When the Smoke Clears (Deadly Reunions) (24 page)

Sadness filled her as she thought of the small family. Her initial attraction to Devin had died a quick death back in high school, but she’d always liked his parents well enough. Especially his mother. And the woman had seemed to take a liking to Alexia. Maybe because she hoped Alexia would be the daughter she’d never have.

Who knew?

Regardless, their deaths impacted her in a way she hadn’t expected.

Tossing the brush onto the dresser, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door. And pulled up short.

An unmarked cop car sat in front of her house.

She walked to the curb and he rolled the window down.

“Hello, Alexia.”

“Chad? What are you doing here?”

He smiled and flashed a dimple. Her heart lurched. He looked a lot like Hunter when he did that. “I’m keeping you safe.”

“By following me wherever I go?”

Chad shrugged. “With all of the crazy stuff that’s happened over the last few days, Hunter asked for a few volunteers to keep an eye on you. I’m off duty today so I volunteered.”

Alexia didn’t know whether to be touched—or creeped out. “Oh. Um . . . thanks.”

“I’m on duty until ten.”

“And after ten?”

“Jackson Mann will be here.”

She stared at Chad. “But . . . why? Why would they volunteer to do that?”

His lips thinned. “Because Hunter asked. And when Hunter asks for something, he always gets it.”

Chad’s jealousy made her shudder. “Chad—”

He held up a hand and his features lightened. “Look, it gives me something to do other than sit at home pondering whether or not I’m going to go to my favorite bar and toss a few back. I can’t drink if I’m doing this.” He flashed her a weak grin. “You’re doing me a favor.”

What could she say to that?

The ten-minute drive to the meeting passed without incident. Still, she couldn’t keep from looking in her rearview mirror the entire drive to see if someone other than Chad was behind her.

She pulled into her old neighborhood, drove past her mother’s house, and pulled up to the curb in front of Avery Tabor’s home. Chad parked behind her. Three cars were in the drive. Two others were parked on the curb like hers.

And that’s when the nerves hit her. What would these people think of her? Would they just remember the girl accused of setting fire to her family home, or would they be willing to know who she was today?

She had a feeling she might be in for a rough night. All of a sudden she wanted some comfort. Someone to tell her it was going to be all right.

God? Are you there,
God?

Never mind then. She could do this herself.

Lifting her chin, Alexia stared at the well-lit house. She had nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to hide. They could take her as she was or she’d leave.

A longing for Hunter pierced her in spite of her silent reassurances. She wanted him by her side. She wanted the security he represented to her. And that made her even more determined. She’d gone this long without a man in her life, she sure didn’t need one now.

But I want one
.

Climbing from the vehicle, Alexia did a scan of the area, checking for anything that made her feel uncomfortable, uneasy. She had to admit Chad’s presence eased her nerves quite a bit.

When nothing jumped out at her, she walked up to the front door, took a deep breath, and rang the bell.

Footsteps sounded and within seconds the door swung open to reveal a little girl in a pink sundress. Blond curls tumbled around her shoulders and a shy smile hovered on her lips.

Alexia felt her heart melt. “Hello. I’m Alexia. Who are you?”

“I’m Mary Ellen. I’m seven. My brother, Bradley, is nine. He’s with my daddy doing a ‘guy thing.’” Alexia choked back a laugh when the little girl wiggled her fingers as though putting quotation marks around the last two words. Then she shrugged. “Whatever that means.”

The smile widened into a grin and Alexia could see the child was missing her two front teeth.

“Very nice to meet you, Mary Ellen. I’m here for the committee meeting with your Aunt Lori.”

Mary Ellen stepped back. “Come on in. Everyone’s in the den.”

Alexia followed the little girl through the foyer, down a short hall, and into a nice-sized den already filled with chattering people. Most of whom she recognized. Chairs made a circle within the space. Toys lined the shelves near the fireplace. Little army men surrounded a fort made out of popsicle sticks.

“Alexia!” Lori called as she headed over. “Come on in. I think you know everyone.”

A hush fell over the group as all eyes turned on her.

