His voice drifted off, and Aaron shared in his brother’s frustration. Looking at the others, he waited.

  “I just talked to Colt,” Sam began. “They’ve interviewed all the guests and let them go. They brought in the lights and searched the beach, finding no prints since the tide had gone out.”

  Brad took over, saying, “I’ve been in contact with Hunter. Colt is on his way here, leaving Hunter in charge of the investigation at the moment. Deputies have cordoned off the entire area, and some will be patrolling overnight to ensure nothing is disturbed. Colt has called for a meeting first thing in the morning, and then he’ll have Ryan’s full report.”

  Andy’s lips were tight, and Aaron knew his brother hated not having found the shooter. More approaching footsteps caught their attention, and Colt walked over, the others shifting slightly to allow the imposing sheriff to enter their huddle.

  “Aaron,” Colt said, “what’s the latest?”

  “They took her back for surgery. She was hit in the upper left side of her chest, but it didn’t damage her heart. No one has come out with another update.”

  Colt dipped his chin. “Can’t say enough how sorry I am. You’ve got our support, and we’ll keep you updated⁠—”

  “I’m not out of this, Colt,” Aaron said. “I want in on the investigation.”

  His statement was met with silence, and his gaze shot around to everyone. Finally, Colt said, “You will be part of the investigation, but Hunter and Brad will take the lead. You’re emotionally invested.”

  He blew out a breath, anger moving through him for the millionth time since the shot had rang out, hitting the woman he cared for. “Was I the target? Was this because of me?”

  “Can you think of anyone who would want to kill you?” Colt fired back.

  Fists on his hips, he let out a ragged breath. “I’ve thought about this constantly in the past couple of hours. No one has a beef with me. Not even from past traffic stops. All I have is a pissed-off ex-girlfriend from last summer. Hardly someone who’d hire a hitman to shoot me.”

  “Name?” Brad asked.

  “Cilla. Priscilla Henderson. Lives in Norfolk. Honestly, I didn’t even keep her phone number, but⁠—”

  “No worries. I’ll find her and can check her out,” Brad said. “No reason to exclude her.”

  Aaron looked at the faces of the people in his life who had his back and was humbled. “Listen, I appreciate everything you all have done and are doing. Go home, get some sleep, and I’ll send out a text to let you know what I find out⁠—”

  “Family of Belinda Crowder?”

  At that, all heads swung to the doctor standing at the surgical waiting room doorway. Bess leaped from her chair and rushed forward. “I’m her sister.” She stopped and looked over her shoulder, holding Aaron’s gaze for a few seconds. His heart pounded, but her expression gave nothing away. Then she waved him toward her. “Come on, Aaron. You’re in this, too.”

  He bolted away from the others and hastened to her side. He felt her shaking and reached over to place his arm around her shoulders, holding tight.

  “Ms. Crowder came through surgery just fine.”

  “Oh, thank God,” Bess said, her hands flying to her mouth.

  “The bullet entered in the upper left chest, missing the heart and the ribs. It passed through the muscles and broke her scapula. She’s been moved to surgical recovery and should be able to be moved to a hospital room in about two hours. I expect a full recovery.”

  “When can we see her?” Bess asked.

  “As soon as she’s moved to a room.”

  Aaron locked his knees to remain standing, breathing deeply. As soon as Bess felt steady, he squeezed her shoulders and dropped his arm. She turned to him, once again holding his gaze. “Will you stay? Please.”

  He nodded. “Not going anywhere, Bess. We’ll see her together when she’s out of recovery.”

  “Thank you, Aaron.”

  “You don’t have to thank me.”

  She smiled at him. “And that’s why I have to thank you… just because I don’t have to.”

  He grinned. It was the first smile he’d offered since he’d held Belinda in his arms as they danced. Bess returned to sit by Hayley and pulled out her phone, undoubtedly to call her parents.

  Aaron returned to his huddle. “She’s out of surgery and going to be fine.”

  Heavy sighs of relief sounded out. “Good news, Aaron,” Colt said, patting him on the back.

