Flynn (Oath of Honor #8)

Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

When Taylor had finished getting dressed in the bathroom, she’d stepped into the room in time to see a man wearing cream-colored head-to-toe protective gear, including face mask and goggles, coming in through the window. She must not have heard the noise over the sound of the shower and blow-dryer.

Before she could scream, he leveled the gun at her as he finished climbing through the opening. “Don’t say a word.”

She’d instinctively backed up, slamming into the door behind her. She assumed the man standing before her was Nickoli Yurgis, but she couldn’t tell because of the face covering. She tried to steady herself, knowing she needed to buy time. To find a way to stay alive. “Who are you? What do you want?”

Before the gunman could respond, her bedroom door burst open, revealing Flynn. Seeing Flynn’s empty hands, Taylor screamed, “No!” at the top of her lungs and lunged toward the gunman just as he moved the muzzle of his weapon toward Flynn.

Two sharp reports reverberated through the small space. Taylor half expected to feel the impact of a bullet as her momentum carried her forward, but surprisingly, it was the gunman who stumbled backward, crumpling to the floor in a heap.

Flynn moved quickly across the room with Cassidy behind him. Taylor had fallen half on top of the gunman and was trying to scramble out of the way in case he turned the weapon on her.

But he didn’t get the chance. Even though she hadn’t seen the gunman move, Cassidy fired two more rounds into his body.

“Taylor!” Flynn reached for her. “Are you hurt?”

“I don’t think so.” She sagged against Flynn, looking down at herself as if to make sure she hadn’t been hit by a bullet. Everything had happened so fast she wasn’t sure her brain had processed the event. Two shots had been fired. “What about you?”

“I’m fine,” Flynn said. “His shot went high because you threw yourself at him.”

“He’s no longer a threat,” Cassidy said. Her gaze was somber as she turned to face them. “Are you both okay?”

“How did you know he was in here?” Taylor asked. She was surprised that Cassidy had been able to shoot past Flynn in the narrow space. “I didn’t even know until I came out of the bathroom.”

“I heard a thumping sound.” Flynn clutched her close, and she could feel the thundering beat of his heart beneath her ear. “I just knew you were in trouble.”

“And when I saw you jumping toward the bedroom, I followed since I knew you weren’t armed,” Cassidy said. She shook her head. “Foolish move, Flynn. However, I am glad you moved to the side in time to give me a clean line of sight to the perp.”

“I was hoping you’d hit him,” Flynn admitted. “And I was halfway to the door before I remembered I didn’t have my gun.”

“Thankfully, Taylor helped to knock him off guard.” Cassidy nodded at her. “Nice work.”

She didn’t point out that she hadn’t done it on purpose. Her only thought was to prevent the intruder from killing Flynn. In that moment, she’d realized how much she loved him.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Flynn scolded. “You could have gotten hurt when Cassidy took the shot.”

She shrugged. Thankfully, Cassidy was an expert marksman. “Who is he?” She stared at the fallen man, noticing with horror that the pale Tyvek suit had a pool of blood forming in the center of his chest. If the gunman was Nickoli Yurgis, he wouldn’t be killing anyone ever again.

Cassidy removed the fallen man’s face mask. When Taylor saw the man’s face, she gasped. “That’s Lyle. My cousin Lyle!”

“I’ll call Joe,” Flynn said. “Jake might be dressed just like this and waiting for us outside!”

Instantly, Cassidy moved toward her and Flynn, taking up a protective stance as she faced the open window.

Not open, she abruptly realized. And not broken either. The glass had been cut and removed. How had Lyle accomplished that without anyone noticing? Probably his wearing the Tyvek suit meant no one paid him much attention.

“Joe? Cass shot Lyle Paulson who got inside the house dressed as a crime scene tech,” Flynn said curtly. “His brother Jake could be outside wearing the exact disguise.”

“Got it, stay put.” As Taylor was still pressed against Flynn, it was easy to hear Joe’s response.

