Page 121 of Proof of Guilt

Ivy tried to force herself to focus. There was a lot going on at the Blue River sheriff’s office, but she couldn’t grasp it all. That probably had to do with the spent adrenaline that had left her exhausted.

Too bad the exhaustion hadn’t stopped the sound of the gunshots from echoing in her head. Or stopped the fear that was still racing through her. Mercy, she wanted that gone most of all, because at the moment most of those fears were for her son.

The gunman who’d fired those shots had gotten away. And it wasn’t as if no one had looked for him. Gabriel had sent out two deputies almost immediately, but by the time they’d arrived, there’d been no sign of him. That meant the man was out there, probably waiting to attack. Or worse, waiting to follow them to the safe house where Nathan was with Jameson and Jodi.

“How did the gunman even know we’d be on that stretch of the road?” she asked. It wasn’t the first time she’d wanted to know that, and Ivy didn’t direct the question at anyone in particular.

Theo, however, put away his phone after making his latest call and went to her. He skimmed his hand down her arm, probably a gesture to try to comfort her, but Ivy figured nothing much was going to soothe her right now.

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“There are only two roads leading into Blue River,” Theo reminded her. “There could have been a gunman on both.”

Yes. And that meant there could have been another woman or hostage to force them into stopping. Or coerced. If so, Ivy hoped they found the person, and the thugs hadn’t done to him or her what they’d done to the woman they’d encountered. She couldn’t imagine that someone had volunteered to be shot as part of the plan to lure her out into the open.

“Jameson is on full alert,” Theo went on. “If anyone tries to get near the safe house, he’ll let us know.”

She didn’t doubt that. Didn’t doubt that her brother and Jodi would be vigilant. But this monster could still get to them.

“I just want to rush back to Nathan,” she said. Ivy cursed the tears that she was having to blink back. Tears weren’t going to help this, and they only put more stress on Theo because it was obvious he was concerned about her. Ivy quickly waved that off. “But I don’t want to lead the guy straight to Nathan, either.”

Theo nodded to let her know they were on the same page about that. Actually, they were on the same page about several things, and it wasn’t all related to the investigation. The attraction that kept rearing its head and the fact that they would do anything to protect their son.

“Any updates on the woman who was shot?” Ivy asked. Maybe if she talked about the investigation, she could get her mind off Nathan. “Or Wesley?”

Even though the agent was still in the building, he was in an interview room with Gabriel and Theo’s boss. Gabriel hadn’t wanted Theo to be part of that, maybe because he now had Theo on his suspect list. Even if he hadn’t been a suspect, though, it could still compromise things since Wesley and he were fellow agents.

“There’s nothing on Wesley,” Theo answered, “but whatever he’s telling Gabriel is a lie. I didn’t have anything to do with this.”

“I know,” she assured him, and it wasn’t lip service. Theo wouldn’t do anything to harm Nathan and her. And no, that wasn’t the attraction talking. Now, though, she might have to convince Gabriel of Theo’s innocence—something she hadn’t tried to do ten years ago. That was a mistake she didn’t intend to make again.

“As for the woman, I just talked to a doctor at the hospital, and she’s still alive,” Theo went on. “That’s the good news. But she’d been heavily drugged, and one of the gunshot wounds is serious. She’s in surgery.”

Ivy already knew the woman hadn’t said anything in the cruiser on the drive to the hospital because she was unconscious through the entire trip. She also hadn’t moved at all when the medics had taken her away on a gurney. Of course, Theo, Cameron and Ivy hadn’t waited around to talk to the doctor. It was too dangerous. Instead, Theo had rushed them to the sheriff’s office, where they’d been for the past hour.

“The woman didn’t have an ID on her,” Theo went on, “so we’re not positive who she is. But she matches the description of a woman, Belinda Travers, who went missing the night before. From McKenzie’s club.”

That got Ivy’s attention. “She knew McKenzie?”

He lifted his shoulder. “It’s possible she just went into the bar, one of the hired guns saw her and decided to use her as bait.”

So she could be innocent in all of this. It sickened Ivy to think of how many people had been hurt—or could be hurt—and they didn’t know why or by who.

“They did a bug sweep of the sheriff’s office and the rest of the building while we were at the safe house,” Theo said a moment later. “And they found one.”

She could have sworn her heart skipped a couple of beats, and the panic came. It was so strong that she nearly bolted for the door so she could go after Nathan. Theo took hold of her arm and anchored her in place.

“It was by the dispatch desk,” he explained, “and it’s been removed.”

The dispatch desk was also Reception. That meant anyone who’d come into the building could have put it there. Heck, it could have been there for weeks or longer.

“Remember, we whispered whenever we talked about the safe house,” Theo reminded her.

Yes, they had. Maybe that had been enough to keep those thugs away from her son.

“Come on.” Theo still had hold of her, and he got her moving toward the hall. “We can go to the break room and maybe you can get some rest.”

Rest was out, but her legs suddenly felt too wobbly to stand. Maybe she could at least sit down and wait for news about when they could return to the safe house. However, they only made it a few steps down the hall when the interview room door opened, and Gabriel stepped out. Judging from her brother’s expression, things hadn’t gone well. She got further confirmation of that when Wesley and the other man came out.

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