  “Listen, you all have my gratitude. More than I can express. But go home. I’ll be here with her.” He stared at Colt, then turned his gaze to Sam. “You, too. I’ll be fine. Take Hayley home, and I’ll stay here with Bess. But I want in on everything. I can’t lead this investigation, but I won’t be left out.”

  Sam glanced at Colt, who nodded. Looking back at Aaron, Sam said, “We’ll find who did this, man.”

  He shook hands with Colt, Brad, and Sam, then accepted a hug from Hayley and watched them walk out the door. Breathing deeply, he knew they wouldn’t stop until they found who tried to kill the woman who’d been in his arms.

  Belinda swam up from the depths of sleep and blinked several times, but the world was fuzzy, and her head felt heavy. She tried to lift her left arm to swipe her hand over her eyes, but it didn’t move. She shifted, able to move her right arm, but found it encumbered and her hand stinging.

  “Hey, sweetheart.”

  The male voice sounded familiar, but as she blinked again, nothing else in her surroundings made sense. Blurry images, strange sounds, and odd smells greeted her.

  “Come on, Belinda… wake up, Sis!”

  The female voice was more familiar, and she forced her eyes open. The blurry image now morphed into her sister, Bess.

  “You’re in the hospital, Belinda, but you’re fine. You’re going to be just fine. I called Mom and Dad and told them. They’re looking into flights to get here.”

  “Ummm… okay…” Her sister’s words were heard but processed slowly. “I’m in… hospital?”

  “Belinda, sweetheart.”

  Her vision was now filled with a man leaning close as her world became less fuzzy. His dark hair stood up as though he’d run his fingers through it many times. Lines appeared deeper on his face. His eyes stared straight into hers, and she smiled. At least, she thought it was a smile. “Aaron. What are you doing here? You look so pretty.”

  Deep chuckles erupted as he squeezed her fingers. “You’re beautiful as always, sweetheart.”

  She rolled her head slightly, and her sister’s face reappeared. Bess wasn’t smiling, and her eyes were filled with worry. Worry and anger. Still struggling to understand what was happening, she asked, “Hospital? Why am I here?” As the words left her mouth, she glanced down to see her left shoulder bandaged, the hospital gown unsnapped on that side. The sting she felt earlier was from an IV in her right hand, and her left arm was in a sling, pressed against her body.

  “Do you remember what happened?”

  Now that she could process the present, the past was still murky, slowly becoming a sharper image. “I… um…” More images began to fill her mind. Twinkling lights. A beautiful sunset. Music and laughter. A girl dressed in white, men in suits, other women in pretty colored dresses. A wedding.

  Then as though the floodgates had opened, the memories came rushing in. Her eyes snapped open wide, and she gasped. “Wedding. I was… taking pictures and—” Suddenly, her head fell back on the pillow. “My camera… where’s my⁠—”

  “I’ve got it, sweetheart,” Aaron said. “Or rather, Sam has it.”

  “Sam? I don’t understand.” Nothing made sense, as though jumbled puzzle pieces were dumped from a box, but none were fitted together yet. She looked down at her shoulder, and realization filtered through the murky memories. She understood something had happened and was in the hospital, but the why escaped her. She felt a little pain, and another glimpse at the IV proved that some really effective pain medicine must be coursing through her body. Her gaze shot back to Aaron. “Dancing. We were dancing. And then, I don’t know. There’s nothing after that.”

  “You were shot, Belinda⁠—”

  Bess huffed, drawing Belinda’s attention back to her sister, who glared at Aaron.

  “Way to just blurt it out! You could’ve eased into it!” Bess accused.

  “There’s no way to make this easier, Bess,” Aaron said, his voice soft and controlled even as Belinda could feel the anger behind his words.

  Belinda couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I was shot? With a gun?” How on earth could I have been shot while dancing at a wedding? Who the hell would want to shoot me?

  “It came from the water, and you and I were at that end of the dance floor. We don’t know who, but I promise we’ll find out.”

