The Deception (41 page)

"I'm not leaving. Alex, listen to me. The news reports were wrong. Carrie's alive. She's at the hospital. Allie's there with her. Come on, I need you to get up."

"Keep talking to him," said George.

"Who's with you? Whoever you are, get the hell away from me."

"Alex, it's me, George. We're here to take you back to Phoenix. Steve will drive you. There's a very anxious young lady waiting for you at the hospital."

"You're lying!"

"No, Alex, we're not lying," said Steve. "The media got it wrong. Carrie's alive. Come on, buddy, who else would have known you were here?" Steve reached for his phone. "Look, I'll call her, right now."

Alex blinked a few times. He appeared to be coming back to reality.

"So where the hell am I?" He slowly sat up, rubbing his face and looking around. "The Double-Diamond Resort? I remember driving in my car, but I had no idea I ended up here."

"You're in shock," said George, "but you'll be okay. Let me get you some water."

"No! I think I'm going to be sick."

George quickly pulled him out the car. Alex ran to the other side, barely getting there in time, while George stepped away, returning a moment later with a bottle of water. Steve was waiting, with a concerned look on his face.

"He'll be okay," said George. "I think his body's just reacting to the shock."

A disheveled Alex returned a short time later. George handed him the water and Alex began to eagerly drink it down.

"Whoa, buddy, slow down. Sip it, sip it."

"I'm putting this on speaker," announced Steve as he placed the call. Allison quickly answered.

"Did you find him?"

"Yeah, we did. He's right here and he's pretty shook. Can you put Carrie on?"

"Give me a minute. She's asleep. I'll have to wake her."

They could hear Allison waking Carrie up. Alex's ears perked up at the sound of her voice. She quickly put her on the line. Carrie sounded groggy.

"Steve? Is that you?"

"It's me, Carrie. How you feeling, kiddo?"

"All right, I guess. Did you find him yet?"

"Sure did. You were right. He was pulled off the side of the road in front of the Double-Diamond. Would you like to speak to him?"

"Are you kidding?" Carrie's voice suddenly sounded more alert. "Please, put him on. And Steve, thanks. I owe you one."

Steve took the phone off speaker and handed it to Alex. He immediately stepped away from the others.

"Carrie-Anne?" His voice was shaking.

"Alex, are you all right? I've been trying to reach you for hours."

It took Alex a moment to find his voice. "I'm sorry, Carrie-Anne. I guess I messed up. The building was in lockdown. Then Reggie showed me a news report on her tablet. They said you were dead. Everything gets kind of fuzzy after that. I know my mother called me. After that I somehow got out of the building and drove off somewhere. Next thing I know I'm in the backseat of my car and Steve is waking me up. Somehow I've ended up on the side of the road, outside the Double-Diamond Resort, just like Steve said."

"It's okay, Alex. As long as you're safe."

"What about you, Carrie-Anne? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Alex. I'm going to be okay. Jonathan Fields stepped in and took the bullet that was meant for me. I was only grazed. Jonathan's okay too. He'll make a full recovery."

"What about the baby?"

"The baby's fine, Alex. They checked me out thoroughly. I'm not going to miscarry, but they're keeping me here at the hospital for awhile, just to be sure." He was silent for a moment. "Alex, are you still there?"

"Yes," he replied, once he'd recomposed himself. "I'm so sorry I failed you, Carrie-Anne. You needed me and I wasn't there."

"It's not your fault. The courthouse was in lockdown. Steve and Allie were here with me, so I wasn't alone. And Alex, you're not going to believe this. It turns out Jonathan Fields is my father."

"What?"

"Jonathan Fields is my father. That's why he stepped in front of the shooter. He saved my life, and the baby's life too."

"I'm sorry, Carrie-Anne. I'm usually on top of things, but right now I'm totally discombobulated. I don't understand any of this."

"Whoops, there's another call coming in. Looks like it's your mother."

"I'm on my way. I love you, Carrie-Anne."

"I love you too, Alex. Take your time and I'll see you when you get here."

Alex disconnected the call and headed back to the car.

"You okay?" asked Steve.

"I don't know. I'm not all here right now. I just want to see Carrie."

"Then hop in the car and I'll take you to her. And by the way, I'm driving."

Alex didn't argue. He walked to the passenger side door and got inside. George said goodnight and Steve walked him to his car, thanking him again for helping. As soon as he drove away, Steve returned to the Camaro and slipped behind the wheel. The keys were still in the ignition. He fastened his seat belt and fired up the engine.

"Did they find the shooter?" asked Alex.

"They sure did. No surprise, it was Maggie Andrews." Steve put the car into gear and turned toward the Interstate.

"Do you know when she'll be arraigned?"

"I'm not sure. My best guess would be sometime tomorrow."

"Thanks." Alex reached for his phone. "I have a friend in the U.S. Attorney's office who owes me a favor. I want her charged with three counts of attempted murder instead of two. Carrie's pregnant and she tried to kill the baby along with her." Alex tried to power up his phone, but it wouldn't respond. "Damn, the battery must be dead. I keep forgetting to recharge my phone. No wonder none of you could reach me. Carrie's going to kick my butt."

"She might at that. Incidentally, that would either be four counts of attempted murder, or murder one, with three counts of attempted murder."

"You mean there's another victim?"

"Yep. She shot Scott along with Carrie and Jonathan. He's not expected to survive."

"Wow," said Alex, taking it all in. "I have no love for the man because of what he did to Carrie, but I wouldn't have wished this on him, especially since he has kids." He stopped for a moment to plug his phone into the car charger. "So what's this about Jonathan Fields being her father?"

