Race Against Time

by Sharon Sala

  “Yeah, we sure did, D-Man. He’s under arrest in a hospital and then headed to jail later,” Nick said. “Let’s go into the house. It seems Quinn and I have some people to thank.”

  Donny followed them inside and into the kitchen. The noise level was already loud, but when they saw Nick and Quinn, it erupted.

  “What happened! Are you two okay?” Tonio asked.

  “Is any of that yours?” Juana asked, pointing to the blood splatters on Quinn.

  “No, ma’am. Nick shot Baba twice before he got away,” Quinn said.

  Juana frowned.

  “Nick’s not the one covered in blood, so how did all that get on you?”

  Quinn sighed.

  “It’s a long story and I’m filthy, but could I maybe have a tortilla and some guacamole before I go shower? I’m starving.”

  “Poor baby,” Juana cried and headed for the table.

  Lara slipped through the crowd and put her arms around Quinn’s neck, hugging her as she whispered in her ear.

  “I am so glad you’re okay. Is there anything I can do to help you?”

  Quinn’s eyes welled. “Just don’t let them eat all the good stuff before I get back.”

  Lara grinned. “I’ll do what I can, but you know Santino. He is shameless.”

  Quinn held on to the laughter to keep from crying. She’d always been better with anger than sympathy. And then Juana came back with a soft, homemade tortilla filled with spicy carne asada and topped off with sour cream and guacamole.

  “Here you are, daughter. You go make yourself feel better, and we’ll be here when you get back.”

  “Thank you,” Quinn said and took a quick bite to keep from crying as she hurried out of the room. She had never been anyone’s daughter before.

  Nick tried to pay Donny’s parents for the tire, but they immediately refused and thanked Nick for making sure their son stayed safe during the shooting. After more hugs and well wishes, they left the family on their own to catch up.

  As soon as the neighbors were gone, the family started in on Nick.

  “What really happened out there, Nick? What happened to Quinn?”

  “If I told you she rode Anton Baba down out in the desert, shot out both of his back tires and then pulled him out of the burning wreck, would you believe me?”

  There was a collective gasp and then silence until Santino spoke up.

  “Are you serious?”

  He nodded.

  Juana pressed a hand to her lips to keep from crying, then made the sign of the cross.

  “She is blessed by God,” Tonio said.

  Nick wasn’t going to argue with that.

  “Hey, guys, I’m going to change shirts and wash up a little myself. I’ll be right back.”

  “No worries,” Juana said. “I’m still making queso.”

  Nick gave her a hug and hurried down the hall to his bedroom. Quinn’s door was closed. He honored her need for privacy and went into his room to change.

  * * *

  Quinn stood looking out her bedroom windows as she ate, too dirty to sit down on anything in the room. Once she’d polished off the food, she stripped where she stood and headed for the bathroom.

  She turned on the water in the shower and then checked the healing wound on her shoulder. It looked fine. Nothing had come open. Nothing was bleeding.

  She grabbed a clean washcloth, checked to make sure there was shampoo and conditioner inside the shower and then stepped inside.

  The water was hot, almost too hot, but she didn’t care; she wanted every trace of Anton Baba scrubbed from her skin. She was angry enough about being shot at, but when those two federal agents showed up to make sure their witness was okay, she lost it. They weren’t worried about her. They were just worried about their case. She was sick and tired of always feeling used, but she no longer felt like a victim.

  Pointing a gun at the man who’s trying to kill you is an empowering moment. Pulling the trigger a second before him was even better. Knowing she’d scared the crap out of him was priceless. By reacting instead of hiding, she’d taken herself off the victim list and liked how that felt. She felt powerful. She’d stood up for herself in a way that she’d never done before.

  The water was hitting her in the chest now, just below her chin. This was the moment where her stomach always knotted and her panic exacerbated, only that wasn’t happening this time. Everything suddenly felt different, and she remembered hearing once that as long as you continue to do the same things, you will always have the same results. It’s only when you change, the world will change around you.

  She lifted her hand up to face the showerhead and felt the jets pulsing against her palm.

  “It’s time to do something different,” she said and took a deep breath and stepped beneath the spray.

  The only thing that happened was she got wet. There was no panic, no heart-stopping feeling of drowning. She squirted a handful of shampoo in her palm and started washing her hair, thinking that she wished she’d had a shot at Pappy Whitlaw when he’d tried to hurt her instead of running away. That’s when this fear had all begun. He’d made her feel so helpless that all she’d known to do was hide.

  She rinsed, conditioned and rinsed again, then grabbed a bar of soap and scrubbed until her skin tingled. After enjoying the warmth of the water a few moments more, she got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her hair.

