“I’ll write the combination down for you,” he told her. “Memorize it, then throw the paper away.”
Her head was spinning as he led her back into the kitchen. So much, so fast. So...everything. The hot coffee settled her nerves but only slightly.
“At least that tells me why Peter and his men are so anxious to find you,” Quinn said, rinsing their mugs and sticking them in the dishwasher. He reached a hand out and brushed her hair back from her face, his eyes drilling into hers as if they could see clear to her soul.
Maybe they can.
“I know you’re scared,” he told her, “but I’m going to fix this.”
“How?” she cried. “You keep saying that but what if you can’t?”
“I’ve been around the block a few times, darlin’. I’m not without resources.”
The knot in her stomach began to loosen, but then something else occurred to her. “You can’t tell anyone about this. About me. Please. Promise me.”
He took both of her hands in his. “I promise you that I won’t put you in any danger. Can you trust me on that?”
She sighed and leaned against him. “Okay. I guess I’ll have to.”
He chuckled. “Not quite the ringing endorsement I was hoping for.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just still so...I don’t know what.”
“I understand, darlin’. I’m not going to let you down.”
“So where does that leave us?” she asked.
He curled his arms around her like a shield, and kissed her forehead. “Right now we’re going to see about your car. Then I’m going to call a man who’s my closest friend in the world.”
She tensed. “But I said—”
“And I said to trust me. Okay? Kate. Darlin’. We can’t do this by ourselves. We need information that I can’t get without tapping into some resources. The first thing to do is find out if that law firm is on anyone’s watch list. And trust me. I can do that very cautiously.”
“But—”
“Just as you decided to trust me, I trust this person completely. If you look in the dictionary under ‘honest’, you’ll see his picture. Let me talk to him. Please, Kate. We need to get a handle on what’s happening. If we’re dealing with a big organization here, he’ll know about it or at least be able to find information for me. And maybe give us some help.”
Kate looked up at him and finally nodded. She hadn’t thought he’d believe her, and now he was willing to stick his neck out for her. To actually help her. The feeling of relief made her weak.
“This is all so insane,” she said, trying to hold onto her control.
“Maybe we both need a little insanity in our lives,” he interrupted. He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs, the roughened pads sliding over the silken skin. A single tear plopped onto his knuckles. “Don’t cry, Kate. Whatever it turns out to be, I’ll make it right. I promise.”
She’d thought she was done with crying, but more tears were gathering, ready to cascade down her cheeks. “What if you can’t?”
“I used to think there were some things so bad they could never get better. I’ve told myself that every day for the last four years.” He kissed her lips gently. “Then you fell into my life and suddenly I thought I had a chance again. No matter how bad this is, or what you’ve done or who’s after you, it’s okay. I promise. We’ll handle it together and I’ll keep you safe.”
She allowed him to pull her against his body, holding her as she cried quietly what she hoped was the last of her tears. Leaning into his chest, she could only think what a wall of strength it was, how secure he made her feel. Before Quinn she’d been filled with a mixture of fear and despair. Now she actually found herself beginning to hope.
When at last her tear ducts had emptied, she found she could actually smile. Reaching up one hand she touched his cheek. “Thank you. For...everything.”
“Everything?” he grinned.
“Yes.” She felt herself blushing and lowered her eyes. “You were pretty amazing.”
“You get at least half the credit,” he told her. He pulled her in for one last hug, then swatted her rear lightly. “Time to get dressed and see about your car.”
Kate had a feeling that problem would be just as difficult to solve as everything else.
Chapter Eight
Quinn had wanted to feed her first, but she was too antsy about the car to eat.
“Later,” she told him. “After the bad news, which I’m sure is what we’re going to hear.”
She got her first real look at Windswept as Quinn drove down Main Street. She hadn’t seen anything of Texas except what was visible from the interstate and she hadn’t been interested much in the scenery. Limestone buildings lined both sides of the street, with crepe myrtles set in tubs along the sidewalk and benches placed here and there for people to sit and chat, maybe share a cold drink or a cup of coffee. She wondered what it would be like to live in a small town like this.
Colorful signs advertised the businesses and the windows were filled with a variety of merchandise. City Hall sat in the middle of Main Plaza, a Lone Star flag snapping in the breeze along with the Stars and Stripes. In fact, almost everywhere she looked, the Texas flag was displayed in some form.
People in casual clothes ambled along the sidewalk and from the outside speaker at The Christmas Store—”Open Year Round”—carols blared loud enough to be heard through the closed windows of the truck.
Mike’s Garage was on a side street, a long cement building with five bays, all of them full. Kate figured the man had a lock on the town business.
Quinn made the introductions, then they stood inside one of the bays, staring at her car up on a hoist, then looking at the tools and parts scattered around beneath it.
Kate’s heart sank. “How long will it take to fix the problem?”
Mike shook his head. “I don’t know who sold you this hunk of junk, but I sure hope you didn’t pay too much for it. You must have been desperate, is all I can say. Forgetting about all the other problems, the engine block’s cracked and a new one would cost more than the car is worth. I can’t guarantee it’ll work even then.”
