Hunted (Love like Yours Series Book 3)

by Nicole S. Goodin

  I nodded and took the plate and glass from him.

  He snagged a blanket from the back of the couch and draped it around my shoulders while I pulled small pieces of the bread apart and popped them in my mouth.

  He watched me like a hawk, his head moving between the plate and my mouth as I fed myself the food.

  “I’m so fucking sorry Quinn.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I should have come sooner.”

  You should have never let me leave.

  “Actually I should have never let you leave.”

  I gasped.

  Did I say that out loud?

  “Can I talk? I’ll just talk and you can listen?”

  I nodded and sipped on the milk.

  He shook his head. “Jesus. They warned me you weren’t okay Quinn. But I never expected to find you like this. I’m so sorry.”

  They?

  I felt my cheeks heat and I dropped my eyes from him.

  I knew I looked terrible, my bones were sticking out everywhere and I’d lost nearly all of my muscle tone. My face was gaunt and my hair hung dull and lifeless. I was literally fading away before my own eyes.

  “When you left that day Quinn, I thought I was doing the right thing. I was a liar, a criminal and a bastard. I wasn’t good enough for you and I knew you deserved better. I convinced myself that letting you leave was the best thing for you, but I know now that it was bullshit.”

  My eyes flickered back up to his.

  “I can see now that I wasn’t doing it for you. I was doing it for me. I was wrong back then… I’m what’s best for you Quinn… me. But I wasn’t good enough for you then, so instead of acknowledging it, putting in the work and changing who I was, I took the easy option and let you leave.”

  He was right. He was all I’d wanted these past few months.

  “I spent one whole month thinking that you were better off without me. I knew you were strong and I imagined you moving on, meeting someone else and being happy with someone who deserved you.”

  I shook my head quickly. “I was worse Harrison. So much worse off without you.” I stared at the food on my plate so that I wouldn’t have to look at him.

  “I see that now... Jesus, I see it as plain as day. I underestimated your feelings for me Quinn. But I was right about one thing, I didn’t deserve you, not the way I was.”

  He reached for my hand. “So I decided to change.”

  My eyes found his face again. “You did?”

  “I didn’t get there on my own though. Colt came to see me.”

  Colt?

  He nodded. “He bowled right up to me, shoved me against a wall and asked me what the fuck I was thinking.”

  I gasped. “He knows what you’ve done?”

  “No.” He shook his head quickly. “He just knew that you were hurting. He told me he’d seen you and it was like the life had been sucked out of you.”

  “Dramatic.” I mumbled.

  He ignored my comment.

  “He basically told me that if I put him through all of that bullshit, just to let the woman I loved walk away from me when I’d fucked it up, then he’d never speak to me again.”

  I never thought I’d see the day that Colt was the driving force for his brother coming back to me.

  “I can’t believe he did that.” I thought aloud.

  “I couldn’t either. When he calmed down, he told me that he didn’t know what had happened, but he knew it would be my fault. And that if I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, I needed to remove the problems from my life and be what you deserved.”

  His eyes shone with pride as he talked about his brother. I was impressed too. It sounded like Colt had done some growing up of his own.

  Maybe Harrison has too.

  “I stopped Quinn.”

  My heart raced.

  Is he saying what I think he’s saying?

  “I don’t hunt them anymore.”

  I pointed at his swollen eye. “Since when? Last night?”

  He pressed his fingers to his eye and smiled. “Your sister has one hell of a right hook.”

  El?

  “Oh. My. God.” A laugh escaped my lips and it made me gasp. It felt foreign to me after all this time.

  What the hell has happened to me?

  “I warned Lawson against laying a finger on you.” I informed him.

  “So I heard.” He replied dryly. “Next time could you extend the warning to Ellerslie?”

  He had the beginnings of a cheeky grin on his lips and just like that we were back to bantering back and forward.

  “Next time? You planning on needing another punch in the face sometime soon?”

  His expression morphed into a guilty grimace. “Never again Quinn… never.” He promised.

  “Sometimes the two people who are truly best for each other will have to face greater obstacles in order to be with each other.”

  - Author unknown

  50. Harrison

  It was going to take time – so much time for her to get better. If this was going to work, I was going to have to earn my place in her life again. I’d been handed it freely the first time, but now, after this, I was going to work harder than I ever had to deserve her. I had to rebuild trust and make her my top priority.

  I broke her.

  This amazing, strong, woman was a complete mess because of me.

  “Will you ever be able to forgive me Quinn?” I asked her quietly.

  I wasn’t one hundred percent sure she was even awake. She was so exhausted; she’d been drifting in and out of sleep.

  “I do forgive you; I know your intentions were good.” She murmured.

  “Not that… for breaking you.” I clarified. “Do you think you’ll ever forgive me for that?”

  She was quiet for so long I thought she must have drifted off again.

  “I don’t know.” She finally whispered. “You lied to me, and you left me.”

  I tried to swallow the lump in my throat.

  “Can I tell you something?” I asked.

