Building Ties (Military Romantic Suspense) (SEAL Team Heartbreakers Book 4) (38 page)

Kipfer gasped for air. “You fucking shot me.” He strained to get the words out, as if the air had been knocked out of him. Two circles of blood spread slowly across his shirt high on his chest.

“Lie still until the cops get here.”

Janet popped up from behind the service bar, cell phone in hand. “Call nine-one-one and tell them we need an ambulance,” Brett ordered.

Customers started rising from their crouched positions. Some of them clung together in groups. One woman was sobbing.

The woman who’d hidden behind the piano touched Tess’s arm. “You’re bleeding.”

Blood dripped from Tess’s fingertips onto the wooden floor.

*

Brett paced back
and forth just outside the ambulance while the paramedic bandaged Tess’s wound. His head was about to explode. He’d been so fucking cocky, riding high on having taken down the fucker. Relieved that she’d still been standing. And she’d been shot! “Are you sure you’re all right. Jesus, you were hit and I didn’t even know it.” He glared at a driver rubbernecking while he passed the ambulance. Yeah, be sure to get a good look, asshole.

“I wasn’t shot, Brett. I was grazed.”

“Grazed is shot, Tess.”

“You’ll probably need a tetanus booster, but no stitches,” the paramedic said. He taped the bandage in place. “And he’s right, you were shot. You are very lucky.”

Brett raked his fingers over his hair. “I could have gotten you killed. I should have pulled the trigger sooner.”

“Are we done here?” Tess asked the EMT.

“Yeah, unless you want to go to the hospital.”

Tess threw him a look. The paramedic grinned. “You’ll need to see your regular doctor sometime today. He may want you to take a round of antibiotics just to be sure you don’t develop an infection.”

How the fuck could the two of them act so fucking calm?

Tess signed a waiver releasing the EMTs from transporting her to the hospital. Brett stepped forward to offer Tess a hand as she climbed down from the ambulance. He gathered her close, his arms tight around her. He was still shaking from a combination of adrenaline and fear for her.

Tess hugged him back. “You saved my life, your own, and possibly several other people’s, Brett. Marcus Kipfer didn’t care about himself or anyone else. The only thing he cared about was getting whatever it is that Mary took from the office and his next hit of cocaine. The other paramedic said he was high. And he had a vial of cocaine in his pocket.”

“How the hell did you recognize him? He sure as shit didn’t look like his mug shot. He must have used that stuff Zoe got from the spa to cover his tattoos.”

“And shaved his beard. I’ve seen him before.”

Brett frowned. “Where?”

“In the checkout lane at the grocery store, the day we went there to interview Gordon. At the restaurant when we did the sampling for the rehearsal dinner, and I thought I saw him at the coffee shop when we met Hart and Buckler after Mary’s funeral. Each time I was distracted by other people. He was hiding in plain sight. Without his tattoos he just blended into the background.”

“He had to be the one who shot at us in the parking garage. He must have followed us to Hamilton’s office.” Brett shook his head. “Damned if I’ve ever noticed him before. But today? How did you recognize him today?”

“He heard what you said as you came toward me and his expression changed. Something about his eyes—I just knew who he was. And he was drawing his gun.” She shuddered.

Jesus, he’d walked right past him. The guy could have shot him in the back. “You saved my life. I wouldn’t have known he was there if you hadn’t warned me.”

“I didn’t. I couldn’t even speak. I just froze.”

Brett’s arms tightened again. “We need to work on that, Tess. When someone’s waving a gun around, you’re supposed to take cover.”

She laughed. “I promise to do better next time.”

What was he saying?
“Jesus, honey. I can’t believe I even said that.”

“If you’re finished with the EMT, we could use some help in here,” Detective Hart said from the doorway of the café.

Seriously? That was definitely a first.
“We better take him up on the invite before he changes his mind. Or have you lost interest after all the excitement?”

“Not a chance. I want
us
to find whatever it is that Mary hid here. You haven’t told them where to look yet, have you?”

“Nope.” She deserved her moment of discovery after everything she’d been through. “Let’s double-time it in there before they change their minds.”

As they entered the shop a crime scene tech handed them each a pair of latex gloves.

“How’s your arm?” Buckler asked.

“It’s just a flesh wound,” Tess said with a smirk.

“Tess!” Brett couldn’t believe she was so fucking cavalier about it all.

“What? If it was you with the nick, you wouldn’t be able to stand it until you said the same thing.”

Buckler laughed. “She’s got you there.”

Brett cradled his head in his hands.

Hart sidled up to them. “Kipfer is in surgery. We’ll know something soon. The docs give him a good chance of survival.” He eyed Brett. “You could have killed him. You’d have been justified if you had.”

He was trained to kill. A double tap to the head and take them out. “It was something someone said in an interview with Tess recently. I figured Kipfer deserved to think about what he’d done for a long, long time, instead of taking the easy way out. With the police car out front and me in here, he knew he wasn’t getting out for free. He wanted me to kill him. I didn’t want to let him off that easy.”

“Since you two laid the foundation for the case, we thought you’d want to be in on recovering the evidence. If there’s evidence to find,” Detective Buckler said. “I’ve okayed it with my Captain, but we’re bending the rules, so this is off the record, Tess.” He flashed Tess a frown.

“Okay.”

