Elizabeth Goddard - Running Target

Now. How did she get there?

Bree realized Quinn was waiting for her to reply to his comment about her expecting the place to be a mess. “Oh, yeah, I was, actually. You were really sloppy.”

“These days, I have to keep it perfectly clean or I’d go crazy. I couldn’t function. Plus, I need to be able to flee at any moment and don’t want to have to search for stuff.”

Flee at any moment? Now that got her attention. She sat up and blinked, hoping she could keep her eyes open.

What was going on? She wanted answers from Quinn, but first she had some explaining to do herself.

He handed her a tall glass of water he must haul up here in plastic jugs. How else could he get it?

As she drank, he guzzled down his own and watched her over the rim of his glass. His blue-gray eyes stared at her. Eyes she used to look into all dreamily. That was before reality hit her hard—Quinn would leave her again. And again.

She still couldn’t get over the fact that Quinn had rescued her. She could remember the moment of surprise mixed with relief at seeing a friendly face, then with anger all over again, the way she always felt around him these days, at the way he’d left her—with a dead brother to remember him by. And yet now that he was here, her heart warmed to see him—she’d missed him so much. At the same time, she had never wanted to see him again.

She had mixed emotions when it came to this man—no doubt there.

But none of their past mattered while they were in danger. She finished the last of her water. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she was.

“I’m so sorry for dragging you into this, Quinn. But...how did you find me? What are you even doing here?”

He slowly set the glass on the counter and scraped both hands through his thick, shaggy hair. Her heart jumped around inside—she had always been so attracted to him, and unfortunately, now wasn’t any different. Angry with herself, she pushed from the sofa though she was a little unsteady on her feet, especially her injured ankle. She leaned against the counter to support her weight.

“What’s going on, Quinn?” She tried to read his somber expression.

He leveled his gaze on her. Oh no. Here it comes. She wasn’t so sure she wanted to know.

“You didn’t drag me into this.” Hands on his hips, he turned his back on her.

“Quinn.”

A few seconds passed, then, “It’s my fault that you’re in the middle.”

“Start talking.”

When he turned, she thought she might have seen him hiding a grin. “You were never the patient kind.”

“Quinn!”

He held his hands in the air and pressed his palms down. “Keep your voice down. We don’t want to lead anyone here.”

She eased forward but not too close. Maybe if she backed off the pressure, he would talk. She recalled easily enough that pressure was the wrong tactic with him. He would run rather than face it.

He took several long breaths. “Those men you ran into—they came here looking for me. I... I’ve been dreading this day. Hoping it would never happen, but keeping an eye out for it, all the same. From my perch here, if I look just so, I can view the river. I saw the whole thing from the moment you and your partner pulled up alongside them. I was watching it through my binoculars. I never prayed so hard, Bree. Well, there was one other time...”

Yeah, she knew exactly what time that was. He had prayed hard for Steve to live.

She said nothing, though, waiting for him to continue.

“As soon as I saw you go into the water, I followed you and saw you swim away. I started making my way down. It was dark by the time I found you, but I had my monocular so I kept searching and praying I could find you. There was only one real path you could have taken with the way the ravine twists along the river, and unfortunately, only one path the men after you could have taken.”

“Well, even if they came here for you, they’re after me now, too. But I have to ask—who are they and why are they searching for you?”

“Anything I tell you could put you in more danger.”

She huffed.

“You seem a little indignant.”

“You think? Seriously, Quinn, I’m already in danger. Jayce McBride, my partner and a good deputy, a husband and a father—he’s in danger. He made it out of the water, but I have no idea if he crawled on the bank to die or if he has been rescued...or if he’s still out there, trying to evade capture. Now, after everything I’ve just been through, I deserve to know, especially if what you say is true—that those men were on the river looking for you. Are you going to tell me?”

He hung his head. “I’m so sorry about everything.” He sucked in a long breath, then, “I was working undercover and they found out. That’s a betrayal they won’t easily forget, so they hunted me all the way here from Louisiana.”

Bree’s heart twisted in a hundred directions. She sucked in a breath. “Who are you working with?”

“DEA...”

Drug Enforcement Administration.

“Was, anyway.”

Obviously, there was much more to it.

Favoring her good leg, she tightened the belt on her uniform pants. She’d lost her own weapon. Her radio wasn’t working. But that didn’t change a thing. “I’m Deputy Carrington, Quinn, and if you’re being threatened then it’s my job to protect you. Let’s get you back to civilization and I can put you in protective custody.”

* * *

He swallowed the laugh that almost erupted.

Not going to happen.

Aww, Bree... Look at you.

He took in her messy, muddy face and hair—he couldn’t even tell if it was red now—and the scratch along her cheek. She probably got that from their wild run through the forest. That needed cleaning. He resisted the urge to cup her face. Wished he could take the pain of this night away.

The truth was that all Quinn would ever be to Bree was a pain-maker. But he could at least address the smallish pains. “Wait here.”

“Where are you going?”

“Just grabbing a first aid kit.” He didn’t have far to go in the small space, and was soon wiping away the mud from her cheek, then cleaning the scratch. “Let’s take care of these nicks and cuts before we head out again.”

“Thanks, but Quinn, you’re avoiding responding to my offer.”

In her eyes, he saw that he’d hurt her by not taking her up on her promise of protection. But it was ridiculous at best. She had no idea what she was committing to. No idea that she was only getting herself in deeper with her offer to help—that is, if he were to take her up on it.

He searched inside the kit, then hung his head. “I never meant to drag you or anyone else into this. I was hiding where no one could find me and yet I led them right into your path.”

“And just how did they find you?”

“That’s something I’d like to know as well, but it’s a question for another day. Right now, I need to wrap that ankle. Attend to the other scratches.” Get a rag to wipe away the mud from her face and hair. She could really use some clean clothes, as could he.

Her eyes were kind of glazing over now. “Sit down, Bree.”

Oddly, she allowed him to guide her to the sofa. He frowned. Was she going into shock? “Bree, tell me this.”

“What?”

“I know you’ve worked as a deputy for a few years. Have you ever killed anyone in the line of duty before?”

She studied her shaky hands and shook her head. “No. I... I’ve never exchanged gunfire like that. Nor had Jayce. The movies make it look like we do that all the time, but...”

“I know.” He knew, all right. He remembered the first person he’d taken out in the line of duty—first, as a soldier overseas. And then, unfortunately, in his job with the DEA. It had changed him. He didn’t like it.