Page 12 of Splintered Memories
Why had they waited?
My brows pinched. I studied the street again, noticing a familiar vehicle parked on the side of the road, right in front of the crime scene. It was Emersyn’s small, black car. It had to be. There was a large sticker in the back window advertising her podcast.
Had the shooter been waiting for her to go back to her car?
I stood up, my muscles tense. Whoever had been shooting, there was no doubt in my mind that Emersyn was their target. My eyes swept around the area one more time, and my gaze caught on a glint of metal in the sunlight.
There they were, discarded and forgotten by whoever had perpetrated this hasty crime.
The shell casings from the rifle that had fired at Emersyn.
5
August
Ipushedthroughthedoorsof the Hearthstone office, noting the unfamiliar vehicle in our small parking lot. A white Mercedes SUV, an expensive and uncommon vehicle for the area.
The front lobby of our office building was empty, though.
The door behind me closed with a shuddering thump in the wild spring breeze. I winced, a headache brewing in my temples and wrapping around the back of my head. I’d been working all morning on campus, providing security for a political speaker, and I was beat. Anytime politics were involved, it always made things difficult, drawing crowds from one side of an issue or the other, causing tension and strife that was hard to maintain control of and easy to get out of hand.
Thankfully, things had gone smoothly. No one had been hurt, and my team and I, along with campus security, had been able to keep the crowds contained and safe.
I pulled open the door that led to our individual office spaces, coming to a halt when Reid poked his head out of his office.
“Good, you’re back,” he said.
A slight stiffness to his voice had me on alert. I quirked a brow at him.
He jerked his chin toward the door to my office farther down the hall. The door was closed. I narrowed my eyes on it. I usually left it open. There was no one back here but my brothers, and I had nothing to hide in there.
“There’s someone who wants to speak with you. He’s been here for the last hour.”
I frowned, throwing my gaze back to my youngest brother. “An hour? Who is it?”
Reid shrugged. “Go see for yourself. He refused to leave before he got to speak with you, though I did try to explain that you were busy.”
I inhaled a deep breath through my nose. “Did he say what he wanted, at least? This mystery visitor?”
Reid shook his head. “Nope.”
I shoved a hand through my hair, massaging the back of my aching head in the process. “All right.” I headed to my office, preparing myself for whatever, or whoever, was waiting for me inside. I paused, hand on the doorknob, and I glanced back at Reid, who was watching me from down the hall.
“How’s Lark doing?” I asked. He’d been off the past couple of days because his fiancée was sick.
A smile tugged at one side of his mouth. “She’s much better.”
“And the baby?” They were expecting their first and though I assumed everything was good, I wanted to make sure.
His green eyes softened. “Perfectly healthy. She had an appointment yesterday.”
I nodded. Good—that was good. I was worried after Reid said how sick she had been. Luckily it was just a bad stomach bug.
Then, I turned the doorknob and strode inside my office.
A man dressed in a crisp, expensive suit sat inside. His eyes narrowed as he twisted around in the chair across from my desk to inspect me.
He was clean shaven, with dark-brown hair sprinkled with strands of gray.
