When Love Comes Back Page 23

  The final photo froze his blood in his veins. It was a photo taken from farther away—maybe with a telephoto lens—that showed him crouched beside Felicia’s overturned truck. This time, the words were different. Next time, she DIES!

  He glanced up at Steven, who still appeared stunned, pale and now haunted. He had to have been looking at every photo with Gage. Gage asked, “Where did you get this folder?”

  “It was on my admin’s desk right outside my office on top of all the other folders that were prepped for the meeting.” He stopped, his eyes widening. “Those photos...they weren’t...”

  “No.” Gage shook his head. “All the rest of us had the correct paperwork. Your copy was the only one tampered with.” He flipped to the cover. It was clearly marked as Steven’s copy both the date and the time of the meeting on it.

  “Someone who had access to your office did this.”

  “It would have to be.” Steven nodded. “So, what do we do now about the meeting?”

  Steven appeared to be getting back on track better than he was. All he wanted to do was rush to Felicia and whisk her away from the danger this maniac threatened. From the threats in the folder, he didn’t plan on just hurting her next time. He wanted her dead, and the thought of that froze Gage in terror.

  “I think we need to postpone the meeting and call both OSI and the downtown detective working Felicia’s case. This asshole has access to the base, and that could be a risk to every person here. We aren’t going to mess around with this. We’ll just have to reschedule the meeting for sometime later today or tomorrow.”

  They had to catch this guy before he hurt or killed someone.

  AN HOUR LATER, A NEW group had formed in Steven’s command offices consisting of Gage, Steven, and Steven’s first sergeant, since he knew where most of the problems lay within the squadron. The first sergeant in each squadron acted as the squadron’s disciplinarian arm.

  Normally Gage wouldn’t be involved with a squadron like this, but when it was Felicia’s life and health on the line, they couldn’t keep him away.

  They had a pile of files in front of them, all the cases concerning disciplinary action in Steven’s squadron. While they had no idea if this person had been in trouble, there was no doubt that whoever he or she was that they were obsessed with Steven and targeting Felicia as a result. This person also had to be at least a little unhinged, so the odds were good that he or she might have caused them issues in the past.

  Honestly, they didn’t know where else to start.

  So far, they had decided not to call OSI—the military investigative branch of the Security Forces—just because of the personal nature of the photos. Gage didn’t want or need rumors of details about the photos spreading around the base.

  Gage questioned the validity of that decision of not calling in OSI. The guys trained in law enforcement were more likely to see a pattern or connection than the three of them were, but the thought of showing those intimate photos of Felicia to someone else sent nausea tumbling through his belly. They’d try it this way first, and then if they came up with something, they could still call the professionals in later.

  Steven and Sergeant Brian Howell spoke quietly as they flipped through the files, discussing the mental state of the soldiers involved and the various outcomes. The AMXS was always one of the biggest and youngest enlistment squadrons on base. As a result, they always had the largest amount of troublemakers. Just the punishments from the last six months alone counted in the hundreds. They were definitely looking for a needle in the haystack.

  “What about your admin personnel?” Gage asked.

  Steven laughed bitterly and shook his head. “Colonel, we don’t have admin down here in the bowels of the military that we call maintenance. Only the group level organizations and operations have gotten to keep their personnel troops. What I do have is an airman first class who couldn’t manage to upgrade on his technicals and is awaiting discharge paperwork to come through the system.”

  Gage’s eyes widened. “And you don’t think that he might be suspect?”

  Steven shook his head. “Frankly, no. Airman Kennedy is a good kid. He just has problems taking tests. He’s excelled at being my admin. I truly wish I could keep him in the Air Force as my admin for the rest of my career. Yes, he’s that good. But since we’re in maintenance, I don’t get to make those choices, and he’s going to have to separate.”

  Gage frowned. “That doesn’t sound right.”

