“I think I have to report in and help with the manhunt for him. And if Jenna was sitting at that restaurant watching us tonight, then that was after his escape… Maybe she was there because he sent her? Fuck the gun. Just come with me. I’ll put you in an office at the station. You’ll be surrounded by cops.”
“No. No. I can’t do that. I can’t be run out of my own home—my own life—again. I’ve got the gun. My phone is fully charged… I’ll lock every window and door. But I’m not leaving my house because of him.”
“Stubborn.”
“Yes, I am. Thank you for reminding me of it. Now go. Troy’s going to be waiting for you.”
I watch him head down the hall. A few minutes later, he’s in his Kevlar vest with his badge and a gun holstered on his hip. He heads toward the door and then turns back to me. “If you hear even a single creak, you call. Don’t hesitate.”
“I won’t. And you… you be careful, Quinn. I’m not losing you again.”
He steps close enough to brush his mouth against mine. “Oh, you’re not going to. We’ve got unfinished business.”
I watch him walk away, this time heading for the door without a backwards glance. I know Quinn. Even after all this time apart, I know how he thinks. The sooner he gets this done, the sooner Evan is caught, the sooner I’ll be safe. And if there’s one thing I can count on, Quinn will always do what it takes to keep me safe.
13
Quinn
The radio beeps at us as Troy adjusts the frequency, his jaw set tight with the same frustration that's been eating at me for the past six hours. We're staying off the regular channels as much as possible, and we've gone back to the way of the pioneers with these manual ones. We've been combing through every inch of Bellehaven, turning over rocks and checking abandoned buildings, but Evan Salyers has vanished into the night. The son of a bitch walked away from his work release program, and now he's somewhere in my town. My jurisdiction. My responsibility.
"Nothing on the south side," Troy mutters, running a hand through his hair. "It's like the bastard just evaporated."
I keep my eyes on the road ahead, but my mind keeps drifting to the same dark place it's been circling since I got the call. Evan Salyers isn't just some random escapee. He's the piece of shit who threatened my wife—legally still my wife, whether she likes it or not—and it was Cecily that put him behind bars in the first place.
"Quinn, you hearing me?" Troy's voice cuts through my thoughts.
"Yeah, sorry. What?"
"I said maybe we should head back to the station and regroup. We've got every unit in the county looking for this asshole. Someone's bound to spot him."
I want to argue, want to keep driving these streets until I find Evan myself, but Troy's right. We've been at this for hours, and we're no closer to finding him than we were when we started. The smart thing would be to go back, coordinate with the other units, maybe catch some food and caffeine before we head out again.
"Alright," I say, making a U-turn on Main Street. "But we're back out here in an hour."
Troy nods, understanding the weight behind my words. He knows about Cecily, knows about our history, knows that this isn't just another case for me. It's personal as hell.
The drive back to the station takes us through the older part of town, past the house where Cecily and I used to meet when we were teenagers. It's the same house she now owns and the one I've been staying at. In that damn guest room, trying to figure out how to fix what I broke.
"You think he's in town?" Troy asks, breaking the silence.
"He's here," I say, and I mean it. "Guys like Evan, they don't run far. They stick around, especially when they've got unfinished business."
"Unfinished business with your wife, you mean."
The words hang heavy in the air between us.
"Yeah," I say, my voice rougher than I intended. "Unfinished business with my wife."
The truth is, I've been carrying this weight since I heard Evan had walked away from his work detail. A few hours of freedom, and who knows what the hell he's been planning. He's had plentyof time sitting in the jail cell to fantasize about what he could do once he got out. I think about how scared Cecily must have been when she'd decided to speak out against him. The bastard had been seeking drugs and was a danger to society when she'd had the guts to do something about it. Unfortunately for Evan, she also had a husband who'd been trained by the United States Army to kill people in ways that would make grown men weep.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I fish it out without looking at the screen. "Bellehaven PD, this is Carter."
"Quinn?" Cecily's voice is small, scared in a way that makes every muscle in my body tense. "Quinn, I think... I think someone's trying to get in the house."
I'm already hitting the brakes, Troy grabbing the dashboard as I pull a sharp turn. "Where are you?"
"I'm in the bedroom. I locked the door. I heard something outside, like someone walking around the house, and now I think they're trying the back door."
