but I’ve been hit by heavy beams, nailed my hand to a two by four, and suffered countless bumps and bruises. I’ll be fine.”
Mikey spun and pointed to someone in the doorway. “Unless you want the cops to interview you, keep your ass inside the tavern.” She turned back to them. “I need to go make sure they aren’t helping themselves. You good?”
“I’m fine.” They heard the wail of a siren as it got closer. He pulled Bekki into his chest and held her. “Are you okay?”
“He told me he had a gun and he’d shoot everyone in the bar if I didn’t go with him quietly.”
“I saw you shake your head. What did he want?” He rubbed her back as Callum sat up, looking completely disoriented. Taggart had him on his feet by the time the patrol car skidded to a stop in front of the tavern.
“He told me he’d shoot me if I didn’t go with him. I told him no, I wouldn’t go. Then he threatened all of you.”
He closed his eyes. “You were trying to protect us.”
“Well, yeah.”
“Princess, you continue to amaze me.”
“You think that’s amazing? Wait until they find out who my dad is. This little corner is going to have a lot more cops here.” Bekki shook her head. “I got the first three letters of the license plate.”
“I got the last two. Late-model BMW, black, probably with a thigh-sized dent on the driver’s side rear quarter panel.”
“Don’t joke. I was so scared.” Bekki held him a bit tighter.
“Ma’am, sir, I’m Officer Arnett, can you tell me what happened? Sir, do you need medical care?”
He shook his head. “I was grazed by a bullet and hit by a car, but I’ll live.”
“I’d recommend getting that tended to immediately, sir. We’ll also need to take some photographs of the wound.”
“Whatever you need, but I’m not going to a hospital.”
“We can bring EMS here and get them to clean it and wrap it up for you.” Officer Arnett cocked his head as if he was waiting for Killian to argue.
“Yes, please do that,” Bekki answered for him.
The cop nodded and held up a finger as he acknowledged a radio transmission and requested EMS. “Let’s start with the basics. Names?”
“I’m Killian Ganas.”
“My name is Bekki King. I was here meeting an informant.”
The cop’s head snapped up from the notepad where he was writing. “Are you with the department?”
“No, I leave that to my brothers and father,” she snorted.
“And they are?” the cop asked.
“Commissioner Chauncey King, Homicide Detective Sergeant Brock King, and JDET Sergeant Brody King.”
“Holy shit.” The cop muttered and keyed his radio mic again. “Central, this is 2-Bravo-34. I need the sergeant on scene.”
“Standby.”
The cop asked a few more questions before the radio crackled again. “2-Bravo-34, Sergeant Dean wants to know the reason.”
“Commissioner King’s daughter was involved in an incident.”
There was silence for a beat before a man’s voice sounded. “Central, this is 1-Bravo-1 going direct with 2-Bravo-34. Arnett, what is her status?”
“She’s shook up a bit, but fine, sir.” Bekki nodded as Arnett relayed the information.
“Affirmative. Central, make notifications all the way up the chain of command. I’m en route to 2-Bravo-34’s location.”
“Roger that, 1-Bravo-1.” The woman’s voice acknowledged the command and Bekki dropped her head onto Killian’s shoulder. She rolled her head and looked at the cop. “Press is going to be here before my dad. You might want to find a more secluded place to do this.”
Killian drew a deep breath and held her against him. Dear God, he’d almost lost her tonight. If he hadn’t insisted on coming, he might have. That was a thought he didn’t want to consider. Whatever had happened tonight involved her investigation into the city. “You have to let the police take over.”
She dropped her head back and looked up at him. “Take over for what? There has been no crime committed.”
He felt his brow furrow as he fought down the emotions running through him. “Tonight was a crime.”
She nodded. “I’ll share what I have, but I’m telling you, there is nothing for them to investigate as far as the ads and land sales are concerned. I’ve lived in a cop family for a long time. If there is one thing I know it is the difference between real criminal activity and a dirty politician filling his pockets with money.”
“This wasn’t a politician, Bekki. This man had a gun and he used it.”
“True, but he didn’t try to kill me.”
He dropped his head against the brick building