“Becca’s gonna need more security,” Cassie said, huddling deeper into the plush leather seat.
“Gavin and Decker are on the way to get her.Creed and Donovan are securing a new location.And Chase is with her right now.He’s got her.”The well-known stuntman was a fellow former Marine with combat experience.He was armed and would be on full alert right now, especially with his wife potentially in danger.Nobody was getting near her without his permission.
“Okay.That’s good.”
“Here.”He opened the container, waited for her to take a handful of wipes before grabbing some for himself to scrub the blood from his hands and wrists.The knees of his pants were stiff with it, and more was splattered on his shirt, but that could wait until he got home.His only priority now was being there for Cassie.
She didn’t speak as she cleaned her hands and forearms, taking more and more wipes.She spent a few minutes trying to get the blood from under and around her fingernails, then took one last clean wipe and washed her face.When she was finished, she put it in the trash bag and leaned back against the seat with a hard sigh to stare out the windshield.
He curled the fingers of his right hand into his palm to keep from reaching over and brushing a damp lock of inky hair from the top of her cheek.
“Who’s going to tell Becca?”she asked.The color was back in her face, two bright pink spots on her cheeks.
“Ryder and Callum’ll take care of it.”He had so many questions but held them all back.She would be going over all the specifics again soon enough, and the dashcam footage would fill in any gaps.The cops would look at it first, but CPS would keep a copy and do their own analysis as well.“Want some water?”He handed her a bottle.
She accepted it and took a few swallows.Shook her head.“I still can’t believe it happened.It doesn’t seem real.”
A lead ball formed in his gut as he thought again about how close she’d come to taking a bullet.It could just as easily have been her lying there dead on the side of the road with Penny right now.His stomach clenched.
“She looked like Becca.”
He nodded, having been thinking the same thing.“A little.”Penny and Becca had the same coloring, similar builds.From a distance, it was possible that someone might confuse them.
“They must have thought she was Becca.It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Yeah.”Mistaken identity was the only thing he could fathom at this point too.But targeting Becca Sandoza out here in the middle of the road, in broad daylight, and in plain view of anyone else who came by?That was insane.Not only that, she was worth way more alive than dead to anyone looking to target her.
This whole thing made no sense, and it sucked that Cassie had been caught in the middle of it.He didn’t know what her experience as a cop had been like, but she’d never been in combat and definitely hadn’t been pinned down, alone and facing three shooters armed with rifles.This had to have shaken her badly.
Cassie folded her arms and hunched into herself, shivering a little.“I didn’t see it coming.”
“No one could have.”There were no current credible or specific security threats against Becca.This attack had come out of nowhere.“Here.”He reached into the backseat for his jacket and draped it over her.
“Thanks,” she murmured, clutching it around her.
He wished he could have wrapped himself around her instead.
Pushing the thought from his mind, he looked through the windshield.Ryder was still standing at the shoulder up ahead, now talking to the head forensics woman.
“We’d better get going.They’re waiting for us at the station.”She sounded tired.
He glanced at her, saw she was still shivering even with his jacket covering her.“They can wait until you’re ready.”He started the engine, put the heat on, and aimed the dash vents at her.
“No, it’s okay.Let’s go.”
“All right.”He put the SUV in gear, turned it around, and drove away from the cluster of emergency vehicles, the forensics team still at work.All the evidence they gathered would hopefully give the cops and CPS enough to ID the shooters and track them down.As well as clear Cassie of any responsibility.
For now, he was taking her back to Crimson Point.And once she was done at the station, he would do everything he could to make sure she was okay.
