Chapter Nineteen
GRANT QUARTERED THE area in front of them as he and Teagan jogged toward the high ground where she suspected the sniper had taken his shot. Teagan ought to know since she was a trained sniper. He’d witnessed some incredible shots by Seth’s wife. It was rare for her to miss her target.
He frowned as they continued to run toward the most likely place for a sniper’s nest. This wouldn’t be an easy shot for a run-of-the-mill sharpshooter. The distance was at least half a mile with variable wind speeds. Good-old-boys with pea shooters wouldn’t hit the target.
So what did that mean for the shooter? Training. You didn’t make those shots through luck. Training was involved.
That led to the next question. Who trained the shooter? His first guess would be military or law enforcement. They were the most logical places to receive professional training of this type.
With her gaze on the ground in front of her, Teagan held up her fist.
Grant stopped and waited for her to give the all-clear sign. In the meantime, he quartered the area, looking for signs of a threat to their safety. Tree limbs danced and swayed in the breeze. Leaves fluttered, drawing his attention to the movement.
He didn’t see any unusual movement as he scanned the hills in front of them. No reflections on a scope. So why did he feel as though someone had them in his sights?
“Grant.” Teagan’s voice was low and soft. “Look at this.”
He crouched beside her and studied the shell casing on the ground. “It’s from a 7.62 x 51mm round.” He glanced at Teagan. “What’s that tell you?”
“Given his accuracy, I think he has professional training.”
“Military or law enforcement.”
She gave a curt nod. “That’s my guess.”
“Where is his nest?”
Teagan inclined her head toward the stand of rocks in front of them. “He used the middle rock as a platform for his rifle. You can see where sand spilled from his shooting bag.”
Grant studied the area again, this time looking for obstructions for the shooter. “How hard a shot is this?”
She turned and looked toward the Bowen house in the distance. “Medium, leaning toward hard. Several people were on the patio, Grant. There was also a lot of movement. Your father moved at the last second and saved his own life. If he’d remained in the same position, he’d be in the morgue by now.”
“He still might end up there,” he muttered. “One shot, center mass. That bullet could have done a lot of damage.”
“If he’s anything like you, Mr. Bowen will pull through. He seems pretty tough.”
Yeah, but toughness didn’t stop bullets.
“At least you’ll be able to show the police where the shooter set up his nest. I would go closer to examine it, but I have a feeling you wouldn’t be happy with me if I did.”
“The last thing we need to do is to disturb the crime scene. The detective would be livid.”
She sighed. “Yeah, all right. I get it. I just hope the cops are good at their jobs. We need every piece of information we can get.”
Goosebumps surged along the surface of Grant’s skin. Once again, he quartered the area, slowly surveying the quadrants.
Teagan eased closer. “What’s wrong?”
“We have eyes on us. You feel them?”
She was silent for a moment. “Yeah. We need to get out of here and back to the house. The cops must be there by now.”
With one last perusal of the area, Grant motioned for Teagan to go ahead of him. The lady would be ticked off if she knew he had put her in the lead to protect her. He could stand that.
What he couldn’t handle was the fury of his team leader if anything happened to Teagan on Grant’s watch. After all the times that Seth saved his life on the battlefield, no way would Grant allow anything to happen to his friend’s wife.
The back of Grant’s neck prickled. Not a good sign. He picked up his pace, closing the gap between him and Teagan. Grant was three strides behind her when he heard pebbles rolling down an incline.
Alarm roared through him in an instant. Without giving himself a chance to second guess his decision, Grant tackled Teagan, taking her to the ground. A split second later, he grunted at the painful burning sensation in his right side.
The crack of a second rifle shot spurred him into action. Grant leaped off of Teagan, hauled her to her feet, and rushed for the cover of a stand of nearby trees. “You okay?”
“I should ask you that question. Where were you hit?”
“How do you know I was?”
She snorted. “Please. You work with my husband. You have almost a sixth sense for danger, and I know you didn’t tackle me for no reason.” Teagan’s gaze dropped to his right side. “Shirt’s torn. Looks like he hit you in the side. Is it a flesh wound or a through-and-through?”
“Don’t know. Haven’t had time to look. Where is he, T?”
“Probably behind the outcropping of rocks to the right. If the shooter’s smart, he’s long gone by now.”
No option but to check it out. He couldn’t leave a threat behind them to strike at will. “Stay here.”
