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“Well, maybe you shouldn’t give her a choice this time. I don’t know what happened between you, or how serious this is, but right now, you need to be her friend more than anything else. I’m trusting you to be that for her.”
“I will,” BB vowed. “Whatever it takes, I won’t leave her.”
“Good. For what it’s worth, man, it’s about damn time you two hooked up. We’ve had bets going on when it would happen.”
“I’ve wanted it to happen too. I don’t mind telling you, she’s it for me. I don’t want to screw this up.”
He heard Jay exhale through the phone. “Then take it slow. Be the friend she needs now and pursue the rest later. Check in once you find out how her cousin is. Call if you or Gennessey need anything.”
“Copy that.” BB ended the call. Forcing worried thoughts about Gennessey from his mind, he moved to the house to go to work and fulfill his promise to her.
Chapter Twenty
Gennessey stared at...well, nothing. Her eyes wouldn’t focus on anything. She had retreated away from the main waiting room where they had been directed once Cohen had been rushed into surgery.
The only thing they had been told was Cohen’s condition was critical. Considering his blood loss, the surgery was risky, but to not do the procedure could mean his death. She needed to be alone in the quiet as she waited and thought through the extraordinary events of the last few hours.
The doctor had told them the surgery could be a while, depending on how difficult the bullet would be to remove and how much damage would need to be repaired.
Gennessey stayed torn between needing to be at the hospital for Cohen and needing to be at her grandparents’ house in the middle of the investigation, also for Cohen. She knew BB would have the investigation well in hand, but this was something she wanted to be involved with.
Despite her rocky relationship with her family, she took this attack personally. She’d never wanted danger or the horrible things she encountered as part of her job to ever touch those closest to her. She believed her career was meant to protect them from the atrocities of the world, even if they were never aware of or directly touched by what she did.
“Hey.”
Her eyes widened as she turned in the direction of BB’s voice. He stood in the doorway of the room she’d hidden in, his tall body leaning casually against the door frame. His smile was gentle, and his dark gaze held a touch of concern. Her tired, tear-stained eyes were glad to see him, but she hadn’t expected to. Not when there was a shooter to apprehend.
“What are you doing here?”
He pushed off the door frame and approached her slowly. “Checking on you and Cohen. Any news?”
She waited until he stopped in front of her before shaking her head. “No. He’s still in surgery. It could go either way at this point. What about the investigation? What’s going on there?”
She half expected him to brush off her question by telling her she had enough to worry about with her cousin. Instead, he took her hand in his and led her over to a couple of chairs. He sat in one and pulled her down to sit in the other.
“The team’s here. Jay called in Tristin, who pulled some strings to convince the police to let us work the investigation with them. Sam and Panther are finessing the detectives to collect the evidence and help them conduct witness interviews. I told them you, Autumn and the others here at the hospital would be available for statements after Cohen was out of surgery. They had enough to get started with my statement, so those could wait. Zane and Wings are chasing down leads. Owen has made it into the command center along with Syd. They’re doing their own investigation. They’ll call if they find anything.”
She pulled her hand away from his. “Why aren’t you there helping them?”
“I wanted to check on you. And Cohen and the rest. But especially you.”
She knew what he wanted to know, but she wasn’t sure she could give him an answer. She wasn’t sure how she was, not when she had too many unanswered questions plaguing her.
“I expected a lot of drama this weekend, but I never expected someone trying to gun down my cousin at the wedding. Why would someone shoot Cohen? He’s an artist. He doesn’t know how to make enemies, much less the type of enemies who would try to assassinate him. They wanted to make a spectacle. They wanted to send a message. But why? My family is full of nobodies. The worst thing you’ll find in a background check is overdue speeding tickets. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“What if Cohen wasn’t the target? What if he was caught in the crossfire?” BB wanted to use his thumb to smooth the confused furrow from her brow.
“What are you saying? You think it was one of the guests? Why risk a public shooting to take out someone when you could just get them on their way home or something?”
“Or the target could have been Autumn or her family,” he said. “Then we’re back to the shooter wanting to send a message.”
She shook her head vehemently. “No way. I checked them out when she and Cohen first got serious. They’re squeaky clean.”
He placed his hands on her shoulders and peered into her eyes. His fingers lightly massaged her shoulders, trying to ease the tension. “You’re right. It doesn’t make sense. But the investigation just started. We’re the best at what we do, so we’ll figure this out. This shooter won’t get away with coming after your family.”
She nodded. “That’s true. Which means we need all heads on deck. I’m useless here, so let’s go. My aunt can always call me when Cohen is out of surgery.”
“Gen.” He pulled her into his embrace. She resisted at first, but not for long. Eventually, she wound her arms around his waist and clung to him. His hands rubbed up and down her back in a steady, relaxing rhythm. “You’re needed here. If you leave, you’ll regret it. I understand the instinct to do something, but your family needs you here more than they need you in the field.”