  “Yeah, that’s not the way it would happen in one of the operations squadrons. This is life in maintenance.” Steven lifted half the files in the pile. “I’d guess half these guys are getting a raw deal, but they made bad choices, because they’re young and stupid. But the Air Force puts these young guys to work on multi-million dollar planes every day. When they screw up, they often aren’t given much in the way of second chances, because a screw up can cost millions of dollars in equipment and lives lost. It’s just the way it is.”

  Gage clenched his jaw. While he’d heard the rumblings of this argument before, having it stated so baldly straight to his face rankled. “Major, did you ever consider that your personnel problems may stem from your own bad attitude?”

  Steven closed his eyes, and Gage could almost see him counting to ten in his head, trying to maintain control of his temper. Finally, he opened them to glare at Gage. “Yes. That’s why I want to put in my separation paperwork.”

  That surprised Gage. “You still want to do that?” Even though Felicia had broken up with him?

  “Yes, Colonel,” he bit out. “I’m not in junior high, making all my life choices based solely upon the girl who I have a crush on. Nothing’s changed as far as I’m concerned. I’m still stuck in a job that’s slowly leeching my happiness for life. I can’t do this for another four years.”

  Sergeant Howell raised a file into the air. “This might be something to look at.” He set it back on the table and flipped it open.

  Steven perked up. “Who is it?”

  “Marcum Tellison,” the sergeant answered.

  Steven groaned.

  “Who is he?” Gage asked.

  “My biggest nightmare. When I took over the squadron, he was running the sortie generation flight and had a dangerous attitude of pure didn’t-give-a-fuck.”

  “He didn’t get along with the last commander at all, either,” Sergeant Howell interjected.

  “But he was still running the shop?” Gage asked.

  “Yes. He only had one letter of reprimand on record and that was for playing music too loud in his car on base. I couldn’t replace him just because I thought he was a little punk-ass shit.”

  Gage nodded, not seeing why this guy might have drawn their attention for this case. It looked like Felicia’s stalker had an obsession with Steven, not a complete dislike.

  “Though he was a complete fuck up, he was brilliant about getting other guys to cover for him, so I could never nail him on anything directly. We’d just hear rumors that he was stirring shit up. He was really good at making sure his crew was loyal, sometimes even taking the blame for his actions. Eventually, he got caught promoting gang activity within the squadron, and we were able to dishonorably discharge him. Last I heard, he had been arrested and was serving time down in Texas somewhere.”

  Gage blew out a sigh of frustration. “So, he couldn’t be our guy.”

  “No, he couldn’t.” Sergeant Howell tapped the folder. “But after he got thrown out, we found out that there was a whole group of airmen that his crew had been tormenting and basically using as slave labor. There are a couple who’ve had to go to mental counseling because of it. This person could be one of those guys.”

  Gage nodded, seeing the possible correlation. “Because they see Steven as their savior. He took away their bully and tormenter.”

  Sergeant Howell pointed at him. “Got it in one.”

  Steven shook his head. “That’s crazy, though.”

  “Exactly. That’s exactly what
we’re dealing with here,” Gage said and turned to the first sergeant. “Do you have a list of those soldiers?”

  “Yep. We kept a list of the airmen involved, so we could all keep an eye out for further signs of retaliation or bullying after it was all over.” After a few clicks of the mouse, the printer in the room came to life, spitting out a list of fifteen soldiers. Sergeant Howell handed a copy to each of them.

  Gage scanned the list, although since he was new on base the idea that one of these names would mean anything to him was ludicrous. But then he did spot a familiar one. “Your admin is on this list.”

  “Yes,” Steven said, and his tone said Gage was an idiot. “But I’ll reiterate, Dalton is not a troublemaker. In fact, he actually wasn’t one of the soldiers who’d been persecuted. He was the whistleblower on the whole operation.”

  “He had access to the files.” Gage frowned trying to puzzle it all out. A criminal’s way of thinking was so far out of his realm of knowledge. They really needed to call OSI. Those guys had the knowledge they needed, but dammit, he didn’t want to expose Steven, Felicia, or him to the soap-opera-worthy drama that would cause.

