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“We can, but you’ll have to settle for fast food,” he warned.
She wrinkled her nose but nodded. “Okay, that’s fine.”
He gave Steele two minutes to drive around back, then headed that way with Elly. He opened the door a few inches to make sure Steele was there. When he saw him, he opened the door wider. “Let’s go.”
She eased past him, taking only one step when the sharp crack of gunfire rang out.
“Elly!” He grabbed the back of her coat and dragged her back into the relative safety of the building, wondering how the shooter had known where to find them.
CHAPTERSEVEN
She’d felt the bullet whiz past her ear, embedding itself in the doorframe just inches away from her head. The close call robbed her of speech. Joe had hauled her back inside the precinct, quickly slamming the door shut as if anticipating more shots.
But she didn’t hear anything.
Sliding to the floor, she wrapped her arms around herself to keep from falling apart. She still had trouble understanding why anyone wanted her dead. She’d been told she was a people person, great at interacting with others.
But this wasn’t personal. The shooter didn’t hate her personally. His goal must be to eliminate her as a witness.
As if listening through a long tunnel, she heard the muffled sounds of Joe yelling for officers to search for the shooter. No way. She wasn’t going to pass out. There wasn’t any blood!
With sheer determination, she lifted her head to look up at him.
“Elly! Are you hit?” Joe dropped beside her, raking his gaze over her.
“I don’t think so.” She struggled to push the words past her tight throat. “I felt the bullet whiz past, though. I—think it’s in the doorframe.”
His gaze darkened, and he nodded. “We’ll get it out, see if we can match it to the slugs pulled out of the American Lodge motel room. Steele and others are out searching for him right now.”
“Okay.” She struggled to draw in a deep breath, willing her heart rate to return to normal. “How did he know we were here?”
“I don’t know.” Frustration laced Joe’s tone. “This shouldn’t have happened.”
That seemed to be the common theme with this guy. She lowered her head to her knees, praying for strength. She was alive and so was Joe. This guy had not succeeded in killing again.
Yet.
“Hey. It’s okay.” Joe’s voice radiated concern as he crouched beside her. “We’re going to find him.”
“I know.” She drew in another breath and lifted her head to face him. “It’s just that a police precinct should be a safe place.”
“Yes, it should be.” Joe hesitated, then said, “He took a chance shooting at you here. It’s his first big mistake. I’m confident we’ll find him.”
She nodded, taking heart in that thought. “Yes, that’s how most criminals are found, by their mistakes.”
“Exactly.” Joe’s blue gaze held hers. “We’ll match the slug in the door here to the others. We’ll slowly but surely build a case against him. And once we have him in custody, he’ll never see the light of day again.”
He sounded so confident she couldn’t argue.
“Can you stand? I’ll help you.”
“Of course.” She injected confidence into her tone. She wasn’t a weakling. And she wasn’t hurt. Joe stood and held out his hand to help her up. The warmth of his fingers wrapping around hers helped steady her nerves. She rose to her feet with a little boost from him. “Thanks.”
“Oh, Elly.” He abruptly pulled her in for a tight hug. She clung to him, but just that quickly he released her. “Let’s go. I’ll find some body armor for you.”
“Wait, what?” She frowned. “That’s not necessary.” She didn’t add the part where body armor wouldn’t have prevented that bullet from going through the center of her forehead. Feeling the tremors return, she opened and closed her hands, willing the feeling to go away.
“It is.” Joe didn’t so much as glance at her. He clearly wasn’t in the mood to listen to reason. “We’re taking every precaution possible.”
