“Aspen and the boys were so frantic to get you to safety that they rightfully didn’t pursue the car,” Tate went on, taking Havana’s hands in his. “But we’re about to watch the video feed from the outdoor cameras. Dawn’s accessing it on her laptop now.”
“It’s almost ready to view.” Dawn gave her a tremulous smile, standing at the edge of her desk, her fingers poised above the keys of her laptop. “I’m so glad you’re okay, hon. I have to admit, you gave me quite a scare.”
“With any luck, we’ll see the face of whoever fired the gun,” Tate added. “Then I can kill him.”
“I kind of want in on that.” Havana had plans to make the asshole suffer.
“Yeah, I thought you might,” said Tate.
“We all want in on it,” Aspen chimed in. “Even Corbin, who’s scowling at you like you peed all over his shoes.”
“You took ten years off my life, Havana,” Corbin grumbled, as if she’d jumped into the line of fire for the sheer fun of it. “Bailey near lost her damn mind, so it’s a wonder she drove us both here without wrapping the car around a freaking tree.”
Bailey made a pfft sound. “Says the man who kept nagging, ‘Can’t you go any faster?’”
“And we’re ready,” said Dawn, setting the laptop on the coffee table, the screen facing the sofa. “I rewound the footage to the time Havana left the building, and I’ve brought up footage from both camera one, which is aimed at the street, and also camera four, which points at the parking lot. There’s no audio, by the way.”
Everyone gathered close to watch the two perspectives playing. The camera system was evidently good quality. The view wasn’t in the slightest bit grainy as a black Charger with blacked-out windows drove down the street, slowing as it reached the shelter. The front passenger window lowered, and the barrel of a gun poked out of it.
Havana’s stomach pitched as she glanced to camera four’s view and saw her body jolt. She swayed and then dropped to her knees while the car sped away. Watching the screen, her devil let out an eerie growl.
Beside her, Tate bit out a harsh curse. “Replay the footage from camera one, Dawn. This time, zoom in on the Charger. I want the license plate number, and I want a clear image of that fucker’s face. The angle’s just right. I caught a quick glimpse of him just now.”
Havana joined the others in leaning forward as the footage replayed. Dawn paused it and zoomed in, allowing them to read the license plate. Then she zoomed in even more, and Havana found herself looking right at her motherfucking shooter. Well, sort of. He was wearing a balaclava, but she could see those piercing, ice-blue eyes clear as day.
“He just had to cover his face, didn’t he?” grumbled Luke. “I can’t see the driver from that angle.”
“He probably wore a balaclava too,” said Farrell.
Aspen bit her lip. “Although it’s not the same car that was at the motel, it could be the same shooter. Maybe even the same driver. They’re either the jaguars or lone shifters, since Gideon likes to use loners to do his dirty work.”
“I don’t think they’re Gideon’s jaguars,” said Havana. “I think they’re cheetahs.”
Everyone glanced at her.
“Why cheetahs?” asked Tate. “You think you recognize the shooter?”
“No, but … well, it’s weird. This morning, I watched a clip on the news about a full-blooded cheetah who attacked a zookeeper. Later on, I saw a guy wearing a cap that had a cheetah’s head on it. And then I met a little girl here today who has a plush cheetah toy.”
Bailey nodded. “Then our boy has gotta be a cheetah.”
Tate raised a hand, his gaze on Havana. “You’re honestly basing your belief that the shooter’s a cheetah on the simple fact that, three times today, a cheetah somehow featured in it?”
“Well it makes sense,” said Havana.
Aspen hummed. “I’d have to agree.”
Tate gave a quick shake of his head. “Right. Well, whatever.”
Havana looked at Dawn. “I’d really like to thank the person who saved my life today.”
“I’ll take you to her.” Dawn worried her lower lip. “I shouldn’t have asked you to keep teaching the classes.”
“Don’t take on the weight of this,” said Havana. “If they hadn’t targeted me outside here, they’d have done it somewhere else, and there might not have been a healer close by like there was today.”
“She’s right,” Corbin told the cougar. “The blame’s not yours.”
“Havana, you need to be careful from here on out,” said Bailey. “Whoever was in that Charger either followed you here or knew where you’d be.”
“No one followed her,” Deke asserted, speaking for the first time. “We’d have clocked them.”
“Then someone knows my routine,” said Havana, her stomach churning.
“Now’s the time to change it,” Tate told her. “Take a different route to and from work. Switch up your schedule. And don’t go too far from home.”