Almost instantly, a series of shouts could be heard from the backyard. Cassidy moved toward the window, staying off to the side to avoid being a target. Then she glanced over with a wry grin. “Looks like they found him.” Her eyes gleamed with satisfaction. “He’s down on the ground with several weapons pointed at him.”

“Good,” Flynn responded. “That accounts for three suspects; however, we are still missing any information on the whereabouts of Nickoli Yurgis and the mastermind who hired them.”

The man who’d almost killed her was not Nickoli but her cousin. Her own relative had come into the house with the intent to eliminate her. How could Lyle do such a thing? She felt as if she’d been kicked in the chest.

Then she wondered if one brother, Lyle or Jake, had killed their oldest brother, Roman, as well. And if Lyle and Jake were involved, why had their place been searched? That part didn’t make any sense.

Most of this nightmare didn’t make sense. They needed to understand why the Millers had been murdered. Would they ever know the truth? She was beginning to fear that their questions would forever remain unanswered.

“I think it’s safe to go to the kitchen,” Cassidy said. “Guess I’ll be giving up my service weapon now too.”

“Not until we know we’re safe,” Flynn said sharply. “I’m angry with myself for not insisting on keeping mine.”

“Yeah, not very smart of you to rush into danger unarmed,” Cassidy teased. Then her expression turned somber. “I guess we know now that Detective Klem told Lyle and Jake Paulson about this place.”

“Yeah, their showing up like this, dressed as crime scene techs, screams of a backup plan. Almost as if Klem had known it wasn’t likely that he’d succeed,” Flynn said.

That possibility hadn’t occurred to her. Taylor moved into the kitchen, sinking into the closest chair. Flynn stayed beside her, as did Cassidy. The interior of the house was getting colder by the minute, so Flynn quickly crossed the room to toss more logs into the fire.

As Flynn returned to her side, the back door opened, revealing a grim-faced Joe Kingsley. “We’ve arrested Jake, but he’s not talking.”

Flynn scowled. “That’s fine. We know what he and Lyle had planned.”

“We may believe they’re involved in this up to their eyeballs, but the truth is that our case against Jake isn’t great,” Joe said. “We have him for impersonating a crime scene tech, carrying a firearm, and conspiracy to commit murder. But at this point, Lyle is dead, and Klem is in the hospital, so it’s his word against theirs. He’s claiming he’s innocent, that he had no intention of killing anyone and will only talk to his lawyer.”

Joe’s comments washed over Taylor like ice water. “But he and Lyle do everything together. There’s no way Lyle was involved in this without Jake’s help and support.”

“Your testimony to that effect will help,” Joe admitted. “But we’ll still need more proof to make sure Jake goes away for the rest of his life.”

“We’ll just have to keep working the case until we find the evidence we need,” Flynn said flatly. “Because I agree with Taylor, there’s no way he’s not involved.”

“I hear you.” Joe raked a hand over his hair. “More Greenland cops are on their way back here. We’re going to keep the place surrounded until we can get you and Taylor transferred to the safe house.”

“Wait, we’re still going?” She glanced from Flynn to Joe and then Cassidy. “I don’t understand. We know Klem has been taken out of the picture. Surely, we’re safe now.”

There was a long silence as the three cops exchanged sympathetic glances.

“We’re going to the safe house until we know the man in charge,” Flynn finally said. “Until we have that piece of the puzzle, we’re not lowering our guard.”

Joe’s phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and answered. “Hey, Rhy. I’m putting you on speaker because things have been happening here.”

There was a pause before she heard Rhy’s voice. “I just heard from Cole Roberts; you might remember he’s a Peabody detective. A dead body was pulled from Peabody Lake and has been positively identified as our Russian Mafia thug, Nickoli Yurgis. Looks like he was shot in the head, then tossed in the water.”

“Well, that’s not good,” Cassidy muttered.

Flynn looked upset, as did Joe. And she understood why. If they couldn’t convince her cousin Jake to talk, they’d never learn who was behind all these murders.

And it was entirely possible she’d never be safe again.

