Clearly, Nate expected Quinn to take his place as Dehler’s executioner. Quinn fought through the urge to do just that and handed the gun to Orlando. “No.”
Nate furrowed his brow. “No? What do you mean no?”
“I mean, it’s not our place.”
DEHLER COULD BARELY believe what she was hearing. Quinn—it was Quinn, she recognized him the moment he arrived—was giving her a reprieve.
She wasn’t going to die in the middle of the English countryside after all. In fact, it sounded like she had a very good chance of walking out of here a free woman.
“Not our place?” the hothead said. “She killed Liz. Your sister! If it’s not our place, then whose is it?”
Knowing the guy was still a problem, Dehler said to Quinn, “You understand, don’t you? I was just doing a job, that’s all. Just like you all do.”
Quinn glared at her. “We don’t all work for terrorists.”
“Come on,” she said. “We all have dubious clients now and then. A terrorist one day is a freedom fighter the next.”
His expression turned to one of disbelief. “Are you saying Hammad Kassab is a freedom fighter?”
Before Dehler could respond, the woman next to Quinn—Orlando?—said, “It would be a good idea if you shut up now.”
Dehler ignored her. “I am just saying, things happen sometimes that—”
The weapon was in Quinn’s hand so fast, Dehler barely had time to register it before something hit her in the shoulder. Not a bullet, but more like a…
The thought went unfinished as her world went dark.
QUINN LOWERED THE tranq gun.
“We’re just going to put her to sleep for a while, is that it?” Nate asked. “Then what? Let her go on her merry way?”
“Nate,” Orlando said, “you’re not thinking straight. This has been a very—”
“I’m not thinking straight?” He pointed at Dehler. “She killed Liz. She should pay for that with her own life. What’s not straight about that?”
“We can’t,” Quinn said. He could not fault Nate’s logic, but his own bloodlust was gone.
Nate stared at him, his mouth agape. “You’re serious. Why the hell were we looking for her if we were going to just let her off?” He took an angry breath. “Forget it. Just give me the gun. I’ll do it.”
He stepped toward Orlando, reaching for the weapon, but Quinn moved in between them.
“Nate, stop,” Quinn said.
Nate got right in his face. “Let me have the gun!”
“Killing Dehler isn’t going to solve anything. She’ll pay, I promise you.”
Nate took a step back and laughed. “That’s supposed to make me feel better? I’m supposed to be fine with the fact that she’s going to keep on breathing while Liz rots away. Is that it?” He looked down at the unconscious Dehler, and back at Quinn. “Is this your final decision?”
“It is.”
Nate nodded to himself. Then, speaking as if every word had to be pulled from his throat, he said, “Thank you for all you’ve done for me. My stuff will be out of your house by the end of the week.” He turned and started walking away.
“Nate, don’t do that,” Orlando said.
He looked back at her and, for a moment, seemed as if he was going to say something, but then he resumed walking toward the service station.
“I’ll talk to him,” Daeng said, and started to follow.
“No,” Quinn told him. “He needs time. He’ll figure it out eventually.”
Daeng looked like he wasn’t sure that was true, but he stayed.
A thick silence enveloped them until Ananke looked down at Dehler and said, “So, what are we going to do with her?”
Chapter Thirty-Two
HAVING CHEATED HELEN Cho out of capturing Hammad Kassab and the Halabi brothers, Quinn and Orlando threw her a bone by getting ahold of her hunter, Terrance Long—who was in Germany still trying to locate Dehler—and turning Liz’s killer over to him.
They had no idea what Helen would do with her, but seeing as how Dehler had nearly wrecked the Dima mission and killed several of Helen’s operatives in the process, it was hard to believe the fixer would see the light of day ever again.
Annabel Taplin, on the other hand, was thrilled with the bounty they’d given her. And Quinn and Orlando fully expected her to be occupying a much larger office in the Wright Bains building the next time they were in town.
One last meeting was held with everyone who had helped with the operation—except for Nate, of course. Thanks were given all around, and those who hadn’t been present at the end were told how things went down. The mood was more somber than one would expect for the results they’d achieved. Quinn and Orlando promised to be there for any of them if personal needs arose, and then everyone was released.
“I can’t tell you how glad I am you and your friends were able to join us,” Quinn told Ananke after most of the others had left.
“We were happy to help. I’m just sorry that things with Nate…”
“It’ll be fine,” Orlando said. “It’ll do him good to get some space.”
