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“Hang on for me, Cohen. You’d better hang on, or I’m going to kick your ass. And you know I can do it too.”
She couldn’t bear to see the sympathetic look the paramedic gave her, so she closed her eyes and prayed for Cohen to pull through and for BB and the police to find the SOB who shot him.
∞∞∞
BB wasn’t surprised when Jay answered the phone after the first ring.
“What the hell happened?”
BB rubbed his free hand down his face, fatigue setting in now that his adrenaline rush had faded. “I’m not exactly sure. The wedding started without a problem. Gennessey spotted the gunman first. I saw her looking toward a corner of the yard. I turned around to see what she saw, and the sun glared off the barrel of a long-range rifle. The shooter was hidden. Gennessey and I shouted warnings, and all hell broke loose. I went in pursuit, and she followed. They must have had a car waiting somewhere nearby but out of our line of sight. The shooter wore dark clothes and a ball cap. Tall, tanned skin, possibly Latinx. From that distance, I couldn’t be sure of the gender or weight and height. Bastard was fast though. And a hell of a shot. Gen’s cousin got nailed in the shoulder, dangerously close to his heart. With the blood loss, the bullet probably nicked an artery. There was no exit wound, so if they can stabilize his condition, he’ll probably need surgery to remove the bullet.”
“So, the cousin was the target?” Jay asked.
“Appears so. I can’t think why. He’s an artist. A solid guy. No evidence of shady activity the whole time I’ve been here. Gen knows him about as well as anybody, and if she suspected something was up with him, she didn’t mention it. I don’t know. Something’s off, man. I can’t put my finger on it.”
“Could be someone in the family, and he was just collateral damage,” Jay pointed out.
“Possibly. I don’t know, though. Her family’s big, so anything’s possible. But they seem like good people. Loud and nosy, a little opinionated, but not the type of people to have a sniper crashing a private ceremony at the grandparents’ house.”
“Anyone else hurt?”
BB exhaled and turned back to face the house where everyone had gathered. “I don’t think so. Just shaken up. It’s a wonder though. From that distance with so many people here, the slightest miscalculation, and the bullet could have hit anybody. Even G…” The thought stopped his heart for a moment as he choked on her name.
“BB, you okay? Something happening with you and Gennessey?”
A denial hovered on the edge of his tongue, but before he knew it, he blurted out everything. “Yeah. It did. And I hope it keeps happening. But if she had been the one to get shot, I don’t know…I mean, I don’t think…damn, I can’t even say the words, man.”
“I’ve been there. She needs you to keep your head in the game. Are you up for it?”
He nodded though his boss couldn’t see the move. “I’m up for it. I promised her I’d coordinate everything, and I’ll keep that promise.”
“Good. Backup’s on the way.”
The tenseness left his shoulders. He knew what that meant, and it was what he hoped to hear from Jay. Backup was coming in the form of his teammates — Cole, Zane, Sam and Wings. They would try their best not to step on the local detective’s investigation, but when one of their own or a loved one was threatened, they couldn’t stand by without trying to take down the threat.
“What else do you need?” Jay asked.
“I don’t know at this point. The cops should be here any minute. I’m going to give a statement and help clear out the guests. Then I’ll head to the hospital to be with Gen. Cohen was her best friend as much as he was family. This is going to hit her hard. And his bride is a mess. He pushed her out of the way during the gunfire.”
“She was in the line of fire?”
BB paused. “Well, Gen pushed Cohen, and he pushed Autumn. It’s hard to say just who was in the line of fire. But Cohen was hit in the shoulder.”
“Not a kill shot,” Jay pointed out.
“Unless they were aiming for his heart but missed because Gen pushed him.”
“Or they got him because he pushed the bride out of the line of fire.”
“No way,” BB protested. “I mean it’s possible, but why the hell would someone target her? I mean, I don’t know her very well, but if I know Gen, she had Autumn checked out the minute she suspected Cohen was serious about her. If there had been a red flag of any kind, she would have put a stop to the wedding. I’m sure of it.”
“Doesn’t mean this isn’t connected to her or her family in some way. Look, you coordinate with the local LEOs. I’ll have Owen and Isobel run checks into Cohen and Autumn to see if anything shows up. You bring the team up to speed when they get there. Let them do the groundwork. Your job is to be there for Gennessey. Let us handle the rest.”
“Once the shock wears off, she’s not going to want to be left out of the investigation.”
“We won’t leave her out, but family comes first. She needs to be there for them, and I’m ordering you to be there for her. She’s going to need someone looking out for her.”
BB sighed. “You’re right. I just hope she lets me take care of her. She’s not exactly been open to it in the past.”
