Flynn (Oath of Honor #8)

Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

The sound of gunfire had been all too familiar. Taylor had jumped to her feet and dialed 911 as she ran to wake Cassidy. Cassidy was already up and reaching for her weapon when Taylor burst into her room.

“Flynn’s in trouble!” At that moment, the 911 operator answered the call. “Shots fired in Greenland, um, we’re across the street from Greenland Park.”

“Do you have the address?” the operator asked.

Cassidy must have heard because she rattled it off as she jammed her feet into her shoes. Taylor repeated it for the operator’s benefit.

“Stay inside, ma’am, officers are on the way.”

“There are officers here too. We’re in danger so please hurry!” Taylor quickly ended the call, following Cassidy toward the back door.

“Stay inside,” Cassidy said. “And keep away from the windows.” With that, she’d slipped into the darkness.

Waiting was torture, and even though there were no more sounds of gunfire, Taylor couldn’t relax. Couldn’t stand not knowing what was going on or whether Flynn was all right or if he’d been shot.

Please, Lord Jesus protect Flynn and Cassidy!

The prayer helped, but as the silence outside stretched from five minutes to ten, her taut nerves felt as if they’d reached a breaking point.

Hearing the wail of sirens brought a sense of hope. Other officers would be there soon. And based on her recent experience over the past twenty-four hours, an ambulance would accompany them.

“Taylor?” Her heart squeezed in her chest when she heard Cassidy call her name. She ran to the back door and yanked it open, half expecting to see Flynn stretched out on the ground, bleeding into the snow.

But Flynn was standing near a different man who was lying on the ground. From here, she couldn’t see any blood, but the way Flynn stood over him looking grim, she couldn’t help but believe he’d been shot.

“I just wanted to let you know we’re okay,” Cassidy said gently. “The danger is over. I’ve cleared the yard. Stay inside where it’s warm, this could take a while.”

She nodded but sensed there was something wrong. “Flynn? Are you okay?”

He dragged his gaze from the fallen man who she realized now was handcuffed. “I’m not hurt. But you should know I shot Detective Klem. I identified myself as a cop and told him to drop his weapon, but he fired a round at me. I returned fire.”

Detective Klem? The remnants of her dream flashed in her mind. Money falling onto the dead bodies of Steve, Robin, and Roman while Detective Irving stood off to the side watching with an evil smile.

Not Irving, but Klem.

Her stomach lurched, but she managed to fight back a wave of nausea. “I’m sorry you were put in this position. Is he dead?”

“No. He was wearing his vest.” Flynn’s voice was flat and emotionless, belying the anguish etched on his features. “He’s out cold, though, so who knows? I can’t say for sure he’ll survive. Two slugs to the chest could have caused some heart damage.”

She felt terrible for Flynn. Clearly this wasn’t something he’d anticipated. And really, how could he? Detective Klem had appeared to be a nice, decent guy. He’d treated her well during her initial interview, and he’d been sweet toward Max too. She’d never gotten a hint of anything off about the guy.

Apparently, his easygoing attitude was nothing more than a lie.

The wind was cold, making her shiver, but she moved across the snowy ground toward him. Flynn abruptly lifted a hand to make her stop. “Don’t,” his voice was low and harsh. “You can’t be out here. This is a crime scene.”

She bit her lip, then reluctantly turned to head back into the rental house. This was a side of Flynn she hadn’t seen before.

And she couldn’t help but worry that this shooting had changed him forever.

Red and blue lights flashed through the window, indicating the Greenland police officer has arrived. She watched through the window as the officers joined Flynn and Cassidy. One officer used his flashlight to examine the ground, while the other spoke at length with the tactical team officers.

Flynn’s fire had died down, but she didn’t bother to add more wood. No way would they be staying there for the next few days as planned.

Which made her wonder just how Detective Klem had found them.

As a cop, he had access to information, but to uncover the connection between Doug Bridges and his half sister and trace them here?

