Page 13 of Outlaw Ridge: Reed (Hard Justice: Outlaw Ridge #6)

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While on hold with his latest phone call with Jesse, Reed paced outside the door of the radiology unit where Hallie was being x-rayed. Hopefully, he’d know something soon and it would be good news. Like as clean of a bill of health as she could have, considering the circumstances.

Back at the crime scene, Hallie had assured everyone that she wasn’t hurt and had wanted to keep looking for the gunman, but after she’d staggered yet once again from the pain, he’d insisted on taking her to the hospital.

Reed doubted Hallie would be thanking him for bringing her here any time soon, or for the x-rays she was now getting, but this was necessary, and everything else would have to wait.

For them, anyway.

All the other deputies weren’t in the wait mode though.

He knew from the texts and calls he’d been getting that they were working hard to find the shooter and drag his cowardly ass into jail.

Since it’d been nearly an hour since the attack, Reed figured the asshole was long gone, but Shaw, Declan, and the others would try their best to locate his trail.

Despite the gunman’s escape, they’d gotten damn lucky. No one else had gotten hurt in the attack, including the elderly woman who’d been inside the house at the time the shots had been fired from her roof. If she’d come running out, she might have been gunned down.

Lucky break number two, and it was a biggie was that Hallie was alive. He could have easily lost her to that bullet if it’d landed just a couple of inches higher and hit her neck.

Reed wouldn’t be forgetting that anytime soon.

“You still there?” Jesse asked, coming back on the line.

“I am. Give me good news,” Reed replied.

“Sorry, don’t have any. Just got the intel from those doing the canvassing of Sadler Street.

None of the neighbors saw anyone coming or going from Marsha’s place or the roof of that house where the shooter was.

Six people were home, and when they heard the shots, they took cover and called the cops. ”

Reed was glad they’d done that. The gunman had been perched in the proverbial catbird seat so any kind of civilian heroics could have gotten them killed. Still, he wished that one of them had caught a glimpse of the guy.

“We do have some shell casings collected from the scene,” Jesse went on a moment later. “Maybe the shooter was stupid enough to leave his prints on at least one of them.”

“Yeah, here’s hoping,” Reed muttered, knowing that was a long shot. This attack had been planned, which meant the shooter had almost certainly taken the precaution of gloving up before he’d touched the ammo.

“Yeah, here’s hoping,” Jesse repeated, not sounding any more confident about that than Reed had.

“Now, about the Easy Store where Luther claimed he found those pictures. The automatic monthly payment has been coming from an account in the Caymen Islands for the past fourteen years. Only one name on the account. Mary Hollister. I got Griff to do some digging, and he believes the account belongs to Tami.”

No need for Jesse to explain who Griff was. He was the Strike Force tech guy for exactly this sort of stuff. The county crime lab would have eventually found the info, but Griff Abrams could manage it a whole lot faster.

“I’ve texted the news about the account to the sheriff,” Jesse added. “And she said not to shut it down yet. But to monitor it.”

That was smart because it was possible Tami could be using that secret money for other things. Like maybe paying Crowe to create this campaign of her so-called innocence.

“Anything new on Aaron?” Reed asked Jesse, and he glanced at the corridor that led to the patient rooms.

“Nothing more than what we got this morning. When I get a break, I’ll head over there to check on him.”

Reed considered saying that he’d visit the young deputy as well, but with his crappy mood, he wouldn’t be bringing Aaron any joy, that’s for sure. Best to wait another day or so until this nightmare was over.

Of course, he was being optimistic that this would all be resolved in such a short period of time. But for everyone’s sake, Reed hoped it would be. Three people were already dead. Hallie and Reed were injured. And a lot of bystanders had been traumatized. He didn’t want a repeat of any of that.

His phone dinged with an incoming call, and when Reed saw Owen’s name on the screen, he said a quick goodbye to Jesse and answered it.

“How’s Hallie?” Owen asked.

“To be determined. But obviously she’s taking this hard.”

“Yes, she would.” Owen paused, gave a frustrated sigh. “I didn’t know she’d have to face a shitstorm like this when I hired her. This feels like my fault. If I hadn’t brought her into this, she might not be in danger.”

Reed hated this blame game because this wasn’t either on Hallie or Owen.

“I’ll tell you what I told her. It’s the killer’s fault.

