Page 19 of Flynn

She grabbed his arm. “Maybe we should wait. One of the neighbors must have called the police by now.”

“Cassidy is on her way back—” He was interrupted by the sound of gunfire pummeling the garage door. Thankfully, it wasn’t the one they were sitting behind, but the one where his car was located. “Time’s up. We gotta move.”

Whispering a silent prayer, she released Flynn’s arm and bent over in the passenger seat. She brought the edges of her coat up to muffle her need to scream. He started the engine, threw the gearshift into reverse, and slammed the rear of the car through the aluminum garage door. There was a shriek of metal against metal as he pushed through the door.

Somehow, they were out of the garage and moving backward down the driveway. Taylor expected to hear more gunfire, but she only heard the distinct wail of police sirens. The wave of relief was dizzying.

But their situation was still grim. Flynn finally hit the brake when they reached the road, put the car into drive, and rolled down the street. She gingerly lifted her head, noticing he was going in the same direction as the black SUV had gone.

Was he hoping to catch up with the gunman? Swallowing hard, she gripped the handrest and braced herself. While she wanted nothing more than to find this guy, she felt as if they were at a disadvantage.

Flynn was armed, but he was also driving. If they’d been thinking clearly, he would have put her in the driver’s seat.

Not that she’d have been brave enough to ram through the closed garage door.

“Where are we going?” She forced the question past her tight throat.

“Catching up to Cassidy, hopefully.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and thumbed the screen. Then he handed it to her. “She’s my most recent call.”

“I see it.” She quickly pressed on her name to make the call, quickly placing the phone on speaker.

“Flynn, where are you?” Cassidy asked, her tone urgent.

“We’re out of Zeke’s place, on the road in the rental,” Flynn said. “The back of the vehicle is probably damaged after the way I went through the garage door. It’s compromised anyway, so we need a new ride.”

There was a slight pause before Cassidy spoke. “Okay, I’m halfway to Zeke’s place myself but let’s reconvene at the rental car agency in Brookland. If you can make it that far.”

“We’ll make it.” Flynn’s tone was grim. “I haven’t seen the black SUV, at least not yet. I am concerned about how this guy found us. I doubt he followed you, so that means he must have known we were hanging out at Zeke’s place. Maybe he has police connections providing key information on members of our team.”

“That’s possible,” Cass said. “If that’s true, we need to find a place for you and Taylor to stay that is not affiliated with the team in any way.”

“I agree. Going to the rental agency in Brookland is not an option,” Flynn said. “I’ll head to the airport instead.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” There was a brief pause, then Cassidy added, “I’ll meet you and Taylor there.”

“Thanks.” Flynn glanced at her as she held the phone between them. “We’ll see you soon.” He gave her a nod, indicating she could disconnect from the call. She dropped the device into the center console cupholder between them.

“You really believe the gunman has police connections?” She couldn’t hide her shock.

“I don’t know what to think,” Flynn said. “Other than we should have been safe at Zeke’s place. But we weren’t.” He looked as if he wanted to say more but didn’t.

She dragged her shaking fingers through her hair, trying to understand. “Maybe Cassidy and Jina were followed. I saw the SUV pretty quickly after they arrived. Like I said, I thought the car was being driven by another of your teammates.”

“That’s just it. Cassidy and Jina are seasoned cops; they know how to spot a tail.” He shook his head. “No way they’d have missed it. If you saw the black SUV coming down the road that quickly after their arrival, I think it’s more likely the gunman just happened to show up as they did. Only he kept driving past the house because he was seriously outnumbered three cops to one. After biding his time, he returned when he assumed we were alone.”

What Flynn said made sense. What did she know? This was all far outside her area of expertise. She glanced up at the gray-cloud-covered November sky as he headed toward the interstate. She’d been to the airport numerous times, but not for the sole reason of obtaining a rental car. “I don’t understand why he’d come after me in broad daylight.”

Flynn’s expression hardened. “I believe he saw you through the kitchen window and decided to take the shot. Once he did that, he was committed to seeing it through. Until he realized the cops were on the way.”

She shivered, imagining the big-nosed man pointing his weapon at her and pulling the trigger. Frustrating that she hadn’t gotten a better look at him. As she’d gone through one mug shot after another, she’d feared her memory wasn’t as accurate as she’d hoped. What if she’d made his nose larger in her mind than it was? She didn’t know much about the psychology of trauma, but it wasn’t a stretch to believe being scared out of her mind had altered her senses.

Making things look different from reality.

“It’s okay,” Flynn said, reaching for her hand. He had relaxed a bit now that they were far from Zeke’s home. She’d noticed he’d watched the rearview mirror like a hawk, but it seemed they may have escaped the gunman. At least, this time. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to let him get close to you.”

“I trust you.” She tried to smile. “You’ve saved my life twice now. I’m not sure how I’ll every repay you.”

He frowned. “No payment is necessary. Protecting the innocent is what we do. There’s no quid pro quo here. Just a friend helping out a friend.”

---