Page 16 of Outlaw Ridge: Hayes

Hayes huffed. “I’m not the target. You are.”

“True, but you can’t convince me that if someone starts shooting at me, you won’t jump in front of me the way that you did last night in the parking lot of the police station.”

He frowned because she was right. “The helmets limit visibility,” Hayes grumbled. “I like to be able to check my surroundings.”

“Hard to check surroundings if a shooter blows off your head,” Jemma grumbled right back.

Knowing this was an argument he wouldn’t or shouldn’t win, he tapped his earpiece to turn on the audio to Aiden. “I need a second vest and helmet. You put on a set, too,” Hayes added, causing his brother to huff. “Satisfied?” he asked Jemma.

“About this, yes,” she answered, ignoring his sarcasm. “But I can’t say I’m pleased about much of anything else.”

He made a sound of agreement, and about a minute later, there was a knock at the door. “It’s me,” Aiden said.

Hayes opened the door, pleased that his brother had already donned the vest and helmet, and Aiden held out their gear. Jemma must have been trained on how to use the equipment during her time at the academy because she got both on without any hitches.

Once Hayes had put on his gear, he didn’t waste any time getting Jemma out of the house and into the cruiser. The helmets came off once they were inside since it was hard to drive or keep watch around them while wearing the damn things. Jemma and he tossed them on the seat between them before she drove off. However, they’d barely made it out of the driveway when his phone rang.

“It’s Ruby Maverick,” he relayed to Jemma, and he took the call on speaker. “Hayes,” he answered. “You’re on speaker, Ruby, and Deputy Salvetti is with me.”

“Good,” Ruby said. “I can tell Owen that you two are still joined at the hip,” she added in a muttered voice. “And speaking of Owen, he’s going to be all right with medical attention and some recovery time.With medical attention and some recovery time,” she repeated.

In the background, Hayes could hear Owen, and his boss seemed to be objecting to something. That objection soon became crystal clear. “I’m not staying in the hospital,” Owen snarled.

“The man is hard-headed,” Ruby grumbled. “And he’s insisting that he get patched up so he can return to work.”

None of that surprised Hayes, and it also gave him a whole lot relief. If Owen was arguing with the medical folks and clamoring about returning to the job, then maybe that meant the injury wasn’t that serious. Well, hopefully it wasn’t.

“How is Owen?” Hayes asked Ruby, just in case Owen was downplaying his injury.

The woman huffed. “He has a gunshot wound to the shoulder and has lost some blood,” she said but didn’t get to add more before Owen called out.

“I’m fine,” his boss insisted. “Tell Hayes and Jemma to get back to the inn and question the hell out of Duane. The man’s heading there now, and I want to know if he gave the order to one of his fuckwits to shoot me.”

Ruby sighed. “Hayes and Jemma, I’m guessing you heard that?”

“Yes,” they answered in unison, and Jemma took the turn that would get them back to the inn.

“No, I’m not giving you your phone,” Ruby snapped to Owen. “They’re trying to clean and examine that gunshot wound along with determining if you have any bone or nerve damage. They don’t need you holding your phone while they’re doing that. I can relay anything you need me to say.” Hayes heard some mutterings, and then several moments later, Ruby spoke again. “He’s worried about Jemma and wants to know how her interview went with her stepmother.”

Hayes was worried about Jemma, too. “Joined at the hip,” he repeated. “I’ll keep her safe. As for the interview, it went aboutas expected. Cordelia denied murdering anyone and whined a lot about being harassed. The next step will be to bring in her spawn, Brooks, and listen to him whine while Jemma and I try to figure out if he’s a lying assed killer.”

Another sigh from Ruby. “All right. I’ll relay all of that to Owen.”

“What about the scene of the shooting at the school?” Hayes asked her. “Who’s managing that?”

“The county CSIs and two members of my forensic team who’ll assist them. I’m also sending out several of my operatives to provide security to the responders and help assist in finding the shooter. They should all be in place by now, and we might have some preliminary info soon.”

Good. Ruby’s team, Maverick Ops, was just as solid as Strike Force, and if the shooter was long gone or well hidden somewhere on the grounds, the operatives might still be able to locate the SOB.

“Do the CSIs and forensic team have authority to search the school or Duane’s residence?” Hayes pressed.

Ruby sighed. “Not yet, but I’m working on it.” In the background, he heard Owen arguing, probably with the medical folks. He also heard Ruby’s sigh. “Gotta go. I’ll let you know about the search of the school and any updates on Owen’s condition,” Ruby tacked onto that before she issued a goodbye and ended the call.

Jemma released a long, slow breath, and Hayes figured it was one of relief. If Owen could argue with his personal partner and the hospital staff, then his injuries probably weren’t life threatening. Still, someone had tried to kill him, and that someone likely wasn’t just giving up on either Owen or Jemma.

Hayes fired glances around when Jemma pulled into the parking lot of the inn. No signs of a sniper, but Owen had likelybeen on the lookout for the same thing right before someone had shot him.

And that brought him to something he’d been thinking about.

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