Flynn (Oath of Honor #8)

Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Huddling on her hands and knees below the kitchen counter, Taylor realized she wasn’t nearly as afraid of being next to Flynn as she had been the night of the murders. For one thing, she wasn’t holding an innocent baby whose life depended on her. Even better, she wasn’t alone in the middle of the night. There was something to be said for having a cop at her side.

Then a second gunshot punctured the window, making her put her hands over her head as if they could actually stop a bullet from killing her. Not even close. It occurred to her that if Flynn was hit, the gunman would be able to finish her off without a problem.

“Come with me,” Flynn said. “We need to get into the garage.”

“Okay.” This wasn’t the time to argue. The laptops were on the floor beside her. She quickly gathered them up and rose into a crouch, doing her best to keep her head down and out of the line of fire. When Flynn gave her a nudge, she made her way toward the doorway leading to the attached garage. She had left her puffy coat on the chair and quickly snagged it. There wasn’t time to grab anything else.

Flynn was right behind her. Tucking the coat under her arm, she opened the door and crossed the threshold, standing upright as she did so. But there wasn’t time to revel in their relative safety. The gunman may have assumed they’d gone this way and start peppering the garage door with bullets.

As if reading her mind, Flynn said, “Hurry. We need to get out of here.”

The garage wasn’t that big, so making their way around the first SUV that belonged to Flynn to reach the second one meant scooting through the narrow gap. Her coat dragged along the side of the car, the laptops growing heavy in her arms. When she finally reached the passenger-side door, she dumped the computers on the floor. Then she drew on her coat before settling into the seat.

Flynn was already behind the wheel. He hesitated for a moment, glancing at her. “He’s likely to shoot the garage door when I start the car. Keep your head down, okay?”

She grabbed his arm. “Maybe we should wait. One of the neighbors must have called the police by now.”

“Cassidy is on her way back—” He was interrupted by the sound of gunfire pummeling the garage door. Thankfully, it wasn’t the one they were sitting behind, but the one where his car was located. “Time’s up. We gotta move.”

Whispering a silent prayer, she released Flynn’s arm and bent over in the passenger seat. She brought the edges of her coat up to muffle her need to scream. He started the engine, threw the gearshift into reverse, and slammed the rear of the car through the aluminum garage door. There was a shriek of metal against metal as he pushed through the door.

Somehow, they were out of the garage and moving backward down the driveway. Taylor expected to hear more gunfire, but she only heard the distinct wail of police sirens. The wave of relief was dizzying.

But their situation was still grim. Flynn finally hit the brake when they reached the road, put the car into drive, and rolled down the street. She gingerly lifted her head, noticing he was going in the same direction as the black SUV had gone.

Was he hoping to catch up with the gunman? Swallowing hard, she gripped the handrest and braced herself. While she wanted nothing more than to find this guy, she felt as if they were at a disadvantage.

Flynn was armed, but he was also driving. If they’d been thinking clearly, he would have put her in the driver’s seat.

Not that she’d have been brave enough to ram through the closed garage door.

“Where are we going?” She forced the question past her tight throat.

“Catching up to Cassidy, hopefully.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and thumbed the screen. Then he handed it to her. “She’s my most recent call.”

“I see it.” She quickly pressed on her name to make the call, quickly placing the phone on speaker.

“Flynn, where are you?” Cassidy asked, her tone urgent.

“We’re out of Zeke’s place, on the road in the rental,” Flynn said. “The back of the vehicle is probably damaged after the way I went through the garage door. It’s compromised anyway, so we need a new ride.”

There was a slight pause before Cassidy spoke. “Okay, I’m halfway to Zeke’s place myself but let’s reconvene at the rental car agency in Brookland. If you can make it that far.”

“We’ll make it.” Flynn’s tone was grim. “I haven’t seen the black SUV, at least not yet. I am concerned about how this guy found us. I doubt he followed you, so that means he must have known we were hanging out at Zeke’s place. Maybe he has police connections providing key information on members of our team.”