She ran down the names in her head. Harry Chumley, Carl Standish, Erin James, Patricia Hammond, Leslie Monroe, Christine Graham, Lori Tabor, and herself.

And one person in the corner she didn’t know. Or didn’t remember.

Lori took her arm and faced the group. “Y’all remember Alexia.”

Cautious smiles appeared. Christine, former senior class president, rose and walked over to give Alexia a hug. “Glad you could make it, Alexia. Hunter’s talked a lot about you.”

That seemed to break the ice.

One by one they greeted her. The one person she didn’t know was from another graduating class and the spouse of Harry Chumley.

In the back of her mind, though, Alexia couldn’t help wondering exactly what Hunter had said to his sister about her. Must have been good if the girl was offering her a hug. Apparently the Graham children didn’t hold their father’s opinion of her.

Then she had no more time to ponder. Lori handed her a bottle of water and opened the meeting. Alexia found herself in charge of the food. She would contact different catering companies and get prices.

The meeting passed in a blur as she tried to remember if any of these people had had a relationship with Devin. But for the life of her, she couldn’t put his face with any of them. Being on this committee might just be a huge waste of time for her. And yet, surprisingly, she found herself laughing and reminiscing a bit as talk turned from business to socializing.

Alexia nodded to a picture of Lori and two men dressed in army fatigues. “I didn’t realize you served in the army.”

Lori picked up the photo. “Yeah. Right after high school. I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do with my life, so I enlisted.”

“Who’re the two men?”

A soft expression covered the woman’s face. “This one is Avery, my brother. He was a medic with the special ops team. This one was Jackson Peters. He was special ops too and was killed right before I got out.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Avery and Jackson. The two of them were inseparable until I came along.” She replaced the picture and shook her head, sadness etching lines along her mouth.

“How are you doing after the excitement at the hospital this morning? Hunter told me you were caught in the parking garage.”

Lori shuddered. “That was awful. I think I finally quit shaking about an hour before people started getting here. Of course if I’d had to stay at the police station any longer, I would have had to call it off.”

“That might not have been a bad idea.”

The woman shook her head. “No. Having to rush home and get ready for this took my mind off of it.” She gave a small shrug. “It’s not like I’ve never heard gunfire before or been in a dangerous situation, but that was . . . intense.”

“Yeah. I can’t believe he got away.”

Lori looked like she would say more, but excused herself to address the group. “I think we have a great start on everything. When would be a good time to get together again? Next week same time?”

Everyone agreed and Alexia made her way over to Christine Graham. When she touched the woman’s arm, Christine turned and gave Alexia a smile. “Hi. It’s really kind of you to help out with the reunion when you have so much going on in your own life right now.”

“Thanks.” Alexia gave a rueful smile. “When I agreed, I didn’t have quite so much going on.”

They chatted a couple minutes about the careers they had pursued after high school.

Then Alexia paused. “Speaking of what all is happening in my life, I’m sure you know that Devin’s parents were killed.”

“Yes, I saw that on the news. Just crazy. I wonder if there’s a connection there.”

“I’m sure there is. The police are working on finding it. Did you keep up with Devin much?”

“No.” A slight shake of her head dislodged a few curls. She pushed them out of her eyes and said, “Hunter’s already given me the third degree about Devin. The only person I know that might know anything about him is Marcie Freeman.”

Alexia nodded. “He’s already talked to her and didn’t get much from her.” She sighed. “Thanks anyway.”

“Sure.”

The other women had already left, and Lori came up beside them. “Thank you, guys, for coming. I appreciate it. This reunion is turning out to be more work than I planned.”

Alexia smiled. “It’s no problem. I’ll start pricing the food and get back with you soon.”

“Well, I’d better get Mary Ellen heading for bed. Her dad and brother will be home soon.”

Christine patted the woman’s shoulder. “It’s so great that you can help him like you do. Not all sisters would be willing to help out like that.”

Lori shrugged. “I love those kids like they were my own. When Melissa died in that car wreck and Avery needed help, I couldn’t say no.”