“We need to huddle at the safe house,” Flynn said. “Brady and Doug too. There has to be a way to figure out who hired Yurgis and the Paulson brothers. To find whoever planned these murders and why.”

“I like the huddle idea,” Rhy said. “Unfortunately, I’m taking Devon to the hospital while Elly watches over Colleen. She’s dehydrated and her OB doc recommended she be seen to get IV fluids. They think her dehydration is causing the contractions. The flu season is apparently pretty bad this year.”

“We’ll pray for Devon,” Cassidy said, her expression full of concern. “Of course, you should stay focused on your family. Joe is here, and we’ll get some of the other members of the team to head out too. I believe that by working together we’ll figure this out.”

“I feel bad I can’t help, but I’ll call Brady and make sure he and Doug meet up with you. Stay put until then.”

Flynn wanted to argue that staying put had almost gotten Taylor killed but held back. None of this was Rhy’s fault. Nobody anticipated that Klem might be on the take. Thinking along those lines gave him an idea. “Thanks, Rhy. We’ll take it from here.” He disconnected the call, then said, “We need someone to interrogate Klem the moment he’s able to talk. And we should reach out to the Paulson siblings’ parents.” He turned to look at Taylor. “What is the first names of your aunt and uncle?”

“I’m sure my mom’s brother isn’t involved,” Taylor protested. “He’s not rich and wouldn’t have money to invest, especially after the divorce.” When he simply waited, she sighed. “Donald Paulson. Don and Gail Paulson. I’m not sure Gail kept the last name, though. She might be under Gail Lee.”

“I’ll talk to Gabe, maybe he can dig into their backgrounds too,” Joe said.

It was frustrating to stand there, waiting for the rest of the cavalry to show up. Flynn tried not to stare at his watch as he wondered how long it would take.

“Hey, I have a guy out here who wants to talk to whoever is in charge,” one of the cops said, poking his head through the doorway. “Claims to have information on the murders?”

Joe was closest to the door and glanced behind the officer. Flynn stepped forward, a rush of adrenaline hitting hard. “I’ll talk to him.”

“Negative. He says he’ll only talk to his niece, Taylor Templeton.”

“Uncle Don is out there?” Taylor rushed toward the door before he could stop her. Thankfully, Joe snagged her arm before she could get all the way outside.

“Taylor! What happened to Lyle and Jake?” The man’s voice sounded agonized, as if he already suspected the worst. That his two sons had been murdered the same way his oldest had been.

“Uncle Don, Lyle tried to kill me!” Taylor leaned past Joe, craning her neck to see better. Joe abruptly yanked Taylor down at the same moment a crack of gunfire rang out.

“Gun, gun!” someone shouted.

Flynn rushed to Taylor, pulling her back from the doorway. Sounds of a scuffle broke out, then there was nothing but silence.

“We have her.” The voice sounded strained. “She wounded him, though.”

She? Flynn glanced down at Taylor who looked horrified as the news sank in. Taylor surged to her feet. He caught her in his arms, holding her close.

“I want to see him. My uncle Don. I want to see him!” Her blue eyes were bright with tears.

“The area isn’t secure,” Flynn protested. Talk about a giant understatement. First Klem found them, then the Paulson brothers, now Taylor’s uncle Don and possibly her aunt? Who else could the woman be out there?

“What’s going on?” Flynn recognized Brady’s voice. Feeling slightly better now that reinforcements had arrived, he relaxed his grip on Taylor. But instead of heading outside, she turned into his arms, burying her head against his chest.

“Brady? Is Doug with you?” Flynn asked.

“Yeah. How on earth did Irving get out here?” Bridges asked. “I thought she was supposed to be taken into custody?”

Irving? Not Gail Lee? He glanced at Taylor in confusion. “Are you sure the woman is Irving? We were concerned about a person by the name of Gail Lee. Gail Lee, formerly Gail Paulson. She used to be married to Don Paulson and her sons are Roman, Lyle, and Jake.”

