“You can’t expect me to find him. He was in the woods. He disappeared. I can’t possibly—”
He slowly walked over to Stevie and stood over him.
No...
“How...how do I find you?” Her voice crackled with weakness.
“You don’t. I know you’re a deputy, so that makes what I’m about to say next ironic. Don’t call the police.” He snickered, but then his expression went grim. Deadly. “You won’t like the consequences if you do,” he reminded her.
Bree believed him. She fought to keep her knees from giving out. What kind of deputy was she? She couldn’t even protect her family. He wasn’t intimidated by her in the least—threatening a deputy!
Then, just like that, the man was gone. He left her house as silently as he’d come in.
Bree let herself crumple to the floor and sob, her cries fueled by fear for Stevie and anger at Quinn. That’s why they wanted him—he’d stolen their money.
How could he do this?
* * *
On her knees, she let her quiet sobs free. A hand touched her shoulder. She jerked back ready to defend herself.
Stevie!
Oh, Stevie... She could have hurt him.
“Why are you crying?” he asked in a sleepy voice. “Did you have a bad dream again?”
She sniffled and nodded. Tugged the boy to her and hugged him like she would never let go, sniffling the tears away. She was so glad he hadn’t woken up when that man had stood over him. The man he’d seen in his window and had attributed to a dream. Stevie might never get over that if he truly understood what he’d seen.
How did she make this go away?
Oh, Lord, what am I going to do?
She lifted Stevie as she climbed to her feet, ignoring the slight pain in her ankle, holding him tightly. Her hands trembled, and she hoped he wouldn’t notice that as she carried him over to the bed. Pulled back the cover and let him crawl inside. She had only imagined he was safe in this house and in her bed, and that she could adequately protect him.
She’d been a fool.
“Get some sleep.” Bree kissed him on the forehead. “Good night, sweetie.”
She turned away before he could see more tears. She had no idea what to do now. Desperation flooded her quivering heart and mind.
Think, Bree.
She had to toughen up or they wouldn’t survive this.
The men after Quinn knew she was somehow connected to him. But for some reason, they seemed to believe that he had stolen money and given it to her, a deputy, of all people! It was exactly what Quinn had warned her about. It was all happening like he had feared it would. She was paying a high price for her connection to a guy who said he cared about her, but always left when they got too close.
These men had figured out that she was a way for them to get to Quinn. They would use her to get what they wanted, and she would go along with it because they knew she would do anything for Stevie.
She stood in the shadowed corner of the room where the man had sneaked up behind her. How utterly stupid of her to leave Stevie in here alone while she went to check the house. He’d come into this room while she was gone. He could have hurt Stevie.
Fury snuffed out the tears that might have fallen.
And she’d let that happen. She hadn’t even thought to clear this room—the corners, the area behind the door.
Because she’d been careless, she was now stuck in a situation where she had to track a man whom even professional killers hadn’t been able to locate. And even if she found him, what then? Did she honestly believe that turning him over would secure her family’s safety?
Of course not. She wasn’t that naive. Even if she knew where to find Quinn, they would kill her if she handed him over to them. Maybe Stevie and Dad, too. She’d seen too much. She knew too much.
She eased into the plush chair and pulled a pillow to her while she watched Stevie sleep, oblivious to the danger around him. To the threats against him. She thought back to the life she’d been living only a few days ago.
The warm summer days. The job that had given her satisfaction. A potential for growth. A future. And then Stevie’s birthday party—the one she’d had to reschedule.
“This coming weekend,” she’d told him repeatedly.
But that wasn’t going to happen now. Bree knew what she was going to have to do.
Quietly, so she wouldn’t wake Stevie, she opened the closet and pulled out clothes. She got dressed and headed to the room she and her dad used as an office, flipping all the lights on as she went. No one was going to grab her from the shadows ever again.
Bree sat at the desk in the small office and opened her laptop. The mini blinds were closed so no one could see in the house or watch what she was doing. She started looking for airline tickets. She didn’t care how much it cost; she wanted the next flight out for Dad and Stevie. Dad could take Stevie away to see relatives in Idaho. He’d been talking about wanting to see family there for a while. He’d taken early retirement but freelanced as a programmer, working as little or as much as he wanted. Now was his chance to take the trip. She could offer it to him as a surprise pre-birthday gift, since his birthday was next month.
Or...she could tell him the truth.
Maybe both.
But she absolutely couldn’t risk Stevie’s or Dad’s life while this situation was still so tense and dangerous.
And she had every intention of reporting what happened to Sheriff Garrison.
The truth. All of it.
Even the part involving Quinn, because he was the center of this case. Though she’d been warned not to contact the police by the man here tonight and by Quinn, with this turn of events, she’d be a fool not to make the most of every resource she had.
She pressed her fingertips against her eyes, hoping to stop more tears that surged as the man’s words about Quinn came back to her. The man had actually thought that she’d hidden the money Quinn had supposedly stolen from his boss.