That seemed like a stretch. Unless there was another person also working for the bad guys within the FBI.

The theory was far from reassuring. They really couldn’t trust anyone.

The door opened revealing Cassidy. “Hey, I wanted to be sure you’re okay in here.”

“I’m okay, but Flynn isn’t.” Taylor wasn’t sure why she was confiding in Flynn’s teammate.

“I know. He’s taking it hard.” Cassidy grimaced. “He didn’t do anything wrong, but it’s one thing to shoot a perp. It’s another to shoot a cop.”

“A dirty cop,” Taylor swiftly corrected. “That’s not the same thing.”

“You don’t have to convince me,” Cassidy said. “Flynn knows he had to do it, but I think he’s trying to figure out if Klem’s being here was innocent somehow. That the detective wasn’t involved in the money laundering or whatever is going on.”

Taylor had never felt so helpless. Flynn was hurting, and she had no idea how to make him feel better. “Greenland is hardly in Klem’s jurisdiction. I can’t imagine he was here for some innocent reason. I can’t even figure out how he found us.”

“We’re trying to uncover that angle too,” Cassidy said with a sigh. “I just wanted you to know that we’ll be tied up for a while yet. Our lieutenant, Joe Kingsley, is on his way as Rhy is still at home with his sick wife and daughter.”

Taylor had met Joe once last month when things had heated up with Sienna and Bailey being in danger. Like the other members of the tactical team, he was a nice guy. “Okay. I’ll make some coffee.”

“We may end up being here for breakfast too,” Cassidy said. “You’re safe inside the house while the officers are here.”

“I’ll take care of that.” Brewing coffee and making breakfast would give her something constructive to do. “Just keep an eye on Flynn, okay?”

Cassidy’s expression softened. “I will. And Flynn is tougher than you think. He’s taking this hard, but he’ll bounce back. Especially once we find the evidence we need to link Klem to the gunman.”

Cassidy spoke as if that connection was a foregone conclusion, and as Taylor set about making a pot of coffee, she hoped and prayed Cassidy was right.

That, for his sake, Flynn hadn’t shot an innocent man.

Flynn’s entire body was numb and not from the cold. He still couldn’t believe he’d shot Detective Klem. Per protocol in an officer-involved shooting, he handed his weapon to the first Greenland officers on scene, instantly thinking of a way to get a replacement.

One thing was for sure, the danger surrounding Taylor was far from over.

“Other than the vest, Klem was dressed in street clothes,” Cassidy said in a low voice as they watched the paramedics working on the fallen officer.

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Flynn said. Although he had found the dark clothing Klem wore from head to toe suspicious. Especially taking the black ski mask into consideration. “He’s a detective, he wouldn’t wear a uniform.”

“Yes, but wearing black street clothes, hat, and mask while showing up at a safe house he shouldn’t know about means you were in the right,” Cassidy insisted. “Especially if you told him to drop his weapon.”

“If?” He whirled on her. “I said I was a cop, told him to drop it, and he fired at me.”

Cassidy lifted her hands. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make it sound as if I didn’t believe you. I know you wouldn’t just shoot without announcing yourself.”

He blew out a long breath as he turned to watch Klem being lifted onto the gurney. “I pray he survives the shooting. We need answers as to who hired him. And how he’s involved in this mess.”

“He will.” Cass sounded confident. “The bullets didn’t pierce his chest, bone, or muscle. He’s badly bruised and having some heart issues, but there’s no reason to suspect he’ll die from being shot in the chest.”

It was still difficult to comprehend he’d shot a fellow officer. A likely dirty and corrupt officer, but a fellow brother in blue just the same.

Jina and her husband, Cole, had interacted with Klem and Irving two months ago. They hadn’t gotten any hint of Klem being dirty. Irving had been her usual pain-in-the-behind self, especially with Jina.

But everyone had gotten along well with Klem.

“Looks like they found a shell casing,” Cassidy said, breaking into his thoughts. “That reinforces your story that he fired at you.”