When he started to get up, Teagan grabbed his forearm. “Hold it, buddy. You’ve been shot.”
“The bullet just kissed me.”
“How would you know? You haven’t examined the injury. Look, this is my area of expertise, Grant. Let me do my job, especially since I’m not sporting an injury that could slow me down.”
She was right. He knew it and still hated to send Teagan into a potential ambush. Finally, he gave a slight nod. “Be careful.”
Teagan flashed him a grin. “I’ll be back soon.” Between one heartbeat and the next, she melted into the shadows of the trees and disappeared from his sight.
Grant scanned the area, looking for any signs of movement near the trees and rocks, but saw nothing. The sun was also beginning to set, creating more of a challenge. He remained alert while he waited for Teagan to reappear.
Twenty minutes later, his teammate returned. “He’s gone.”
“Did he leave us anything to work with?”
“Two more shell casings. Same as the first one we found.” She smiled and showed him a bullet casing that she’d dropped in a small plastic bag.
“Since the cops will have two to work with, I liberated this third one. Yes, I used gloves and was careful not to smudge any fingerprints our shooter might have left behind.”
The cop in him balked at her removing evidence from a crime scene.
The operative, however, was glad to have at least one bullet casing to send to a private lab.
Since he no longer had to follow law enforcement protocol, this might be the break they needed to move this investigation along faster.
“Let’s go. The shooter’s in the wind. I don’t want to leave Seth, Andre, and Riley alone to protect my family by themselves.
” He swallowed hard. “I also want an update on Dad.”
“What? No protest over my removing a piece of evidence from a crime scene?”
“I don’t carry a badge these days. I’m happy to cut through red tape to reach a conclusion faster if it will save more people from being injured or killed.”
“Glad you see things my way for once.” Teagan set off for the Bowen home. As they walked, she glanced at Grant. “Something is going on between you and Rayne.”
His lips curved. Something big. He loved Rayne Weatherly more than he could express. “Yeah. Problem?”
“Oh, no. I love it. Just haven’t seen you dating, that’s all. She’s a special woman.”
“Believe me, I know.”
“Serious?”
“Very.”
She stopped walking abruptly. “What does that mean, Grant?”
“I answered your question.”
“Come on. Are you implying something bigger than dating?”
“Would that be a problem for you?”
“Of course not. You couldn’t find a better woman. She’s amazing.” She remained silent for a minute. “How serious are we talking?”
Despite the growing pain in his side, Grant chuckled. “Nosy thing, aren’t you?”
“Answer the question, please.”
“If I had an engagement ring on me, she would wear it right now. I’ll remedy that as soon as this situation is resolved.” Along with a wedding band. He couldn’t wait to see both on Rayne’s finger.
Grant pressed his hand against his side to put pressure on the wound currently dripping blood down his leg. With the way his side felt, the bullet had likely gone through his body.
Not good. He needed to be at full capacity while working this case. Being shot would slow him down, and that could cost more lives.
“How are you holding up?” Teagan asked.
“I’ll need a trip to the hospital.”
“So much for the bullet kissing you,” she muttered. “If you need help walking, let me know.”
“I’m fine.” If you didn’t consider his dizziness and weakness.
“Right.” Teagan draped his left arm around her shoulders and picked up the pace. “Do not make me carry you back to your parents’ home. That would be embarrassing.”
He snorted and wished he hadn’t as pain ripped through his side. “Yeah, yeah. I hear you.”
“I’m just trying to protect your reputation as a big, bad operative, my friend. Don’t make my job harder.”
“I’ll do my best.” Man, being shot hurt.
Nobody told you that when you were training to be a Ranger.
He ought to know about the pain. He’d been shot, knifed, stabbed, and beaten many times in his military career.
Looked like he was starting the same trend with Fortress.
He’d prefer not to go through all of that again if he could help it.
For the rest of the journey back, Grant and Teagan remained silent as they walked the uneven terrain. After skirting around a field of corn, they finally crested the hill and saw the well-lit house with cops milling around the backyard.
“Looks like a circus,” Teagan murmured.
“It’s controlled chaos at crime scenes.” Grant stumbled over a rock and would have gone down hard if not for Teagan’s firm grip. “Sorry.”
“You can buy me a cup of coffee later as a thank you.” She picked up the pace and took more of his weight. “Suck it up, soldier. You’ll scare your woman if she sees you like this.”
