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She needed to call Rhy, but her phone was up in the motel room. She leaned forward to catch the officer behind the wheel’s attention.
“Um, excuse me? Can one of the officers bring my phone down? I left it up in the room.”
The officer grimaced and shrugged. “It’s a crime scene. You won’t be able to get your phone back until it’s been cleared.”
“And how long will that take?”
He shook his head. “At least a few hours, maybe more. They’re taking photos now, but then will want to find every slug they can.”
“Okay, thanks.” She sat back and reminded herself that the phone was easily replaced. For all she knew, it had been broken by flying bullets or drywall debris. It was just the waiting that was getting on her nerves. Doing nothing while others searched for the evil man who’d done this.
She startled badly when a dark shape loomed outside the window. Then recognizing Joe, she relaxed and tried to smile as he opened the door. He dropped into a crouch near the door. “Hey. Are you okay?”
“Sure.” Her voice sounded shaky, and she hoped he didn’t notice. “Did you find anything?”
He nodded and reached inside to take her hand. The warmth of his fingers helped calm her nerves. Everything about him exuded confidence, and she knew without a doubt that Joe and the other members of the tactical team would do their job. “We’re finding evidence, which is good. But no sign of the shooter yet.”
“I figured.” She felt certain the atmosphere around the crime scene would have changed dramatically if the shooter had been found and taken into custody. “I saw you drop out of a tree.”
“Yeah.” His gaze held hers. “That’s where he was when he opened fire on your room.”
The statement made her shiver, and his fingers tightened around hers. “I—guess it’s good you found that.”
“Every little bit helps.” His smile was sweet. “Oh, that reminds me.” He released her hand to pull out his phone. After swiping at the screen, he handed it to her. “Your brother.”
“Joe? What’s going on?” her brother asked.
“It’s Elly. I—we’re at the American Lodge, but the gunman showed up. He—we’re okay, Rhy. No one was hurt. But Gary’s motel room is in shambles.”
“How were you found?” Rhy asked, his voice tense with fear and worry. “I’m glad you’re okay, Elly, but I need to talk to Joe.”
“Okay, here he is.” She handed the phone back to Joe.
“There’s no sign of the guy,” Joe said into the phone. He listened for a moment, and she could imagine Rhy grilling him for information. Sure enough, Joe gave him a quick summary of the shooting event.
She missed Joe’s warm touch but reminded herself that he was working. His job was to find this guy and arrest him. Not to waste time comforting her.
“Yeah, Rhy, I get it. Trust me, I thought we were off-grid, but obviously not.” Joe’s tone was laced with frustration.
“Tell him we’re fine,” Elly said. “None of this is your fault.”
Joe didn’t do as she’d asked. After a long pause, Joe said, “I plan to leave my SUV here and to ask Steele to give us a ride. But we’ll need a replacement vehicle by morning.” Another pause, then, “Yes, that works. I’ll be in touch. Do you want to talk to Elly again?”
Her brother must have said yes because Joe handed her the phone. “I told you we’re fine. No one was hurt. And this isn’t Joe’s fault.”
“I never said it was,” Rhy drawled. “But I’m trusting him to keep you safe, El. This shooter shouldn’t have found you once, much less twice.”
Difficult to argue that. “What about Devon and Colleen? I know Steele was keeping watch at the homestead; he was the first one to get here. I need to be assured your family is safe too.”
“We’re fine. Raelyn is here, keeping watch,” Rhy assured her. “Besides, I think it’s pretty clear this guy is after you, Elly. Not us.”
“Why? That part doesn’t make sense.”
“I don’t know.” Rhy sounded just as frustrated as Joe. “This guy doesn’t have the same MO as most active shooters.”
And that wasn’t good. Rhy didn’t say the words, but they reverberated through her head anyway.
“Elly? Are you sure you’re okay?” Her eldest brother’s voice pulled her from her troubled thoughts.