  She snuggled into me again. “You can tell me anything... everything. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

  My chest constricted with guilt and I vowed right then and there that I’d never lie to her again.

  “You remember that officer that came to my house? Anthony Rodgers?”

  She nodded against my chest.

  “I went to him and confessed. Everything.”

  She tilted her head back to look at me. “Harrison…” Her voice broke. “He’ll lock you up.” A tear slipped from her eye. “You can’t… we have to get you out of here.” Her face was a mask of pure horror as she struggled to get out of my arms.

  “Shhh.” I pulled her back in. “I’m fine. I’m not going to jail.” I reassured her.

  “But… but… you…” She stammered, more tears falling.

  “Shhh Skippy.” I ran my hand up and down her back. “I’m fine. He already knew everything. He was even there the night I got really hurt. He and his partner saved my life. It’s a long story…”

  Her eyes bulged.

  “I’ll tell you everything.” I promised. “But the most important part is that I came clean, I told him everything because I don’t want to be that man anymore. I wanted to be better. For you… and for me.”

  “How Harrison?” She asked. “How can he just let you walk free?”

  “I made a deal.”

  “What kind of deal?” Her lip quivered.

  “They want Max Barceló. They still have eyes on him… and they want me to go in there, with a wire, and get him to confess to his master plan.”

  She gasped.

  “I need to do this. I was just a pawn to him Quinn.” I shook my head in disbelief.

  “He executed it all perfectly. Anthony promised me he’d keep me safe, the deal is, I get what they need to take him down… and I walk free.”

  “When?”

  “Tomorrow.” I replied quietly. “I don’t know if it’ll work, but
I’m gonna give it my best shot. My future… hopefully our future, is riding on this Quinn, I won’t stuff it up.”

  The two words she replied filled me with hope.

  “Our future.” She confirmed in a whisper so low I nearly missed it.

  God I hope she means that.

  “I’ve never been very good at leaving things behind. I tried, but I have always left fragments of myself there too, like seeds awaiting their chance to grow.”

  - Joanne Harris

  51. Quinn

  “Can I have some time to think?” I asked him.

  He frowned at me and opened his mouth to argue.

  “Just a couple of nights.” I promised him before he could reply. “I just need to try and get some strength back… some sleep.” I shook my head. “I just need to get my thoughts together… please.”

  I tugged on the front of his shirt and he moved closer. “And you’ve got to keep focused on what you need to do. I don’t want you distracted… I need you to come back in one piece this time.”

  “Of course.” He ran a nervous hand through his messy hair that I’d missed so damn much.

  I leaned my body against his and breathed in his familiar scent.

  “I love you Quinn, please don’t give up on me yet.” He begged.

  I love you too.

  He kissed my head, pulled away slowly and headed in the direction of the front door.

  I lifted my head. “Harrison?” I called weakly after him.

  He stopped in his tracks and turned back to face me.

  “Yeah babe?” He asked curiously.

  I asked him the question that had been driving me crazy for a long time.

  “What was it you couldn’t give up? Those people you were protecting? Or do you just like to throw your fists?”

  He thought about it for a moment.

  “I’m not going to lie to you… hitting those bastards did feel good. But I know it’s not right.” He looked at his feet with embarrassment. “It’s the victims I feel for.”

  Me too.

  “Quinn?” He called quietly across the entrance.

  I brought my eyes up to meet his.

  “I never got to tell you.” He rubbed his hands together nervously. “I had a client a few years back. Her name was Sam.”

  I nodded for him to continue.

  “I couldn’t get the man harassing her behind bars… he killed her Quinn. I couldn’t help her.”

  I gasped.

  “I know it’s no excuse.” He shrugged helplessly. “Maybe I can think of another way to help them.”

  “Harrison.” I breathed.

  It all makes sense…

  “I’ll talk to you soon.” He promised as he stepped out the door.

  I nodded at him, my newly invigorated mind already thinking through the possibilities.

  ***

  Ellerslie came over as soon as Harrison left.

  “Are you going to take him back?” She asked as she mixed the sauce for the macaroni cheese she was making me.

  I could hear Stella chattering in the living room with Lawson and Logan – they were watching the game.

  “I don’t think I can until I figure this out. I know he’s the one who screwed everything up, but I can’t just stand here and be the one to take something that means so much away from him.”

  “There must be another way.” She replied absently, deep in thought.

  I smiled. That was the best thing about Ellerslie. She just accepted my thoughts and ideas and offered help, not criticism.

  “I love you El.”

  She stopped stirring and looked at me in question.

  “Just… thank you for not giving up on me.” I clarified.

  She snorted. “Giving up?” She started stirring again. “I’d never give up on you Q. Just like you’ve never given up on me.”

  Emotion threatened to overwhelm me. “Okay… back to the ideas before I cry… again.”

  El giggled. “Okay. You know what? I think we need help.”

  ***

  “What are you two up to?” Reeve flicked his gaze between the two of us in question.

