Retribution (Otter Creek Book 8)

by Rebecca Deel

  Quinn stepped closer, looming over the other man. “Fortress is run like the military. Angel and Dane are considered privates.”

  “And you aren’t? They’ve been with the company longer than you.”

  His eyes narrowed. How did Levi know the length of time Durango worked with Fortress? Guess Angel and Dane had informed their principal, something he would address with the two operatives. They probably wanted to reassure Levi about Heidi’s safety. Loose lips would endanger Durango and their loved ones. “Length of service with Fortress doesn’t matter.”

  “Then what does?”

  “Skills and training. Angel and Dane were law enforcement. My teammates and I are military.”

  A snort. “So being a gun-toting soldier gives you more rank than a cop?”

  Anger burned in his gut. “In terms of experience and expertise, yes. You’re missing the point, Levi. We outrank them. Angel and Dane made a rookie mistake that could cost them their jobs.”

  “What? No! I just wanted to check on Katie.” He grimaced. “Heidi.”

  “You not only put yourself in danger with this stunt, you also endangered your bodyguards. You forced them to go into a situation blind which might have cost their lives.”

  Levi glanced at the closed door, a troubled look on his face. “I need to apologize. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “You can’t afford to act without thinking. Why are you in Otter Creek?”

  “Heidi was almost killed by a bomb. Of course I’ll be here. It’s my job to protect her.”

  Quinn glared. “That job is mine, a job which you’ve made a thousand times harder.”

  “How?”

  “Did the arsonist make a move against you at the safe house?”

  A head shake.

  “Then you should have stayed away. If the arsonist planted the bomb, he did it to draw you out. You handed him the response he was after and that multiplies the danger to you and Heidi. This guy now has you both in the same zip code. How much easier will it be for him to kill you both?”

  Levi squeezed his eyes shut a moment. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking beyond the need to reach Heidi.”

  “Panic will kill you and your cousin,” Rio said. “That’s why you must listen to the operatives protecting you. They’ll save your life if you’re smart enough to follow their orders. If you won’t do that, you’re a dead man and there’s a good chance your actions will cause injuries or worse to Heidi.”

  “I will listen to Angel and Dane from now on. You have my word.”

  “No more screw ups,” Quinn said. “If we have to call your bodyguards down again, we’ll send them packing. If they’re lucky, they’ll keep their jobs.” Although Maddox would send Angel and Dane through PSI for re-training.

  “I get it, okay? I won’t mess up again.”

  The door opened and Nate walked back into the room with a silent Angel following close behind.

  “Dane?” Quinn asked.

  “On the door. No one will slip past him. I’m needed at PSI.”

  “Go. Rio, can you stay until Susan turns us loose?”

  He pulled out his cell phone. “Need to let Darcy know I’ll be late for dinner.”

  Quinn’s lips edged upward. “You already sound married.”

  His friend grinned. “Six more days and I will be. I can’t wait to marry her.”

  “Tell Darcy I’m sorry we spoiled her plans,” Heidi said.

  “Don’t worry, sugar. I’ll have her to myself for two weeks. I plan to make amends for every missed or late meal and event, and treat her like the princess she is.”

  Envy hit Quinn in the gut. He wanted the kind of relationship Rio and Darcy shared. His gaze shifted to Heidi and found her attention on him. Did she want the same thing with him? Man, he hoped so. Yeah, it was crazy. He’d only reconnected with Heidi two days ago, but he felt as though they had never parted.

  Maybe the connection remained from the time their families spent together when they were growing up. Since their fathers were business partners, the Hendersons and Gallaghers often shared meals and celebrated holidays, even attended the same schools and knew the same people. He’d watched her grow, considering her a kid sister until Caleb Henderson kidnapped Heidi and Moira. After the death of his father, Quinn focused on his own family, giving little thought to Katie as he helped his mother and sisters cope. Now, Katie Henderson was no longer a child. She’d grown into the drop-dead gorgeous Heidi Thompson and the feelings Quinn had for her were anything but brotherly.