There was a brief pause, before Doug said, “This woman’s ID is for a Gail Lee. But she looks very similar to Detective Irving.”

Taylor’s mouth dropped open. “I totally forgot that Gail has a twin sister! I haven’t seen her in so long I didn’t recognize Detective Irving as being related to the family.”

One of the puzzle pieces fell into place. It seemed as if Gail had gotten her sons involved in whatever crime was being committed. And she was also Irving’s twin sister. Which probably meant Irving was dirty too.

Did that mean Klem was innocent?

Flynn didn’t want to believe he’d shot an innocent man, even if the guy had fired at him first. His thoughts whirled as he comforted Taylor. Her family had been far more involved in this than any of them had realized.

And they still didn’t know who was in charge of the scheme.

As if on cue, Joe’s phone rang. He answered without putting the call on speaker. “Gabe, what do you have for us?”

Flynn found himself praying that Klem was dirty. That shooting the detective would be justified. At least in the eyes of the law.

On a personal level, he knew that firing at Klem would stick with him for a long time. Cops were put in positions where they had no choice but to take down bad guys. It wouldn’t be his first or his last.

But he still felt guilty and prayed Klem would survive.

“Thanks, Gabe, you have perfect timing. We have Gail Lee in custody. I’ll let the others know.” Joe lowered his phone, a smile breaking across his features. “Gabe cracked the case. He finally identified the owners of Investments, Inc. A guy by the name of Allen Irving. Who, as you know, is married to Detective Irene Irving.”

“You’re kidding. Irving’s husband is the brains behind this?” Flynn couldn’t believe it.

“Yep. And he dragged his wife, sister-in-law, and likely Klem into the snare, likely promising them easy money,” Joe confirmed. “Although we don’t have everything we need yet, we still have to connect Allen Irving to Nickoli Yurgis and to whatever money issues were going down at the bank. Hopefully, the feds will do their part on the banking end of things. Gabe will reach out to Ian with what he’s found. Based on the link between Financial Plus and Investments, Inc., I think a warrant will be issued for Allen Irving’s arrest. And his wife’s arrest, too, if she’s not already in custody,” Joe added.

“Does that mean it’s over? Like for good this time?” Taylor asked. She looked a little shell-shocked, but she wasn’t crying anymore.

“Yes, but we’ll move you to the safe house anyway until we know for sure,” Joe said.

“I’ll stay with you for as long as it takes,” Flynn said reassuringly. He wanted to add that he’d be there forever if she’d let him.

But they’d never broached the subject of what they’d do when this was over. She was the pretty girl who under normal circumstances wouldn’t look at him twice. This—whatever they had between them—was based on fear and danger. Emotions that would fade over time.

“Thank you, Flynn.” She reached up to cup his cheek with her hand. “I am very grateful to have your support.”

He felt his ears turn red with embarrassment. Suddenly Joe and Cassidy disappeared outside, leaving him and Taylor alone.

“I know you’ve been through a lot,” he said. “I’m happy to help you get settled once this is over.”

“I would like that,” she murmured. “In fact, I think I’d like to stay with you for a while.” She flushed, then added, “If you’ll let me.”

“I, uh, sure.” Her comment knocked him off balance. “You can stay with me as long as it takes.”

She tilted her head to the side. “As long as it takes for what?”

“Um.” He had no idea how to answer. “For as long as you need. Things have happened fast, but I don’t think you should make any snap decisions about your future. It might be smart to take some time to think about what you want to do.”

She nodded thoughtfully, searching his gaze for a minute. “What I really want, Flynn, is to spend more time with you.”

His heart soared, but his brain was already tampering down his excitement. “That’s sweet, but being forced together like this isn’t natural. What I mean is, I’m sure you’ll want to move on with your life once you’ve recovered from this.”

“You’re right; this has been a bit stressful,” she said with a frown. “But you’re not understanding me. I care about you. When I thought Lyle was going to shoot you, I wanted to claw his eyes out. This isn’t just forced proximity talking. This is me getting to know you again. And wanting more.”

