CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Five days later…
Adam had pulled through. He’d remained unconscious for three days. When he awoke, he had trouble remembering very much. He was too out of it and the drugs were fierce.
On day five, he finally awoke in the morning and looked over at Riley. “Tell me.”
Riley sighed and leaned forward. “I found a link to Walker. I headed up that mountain. Men were following me. They shot at me. It must have started an Avalanche and I was buried.”
Adam reached out and grasped her hand.
“I lost my memory for almost a week.”
“Who was the man in the copter?”
Walker had already debriefed her while Adam was out and she knew what to say, “I’m not sure what his real name was. He was part of Walker’s team at one time.”
Adam tightened his grasp. “I don’t want to know any of it. Despite what a badass that soldier in the copter was and dammit, he was. Like…he was like—”
“Call of Duty? Full Metal Jacket?”
Adam chuckled. “Yeah, but not in cinema-graphics, real and live. I never saw a man move like that in my life.”
Riley held still. Like a panther, like a ninja with stealth, belying his large size. She let out a sigh.
Adam went on, “If anyone asks, I never saw him or your brother or that other person. I know this was all something dangerous. I didn’t realize this when I started up that dammed mountain, but I know it now. As you know I am discreet and don’t like poking my nose into things that are better left alone. Unlike you.” He winked at her. “I’m just glad you got your brother back.”
Riley nodded. She knew she was going to have to let him down easy but not today. He was literally down on his back. You don’t do that kind of thing. Kick a man when he was down.
“Riley?”
Raising her head there were tears in her eyes.
“You aren’t taking me back are you?”
Sniffling through her tears, she looked away. She couldn’t do this to him now.
“I would rather have the truth.”
She shook her head.
Adam nodded and he didn’t look surprised. “It’s okay. I just wanted to make sure you were safe. I knew I’d already lost you.”
Riley felt tears fall down her cheeks.
The door opened and several people rushed in. Adam’s parents and his sister.
“Oh, baby!” his mother cried. “No one told us till today!”
His family moved in around the bed as Riley quietly stepped out of the circle.
Adam had his eyes on her as she made it to the door, she could feel it. She turned and locked gazes with him. “Thank you,” she mouthed.
Nodding his head and looking saddened, he tried to focus on all the questions, his family kept firing at him.
Riley went out to the hall. Yes, that was hard, but she’d already broken up with the man six weeks ago. He had his family now.
Speaking of family, Walker had disappeared as soon as they announced that Adam would make it. She knew where he’d gone though and she would immediately head there herself.
She had to get to her apartment. Gather her other credit cards, rent an SUV, pack what belongings she wanted with her. She was never coming back, so she had to choose carefully.
During the time she spent in the hospital waiting for Adam to wake, all she thought about was Harris. It was selfish and she knew it. After what happened to Adam, but she couldn’t help it. The way Harris had acted the entire time he’d taken care of Adam. It bugged her. Like he was shutting her out then the salute felt like he’d been saying goodbye? But why?
She got a cab and rushed across town.
It felt surreal when she arrived at her apartment building. This life she’d lived here had been a lifetime ago, it felt like her world before meeting Harris was nothing now. Unimportant.
She walked up to her door. Pausing, she realized, she had no key on her. She would have to find the super. She stood in the hall and felt odd for a moment. Walking closer, she could see the door to her apartment was ajar. She sucked in a breath. Moving quietly, she crept up and peeked in. Her eyes widened.
It was trashed. The couch was turned over, the cushions torn open. Her eyes moved over the floors, papers were scattered everywhere. Someone had been looking for her or looking for information. She wondered when this had happened or if the person was still here.
Riley pushed the door open but stood in the hall in case there was someone still in there. She swung her gaze over the room. Her fish tank was on the floor, her fish dead, and the water dried up. So, it wasn’t recent. Dammit, they’d killed her fish and she felt sure they would have killed her had she been home too. Tears filled her eyes, she’d planned to give the fish to her old lady neighbor, Ms. Tilly who would have loved them and had been feeding them for her while she’d been gone.
Gingerly stepping in, she looked around. She listened to see if there were any sounds.
Nothing.
She shut the door behind her in case a neighbor happened by. She wouldn’t be able to explain this away easily and she didn’t want any cops here.
“God…” Stunned, she around at the destruction as her stomach churned. It had to be Falkner’s men. Before they followed her up. Or before they followed Adam?
She tried to console herself. So what? Her life was done here now. Still, if she left this mess and someone came along, like her super…they would call the cops and she would be reported missing.
Sighing, she felt disappointed. It’d been almost six days since she’d left Harris on that mountain. Would he think she wasn’t coming back at all? She shook her head. No, he said he knew Adam would need her for at least a week.
First, she needed to rent a car. She looked around for her laptop.
Smashed on the floor by the patio window.
“Those fuckers!” Sighing, she grabbed the phone and dialed information. After fifteen minutes with a rep, she had the rental. She had an account at several rental places as she took trips for stories on a constant basis and they had her card info.
With this done, she went to the kitchen and got the trash bags out. Picking up everything that was shredded, torn or ruined, she cleaned and cleaned for two hours.
Worn out and thirsty, she headed to the fridge and opened it. Just eggs, butter, a block of cheese that had seen better days and…a bottle of orange juice. Tears filled her eyes as she grabbed it. The date was still good. She wished she had one of Harris’ screwdrivers at this point.
