“What? No, Quinn, that’s too much weight for you to carry.”
“You weigh, what—a buck twenty? In the military, I carried a 120-pound pack in addition to the gear I wore, so it’s not like I haven’t done this before.” So what if he was out of practice. Served him right.
“No time to argue.” He shifted his gaze to take her in. Bree was athletic. Strong. Trained. She would make it. Together, they would make it. Quinn would ensure it if it was the last thing he did. “Are you ready?”
She opened her mouth to argue more, but let it go and nodded.
Quietly, they exited the camper. Quinn led her around to the other side where it backed up onto a ridge. Nobody could easily approach from the back side. Still, he looked at the path ahead with the monocular for signs of danger. Morning would come earlier than he would like and expose them. He preferred the darkness so he could stay hidden himself and could more easily see his enemies before they saw him.
His enemies. Now Bree’s enemies, too.
This new development bumped up his timeline to expose the darkness chasing him. He’d waited too long, if these men had found him and come for him, endangering someone he cared about. Both of their lives were in danger now. And more than that, if they made it out of this, their hearts were in danger, too. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt Bree again. That would crush him.
The sooner he could get her to safety, the better for them both.
FIVE
She would almost rather be facing off with bad guys in a shoot-out. Almost. Holding on to Quinn as he made his way over treacherous, terrifying landscape was proving to be a rigorous test of her mettle. But if he could pass, then she could, too.
At least she’d keep telling herself that.
Even in the coldest part of a summer night, sweat beaded on Bree’s brow. At her temples. Along the middle of her back. And worse—on the palms of her hands. As if mirroring her thoughts, her hands slipped apart, and she grabbed his arms before falling completely away.
“Stop, Quinn. Just stop.”
“I can’t stop here. Just wait.”
“I meant as soon as you can. I’m afraid I’m going to slip off.” And fall to my death.
He grunted with the effort of slowly making his way down the ridge. Finally, he positioned himself to release her.
She climbed off and shrugged out of his pack. “It’s no use.”
“You’re not giving up already, are you?” he asked.
“I’m not one to give up. But this isn’t working. There has to be something better than mountain climbing our way to safety. Maybe we could just follow the riverbank. We might run into someone with a boat.”
He offered her water, which she eagerly took, and after chugging half of it, she angled her head. “You hear that?”
“Yeah. A helicopter.”
Her heart skipped a beat.
“They’re searching for us.” God, please let them find Jayce. She hoped they already had. He could tell them where to find her, or at least the direction she’d run.
Her heart sank again as she realized that even if Jayce told them the last place he’d seen her, Quinn had taken them far from where this had all started.
“At night?” he asked.
“Sheriff Garrison won’t give up on finding us, even at night.” And sitting up high on the ridge and above the thick tree canopy, she could more easily see the hint of graying skies as morning would soon dawn. It would be easier for them to be spotted soon.
“In the meantime, we can’t just sit around and wait,” he said. “We have to keep going.”
“We could somehow signal them. Have you got a flare in that bag?”
“No. And even if I did, your sheriff’s department isn’t the only one searching.” Quinn finally took a seat next to her and rubbed the back of his neck. “We can’t afford to draw their attention and bring them down on us. They would kill us before we could be rescued, don’t you understand?”
She tried to push down the rising disappointment. How could she signal the good guys and let them know she was here without letting the bad guys know, too?
I’m here. Look, see, I’m here! Despite Quinn’s warning, she wanted to jump up and down on the rock. Maybe signal with a flashlight. But she couldn’t see the helicopter yet. She could only hear it. She’d wait for that opportunity if it came. Even if her signal alerted the bad guys, at least the searchers would know to rescue them.
Except the sound grew distant until she could no longer hear it.
No...
She and Quinn would have to make it out on their own.
Bree drank more water and studied Quinn. Surreal. Absolutely surreal that she sat next to him now. The reasons why were even more incredible.
“So all this time you’ve been here hiding—literally, hiding—and you haven’t even contacted your sisters?”
He shook his head. “It’s not that I didn’t want to see them. I haven’t been the model brother, I know that. I just...after Mom and Dad died in the accident—” he blew out a breath “—and I survived, I think I struggled to be close to anyone.” He lifted his head enough to peer at her from under his brows.
She read him then. You of all people should know that.
Yes, she did know. She wished things could have been different for him. If his parents had survived, would things have turned out differently for Bree and Quinn? Would they have gotten married and had kids? Would Steve still be alive? So many what-ifs, it could drive her crazy if she let it. Strange how one event could change so many lives. But none of that mattered. What mattered was this moment in time.
And this hurting person next to her.
She wished there were something she could do or say to make it all better, but in the end, Quinn had to work through his issues himself. He’d tried, she’d give him that. Serving in the armed forces, and then working with the DEA. And now she realized that he’d tried with her, too. But he couldn’t give any more. For all his bravery, his guts and strength, the guy was actually afraid to live. What he was doing now didn’t really count as living because, to Bree, without love, what was life?