More? Hope warred with logic. “Come on, Taylor. I know I’m not your type.”

Now her eyes flashed with anger. “What do you know about my type? I care about men who have traits like honor, integrity, courage, and who are known to be trustworthy. The trust part is most important since I know what it’s like to be cheated on.”

He was shocked by that. “Who in their right mind would cheat on you?”

Her anger relaxed into a smile. “Ah, Flynn. Don’t you see? Other than maybe your tendency to be a slob, you’re exactly my type.”

It was nice to hear, even if he didn’t really believe it. He was sure her feelings were honorable, too, but once the danger was over, things would change. Day-to-day life would reveal potential flaws in their relationship.

And he wouldn’t want to hold her back.

“I’m getting the sense you don’t think I know how I feel about you. That those feelings will change at some point.” She looked a bit exasperated. “Do you remember what I said last month shortly after we first met?”

He remembered with painful clarity. “Yes. You were angry with me and Zeke and told us we would never be the hero of your story.”

She nodded. “Yep, except that I lied. As I continued to write my story, you became the hero. I described him to match you. He acted exactly the way you’ve been responding to the threats of danger we faced. He’s tough, sweet, brave, and supportive in every way. My hero is you, Flynn.”

“Me?” Shock rippled through him. Was she serious? “I don’t understand.”

Now she shook her head, clearly annoyed. “What’s not to understand? For the last time, I care about you. I think I’m falling in love with you.”

Since he’d completely run out of words to say, he decided to let his feelings speak for him. He drew her close and kissed her.

Taylor melted against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer as she returned his kiss. And slowly it dawned on him that maybe she was being truthful.

Because no woman had ever kissed him like that.

“Flynn? Oh, sorry.” The cheerful tone in Steele’s tone belied his apology. As did the goofy grin on his teammate’s face. “Hey, if you’re not too busy, Brady wants me to escort you to the safe house as the feds head out to make the arrests.”

“We are busy,” Taylor complained. “I don’t know who you are but go away.”

Flynn found himself grinning back as Steele laughed.

“Okay, okay. I’ll give you guys a few minutes,” Steele said between chuckles. “But don’t take too long or I’ll send Joe in.”

“Thanks. We’ll be out soon.” Flynn wasn’t in any hurry to let Taylor go, but he knew they couldn’t stay there much longer either. Despite the heat they’d generated between them, the air held a distinct chill.

The fire in the fireplace had burned down to hot coals again.

“Look, Flynn, I don’t mean to be pushy, but please tell me that my feelings aren’t one-sided.” A flicker of uncertainty darkened her eyes. “That I’m not the only one who wants to see where a relationship might take us.”

“I love you. I may not be a writer with pretty words, but I fell in love with you a while ago, probably the first time we met.” He brushed a light kiss over her mouth. “Based on your annoyance with me, I figured you didn’t feel the same way. The other night when you texted me about seeing the gunman, I was terrified I’d never get the chance to tell you how much I loved you.”

“Really?” She stared up at him in surprise. “You really love me?”

That she could doubt his feelings made him realize they were both being idiots about this. Yes, they’d been thrown together in difficult circumstances, but that didn’t mean their feelings weren’t real.

That their love wouldn’t last.

“Yes, I really love you, Taylor. I would love for you to stay with me once we’re released from the safe house. You use my guest bedroom; I would never take advantage of the situation.” He managed a smile. “Even more importantly, I’ll support you in whatever you decide to do. Whether you go back to being a nanny, teaching, writing, or whatever brings you happiness. I’m there for you.”

“Oh, Flynn.” She drew him in for another kiss. After a long moment, she said, “I want to support you too. I’m sure this had been difficult, especially after what happened with Detective Klem. I’m here if you want to talk about it. Or anything else for that matter.”

“You’re amazing,” he whispered.

“So are you.” She smiled. “I’m so blessed that God brought you into my life.”

Flynn knew they were blessed. Not just because they’d survived, but because God’s love shone down on them.

This moment right now was what true love was all about.