He wanted to shout at the top of his lungs that it wasn’t a story, but he managed to bite his tongue. Cassidy wasn’t pointing out anything he didn’t already know. He’d shown the first officers on scene where he’d been standing when Klem had fired. How he’d ducked and rolled to return fire. The disturbed snow on the ground had been obvious.

The shell casing would help too. And he didn’t doubt that the crime scene techs would be able to verify that Klem’s weapon had been fired recently. The officers on scene had been smart enough to place Klem’s gloves in an evidence bag to be tested for gunshot residue. They’d snagged the ski mask too.

Yet Flynn knew that a good lawyer could easily claim Klem was innocent. That he’d dressed for the cold and hadn’t known Flynn was a cop. The only thing that worked in Flynn’s favor was the fact that Greenland was outside of Klem’s jurisdiction and that the detective shouldn’t have known about their being at the rental property in the first place.

It bothered him that Klem had found them. He’d felt certain the leak was within the FBI, not the local police.

Could it be both? He hated to believe it, but at this point, he wasn’t ruling anything out.

Everyone was a suspect until he was convinced otherwise. Except for his tactical team family. And the Finnegans, including Doug Bridges as well.

If not for Doug nearly being shot by the gunman outside the City Central Hotel, Flynn would be tempted to lump him in with the pile of suspects. But he knew from Rhy and others within their team, like Roscoe, that Bridges had helped cover their backs.

As Taylor was handing out cups of coffee, Lieutenant Kingsley arrived. Joe raked his gaze over him. “Are you okay?”

“Peachy.” Flynn took a sip of the steaming brew, hoping to absorb some of the warmth. “We need to get Taylor out of here.”

“Soon,” Joe promised. “Right now, we have more than enough officers on scene to keep her safe.”

While true, the swarm of officers didn’t make Flynn feel any better. He was about to argue, when Taylor said, “Breakfast will be ready in ten.”

“You and Cassidy go inside,” Joe said. “I’ll stick around out here for a bit.”

Since the coffee wasn’t working to warm him up, Flynn took his boss’s advice. He turned and led the way inside, then paused to glance back at Joe. “I need a backup weapon. I had to give mine to the local cops.”

“Understood,” Joe said with a nod. “I’ll get one from the gun case at Rhy’s place. He won’t mind.”

The close proximity of Greenland to Brookland reminded him of Detective Klem and the way the guy had crumpled to the ground from the force of his bullets. Which gave him another thought. “Detective Irving needs to be relieved of her duties until we know for sure she’s not working with Klem. Especially since we have no idea how Klem figured out we were here. I’m concerned someone higher up in the Brookland PD is also involved. Not to mention there could still be someone inside the FBI working for the bad guys.”

Joe winced, then nodded. “Yeah, okay. I’ll take care of it.”

Flynn finally walked inside the rental. He stood in the kitchen for a moment, wondering why he didn’t feel warm yet.

Maybe he’d never be warm again.

“Here, let me refill that for you.” Taylor took his half-empty mug and topped it off with fresh coffee. “You look chilled.”

That was an understatement. He hadn’t felt this cold after he and Taylor had escaped the sinking boat in Peabody Lake. As he sipped his coffee, he noticed the fire in the fireplace was nearly burned out. Setting the cup aside, he strode over to revive it.

When he finished adding wood and stoking the fire, he stared into the leaping flames, wondering how they were going to find a place for Taylor that would keep her safe and secure for the duration of this investigation.

Then again, maybe it wasn’t a matter of where, but a matter of how many officers they had posted around her. As Joe had mentioned, they were safe here because of the numerous officers on scene.

Enough to scare off one lone gunman.

And where was Nickoli Yurgis anyway? Flynn had assumed the masked gunman was Yurgis since Taylor had seen him after he’d murdered the Millers. Tearing off the mask to find Klem lying there had been an unwelcome surprise. Why had the detective been tasked with coming to their safe house tonight?

