Page 61 of Flynn

“We’re trying to uncover that angle too,” Cassidy said with a sigh. “I just wanted you to know that we’ll be tied up for a while yet. Our lieutenant, Joe Kingsley, is on his way as Rhy is still at home with his sick wife and daughter.”

Taylor had met Joe once last month when things had heated up with Sienna and Bailey being in danger. Like the other members of the tactical team, he was a nice guy. “Okay. I’ll make some coffee.”

“We may end up being here for breakfast too,” Cassidy said. “You’re safe inside the house while the officers are here.”

“I’ll take care of that.” Brewing coffee and making breakfast would give her something constructive to do. “Just keep an eye on Flynn, okay?”

Cassidy’s expression softened. “I will. And Flynn is tougher than you think. He’s taking this hard, but he’ll bounce back. Especially once we find the evidence we need to link Klem to the gunman.”

Cassidy spoke as if that connection was a foregone conclusion, and as Taylor set about making a pot of coffee, she hoped and prayed Cassidy was right.

That, for his sake, Flynn hadn’t shot an innocent man.

Flynn’sentire body was numb and not from the cold. He still couldn’t believe he’d shot Detective Klem. Per protocol in an officer-involved shooting, he handed his weapon to the first Greenland officers on scene, instantly thinking of a way to get a replacement.

One thing was for sure, the danger surrounding Taylor was far from over.

“Other than the vest, Klem was dressed in street clothes,” Cassidy said in a low voice as they watched the paramedics working on the fallen officer.

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Flynn said. Although he had found the dark clothing Klem wore from head to toe suspicious. Especially taking the black ski mask into consideration. “He’s a detective, he wouldn’t wear a uniform.”

“Yes, but wearing black street clothes, hat, and mask while showing up at a safe house he shouldn’t know about means you were in the right,” Cassidy insisted. “Especially if you told him to drop his weapon.”

“If?” He whirled on her. “I said I was a cop, told him to drop it, and he fired at me.”

Cassidy lifted her hands. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make it sound as if I didn’t believe you. I know you wouldn’t just shoot without announcing yourself.”

He blew out a long breath as he turned to watch Klem being lifted onto the gurney. “I pray he survives the shooting. We need answers as to who hired him. And how he’s involved in this mess.”

“He will.” Cass sounded confident. “The bullets didn’t pierce his chest, bone, or muscle. He’s badly bruised and having some heart issues, but there’s no reason to suspect he’ll die from being shot in the chest.”

It was still difficult to comprehend he’d shot a fellow officer. A likely dirty and corrupt officer, but a fellow brother in blue just the same.

Jina and her husband, Cole, had interacted with Klem and Irving two months ago. They hadn’t gotten any hint of Klem being dirty. Irving had been her usual pain-in-the-behind self, especially with Jina.

But everyone had gotten along well with Klem.

“Looks like they found a shell casing,” Cassidy said, breaking into his thoughts. “That reinforces your story that he fired at you.”

He wanted to shout at the top of his lungs that it wasn’t a story, but he managed to bite his tongue. Cassidy wasn’t pointing out anything he didn’t already know. He’d shown the first officers on scene where he’d been standing when Klem had fired. How he’d ducked and rolled to return fire. The disturbed snow on the ground had been obvious.

The shell casing would help too. And he didn’t doubt that the crime scene techs would be able to verify that Klem’s weapon had been fired recently. The officers on scene had been smart enough to place Klem’s gloves in an evidence bag to be tested for gunshot residue. They’d snagged the ski mask too.

Yet Flynn knew that a good lawyer could easily claim Klem was innocent. That he’d dressed for the cold and hadn’t known Flynn was a cop. The only thing that worked in Flynn’s favor was the fact that Greenland was outside of Klem’s jurisdiction and that the detective shouldn’t have known about their being at the rental property in the first place.

It bothered him that Klem had found them. He’d felt certain the leak was within the FBI, not the local police.

Could it be both? He hated to believe it, but at this point, he wasn’t ruling anything out.

Everyone was a suspect until he was convinced otherwise. Except for his tactical team family. And the Finnegans, including Doug Bridges as well.

If not for Doug nearly being shot by the gunman outside the City Central Hotel, Flynn would be tempted to lump him in with the pile of suspects. But he knew from Rhy and others within their team, like Roscoe, that Bridges had helped cover their backs.

As Taylor was handing out cups of coffee, Lieutenant Kingsley arrived. Joe raked his gaze over him. “Are you okay?”

“Peachy.” Flynn took a sip of the steaming brew, hoping to absorb some of the warmth. “We need to get Taylor out of here.”

“Soon,” Joe promised. “Right now, we have more than enough officers on scene to keep her safe.”

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