Page 33 of Flynn

She quickly snagged one of the laptops, yanking the power cord from the wall to follow him.It is better than nothing, she thought, as she wrestled with keeping the quilt around her as she headed to the passenger side of the vehicle.

This time, Flynn opened the garage door, taking another moment to peer outside before sliding in behind the wheel. They probably looked ridiculous, two people practically naked wrapped in blankets sitting in the front seat of the SUV.

All that mattered was that they’d survived.

“Thank you, Lord Jesus,” she whispered.

“Amen.” Flynn looked both ways before taking a left at the end of the driveway. They’d come in from the opposite direction, but she didn’t question his decision.

Flynn had saved her life. If not for his dragging her through the water and half carrying her up the embankment, she wouldn’t be sitting beside him. She’d never felt God’s presence the way she did now.

She knew God had given Flynn the strength he needed to get them out of there.

Amen, she silently added.

Flynn was silent as he drove. They didn’t have anything but the blankets, the computer, and the SUV. Neither one of them was even wearing shoes. Flynn cranked the heat, which felt good on her bare toes. Their new disposable cell phones had been rendered useless after being submerged in the lake water. The only saving grace was that Flynn had his wallet and his gun.

“What should we do?” she asked as they continued their meandering drive. “We can’t call anyone for help.”

“I know.” He glanced at the computer she’d tucked on the floor at her feet. “Smart of you to grab the laptop. Once we’re settled, we’ll use that to reach out to the team.”

“Settled where?” She shivered again, despite the warm air blasting through the vents. Their near miss was still difficult to comprehend. She was having trouble keeping herself from thinking about how close they’d come to dying.

“The American Lodge,” Flynn said. “I planned to avoid it, but we don’t have many options. I know the owner, Gary Campbell. He’s a former firefighter and offers discounts to all police and firefighters. Our team has worked with him often in the past two years. I know he’ll give us connecting rooms without a problem.” Flynn shot her a wry look. “My wallet is soaked, but I’m confident he’ll take cash, even if it’s wet and needs to dry off.”

She’d never heard of the American Lodge but trusted Flynn’s instincts. Especially since it seemed as if he knew this Gary on a first-name basis.

“I’m surprised you didn’t think to head there rather than renting the house on Peabody Lake.”

“I discussed that with Cassidy.” He grimaced. “It’s located in Brookland, so I immediately took it off the list. I also wanted to avoid going anyplace that had ties to the tactical team. But without a phone, that’s the only place that will work. I’m concerned that even with using Gabe Melrose to secure the lake house, the gunman found us.”

She frowned, thinking back on those frightening moments on the lake. “I hadn’t considered the possibility we were followed to the lake. I assumed the perp was in one of the houses and saw us going by. How else did he get a boat to come after us?”

Flynn shot her a quick glance. “That’s a good point. Most people pull their boats out of the water in the winter.” He scowled and shook his head. “I don’t know what to think. Did we really rent a house on the same lake where the mastermind behind the murders lives?”

She swallowed hard. “Maybe. A professional hit man wouldn’t own a house on Peabody Lake, but the person who hired him could have a residence there. That meshes with the photo we found of Lyle and Jake Paulson. And that would explain how he’d happened to see us on the lake and had access to a boat to chase after us.”

“Yeah, that’s the only scenario that makes sense to me,” Flynn said. He raked a hand through his wet hair. “We really need to talk to Rhy, and soon.”

She nodded. Glancing down at the quilt wrapped around her, she was conscious of her wet undergarments. The feeling had returned to her body, but she still felt chilled. She was tempted to ask about how soon they could get replacement clothes and shoes but understood Flynn’s priority was to get them safely to the American Lodge.

Everything else was secondary.

They had survived this round, but what about the next attempt? As Flynn continued taking back roads to get out of the city of Peabody, she couldn’t help but pray that the Brookland PD would find and arrest the gunman.

Very soon.

Waves of guiltwashed over Flynn as he took every back road he could find to get far away from Peabody. This mess was his fault.

He’d nearly gotten them killed. His bright idea of heading out onto the lake to see if they could find the location of the homes in the picture of the Paulson brothers had backfired in a big way.

The events had unfolded so quickly he still wasn’t sure how they’d gotten out of the lake. His only clear memory was grabbing and holding on to Taylor. One minute they were taking gunfire, the next they were stumbling onto the lake shore. How he’d managed to keep ahold of both Taylor and his weapon was another mystery.

The only answer was that God had guided and protected them.

And while he was grateful for that, he needed to be smarter moving forward. Swallowing hard against the bitter taste of failure, he forced himself to think logically. They had no clothes and no phones. He had his credit cards, but he didn’t want to use them.

Was it smart to seek refuge at the American Lodge? He honestly didn’t know.

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