Page 17 of Locked Down

“Do you know what happened?”Ryker asked. He’d gotten a report from one of his team, but he wanted to hear their version.

One of the FBI agents, a tall man with dark hair named Ben Dunphy, said,“The shots appeared to come from a drive-by shooter. The hotel was located on a corner. The shooter was on the side street so when the driver opened the door for Senator Davis’s niece, they took the shot, clearly thinking Davis was getting out. Their timing was off and they hit the door. Freaking rookies. They did shoot the driver, which begs the question; were they really that bad or was the driver the target?”

Ryker’s stomach knotted. Or worse… Was Vic the target? He couldn’t fathom that. Who would want Vic dead?“Lazlo will help you with anything we’ve got here. We’ll keep you updated as well.”

The door opened and Rushton Fletcher guided Vic into the house. Her face was ghostly pale, her dark eyes huge and shocked. A tremor shook her hands and Ryker was pretty sure she was having a hard time keeping her legs under herself. His first instinct was to hug her which was weird because he was not a hugger, but she just looked so lost and alone.

“Gentlemen.”Ryker nodded to Lazlo,“he’ll take you to the security office out back and answer your questions.”The men glanced at Vic and then back at Ryker and nodded.“Keep us in the loop,”Dunphy said.

“Likewise,”Ryker responded. He watched them go out the door and then nodded to Rush,“Thanks.”

Rush returned the nod and disappeared deeper into the house.

“Senator Davis.”The edge in Ryker’s tone cut through the din in the room.

Davis glanced up at Ryker, who pointed at Vic. Davis glanced at Vic but continued talking on the phone. Ryker watched in disbelief. Vic came further into the room and Davis just turned his back, continuing his phone call.

Ryker wanted to snap his neck. That was no way to treat family.

“Yes, my niece is fine. Shaken up, but she’s made of the same stern stuff as her uncle.”He gave a self-deprecating chuckle.“As a matter of fact, she’s here now, helpin’ out.”

Looking completely lost, Vic stood silently in the middle of the room. Ryker knew she was waiting for Davis to give her directions but what she needed was comfort. He’d seen plenty of people after they’d been shot at or had just encountered their first firefight. Some people got all hyped up, raring to go. But most were stunned. No matter how much they were taught about how to prepare for it, the reality was always much different. And as soon as the adrenaline faded, the crash was as harmful as the act of being shot at had been. Vic had no training and had certainly never expected to be a target. For her, this was the stuff of nightmares.

He walked over to her and gently took her by the arm. She didn’t make a sound as he led her to the kitchen. He pulled out a stool for her at the breakfast bar and she sat down hard.

“Tea?”What he really wanted to give her was a stiff drink, but knowing Davis, he’d demand she work. The old goat would never let her live it down if she got drunk in front of him now.

She nodded but stayed silent.

He filled the kettle, then set it on the stove and ignited the flame. next, he searched through the cupboards until he found tea and a mug. He made her a cup and put it in front of her. She just stared at it, making no move to lift the mug for a sip.

“Vic, I need you to tell me what happened.”His voice was as gentle as he could make it. He didn’t want her to have to relive it yet again as he knew the cops and the FBI on the scene would have had her repeat everything a few times, but he needed to know and she needed to talk about the incident in order to process it.

She finally met his gaze.“It was all so fast. So surreal.”She shook her head and then wrapped both hands around her mug as if to soak up all the warmth it could give.“We pulled up to the curb, and C-Carl got out really fast. He came around to open my door before I had a chance to gather my purse. “I told him I would be happy to take a cab home and I had just stuck my leg out so I could stand up… the door exploded next to me. Bits of everything hit me in the face and I fell back into the SUV.”

There were a few scratches on her face. Nothing that required stitches. From the look of things, they must have cleaned her up at the scene.

“Carl froze… and then…and then there was a sharp crack, like a gunshot…and he just fell over.”She swallowed.“I—I think I screamed. The doormen from the hotel ran for cover.”

She tried to take a sip of her tea, but her hands were shaking so she put it down again.“Once I knew for sure the shooting had stopped, I got out of the SUV and checked on Carl but it was too late. He was… gone.”

“Okay. Did you see anything or anyone?”

She shook her head.“No, I was in the vehicle the whole time. I only saw the doormen running for cover.”

“I want you to close your eyes for a second.”

“Why?”

“Just try,”he coaxed.

She closed her eyes.

“Now, I want you to run through it in your mind. Tell me any impressions you have, any thoughts. What sounds did you hear? What did it smell like?”

Squeezing her eyes shut, Vic took a couple of deep breaths and clenched the mug.“I heard the traffic, someone laughing not far away.”The tightness around her eyes lessened.“The smell of flowers, Jasmine, I think. The shots. Screaming. A motorcycle roaring. Sirens.”She paused and then opened her eyes.“That’s it. I’m sorry. I’m not helpful at all. I-I—”Her voice caught. “I couldn’t help Carl. Maybe if I’d gotten out of the SUV sooner I could have done something, but I was just so shocked, so paralyzed. I couldn’t seem to get myself to move.

Ryker frowned.“Vic, you survived a horrible experience. You don’t have to be helpful. Carl was dead the second that bullet entered his body. Getting shot while trying to help would only make matters worse.”She needed to see the truth of it. He didn’t want her carrying around any guilt over Carl’s death. He reached out and lifted her chin with his knuckle.“The only person responsible for Carl dying was the person who pulled the trigger.”

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