  I wrung my hands together. I was so jittery. Coming here was incredibly nerve-wracking for me, it would have been enough that Harrison was somewhere in this building, but combine that with the fact that Reeve hadn’t seen me in this… state… and I was a wreck.

  Ellerslie had called and given him the hard word not to make a big deal about the way I looked. I’d heard her on the phone, and then pretended I hadn’t.

  I looked at El and she waved her hand at me to talk. “This is your brainwave.”

  Reeve looked back to me.

  I’d slept for fourteen hours straight after El had stuffed me full of the most amazing macaroni cheese I’d ever tasted and when I’d woken, first thing this morning, finally feeling somewhat rested, the idea had hit me like a freight train.

  “Have you spoken to Harrison?” I asked him timidly. This was the only part of the plan I was uncertain about. I still didn’t know if Harrison had told Reeve what was going on and I wasn’t looking forward to the prospect of being the one to have to tell him.

  “I’ve spoken to him.” He rocked back in his chair and stared at me.

  Does he know?

  I stared back, trying to search his face for answers.

  “What did he tell you?” I pressed.

  “What did he tell you?” Reeve replied back.

  “You tell me what he –”

  “Oh for the love of god.” Ellerslie interrupted me. “You’re both very loyal. Now did he tell you about going around and beating up the bad guys or not?” She demanded, looking right at her brother.

  His body sagged in relief. “Thank Christ.”

  He knows.

  “Okay… so now that’s cleared up…” I interjected.

  “Is that not what you’re here to talk about?” Reeve asked me in disbelief.

  I shrugged. “Yes… and no.”

  He shook his head like I was crazy. “Is it a full moon or something?” He muttered to himself.

  I held back a smile.

  I carried on. “Okay. So obviously what Harrison has been doing is a problem.” I tugged at the hem of my dress, avoiding his gaze.

  Understatement of the century.

  Reeve snorted.

  “A huge problem.” I amended. “But I want him back in my life.” I told him with certainty, meeting his eyes again.

  Reeve smiled at me and reached out to squeeze my hand.

  “He’s a good man Q. He’s made some terrible choices, but he’s not a bad guy.”

  “I know.” I replied quietly. “And that’s why I can’t ask him to stop doing something that’s so important to him.”

  Reeve dropped my hand and looked between El and I, shaking his head in disbelief. “You’re all fucking crazy.”

  “Oh shut up.” El threw back at him, reclining back into her chair and crossing one leg over the other. “Do you seriously think we’re talking about telling him to run around throwing punches and getting hurt?” She was in full blown sarcasm mode.

  “We’ve got an idea.” I jumped in, before the siblings really got arguing. “And we need your help.

  “I’m all ears.” He replied warily, as if he was actually anything but.

  I rolled my eyes. “Little faith, Reeve?”

  The corners of his mouth twitched and he nodded for me to get started.

  I fidgeted nervously.

  Here goes nothing…

  I took a deep breath.

  “We want to set up some type of trust or charity, or foundation… whatever the correct term is, to help the kind of people Harrison has tried to protect. We want them to have the help of an amazing legal team, a safe place to stay and… just some support, for as long as it takes to get these pigs off the street so they can feel safe again.”

  Reeve was listening closely. “It’s a great idea…”

  I could sense a ‘but’ coming.

/>   “But we just don’t have the cash for those resources, not without draining our own pockets.”

  I waved a hand at him dismissively. “If those resources, or the majority, were made available, would you be willing to contribute some of your time to the legal side of things? And maybe contribute some funds if they were short?”

  I could see his brain ticking over.

  He grinned at me. “You know I would. And I’d bet my life savings on Harrison joining the party too.”

  I pushed the folder in front of me towards him. “It’s only rough figures.” I told him.

  He opened the file and flipped through the contents, an even bigger grin spreading across his face.

  “This is unbelievable.” He mused. “You’d do all this?” He asked, looking backwards and forwards between the both of us.

  “If it’s important to him, it’s important to me.” I told him.

  “And if it’s important to her, it’s important to me.” El chimed in, a smile on her face.

  “Well ladies…” Reeve handed me back the folder, his best ‘all business’ look on his face. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

  El squealed and pulled me in for a hug.

  Reeve fixed his eyes on mine over El’s shoulder. “You’re an amazing woman Quinn. I’ll make sure he never forgets how lucky he is.”

  Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry…

  I felt a tear slip down my face.

  Dammit!

  52. Harrison

  I’d felt on edge all afternoon, I had a feeling someone was watching me. I knew I was being stupid. I was in my office, alone, twenty stories up in the air.

  No one was watching me.

  But my nerves were fried after the day I’d had.

  After spilling my guts to Reeve and apologizing profusely, I’d stormed my way into Max’s hangout near midday and surprised the hell out of him. It had been a tense standoff, surrounded by his henchmen. I was grateful for the police I knew were listening intently with the wire I had strapped to my chest.

  It had been touch and go for a while, but I’d got out of there unscathed, and I had somehow convinced him to explain how he’d pulled the whole thing off – unknowingly sealing his fate in a jail cell.