“That’s right,” she said. “Maybe you could teach Quinn a few things about hiking.”
Donald’s attitude changed completely. “The first thing to remember is always to be prepared with water and food.” He reached behind him and realized he didn’t have a pack. “Where’s my pack? Someone stole it!”
“I carried it for you.” Billie took off her pack and held it out for Donald to strap on his shoulders.
“Thank you,” he said.
“You ready?” she said.
“Want me to lead?” Quinn offered.
“Yes, and I’ll give you more tips as we go,” Donald said.
“Donald, I brought a few friends with me and they’re waiting around the corner.”
“Why did you bring friends?”
“They wanted to meet you. They heard what an expert hiker you are.”
Donald puffed up his chest.
Quinn helped Billie guide Donald back to the trail. Relief washed over her that they’d found him where she thought he’d be. Now they needed to get him to the trailhead where an ambulance was waiting. He didn’t seem injured, but it was a good idea to have him checked out.
They approached the trail and the waiting team.
“Guys, this is Donald,” Quinn introduced.
Donald nodded at the men. “You boys staying for dinner?”
The men looked at each other, but Tyler caught on. “We’d love to, sir. Shall we head back?”
“Lead the way.” Donald motioned with his hand.
Two of the men led the group while Tyler followed close behind.
“It’ll be nice to have a full table of guests, Vivienne,” Donald said to Billie. “We’re having...what are we having again?”
“Meatloaf and mashed potatoes,” she offered.
“My favorite.”
* * *
They made it down without incident and Billie asked Quinn to take her to the hospital to be with Donald until his family arrived. A few minutes later, Donald’s two daughters, who lived locally, showed up and thanked Billie profusely. It felt empowering to be helpful as opposed to being a victim and hiding out. She held on to that feeling as she headed to the lobby to find Quinn.
“Billie?”
She turned and spotted Bree heading her way.
“What are you doing here?” Billie asked.
“Volunteer shift. Just got off,” Bree said. “I heard about Donald. Is he okay?”
“Seems to be. The doctors are checking him out now.”
Quinn wandered over to them and Billie offered a smile. “Thanks for bringing me. I think it helped keep him calm.”
“You are amazing, you know that?” he said.
Bree’s jaw dropped.
“What?” Quinn said.
“I guess I’ve never heard a man pay such a nice compliment to a woman, and in public.”
“Then you’re hanging out with the wrong men,” Quinn teased.
“Yeah,” Bree glanced away.
Billie sensed her friend getting hooked by her tumultuous past. Hoping to shake Bree out of it, Billie asked, “Since you’re off, want to give me a ride to the resort?”
“Hey, what about me?” Quinn said.
“You’ve been wanting to visit Cody since he was admitted. This is the perfect opportunity.” She touched Bree’s shoulder. “Or did you have plans tonight?”
“Nope, no plans.”
“Great, you can take me back and we can catch up.”
“You’ll go straight to your room?” Quinn said.
“You sound like her father,” Bree teased, snapping out of her darkness.
“It’s my job to protect her,” Quinn countered.
“I thought she had a security guy,” Bree said.
“He didn’t come with us on the mission and we headed straight here after we found Donald.” Billie turned to Quinn. “I’ll see you at the resort?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Billie hesitated, then did what felt natural. She hugged him. She felt his arms press against her back and squeeze just enough to let her know he was there for her, and maybe even appreciated the hug. She broke the embrace and looked at Bree, who raised an eyebrow.
“We’ve been through a lot together,” Billie explained, looped her arm through Bree’s and headed out.
“No stops,” Quinn said.
“Not a one.” Billie whispered to her friend, “Let’s order room service.”
“Hot fudge sundaes?” Bree said with delight in her voice.
“With sprinkles and macadamia nuts.”
“Potato chips?”
“Girlfriend, you are trouble.”
They giggled as they rode the elevator down to the parking garage.
“So what’s happening with the case?” Bree asked.
“They caught the bearded guy this morning. He followed us to a storage facility Rick had rented.”
“And you knew nothing about it?”
“Nope.”
“You and I must have been absent the day they handed out the textbook on men,” Bree said.
“No kidding.”
“What about Quinn?”
“What about him?”
Bree shrugged. “He seems like a ladies’ man, dedicated to work first and everything else second, yet the way he acts with you is incongruous with his reputation.”
“Incongruous, yeah. That’s a good word for it.”
The elevator doors opened and they headed to Bree’s SUV.
“It’s a shame,” Bree said.
“What?”
“Everything that happened with Rick has made you skittish, but it’s pretty obvious that you and Quinn would make a great couple.”
“He has no interest in committing to one woman.”
“You sure about that?”
“About 95 percent sure, yeah. I lived in his coach house, remember? I saw the women he paraded in and out of his place.”
