Emma embraced her sister-in-law. Vivian gripped her tight enough to cut off her breathing.
“Ladies, let’s get into the car,” Reed said. “Now.”
The tone of his voice alerted Emma to the fact that while the immediate threat was over, the danger wasn’t. There was an attacker still out there. Somewhere. She climbed into the back seat. Reed deposited Lily into a car seat he’d obviously put in to bring the baby and Vivian to the hospital earlier. Emma busied her hands by strapping her daughter in good and tight.
Reed drove out of the parking garage. Lily pointed at something outside of the window and babbled. Desperate for normalcy, Emma tweaked her nose. “What are you looking at? What do you see?”
Emma glanced out the window. A flash of fabric caught her eye. A man with blond hair; a familiar gait.
Her cousin, Owen.
Running from the direction of the hospital.
TEN
Hours after the attack at the hospital, Reed’s heartbeat was still working on settling itself into a normal rhythm. He’d driven Emma and her family to the only place he could guarantee they were safe—his own sheriff’s department. Encasing them behind a wall of deputies allowed him to focus on the threats against them.
The bull pen was like a humming beehive. Deputies flowed in and out, phones rang, and keyboards clattered as Reed walked through. He entered the break room and went straight for the coffeepot. Several boxes from a local pizzeria were stacked on the table. Reed’s stomach rumbled, and he snagged a slice to have with his coffee.
The blinds in his office were open. Vivian played on the floor with Lily using some blocks and foam cups she’d unearthed from somewhere. Emma spotted him through the glass and joined him in the break room. Sadie followed her mistress.
“Are you okay?” Reed asked. He took a new cup and poured some coffee for her.
“As good as can be expected.” She rubbed her forehead. “But between you and me, I’m still shaken. This attack was a close call for Lily and Vivian.”
His jaw tightened. “Too close. Not just for them, but for you, as well.”
Thankfully, no innocent people had been hurt. Still, the weight of taking another man’s life weighed heavily on Reed’s shoulders. He didn’t regret it. His decision had saved innocent lives. He just wished it hadn’t come to that.
Emma took the coffee from him and their fingers brushed. A jolt of electricity arced through the air. His gaze dropped to her lips, remembering the moments before the explosion. Would they have kissed? Most likely.
Reed gave himself a mental shake. His train of thought was completely ill timed and inappropriate considering everything going on.
“Is there anything new?” She stirred some milk into her coffee. “Or some way I can help? I’m going a bit stir-crazy.”
He didn’t blame her. If he’d been sitting in a room for the last several hours, he’d be itching to do something, too. “I’m about to have a meeting with Austin and Cooper to go over what we know so far. Why don’t you join us?”
Having another set of eyes wouldn’t hurt. Emma had proven herself to be more than capable of handling tense situations. Besides, it was her life being threatened and her family caught in the cross fire. Reed didn’t see any point in holding back information from her.
“Okay,” Emma said. “Let me just tell Vivi where I’ll be.”
He took his coffee and went into the conference room. Austin and Cooper were already waiting inside. So was Will Norton. As the county prosecutor, it made sense for him to stay up to date on their investigation. A whiteboard stretched along one wall, various photographs and notes arranged in an organized fashion.
Reed greeted the men and took a chair on the far side so he had a clear view of the board. “Let’s go over what we do know, from the beginning.”
The conference room door opened. Emma and her dog slipped inside the room. She took the chair next to him. Her vanilla scent tickled his nose and soothed something inside him. He liked having her close.
Austin stood up. “We’ve officially identified two of the suspects from the hospital. Vernon Hanks, you know. He was killed outside the hospital while trying to escape.”
Reed’s heart twisted. Not for Vernon but for his daughter. To lose a father under any circumstances was hard, but this was so much worse. Molly deserved better. Thankfully, she had her mother and stepfather to rely on.
“The man you shot...” Austin took a photo down off the board and slid it across the table to Reed “...was Vernon’s cousin, Charlie Young.”
Reed frowned. “That name sounds familiar.”
“It should.” Will smoothed a hand down his tie. This one was dark blue and matched his pinstriped suit. “He lives in Heyworth and has a rap sheet a mile long. Started out in petty theft and minor drug dealing, but over the years, he’s worked himself up to aggravated assault. Got out of jail a few months ago.”
The man at the hospital had been wearing a ski mask, so Reed hadn’t gotten a good look at him. Charlie’s mug shot showed a thin-faced individual with stringy hair. Reed remembered the same image had crossed his desk a few weeks ago. “Wasn’t there an arrest warrant issued for him last month for skipping parole?”
Will nodded. “Yep. He’d gone underground, and supposedly, no one’s heard from him. But you know how that is.”
Deputies would’ve gone to Charlie’s last known address, talked to his family and friends regarding his whereabouts. But with career criminals, police often got the runaround. Reed pushed the photo over to Emma so she could
