Page 85 of The Deadly Shallows

Noah nodded. They’d take an initial look but refrain from touching or contaminating anything until Finn could run the crime scene. Once done with the body, they’d call Hadley to escort Macken to the morgue.

“Edith said she heard someone knocking on Macken’s door rather late last night, which she found odd as he rarely had visitors. She looked through the peephole and saw a man enter but shrugged it off and headed to bed. When Macken didn’t come to fix her faucet—”

“She found him dead.”

“Yep.” Rissi nodded. “He’s lying not far from the entryway, blood covering him.”

Footsteps hurried up the concrete stairs.

“Hey, guys,” Finn said, his CSI case in hand.

Entering Macken’s apartment, they found him less than ten feet from his front door—three shots to center mass. No doubt the gunman had used a silencer as Edith didn’t hear gunfire. Macken’s TV was on. The killer had been swift. Noah wondered if it was the “nurse” striking again, or if it’d been one of the men Brooke and Macken had seen in the rear of the van.

Whoever it was, the number of men behind all this continued to grow. Noah couldn’t help but wonder how vast a network had them in their sights, and when they’d strike next.

FORTY-THREE

Three hours later, Noah picked up Brooke, and they stopped for supper at Sonic, where he filled Brooke in on all he’d learned. She insisted on driving him home—rather, driving them home. For her safety, he felt it best she stay in his guest room until the men behind the nightmare of the last four days were no longer a threat.

Rissi had invited Brooke to stay with her before he’d left the crime scene, but something burrowed deep inside compelled him to keep Brooke at his side. Could it be it was the Holy Spirit whispering to his soul that she was the one? Rissi had understood he wasn’t doubting her abilities. And Brooke said she was comfortable staying with him. That knowledge alone propelled warmth through him.

But he was playing with fire. The deeper he fell in love with her, the graver the pain if she rejected him once he’d confessed his feelings and the truth of his situation. Maybe she’d surprise him and say it didn’t matter. He wished he could hold on to that hope, but given the last time he told someone . . .

Who am I trying to fool? His heart would get pummeled. When Sherrie, his former fiancée, ended things, the rejection hurt, but it didn’t grip his heart the way the mere thought of Brooke walking away did.

But for now, he needed to set that all aside and keep his head clear. His focus needed to remain on protecting Brooke. Once the threat was over, he’d tell her everything and beg God she didn’t walk away.

The headlights of her car flashed across the stone and dark-stained wood of his one-story rancher as she pulled in the drive at 1940.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out his key ring, and clicked the garage-door opener. He’d paid a little extra to have the garage-door company make one small enough for him to keep on his person, but the cost was well worth it. In his line of work, he never knew when he might be away from his vehicle, yet still want the garage door to open remotely.

“That’s a cool opener,” she said as she pulled in next to his Jeep.

“Yeah. You can’t imagine how many times this has come in handy.”

“I’ll need to see if I can get one of those.” She jangled her keys as she opened her door and shifted to climb out. The keys slipped from her hands, dropping to the concrete floor with a clink. She bent, and something whizzed over her head, cracking into her open car door.

“Under the car!” Noah roared, clicking the garage-door opener. The door slowly lowered. Faster.

The driver-side tire popped by Brooke’s head, air hissing out as he pulled his gun, shooting out the overhead light. Darkness covered them as shattered pieces of plastic casing clattered to the floor.

Finally, the door lowered all the way down, and Noah scrambled around her car, lying down next to her. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” She nodded, her limbs trembling.

He couldn’t see her, but he sensed her fear.

“You can roll out now,” he instructed. “We’re going to get inside.”

She did so and followed him in a low crawl to the interior door. Once inside, he pressed her against the laundry room wall while hitting the emergency button on his security alarm.

A high-pitched warbling rang out.

“My team will be here ASAP,” he said.

“Your team?” she whispered, her breath warm against his neck.

“Yes. The alarm company sends an emergency signal to the team rather than local police. I appreciate and trust local law enforcement, but if there’s an emergency here, I want my team.”