Kate swallowed against the knot in her throat. She felt Quinn’s piercing gaze on her. “What you’re saying is you can’t really fix it, right?”
Mike shrugged. “If it could be repaired, I’m the man to do it. But this one’s beyond even emergency care. Quinn, I thought you knew better than to let your friends run around in something like this?”
Quinn grunted. “I didn’t have a say in this one.”
Kate saw Mike flash a quick glance at Quinn, his eyes full of questions. “Whatever. So, what are we doing here?”
“All right. The beast is dead. I get it.”
On the short drive to the garage she’d chewed on her situation. Could Quinn truly protect her the way he promised? What kind of ‘resources’ did he have?
Safe!
The word echoed in her mind again. But somehow, the car had been her security blanket. Would she feel as safe without it? What if she needed to leave in a hurry?
Safe, the voice kept echoing in her head. Trust him.
“Kate?”
Quinn’s voice jerked her from her internal discussion. Okay. Time to take the next step. She shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans.
“I need to have a vehicle. No matter what, I can’t be without wheels.”
Quinn took her arm and led her to the side while Mike busied himself elsewhere.
“Darlin’, getting a new car is not important right now. Finding out what’s what with the flash drive and the law firm comes first. And getting these people off your back. Are you planning to take off, is that it?”
Was she?
No! The answer flashed through her.
She shook her head. “No. I’m not... No.”
“Then you don’t need to worry about wheels. If something happens and you feel you absolutely have to have a car, we’ll take care of it then.”
/> Kate sighed. Quinn made it sound so logical, and he was right, of course. She’d put herself in his hands. Given him her trust. And she was through running.
“Okay,” she told him. “Let’s forget about a new car, at least for now.”
Quinn walked over to Mike. “Can you junk it for her?”
The man looked at Kate. “If you sign over the pink slip for this thing, I’ll give you something for the parts. Every little bit helps, right?”
“Yes. All right. Thank you.”
Kate signed the owner’s slip, Mike gave her what she thought was more than a fair amount of cash, and Quinn hustled her out the door.
****
She was such an enigma, Quinn thought. Feisty even while fear surrounded her. Wearing a coat of invisible armor but soft underneath it all. Oh, yeah. She was definitely soft. And he couldn’t wait to feel more of her softness.
He helped Kate into the truck, then unclipped his cell phone and dialed a number he hadn’t used in a long, long time. He heard the shock in the voice that answered.
“I don’t believe it. This is a true Jesus Christ miracle. Are you dead and calling from heaven? Oh, wait.” A deep chuckle. “You’d be calling from the other place, right?”
Quinn chuckled, too, an unfamiliar sound, but one he’d used a lot since meeting Kate last night. “Coming back from the dead to haunt you. How goes it?”
“The better question,” Jake Garza said, “is how goes it with you?”
“I wondered if you had time for a drink this afternoon. Maybe around two o’clock?”
“You don’t want lunch?” Jake asked.
“Afternoon works better for me if it’s okay with you. Two o’clock okay? The usual place?”
“Fine by me. The alcohol can help with the shock. Can I ask what this is all about?”
“You could but you won’t get an answer. Not until I see you. And don’t mention this to anyone, okay?”
He could hear exasperation in Jake’s voice as he answered. “Business as usual, I guess. Okay. Two o’clock.”
Quinn disconnected the call and climbed into the truck.
“Was that your friend you called?” Kate wanted to know.
“Yes. And before you say anything, I didn’t want him to know I was with anyone. No information, right? Not until I talk to him and figure out what to do next.”
“Are you going to see him?”
Quinn nodded. “This afternoon.”
“He has to keep it to himself,” Kate said nervously. “No one can know about this.”
“Kate. Darlin’. You said you trust me. Then believe that I won’t put you in jeopardy by going to someone I can’t trust. Jake is good as gold, I promise you.” He put his arm around her. “But if this turns out to be a barn buster, a lot of people will have to know. My responsibility is to keep you off the radar and out of the way of traffic.”
“You know he’ll have questions.”
“And I’ll handle them the best I can. But I don’t want you there. I want you hidden until I get a better handle on things. I also don’t want to leave you alone at the house.”
“Afraid I’ll find a way to run?” she asked, her voice edgy.
“Not a bit, and don’t even ask that. Call me crazy but with this situation I just don’t feel good leaving you alone.”
“Is there a big library around here?” she asked him.
“Downtown. It’s got everything you could want.” He grinned. “Why? You have a sudden urge to do some reading?”
“No. As a matter of fact, I thought I might do some searching on the Internet.”
His hands tightened on the wheel. “Don’t stick your nose into something that might bite it off,” he warned.
“I won’t. But my curiosity is in high gear about the law firm. I just thought I’d see what references I could find. Maybe print out some articles about it.” She shifted in her seat to look at him. “Quinn, it stuns me that I know almost nothing about the firm my father helped found that paid for our lifestyle all these years. Whatever they do, they have a public face so there has to be something about them, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” He didn’t like the idea but at least it was something she could do. And they did need to collect all the information they could. “Just be careful what you do.”