“Maybe he hadn’t found the right one. Think about it, you call him out on stuff, yet you’re nurturing and compassionate, which he obviously needs. I think—”
Bree was cut off by the sound of screeching tires.
Lights temporarily blinded Billie as she sensed a car barreling toward them. She dove between two cars, and glanced over her shoulder.
Bree hadn’t moved.
“Bree!” Billie rushed to her friend and knocked her out of the way as the car passed. They stumbled to the ground, Billie’s heart hammering into her throat. “Are you okay?” she asked Bree, who nodded with confusion.
The squeal of the driver hitting the brakes pierced the air. Their attacker wasn’t done.
TEN
“Keys,” Billie demanded of Bree.
Bree glanced at her empty hand, then to the spot where they’d been standing. The keys sat in the middle of the garage, directly in the line of the driver’s path.
Billie pulled out her phone and shoved it at Bree. “Call 9-1-1.”
“No, wait.”
Billie took off as a plan formulated in her head. The driver gunned the engine, but she realized he’d be driving backward, which gave her the advantage.
She ignored the roar of the threatening engine, rushed across the parking lot and snatched the keys.
She dashed toward a black car for cover, hitting the alarm button on Bree’s key FOB. Her attacker sped backward, colliding with a car only a few feet from Billie. That collision set off another car alarm. She hoped the alarms would draw security’s attention.
Billie weaved between cars to put distance between herself and the driver.
Suddenly an alarm blared overhead, red lights flashing.
Peeking out from between two cars, she saw taillights of the attack car speeding away. Billie rushed to her friend, w
ho was being comforted by a hospital security guard. The alarm was so loud they couldn’t talk to each other, so he motioned them to the elevators. He stuck his key in a console on the wall and turned off the alarm.
Bree was visibly shaking.
“It’s okay. You’re okay,” Billie said, hugging her.
The elevator doors opened and Quinn rushed to them. “What happened?”
“Someone tried to run us down,” Billie said. “But we’re okay.”
Quinn ran his hand through his hair, clearly agitated.
“Need to get checked out upstairs, Breanna?” the security guard asked.
“No,” Bree snapped. “I want to go home.”
“You can’t drive in that condition,” Quinn said. “I’ll drive you both to the resort.”
“But I can—”
“End of discussion,” Quinn said.
He shook the security guard’s hand. “Thanks.”
“They should file a police report,” the guard suggested.
“They will.” Quinn motioned them to his car, but glanced over his shoulder at the guard. “Police will want to see video footage to help identify the driver. Expect Detective Issacs to stop by.”
“Will do.”
Quinn escorted them to his SUV and opened the back door for Bree. She climbed in and he shut the door.
Not looking at Billie, he opened the passenger door for her.
“Quinn?”
“Please get in the car.”
“You’re angry with me?”
“Not now.”
His gaze drifted to the ground and Billie did as requested. Either he was upset with her for not waiting for him to give her a ride home or...
He was beating himself up, blaming himself for not being there to protect her. She should have known he’d go there, but she wasn’t going to let him sink into that place of failure again.
* * *
Once they made it to the resort, Billie invited Bree to hang out in her room for a bit. Billie appreciated the company, plus it took her mind off what had nearly happened in the garage.
She’d been surprised when Quinn didn’t argue with Billie about spending time alone with her friend. Billie expected him to muscle his way into her suite and suffer through girl talk in order to make sure she was safe.
Quinn still hadn’t shared what he’d been stewing about during the silent car ride home. The minutes felt like hours as she tried to engage him in conversation, but he could only manage one-word answers. She’d confront him tomorrow, in private, because she didn’t like it when he shut down, and shut her out.
“This tastes wonderful,” Bree said, dipping her spoon into a sloppy chocolate sundae topped with pecans and multicolored sprinkles.
“You’ve earned it. Sorry that you got pulled into this mess.” Billie spooned ice cream and tapped it on the lip of the glass dish. “They have the main guy in custody so we thought I was relatively safe.”
“It’s not your fault.” Bree sighed. “I owe you an apology for making it worse.”
“What do you mean?”
“The way I froze when the headlights hit me. I guess—” she hesitated and swirled her spoon in the softening ice cream “—I was having a flashback.”
“About Thomas?” Billie asked. Bree had confided in Billie about her abusive ex-boyfriend.
Bree studied her ice cream as she spoke. “When he’d hit me, in that moment, I was always so shocked. I couldn’t believe it was really happening, and I’d completely shut down. Later he’d be so charming and loving, that a part of me was convinced I’d imagined it. When I saw the headlights I thought, ‘why would anyone be trying to run me down?’ I couldn’t wrap my head around it.”
“They weren’t aiming for you.”
“That’s not the point.” She glanced at Billie. “Even after earning my black belt, I still feel so weak sometimes, and you’re so strong. You saved my life, Billie.”
“That’s what friends are for, right? Now come on, let’s eat these monstrosities before the ice cream melts.”
