Avenging Alex (19 page)

John weaved in and out of traffic on the 10 struggling with his obligation to his family and his duty to protect Alex; but it wasn't just duty that drove him now. In all the cases he'd worked over the years he was not so profoundly affected before, and the personal stakes had never been as overwhelming.

His cell phone rang.

“Officer Malone just called,” Chief Toliver barked. “Where are you?”

“I'm on my way to the Reardon house.”

“Where is Alex Solomon?”

John took a deep breath. “She's . . . She's at the Comfort Inn off Santa Monica Boulevard near the pier. Room 412.”

“You left her alone?”

“It's not like I wanted to. I had to.”

“Goddammit, John!”

The call waiting signaled another call.
UNKNOWN
registered on the ID. John abruptly disconnected from the chief.

“Hey, buddy, what's up?”

The sound of Donovan's drawl sent a torrent of fury down John's spine, causing the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck to stand on end. “You son of a bitch. Where's my son?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, Johnny boy, what have I told you about name-callin'? I see John Michael's arm is all better since his cast was removed. It'd be a shame for him to have to break the other one.”

“If you do anything to hurt him I swear I will hunt your sorry ass down and I will kill you.”

“Choosing your family over Alex Solomon was the right decision, John. But you're runnin' out of time. Tick tock, buddy.”

 

 

The tires of John's Ram pickup skidded to a stop. He bolted into the house past the policeman assigned to his family to find Lorraine with her mother holding on to John Michael.

Lorraine wiped her tears. “He just walked in right before you got here.”

“Where's Chloe?”

“She's in the family room with Daddy,” Lorraine answered.

John stooped down and called his son over to him. He embraced him and brushed his hand over the boy's bushy head of hair and checked him out. “Are you all right, John Michael?”

“Yes.” He nodded.

“You really scared us, you know that? Why did you sneak out?”

“I just wanted to play and then I saw Uncle Donny and he wanted to take me to get ice cream.”

“Why didn't you ask your mother? Didn't you think that she'd be worried that you just took off like that?”

John Michael shrugged.

“Did he hurt you?”

“No. He said he wanted to celebrate me getting my cast off. I'm sorry I scared you. Am I in trouble?”

“Don't you ever do anything like that again, do you understand? And if you see Uncle Donny again you tell me or you tell your mother, am I clear?”

John Michael nodded and lowered his gaze.

John hugged him and kissed the boy's forehead. “I love you, you know that, right?”

The boy nodded again.

John stood up. “Why don't you go into the family room with Chloe and Grandpa. I want to talk to your mom.”

The boy looked at his mother. She pressed her lips together and nodded. He scampered off.

“You don't have anybody to blame for this but yourself,” Lorraine snapped. “If anything would have happened to him—”

“Nothing happened.”

“This time, but what about next time?”

“There won't be a next time.”

“Are you sure about that? Can you guarantee that Harley Donovan won't be coming after me or my children again?”

John's cell phone rang. “Chief Toliver, I can't talk right now. I—”

“I just got to the Comfort Inn. Alex Solomon isn't here.”

“Dammit!”

 

 

The late afternoon Southern California sun was giving way to dusk over the Santa Monica Pier jutting out over the beach, offering a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean. The prominent one-hundred-year-old landmark was teeming with the excitement of adults and children alike. The smell of popcorn dripping in butter, corndogs, hamburgers, beer, and salt water assaulted her senses, but Alex remained singularly focused and made a beeline toward the boardwalk. The festive music playing meant to amuse and entertain seemed a taunting and vicious underscore to the chill of foreboding that shrouded her. She tucked loose hairs under her cap and kept one hand in her jacket pocket with her finger close to the trigger of the .380. The overexcited beat of her heart sounded like tribal drums with each step. Dodging a vending cart of balloons she bumped into a towering gray-haired man, knocking his tackle box out of his hand.

Alex apologized. “I'm so sorry.”

“No harm done,” the man responded as he stooped to pick up the contents of the box. “I got it.” He looked up into Alex's face and spied the monogrammed J. C
HASE
on the windbreaker. “Are you all right?”

She fumbled to put on sunglasses. “I'm fine. Just in a hurry.” With that she turned and took off.

The man paused, scratching the salt-and-pepper whiskers of his chin and watched her. After collecting his gear he pulled out his cell phone and dialed. “John, it's Hank.”

“Yeah, Hank.”

“I think I just ran into that woman you're supposed to be keepin' an eye on.”

“What? Where?”

“I'm down at the pier . . . John, you there?”

“Hank, are you sure it was her?”

“Pretty sure. She favored that picture you showed me. And she was wearin' a jacket with your name on it.”

“Where is she now?”

“Looks like she's headed toward the harbor.”

“Hank, you gotta do me a solid and go after her.”

“What?”

“She's in trouble, Hank. I'm on my way from the Reardons', but I'm not going to be able to . . . Hank, you gotta help me out here.”

Hank sighed. He felt an “I told you so” rising up but he didn't say it. “I'll do what I can.”

He gathered his fishing gear and navigated through the crowd several yards behind Alex. Fear flooded into her face when she glanced over her shoulder and noticed him gaining on her. Her pace quickened. She changed directions and blended into a group of tourists moving toward an enormous Ferris wheel. Hank lost sight of her and stopped and turned aimlessly in a circle, trying to determine where she'd gone. He started toward the boardwalk, curiously staring at every female he passed.

Milton Toliver and the female agent who had gone to the Comfort Inn in search of Alex rushed in just west of Pacific Park and got hemmed up in the carnival atmosphere. He frustratingly scanned the hundreds of faces that blurred together. “Dammit, where is she?” He directed the agent go one way and he rushed off in the other.