  Now that she was finished, she couldn’t move fast enough to get back into the kitchen. She dried herself, then towel-dried her hair and headed for the closet.

  Again, her choice of clothing was minimal. One of these days she’d have to rectify that, but for now she just chose what was clean.

  When she left her room, she had on jeans and a long, loose T-shirt. Her hair was damp and hanging loose around her face as she hurried barefoot down the hall.

  The sound of Nick’s voice and his laughter made her heart skip a beat as she moved toward the sound of happy voices.

  She was getting the hang of having family.

  Epilogue

  Paco Cruz heard about Anton Baba’s arrest as he was getting a haircut down in the barrio and his heart nearly stopped.

  He will blame me. He will think I set him up.

  The longer he thought about it, the more panicked he became. His brother, Jesus, had been trying to get him to go to Denver for months now. The marijuana business was legal there, and if Paco knew anything, he knew about weed. By the time the barber was through with his cut, he’d made up his mind. He was sick of cleaning other people’s toilets and emptying their trash. Who would have ever guessed something he’d been put in jail for was now a legal business?

  He paid for his haircut and headed out the door. It was time to get away from this place and all the people in it. Nothing good had ever come to him here and he needed to get lost. Maybe he would start his life over. It was never too late until you took your last breath.

  * * *

  Anton Baba woke up handcuffed to a hospital bed, one guard inside his room and one standing outside the door. Neither one would talk to him. He asked to contact his lawyer. Two Feds named Gleason and Powers came instead, officially arrested him for the murder of Dale Stewart, the attempted murder of Starla Davis and Quinn O’Meara, and a litany of other infractions he knew they could prove.

  “Do you understand the charges as we have read them?” Gleason asked.

  “Yes. I want my lawyer.”

  “I’ll bet you do,” Gleason said and then turned to the guard in the room. “He is allowed to make one call. Then I want the phone taken out of this room.”

  “Yes, sir,” the guard said.

  “But what if he needs to call me back?” Anton said.

  “You better say all you need to say the f
irst time, because technically, you’re already in jail,” Gleason said.

  Anton’s gut turned. Everything he’d ever feared was coming true. He’d like to blame Star or Quinn or even some snitch, but he was honest enough to know he had started all of this himself. He just hadn’t expected anyone to fight back.

  * * *

  Three days later Quinn woke up alone in the bed, then rolled over to find Nick sitting in a chair on the other side of the room watching her sleep. He was not only already dressed, but he’d also showered and shaved.

  “What’s happening? Are we supposed to be somewhere? Did I make us late?” she asked as she threw back the covers and started to get out of bed.

  “Everything is fine,” Nick said. “I just like watching you sleep.”

  She made a face at him.

  “That’s a little creepy. Was my mouth open?”

  “Yes, and you were drooling,” he said.

  “You lie,” she said calmly, then laughed and threw a pillow at him.

  Nick got up and walked over to the bed to sit beside her.

  “I need to tell you something,” he said.

  She got a knot in her stomach. The first thing that went through her head was I knew this was too good to be true.

  He took her hand, then lifted it to his lips and kissed it.

  “This better not be my walking papers,” she said.

  “On the contrary. It’s an invitation.”

  “Oh, well, then,” she said. “Where am I going?”

  “To spend the rest of your life with me,” he said and slipped a ring onto the third finger of her left hand.

  Quinn stared blankly at the ring and then at Nick.

  “You just proposed to me, didn’t you?”

  He nodded.

  “Then I say yes,” she said and began to cry.

  Nick put his arms around her and held her close.

  “You’re supposed to be happy,” he said.

  “I am happy. But I’m also a girl. I have imagined this moment for as long as I can remember and never knew it would be this perfect.”

  “This seals the deal,” he said and leaned in for a kiss.

  “You’ve chosen poorly,” she said primly.

  He grinned.

  “How’s that possible?”

  “I have no dowry. No money. No work skills. At the same time, I do not have a police record, so there’s that.”

  Nick laughed out loud.

  “You are so full of shit. Dowry? Police records? Why do I think you are messing with me? What are you up to?”

  She grinned.

  “I’m just playing fair. No secrets between us.”

  “Ha, then that’s what’s wrong. This isn’t a game, and I’m not playing.”

  She crawled into his lap and put her arms around his neck.

  “You pass,” she said.

  “Pass what?”

  “The confirmation I needed to know that you are indeed in love with me, and are marrying me for my fine body, good teeth and my skills in bed.”

  Nick rolled with her in his arms until she was lying beneath him, grinning.

  “Crazy redhead,” he whispered. “I do so love you—and for much more than your teeth.”