"Apparently, it's true. George brought me up to speed on the way down here. It's a long, bizarre story."

"We seem to have some time, so why don't you fill me in?"

C
arrie handed the phone back to Allison. The called
ID
indicated Alex's mother was calling.

"I have to go downstairs for a minute," she said as she disconnected the call. "Alex's parents are waiting in the lobby."

"I don't want to see them." Carrie's tone was blunt.

"What do you mean you do want to see them? They heard the news reports that you were killed so they caught the first flight here."

"Really? So did they sound disappointed, when you told them I'm still alive?"

"What? No! Carrie, what's gotten into you?"

"I haven't told anyone about this, because I'm still upset about it. It happened at your wedding reception, Allie, right after I caught your bouquet. Alex's father told him he didn't approve of our relationship, because of my past relationship with Scott and the photo shoot. He said I was a whore."

"What? No way."

"It's true, Allie. When I was young, I thought of him as my surrogate father. Guess I didn't really didn't know him after all."

"So that explains why the two of you left the reception in such a hurry. I'm going downstairs, then we're going to have a little talk."

"Allie, wait! Please, don't say anything."

"Sorry, but this needs to be addressed." Allison headed toward the door. "Would you like for me to get your brother?"

"No thanks, I'm fine."

Allison took the elevator down to the lobby. She spotted Alex's parents as soon as the doors opened. She marched up to Alex's dad.

"We need to talk, right now." She spoke to him in Spanish as she led him to a quiet corner. "So, what's this about you calling Carrie a whore?"

"I didn't say she was a whore. I just said she'd acted like one for doing that photo shoot and going out with a married man."

"Really? With all due respect, where were you? You weren't here, so let me start by telling you about the photo shoot. She was homeless at the time and you have no idea what she went through. None of us did. Steve and I offered her a place to stay, but she refused because she didn't want to impose. She thought she could handle it on her own, but then Louise Dickenson swooped down on her. She knew Carrie had no place to live, so she took advantage of her trust. She led her to believe she was helping her out, when in reality, she was using her in the worst possible way that anyone could be used."

"Couldn't she have stayed in some woman's shelter?"

"Those shelters are for women who are being battered by their boyfriends or spouses, Mr. Montoya. There are too many abused women out there and too few beds in the shelters. Do you honestly think Carrie would have taken up bed space if it meant turning away another woman whose life was in danger?"

"No, she wouldn't have done that."

"Of course she wouldn't have," continued Allison, still speaking Spanish. "So she camped out in her office, but had her landlord found out, she would have been evicted. If that had happened, she would have been out of business, so what choice did she have? She once told me that doing that photo shoot was one of the most humiliating experiences of her life. Why can't you understand this?"

Armando was silent. There was nothing he could say. Allison went on.

"Now, as for her getting involved with a married man, that's my fault, not hers. I'm the one who introduced her to Scott. He was an acquaintance whom I'd known for years. I thought he was single, so when Carrie asked me, I told her yes, he was single. C'mon Mr. Montoya, do you honestly believe that Carrie would have knowingly gone out with someone who was married?"

"No. She never struck me as that type. I know that's not the way she was raised."

"Of course she's not that type. Despite the fact that Scott lied to her, just like he lied to me, Carrie still feels a tremendous amount of guilt over this. But after today, I think it's safe to say she's paid the price for whatever sins she's committed, and she's paid with her own blood. Thankfully, her injuries weren't that serious, because she's also pregnant."

"I know she's pregnant. Alex just told us."

"That means she's carrying your grandchild, Mr. Montoya. She could have easily lost it today, but she didn't. She's strong, she's healthy, and she won't allow it happen, although under the circumstances, I wouldn't blame either Alex or Carrie if they decided to cut you out of your grandchild's life."

"She's right, Armando," said Catherine, speaking English. "I may not be totally fluent in Spanish, but I was able to follow most of what she said. We've made some false assumptions. Alex tried to tell us, but we wouldn't listen. I guess we're both guilty of thinking that no one is good enough for our son, but I don't want our pride to cause us to lose our grandchild."

"I don't either, Catherine." He looked back at Allison. "But I still have a problem with this."

"Then I don't know what else to tell you, sir" said Allison. "I guess it's just something you'll have to learn to live with. That's what she's had to do."

"What about Alex?" asked Catherine. "Is there any news on our son?"

"Yes. Steve called a short time ago. They've found Alex, safe and sound and he's on his way here."

"Thank goodness, so where was he?"

"They found him just outside Tucson, near the Double-Diamond Resort. It's a special place for him and Carrie. That's how she knew where to find him. If not for her, Alex would still be missing."

Allison took them to the elevator. As they approached Carrie's room, they noticed several police officers gathered outside her door.

"What's going on?" asked Allison.

"Some paparazzi reporter just tried to sneak into her room," explained one of the officers. "He'd tried to disguise himself as a hospital worker, but he wasn't wearing a proper
ID
badge."

"Is Carrie all right?"

"She's fine. We stopped him before he got to her and he's been escorted out of the building. We've also informed him that if he tries to come back in we'll arrest him."

Allison introduced Alex's parents to the officers, saying they'd be allowed to visit. She brought them into Carrie's room. She was sitting up in bed. Danny was with her.

"I'm going back to our father's room," he told Allison. "If you need to go someplace, come get me, or another family member, and we'll stay with her until you get back. She's not to be left alone. Dad's orders."

"Got it, and I'm sorry this happened."