“That’s possible,” Cass said. “If that’s true, we need to find a place for you and Taylor to stay that is not affiliated with the team in any way.”

“I agree. Going to the rental agency in Brookland is not an option,” Flynn said. “I’ll head to the airport instead.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” There was a brief pause, then Cassidy added, “I’ll meet you and Taylor there.”

“Thanks.” Flynn glanced at her as she held the phone between them. “We’ll see you soon.” He gave her a nod, indicating she could disconnect from the call. She dropped the device into the center console cupholder between them.

“You really believe the gunman has police connections?” She couldn’t hide her shock.

“I don’t know what to think,” Flynn said. “Other than we should have been safe at Zeke’s place. But we weren’t.” He looked as if he wanted to say more but didn’t.

She dragged her shaking fingers through her hair, trying to understand. “Maybe Cassidy and Jina were followed. I saw the SUV pretty quickly after they arrived. Like I said, I thought the car was being driven by another of your teammates.”

“That’s just it. Cassidy and Jina are seasoned cops; they know how to spot a tail.” He shook his head. “No way they’d have missed it. If you saw the black SUV coming down the road that quickly after their arrival, I think it’s more likely the gunman just happened to show up as they did. Only he kept driving past the house because he was seriously outnumbered three cops to one. After biding his time, he returned when he assumed we were alone.”

What Flynn said made sense. What did she know? This was all far outside her area of expertise. She glanced up at the gray-cloud-covered November sky as he headed toward the interstate. She’d been to the airport numerous times, but not for the sole reason of obtaining a rental car. “I don’t understand why he’d come after me in broad daylight.”

Flynn’s expression hardened. “I believe he saw you through the kitchen window and decided to take the shot. Once he did that, he was committed to seeing it through. Until he realized the cops were on the way.”

She shivered, imagining the big-nosed man pointing his weapon at her and pulling the trigger. Frustrating that she hadn’t gotten a better look at him. As she’d gone through one mug shot after another, she’d feared her memory wasn’t as accurate as she’d hoped. What if she’d made his nose larger in her mind than it was? She didn’t know much about the psychology of trauma, but it wasn’t a stretch to believe being scared out of her mind had altered her senses.

Making things look different from reality.

“It’s okay,” Flynn said, reaching for her hand. He had relaxed a bit now that they were far from Zeke’s home. She’d noticed he’d watched the rearview mirror like a hawk, but it seemed they may have escaped the gunman. At least, this time. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to let him get close to you.”

“I trust you.” She tried to smile. “You’ve saved my life twice now. I’m not sure how I’ll every repay you.”

He frowned. “No payment is necessary. Protecting the innocent is what we do. There’s no quid pro quo here. Just a friend helping out a friend.”

Friends. She hadn’t viewed Flynn as a friend when he’d first arrived at the hotel to keep her and Sienna’s daughter, Bailey, safe. Just the opposite as he’d seemed to look down at her. Yet that knowledge hadn’t stopped her from reaching out to him when the Millers were murdered. Maybe she needed to lighten up a bit. He was a nice guy and genuinely wanted to help.

She nodded, giving his hand a squeeze. “Thanks for being my friend.”

“Anytime.” He held her hand for a moment longer, then released it. She told herself he was just being nice, but once again, she sensed that weird awareness shimmering between them.

Most likely it was her imagination. She was letting her gratitude toward Flynn mess with her mind. She was leaning on him in a way she’d never depended on anyone else. But as he’d made it clear, they were friends.

Nothing more.

She didn’t say anything as the airport exit came into view. Flynn had made good time on the expressway. The morning rush was over, so the roads weren’t too crowded. Still, she found herself watching the cars around them, half expecting to see the black SUV being driven by a man with a gun.

“You mentioned he was a professional hit man,” she said, breaking the silence. “The man who fired at us at Zeke’s didn’t come across as a professional.”

“That’s true.” He shot her a quick glance. “I think he acted impulsively. Maybe overestimating his skill at hitting his target. But you have a point that the man in the black SUV could be someone else.”