Alex peered from around an abandoned arcade and spied Hank approaching the crest of the boardwalk and making a call. Was he contacting Pilar? She rubbed her fingers together and put her hand back in her pocket, touching the gun as if to make sure it was still there. If it came down to it, would she have to kill this man in order to get to her daughter? Certain he was looking for her; she waited and watched as he walked up the boardwalk and back. Her cell phone rang and she jumped. It was John. She didn't answer. When she looked up again she didn't see the man who was following her. Cautiously she crept away from behind the arcade and continued. There were women of every nationality milling around, none who looked like Pilar, and none who had her baby. Alex's anxiety escalated. What if Pilar wouldn't show? What if the man who was tailing her was meant to bring her to Cerena? She reconsidered keeping John out of the loop. When she reached for her cell phone she felt what appeared to be the barrel of a gun in her back. Dressed like any other angler on the pier it was easy for him not to be noticed.

Alex gasped.

“Don't scream. Don't turn around. I was beginning to think that you stood me up.”

“You took a huge risk coming here,” Alex said.

“No more than the risk you took,
mi pequeña flor.
”

“You had your freedom, Xavier. As far as anyone knew you were a ghost, you could have just stayed that way. You did all this just to kill me?”

“I did all this to watch you squirm. Admittedly it would have been much easier to have someone do it for me, but what would have been the fun in that?”

Alex did her best to control her accelerating panic. “Just like the fun you had when you had my cousin Bobby killed and when you tried to kill Tirrell Ellis.”

“If I had my way
Señor
Ellis would be dead now, but I suppose you'll do in his stead.”

“You won't get away with it, not with all these people around.”

“My dear Alexandra, I've been practically right up under your inspector's nose for over a year thanks to some very strategic assistance. What makes you so sure I'll be caught?” Xavier patted the pockets of Alex's jacket and removed her cell phone and gun. “You didn't really think I wouldn't check, did you?”

“Where's my baby?”

“She's in very good hands. I assure you that my Pilar is quite capable. It's poetic, don't you think? My daughter becoming a mother to your daughter. I suppose that would make me Cerena's
abuelo.
” Xavier chuckled. “
¿Qué delicioso, no? Mi última venganza;
raising the child of the two people who tried to destroy me.”

“Funny, you don't seem like the grandfatherly type,” Alex scoffed. “And you have lost what's left of your mind if you think I'm going to let you do this. I will fight you with everything in me to keep that from happening.”

“Let me? You seem to think you have a say.”

“You can't kill me here.”

“I have no intention of doing anything here. Do you see that sedan that just pulled up over there between the pizzeria and that hot dog vendor? Why don't the two of us take a nice little stroll toward it?”

“If you're going to kill me I need to know that my baby is going to be all right. Please let me see her.”

“I've already told you that my Pilar will be taking care of her. Besides, she can't testify against me now, can she? Once you're out of the way she'll go on with her life and you'll simply disappear from her memory.”

 

 

John jumped out of his truck at the gate nearest to the harbor and took off running. He charged through a small group of people crossing in front of him, tripped over a man, and they both fell to the ground. The irate young man spewed expletives that had mothers covering their children's ears. John scrambled to his feet and kept running, skimming over the mass of people for any sign of Alex.

“John!”

He turned to see his stepfather pressing toward him. “Where is she, Hank?”

“I don't know. I saw her going toward the boardwalk and then I lost her. She could be anywhere.”

John and Hank continued to push through. Suddenly John spotted her and pointed. “Over there.”

“She's not alone.”

“It's Rivera.” John checked his weapon.

“John, you can't just start shootin' up the place.”

John didn't respond. He forged ahead without excuses. Hank followed.

Fully expecting to die if she got into that car Alex knew she had to do something. If there was any hope at all of getting to Cerena, fight or flight were her only options. She pretended to lose her footing. Lurching forward she spun around and kneed Xavier in the groin. He yelped and doubled over. She kicked him again as hard as she could. He fell backward and she grabbed the gun.

In the distance Donovan emerged from the driver's side of the sedan just as John rounded the back side of the pizzeria. Donovan drew his weapon and took aim.

“Gun,” shouted a passerby.

Horrified screams erupted. Those nearest to them panicked and separated, ducking for cover as Donovan squeezed the trigger and hit John squarely in the chest. Alex turned to look in the direction of the blast and saw John as he staggered to the pavement. She didn't have enough time to react before Xavier regained his equilibrium and leapt toward her. Knocking her to the ground they rolled around and wrestled for his gun. It went off and shot a woman in the leg who was cowering a few feet away. Xavier punched Alex in the face. The gun discharged again.

Pandemonium exploded. Milton Toliver and several security police charged through the mob, brandishing their own weapons.

“Drop it, Donovan,” Toliver yelled. “Get down on your knees!”

Donovan slowly turned toward Toliver and started to lower the gun, but in a kneejerk move he fired on him. The shot missed and lodged in a wooden sign over his head. Reacting quickly Toliver fired his weapon twice. The first shot hit Donovan in his left arm. The second fatal shot hit him in the head.

Alex shifted uneasily under the weight of Rivera's body. One of the officers helped her to her feet and she broke away from him and ran over to where John lay.

“Stay with me, son,” Hank cried, cradling John's head. “You got way too much to live for. You need to think about John Michael and Chloe and . . .”

Alex clasped her hand across her mouth and slowly knelt on the other side of the two. John opened his eyes and reached for her. Tears flowed down the side of his face and blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.

“I told you, I haven't . . . lost anybody I was assigned . . . to protect,” he choked.

Alex cried. “You can't leave me.”

John reached up and caressed Alex's face. Each breath was a struggle. You could literally hear the gurgle of blood filling up in his lungs. “I . . . wanted to tell you that . . . I . . . love . . .”