“What?”
“We were taking bets on if you were going to demand to be let into the case.” Simon shrugged. “Merick was saying you weren’t going to.”
I narrowed my eyes at Simon. “You bet against me?” I growled. “What the hell Simon?”
“Honestly, after last night when you said you wanted to be there, I thought you’d at least push for more information.” Simon sat his coffee on the counter. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Honestly, I couldn’t be mad at him, because I would have pushed for more information, but Liz didn’t seem willing, and she was my lead. “Now’s not the right time to cause a power struggle. If the case gets more in-depth and she needs more help, then I’ll push. O’Donald is on the field, so she already has his assistance.”
“Yes, but is it good assistance?” Merick asked. “We know nothing about him.”
“Not yet, we don’t.” I grinned, and I knew exactly what I was going to spend my day doing.
I walked into my office to find it blissfully empty of people. I went to the computer and booted it up. Eventually, O’Donald would find out that I was searching for him, but given my history, it wouldn’t come as a surprise.
The moment the startup sound chimed, there was a knock at the door. I frowned and went to answer it.
Opening it, I found our receptionist standing there with a stack of folders. “New boss wants you to go through these.”
I took the files from her and tried not to groan. “Anything specific that he wants me to do with them?”
“Yeah, he wants you to verify the dates and that they’ve been put in digitally. If they haven’t been, put them in a new pile, and records will get on it.”
I narrowed my eyes. “All of this should be records’ duty.”
“Yeah, well, he’s putting a lot of us on random jobs.” She stalked down the hallway without another word, and I wondered what job he’d given her. I pushed my door shut with my foot and put the stack of files on the desk.
So much for doing random research while I was sitting at the desk. I should have guessed that he would have tasks for me.
I sighed and pulled the first file off the stack and slugged through the information, confirming it with what was in the computer. I put it in another pile and continued through the painful process until I got mid-way through, and I looked at the clock. I could justify a break to run and get coffee at this point.
I stood and grabbed my bag before I walked out of the office. I skipped the car and decided to walk down to the coffee shop a few blocks away. It was good, local coffee, and I could find a quiet corner to sit in if I wanted to stay.
Something caught my eye as I crossed the street for the first block. A woman with long blonde hair, wearing leather. She watched me from across the street before disappearing into a shop.
There was nothing about her that was familiar, but I was drawn to her for some reason. I pushed the thought out of my head and continued to the coffee shop. Maybe she was one of the daytime watchers Levi had around. Or maybe it was just my head playing with me. Whatever it was, I needed coffee to think it through.
I walked into the shop and smiled at the scent of freshly ground coffee and the low chatter of people talking. It relaxed me, and that made up my mind. I’d be staying for my cup of coffee today instead of taking it back to the office.
I stepped up to the counter to place my order when I heard the first scream. I turned to see people running down the street and the unmistakable sound of gunshots following. People in the coffee shop took cover.
I started ushering the people to go behind the counter and into the bathrooms.
“Go, go!” I waved them in the correct direction, trying to keep an eye on the chaos outside. The gunman stopped in front of the coffee shop window. He turned and grinned when he saw me.
I didn’t have time to think, just react as he raised his gun. Two shots rang out, he fell to the ground, and my body jerked as his bullet took me in the shoulder. I hissed at the stinging sensation I felt from the wound. It was different than the last time I got shot. I couldn’t figure out why, but at the moment, I needed to push aside the pain and deal with the panic.
I could hear sirens nearby, and my world started to go black.
Oh fuck, was my last thought.
CHAPTER TWO
I had expected to wake up to the sound of hospital machines, but instead, I woke up to Liz’s and O’Donald’s faces staring down at me. Someone had pressed a cloth to my wound.
“I thought you were at a scene,” I muttered and tried to sit up.
O’Donald pushed me back down. “What the hell, Collins?”
“I wanted coffee,” I muttered. “I promise getting shot isn’t a normal habit.”
“What about killing a gunman? Is that typical?” If I didn’t know any better, I would have said he was mad.
I tried to sit up again. “I’ll give you my statement as soon as I get medical help. Why the hell am I still on the floor? Why are you even here?”
He looked at Liz. “Is she always this cranky?”
“Only when she has a bullet in her, sir.” Liz shrugged.