“That must have been a horrible experience. I’m so sorry.” Alexia felt her heart go out to the little family and admiration for Lori welled. What would it be like to have a family so committed to each other that nothing, not even the death of a loved one, could tear them apart?

Grief for her brother, her dead sister, her relationship with her mother blindsided her and she gasped.

Fortunately, neither of the women seemed to notice.

“Well,” Lori pursed her lips, “Melissa was a tormented soul. She was bipolar and refused to take her medication. She caused Avery and the kids so much grief with her ways that—” She shook her head and bit her lip. “You get the idea.”

Christine looked troubled. “I admire everything you’re doing. With everything you have on you, are you sure being in charge of the reunion committee isn’t too much?”

“No.” Lori shook her head. “This is fun. I need this.”

Christine nodded, then sighed. “I’ve got to run. I have a brother that needs help too.” She gave a tight smile and headed out the door.

Alexia watched her go without saying anything about Chad sitting outside. If he wanted his sister to know what he was up to, he would tell her. She said to Lori, “Thanks so much for doing all this. It is nice to get together. Kind of lets you put all your troubles aside for a little while.”

“I know.”

Alexia could tell she did. “Well, it’s getting really late. I’ve got to go too.”

As Alexia headed to her car, a black Mercedes turned into the drive to pull into the garage.

29

Thursday, 10:15 p.m.

Hunter’s phone rang for the second time that night. The first time was Marcus Porter, Dominic Allen’s arresting officer. He listened to Hunter’s plea for help, asked for some time, and promised to call him back.

Walking into his den, Hunter grabbed his cell phone from the coffee table where he’d tossed it thirty minutes ago. “Hello?”

“So you think I need babysitters, hmm?”

His phone beeped indicating an incoming call. He pulled the phone away and looked at it. Chad calling. He could wait.

Right now, he had Alexia on the line. At least she didn’t sound mad. “You’re in danger. I’m just covering all of our bases.”

“You must have some really nice friends or co-workers who owe you a lot.”

He paused. “You talked to Chad?”

“Yes.”

“Are you angry?”

“No. Yes.” She paused. “No.”

Hunter kept quiet hoping she’d tell him more.

She did. “I’m not angry at the protection detail. I’m angry because it’s a necessity. I don’t like the fact that my life is spinning out of control. I don’t like feeling helpless.”

Hunter took a deep breath. The phone beeped again. Again, he ignored it as he focused on what Alexia had just told him. He couldn’t imagine what it took for her to admit that. “You’re not helpless. You’re being proactive. Making sure whoever’s causing all this trouble can’t get to you.”

“Hmm. I suppose that’s one way of looking at it.” Another pause. “Hey, you need to tell your guy who’s following me to back off.”

Hunter frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean his headlights are blinding me. He’s following way too close.”

Hunter clicked through the schedule he’d set up. Jackson Mann was on duty at ten. A chill hit him. Following too close? That didn’t sound right. “Okay. Let me give him a call. Hold on.”

Hunter walked into the kitchen and picked up the handset for his landline number. He dialed Jackson’s number and waited through three rings. Finally, “Hello?”

“This is Hunter. Are you following Alexia?”

“No, man. I called Chad and told him I’m in bed with a stomach bug. He said he would cover for me.”

“Thanks.” Hunter hung up and dialed Chad’s number.

Chad answered on the first ring. “’Bout time you picked up.”

“Back off Alexia. She said you’re following too close.”

A flash of silence. “I’m not following her at all. That’s what I’ve been calling you about for the last ten minutes. I’ve got a flat tire.”

Foreboding made his gut clench. Into the other phone, he said, “Alexia, I don’t know who’s behind you. But don’t stop.”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

He could hear the fear in her voice. “Maybe nothing. Could be you just have an impatient driver behind you. Could be something more.”

In his other ear, Chad said, “I’ve already called backup and gave them the direction she’s headed, but I don’t know if they’ve found her yet or not. She’s probably already at Serena’s. I sent a car over there.”

To Alexia, Hunter said, “Where are you?”

“Almost to Serena’s subdivision.”

“Drive past her house and tell me if you see a police car. If not, find a place to turn around and come here.”