“What?” She stared at him. “I didn’t say that.”

“You pointed out the differences in the two attempts. The gunman at the Miller home was brutal and methodical. The shots fired from the black SUV were not.” He shrugged. “Something to consider.”

“I can’t see why anyone else would be involved in trying to shoot me.” The thought of more than one gunman coming after her was mind-boggling.

“You’re missing the point of a professional hit,” Flynn said gently. “The professional is hired by someone else to do the dirty work. That same person can hire as many gunmen as he wants to get the job done.”

An icy chill washed over her. Because he was right. She hadn’t thought of the situation from that perspective. She’d assumed that the gunman who’d killed the Millers had come after her of his own accord because she had seen him. Because he had been forced to let her slip away.

But maybe the person who’d hired the gunman was the one who wanted her dead.

If she and Max had been asleep in their respective beds, she had no doubt that they would have been shot and killed.

Just like the Millers.

And she still had no idea why any of this was happening.

As Taylor twisted her fingers together in her lap, her expression a frozen mask of fear, Flynn realized he shouldn’t have been so blunt. Yet he couldn’t keep her in the dark about the extent of the threat against her.

Not after the way they’d been found at Zeke’s.

He needed to find a way to reassure her, but that wasn’t easy to do when he was kicking himself for being an idiot. He shouldn’t have used his best friend’s home as a hiding spot.

Hadn’t he learned anything from the way his teammates had been in trouble over the past year? Sure, he and others had stepped in to help each other out when danger lurked nearby. But they had stayed in motels or rental properties. Even the MPD safe house.

They had not gone and stayed in each other’s homes.

He needed to think about how to best keep Taylor safe while at the same time figure out who was behind these attacks. Because somehow he didn’t have much faith in the ability of the Brookland detectives to get to the bottom of this mess.

He entered the airport parking structure, taking note of the sign indicating which levels still had parking spots available. Milwaukee had grown over the past few years such that the airport was seeing a huge increase in visitors coming and going.

The fourth level seemed to have the most open spots, so he got off on that floor and began driving up and down the aisles. He pulled into an open spot in the back row, then threw the gearshift into park and killed the engine.

“Now what?” Taylor’s voice was full of apprehension. “Do we wait here for Cassidy?”

“Yes. When we know she’s here, we’ll go inside and get a rental car.” He smiled reassuringly. “Then we’ll work out our next steps.”

She gave a slight nod, settling back in the seat. He was glad she’d grabbed her winter coat on the way out of Zeke’s place. He only had his fleece, but that was okay.

He’d rather not be hampered by a bulky winter coat.

They sat in silence for several long minutes. When his phone jangled in the cupholder, he grabbed it. “Hey, Cass, where are you?”

“Pulling up to the airport parking lot now,” she said. “What floor are you on?”

“Fourth floor.” He gave her the corresponding color and aisle. “See you soon.”

“Yep.” She ended the call.

Five minutes later, Cassidy pulled up beside them.

“There she is. Let’s go,” he said.

Taylor opened her car door, then gestured to the laptops on the floor at her feet. “I take it we should bring the computers?”

“Yes.” He took a moment to tuck his handgun out of sight beneath his fleece, then bent over to scoop them up. It wasn’t like he could walk into the airport holding a gun in his hand. Even having one on his person was risky. But they wouldn’t be there too long, and technically the car rentals were just outside the airport proper. “I’ve got them.”

“Whoa, Flynn, that’s worse than I imagined.” Cassidy winced as she stood staring at the damaged back end of the SUV. “Rhy isn’t going to be happy when that repair bill hits his budget.”

He felt bad about that, their team had caused a lot of damage to cars and hotel rooms over the past eleven months, but there hadn’t been much of a choice. “Assistant Chief Michaels is the one who will be mad. Rhy understands.”

“Yeah, but”—Cass stopped, then shrugged—“never mind. I guess there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

“The police department pays for that?” Taylor asked, eyeing the damage with a mixture of shock and horror. “I’m surprised.”

