Page 55 of Night Watch
His control evaporated, and he drew her close, holding her as if her life depended on it. Erik would need to thank Aiden later for insisting on adding the armor to their SUV.
Erik had never been shot at before either. Not once as a police officer. And certainly never in a hail of bullets like today’s attack. This guy was serious. Dead serious. Did he believe Kennedy or Erik could identify him? He must.
The situation gave Erik a new appreciation for the second chance at life he’d just been given.Thank You!
He was going to take a long look at himself. Was he living his best life? Living the life God wanted for him. Or was he shutting out the woman who’d been the best part? Had God brought them back together for a reason? Erik never wanted to live outside of God’s will. So a great deal of soul searching was in order. Until then, he needed to release Kennedy and keep his hands to himself.
14
In the Veritas parking structure, Kennedy’s legs wobbled like a newborn colt trying to get up for the first time, and she wasn’t sure she could continue to stand. She would, for Erik. The tension oozed from him as he and Aiden assessed their vehicle, and she didn’t want to add to his unease.
She rested her good hand on the vehicle for support. Weakness invaded her muscles while adrenaline consumed her body, but she held firm, even when taking in the spidery circles of crushed glass on the windows. The sharp holes in the vehicle’s body—too many to count. Yet not one of the bullets had penetrated the vehicle.
Thank You for protecting us!
“Let’s get inside.” Erik sounded strong and in control, but his shoulders were tight, his eyes narrowed and piercing.
Aiden gave a sharp nod, putting up a good front as well, but Kennedy could see in the rigid set of his jaw that the attack had shaken him too. And he, like Erik, felt responsible for the bystanders who’d been shot. They would recover, but still had the pain to endure now, and then there was a tremendous amount of property damage. None of it was the fault of anyone in this garage, but guilt ate at them all.
They took the hallway to the Nighthawk Security office, and Kennedy didn’t even notice the view from the skybridge. Inside the office, they marched straight through the reception area to the conference room.
She’d barely made it and feared she might crumple to the floor, but she wasn’t going to ask for any help from Erik. Not after the hug. She couldn’t have him touch her while she was so vulnerable. Not now that she knew her feelings for him ran deep. Deeper than she wanted. If they didn’t find the intruder-turned-attacker soon, she was going to fall hopelessly in love with this fine man.
And maybe that was supposed to happen. Maybe that was what God wanted for her. For Erik. Or not. She didn’t know how to interpret the shooting. Should she even do so? She was so confused.
Please. If I’m to learn something from this, make the lesson clear.
Until she had clarity, avoiding close contact with Erik would be best. She turned to Aiden instead. “What now?”
“Go ahead and have a seat.” His words were tight, clipped. “I’ll get the others.”
Erik pulled out a chair for her, his gaze locked on her.
“Thanks.” She dropped onto the chair.
Aiden strode to the far side of the room where his brothers were working in cubicles. She remained close enough to reach out and touch Erik, whose focus was riveted to her, but she would keep her gaze pinned to the whiteboard on the wall ahead of her until all the brothers dropped into chairs at the table. Including Erik, who sat down next to her.
She scooted her chair away, earning her a raise of his eyebrows. She looked away before he asked what was going on.
“FYI,” Drake said as he approached the table with his brothers, and Erik looked happy to have him back. “Waldron’s ex confirmed his story. No question. She really does hate the guy.”
Erik went to the whiteboard and slashed an angry line through Waldron’s name and spun to run down the attack with them. “How in the world did the shooter know where we were?”
“I might be able to shed some light on that,” Brendan said.
Everyone’s focus swiveled to him.
“Spit it out,” Erik demanded.
“Let me put this picture up on the screen.” He tapped his phone a few times, and a photo appeared of a small square gray plastic piece that read “Tile” on it.
Erik shot his brother a look. “Where did you find it?”
“In the lining of Wanda’s purse,” Clay said. “It was lodged up against the cardboard bottom, and it freed up when I shook the purse upside down.”
Erik’s jaw clenched. “I should’ve done that.”
Kennedy was totally lost. “What is it?”
