him soon, I’ll leave you here and go check out the situation.”

Lauren shook her head. “Sorry. That’s not going to happen.”

Jack almost laughed. He had the experience and he was getting lip over a perfectly reasonable suggestion. He folded his arms and leaned back, lifting a challenging brow. “It’s not?’

She cleared her throat, and set her full lips into a determined line. The woman had grit. He had to give her credit for that.

“I just can’t see you leaving me here without any means of quick transportation and you going alone into a potentially dangerous situation, miles away. Whether you like it or not, I am your back up in this, which makes your suggestion unworkable.” She sat back and folded her arms, mirroring the invisible line he’d drawn in the sand.

Damn. He didn’t want to admit it but she did have a slight point. Still, he just couldn’t see taking her with him to Gardner’s house. “You have to believe me. My going in alone will be a lot safer for both of us.”

“I get that. But why do I have to be stranded miles away?”

“What do you suggest?”

“Why don’t I drop you off close to Gardner’s house and then wait some place nearby that we both feel is safe. That way I can either get to you or you can make it back to me faster if there is a problem.”