  She realized the questions in her head must’ve come out of her mouth since Aaron was giving answers. Suddenly, the idea of a mass shooting at a wedding filled her with terror, and she gasped. “Oh God! Who else was hurt? Who else was hit?”

  “Shh, take it easy,” Bess said, grabbing the call device and fiddling with the buttons. “I’m ringing for the doctor.”

  Belinda’s eyes, now seeing clearly, focused on Aaron’s face, and she squeezed his hand. “How bad was it?”

  “It’s okay, babe. There was only one shot, and it hit you. Everyone else is okay. No one else was hurt. No one else was shot.”

  Her body eased back against the mattress and pillows as the terror ebbed. But in its place, her brow furrowed as she sought his face, more questions pushing forward. “Only one shot? And it managed to hit me? Was someone just being an asshole, and I ended up getting in the way?”

  Aaron moved closer until his face was all she could see. He lifted their clasped hands and kissed her knuckles. “Belinda, honey, we don’t know. We don’t know exactly where the shooter was, what he was doing, or what was on his mind.”

  She watched as a grimace settled into his face, so pain-filled, it hurt her to see and seemed as though it hurt him to offer.

  “I’m so fucking sorry, Belinda. I don’t know if it was a one-off, stupid act by somebody, and you just got in the way, or if someone was trying to take a shot at me and got you instead.”

  The idea that someone was after him pierced her heart much more than the idea of someone randomly creating an act of violence that she happened to be the victim of. Pain gripped her shoulder, and her eyes widened, but she pushed through. “Oh, Aaron, you have to be careful! I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  She watched as his eyelids slowly closed, his facial lines deepened before they relaxed, and his eyes opened again. He leaned forward until his forehead was pressed against hers, his breath puffing gently over her cheeks.

  He opened his eyes and placed a soft kiss on her lips before settling back on the edge of her bed. “You haven’t even asked about your injury.”

  She looked down at her bandaged shoulder again, then returned her gaze to him in silent question.

  “It passed straight through the muscle of your upper shoulder, but it did break your scapula. The doctor will give you all the details but says you’ll heal very well. You’ll need physical therapy to ensure you have full range of motion in your arm and shoulder.”

  A nurse came in and walked over to the bed. “Good to see you awake,” she said. She checked Belinda’s vital signs and said, “How’s your pain on a one-to-ten scale?”

  Probably about a six… ish,” she replied tentatively.

  “The doctor will be in shortly, but he’d ordered IV pain meds for the first twenty-four hours.”

  Turning to Bess, she said, “Tell Mom and Dad to stay in Florida. Grandma needs them, and I’m fine here. Please… I know they must feel torn between me and Grandma, but I don’t want them to. Promise me, you’ll convince them.”

  Bess squeezed her hand and nodded. “Promise.” She stepped out into the hall as the nurse popped something into the infusion pump, and soon, Belinda’s eyes began to grow heavy. Not wanting to sleep before she had a chance to speak, she turned to Aaron.

  “Why were you an idiot last year?” She was no longer concerned about her injury since he’d explained she’d be fine. She was more concerned about him.

  “Because I both pushed you away and let you walk away. I know you said that sometimes people who are right for each other meet at a time that’s not right for them. I hang on to those words because they make me feel like less of a fool.” He squeezed her hand and leaned in close again. “But I’m not a fool anymore, Belinda. I’m going to take care of you, and I’m going to take care of the fucking idiot who shot you. From now on, you need to know… you and me… we’re not just waiting to see what will happen. We’re already there.”

  His words slipped deep inside as her eyes closed, and blissful darkness descended again.

  26

  “What have you learned?” Aaron asked Sam as soon as he was heading to his apartment in his SUV. He left Belinda in the care of her sister as they video-chatted with their parents. Belinda was adamant that they not come since her grandmother needed their care more than she did.

