Page 36 of Jina

He headed back toward Brookland, using the hands-free function in the rental SUV to send a text.

R U at strip mall?

There was no response for several long minutes, making him believe she was indeed at the strip mall doing her best to draw the shooter out. But then a response came through.

Perp at AL.

What? The shooter was at the American Lodge? How in the world had that happened? He hit the gas, sending the SUV surging forward. She couldn’t be hurt too badly if she’d texted him back, but just thinking of that, a flash of apprehension had him desperate to see her.

To hug her.

Mentally kicking himself for leaving her in the first place, he took advantage of the light traffic on the interstate to zip down the left lane, easily topping fifteen miles over the posted speed limit to reach the American Lodge.

His heart just about thumped out of his chest when he saw not one but three sets of red and blue lights flashing in the darkness.

Braking to an abrupt halt, he shot out of the car and waded into the sea of police officers milling about. Spotting Jina, he hurried to her side. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.” She scowled. “Zeke’s truck took several slugs, though.”

“Zeke was here?” He noticed Zeke and Flynn were standing beside a tall man with dark hair, whom he assumed was Steele and a pretty redhead who must be Cassidy.

“No, all four of my teammates were at the strip mall.” Her voice was laced with disgust. “I was here alone. I came out to Zeke’s truck to head over when I accidentally dropped his keys. That’s when the first shot rang out.”

He should have been there. Swallowing hard, he tried to sound calm. “I’m so glad you’re not hurt. I know God was watching over you.”

She shrugged. “Maybe.”

The wave of apprehension could have been when the first shot had been fired. Although why he would feel something was off so far away from Jina was strange. He believed in God and that Jesus had died to save them, but he wasn’t one to buy into the woo-woo stuff. Maybe the apprehension had been his imagination. As much as he’d tried to focus on the case of Brad Crow, he’d been worried about Jina.

Which brought him back to the immediate threat. “Did you get a good look at him?”

“No, it was too dark, and he was in the trees.” She glowered at the trees in question. “But I have Gary going through his security cameras to see if any of them picked him up.”

“Good idea.” It irked him to know that Gary’s security cameras hadn’t prevented the attack on Jina, but a picture of this perp would help.

“He said something this time,” Jina continued. “He asked, ‘Who’s sorry now?’”

Who’s sorry now? “Does that phrase ring a bell?”

“Not really.” Her gaze looked thoughtful.

“Jina?” A tall man with short blond hair strode into the parking lot with an air of authority. “Fill me in.”

“Captain.” Jina straightened her spine as she turned to face her boss. He’d heard about Rhy Finnegan but had never met him. “I was heading out to meet with Zeke, Flynn, Steele, and Cassidy when I was targeted by gunfire here at the American Lodge. The perp fired three shots in total, hitting Zeke’s truck twice from what I can see. I didn’t see him clearly but have requested Gary to review his security video.”

“And why exactly were you meeting with Zeke, Flynn, Steele, and Cassidy?” Rhy asked.

Before Jina could answer, Zeke spoke up. “We were checking the strip mall for signs of the perp. Something the locals may have missed.”

Rhy looked from Zeke back to Jina as if waiting for her response.

“That’s only part of the story,” Jina admitted. “It was my idea to surround the strip mall with officers to see if the perp might return. I thought if I presented myself at the location of a prior incident, the shooter would try again. Hence the vest.” She tapped the body armor covering her chest. “Instead, he showed up here. I take full responsibility for my actions.”

Her bold honesty was refreshing. Cole had the sense that if she’d claimed that all they were going to do was look for evidence, the rest of the team would have backed her up. Instead, she took accountability so that they wouldn’t suffer because of her. The interaction reinforced to him that Jina had been telling the truth when she claimed she hadn’t bashed Brad Crow over the head with a blunt object.

Yet believing her and proving her innocence were two completely different things.

“Thank you for telling me.” Rhy nodded, then scanned the faces of the team members. “Next time, you’ll want to keep me or Joe in the loop.”

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