  “As did everyone in my squadron. The files sat on my admin’s desk for at least fifteen hours because they were printed yesterday. Any person in my squadron could have come through and made the switch of the paperwork.”

  “I hate to say this, because I know it’s uncomfortable,” Sergeant Howell said, “but I think it’s time for us to call OSI.”

  Exactly what Gage didn’t want to do, but his gut said the same thing.

  “I think this might be something worth looking at,” Sergeant Howell continued. “It fits, but we have to cover the Air Force and our actions, and we need more specialized training than we have for that.”

  Gage blew out a breath. “You’re right.”

  They should have called in the investigators right away, but he’d hoped to spare Felicia and Steven the humiliation. Somehow, they’d all ended up living in a soap opera, and he hated that, especially knowing the rumor mill of the Air Force and that it was already awake and flapping. The existence of those photos would just make it all more heated and scintillating for the gossipmongers.

  He was having enough of an issue keeping Felicia from running and giving him a real possibility of a second chance. This certainly wouldn’t help his case.

  And, hell, if she got hurt or worse and he hadn’t prevented it from happening, she should hate him. If that occurred he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself, either.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Felicia clenched her jaw as Briggs slid to a halt behind her in the hallway leading into the reception area, barely missing running into her. She turned to him with what she hoped was a friendly smile and not quite as maniacal as it felt, but after working with him hovering within a foot from her the entire last seven hours of the workday, she needed some space.

  “Briggs, I know you’re not officially on the clock, but can you go check on the progress of Mrs. Fontaine’s Pekinese? She should be here within the next few minutes to pick her up.”

  Briggs looked torn, not wanting to leave Felicia’s side, but then he glanced around the crowded reception area and must have concluded that she’d be safe enough. “Okay. I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere without me.”

  After he left, Felicia blew out a long, silent breath. She wasn’t sure how long she’d be able to work like this. It would make Austin sad if she killed Briggs.

  Patty laughed as she came up to the counter. “If you kill him, I can help you dump the body.”

  “How did you know what I was thinking?” She shot a curious glance at her way-too observant office manager.

  “Darling, that was written all over your face. Believe me, you’d never have a decent career as a serial killer.”

  Kamber had walked up during their discussion, and her eyes widened. “Why is Dr. Parks considering a new career in murder? It was because of the yippy Pomeranian earlier, wasn’t it? Don’t worry. I’d back you up whether we’re murdering the owner or the dog.”

  Felicia raised her hands and stepped back from her bloodthirsty staff. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. While I appreciate all the support, I’m not so sure I’m comfortable with how easy you all are about knocking someone off. Who knew my staff was so bloodthirsty?”

  Billy came around the corner. He’d been moving his herd up on the BLM land in the mountains this week, so she hadn’t seen him lately. “Who are we murdering? Need some muscle for this operation?”

  All three of the clinic staff laughed.

  “Not you, too,” Felicia moaned. “Man, I need to rethink my friends.”

  “Hey, the very best friends are the ones who will help you bury the bodies,” Kamber exclaimed wisely.

  Both Patty and Billy nodded.

  “You all are awful,” Felicia shook her head at the three of them, and Billy froze as he stared at her bruised temple.

  “What happened?” He gently grazed his fingers over the bruise that she’d mostly successfully covered with her long hair. It must have shifted when she shook her head.

  “It’s okay. Come on back to my office, and I’ll explain. Patty, I don’t think my next appointment is here yet, but if he arrives, give me fifteen minutes before you put Mr. Greene into an exam room.”

  Patty nodded. “Gotcha, Dr. Parks. What do you want me to tell your guard dog when he comes back to find that you’ve moved?”

  Felicia barely held in the sigh. “Tell him that Billy’s with me, and I’m perfectly protected for the moment so he can use this time for a break.”

