Page 93 of Dead Fall (The Quantico Files 2)

She didn’t really need to pick up the house since Shirley had been keeping it clean. She’d also brought over more food than any one human could possibly eat. The kids shoveled her driveway and put her trash barrels by the curb every Sunday for pickup Monday morning. She was really spoiled, and she loved it, but she was ready to get back to work. She couldn’t imagine another three weeks of just sitting around.

Alex put her dishes in the kitchen sink and then sat down to wait in the living room. When she first got home, she was happy to have nothing to do. She’d spent time reading her Bible, trying to learn more about the God who had saved her—twice. And she gently played with Krypto, who loved the extra attention.

After she recovered in the hospital, Logan told Alex about his hunch that Bayne hadn’t left the area and was determined to go out with a bang. Sure enough, he’d entered the hospital early that morning dressed as a doctor. He’d obviously seen an official hospital badge somewhere because his fake ID was good enough to fool everyone. When he discovered which room would be Alex’s, he’d entered it and injected what turned out to be fentanyl into the lines connected to the morphine pump. When Alex activated it, the fentanyl entered her body.

She should have died. No one could explain why she didn’t, but she knew God had rescued her.

After leaving Alex’s room, Bayne was seen walking toward Kaely’s room, probably hoping she had an IV so he could take her life too. But then the code silver went out all over the hospital. He’d headed for an exit but didn’t get there fast enough. When he was stopped by an armed guard, he grabbed a gun from his waistband and tried to shoot his way out of the hospital. But the guard was faster, and Bayne was killed.

Alex was grateful to be alive. She couldn’t explain the strange things she’d experienced, but they had changed her. She was convinced God was real and that He loved her. Although she still respected Kaely, she’d also realized that she didn’t need to be like anyone else, not even her. Maybe she hadn’t had good role models, but she had a good Father. It was her job to pattern herself after Him—and only Him. She still had fears to face, and life would certainly present other challenges, but now she was convinced that for the first time in her life she wasn’t alone.

About fifteen minutes after she’d sat down, the doorbell rang. Krypto followed her to the door, wagging his tail. You’d think after everything he’d been through, he’d be unsure of people. But he loved everyone. Visitors were fun. More people to play with.

Standing outside were Logan and Terry. She held the door open for them. “Come on in,” she said. Why was Terry here? Was she going to be put on extended leave? The doctor had promised she would mend completely and get back to one hundred percent. Did Terry doubt that?

He smiled at her as he stepped inside. When he saw Krypto, he took a step back, but Krypto took that as a challenge and leaned against his leg, waiting for a rub. Terry laughed and put his hand on the large pit bull’s head.

“Boy, you look scary, but you’re just a big baby, aren’t you?” Terry knelt and rubbed Krypto’s head until the dog almost wagged his tail off.

“All right, Krypto, that’s enough,” Alex said. “He came to see me, not you.”

Logan and Terry laughed.

Alex gestured toward the chairs next to her couch. “Sit down, please. Am I in some kind of trouble?”

“No,” Terry said with another smile. “Just the opposite. You all did excellent work. Thank you. But you know, behavioral analysts aren’t supposed to risk their lives in the field. I’m not sure this group understands that concept.”

“Trust me,” Logan said. “We’re all happy to stay safe and just analyze UNSUBs. It’s much easier.” He eased himself into one of the chairs, wearing the special boot designed to support his ankle while it was healing.

“I’m sure it is.” Terry took a deep breath as he looked at Alex. “I have two important items to discuss with you.”

“Yes?” She tried to relax, but it was difficult. Her career meant so much to her.

“I hear you’ve talked to Kaely?”

Alex nodded. “Yes, she told me she’s leaving the Bureau, decided she wants to get married, settle down, and raise kids. She’s been through a lot and needs to make sure she’s around for a while. I understand that.”

“I’m glad. She was worried about telling you. She feels you’ve become good friends.”

Alex smiled. “We have. She’s a great agent and an even better person.” She looked at Logan, who was wearing his poker face. Not that she’d ever played poker with him, but she could tell when he was trying to look innocent.

“Was that one of the items?” she asked Terry.

He nodded.

“And the other one?”

“I wanted to tell you this earlier. But after everything you’d been through, I had to make sure you were strong enough to hear what I’m going to tell you. I’ve already spoken to the rest of your unit. I hope you’ll understand why I had to wait. We needed to be certain Bayne was no longer a threat.” He took a deep breath. “I asked Logan to come with me for moral support.”

Now she really was worried. “What?” She frowned at Logan. “What’s going on?”

Terry hesitated. “We had no idea it was actually Cooper and Palmer, but we suspected that someone could be working with Bayne from inside the FBI. Turns out we made the right decision. If they had found out what I’m about to tell you, it would have put someone at great risk. Bayne would have done anything to destroy him. As you’ve seen personally, he didn’t like failure. So being committed to keeping everyone safe, we decided not to take a chance by revealing the truth. I believe you’ll understand.”

He cleared his throat and looked at Logan, then back at her.

“Who?” Alex asked. “What are you talking about? Please tell me.”

Terry took another deep breath, then said, “The night Jeff drove his car into the Potomac?”

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