“The cops have collected it for testing,” Aiden said.
Quinn studied Billie’s defeated expression. “Aw, honey, I’m sorry.” Now it was his turn to pull her close for a hug.
Aiden and Bree walked away, respecting Quinn’s need for a private moment with Billie.
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.” Quinn rocked slightly, hoping the motion would soothe her. “Maybe you should reconsider leaving town.”
“Absolutely not. I’m more determined than ever to figure out who these guys are, and I have an idea where to look. I was checking email and got a renewal notice on Rick and my family email address for a storage unit.”
“How does that help us?”
“I didn’t know we had a storage unit.”
“Interesting.”
“We could go check it out—”
“How about we go tomorrow? I could use one calm, uneventful evening.”
“Oh right, of course. You’re probably exhausted.” She glanced down. “I’m sorry for being so insensitive.”
He tipped her chin with his forefinger so she’d look into his eyes. “No need to apologize. Let’s go home.”
* * *
The next morning Billie rose early and was ready to go by seven. As she gazed out her window onto the beautiful grounds, she remembered Quinn’s comment last night, let’s go home, and smiled to herself. Somehow the slip felt right; it felt normal. But when they got to the resort they went their separate ways. Quinn retreated into his apartment and Billie went to her suite where she had dinner with Bree and discussed the day’s events.
Bree could tell Billie was still thinking about Quinn and challenged her to call him if she were worried. Billie sensed Quinn needed space to come down from the adrenaline rush of his afternoon. He could also use a little help from God to get his balance, but she wouldn’t push it. When the time was right she’d make the suggestion.
She’d said her morning prayers, read a Bible passage and was waiting for Quinn. Something fluttered in her belly at the thought of spending the morning with him, or maybe even the entire day.
What are you thinking about, girl? This isn’t a date.
As she studied the grounds, Bree came into view and waved. Billie smiled and returned the gesture.
Someone knocked at the door. She went and spied through the peephole. Quinn. With a quick breath, she swung open the door.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Sure,” she said, turning to get her purse, but not before she’d noticed how handsome he looked today in black jeans and a knit shirt that showed off his broad shoulders.
“Did you get breakfast?”
“Yep.” She grabbed her purse and turned.
“French toast with whipped cream and pecans?”
“How did you know?”
He smiled and her insides lit up. Oh boy, it was going to be a long day.
“What?” he questioned.
“I’m sorry?” She headed into the hallway and he followed.
“That look.”
“Who knows, my brain is all over the place.”
“I know the feeling.” Quinn led her to a back entrance where a car was waiting.
“Joe’s back?” she said.
“He is.”
Quinn opened the car door. She climbed inside and greeted Joe. “So we didn’t scare you off yesterday?”
“No, ma’am. Takes a lot to scare me off.”
Quinn got into the backseat and they left.
“How’s Cody?” she asked.
“He’s okay, but out of commission for a while.” Quinn shook his head. “I should have seen that coming.”
“They’re after me, not you, Quinn. How could you know?”
Quinn shrugged and glanced out the window.
“At least you got a look at your attacker.”
“Not a good one. Although I felt his beard and saw a birthmark on the side of his neck.”
“A beard, so it’s the same guy who assaulted me?”
“Could be. I wish I’d been able to detain him.”
“Hey.” She touched his arm. “You saved Cody’s life and your own. That’s what’s important.”
“Yeah, well, I should anticipate this stuff before it blows up in our faces. I keep getting blindsided.”
Her hand drifted down his arm to his hand, resting beside him on the seat. Studying his reaction, she threaded her fingers through his. Without looking at her, he curled his fingers, holding on to her. Silence filled the car. Not an awkward silence, but a contemplative, peaceful silence.
“Need some music?” Joe offered.
“No, I’m good,” Billie said.
Twenty minutes later they arrived at the storage facility. Quinn directed Joe to keep watch outside, while he and Billie went to the office. She paid the bill and explained that her husband had died and she didn’t know where he’d left the key. After showing her ID, the clerk unlocked the unit and went to the office.
“Ready?” Quinn said, gripping the door handle.
“No, but go for it.”
He shoved the sliding door open to reveal a twelve-foot square unit packed with boxes and small pieces of antique furniture. She tentatively went inside.
“You recognize any of this?” Quinn said.
“Nope.”
She wandered to a plastic bin and cracked open the top. Gold jewelry sparkling with gemstones shone back at her.
“Oh boy.”
Quinn peeked over her shoulder. “You’ve got expensive taste,” he teased.
“Funny. Who do you think it belongs to?” she asked, feeling bad that people were missing their precious keepsakes because of Rick.
“The police can figure that out.” He led her to a small table and pointed to a schematic drawing of what looked like a house. “Does this look familiar?”
She considered the drawing, trying to figure out where she’d seen it before.
The sound of the rolling door grated against her nerve endings.
The door slammed shut and she gasped. “Quinn!”
He protectively shifted her behind him.
The lights went out, plunging them into complete darkness.