Quinn was too afraid of losing someone—anyone, be it a wife or a sister—so he couldn’t get close or cherish anyone. He couldn’t embrace life.
But who was she to judge?
She winced. She wasn’t in much better condition herself. Quinn had certainly cured her of her willingness to subject herself to being left behind without so much as an “it’s me, not you” breakup.
Except despite her issues with relationships, no one had ever made her heart pound like him. Even now, sitting next to him in this life-and-death situation, she wanted to be in his arms. Her mind immediately jumped to the kisses they’d shared when dating.
She was so pathetic. Time to shift her thoughts.
“I ran into both Jonna and Sadie on the job once,” she said, referring to his sisters. “It’s been a while.”
“Oh yeah?” He finished his water with one long gulp.
He tried to appear nonchalant, but she could see in his eyes that he craved hearing something about his family. Poor Quinn. Really, he made this life for himself, and she shouldn’t feel sorry for him, but maybe it was more compassion that she felt. She understood his fear. He’d been damaged as a kid when he lost his parents and had never recovered.
“I don’t know if you keep up with them. Call them or anything. I mean, before, when you weren’t hiding. Or if you even showed up at their weddings.”
“I knew they got married.”
Sad.
He flinched at the disappointed look she gave him and she felt a pang of remorse. She hadn’t meant to reveal her thoughts that way.
In return, he tossed her an incredulous scowl. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. I was in the middle of a bad situation and I couldn’t just flit
off to a wedding. Do I regret it? Of course I do. I hated everything about my life then, and, honestly, now. You think I wanted to be holed up here, waiting the bad guys out and hoping for an opportunity to turn things around? But not seeing my sisters get married—sure, it was a high price to pay but that’s the cost of the work I did.”
“Undercover work?”
He nodded. “You really have no idea how ugly working undercover for the DEA can get, but that’s a story for another time.”
Another time? Would they see each other again once he helped her get back to town? She doubted it. And if the criminals they were running from were any indication of how bad it could get working undercover in the drug wars, she thought she might understand—at least a little.
“So you ran into them. How were they doing?” The tone in his voice revealed how much he missed them.
If only Bree could help him find his way back to Coldwater Bay for real, without all this hiding business.
“Well, the circumstances in which I saw them weren’t the best. I was working. Sadie had a run-in with a bad guy. I was there at the end when we arrested the man responsible and took statements. He was involved in maritime drug running and exotic drug schemes. She met her Coast Guard Investigative Service husband that way, though.”
Quinn leaned back on his elbows and drew his face up to the gray morning sky. Closed his eyes as if soaking in her words. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair. Comfort him. But if telling him about his sisters brought him a measure of happiness, she could do that, too.
“And Jonna? What about her?”
“She had come to help protect Sadie. Gage Sessions, the CGIS guy, had called her. She looked good when I saw her. Then, later, she had some bad guys from her past show up at the inn. She and her bodyguard worked that out. Took care of it all. Sorry I don’t have more details, but I’m only sharing what I know working for the sheriff’s department. I can tell you she married the bodyguard.”
“I knew that. I know they live at the lodge on the coast,” he said, “but also run a security consulting business.”
She smiled. “I’m glad to hear that you do try to keep up with them.”
“And Cora, did she run into a bad guy, too?”
“I don’t know. I saw in the paper she got married to someone with NCIS.”
He grinned then. “All three of them married to protective men. I’m glad to hear it, since I couldn’t be there to be the protective brother for them.”
She heard the pain in his voice.
“But you are a protector, Quinn.” She touched his arm, wanting to give so much more comfort. “You’re protecting me.”
* * *
Oh, please don’t do that...
Her simple touch on his arm sent a fully charged current through him. She’d been the one woman he’d wanted and thought he could love for a lifetime. But now after everything, even if he decided to allow himself to love her, he didn’t deserve her. Not after leaving her. Not after what happened with her brother.
Weird how it took all his willpower to keep his hands anchored to the rocks. Keep his arms from wrapping around her and feeling the warmth coming from her body and pouring from her heart, the emotion he knew she wanted to give.
If only he could give back.
He thought of the Bree he’d known in high school. So full of life and energy. They’d had some of the best times two people who were deeply infatuated with each other—maybe even loved each other—could have. She was naive back then, as he’d been. He risked a glimpse at her sitting on the rock, looking on as the sun rose over the mountains, and he took in the beautiful woman she’d become. It could take his breath away if he let it.
And he absolutely couldn’t let it. Had to refocus if he wanted to keep them alive.
He shifted on the rock and stretched. They’d rested long enough.
The sun would soon light up the sky completely, and much too soon. They needed to be far away from their pursuers by then. Once he delivered her to the town and the sheriff where she would be safe, that should be the last time he’d see her. Her law enforcement brothers and sisters would keep her safe. The thought that he wouldn’t see her again weighed on his heart heavier than he’d expected.
