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“It is, but I needed it.” She paused, uncertain how much to share, but quickly dismissed the silly feeling. Gavin was going to be in town for a while and gossip ran faster in Fulton County than the internet. He’d hear about her past from someone. Better it came from her. “I have a three-year-old son named Jacob. It’s a long story, but his father and I divorced shortly after he was born. Staying in the FBI, working the kinds of hours I was, wasn’t possible as a single-mother. When the sheriff’s position opened up, I jumped at it. My parents watch Jacob for me while I’m working.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your divorce. It’s far too common in our line of work.”
She slid a glance in his direction. “Are you speaking from experience?”
“No. I never made it to the altar.” He was quiet for a long moment. A shadow crossed his face. “I got close once though.”
There was a layer of pain in his voice that touched her, but she instinctively knew Gavin didn’t want to share more. Fair enough. After all, they barely knew one another. Or maybe speaking the words was too painful. That was a feeling she was intimately familiar with.
Claire’s foot hit a piece of ice and she tipped backward. Gavin’s hand shot out, firmly gripping her elbow and stopping her fall. Her heart skipped a beat. His dark eyes had golden flecks, and the scent of his aftershave—woodsy and clean—tickled her senses. She sucked in a breath. “Oops. Thanks.”
His mouth curved at the corners, sending her heart rate into overdrive. “Anytime, Claire.”
There was something about the way he said her name. And when Gavin dropped his hand from her elbow, she felt a pang of loss. Ridiculous. What on earth was wrong with her? Claire wasn’t the moony type. Had never been. Then again, her best friend had been murdered. It was far easier to focus on the handsome Texas Ranger than on the case.
Claire took another breath of cold air, letting it ice her lungs and hopefully re-engage her common sense. She turned the corner of the building. The rear of the bakery sported two parking spots and a dumpster. An alley connected the space to a side street. “This is where Faye parked her car. As I said earlier, witnesses reported seeing her leave the bakery around nine last night.”
Gavin turned in a circle, a frown marring his handsome features. He pointed to the lights on the rear of the bakery. “How bright are those?”
“Minimal. The killer could’ve slipped back here and sliced Faye’s tire without being seen. The bakery doesn’t have cameras in this area. There is one inside the store, but it’s focused on the cash register.”
“That’s…unhelpful.” His frown deepened. “We should look at the video from last night, anyway. Maybe the killer went into the bakery before coming back here to sabotage Faye’s car.”
“It’s a thought. Faye’s sister, Mary Ellen, canceled the rest of her business trip. She’s driving straight to the sheriff’s department. I’ll call my chief deputy to see if Mary Ellen has arrived.” Claire removed her phone from her jacket pocket, but the device tumbled from her numb fingers. The freezing temperatures weren’t doing her any favors. Thankfully, the phone had a virtually indestructible waterproof case. She swept down to retrieve it.
Something whizzed over her head. Glass shattered as a rear window on the bakery exploded. Gavin slammed into Claire and they tumbled to the ground in a mass of arms and legs. The air whooshed from her lungs, but her mind had already put the pieces together.
Someone was shooting at them.
Three
They were exposed.
Embedded instinct took over as Gavin cradled Claire’s head in the crook of his neck and rolled, shifting them behind the protective cover of the dumpster. The Taser on her duty belt jabbed his stomach. Cold liquid seeped into the sleeve of his blazer. He barely felt it. His only concern was Claire. Had she been hit?
Gavin released her, his gaze sweeping over her slender form. A small scrape marred the delicate curve of her cheek and she looked furious enough to spit nails but otherwise appeared unharmed. Relief unclamped his stomach, but the reprieve was brief. More glass on the bakery windows shattered, followed by pings on the metal dumpster as the shooter sprayed them. Several bullets pounded into the wooden fence behind Gavin. He pulled his gun.
Claire reached for her weapon, sliding closer to the dumpster’s side. She held her cell in the other hand. “Where is he?”
“I’m not sure.” Gavin peeked around the corner of the dumpster. There was only one building tall enough with a clear line of sight. “Is that a hospital? Second floor. The one under construction.”
More bullets slammed into the metal, this time much closer to their position. Gavin slunk lower. He prayed the dumpster would be strong enough to absorb the bullets. There was always a risk one would pass through and hit one of them.
“It’s not a hospital. It’s an emergency clinic.” Claire relayed their position and situation to dispatch in clipped tones. Then she hung up. “Backup is on the way, but the shooter will bolt before they get here. I’m going after him.”
“We’re going after him,” Gavin corrected. Staying put wasn’t an option. The shooter had fired on two law enforcement officers in the broad light of day. Chances were, this attack was connected to Faye’s murder. A criminal that determined and dangerous had to be caught.
Claire met his gaze for a heartbeat and nodded sharply. “Follow me.”
She shifted into a crouch. A straw wrapper was snagged in the silky strands of her blond hair and her previously pressed and perfect uniform was stained. But her expression…it was captivating. Focused. Determined. Driven.
Beautiful.
It was a wayward thought Gavin didn’t have a second to process. Adrenaline narrowed his focus as he sprang from behind the dumpster and followed Claire down the small alley to the side street. The edge of his cowboy boot hit a patch of ice. His foot slid, threatening to upend him, but he caught himself at the last moment. He added more fuel to his legs, joining Claire at the entrance of the emergency clinic.
The automatic doors slid open with a whoosh. Several people were sitting in the waiting room and a nurse stood blocking the path to the interior exam rooms. Her eyes widened at the sight of their drawn weapons.
Gavin didn’t slow down. “Where’s the stairwell leading to the upper floor?”