She wasn’t wrong. Grant straightened and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.
“This is a crime scene. I’ll have to ask you to leave,” a male voice said.
“We know Mr. Bowen was shot. This is his son Grant. We went after the shooter, and my friend was shot. He needs to go to a hospital.”
“Stay here for a minute.” The cop turned and called for one of the detectives, who hustled over to them. “This is Grant Bowen, Mr. Bowen’s other son. According to his friend, he’s been shot.”
“Help him inside while I call for another ambulance.”
“Yes, sir.”
The young cop went to Grant’s injured side and gripped his arm while they walked toward the back door.
Before they reached it, the door flew open, and Rayne raced outside to meet him. “Grant!”
“I’m okay.”
Rayne gripped his upper arms and let her gaze scan his body.
“Don’t lie.” Teagan glared at him. “He was shot protecting me.”
Seth was at her side in an instant. “Are you okay, baby?”
“I’m fine thanks to this idiot. Instead of calling out a warning, he tackled me and earned a bullet for his trouble.”
“Where were you shot?” Seth asked.
“Right side. I thought it was a scratch, but now I’m thinking it’s a little more complicated than that.” As he finished his statement, Grant’s knees gave out.
“Get him inside,” Seth snapped.
They half-carried him through the kitchen to the living room, where Izzy hurried to cover the couch with a couple of old blankets. When she finished, the operatives laid Grant on his uninjured side.
Rayne dropped to her knees beside his head. “What happened?”
“The shooter was still in the area. Instead of just shooting me and being done with his game, he shot at Teagan.”
“Let me guess. You put yourself between the shooter and Teagan?”
“I tackled her. Just didn’t move fast enough to avoid being shot myself.”
“I’ll kick your backside later for that, but thanks for protecting my wife.” Seth wrapped his arms around Teagan and hugged her.
Grant looked at his sister. “Any news about Dad?”
“Not yet. We haven’t been able to go to the hospital to check on him because the detectives are questioning us about what happened.
However, Gabe has been sending me messages.
The doctor examined Dad in the ER and sent him to surgery within minutes of his arrival.
So far, the most information he’s had is that the bullet did a lot of damage, and Dad is still alive. ”
“You might find out more when you go to the hospital,” Teagan said. “Are the hospital and doctors good ones?”
Isabella stiffened. “It’s the best hospital in the area. No one has complained about it.”
“No offense meant,” she murmured. “I just wanted to know if they’re accustomed to treating trauma cases.”
“We have plenty of crime in the area if that’s what you’re referring to.”
The detective grunted. “We’re working on the crime stats. The most important thing to know is that the surgeon is top-flight. He moved here from New York City. Dr. Lipmann has a lot of experience in dealing with trauma. Your father couldn’t have a better surgeon working on him.”
Maybe. No one was better than the trauma surgeons employed by Fortress Security. They had been in hot zones in the military and with Fortress before retiring from active missions and using their skills to treat operatives and trauma victims once they were stateside.
The detectives stood nearby while the EMTs assessed Grant’s condition. Finally, the paramedic said to the detectives, “We need to transport Mr. Bowen to the hospital. You can ask your questions there after he’s been treated.”
The older detective scowled. “Time is critical.”
“Yeah? So is his health. Take it up with the ER doc.” With that, the two men lifted Grant onto the gurney and rushed him toward the ambulance.
Rayne followed. When they loaded Grant into the back of the vehicle, she said, “I’m going with you to the hospital. I can ride in the back or in the front, but I’m going.”
“Ma’am, that’s not standard policy,” the blond-haired EMT said.
“Today, it is. Someone who’s determined to kill him shot Grant. Everyone near him will be in danger. If I’m with him, I’ll be able to protect him and anyone else nearby.”
Blondie looked at her with doubt in his eyes. “What can you do?”
She smiled. “You’d be surprised. Look, I was a cop for ten years. I know what I’m doing, and we’re wasting time. Where am I going? Back or front?”
“Front,” the raven-haired man said. “Touch nothing. I’ll be in enough trouble as it is. I don’t want to add problems with the equipment because a civilian tinkered with stuff.”
“No tinkering,” Rayne promised. She hurried to the shotgun seat before anyone thought of another reason she couldn’t ride with them.
Blondie hopped into the back of the ambulance with Grant, and his partner shut the doors. Seconds later, the vehicle headed toward the hospital.