Still, he let himself smile. To think he was sitting here with Bree watching the sun rise. He went as far as to let himself chuckle. “You’re a protector, too, Bree. You probably don’t even need me to help you. And if it weren’t for the men after me and now you, then you wouldn’t have seen me.”
“You wouldn’t have come to assist me even if it had been some other kind of criminals?” A little hurt crackled through her soft voice.
A lump grew in his throat. Would he have? “Why should I? You’re a capable deputy. But I just happened to know how utterly brutal those men are. When I watched them on the river with my binoculars, I couldn’t believe it was them. That Michael Jones, the head of the drug gang in the New Orleans area, had actually sent them. I recognized one of his hit men. And then the worst-case scenario happened—I saw the sheriff’s department boat approach and I saw you. My heart couldn’t have beat harder. I was terrified. I knew you were only stopping to assist them. It was easy enough to see their motor had failed. But that could turn deadly and you didn’t know what you were up against. I wish I could have warned you, but it was impossible.”
“After I stopped to assist them, I saw the weapons. Illegal guns. Machine guns. One of the men tried to reach for one and take us out, but I held him off. And then it all went south.” Bree swiped at her eyes. “If only I had listened to Jayce. He wanted to turn around sooner. Get home earlier. Stevie had a birthday party yesterday. I wonder...could Dad have gone ahead without me?” She thrust her head forward and sobbed. “Oh, what have I done? If only we had turned around sooner. I could have been at his party. Stevie and Dad wouldn’t be worried. Jayce, Cindy and Taylor would have been there. He would be okay. Maybe those men would never have found you, but now because you helped me, they’re onto you.”
“I doubt your father had the party without you, Bree. He would have been way too worried. I’m sure the party was postponed. Little Stevie would understand.” Maybe not, but her father would have figured out how to appease the child, even in the face of his worst nightmare—possibly losing his daughter, after he’d already lost his son.
Okay. Quinn was done holding back. He took her in his arms, and she willingly leaned into him and sobbed on his shoulder. He settled her against him, allowing her anguish to wash over him, too.
If only he could remove it completely from her.
They both had regrets. She regretted not turning back. He regretted coming here to hide in the first place. But he wouldn’t bring that up now and berate himself. She had a lot to work through, including processing how she felt about the man she’d killed back there to save Quinn’s hide. Bree could get counseling for that and with help, she’d work through it.
Before she could do any of that, he’d have to get her home and safely back to a family that loved her. What was left of her family anyway, after Steve had died.
And Quinn had left her to deal with her brother’s death alone. He’d doomed himself to always be alone. And because of that, he would allow himself to savor this moment with this particular woman in his arms. She was shattered now, but with time, she would recover. After all, she did have a loving family to return to. Little Stevie needed her, and Bree wouldn’t let him down.
Quinn would do everything in his power to get her back to Stevie.
“Shh,” he whispered. He tightened his hold on her and wished he never had to let go. “You were just doing your job, Bree. You couldn’t have known.”
She sniffled against him, then freed herself from his embrace. Swiped at her eyes. “Sorry for losing myself like that. Some deputy I am.”
“It’s okay. You’re exhausted. You’re allowed to let
it out. Besides, it’s only me. You know me, and I promise to keep your secret, Deputy Carrington.”
“What secret? That I cried on your shoulder?”
He looked at her long and hard and maybe even stopped breathing, then finally, he inhaled and said, “That you’re not as tough as you’d like everyone to think. That on the inside, you’re a softie as well as a wonderful, loving, caring woman.”
She drew in a small breath. His heart ached at the thought of leaving her again.
She peered at him, her beautiful eyes red-rimmed. The way she looked at him—as if she didn’t truly know him—pricked a little. He shouldn’t expect anything more, but for some insane reason, he did.
“The men with the guns,” she said. “I had assumed they were gunrunners. But that wasn’t it at all. They had brought the weapons for their own personal use in their search for you. They’re hit men.”
Ah. Now she was changing the subject. Best for the both of them not to get too personal. He could go along with that.
He nodded. “See what I mean? Brutal.” He pushed from the rock and held his hand out to assist her. “Which reminds me why we need to keep pushing to get you back to safety.”
“And you, Quinn. We can get you back.”
“I already explained to you why I can’t go back. I need to remain in hiding. No one can know I’m here.”
“But I already do.”
He frowned. That could be her death sentence.
SIX
The distant whir of helicopter rotors grew louder, this time drawing closer. Bree whipped her head around to search the sky. There! She saw the bird. This was it. This was their chance! No way would she sit here and do nothing.
She bolted up on the rock, favoring her good leg, and waved her arms. “Hey! Here we are! Please help us!”
“Bree, no!”
“What? I have to let them know I’m here. You can hide in the bushes if you don’t want to be seen.”
“I already explained to you why this is a bad idea. They aren’t the only ones searching. You could draw unwanted attention.”
Running Target Page 5
