Page 2 of Fatal Intent

“Can’t remember.” Selena’s voice trailed off, and her head lolled to the right.

“Hey.” Grant raised his voice, fear gripping him with firm claws. “Selena, can you hear me?”

Nothing.

“Come on, Sellie. Stay with me.” Ice water flowed through his veins when he realized she was no longer breathing. “Sellie!” Grant began CPR on her, praying EMTs arrived soon.

Three minutes passed before EMTs ran into view. “What do we have?” the older one asked as his partner took over for Grant.

“A 30-year-old victim with a gunshot wound to the chest.” Grant used his forearm to wipe beads of sweat from his forehead. “I found her like this six minutes ago, used compression to stem the bleeding, then had to perform CPR when she stopped breathing.”

“Are you an EMT?”

“Nope. Used to be a cop.”

A police cruiser skidded to a stop at the side of the road, blue and white lights flashing. The officer bailed from the vehicle and jogged toward Grant, Selena, and the EMTs. “What do we have, Keith?” he asked the older EMT.

“Gunshot victim.” Keith inclined his head toward Grant. “He found her and called it in.”

“Did you see the shooter?” the cop asked Grant.

He shook his head. “I heard her moan while I was jogging by here. I found her behind the bush a minute later and called for help.”

The officer scanned the area and spotted Grant’s weapon. “Does that belong to the perp?”

“It’s mine.” Grant kept his hands visible.

“You always run armed with a weapon?”

“I’m always armed, period. I used to be on the job.”

“Ace, we need to take the vic to the hospital. We’ve got a pulse now, but she’s critical.” Keith glanced at Grant. “You know her name?”

Yeah, this was going to be bad. He sighed. “Selena Baker.”

Ace’s hand rested on his weapon. “Take Ms. Baker to the hospital, Keith.”

A minute later, the ambulance left the scene with Selena on board.

“Do you have other weapons on you?” Ace asked as another officer joined him. The second cop had his weapon out and ready.

“A backup piece around my right ankle and a knife in a sheath on my left calf.” Grant hoped one of the Fortress lawyers was available. From the looks of things, he might need legal representation sooner rather than later. In fact, he’d be lucky not to wind up in a holding cell before the night ended.

Ace glanced at the other officer. “Watch him.”

“Yes, sir.” The second cop aimed his weapon at Grant.

The senior cop retrieved the rest of Grant’s weapons and handed them to his partner. Ace eyed Grant as he grabbed his handcuffs. “I’m cuffing you for your protection and mine. You’re being detained, not arrested.”

“I know the drill.” Grant allowed Ace to cinch the handcuffs around his wrists

“Let’s go to my cruiser and talk.”

Talk. Another term for interrogate. So much for running from the nightmares. He’d run right into one.

Grant walked between Ace and his junior partner. When they reached Ace’s cruiser, the officer opened the back door and motioned for Grant to slide inside.

“I’d rather answer questions outside the cruiser.”