  “Pretty dark-eyed man, I do so love you, too. The ring is stunning. I am so blessed. Thank you for having me.”

  “Oh, it’s going to be my pleasure, for sure,” he said. “Do you want to get dressed, and we’ll go out for breakfast and talk about planning a wedding?”

  “No. I want to get undressed, no talking, and make mad crazy love to you.”

  Nick smiled.

  “Yes, Your Majesty. Your wish is my command.”

  Nashville—one week later.

  It was midafternoon, and the sky was turning darker by the minute. Star had Sammy in her arms and was just waiting for her dad to say the word that they were going to the storm cellar when the home phone rang.

  Connie jumped up from her chair and ran to answer, leaving John watching the weather report and the clouds.

  “Hello?” she said.

  “Hi, Mom, it’s me, Justin.”

  “Hello, son. You caught us at a bad time. We’re on the verge of going to the storm cellar.”

  “Oh, wow...tornado warning?”

  “Yes, in the area.”

  “Then I’ll keep this short and sweet. Tell sis that there’s not going to be a trial. She won’t have to come back here and testify. Baba’s lawyer has done a deal with the Feds. I don’t know what all he gave up to them, but the bottom line is he’s in for life. No possibility of parole.”

  “Oh, thank goodness!” Connie said. “That’s wonderful news. I’ll tell her.”

  “Be careful in that storm,” Justin said.

  “We will. Love to all.”

  “Thanks,” Justin said, and then he was gone.

  Connie came running back into the room smiling.

  “Starla, that was Justin. There won’t be a trial, and Baba is already in prison. He made a deal with the Feds, but he’ll never get out. He’s in for life with no possibility of parole.”

  Starla looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms and started crying.

  “I can’t believe it’s finally over,” she whispered, holding Sammy close.

  “I’m so glad for you,” Connie said.

  John suddenly yelled out from the other room.

  “Danger over. Storm weakened before it got here. All we’ll get is some much-needed rain.”

  Connie looked at her daughter and smiled.

  “See, it is a sign, honey. Your life is calming. The danger to you and Sammy is over, just like this storm.”

  “Then I’m going to put him back to bed,” Star whispered, and tiptoed out of the room and down the hall to his bedroom.

  She elbowed the door inward and carried Sammy to his crib and laid him down, then pulled his blanket up and over his shoulders.

  She stayed for a moment, watching to make sure he stayed asleep, and grinned when he popped his thumb in his mouth and started sucking.

  She thought about all she’d gone through to keep him in her life—and how close she’d come to losing him.

  Thank you, God.

  Then she turned and walked out of the room.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from FAMILY SINS by Sharon Sala.

  “Skillfully balancing suspense and romance, Sala gives readers a nonstop breath-holding adventure.”

  —Publishers Weekly on Going Once

  Did you love Race Against Time by New York Times bestselling author Sharon Sala? Don’t miss a heart-stopping moment in the action-packed Secrets and Lies trilogy:

  Wild Hearts

  Cold Hearts

  Dark Hearts

  Available now!

  * * *

  Looking for more heart-pounding romantic suspense from Sharon Sala? Then be sure to catch the adrenaline-fueled Forces of Nature series:

  Going Once

  Going Twice

  Going Gone

  Collect the complete series today!

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  “Vivid, gripping...this thriller keeps the pages turning.”

  —Library Journal on Torn Apart

  A treacherous murder, the decades-long blood feud between two families and irresistible paramours are the setup for a perfect storm of passion and carnage in New York Times bestselling author Sharon Sala’s latest:

  Family Sins

  Temperatures and tensions will rise...

  Order your copy today!

  “Perfect entertainment for those looking for a suspense novel with emotional intensity.”

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  Family Sins

  by Sharon Sala

  One

  Stanton Youngblood was running for his life, desperate to elude the man behind him. Moving uphill had afforded him the cover he needed, but now the man was catching up and Stanton was lagging from exhaustion. All he kept thinking about was Leigh, getting home to Leigh.

  Leigh. Oh God, my sweet Leigh. This can’t be happening. I do not want to die.

  Every footstep was an effort now. His side was burning, his legs were shaking, and his lungs felt like they were going to explode. He could actually hear the man crashing through the brush and trees behind him, which meant he was getting closer.

  There was no time to turn and look. He knew who was chasing him, and he knew why. This day had been more than thirty years in the making, but he wouldn’t have done anything different. His beautiful Leigh was worth everything.

  Even this.

  And the moment he thought it, a bullet ripped through his back. The shot was already echoing down the mountain as he began to fall. He had a moment of overwhelming despair, and then everything began happening in slow motion.