you okay?” Gavin demanded, looking for a bullet wound—another one—and finding nothing new. The shot had missed her.
“My ears are ringing,” she said, “and my side hurts, but we’re both alive, so I’m pretty much okay with that.” She shuddered, looked at the officer. “You can stop pointing that at him. He’s a good guy.”
The officer didn’t lower his weapon until his partner gave the all clear. Gavin pulled Sarah into a loose hug.
“Did you find Brianne?” she asked.
He shuddered. “I did. At least I assume it’s her.”
“And?”
“She’s dead,” he murmured. “Gunshot to the head.”
“I was afraid of that.” Sarah bit her lip and looked away, blinking hard. “I’ll take a look and make sure.”
“No, you don’t want to see that.”
“I need to. I can tell you if it’s her or not. If it’s not, then we need to find her.” Sarah pushed away from him, and he followed her into the house and down the hall. She took one look and gasped. “That’s her.”
Gavin took her back into his arms, relieved that she let him.
“We were too late,” she mumbled against his chest. “Too late.”
“We tried.”
“Did he kill them?”
“I don’t know. The ME will have to do her job and the cops will do theirs before we’ll know that.”
“Of course.” She swallowed. “Thank you for not leaving me,” she said, her voice soft, barely there. “Knowing you were there, behind him, behind us, kept me from losing it.”
He leaned back and she looked up at him. He brushed strands of hair from her eyes. “Something’s going on, Sarah. Something . . . weird.”
“I know.”
“And somehow we’ve landed right in the middle of it.”
“Yeah, I think I’ve kind of figured that out.”
Caden paced the small area just outside Sam Wilmont’s hospital room. The man had come through the ninety-minute surgery to remove the bullet and bone fragments with no complications. Now Caden just needed him to wake up. The SWAT member who’d pulled the trigger had had to aim for the shoulder since he couldn’t get a good bead on Wilmont’s head. With Sarah’s timely headbutt, the risky shot had worked, and that’s all that mattered to Caden at the moment.
As much as he would like to get his hands around the man’s throat, he wanted to talk to him more. He needed answers and he needed them yesterday. But he’d have to play it cool if he wanted to stay anywhere near this case. Wilmont’s actions had connected Sarah to the case, which made things awkward for him and for the other detectives. It had been all he could do to convince his supervisor that he could exercise self-control and be objective. He wouldn’t be surprised if they asked him to step away.
Detective Caroline Attwood and her partner Elliott Bancroft were the official lead investigators, but Caden was hoping they’d at least fill him in on whatever they learned. Elliott approached, with Caroline following a few steps behind him.
Caden shook Elliott’s proffered hand. “Thanks for letting me be here.”
“Your sister is the victim?”
“Along with two other women. One is still in surgery, the other is in the morgue downstairs.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Caroline said.
“We—as in my family—are hoping Brianne Davis’s friend, Michelle Nelson, will be able to tell us what happened in that house.”
“You think Wilmont’s good for the shootings?”
“He was in the house with a gun. Then he pulled that gun on my sister and held her hostage. Until someone proves differently, he’s good for them.”
“All right, then. Brianne’s family is here. As is the family of Mrs. Nelson. We’ve asked them to stay and answer questions. They’re desperate for answers, as you can imagine.”
“Of course.”
“We’ll keep you updated.”
“I’d appreciate that.” He paused. “Do you mind if I talk to Brianne’s family? I’ve already talked to her father once, but I’d like to express my condolences and ask him a few more questions if he’s up to it.”
“Fine with me,” Elliott said. Caroline nodded.
“Thanks.” Caden was grateful for two detectives who didn’t mind keeping him in the loop. It allowed him to breathe a little easier, knowing he wasn’t going to have to fight tooth and nail for information.
Sarah was on the second floor getting checked out, and Gavin had opted to stay with her while Caden waited for Wilmont to wake up. He shook his head, finding it unbelievable that Sarah would once again be involved in a hostage situation. She’d certainly defied all the odds in a very short span of time.
“What’s the background on this