  Once Nate left, Levi turned to Quinn. “Guess Maddox’s version of witness protection didn’t work. The arsonist has found Heidi again. How will you and your buddies protect her?”

  Quinn studied him a moment. “How did you hear about Fortress? We don’t advertise.”

  Levi looked startled. “How does he find business?”

  “People find us. Answer my question, Levi.”

  “I was a firefighter before I transitioned to arson investigator. My engine responded to a house fire. We rescued a mother and daughter trapped on the second floor. The daughter is Maddox’s niece.”

  Quinn remembered Maddox talking about the incident. According to him, one of the firefighters had been burned saving the girl. Must have been Levi. Maybe the burns were the reason Levi had changed jobs. “Bet your career raised suspicions when you and Heidi were victims of fires.”

  “You have no idea. It was bad enough as a firefighter. As an arson investigator, I knew enough to set the fires, sit back and watch the show. The cops were wrong, but that didn’t stop them from trying to pin the fires on me anyway.”

  Another knock on the door. Rio stepped into the hall, then returned with the doctor.

  “Would you like to go home, Ms. Thompson?”

  Heidi smiled. “How fast can I sign the papers?”

  Susan laughed. “You’ll be walking out the door in a few minutes. I’ll have the nurse give you a sheet with instructions when you’re discharged. Rio, I assume you’ll watch them overnight. If you can’t, I will keep them for observation.”

  “I’ll take care of it.” He slid them a pointed look. “I guarantee they’ll stay quiet.”

  “Excellent. Heidi, Quinn, stay out of trouble for a few days.”

  “Susan, I hate hospitals,” Quinn said.

  “Something tells me you experience more than the normal bumps and bruises when on the job.” She held up her hand. “I don’t want to know. I can’t speak about what I haven’t seen. As a physician, I’m telling you to lay low for a day or two. Heidi, it’s nice to meet you. Wish your welcome to Otter Creek hadn’t been so dramatic.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Rio, call me if there are any problems.” The doctor smiled. “I’ll be on duty until six tomorrow morning.” When Durango’s medic saluted Susan, she grinned and left with a wave.

  Thirty minutes later, Quinn escorted Heidi to Rio’s SUV, idling at the ER entrance. Dane and Angel followed with Levi in their vehicle. With so many Fortress operatives in one place, Quinn decided returning to Heidi’s house for the night was safe enough. Though he had better security at his place, Heidi needed Charlie’s supplies and her house would accommodate all of them. He and Rio would spell the other operatives through the night. No choice, despite Susan’s instructions for him to rest. Heidi and Levi must be protected and the arsonist had proved he knew Heidi’s location. Now the cousins were under the same roof.

  On the ride to Heidi’s home, Quinn called Maddox.

  “Talk to me, Quinn,” was the Fortress CEO’s greeting.

  “You’re on speaker with Rio and Heidi, too.” With that warning, he dived into the most pressing issue. “Levi’s here.”

  “Explain.”

  He reported the events of the past several hours and Levi’s subsequent arrival in Otter Creek with his security detail.

  “Why didn’t I hear about the location change from Levi’s security detail?”

  “My guess is the principal didn’t give them an o
ption and wouldn’t wait.” With an apologetic glance at Heidi, he said, “Levi’s determined to protect Heidi, no matter the cost to himself or others around him.”

  “Heidi? Opinion?”

  She sighed. “Quinn’s right. My cousin has been protecting me since I was ten. Even though we have bodyguards, he doesn’t think anyone can do as good a job as he can.”

  “I’ll talk to Josh, see what he wants to do.”

  “Give him a few hours before you touch base,” Quinn said. “He’s on duty tonight and is sleeping.”

  “Copy that. Want me to reassign Levi’s bodyguards?”

  “How good are they?”

  “Good enough I planned to add them to a new unit. After their performance on this assignment, I might rethink that decision.”

  So, this was on-the-job training for the pair. Nice. “Nate had a talk with them. Run it by Josh, but my recommendation is to leave them in place for now. If there’s another incident, we’ll send them to Nashville or dump them into training at PSI.”

