Page 33 of Jina

Like first thing tomorrow morning.

Her stomach twisted painfully, but she refused to show any sign of weakness. She knew she hadn’t bashed Bradley’s head in. She had fired that shot, then followed his blood trail until it disappeared.

Yes, she should have notified the police.

But she hadn’t. And that decision haunted her now.

“What’s up?” Steele’s voice echoed in her ear.

“Hey, Steele, I’m being targeted by a gunman. Zeke, Flynn, and Cassidy are heading here to the American Lodge. We need another cop to help with the stakeout. Are you interested?”

“Absolutely. I can be there in twenty.”

Humbled by her team’s willingness to jump in to assist, she smiled. “Great, thanks. There’s a strip mall tucked behind the MMA gym. I’m hoping to goad the shooter into taking another try at me.”

“Does Rhy know about this?” Steele asked.

“No.” She found herself holding her breath, fearing Steele would back out.

“Okay. Be there soon.”

When Steele ended the call, she turned to her colleagues. “He’s on his way.”

Zeke and Flynn exchanged a glance and nodded. “Sounds good,” Zeke said.

“We’re going to head back to the strip mall to settle in,” Flynn added. “I’ll text both Cassidy and Steele to meet us there.”

“Good. I’ll need to borrow one of your cars to head over. Mine was towed to a local garage, so I don’t have my own ride.” She managed a smile. “Hopefully, this guy will show. I’m anxious to take him down.”

“And if he doesn’t?” Cole asked.

She shrugged. “We can try again tomorrow. But I think he’ll come tonight.”

“Use my truck.” Zeke tossed her the keys.

“We’ll be in touch.” Flynn gave her a nod, then he and Zeke went out to his car, leaving the pickup truck behind.

A long, heavy silence stretched between her and Cole once the guys were gone. He took a step toward the door, paused, then turned back to her. “I’d like your phone number so I can text you when I’m on my way back.”

Her gut instinct was to refuse since it wasn’t her job to make it easier for him to arrest her. A moot point, really, since he already knew where to find her. “Okay.” She gave him the number, watching as he typed it into his phone.

“Thanks.” He held her gaze for a long moment. Then he took a step toward her and reached for her hand. She was so surprised she didn’t resist. “I don’t think you killed Crow, but I’m going to need your help to prove that.”

His statement caught her off guard. “You believe me?”

With a sigh, he nodded. “I do. But I doubt my lieutenant will share my viewpoint, so the sooner we figure out who did kill him and why, the better.”

“We?” She regarded him thoughtfully. Trusting men wasn’t easy for her, but for some odd reason, she believed him. “Okay. I can go along with that idea.”

“Good.” Still holding her hand, he stepped closer and brushed a kiss along her cheek. “Please stay safe until I can get back.”

The sweet caress ridiculously made her heart race. “I’ll be fine.”

“I’m counting on that.” Releasing her hand, he headed outside. Alone in the room, she felt a strange sense of loss. Having spent the better part of the past twenty hours with Cole Roberts, she was disconcerted to realize she missed him.

A man she barely knew. A detective who would more likely than not arrest her in the next day or so.

Why now? she thought wearily, dragging her hands through her hair. Why was she keenly aware of the one guy who was so wrong for her?

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