  “The beach was combed, and there was nothing to indicate someone was there. It was carefully searched for footprints last night, but none showed, and since the tide had been up during the wedding and receding during the reception, prints would have been found if someone had been on the beach. Hunter reported that the bullet that passed through Belinda’s shoulder was found. Gotta tell you, partner, that everyone is on this. The room was packed this morning when Colt held his meeting. Even though most of those guys had only a couple hours of sleep, everyone wanted in on the investigation.”

  The weight heavy on Aaron’s chest lifted slightly. “I appreciate that more than you can know.”

  “No one shoots at one of us or one of ours,” Sam said. “And to fire a shot into a group of anyone, including a mass of law enforcers… that shit’s not going to fly.”

  “What kind of ammo was used?”

  “An FMJ. That’s why there was an exit wound, and possibly tells us how far out the shooter was.”

  “What the fuck, Sam? Jesus, this makes no sense. And from a boat? Lucky shot or someone with experience, like a fucking sniper?”

  “We don’t know, and I’m sorry as fuck to say that. I know you’ll talk to Andy, but I can tell you that Ryan has his officers patrolling the inlets, questioning the fishermen and everyone they can to see if anyone heard or saw anything.”

  He had finally pushed Andy and Ivy to go home once they knew Belinda was out of danger. He’d had a short conversation with Andy earlier but hadn’t heard from him since he’d been out on the water.

  “I had an idea and hope Belinda is okay with it,” Sam began, sparking Aaron’s attention.

  “What?”

  “Since her camera was found on the floor of the wedding reception area, I claimed it to keep it safe. But it dawned on me that she was taking a ton of photographs from all different angles. I downloaded the pictures from yesterday’s wedding. There are a little over seven hundred shots, and I have some deputies at the station combing through them. Especially the ones that include the water in the background.”

  Relief flooded Aaron, who was both irritated at himself and grateful that Sam was thinking logically. “Man, I have to get my head in the game. I never thought of doing that.”

  “You need to give yourself a break. You focus on Belinda and let us handle the investigation.”

  “I’m almost home. I’m going to shower and change, and then I’ll stop by the station before I⁠—”

  “No, don’t. You can’t do anything to help here. You need to be at the hospital.”

  “What about our other case? The murder of Bill Gaston?”

  “I’m working on that, too. We’ve got plenty of people willing to jump in and assist. Now, tell me how your girl is?”

  Hearing Belinda referred to as his girl sent an ease through his tense muscles. “She’s awake. Groggy at first and then became more lucid. Asking questions. Was scared as shit that others were hurt, but then confused at why someone would shoot into the gathering.”

  “When will they release her?”

  “Probably tomorrow, which blows my mind.”

  “Yeah… hospitals are influenced by insurance companies who want to cut costs.”

  “Her sister is with her now, and we’re going to trade later. She’ll head home when I get back there this afternoon.”

  “Then that’s where you need to be. Go home, clean up, rest, eat something that didn’t come from a hospital vending machine, and then go back to be with her.”

  “I’ll get her settled back in her place tomorrow. Bess is in the apartment next door, and during the day, she’ll be downstairs in the bakery, and then I’ll come in after work.” He continued before Sam had a chance to disagree. “I would never leave her without anyone, but Ivy and my dad have also offered to stay with her during the day.”

  “Just letting you know that Hayley has also volunteered to stay with her. She can work anywhere with her laptop, so it’ll be no problem. Just put her on the rotation.”

  “Jesus, Sam,” he sighed aloud. “Thank you, and thank Hayley for me. I’ll feel better knowing she has people to help when I get into the station to see what we can dig up.”

  “I hear you, but remember, you can only actively work on the Gaston murder investigation.”

  “Yeah, but being at the station means I can find out firsthand what is going on with her shooting investigation.”

  Sam sighed. “I get it, partner. I really do. Take care, and I’ll call if anything comes up.”

  Disconnecting, Aaron arrived at his building and jogged up the steps. It wasn’t a great apartment, but it served his needs… a place to crash, hang out, eat, and entertain when he needed. One day, he hoped it would be a place to bring Belinda. Right now, he was desperate for a shower and a chance to nap for a few hours before returning to the hospital.