And who’s to say he wouldn’t have done this even if she hadn’t become sheriff?

Luther’s article could have been the trigger, and the killer could have come after her, no matter what her job title.

What matters to the killer is that she’s Tami and Kip’s daughter. ”

Owen made a sound of agreement that was still tinged with the guilt he obviously continued to feel. “Just let Hallie know that I’m backing her a hundred percent.”

“I will,” Reed assured him just as the door to radiology opened.

The nurse he’d seen earlier, Bella Cruz, peered out at him. “Sheriff McQueen said you’d be out here waiting. She’s in the changing room.”

“Gotta go, Owen,” Reed blurted, and he went past the nurse and toward the small room where he’d left Hallie to undress for her x-ray.

The door was slightly ajar, but Reed couldn’t see Hallie through the sliver of space so he knocked softly. “Hallie?”

He heard something he didn’t want to hear. A groan of pain. He knocked again and was about to go in when Hallie opened the door.

Yeah, she was in pain all right. That was all over her face. But she was also naked from the waist up.

Hell.

He had no trouble seeing the big assed bruise the size of a fist above her right breast, and Reed stepped in and shut the door behind him.

And that bruise wasn’t the only injury. He saw the others she’d no doubt gotten in their frantic escape from Walt’s house when the roof had collapsed.

He had bruises, too, but they looked minor compared to Hallie’s.

There was no stirring of heat this time though that would normally be his reaction at seeing Hallie’s bare breasts. But any heat was squashed by the pain he knew she was feeling and the anger he felt at the SOB doing this to her.

“I’m okay,” she insisted, turning away from him and holding her arm over her breasts. “Nothing’s broken or cracked. I just got a twinge when I lifted my arm to put on my bra.”

He was betting it was a hell of a lot more than a twinge. “I’ll help you.” Reed picked up the white lace bra and reached around her to hold the cups to her breasts.

She managed a soft chuckle. “I recall you doing this in reverse a couple of times.” Hallie stopped and groaned. “Sorry, it's inappropriate to bring up the past like that.”

“It’s the truth,” he insisted. “I’ve never helped you dress before. Let me know if I’ve got everything lined up.”

Yeah, this was intimate as hell. And no doubt uncomfortable for her. But Reed figured she’d be more uncomfortable the longer she stayed partially naked.

Being as gentle as he could, he eased her arms through the straps, did some more adjustments and hooked her in.

Hallie immediately reached for her top and began to put it on.

Not easily. That bruise was clearly making itself known, and she was clearly trying not to groan out again.

She had her teeth clamped tight over her bottom lip.

With a whole lot of concern, Reed watched her, aware of the pain she was enduring. Hallie took a deep breath, as if still trying to find her balance. Before he could think it through, Reed reached out and took her hand, keeping his touch light there, too.

She lifted her gaze to meet his, her eyes shimmering with a mixture of that pain and something else. The worry. The fatigue.

The heat.

Yeah, that. So, he’d been wrong about it being nixed. Not just for him but for her, too. He could feel it stirring inside, and clearly, it made him stupid because he leaned in and touched his mouth to hers.

Man, that packed a wallop.

Way too much fire for a mere touch. Then again, this was Hallie so a touch was all that was needed.

Reed waited for her to tell him that’d been a mistake. Maybe even for her to chew him out.

But that didn’t happen.

In a move that seemed to surprise even her, Hallie hooked her left hand around the back of his neck and pulled his mouth back to hers. She snapped him closer, and she kissed him.

Not for a touch this time.

This was pure, raw pleasure. The best kind. And it notched up that heat so fast that the sensation went from pleasure to need in a snap. Hell, he forgot all about, well, every damn thing, including how to breathe, and his brainless dick thought this was the best idea ever.

It wasn’t.

Even if they hadn’t been in the middle of an intense murder investigation, Hallie was hurt. She had that fist-sized bruise on her chest, and all this moving around couldn’t be helping with that.

Somehow, Reed managed to get himself to step back just as Hallie must have come to her senses as well because she moved away as well.

Her breath was gusting, and her face was flushed with arousal.

Reed liked that look very much and wanted more of it.

What he didn’t want was the apology he saw forming in the depths of those cool blue eyes.

“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry,” he blurted. “Because I’m sure as hell not. And don’t give me that boss spiel. You and I both know that didn’t play into what just happened here.”