“Well, the good news is that we always pay for the additional insurance up front when we rent cars,” Cassidy said with a wry grin. “That has helped to keep the costs down.”

Hating the thought of failing Rhy and the rest of the team by causing trouble, Flynn swallowed against the lump in his throat. He’d often felt like the weak link in the team, and this latest incident was not helping. He forced himself to turn his back on the damaged rental. “Let’s go.” He gestured toward the yellow walkway that several other airport goers were using to go from one end of the structure to the other. “The sooner we get a rental car and get out of here, the better.”

“Hey, I was only kidding about Rhy,” Cassidy said, falling into step beside him. “He won’t blame you.”

“Maybe he should.” The comment popped out of his mouth before he could stop it. “I made a stupid mistake in going to Zeke’s.”

“Funny, but I don’t think Rhy viewed it that way. And neither did me and Jina,” Cass added. “We can’t predict every move the bad guys make. If we could, we’d be able to solve crimes before they happened.”

He appreciated her attempt to make him feel better, but it wasn’t working. Time to change the subject. “I was thinking of booking a rental property through one of those home-share services rather than using another hotel. We’ve burned our bridges at both the American Lodge and the City Central Hotel.”

“Timberland Falls Suites too,” Cass agreed. “Although in all fairness, we never caused any room damage at Timberland Falls. Just a few bullet holes in the door of the front lobby, which is nothing compared to the damage we’ve caused elsewhere.”

Taylor turned to look at him. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, it’s not as bad as it sounds.” He elbowed Cass in the ribs to shut her up. Everything Cass said was true, but Taylor didn’t need to hear it. Especially the part where bullets had been embedded in the door. He squelched another flash of guilt over the broken window and garage door of Zeke’s home. Considering the winter chill, he needed to figure out how to get them repaired.

One problem at a time , he thought grimly.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find a place to keep you safe,” Cass said, apparently realizing how concerned Taylor was.

They spent the rest of the trip to the airport rental car station in silence. Flynn was trying to figure out how he could rent the car without using his name, or even Cassidy’s. Even using one of their names on the rental property might bring trouble.

But what option did he have? Fake IDs came in handy on TV, but they weren’t readily available in real life.

They stood in line, waiting for their turn. When a clerk gestured them forward, Cassidy moved forward, putting a hand on his arm. “I’ve got this. I spoke with Gabe. We’ve already reserved a rental under his name.”

“Gabe agreed to that?” He was surprised to hear Gabe Melrose, the tactical team’s tech expert, was willing to go out on a limb.

“Yes. After all, you mentioned that the gunman might have connections to find the names of our tactical team. But Gabe works behind the scenes.” She smiled. “His name isn’t out in the limelight like ours have been.”

That was true. “Okay, that works. Tell him thanks.”

“Tell him yourself,” she shot back, then walked up to the counter. “I’d like to pick up an SUV under the name of Gabe Melrose.”

It didn’t take long for them to sign the paperwork. Then they headed back outside to pick up the car.

“Sorry, it’s silver instead of black,” Cassidy said. “But that may help. The gunman isn’t going to expect you to be in a light-colored vehicle.”

Flynn tried not to think about how easy it would be to hit the silver SUV in the darkness. Then he thrust that depressing thought aside. If they’d covered their tracks well enough by using Gabe’s name, then the color of the SUV wouldn’t be a problem.

He hoped.

“I’m sure I can convince Gabe to rent a house for you too,” Cass was saying as he dropped the laptops on the floor of the back seat. “You can drop me off at the precinct, then head out to whichever property you choose.”

“Sounds good.” He forced himself to sound confident and upbeat for Taylor’s sake. “Let’s hit the road.”

Taylor was unusually quiet as he left the rental car agency. She’d taken the back seat, leaving Cass to sit up front. He glanced at her through the rearview mirror. “Are you okay?” he finally asked.

“Yes.” The way she turned her head to gaze out the window belied her words. She didn’t look fine. And how could he blame her?

