Kelley Armstrong - Made to Be Broken

A grunt. As he disappeared through the kitchen door, his voice rolled back to us. "Update her, Dee."

In other words, don't give her a chance to make her offer until he was in the room. I told her about our appointment and thwarted break-in.

"So we'll try again tonight," I said. "If Quinn's here, he can roust the guy and stand guard."

"Quinn? What's Quinn got to do with this?"

When I fell into silence, she twisted to look toward the kitchen.

"Did you forget to mention something, Jacko? Or someone?"

He appeared with two coffees. I mouthed "I'm sorry" while Evelyn still had her back to me. He shrugged, crossed the room and handed me my mug.

"Go on," he said. "Tell her."

"Tell her…?"

"Everything."

Meaning I should go all the way back to how Quinn first became involved – his unexpected arrival at the lodge and the reason for it. Jack gave Evelyn her coffee, then returned to the kitchen.

"Jesus Christ," Evelyn said when I said Quinn knew who I was. "And you didn't skin that boy alive, Jack? You're getting soft."

"Honest mistake," Jack called from the kitchen.

"You don't think it is?" I asked.

She sipped her coffee, considering. "Quinn's too much the Boy Scout to do anything that underhanded. And he's smart enough to know that if he did, Jack would skin him alive."

I told her the rest, how Quinn was now helping and due to join us soon.

"And Jack's fine with that?" she said, brows lifting. "Quinn sniffing around? Wriggling into your case?"

"He's not thrilled about it, but we could use Quinn's law-enforcement know-how and if he's offering – "

"Oh, I bet he's offering. Since day one, that boy's been panting after you like a junkyard mutt smelling his first bitch in heat."

"Colorful…"

"But true."

I eased back into the seat, cupping my mug. "Whatever Quinn's motivation, we gave Jack the final say, and he agreed."

"Making Jack now, officially, the first professional killer ever to aspire to sainthood via martyrdom."

"I know hanging out with Quinn isn't Jack's idea of fun, but all he has to do is say no – "

"Hear that, Jack?" Evelyn swiveled, leaning over the side of her chair to yell toward the kitchen. "All you have to do is say no."

Silence returned.

"So, back to the break-in – " I said.

"Dee? Would you be a sweetie and feed the girls for me?"

"Uh, sure…"

"Their food is on the basement landing and their bowls are outside. You'll need to take them out and watch them. Make sure Scotch gets her share. Ginger's been bullying her again."

"Okay…"

"I'll help Jack with breakfast."

When I fed the dogs, I noticed their water bowl had a pair of flies doing the backstroke. So I dumped it and looked around for an outside tap, but couldn't find one. I glanced at the back door. Evelyn had obviously kicked me out so she could talk to Jack, presumably give him shit for letting Quinn onto our case.

Ginger stopped eating, looked at where her water bowl had been, then up at me. When I didn't return her bowl, she lapped rainwater from a groove in the deck.

"Okay, okay," I said. "But if she gives me shit for interrupting, I'm blaming you."

I opened the screen door and lifted my hand to knock. Then I glimpsed Jack's shoulder and arm through the dining room doorway. He was shrugging, talking to Evelyn in the living room again.

I decided knocking would be more of an interruption. Just slip in and get the water. They'd hear me filling the bowl, so I clearly wasn't eavesdropping. It wasn't as if I'd been ordered to stay outside.

I stepped in, prodding Ginger back out as I quietly closed the door.

Evelyn was talking. "Bad enough you don't give that boy a smack upside the head."

"Boy?" Jack snorted.

"I don't care how old he is, he sure as hell doesn't act it. He's like a teenager, chasing after Nadia, barging in on your investigation."

Yep, arguing about Quinn. I headed for the sink.

"Didn't barge in. I invited him."

"That's my point, you dumb fucking Mick. You're not just letting him poach on your turf – you're opening the gate and inviting him in."

Evelyn had a point. Me working alone with Quinn was one thing. Bringing him in on this meant I was exposing Jack to an unnecessary risk.

I reached for the tap.

Evelyn went on. "Why don't you just hand him a bouquet of roses and a box of fucking condoms while you're at it, Jacko?"

"It's not like that," Jack said.

"No? Nadia is yours, and it's about time you had the balls to do something about it."

Did Evelyn think Quinn was trying to shoulder Jack aside as my professional contact? Had Jack mentioned the Toronto job, leading her to think Quinn and I were partnering?

"Don't start," he said.

"Why not? You obviously won't. You were taking your time. Fine, I understand that. God forbid you should commit yourself to anything before you've checked out every angle, made absolutely sure the water is warm and safe. Then Quinn leaps in with a splash that sends you flying out of the fucking pool. But still, you're not worried. Big splash, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. By the time you blink, it'll be gone. She'll go home, forget him, and there won't be so much as a ripple to show where he'd been. So now – " A pause. "Where are you going?"

"Glass of water. Making me thirsty."

His footsteps sounded on the dining room floor. I glanced at the door. I couldn't make it and I wasn't about to be caught eavesdropping. I reached for the faucet again.

The fast clicking of Evelyn's pumps on the hardwood, then Jack's footsteps stopped.

"Not so fast, Jacko. We are having this conversation, and this time, you aren't running."

"Not running. Walking."

"As fast as you can."

He snorted. "Nothing to discuss. You get these ideas. These fancies – "

"Fancies? Oh, yes, I would love to see you shack up in some backwater hovel, go Grizzly Adams, and raise a pas-sel of brats. Nothing would make me happier. Maybe I can even visit now and then, play Grandma Evie – "

A wheeze that took me a minute to recognize as stifled laughter. Jack's laughter.

"You think that's what I want?" he asked.

"I don't know what the hell you want, Jack, and I don't think you do, either. The only thing you do know is you want her"'

My heart thudded so hard I couldn't breathe. I'd misheard. Misunderstood. Misinterpreted -

"It's not like that," Jack said.

"No?"

"No."

I relaxed my grip on the faucet and exhaled. Okay, that's what I wanted to hear, wasn't it? Wasn't it?

"So last year, when you set up that Helter Skelter killer hunt for Nadia, it was just because you like her as a friend?"

"Didn't set it up for her. Needed to shut him down. Bad for business."

"True. And, while you were acknowledging that and thinking something should probably be done about him, you couldn't help thinking how much she'd like to be the one to do it, how it might be good for her, exercise those vigilante yearnings, while showcasing you in a better light, and giving you two time together…"

"It wasn't like that."

And it hadn't been like that. In all those days together, he hadn't given any sign of treating me differently than he would a male partner. We'd shared the same motel rooms, for God's sake. He'd seen me in my nightshirt. Not so much as a lingering glance.

"Nadia tells me you two have been out of touch all year," Evelyn said.

"Been busy – "

"The hell you have been. You don't think I know your schedule, Jack? Even when you don't tell me what you're up to, I know. You've been no busier than usual."