Or more accurately, this morning?

Too many questions without answers.

“Flynn, are you ready to eat breakfast?”

Taylor’s voice had him turning to face her. Suddenly the scent of bacon and eggs made his stomach growl. He wasn’t sure how, but the fire had reached deep within to warm his chilled soul.

Maybe God was trying to let him know everything was okay.

“Thanks, Taylor.” He rose to his feet and crossed the room. From the anxious expression in her blue eyes, he decided she’d been worried about him.

As if he was the one in danger.

“I’d like to say grace,” Taylor said as they took their seats. It seemed strange to be sitting and eating while officers roamed the crime scene outside. But they were stuck in the house until they’d gathered every scrap of evidence there was to be found and cleared the area.

“Sure.” He was surprised when she took his hand beneath the table.

“Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for this food we are about to eat. We also thank You for keeping us all safe in Your care. Especially Flynn. Amen.”

“Amen,” Cassidy said.

His throat was thick with emotion, but he managed to croak out a response. “Amen.”

Taylor held his hand for a long moment before releasing it. He was touched by her concern, even if he wasn’t sure he deserved it. He picked up his fork and dug into the scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.

“Tastes great,” Cassidy said.

“Breakfast is easy.” Taylor smiled and gestured to the pan in the center of the table. “I made plenty if any of the officers outside are hungry and allowed to eat.”

“Usually not while on duty.” He took a bite of his toast. “The good news is that they didn’t arrest me.”

Taylor’s eyes widened in horror. “Is that a possibility?”

Cass sent him an exasperated glance. “I don’t think you need to worry about that. Once we explained about the danger to you, and the number of murders that have already taken place, the local cops believed our version of events. Joe will coordinate with their leadership to smooth things over.”

Plagued by a sense of urgency, Flynn ate quickly. He didn’t want to stick around any longer than necessary, especially if the cops outside were about finished processing the scene of the crime.

His disposable phone rang. Recognizing Rhy’s number, he answered. “Hey, Rhy.”

“Are you okay? What’s this about you shooting Klem?” Rhy asked.

Suppressing a sigh, Flynn filled him in on the recent events. “I assume Joe called to let you know I need a weapon.”

“Yeah, he left a message. I called you directly because I was concerned.” Rhy’s voice sounded heavy with regret. “I think I may have blown it with Klem.”

The admission shocked him. “What do you mean?”

“It’s my fault,” Rhy said. “I ran into Klem last night when I got home. I didn’t think much about his being at my place, waiting to update me on the investigation. He told me they had a line on Lyle and Jake and were heading to one of their friends’ houses to see if they could find him.”

Flynn caught Cassidy’s eye, then glanced at Taylor. Both were listening to his side of the conversation. “Okay, so Klem was at your place last night, and you spoke to him. How much did you tell him about where we were staying?”

Cass grimaced as Taylor gasped.

“I didn’t give him your address or anything, but I mentioned you guys were safe in Greenland.” Rhy muttered something under his breath, then added, “I was sidetracked by Devon and Colleen being sick, especially since Devon began having some contractions despite not being due for two months. But that’s no excuse. I shouldn’t have mentioned Greenland. I’m sorry.”

“Telling Klem we were staying in Greenland isn’t the same as giving him an address,” Flynn said thoughtfully. “But that may have allowed him to narrow it down.”

“I feel terrible, and I’ve already put a call in with the Brookland PD Chief of Police,” Rhy said. “I want the department to verify Klem’s partner, Irving, isn’t involved. And I need them to investigate Klem’s actions from their end too.”

“Good.” He tried to smile reassuringly at both Cassidy and Taylor. He didn’t feel that much better about shooting Klem, but knowing Rhy had made the slip was oddly reassuring.

Eleven months ago, when Steele and Harper had been in danger Flynn had slipped up by giving key information about a safe house location to a dirty ATF agent. He’d carried the heavy yoke of guilt for months afterward, despite Rhy, Steele, and the others reassuring him that it could have happened to anyone.