  She pulled Billy down the hall before they lost their window of opportunity.

  He rounded on her as soon as she shut the door behind them. “Guard dog? What happened? I was only gone for a few days.” Concern and worry radiated from him. Her heart warmed. She was extremely lucky to be surrounded by so many loyal, protective friends.

  “Actually, a lot has happened in the last few days. Have a seat, and I’ll give you the abbreviated version of events.”

  He nodded and sat, but his shoulders were tense as he grabbed her hand. “First...are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine, and I’m going to stay fine.”

  “You’d better,” he said as he squeezed her fingers. “You’re my best friend. I’m not sure I could survive without you.”

  She squeezed his hand back. She was so lucky to have such great friends. “Okay, so the long and short of it is that whoever has been attacking me...stalking me...whatever you want to call it, drove me off the road Saturday morning. My truck flipped, but other than a minor concussion, I’m fine.”

  “Did they catch him?”

  She blew out a sigh and shook her head. “No. That’s why Patty was talking about my guard dog. At the clinic, Briggs has been dogging my every move, just so I have someone with me to back me up all the time.” She stood and grabbed the bat out of the corner. “We also have these in every room in the clinic, so I’m well-protected.”

  “I’m moving in with you.”

  “That’s not necessary. I’m safe.”

  “How can you be? No one knows what this guy’s going to do next. Unless, Steven’s staying with you, then I’m not comfortable with you being alone.”

  “That’s the other part of my news.” Nerves jumped in her gut. Now that she’d confessed about what exactly had happened between Gage and her eighteen years ago, Billy had become Team Steven all the way. The two of them had actually formed a friendship beyond their mutual ties to her. “Steven and I aren’t together anymore.”

  Billy’s eyes went wide.

  But before she could explain, a knock sounded on her office door. She rolled her eyes. “That’s probably Briggs. He’s taking his role as protector very seriously.”

  She opened her office door to find Gage, his gaze intent as his eyes swept over her quickly. He tugged her into a huge hug and pulled her off her feet as he passionately kissed her, taking her breath away.


  “I missed you,” he murmured when he finally let her up for air.

  “Hmm, if that’s the way you’ll greet me when we’ve been apart for a few hours, I think I’m okay with that.” A giddy feeling of euphoria swept over her.

  He frowned as he searched her face.

  “Hey, are you okay?” She lightly touched his cheek.

  “Yeah, it’s just been a day. I have some news, and it’s not the best.”

  Billy cleared his throat behind her, and Gage glanced up in surprise, quickly setting Felicia back on her feet.

  She shut her eyes and winced. “Sorry. I forgot Billy was here.”

  “Thanks,” Billy muttered. “I can feel the love.”

  She turned to her best friend who had his arms crossed, an amused expression on his face.

  “I think maybe you forgot an important part of your weekend story,” Billy said.

  “I was getting to it.” She shrugged. “This is why I don’t need you to stay with me. For the time being, I’m staying at Gage’s house on base.”

  “So,” Billy said slowly. “The two of you are together again?” He frowned at Gage, but aimed his question at Felicia. “After everything that happened the first time?”

  She felt Gage stiffen beside her, but she rubbed his upper arm to calm him down. “Yes. That’s in the past, and we’re working on having a clean slate.”

  “I love her,” Gage said, his voice low and serious. “I know I hurt her back then and will always hate that fact, but I will do everything in my power to keep her from ever being hurt again. You have my word on that.”

  For a moment, no one said anything as Billy studied Gage as if considering his words. Felicia held her breath. If Billy didn’t at least grudgingly accept the two of them together, she wasn’t sure what she would do. She couldn’t choose between her best friend and a future with Gage.

  But then Billy nodded, and his shoulders relaxed. “I’m counting on you to take care of her. You said something about news when you came in?”

  And just like that, Gage stiffened. “Yeah.” He stepped away from Felicia and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.