She grinned. “I know how to be invisible in cyberspace. I used to do searches for our clients at my job without letting people know what I was looking for. I’m good at it, okay?”
He tried to swallow back his anxiety. The force of his feeling of possession shocked him. So much time had passed since anyone had meant anything to him. This relationship wasn’t even twenty-four hours old, yet it had an incredible sense of permanence and intensity to it. He didn’t want anything to happen to her.
“All right. Lunch first. Then the library and my meeting.”
****
They ate quickly, then hit the interstate, Quinn voicing his doubts one more time.
“I told you, I know how to cover my footprints out there on the Internet.” She grinned at him. “It’ll be fine. Honestly. Okay?”
“Just be careful out there in cyberspace.” He pulled out to pass an eighteen-wheeler. “I’ve got a hinky feeling about this.”
“What time are you meeting your friend?” she asked.
“As soon as I drop you off.”
He trailed his hand over her thigh, then squeezed it lightly.
Traffic wasn’t too heavy on the interstate and in just over half an hour, Quinn pulled up in front of a large red brick building.
“The natives call it the Big Red Enchilada.”
She laughed. “As good a name as any.”
“Listen.” He frowned. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be.”
“Don’t worry. I can keep myself busy.”
“You want the fifth floor,” he told her. “That’s where they have the computers.”
“You are coming back, right?” she joked.
“Will you make it worth my while?” he drawled seductively.
“I’ll try.” Heat bloomed on her cheeks at the images his words called up, but she gave him a mischievous grin.
“Anyway, I have big plans for tonight.” He winked, then pulled out onto the street.
Kate stood looking after him, that same delicious shiver racing up and down her spine, then turned and walked through the building entrance.
The fifth floor was surprisingly quiet, almost hushed, despite the number of people working away at various desks and pulling reference books from the stacks.
“You can use any of these terminals over here,” an accommodating librarian told her. “There’s a common printer you can send your documents to. It’s a quarter a page to print.”
“Thank you.”
All right, Kate. Get to it.
****
“I don’t believe it. The hermit actually came down from the hills.”
Quinn looked at the man waiting for him in the back booth at El Charro, a quiet bar where they’d often gone to thrash out cases away from prying eyes and ears. He was tall, with the build of a former football player who kept in shape, which was exactly what he was. His masculine face, framed by unruly black hair and dark eyes, had unexpected dimples. But not to be fooled, Jake Garza had a commanding presence that made him hugely successful in the courtroom.
The two men had been friends for years. They’d worked together for the United States Attorney for the western district of Texas until Quinn’s resignation four years earlier. Quinn didn’t miss many people these days, but he did miss Jake. It had been far too long since they’d talked, longer since they’d seen each other.
“Nice threads,” he said, noting Jake’s well-tailored suit and dress shirt with monogrammed cuffs. “Looks like the prosecutor business is paying well.”
Garza laughed. “You know me. I always believe clothes make the man.”
“Which female are you dressing for this week?” Quinn asked, grinning.
Jake smiled and winked at his friend. His reputation as a ladies man was legendary in the legal profession and he never lacked for female companionship.
They each ordered a beer and made small talk to cover the awkwardness of the unexpected meeting. Finally Jake pushed his bottle away and leaned back. “Okay, I’m flattered that I seem to be the only person in San Antonio you care to keep in touch with. Maybe in the state of Texas. But you don’t make casual social visits so your call really intrigued me. Want to tell me what this is about?”
When the waitress collected their empty bottles, they switched to coffee. Quinn idly stirred in cream and sugar while he figured out how to ask what he wanted. He’d made up his mind on the way in not to give Jake any details until he knew the lay of the land. If he could keep Kate’s name out of it, he would.
“Okay,” he said. “I’m looking for some information and I’d like to keep it just between us. For now, anyway. Until I find out what it’s all about.”
Garza raised his eyebrows. Quinn seldom asked favors. Usually it was the other way around. “Well, you know I’ll help you with anything I can. But what the hell could you be mixed up in, hiding in the hills the way you do?”
Quinn chose his words carefully. “Do you happen to know anything about an attorney in Tampa named Peter Fleming? Or the law firm of Holt, Fleming and Associates? Are they flying anywhere on your radar?”
Garza looked at him carefully, dropping his eyes but not before Quinn caught a look of surprise in them. “Just how is it you’re interested in them?”
Quinn took a sip of his coffee. “We’ve been friends a very long time, Jacob. We’ve trusted each other with our lives. Please, just for once, take off that official vest and answer me.”
Jake fiddled with his coffee cup. “You’re asking about a very heavy dude here, Ace. If you want answers, I have to know why.” He held up his hand as Quinn got ready to protest. “I trust you. That’s not the problem. But I know you, remember? This question didn’t come out of left field. You hit a bull’s eye without even aiming.”
“I’m asking for a friend,” Quinn said in a cautious voice.
Jake raised one eyebrow. “You have a friend who knows Peter Fleming? You’re playing in a very nasty sandbox if you do.”
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