Now that a similar slip had happened to Rhy, he guessed they were right about that. What had Taylor said? They were all human and bound to make mistakes.

Yet it still didn’t explain how Klem had found the connection to Doug Bridges’s sister, Emily Sanders, to find their exact address.

Process of elimination? Had Klem gone to all the rental properties listed in Greenland? How many could there be? Probably not that many. And if not for the lack of snow on the woodpile, Flynn might not have gone out to investigate.

God certainly had watched over them tonight.

“I hope you can forgive me,” Rhy said. “I feel awful that I let you down.”

“You’ve always been supportive, so that’s not even an issue. Besides, you forgave me when I goofed earlier this year,” Flynn said. “In a way, it helps to know that the feds may not be involved.”

“We don’t trust anyone outside the family and Doug Bridges,” Rhy said. “I’ll work with Joe to get Taylor to the safe house. I’ve given the order to move the current occupants out ASAP to free it up for you.”

The news brought a wave of relief. At least the safe house had bullet-proof windows. And it wasn’t in Greenland either. With Klem in the hospital and Irving soon to be benched, they didn’t have to worry about anyone inside the law enforcement community finding them there. Police precincts didn’t share safe houses, and his being forced to shoot a dirty cop reinforced the wisdom of that policy.

“Stay put for now,” Rhy said. “I’ll let Joe know when you’re cleared to move to the safe house.”

That gave him pause. “I don’t want to stay here once the officers outside disperse. We don’t know for sure Klem didn’t tell Irving his plans to come here. And we still don’t know where Nickoli Yurgis is either.”

“I’ll convince the Greenland police to keep their officers there for as long as it takes,” Rhy said. “Don’t worry about that.”

“Okay. Thanks. Keep us posted on the timeline.”

“Will do.” Rhy ended the call.

“Wow, I can’t believe Rhy accidentally gave away our location,” Cassidy said as they finished eating. “He is always so on top of things.”

“Devon had contractions, so I can understand why he was distracted.” He glanced at Taylor, thinking about how he’d allowed his attraction to her distract him too.

No more , he silently vowed.

“If we’re sticking around for a while, I wouldn’t mind taking a shower,” Taylor said, rising to her feet and carrying her dirty dishes to the sink. “I’ll clean up after I’m finished.”

“I’ll do it,” Cassidy offered.

“I’ll help.” Flynn chewed the last slice of bacon as he carried his plate to the sink. He was glad Taylor hadn’t seen his place with the dirty dishes stacked in the sink. He’d have to do better on that front too.

Not that he expected to see Taylor again once this was over.

He thrust his hands into the hot, soapy water to force himself to think about something, anything other than his conflicted feelings toward Taylor.

“What do you think? Is Irving also involved?” Cass asked as she picked up the towel to dry.

“Don’t know. She’s easy to dislike, but that’s not proof of wrongdoing.”

“Yeah, I get the impression Irving has had a tough life,” Cassidy said. “Then again, so did Jina and Raelyn and they’re not soured on life.”

“Because of the team,” Flynn said. “I mean, think about it. We are all very supportive of each other. That level of camaraderie isn’t common in all police departments.”

“True,” Cassidy agreed. They washed and dried dishes for the next few minutes. Then he looked out the window, relieved to see there were four cops milling about outside.

The crime scene techs were just finishing up as well. They were easy to spot in their head-to-toe water-resistant gear. They looked like puffy dolls.

He made another pot of coffee, trying not to glance at his watch. Taylor seemed to be taking a long time. Was she crying again? Feeling overwhelmed by everything that had happened?

Setting his coffee aside, he moved down the hall. His hand went to his hip before he remembered he didn’t have his gun.

A muffled thump made his heart jump in his chest. He lunged forward to grab the door handle, yanking it open.

Then he froze when he saw a man dressed in water-resistant gear holding Taylor at gunpoint.