  “I like the PSI angle. Might do that anyway once this assignment is finished. I’ll talk to Josh about designing a specialized training regimen for future units.”

  An excellent idea. Fortress constantly needed more units as the danger around the globe escalated. Made sense to have PSI design a program since the infrastructure was in place.

  “Heidi, I need you to tell me the truth,” Maddox said. “Did you break the rules?”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Heidi groaned. Man, Rio was right about the sore muscles. She rolled over, glanced at the window. Frowned. It was still dark. What time was it? After she and the others returned to her house the night before, they had eaten the day’s special from Delaney’s brought to them by Ivy Morgan. Following a reunion with Charlie, Heidi went to bed.

  Squinting at the clock on her bedside table, Heidi sighed. Three o’clock? Knowing she wouldn’t sleep now, she headed to the bathroom. After a quick shower, she dressed in comfortable clothes and running shoes, and patted her thigh for Charlie to follow her. She’d been so glad to see her furry buddy when Deke dropped him off. He’d laughed when telling her about Charlie being such a good natured, patient “victim” as his daughters played house and dress-up with him and Ace. “Outside, Charlie,” she murmured.

  When she passed the living room, the brush of fabric caught her attention. Heidi’s heart leaped into her throat until she remembered her conversation with Quinn before she’d gone to bed. He warned her at least one Fortress operative would be on watch through the night. She hoped the guard was one of the others.

  “Everything okay, Heidi?” Quinn moved into the dimly lit hall, concern on his face. “I can wake Rio if you need him.”

  He was concerned about her? What about Quinn? He must be exhausted. “I’m wide awake,” she whispered. “I need to take Charlie out.”

  “I’ll take him. There’s fresh coffee in the kitchen.”

  She smiled. “I’ll take you up on both.” Early morning visits to the grass in winter with Charlie were her least favorite times with her beloved companion. Heidi poured herself a cup of coffee and had taken several sips by the time Quinn returned. Charlie dashed to his food and water bowl which Heidi had filled while he was outside. “Don’t you ever sleep?” she asked Quinn.

  He glanced over his shoulder as he relocked the door. “I slept.”

  “How long?”

  “Three hours.”

  She stared. “How can you function on six hours of sleep in two days?”

  He poured coffee for himself. “Military training. No cookies this time?” he asked, his lips curving.

  Figuring he’d said all he planned to regarding his sleeping patterns, Heidi said, “I might be persuaded to eat one.” Who was she to turn down a cookie? Any cookie. She glanced at the open pantry door at the brightly covered containers of pure goodness. Yep, definitely punchy from yesterday’s excitement if she waxed eloquent over a cookie. “Maybe two cookies,” she muttered.

  With a soft chuckle, Quinn grabbed two kinds of cookies and slid them across the counter. “Guess the choices don’t matter.”

  “I haven’t found many that aren’t good with coffee.”

  “Don’t tell Rio about your eating habits, babe. He’ll nudge you to better food choices.”

  “Too late.” Rio walked in, yawning. He grabbed a cup of coffee for himself and sat at the breakfast bar with Heidi and Quinn. “Pass me two of those oatmeal things.”

  “Can’t wait to tell Darcy about your late night eating habits,” Quinn said as he passed his friend the container. “All your lectures about changing our eating habits must have blown past your ears.”

  “I made the change for my wife-to-be and I feel better physically. Galls me to admit Nate’s been right about our juvenile food choices all these years.” He narrowed his eyes at Quinn. “If you tattle on me, I’ll let Alex stitch you up the next time you’re injured.”

  “Ouch. Not nice, buddy.”

  “Alex isn’t skilled as a medic?” Heidi bit into her cream-filled chocolate cookie. So good. Chocolate was good for you. She thought she remembered hearing that. Whether food critics agreed or not, chocolate cookies made her feel good.

  “He’s best with a rifle in his hand, not a needle.” Quinn shuddered. “I’d rather stitch myself up than let Alex work on me.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Have you stitched yourself?”

