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“Where’s the vic?” the cop demanded, voice blaring.

“Right here!” Hunter kept his hand over the cloth. Her hand was on top of his. Soft fingertips. Silken skin. When her hand had first pressed over his, a surge of heat and sensual intensity had pulsed through him. He was just stopping the blood flow. He shouldn’t be feeling need spike in his body when she touched him as he was stopping blood flow. Hell, he had it bad. Very bad.

The cop and EMT bounded toward Hunter and Shelby.

“It’s okay,” she rushed to say. “The bullet just grazed me. Really, I’m okay.”

Okay, his ass. The bullet had gouged into her arm. She might need stitches. She definitely was getting a doctor to evaluate her. Not like he’d be taking chances with Shelby.

“Ma’am.” The EMT stepped closer. “Let me examine the wound.”

Hunter locked eyes on the cop. “You stay with her.” Not a question.

The cop—a young male with ruddy skin—blinked. “Uh⁠—”

Hunter eased away, letting the EMT take the cloth from him. But before he left, Hunter tossed a hard glare at Shelby. “Stay with the fucking cop.”

Then he was gone. Ducking out of the double, glass doors of the hotel and heading onto the sidewalk. More cops were outside. Two patrol cars, with another arriving. The ambulance waited to the side, with its back door open. Hunter’s gaze swept the area, looking at all the buildings, at the people who lingered. Plenty were filming with their phones. He stalked back toward the corner, where Shelby had been moments before. He needed to get her hearing aid for her but…

Shit.

He found it. In pieces.

He spun around, glaring. He replayed the scene on the street in his head, over and over.

Shooter was not close to Shelby. I saw the people around her. No guns were drawn. They were all waiting. Waiting right here, in the perfect position to be picked off…

“Sir.” A female cop approached him. “Sir, this is an active crime scene.”

His gaze lifted from the street. Rose to the buildings near him. Some were damn tall, with intimidating facades that drifted high into the New Orleans sky. But…

His focus shifted to a building across the street. Maybe four stories high. With a flat roof. A building currently sporting a FOR SALE sign. The place seemed to be crumbling while the locations near it were flourishing.

If he were going to wait for prey, if he planned to take out a target, he’d choose a spot just like that one. A place where he’d be isolated. Unseen. A place that would give him the perfect vantage point.

But I’d have to know where my target was going. I would have to know…

Know that she’d intended to visit Hunter’s new PI office. Know and then wait. Wait for the perfect moment for her to come out. For her to get stopped because the trolley followed a schedule.

Then you just aim and fire.

Only, she’d turned. At the last moment, she’d turned and taken a step because Hunter had caught Shelby by surprise when he called her name. If he hadn’t followed her from his office, if he hadn’t chased after her…

Would she be dead in this spot right now?

“Sir, if you are a witness, I need to ask you questions.”

He pointed toward the four-story building. “You need a team over there, searching right now. Go to the roof.”

She sidled closer to him. “Excuse me?”

“The shooter was most likely on the roof. Targeted shot.” Shelby had been the target. “Get a team in that building. Search every inch of the place. He might even still be inside.”

Her shaking fingers hauled out her radio. “You saw the shooter on the roof?”

“No,” Hunter gritted. “I was too busy protecting my—” Careful. “My client. I was protecting my client.”

“Who are you?” Her neck angled, her head jutted a bit toward him, and her gaze turned suspicious.