EIGHT
Quinn pulled Billie against his chest. “Shh, it’s okay.”
Fighting the self-condemnation at not anticipating this turn of events, he used the flashlight app on his smartphone to do a 360 scan of the storage area.
“There.” He pointed with the flashlight. “Get behind those boxes.”
“What are you going to do?” Billie clung tighter.
“I’m getting us out of here.”
“We could wait for Joe.”
“Who knows if they got to him already. Go on.” He led her to the corner, then scanned the area for a makeshift weapon. He spotted fireplace tools and grabbed a poker off the rack. “Here—” he handed the phone to Billie “—shine this toward the door. But once I open it, you stay out of sight, hear me?”
“I should have a poker, too.”
“You won’t need one.”
“Just in case.”
He couldn’t fault her for wanting to be prepared, although Quinn wasn’t going to let anyone close enough to physically harm her. He snatched another tool off the fireplace rack—a shovel—and handed it to her.
“Stay back,” he said.
She nodded.
“Okay, point the phone at the door.”
She did as ordered and he gripped the handle with one hand while clenching the poker with the other.
Quinn took a deep breath and tried the door. It wasn’t locked. He flung it open, making a wide arc in front of him with the poker. There was no one there. Light from the hallway spilled into the storage unit.
“Is he gone?” Billie stepped out from behind the b
oxes.
“Looks like it.” He motioned to her with his hand and shifted her behind him. An outside door closed with a crash.
“Think he left?” she whispered.
“Can’t assume anything.”
As they headed for the exit, the sound of footsteps echoed from around the corner.
Quinn pulled her into an alcove leading to the bathrooms. Adrenaline pumped through his body. Joe had to have seen the guy enter the building, right? Billie clenched the material of his shirt into a ball. In that moment, Quinn realized how much he wanted to protect her.
He unclenched her fingers and mouthed the word stay. She shook her head, and he framed her cheek with his hand, leaned forward and brushed her lips with a brief kiss. It was impulsive and probably insane, yet it made complete sense to Quinn in that moment.
Leaning forward, he whispered in her ear. “I’ll be right back.”
He turned and took off toward the sound, glad he’d worn quiet-soled gym shoes today.
He appreciated Billie’s trusting expression just now after he’d kissed her and whispered in her ear. It was that image that was driving him forward, straight into another dangerous confrontation. But he’d do whatever was necessary to keep her safe.
He turned the corner, flung open the door and spotted a guy running across the gravel parking lot. Clenching his poker, Quinn took off, vaguely registering that their SUV was empty.
The guy sprinted toward a black sedan and whipped the door open.
Quinn sprinted toward the car, swinging the poker. He wouldn’t let the guy escape. The guy slammed his door shut just as Quinn made contact with the poker. He whacked the driver’s-side window, splintering the glass, then went after the front tire to disable the car. At least the guy wouldn’t get far.
Quinn heard the side door open and he darted over the hood of the car, yanked the guy out by his jacket collar and shoved him to the ground. The guy landed on his stomach. Quinn pressed his knee into the guy’s lower back and yanked his wrists behind him. “What do you want?”
“Get off of me.”
Quinn noticed the birthmark on the side of his neck. This was the same guy who shot Cody, maybe the same guy who assaulted Billie.
“Man, you are looking at serious jail time,” Quinn said.
“If I were you, I’d be more worried about your girlfriend than my future.”
Quinn flipped the guy over. “Who else is with you?”
The guy cracked a sinister smile.
“Answer me!” Quinn pulled him to his feet and slugged him in the gut.
“Quinn Donovan!”
Quinn glanced to his right and spotted Detective Issacs heading his way. Another squad car, lights flashing, roared into the parking lot.
Quinn dragged the assailant toward the detective. “Here, I’ve got to check on Billie.” Quinn took off, but called over his shoulder. “That’s the guy who shot Cody Monroe!”
He rushed to the storage facility door, but it was locked. It must automatically lock when customers leave. He pounded on the door and called Billie’s name, but she probably couldn’t hear him.
The facility manager came out of his office to speak with the cops. Quinn went to him, “I need to get in.”
“Who are you?” a patrolman asked, approaching him.
“Quinn Donovan. My friend is inside. There could be another guy, his partner.” He motioned to the shooter Issacs was handcuffing.
“He’s with us!” Issacs called across the parking lot.
The cop nodded to the storage facility manager and he unlocked the door.
“Sir, you should—” the cop said, but Quinn was already gone.
He bolted down the long aisle. “Billie!”
Nothing.
“No, no, no,” he muttered. There wasn’t a back exit as far as he could tell so she still had to be here.
He raced up one aisle and down the other, turning the corner to the alcove where he’d left her. “Billie!” he cried.
“Quinn?” a soft voice responded.
The door to the women’s restroom swung open. With a cautious expression she stepped out.
He pulled her against his chest. “You’re okay, you’re okay,” he whispered more to convince himself to breathe normally, than to comfort Billie.