She’d been hurt and shocked at his words. And hadn’t believed them. At first.
But they made sense. Quinn had said that his cover had been blown and he’d gone into hiding to figure out who within law enforcement was behind it all. Maybe the missing money was part of the frame-up...but she had to consider the other possibility, too. Could he have been lying about all of it? Could he have insisted she not reveal his presence because he truly had broken the law?
She didn’t know what was true—except that the danger was very real. Quinn didn’t seem to believe that anyone in authority could be counted on. Was there a warrant for his arrest? She hadn’t thought to look! She hadn’t had time. Maybe he was telling the truth about a dirty DEA agent, and maybe this agent was involved, connected to the criminals somehow, and maybe if the DEA got their hands on Quinn, he could be in danger that way.
But Bree knew that Sheriff Garrison could be trusted. She trusted everyone in her department.
Without a doubt.
Why hadn’t she trusted them to begin with? Because she’d wanted to give Quinn the benefit of a doubt, that’s why. Now she questioned that decision.
A branch scratched the window.
Fear coursed through her again. She gripped her weapon, desperately wanting to check on Stevie again. Peering out the window, she saw nothing, so she headed back to her bedroom. She glanced at Stevie, still sleeping soundly. She released a sigh of relief.
Still... She crept to her window and peeked out.
Quinn stood in the shadow of a tree.
TEN
Frogs croaked from a nearby pond as he waited in the darkness under the tree. Here in this pleasant neighborhood, he could almost imagine himself living a normal life. Going to work in the morning and coming home in the evening to eat dinner with a family he cherished. He imagined himself holding Bree in his arms without
another care on earth.
That was another world. Another Quinn. A Quinn who didn’t have to sneak around in the middle of the night so he wouldn’t be seen.
He couldn’t exactly approach Bree in broad daylight, so the wee hours of the morning would have to do. The curtains moved in the window. She’d seen him. He had hoped he wouldn’t have to actually knock on the front door to get her attention. Now for more waiting. Would she come out to meet him?
The front door creaked open. Quinn jogged quietly over and slipped inside the house, into the brightly lit foyer. He squinted in the sudden brightness.
The house smelled of apples and cinnamon. Of home and love and family. His chest constricted.
Fully dressed as though she’d been up, Bree pressed a finger to her lips, then led him through the house to the garage. After she shut the door behind him, she flipped on the fluorescent lights.
Her eyes wide, she pressed her forefinger into his chest. “What are you doing here? Are you crazy?”
“I needed to warn you.”
“You couldn’t have just called?”
“You’re right. I should have.” He was crazy. “But I wanted to see you to make sure you listened to what I have to say.”
“You’re too late in warning me.” Fear edged her tone.
His heart jackhammered. “What do you mean?”
“Someone was here.” She broke down then. She pounded his chest.
Dread filled him. Her punches didn’t hurt him physically. No, they were much more painful than that. He took all she gave him. Though he wanted to know what had happened, he let her get her fury out. Then when she was done, he held her in his arms. He’d imagined doing this only moments before, but that had definitely been a different set of circumstances—another world. And now he’d dragged Bree into his.
Bree shoved away from him. Stepped back.
“Bree, what happened?”
“Someone was here, Quinn. Someone broke into the house.”
“No...”
“He threatened me. Threatened Stevie. Tell me you didn’t do it.”
“Didn’t do what? Bree, what are you talking about?”
“He wanted to know where it was.”
Quinn stiffened. “Where it was?”
“He said you’d stolen from his boss.”
What... He stumbled backward.
“Is that true, Quinn? Did you steal from them? Is that why they tracked you all the way to my backyard?”
“No. Absolutely not. How could you even think I’d steal drug money?”
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe because you’re running from the law, too. You’re hiding. You were so insistent that I tell no one that you’re here—not even the sheriff. What am I supposed to think?” She pressed her hands against her face as if to cry, but quickly dropped them. “I’ve been such a fool to listen to you. Now when I tell the sheriff the truth, he’ll think I was aiding a criminal. I might even lose my job. Because of you, Quinn.”
Wow. He really was the pain-maker. He hadn’t realized just how important it was for Bree to believe him. To believe in him. How could that be when he’d repeatedly distanced himself from her, knowing that he couldn’t be the man she needed? The friend she needed?
He needed someone to believe in him, though.
And the most important someone in his life was Bree.
“I know it’s not enough to say I’m sorry that someone broke into your house and threatened you, that I brought any of this on you.” He approached her, hands out.
“You stay away from me. You can’t be here. You have to go, Quinn. I’ll figure something out, but he could already know you’re here and come barging into this house. Kill you and all of us.” Her voice pitched higher with her panic.
But how did he calm her? Get her to listen to reason?
“No one is out there. I scouted the area. He was just scaring you, threatening you.” Though he probably would be watching again later. Quinn had very little time. Why had he come here? He’d only put everyone in more danger. Himself included.