“Where did you think Miss Stubben might have hidden something, Brett?”

“I bet I know where it is,” Tess said.

Brett nodded. “Lead the way, honey.” Tess moved around a glass display cabinet and went directly to the heavy antique typewriter.

Tess looked up at him. “It’s the only piece in the room that would have meaning for us both.”

He nodded. “You’re one smart lady. And tough, too. I’ll raise it for you.”

Buckler motioned to one of the crime scene techs. The man rushed forward to take photos. Brett grasped the front of the typewriter and lifted the heavy machine.

“There’s an envelope underneath,” Tess said, her eyes suspiciously bright.

The technician took pictures again.

Tess reached under the machine and pulled out a wrinkled business envelope. She peeled back the flap carefully, then tugged some papers free. Between the layers lay another flash drive. She slid it out into her palm and then slid it into the plastic sleeve the crime tech held out to her. “Will you let me know what you find?” she asked.

“We’ll let you know,” Hart agreed.

Tess opened the sheets of paper and read a few lines. “They’re emails printed from Frye’s business computer arranging payment for services. Not construction services, but intimate services performed by a prostitute named Cher. He’s asking her if she’s approached her boyfriend Marcus about the job.” She glanced up at Hart. “You never said anything about her being a prostitute.”

“There is supposed to be a divide in the information shared between the police and the press, you know.”

She raised a brow. “I’ll remember that next time.” She returned her attention to the emails.

Brett crowded close and read over her shoulder. He placed a comforting hand on her when he read the next message.

Tess folded the sheets carefully and placed them back in the envelope. “He solicited Kipfer to use his driving skills to get rid of a problem.”

“You’re not going to read them all?” Hart asked.

She shook her head. “I’ve read enough.” Tears ran down her cheeks. “Mary obviously didn’t realize it, but she printed out the evidence that Frye arranged her murder.”

‡

T
he air was
lush with the rich scents of coffee, garlic, tomatoes, and herbs. The small banquet room off the main dining area of the restaurant barely contained the wedding party. But their friends and family seemed to be enjoying themselves, and the food had been wonderful. It was a twofold celebration. Frye had been arrested, and Marcus Kipfer was singing like a bird about everything to try and avoid the death penalty. All of Mary Stubben’s suspicions about her boss had proven to be true. Frye was going down for her murder and also the death of the two men on the Brittain construction site.

But still Tess fought the urge to massage her throbbing temples. The moment Ian had shown up,
late,
for the rehearsal, the headache had kicked in. It was so typical for him to be late and make an entrance. The pain had worsened the longer she’d had to suppress the urge to strangle him during the practice ceremony.

And she still hadn’t gotten beyond how he had humiliated her professionally before an editor of the Washington Post. Why would he do it?

Ian leaned forward to talk across the table to her mother and stepfather, Milton. Now they were no longer married, her parents seemed to have buried the hatchet. Despite the fact she’d like to bury one in Ian’s head herself, she was glad they were getting along, and seemed determined to do everything they could to make her wedding about her instead of the past.

Zoe and Hawk sat beside Ian, Clara and Russell on the other side. They seemed entertained by whatever he was saying. He knew how to mesmerize people. He was magnetic, self-centered, and completely thoughtless.

Brett’s hand moved up and down her back and he leaned close. “What’s going on, Tess?”

She’d been too hurt, too embarrassed to tell him about the Washington Post fiasco, though she was certain he’d sensed something had happened. And now wasn’t the time to tell him.

“I’m a little bummed you have to stay somewhere else tonight. I’ve gotten used to you being there anytime I want to jump you.”

His slow smile reached right around her heart and gave it an intimate squeeze. He brushed her lips with a kiss. “It’ll only be for a few hours, then we’ll be joined at the hip again.”

“I was thinking of being joined somewhere much more intimate.” It was so much fun to flirt with him. It helped take away the stress, especially when Brett’s eyes turned a bright, vibrant blue and his cheeks grew flushed.

Tess sighed. “I suppose we need to get up and mingle a few minutes before the party breaks up.”

“I suppose.”

They left their place at the head of the table and worked their way down opposite sides, sharing a word with each of their guests. Tess hugged Selena carefully. She had just gone through some reconstructive surgery and was still tender. “I can’t wait to see you and the other ladies in your dresses tomorrow.”

“We’re going to be gorgeous. But we’ll tone it down so we won’t steal your thunder,” Selena teased.

Tess laughed. “I appreciate it.”

Greenback brushed a kiss across her cheek and whispered, “Thanks for this. She really needed something to focus on besides the surgery.”

“
I
needed
her
.”

Tess’s mother was emotional but too reserved to show it. She cupped Tess’s face and kissed her. “I love you. And this family you’re marrying into is something special.”

“They are, Mom.”

“I’m so glad you have them here to support you. I’ve always worried about you being here so far from us, without family.”

“Every one you see at this table has my back. I know I can call on them any time. So you don’t have to worry about me anymore.”

“I still will—it’s my job, after all—but I’m more at ease now.”

Tess moved on to hug Milton from behind. “I’m so glad you’ll be walking me down the aisle tomorrow, and that you’re willing to share the limelight with Ian.”

Milton patted her arm. “I wouldn’t miss it, princess.”

Doc and Bowie had come stag, and Tess gave them each a hug. “We appreciate you two acting as ushers.