Page 20 of Flynn

Friends. She hadn’t viewed Flynn as a friend when he’d first arrived at the hotel to keep her and Sienna’s daughter, Bailey, safe. Just the opposite as he’d seemed to look down at her. Yet that knowledge hadn’t stopped her from reaching out to him when the Millers were murdered. Maybe she needed to lighten up a bit. He was a nice guy and genuinely wanted to help.

She nodded, giving his hand a squeeze. “Thanks for being my friend.”

“Anytime.” He held her hand for a moment longer, then released it. She told herself he was just being nice, but once again, she sensed that weird awareness shimmering between them.

Most likely it was her imagination. She was letting her gratitude toward Flynn mess with her mind. She was leaning on him in a way she’d never depended on anyone else. But as he’d made it clear, they were friends.

Nothing more.

She didn’t say anything as the airport exit came into view. Flynn had made good time on the expressway. The morning rush was over, so the roads weren’t too crowded. Still, she found herself watching the cars around them, half expecting to see the black SUV being driven by a man with a gun.

“You mentioned he was a professional hit man,” she said, breaking the silence. “The man who fired at us at Zeke’s didn’t come across as a professional.”

“That’s true.” He shot her a quick glance. “I think he acted impulsively. Maybe overestimating his skill at hitting his target. But you have a point that the man in the black SUV could be someone else.”

“What?” She stared at him. “I didn’t say that.”

“You pointed out the differences in the two attempts. The gunman at the Miller home was brutal and methodical. The shots fired from the black SUV were not.” He shrugged. “Something to consider.”

“I can’t see why anyone else would be involved in trying to shoot me.” The thought of more than one gunman coming after her was mind-boggling.

“You’re missing the point of a professional hit,” Flynn said gently. “The professional is hired by someone else to do the dirty work. That same person can hire as many gunmen as he wants to get the job done.”

An icy chill washed over her. Because he was right. She hadn’t thought of the situation from that perspective. She’d assumed that the gunman who’d killed the Millers had come after her of his own accord because she had seen him. Because he had been forced to let her slip away.

But maybe the person who’d hired the gunman was the one who wanted her dead.

If she and Max had been asleep in their respective beds, she had no doubt that they would have been shot and killed.

Just like the Millers.

And she still had no idea why any of this was happening.

As Taylor twistedher fingers together in her lap, her expression a frozen mask of fear, Flynn realized he shouldn’t have been so blunt. Yet he couldn’t keep her in the dark about the extent of the threat against her.

Not after the way they’d been found at Zeke’s.

He needed to find a way to reassure her, but that wasn’t easy to do when he was kicking himself for being an idiot. He shouldn’t have used his best friend’s home as a hiding spot.

Hadn’t he learned anything from the way his teammates had been in trouble over the past year? Sure, he and others had stepped in to help each other out when danger lurked nearby. But they had stayed in motels or rental properties. Even the MPD safe house.

They had not gone and stayed in each other’s homes.

He needed to think about how to best keep Taylor safe while at the same time figure out who was behind these attacks. Because somehow he didn’t have much faith in the ability of the Brookland detectives to get to the bottom of this mess.

He entered the airport parking structure, taking note of the sign indicating which levels still had parking spots available. Milwaukee had grown over the past few years such that the airport was seeing a huge increase in visitors coming and going.

The fourth level seemed to have the most open spots, so he got off on that floor and began driving up and down the aisles. He pulled into an open spot in the back row, then threw the gearshift into park and killed the engine.

“Now what?” Taylor’s voice was full of apprehension. “Do we wait here for Cassidy?”

“Yes. When we know she’s here, we’ll go inside and get a rental car.” He smiled reassuringly. “Then we’ll work out our next steps.”

She gave a slight nod, settling back in the seat. He was glad she’d grabbed her winter coat on the way out of Zeke’s place. He only had his fleece, but that was okay.

He’d rather not be hampered by a bulky winter coat.

They sat in silence for several long minutes. When his phone jangled in the cupholder, he grabbed it. “Hey, Cass, where are you?”

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