She backed all the way to the wall as he approached. The light flickered above them, startling both of them. Entirely too much fear and tension filled this garage. He drew in a calming breath. He had to convince her. Looking into her eyes, he hoped to find something there he could latch on to. Some connection from their past.
“You know me. I would never do that. I didn’t steal someone’s money.”
In her eyes, he saw that she wanted to believe him, but was wary. “Then why did he say that?”
He shook his head as he considered the reasons. “I honestly don’t know. Remember, these are drug dealers. Murderers. You can’t believe anything they say. The way I figure it, someone told them I had stolen the money so that increased their need to find me—and put an even higher price on my head.”
“So you knew about this. You knew they thought you’d stolen from them.”
“No. But it doesn’t surprise me.” This had to be Declan Miller’s doing—the agent he suspected. They were onto him now, so he used Quinn as a scapegoat.
Bree studied him as if she was deciding if she believed him or not. “Is there anything else you haven’t told me?”
That I had a picture of you that was my lifeline in Iraq—and that picture could be what led to that break-in tonight. That I could never get you out of my head no matter how far away I traveled around the world. No matter the darkest places I’ve been. But he wouldn’t tell her that. That information was his alone.
“I didn’t want you to worry. I wanted to get you back here where you’d be safe and then lead the men away.”
“But you haven’t led them away.”
“No, because now they’re onto you. And that means you’re not safe, but you already know that.”
“Which is why you shouldn’t be here.” There it was in her eyes. A softening. Emotion. Connection. It all surfaced. She did believe him.
Why did he put so much importance on that when her life was in danger? Stevie’s and her father’s, too.
Suddenly she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him. Hugged him so hard, he thought he would break. He savored it. It could be the last time he saw her—it should be. He needed to leave her alone. If only he hadn’t come to Coldwater Bay to begin with. But he’d quit rehashing that. It was too late. Instead, he’d just take this moment to enjoy having her in his arms.
When she loosened her grip, he gently held her close so she couldn’t escape and peered into her pretty face. The smattering of freckles across her nose. Her beautiful, compassionate green eyes. He wanted to run his fingers through her mussed red hair. But more than that, he wanted to see that she truly believed him. Believed in him. That she trusted him.
Why he would expect that much after what he’d done to her, he didn’t know. But it was the one thing he needed.
“I promise you, Bree. I didn’t break the law. I’m not a criminal.” He calmed his nerves before she heard his shaky voice. “I can never take back what’s happened. I regret a lot of it—especially that you’re involved now. For that I’m so sorry. More than anything I need you to believe me.”
She nodded slightly and lifted her chin. Her mouth was so near his, her breath feathered his face. And her lips drew him in until he was kissing them. Gently at first, then with more emotion than he should ever feel for Bree Carrington. She grabbed his head and edged him closer, showing him how much she cared, too.
With her in his arms, for this moment in time, she was his alone. He drew in the essence of all that was Bree. He’d kissed these lips before. Memories of kissing her flooded through him. She was a tough deputy, but also an utterly amazing woman. Hope for something lasting between them this time sent a pang through his heart. Hope for something he could never have with her. He had to calm himself and pull away from being wrapped
up in Bree. He eased back slightly, not willing to let go completely. A quiet tenderness passed between them. He couldn’t step away if he wanted to.
I can’t do this to her. Lead her on and then leave her again. I won’t.
And Bree knew that score. She wasn’t likely to play this game with him, which is what left him baffled that they’d ended up like this again, inexplicably wrapped up in a kiss. Desperation and fear had bashed in the barriers he’d put in place.
Neither of them would cross the lines they’d drawn—beyond this kiss. A moment of weakness. That’s all this was.
And he couldn’t afford any more of them.
She broke off the kiss. Appeared to shake off the hold he’d had on her as she stepped from his embrace.
“Quinn... You need to leave.” She appeared to contemplate her next words. “Stevie’s life is in danger if I don’t turn you over to them. If they find out you were here, I don’t know what they’d do. You should go now, Quinn. And never come back. Because if I don’t know where you are, then I can’t tell them.”
* * *
Emotions—the good kind and the bad kind—fought for control in Bree’s chest. She slowed her breathing. Gained her composure.
What had she been thinking? Maybe the desperation in his eyes, the need for her to believe him, had hooked some part of her heart that still clung to him. But that was all her heart. As for using her head, well, she hadn’t. But that’s how she was when she was near Quinn. A woman without a brain.
The way he kissed her just now—like he’d never kissed her in the past—let her know that it had moved him, maybe as much as it moved her. She couldn’t so easily shake how he made her feel.
Even though they could never be a couple. He would never be the man for her.
She took another step back to put more distance between them and clear her head. The pain in his eyes was almost unbearable. “You’re a good man, Quinn. I’m sorry I ever doubted that for even a minute, but I have to think of Stevie and Dad.”
Running Target Page 9