She was likely losing faith in him. He’d really botched his last attempt to keep her safe. She had been the one to alert him to the black SUV that she had seen driving by twice. Something he’d failed to notice.

Kicking himself wasn’t going to help. All he could do was to move forward with the next phase of their plan.

And using Gabe’s name might be the extra safety net they needed.

“I need you to help me get Zeke’s window repaired,” he said to Cass. “His garage doors too. The gunman fired rounds at the one garage door, and we busted the second one. I don’t want kids getting inside and ransacking the place.”

“Sure. I’ll get Steele and Brock to help with that. They’ll have to coordinate with the Greenland PD anyway to make sure they get all the evidence collected. Maybe we’ll get a match on the ballistics, linking the weapon to the gun used in the double homicide.” She worked her phone with her thumbs, clearly sending text messages. “Any idea when Zeke, Sienna, and Bailey will be back?”

“No clue. I guess they’re in Hot Springs, Arkansas, for her tour.” He had to think for a moment about what day of the week it was. “Today is Thursday, so I’m sure they won’t be back until Monday at the earliest.”

“Got it.” Cass continued to look down at her phone. “Sounds like Steele and Brock are available and willing to help.”

“Good.” Some of the despair he’d been feeling eased from his shoulders. Bad enough that he’d almost gotten Taylor killed. He didn’t want to leave Zeke, Sienna, and Bailey in the lurch.

“I’m glad Sienna and Zeke are out of town,” Taylor said. “I don’t think they should return to the house until the gunman has been caught.” She paused, then added, “If he’s caught.”

“Good point. Once we’re settled in a safe location, I’ll fill Zeke in on what happened.” He caught her gaze in the mirror. “And we will get this guy.”

Again, she didn’t look convinced.

When he reached their seventh district police station, he drove around back to park out of sight. There’s no way the gunman could have tracked them this quickly, but he was done with taking chances.

He led the way to the side door, holding it for Cass and Taylor.

When they were safely inside the building, he brushed past the women and headed straight for Rhy’s office. “We were found at Zeke’s home, and I damaged another rental.”

Rhy arched a brow. “Oh yeah? We got the insurance on it, right?”

“Yes. I believe so.” He waited for Rhy to yell at him, but he should have known better.

“It was bound to happen sooner or later,” Rhy said with a shrug. “We were on a good streak there for a while. The good news is that we’ve put a lot of bad men and women behind bars. Michaels gives us extra brownie points for that.”

He was humbled by Rhy’s support. “That’s true. And I would like nothing better than to add this gunman to the list. I’m concerned about what connections he has,” Flynn said. “It’s like he has inside information on me and the other members of the tactical team.”

Rhy nodded slowly. “I can understand your concern. You think there might be a Brookland cop on his payroll?”

“More like on the payroll of the man who’d hired the hit man in the first place,” Flynn said. “I keep going back to how Steve Miller is the president of a bank. And that he’d met with Taylor’s cousin in his office shortly before the murders.”

“No luck on the mug shots yet?” Rhy asked.

“No. Taylor is doing her best, but I’m starting to think this guy isn’t in the system.” He hesitated, then asked, “Have you gotten any new information from the Brookland PD?”

As Rhy shook his head, the phone on his desk rang. Arching a brow, he reached for the handset. “Captain Finnegan.”

Flynn was about to step away to give his boss privacy, but Rhy gestured for him to stay. “Yes, Detective Klem. I would love an update on your case.”

Flynn wished the call was on speaker but managed to hold back from pushing the button himself. Rhy’s expression turned somber. “I see. Yes, that’s very unfortunate. Thank you for the update.”

“What’s unfortunate?” He stared at Rhy as he replaced the receiver. “Something bad happened.”

“Yes. It appears Roman Paulson was murdered. Shot at close range with two bullets to the center of his chest.” Rhy held his gaze, then sighed. “Just like the Millers.”

That wasn’t good. The gunman was eliminating any potential loose ends related to the double homicide.

And Taylor was likely the biggest loose end of all.