Page 24 of Tessa's Trust

“Why is that?” Anna asked from my side. She and Nick flanked me, and I thought it was interesting that Nick had chosen to sit next to me instead of letting Rory do so. His presence was comforting and intriguing. For some reason, I felt both shielded and on alert.

Anna sighed and leaned over me to look at our cousin. “We all know you have some mysterious job. How do you know the bullets weren’t meant for you?”

Rory kept his gaze on the detective. “I’m not saying I have a mysterious job, but if I did, and if somebody within that world wanted me dead, I’d be dead, and it wouldn’t be done on a busy street with witnesses.”

A chill clacked down my back, and I fought a shiver.

“Not that I have a weird job,” Rory drawled. “I work when I want, and play when I want.”

Detective Pierce’s jaw tightened. “We’ll return to you later. For now, how about you, Basanelli? I know you’re involved in a couple of trials right now, and didn’t you put away one of the Morrison brothers a week or so ago?”

“Yes,” Nick said. “A few threats were made as they carted Felix away.”

Pierce jotted more notes on his paper. “I’ll do a follow-up on that, but I need you to send over a list of anybody else who might want you dead.” He turned his attention to Aiden. “Is there anything interesting going on with your ATF unit at the moment that could lead to an assassination attempt?”

Aiden shook his head. “Nothing viable right now, but I’ll take a look through past cases. The shooter was sloppy. He should have hit at least one of us.”

“Maybe he only meant to scare us,” Anna said softly.

Pierce turned his attention to her. “Who wants you dead these days?”

I reared up, but she patted my arm. “I don’t think anybody. My last few cases have been pretty tame.” She sounded slightly perturbed by that.

Aiden shifted his weight on the leather chair. It was a slight movement, but menace emanated from him. “That’s a good thing.”

Finally, Grant focused on me. “The shooting occurred outside your place of residence, where a bloody knife was found. It’s a good chance you were the target, Tessa. You know that, right?”

I nodded. However, it was just as plausible that it was one of the people around me. I didn’t like the coincidence, though, nor did anyone else. I was accustomed to staying in the background, and I didn’t like feeling so exposed. At all.

Pierce looked at his watch. “All right. The crime scene techs should be finished with the area soon, and I’m having the neighborhood canvased. Your vehicles were cleared an hour ago. We haven’t found the truck or any hint of the shooter.”

Aiden sighed. “The guy hit all our tires.”

The scent of Nick’s musky cologne, nature-y and wild, somehow grounded me.

He cleared his throat. “I already texted my brother. He had them towed to his garage. They should be fixed and delivered here by the time we’re done.” Nick had two brothers, and one was a mechanic that everyone in both Timber City and Silverville used. He was the best.

“Thanks,” Rory said.

“Sure. What else do we know?” Nick asked Pierce.

Pierce flipped his notebook shut. “From what we can tell so far, the shooter drove toward Lilac Lake and then took the south road, which means he could be anywhere. We’ll keep looking for him, but in the meantime, Tessa could use some protection.” He shook his head. “I don’t have anybody I can put on you right now. We’re stretched too thin.”

“We’ve got her.” Rory’s usual smile was gone.

For the first time, I saw the dangerous man he hid behind his easygoing façade. What exactly did he do for the government, anyway?

“All right,” Pierce said. “Everybody keep me informed. I’ll let you know if we find anything with the ballistics.”

I was feeling way out of my element. “Any news on the knife found in my fridge?”

“Not yet. The crime lab is behind, and we won’t have anything for a bit. We did run all prints found in your apartment. Nobody popped. My guess is that the person who tore up your place wore gloves. Well, person or persons,” Pierce said. “Have you thought about what they were searching for?”

I hadn’t thought of much else. “I have no idea. I’m broke after paying Sadie. They didn’t take my valuables, and it’s not like I have a safe or anything.” Or secrets. I’d never been a secretive person.

“All right. Keep thinking and let me know if you come up with anything.” Pierce hid a yawn. “I’ll call Sheriff Franco tomorrow and see if his investigation is going anywhere. I’ll also call in a favor at the lab to see if the blood on the two knives matches.”

That would be so weird.

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