She had already righted the couch, but the cushions were ripped. Shrugging, she sat down anyway and opened the bottle. Chugging it down, she was making a mental list of what clothes, pictures and stuff she would take with her.
Her phone rang and she jumped from the couch in a panic. Releasing a breath, she grabbed it while rolling her eyes.
“Sis?”
“Walker?” she replied.
“Yes, who else would call you sis? You got some other sibling I don’t know about?”
She smiled at his usual smartass personality. “Where have you been?”
“I had messes to clean up, remember?” he quipped.
She thought of the carnage on the mountain. “Okay, well so did I.”
“What?”
“My apartment has been trashed.”
Silence.
“Did you hear me?” she asked.
“Are you okay?” His voice held a growl in it.
“Yes, but my stuff isn’t.”
“The perps aren’t still around?”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah, I’m feeding them pizza as we speak, dumbass.”
“Cute, Riley,” he snipped.
“Pisses me off cause I had to stop and clean all this shit up before I can leave.”
Silence.
“Walker?”
“Leave to where, Riley?” he asked.
She rolled her eyes again, took a sip of her juice and answered, “Up the mountain.”
Silence.
“Walker? What the hell is the matter with you?”
“Listen, Riley…I’m almost to town and I will swing by and help, K?” He hung up.
She pulled the phone away and stared at it like it was something alien. Now, she remembered her brother all too well. Living a life, he could never talk about. Giving cryptic answers to any questions, she had. After meeting Harris, she understood more now about what they did and why they did it. Still, he could be an ass, her brother. She smiled. She loved the asshole anyway.
Setting the phone back in its cradle, she headed to her bedroom to get a suitcase. This time, she would have underwear, though she doubted the man would let her wear any. She snickered as she stopped and rubbed the goose bumps from her arms her heart beating rapidly. God, she couldn’t wait to see him.
After an hour of packing, she felt she was ready. Looking up from the dresser, a man stood in the doorway. “OH!” She jumped with a start.
Walker walked in from the darkened hallway. “It’s me, Riley.”
“Shit! I remember it now. You are just like Harris!”
Walker slowed his walk. “I am not.”
“Yes, the sneaking up on people. The appearing and disappearing! It’s fucking spooky!”
He laughed. “Okay well, it’s in our training. We might always be that way.” His expression sobered. “Riley, I have to talk to you.”
She shut the empty drawer. “Well, make it quick, I have to leave soon.” She went over and zipped up her suitcase.
“He’s gone.”
Her eyes slowly rose up from the suitcase to his somber face. “What?”
“Harris. He’s gone.”
Swallowing heavy, she sat down on her bed, her heart pounding in her ears. “Like gone as in…”
Walker’s eyes widened as he rushed over to the bed and grasped her hands. “No, no. He’s alive.”
Her breath whooshed out of her as she had trouble speaking “W-why do you do that? J-just blurt shit out! No preamble…” Her shoulders dropped as she fought a panic attack.
“He left the mountain yesterday.”
She blinked her eyes at him. “B-but why? He knew I was coming back.”
“I don’t think he did.” Walker patted her hand.
“What? I’m confused.”
“Well, you knew the man. He’s impossible. I tried talking to him several times about you and he shut me out. We took care of the cleanup and set everything to rights. I’ve never seen him so angry. He maybe spoke five whole words to me the entire time.”
“I don’t understand, Walker.”
He shrugged. “Remember what he said in the copter the day we flew off?”
Her eyes rounded. “Yes! That 550…700 number code shit. I meant to ask you—”
“Well, I said I would be back in two days. He replied he was leaving in three. I knew then he was done with the mountain. I think he just assumed that you were with Adam and that was that.”
Furious, she stood up. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Walker shook his head. “When he said it in code, it meant he was keeping it between us. We have a code of honor, Riley.”
“Fuck that code of honor shit! You should have told me he was leaving!” She sighed as sadness filled her. “I’ve been broken up with Adam for almost 6 weeks.”
Walker shook his head. “Neither of us knew that.”
Her breathing sped up, as she felt angry now. “He didn’t even give us a chance?” She remembered the way he’d acted and the nagging fear she had all this time. It was because he never intended to keep her.
“I can’t tell you what the man thinks, but I know the way our life is. We never stay anywhere. And he is worse than most. He’s always been a loner. He must have figured you wouldn’t want that kind of wandering life. You would want the lawyer, a normal life.”
“Bullshit!” she yelled. “We talked about it. I told him I-I would go anywhere with him!” Tears rolled down her face.
Walker looked sympathetic as he stepped over and embraced her. “He’s not the marrying kind, sis. Not—”
She pulled away. “He is all I want!”
Walker sighed. “Well, you will never find him.”
Her chin rose up. “I found him once and I will again.”
“Sis, he’s a ghost and I mean for REAL!”
“Well, I am going up to the mountain. I will find some clue.”
Walker shook his head. “The man wouldn’t leave any. Training remember?”
“I don’t care. If I can’t find anything, I will wait till he returns.”
“Are you nuts?” Walker threw up his hands. “Fuck, what am I thinking? Of course you are!”
She scoffed as she grabbed her suitcase and a bag. “Grab those boxes and that other bag, big brother. I have a dammed mountain to climb!” She stomped out to the living room. “And you are gonna be my cab to the rental office.”
“Riley!” he called after her.
No, she wasn’t listening. She had a ghost to track down.