Page 45 of Flynn

“It’s fine.” Brady waved a hand. “I’m sure there were jerk agents at some point to start the rumor.”

“I would like to think they’ll keep us in the loop,” Flynn said, getting the conversation back on track. “That’s why I added the part about the possibility of you remembering something important if prodded by additional information.”

“Yeah, well, don’t hold your breath on that,” she muttered. “I was the nanny; my job was to take care of the baby.” Her brow furrowed. “I really hope Max is okay.”

Flynn reached out to take her hand. “He’ll be fine.”

She shook her head. “You don’t know that.”

That was true, he didn’t know where Max was or what sort of foster family he had been placed with. “We’ll pray for him, okay?”

Her fingers tightened around his. “I’d like that.”

“Dear Lord Jesus, keep baby Max safe in Your care. Amen,” Flynn said.

“Amen,” Cassidy, Brady, and Taylor echoed in unison.

Taylor clung to his hand during the rest of the trip to the City Central Hotel, and he was in no hurry to let her go. Flynn noticed Brady’s knowing smile when their gazes met in the rearview mirror.

So much for his attempt to keep Taylor at a distance. If anything, the recent shooting attempt had drawn them closer together.

He was fighting a losing battle. Despite the mistakes he’d made along the way, of which there were many, he couldn’t step aside to let someone else take over the task of protecting her.

Not even those men he deeply admired, like Rhy, Brady, and Doug Bridges.

Up ahead he could see Doug driving slowly enough that they could stick close. Daytime traffic wasn’t too bad, and their rush hour was nothing compared to other big cities.

But he was relieved when they finally reached the City Central Hotel. Doug parked his SUV in the front lot, but Brady went around back. When he caught Flynn’s curious glance, he said, “Doug is going to get the room keys. Then he’ll open the back door for us. He’ll eventually park in the back too. Rhy will join us after his meeting with Michaels.”

“Sounds good.” The feds had implemented the plan to get them away from Ravenswood very well. When Bridges appeared in the doorway, they quickly worked together to escort Taylor inside.

“I see they made repairs to the drywall since we were here last,” Taylor said as she flopped onto the sofa.

Brady arched a brow, but Flynn ignored the unspoken question. “Are you hungry? Thirsty? We can order something from room service.”

“No thanks. We can grab dinner later.” She yawned, then said, “Maybe coffee. I don’t normally drink this much coffee, but I am surprisingly exhausted.

“That’s adrenaline for you,” Cassidy said. “I’ll make coffee.”

“I feel like having everyone hovering here is overkill.” Taylor frowned at Doug and Brady standing on either side of the door like sentinels guarding a post. “Don’t you guys have criminals to catch?”

“I have a feeling that finding Nickoli Yurgis will be a huge step forward in uncovering other criminals,” Flynn said. “And I promised we’d keep you safe.”

“I know.” She abruptly jumped off the sofa and headed to the closest bedroom. “Excuse me.”

He took a step after her, then stopped. Each room had an attached bathroom. She was obviously looking for some privacy.

But after one minute passed, then five, then ten, he grew concerned. He shot Cassidy a panicked look.

“I’ll check on her,” Cass offered.

“No, let me.” He couldn’t explain why he brushed past Cass to knock on the bedroom door, then he cracked it open. “Taylor? Are you okay?”

No answer. He opened the door farther. Seeing her curled in a ball on the bed sobbing was like a knife to the chest.

ChapterEleven

Everything caught up with her in one fell swoop. Taylor was exhausted, emotionally and physically. It was all too much. The attacks against her flashed in her mind, one after the other like snippets from a movie reel. Hearing thepop, pop, pop, pop. The gunman walking past the bedroom door, then playing his flashlight across the room. The gunman taking shots at their SUV after leaving the Brookland Police Department, then finding them at the rental property and forcing them to drive through the garage door to escape. The boat incident on Peabody Lake, suffering hypothermia and nearly drowning.

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