Running Target. Elizabeth Goddard

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СКАЧАТЬ only guy who made her heart pound. Even if someone else could, she wasn’t willing to subject herself to the risk of being left again. She’d put that idea, the dream of raising Stevie with a husband, having more children, far from her.

      There had to be something truly wrong with her for Quinn to leave her like that. She wasn’t worth fighting for. Not worth loving.

      So she’d put everything into loving Stevie and making the best family she could for him.

      But if Stevie lost Bree tonight, then what?

       God, do You hear me? Stevie needs me.

      Exhaustion overwhelmed her, and she let herself doze off. Might as well rest while she could. Maybe she would have enough fortitude to push through the pain of her ankle after she rested.

      Bree woke up to complete darkness.

      Darkness and voices that echoed off the trees.

      Quiet footfalls closed in.

      They’d found her. Terror threatened to take her survival instincts away, but she steeled her resolve. She would fight them if they found her. If she could just outlast them...

      Whoever approached was close. Too close.

      She gripped a rock.

      Someone reached in and took her arm, his hands strong. Without effort, he pulled her from her hiding place and pressed her back against the tree. Bree smashed the rock into his head. He groaned and fell, dragging her down with him. She had to crawl over him to get away. He grabbed her arm and refused to let go.

      “Wait. Bree...”

      He knew her name? Something about the voice. She hesitated, then turned back. Moonlight dappled the forest enough for her to see his face.

      “Quinn?”

      * * *

      Quinn Strand grabbed his throbbing head. She’d hit him hard. Good for her. She’d thought he was one of the men after her, and if he had been, she wouldn’t have succeeded in incapacitating him with the rock. Not so good for her. He composed himself and forced his legs to work.

      Easing closer, he kept his voice low and said, “Keep quiet. They’re close.”

      “What are you doing here?” she whispered.

      She didn’t understand that he’d meant complete silence.

      He gripped the thermal imaging monocular he’d used to find her, then sat up. He tucked his hand around her neck and pulled her close so that his cheek was against hers as he whispered in her ear. “They aren’t far. Don’t talk.” He hoped the noise of their scuffle hadn’t already alerted them, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He’d explain everything later. “Now hold my hand and stay with me. I’ll lead you to safety.”

      He hoped.

      Thankfully, the men after her didn’t have a thermal imaging device or else they would have already gutted her and thrown her body in the river. He knew these men. Knew their brutality. He’d bury his regret for leading them across Bree’s path for later.

      He squeezed her hand, letting her know he was ready. He’d have to move slower with her. It might even be easier to carry her. With thermal imaging he could see the men’s heat signatures—much better than night vision, which wouldn’t give him the men’s locations behind trees or hiding in bushes.

      Heat signatures of four men were closing in. Fifteen yards out. Wait. Make that five men. They’d tracked her this far and from his experience, Quinn knew they were like a mixed breed of bloodhound and bulldog—they would never give up until they found her. And once they did, they would never let go.

      No way could Quinn leave her at their mercy. He had hoped he could sneak through their ever-tightening circle to get her out, but it would be close. It was a risk to him—but what did he care about the risk to him if Bree got hurt?

      She had no idea what she had always meant to him. No idea that he’d carried her picture with him at all times, even when he’d served in a foreign country fighting against a terrorist-producing regime. So many lonely days and nights, he’d pull out the photograph of Bree and just take in her shiny red hair and her bright, compassionate smile. Those brilliant green eyes. That picture had kept him going, even though he’d had no intention of coming back to her. Or for her.

      Of making a family with her.

      He couldn’t afford to grow close to anyone or love them. He couldn’t risk the pain of losing someone he loved again.

      He’d walked out on her already. Staying away from her was supposed to keep her safe. But still, at this moment, she was in danger of losing her life.

      Because of him!

      She collapsed behind him and he knelt beside her. Whispered in her ear. “Are you okay?”

      “I sprained my ankle.”

      Without speaking another word, he lifted her in his arms, tucked against his chest. Easier to carry her in a fireman’s carry, but this way was more comfortable for her. She might have protested except they were desperate to escape as soundlessly as possible. Quinn knew she understood the danger they faced. She had fought them and lost, though at least she’d held on to her life for a while longer.

      Long enough for Quinn to find her and get her out of this.

      Holding Bree in his arms under any circumstances wasn’t optimal for him. He didn’t want to stir up old longings or the buried emotions he had for her. He needed to stay focused on the mission only.

      Working as an undercover agent for the DEA—Drug Enforcement Administration—he’d learned how to kill his emotions, and he tried to kill those feelings stirring for Bree right now.

      The only thing that mattered was getting her out of this alive. He wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt if this ended in her death. Especially since she wouldn’t be in this predicament if it weren’t for him.

      If only he hadn’t come back to the Coldwater Bay area when he’d been forced to run and hide. But he’d made the mistake of leaving a piece of himself here at home, and that piece had called to him when he was in trouble.

      He slowed to catch his breath and take in the scenery forming in front of him.

      Not a hundred yards ahead, two human heat signatures closed in. Headed for each other. Confabbing? Of course they would regroup, but then which direction would they head? He lowered Bree to the ground next to a tree. His muscles were corded as tight as they’d ever been, and he hoped she sensed the urgency to keep absolutely quiet. No whispering in his ear.

      He eased back into a position to fight and defend.

      Prepared to take the men on if he and Bree were discovered.

      The men separated. One walked away, but the other headed toward the spot where Quinn and Bree were hiding. The man was no doubt wearing night-vision goggles and had caught a glimpse of something he intended to investigate. He would find them in moments. He must have communicated to his buddies since they were forming a circle too tight for Quinn to СКАЧАТЬ