Bree studied her. “You don’t seem shaken by what happened tonight.”
“I am. But I’m more frustrated and angry. We thought the man in custody was the only direct threat and now there’s someone else? I don’t get what they want from me. The bearded guy said he wanted to partner with me, and yet there have been multiple threats on my life. Why would they want me dead?”
“Because you know something?” Bree said.
“Doubtful. I hardly spoke to Rick during our last months together.”
“You fought a lot, huh?”
“You can’t fight if you’re not even talking to each other.” Billie shook her head. “It happened so slowly, then one day I woke up and it’s like we weren’t even speaking the same language. He stopped going to church, volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. We even dropped out of the dinner group we belonged to. He was isolating himself from everyone, even me.” Billie shook her head. “Why am I talking about this?”
“Because you need to. Don’t stop. It makes me feel good that I can help by listening.”
“We drifted apart and there was nothing I could do to fix it.” Billie glanced at Bree. “But there should have been, I was his wife for seven years. If he loved me, that love should have seen us through.”
“Sometimes we do things for love that lead us in the wrong direction.”
“Like you staying with Thomas?”
“And Rick wanting to provide for you, even if that meant doing something criminal.”
Billie’s cell rang and she recognized Will’s phone number.
“Who is it?” Bree said, stirring the sprinkles around in her sundae.
“Will.”
Bree raised a teasing eyebrow, as Billie took the call.
“Hi, Will.”
“I heard what happened at the hospital. You okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. No one was hurt.”
“I thought you had Quinn Donovan and his twenty-four-hour security team with you at all times.”
“They usually are, but Quinn was visiting a friend in the hospital.”
“He should have known better. I wouldn’t have left your side.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.”
Someone knocked on the door. Bree crossed the room, eyed the peephole and swung open the door. Quinn wandered in.
“I know it’s late, but I thought I might swing by,” Will offered.
“Actually, I’m pretty wiped out. But thanks.”
“Okay, well, call if you need anything.”
“Thanks. Good night.” Billie ended the call and turned to Quinn.
“Hey,” she said.
He glanced across the room at the sundaes. He hadn’t made eye contact since the incident in the garage.
“How’s the ice cream?” he asked.
“Quite tasty, but not nearly enough sprinkles,” Bree said.
“I’ll notify the chef,” Quinn joked.
“You’re here awfully late,” Billie said, glancing at the clock. It read 10:15 p.m.
“Sorry, guess I should have called. I wanted to see for myself that you ladies had everything you needed.”
“I’m good,” Bree said.
Billie stepped directly into Quinn’s line of vision. He still wouldn’t look at her. “I could use something,” Billie said.
Quinn finally glanced at her, but only briefly.
“I want answers,” Billie said. “Like who is still after me, who tried to run us down and, most important, why won’t you look at me?”
Bree slowly put her spoon in the dish.
“They have a video image of the driver from the hospital and are sending it to local police departments for identification,” Quinn said. “That should help them narrow down the susp
ect list.”
“And you won’t look at me because...?”
“You’re imagining things.”
“Look me in the eye and say that.”
Quinn planted his hands on his hips and studied the floor.
“I forgot to call Mom and tell her I’m okay.” Bree hurried into the bedroom and shut the door to give them privacy.
Billie studied Quinn, noting the narrowing of his eyes and tightness of his lips. “Quinn?”
“I can’t do this right now.”
“Well, I need to do this right now. What’s bugging you?”
He snapped his attention to her, his blue eyes aflame with anger. “Let’s see, the fact I shouldn’t have let you leave this room for the SAR mission and I shouldn’t have left your side at the hospital because the thought of...” He shook his head.
“What?” She squeezed his upper arm.
“The thought of you being hit by a car because I wasn’t there is tearing me apart.”
“What would you have done? Do you have superhero powers I don’t know about? Would you have stopped the car with your bare hands?”
He gently gripped her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. “I could have protected you. But I didn’t because I wasn’t there.”
“Quinn, I’m a big girl and eventually I’ll have to learn to function without my knight in shining armor at my side.”
“I know, I know,” Quinn whispered. “But... I’m supposed to protect you.”
“And you have so many times. Look, we all thought the threat was in custody. You couldn’t have known.”
“But—”
“I’m a strong and determined woman, Quinn. I don’t need anyone taking care of me.”
He released her shoulders and went to the window overlooking the grounds. Worried she might have offended him, she said, “I appreciate your commitment to my safety. We make a great team.”
When he didn’t respond, she stepped in front of him and smiled. “Hey, you.” She touched his cheek and his jaw clenched as he continued to stare outside. “I mean it,” she said. “It makes me anxious when you won’t look at me. I feel like I’ve done something wrong.”
He snapped his attention to her. “Don’t try to take responsibility for my incompetence.”
Mountain Pursuit: Smoky Mountain Investigation ; Mountain Rescue Page 31
