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“Time to eat,” he said calmly, as if he hadn’t acted like a shooter had arrived at their door.
She moved forward as he shut the computer and removed it from the table. He removed their dome-covered meals from the tray. She moved her chair over to give him room.
“I would like to say grace,” she said when he dropped down beside her.
He nodded and bowed his head.
She reached over to take his hand. “Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for this food we are about to eat. We humbly ask that You continue to keep us safe in Your loving arms. Amen.”
“Amen,” Joe murmured.
She reluctantly released his hand, glancing at him as she uncovered her plate. “I wasn’t sure if you would want to pray.”
“I haven’t been to church in a long time,” he admitted. “But I know the Finnegans are big believers.”
She nodded. “We are. And I believe it’s only because of God’s grace that we’re safe now.”
“Maybe.” He didn’t say anything more as he dug into his food. She wanted to press the issue, but that really wasn’t her nature. Either Joe would believe or he wouldn’t. She couldn’t force him.
“When do you think we’ll hear from Steele about when he may be able to interview the skaters’ parents?” She steered the conversation back to the investigation.
“Hopefully soon.” He glanced at his watch. “If he doesn’t reach out by the time we’re finished eating, I’ll call him. To be fair, I only just sent him the information an hour ago.”
“Right.” She grimaced. “Seems like days ago, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah.” He sipped his coffee. “We also need to wait for your brothers to arrive with the rental.”
“Will members of your tactical team continue to watch the homestead?”
“Absolutely. Raelyn handed that task over to Grayson earlier this morning.” He offered a faint smile. “Don’t worry, everyone is bound and determined to protect Rhy’s family.”
“That’s good to hear.” She needed to believe her family would be safe. Well, as safe as possible under these circumstances. “I worry most about Colleen.”
“We all do.” His tone was sincere. “Try not to stress, okay?”
“Okay.” She finished her scrambled eggs and bacon. Based on the danger they’d lived through in the past twelve hours or so, there was no way to know when they’d have a chance to eat their next meal.
Despite feeling safe here with Joe, she honestly didn’t expect the peace and quiet to last for long. Better to anticipate the shooter’s next move.
If that was even possible.
The sound of Joe’s phone ringing startled her. She carefully set down her coffee cup. Cutting down on the caffeine might be a good idea.
“Hey, Colin.” Joe listened for a moment, then nodded. “Fifteen minutes sounds good.” He gave her brother their suite number, then disconnected from the call. “They’re bringing replacement phones too. Along with a winter coat for you and extra cash.”
“Finnegans to the rescue,” she said lightly. She knew from stories at Sunday dinner that her siblings had this sort of thing down to a science by now.
She took a moment to wash up in the bathroom while waiting. When Colin and Quinn arrived, they both engulfed her in a big hug.
“Glad you’re safe, kiddo,” Quinn said.
“Yeah, what he said,” Colin joked, but his gaze was serious. “I can’t believe you were in the middle of that mess.”
“I’m glad I was able to help.”
“Elly was amazing,” Joe said. “She saved my life, rescued a small boy, and offered first aid to many other victims.”
“That’s our sis,” Quinn said. Then his smile faded. “I can’t believe you saw the shooter, up close and personal, El.”