  “We all have. You do what’s necessary when in the field.”

  “How do you feel, Heidi?” Rio asked.

  “Sore, but not bad considering I lost an argument with a brick wall.”

  “Headache? Nausea?”

  She shook her head.

  “Excellent. Stay with the plan for today and take it easy. Tomorrow, you can return to normal activity as long as you don’t do anything too strenuous.”

  “No running marathons or scaling mountains. Check.”

  Rio looked surprised. “You done both?”

  “Helps me prepare for searches.” Heidi finished her coffee and cookie before turning to Quinn. “What are we doing today?”

  “Breakfast at Delaney’s at six.” He winked. “A real breakfast. Then we visit Del at the bookstore to get a map. We’ll drive around the county today.” He pushed aside his empty coffee mug and turned to face her. “Up to answering questions this morning, baby?”

  Goosebumps surged over her body, though she wasn’t sure if his endearment or Quinn’s ominous overtone caused them. Most likely both. “What do you want to know?”

  “You told Maddox you followed his security rules. Have you remembered doing anything that might have compromised your safety and given away your location?”

  Heidi thought about that question late into the night, racking her brain for any slip that might have led to another breach in her security. “I haven’t talked to anyone from my past except my cousin. I only used the encrypted phone Maddox gave me to talk to Levi and only for very short periods of time.”

  “Did you run across anyone you met in one of your past identities?” Rio asked. “Maybe someone who called out one of your old names or someone from your childhood.”

  “Not that I remember.”

  “You would remember a scare like that. When you’re on the run, you’re paranoid. What about social media?” Quinn asked. “Did you have your picture on social media posts?”

  She frowned. “I don’t have social media pages, but someone might have posted a picture of me without me knowing. Are you thinking the arsonist is tracking me through other people’s social media posts?”

  “Something to consider.”

  “I can’t see the boss missing something that basic.” Rio selected two more cookies. “Zane would have conducted a facial recognition search, then scrubbed any images he found.”

  Heidi stared. “Can he do that?”

  “There are no pictures of Fortress employees on the Internet. Our safety and the safety of our families depends on our secure iden
tities.”

  “Maddox had your possessions searched for bugs and trackers before you came here?” Quinn persisted.

  She gave a soft huff of laughter. “What possessions? Levi and I lost everything except one change of clothes in another fire the night before we met with your boss. We didn’t have anything to search.”

  “What about after you met with him?’

  “He shipped us off for defense training, then split us up. I came here. I don’t know where he sent my cousin.” Couldn’t have been too far from Otter Creek since Levi showed up so fast after the bomb destroyed Quinn’s SUV.

  “Your vehicles?”

  “Maddox went over them himself a couple times and said they were free of tracking devices.”

  “You brought nothing from your former life.” Quinn was silent a moment. “What about Charlie?”

  At the sound of his name, the Lab sat up on his chill mat.

  Heidi stared at her canine companion. “Charlie’s been with me for three years. I would never leave him behind. He’s as much my family as Levi.”

  Quinn and Rio exchanged a look. “Did anyone scan Charlie for a tracking device?” Rio asked.

  “I’m not sure. But how would the arsonist place a tracker on my dog? He’s never out of my sight.”

  “Because he’s a trained working dog, you must take him to the vet.”

  “Of course. I don’t leave him, though. I go into the examining room with him. He’s not fond of vet visits.”

  “Can’t say that I blame him. I don’t like doctor visits either. What about when he’s at the groomers? Do you stay with him when he’s groomed?” Quinn rose and retrieved the coffee pot, refilling each of their mugs.

  “I usually don’t.” She rubbed Charlie’s ears, feeling guilty all over again for leaving him even for those few hours. “It’s hard to hear him kick up a fuss. He’s vocal about his dislike of baths. You hear his howls all over the store.”

  Quinn flashed her an amused look. “I think my ears are still ringing from the bath we gave him.” He turned to Rio, raised an eyebrow. “You want to check him?”