“I thought I heard something so I ducked into the bathroom. I figured even a criminal would avoid going into the ladies’ room.”
“Donovan!” the detective called out.
“Back here!” Quinn led Billie out of the bathroom.
Detective Issacs rushed over to them. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah, just frightened,” Quinn said.
“Detective, how did you get here so fast?” Billie asked.
“We’ve been keeping an eye on you two. It seems like wherever you go, these guys are sure to follow.” He eyed Billie. “We’ve got the shooter cuffed in the backseat of a squad car, which is good considering I might have had to arrest your knight in shining armor here after a few more minutes of interrogation.”
“Quinn?” Billie said. “What did you—”
“He implied he had an accomplice. I think he was just trying to throw me off by hinting Billie was still in danger.”
Detective Issacs glanced from Billie to Quinn. “Ah, now I understand the desperation of your interrogation techniques.”
Wanting to change the subject, Quinn motioned around the corner. “We found a storage unit with what I’m guessing are stolen goods.”
“Let’s check it out,” Issacs said.
As Quinn led him to the unit, he kept Billie close with a steady arm around her shoulders. More than anything in the world he wanted her to feel safe. They turned the corner to the unit and Issacs peeked inside.
“Someone was busy,” he said scanning the property, then glanced at Billie. “How did you find this place?”
“I received an email to renew our contract. I didn’t know we had a storage unit. Obviously none of this is mine.”
“You didn’t call me when you decided to come here because...?”
Quinn didn’t immediately answer. He couldn’t. His body was still coming down from the surge of adrenaline pulsing through his veins. When he’d called out Billie’s name and she hadn’t answered he’d felt gutted, completely lost.
He was supposed to be protecting her, yet danger kept finding them. Or was it Quinn’s bad judgment that made him walk her directly into the line of fire?
“We didn’t want to bother you,” Billie offered. “Checking out a storage unit shouldn’t have been dangerous. Besides, won’t we get to the bottom of this quicker if we follow different leads?”
“Spoken like a detective wannabe,” Issacs said.
“What I want is to put an end to this case so I don’t feel threatened all the time,” Billie said.
“I get it—I do,” Issacs said. “But you two have to stop playing detective and let me do my job.”
“Of course,” Billie said.
Detective Issacs analyzed the goods. “I’ll call forensics.” He motioned them out and pulled the door closed. “Good news is we have the perp who shot Cody Monroe. Mrs. Bronson, I’d like you to take a look at him and see if he’s also the one who assaulted you on the trail the other day.”
They left the building and Issacs escorted them to a squad car. Billie was a good ten feet away when she stopped short and gripped Quinn’s arm. “It’s him.”
“You sure?” Issacs said. “You want to get a closer look?”
“I’m as close as I ever want to get to that guy again. I’m positive.”
“I’ll take him in for questioning,” Issacs said. “I want the two of you to go home and not think about this case. You read me?” He looked directly at Quinn.
“Yes, sir,” Quinn answered. Quinn would appreciate the oppor
tunity to decompress, maybe take care of a little business. He glanced at their SUV. “I wonder what happened to Joe?”
“He’s missing?” Issacs asked.
“He brought us here, but I don’t see him—”
Joe stumbled around the SUV clutching his head.
“Hey, you okay?” Quinn asked as they approached.
“Embarrassed, but fine. I heard something and went to investigate. He got me good,” he said, rubbing his head.
“The perp’s in the squad car. You need me to call an EMT?” the detective offered.
Joe waved him off. “Nah, I’m good.”
“Okay, well—” he glanced at Quinn “—remember what I said.”
* * *
Saying they’d had enough excitement for one day, Quinn suggested they take it easy and relax. Billie figured he was motivated by the need to get some work done; after all, he’d been taking care of her 24/7 since her fall.
As the hours stretched into the afternoon, she realized her work wasn’t over. She should continue going through family files and documents she’d abandoned after Rick’s death. If he’d lied to her about renting a storage unit, what other secrets were out there waiting to go off like ticking bombs?
She’d asked Aiden to swing by her apartment, get the lockbox she kept in her closet and bring it to her. She wasn’t sure what she expected to find in the piles now strewn across her bed, but she’d hoped to uncover a clue that could help Detective Issacs.
A knock sounded at her door. She padded across the room and looked through the peephole. Quinn smiled at her. She swung open the door.
“Thought I’d bring dinner,” he said, wheeling a tray into her room.
“It’s that late?” She followed him to the table beside the window.
“It’s only five but I figured you’d be hungry.” He glanced at her bed. “What’s all this?”
“Family files, documents, stuff like that.”
Quinn paused and glanced over his shoulder. “How did you—”
“Aiden got them for me.”
“Oh,” he said, glancing away, but not before a hint of disappointment flashed in his blue eyes.
“I asked him to pick up the box because I figured you were busy with work,” she said.
Mountain Pursuit: Smoky Mountain Investigation ; Mountain Rescue Page 29
