Page 64 of Flynn

“Devon had contractions, so I can understand why he was distracted.” He glanced at Taylor, thinking about how he’d allowed his attraction to her distract him too.

No more, he silently vowed.

“If we’re sticking around for a while, I wouldn’t mind taking a shower,” Taylor said, rising to her feet and carrying her dirty dishes to the sink. “I’ll clean up after I’m finished.”

“I’ll do it,” Cassidy offered.

“I’ll help.” Flynn chewed the last slice of bacon as he carried his plate to the sink. He was glad Taylor hadn’t seen his place with the dirty dishes stacked in the sink. He’d have to do better on that front too.

Not that he expected to see Taylor again once this was over.

He thrust his hands into the hot, soapy water to force himself to think about something, anything other than his conflicted feelings toward Taylor.

“What do you think? Is Irving also involved?” Cass asked as she picked up the towel to dry.

“Don’t know. She’s easy to dislike, but that’s not proof of wrongdoing.”

“Yeah, I get the impression Irving has had a tough life,” Cassidy said. “Then again, so did Jina and Raelyn and they’re not soured on life.”

“Because of the team,” Flynn said. “I mean, think about it. We are all very supportive of each other. That level of camaraderie isn’t common in all police departments.”

“True,” Cassidy agreed. They washed and dried dishes for the next few minutes. Then he looked out the window, relieved to see there were four cops milling about outside.

The crime scene techs were just finishing up as well. They were easy to spot in their head-to-toe water-resistant gear. They looked like puffy dolls.

He made another pot of coffee, trying not to glance at his watch. Taylor seemed to be taking a long time. Was she crying again? Feeling overwhelmed by everything that had happened?

Setting his coffee aside, he moved down the hall. His hand went to his hip before he remembered he didn’t have his gun.

A muffled thump made his heart jump in his chest. He lunged forward to grab the door handle, yanking it open.

Then he froze when he saw a man dressed in water-resistant gear holding Taylor at gunpoint.

ChapterFifteen

When Taylor had finished getting dressed in the bathroom, she’d stepped into the room in time to see a man wearing cream-colored head-to-toe protective gear, including face mask and goggles, coming in through the window. She must not have heard the noise over the sound of the shower and blow-dryer.

Before she could scream, he leveled the gun at her as he finished climbing through the opening. “Don’t say a word.”

She’d instinctively backed up, slamming into the door behind her. She assumed the man standing before her was Nickoli Yurgis, but she couldn’t tell because of the face covering. She tried to steady herself, knowing she needed to buy time. To find a way to stay alive. “Who are you? What do you want?”

Before the gunman could respond, her bedroom door burst open, revealing Flynn. Seeing Flynn’s empty hands, Taylor screamed, “No!” at the top of her lungs and lunged toward the gunman just as he moved the muzzle of his weapon toward Flynn.

Two sharp reports reverberated through the small space. Taylor half expected to feel the impact of a bullet as her momentum carried her forward, but surprisingly, it was the gunman who stumbled backward, crumpling to the floor in a heap.

Flynn moved quickly across the room with Cassidy behind him. Taylor had fallen half on top of the gunman and was trying to scramble out of the way in case he turned the weapon on her.

But he didn’t get the chance. Even though she hadn’t seen the gunman move, Cassidy fired two more rounds into his body.

“Taylor!” Flynn reached for her. “Are you hurt?”

“I don’t think so.” She sagged against Flynn, looking down at herself as if to make sure she hadn’t been hit by a bullet. Everything had happened so fast she wasn’t sure her brain had processed the event. Two shots had been fired. “What about you?”

“I’m fine,” Flynn said. “His shot went high because you threw yourself at him.”

“He’s no longer a threat,” Cassidy said. Her gaze was somber as she turned to face them. “Are you both okay?”

“How did you know he was in here?” Taylor asked. She was surprised that Cassidy had been able to shoot past Flynn in the narrow space. “I didn’t even know until I came out of the bathroom.”

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