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Mitch laughed and while the two of them chatted, Joe turned his attention back to the mystery. Who the hell was after Lia? And why?
Lia let Joe help her ease up to a sitting position. The attack had scared them both and she thought he needed the contact as much as she did.
“Are you sure she doesn’t need stitches?” Joe’s growl showed his stress.
Mitch tossed his gloves and cleaned up his tools. “The bleeding stopped in less than seven minutes total. Even if you’d driven her to a hospital immediately, the bleeding would have stopped before you got there. With the size of the wound, they wouldn’t have stitched her up at that point.”
Lia nodded and then winced. “He’s right. Have you ever thought about applying to medical school, Mitch?”
Mitch laughed. “The firefighter, paramedic, and Midnight Security things keep me pretty busy. I think I’ll stick with those.”
“Well, I’m glad you were here today. Thanks.”
Mitch leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you think it was a targeted attack?”
Lia sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe. The glass was clear so whoever it was would have seen me and Aisling inside the room if they were close enough. And they must have been to throw the brick with enough force to shatter the window and then draw blood.”
Joe put his arm around her shoulder and told Mitch about the tires and the ripped photo.
Mitch swore. “I’ve been caught up with the training here and haven’t been in touch with the team. Damn it.”
Nico appeared in the doorway. “You doing okay, Lia?”
“I’m fine. Just a bit of a headache. Nothing serious.”
When Nico looked at Mitch for corroboration, he nodded. “No concussion. The gash is all cleaned up. Lia knows to take it easy for a while and to keep it clean.”
“Good. We didn’t find him, or a damn thing. A few people talked about seeing a guy in a hoodie running, but that’s it. And the hoodie might have been blue or grey or black. Maybe even green.” He rolled his eyes.
Joe growled again. “We need to figure this out and soon.”
Lia could feel the testosterone building around her. She wanted the guy caught and stopped too, but she wasn’t up to a battle today. “I’m assuming everyone who was helping knows about the brick?” When the men nodded, she kept the sigh internal. It was strange to have so many people in her business. Reminding herself they were there because they cared helped keep her perspective in balance. “That means we’ll have more eyes on us while we’re working. Everyone should be safe that way.”
None of them appeared to agree with her, but she really couldn’t see any way that this was about her. It still seemed most likely that this was about getting to Joe and she was in the way of that.
She started to hop down from the table, but Joe lifted her down before she could protest. She laughed and patted his chest. “I’m fine. Okay, let’s get back to work.”
Three voices protested at once, making her roll her eyes. “I’ll find a hat to put on to keep it clean, but I’m fine and I’m going to get some more work done.”
They all frowned at her, but they moved out of her way when she walked out of the first aid room. Marcus leaned against the fire truck. When he saw her, he straightened and approached. Lia kept the sigh internal. She knew the deputy thought she was the cause of all the issues. “Hello, Deputy.”
The man nodded. “Call me Marcus. I’d like to take your statement about what happened at the saloon.”
She closed her eyes. “I was working with Aisling when a brick crashed through the window and knocked me on the head. Mitch took care of the cut. No one was able to find the brick thrower. Now I’m ready to get back to work.”
Marcus’s lips twitched and his eyes sparkled. “That’s it?”
She nodded. “That’s it.”
He nodded back and this time the smile filled his face. “Okay. I hope you don’t mind if I talk to some other people.”
Lia grinned back. “Not at all. Hopefully someone can help you find the guy. Or girl.”
He tilted his head to study her. “You still think this is about Joe and not you?”
She nodded, and the headache worsened. “I do.”
Joe took her hand. “It could be, but I haven’t seen anyone connected to any of my cases here. There haven’t been any threats to the FBI regarding me or my cases. If I find out someone’s hurt you because of me, I’ll kick their ass.”