“I’m sure it will.” Like Daeng the night before, Ananke didn’t look convinced. “If you need us for anything else, let me know.”
“You have your next job lined up?” he asked.
“Maybe.”
He raised an eyebrow. “That’s vague.”
“I’m in a kind of vague situation.”
He waited for her to say more, but it was obviously not something she could talk about. “If you ever need us, you let Orlando and me know.”
“Thank you.”
The last of the good-byes they saved for Daeng, Jar, and Kiet.
“I have a few things to take care of in Bangkok,” Daeng said, “but I should be back in the States in a couple of weeks.”
“Sounds good,” Orlando said.
“We’ll let you know if any work comes up,” Quinn said.
“Cool. And I’ll let you know if I hear from Nate,” Daeng told them.
“Sorry about your nose,” Quinn said to Kiet.
Kiet’s nose was encased in a bandage, and bruises circled his eyes. “I have experienced worse.”
“Thank you for your help.”
Quinn and Orlando shook hands with him, and then Orlando turned to Jar.
“You were fantastic.”
“Thank you. I tried to do my best,” the girl said.
“Would you be interested in more work?”
“More?”
“Sometimes jobs come up where we could use help like yours.”
“I will have to talk to Christine,” Jar said, meaning her boss back in Thailand. Without changing expression, she added, “I would be interested, very much. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Orlando put her arms around Jar. For a moment, it looked as if Jar didn’t know what to do, but she eventually put her arms around Orlando, too. When they parted, she looked relieved, so when Quinn’s turn came, instead of hugging her, he opted for a handshake.
“Thank you,” he said.
“You are welcome.” Jar hesitated. “May I ask a question?”
“Of course.”
“Do you regret not killing her?”
He blinked, then answered truthfully, “I’ll regret it for the rest of my life, but I wouldn’t do anything differently.”
IT WAS A warm morning in early May when she heard the car drive up. But vehicles had been coming and going every day since her arrival at the ranch, so she paid it little attention and continued writing her thoughts in her new journal.
So much had happened in the past few months—in the past several years, really. She knew what she was writing down did not adequately capture the fears and emotions and struggles she had experienced, but what made it onto paper did ease the stress that had gripped her for so long.
Creaking boards in the other room. One of her hosts, no doubt, on a scheduled security check.
The ranch was a definite upgrade from the room she’d been kept in. There were even horses she was allowed to ride. And the staff, specifically those not directly involved in the security aspect of the facility, was kind and welcoming.
“Dima?”
She thought the voice was in her head. Something her memories had stirred up.
A creak and then again, “Dima?”
She froze, not wanting to turn. Not wanting to see that the voice belonged to someone else.
“Dima, it’s me.”
She couldn’t stop herself from turning her head this time. The second she saw it was indeed her sister, Noor, standing in the doorway, she jumped from her chair and shot across the room.
They hugged more tightly than two people had ever hugged, tears pouring from their eyes.
“I didn’t think I’d see…I didn’t know…” Every time Dima tried to finish a sentence, a wave of emotion would silence her.
After what must have been a lifetime, the sobbing subsided, and the sisters ever so slowly relaxed their hold on each other.
Faces only inches apart, Noor said, “I’m here now. Everything’s all right.”
A rogue sob, a smile, and then, “But for how long?”
“Forever, if you want.”
“You don’t need to go back?”
“No.”
Dima’s relief was immeasurable, yet there was still some fear that refused to leave. “Will they use what you told them?”
Noor stroked Dima’s face. “They don’t need to. Our uncle and our former husbands have been captured and will never be free again.”
Dima stared at her. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Dima looked deep in her sister’s eyes, unable to believe Noor’s words, but all she could see was truth.
It was over.
She cried again, finally releasing the last of her anxiety. Resting her head on her sister’s shoulder, she mouthed a prayer of thanks for Quinn and Orlando and Nate and Daeng and anyone else who helped them.
For she knew they were responsible for giving her and Noor their lives back.
QUINN AND ORLANDO flew home to San Francisco the day after Dehler was captured. The kids were happy to see them, of course. Mr. and Mrs. Vo, the elderly couple who helped care for Garrett and Claire, reported there had been no real problems while they were gone, though Garrett was still more withdrawn than usual. But that was to be expected after his and Claire’s kidnapping ordeal.
Quinn waited two weeks before he flew down to Los Angeles. He wasn’t sure if Nate would talk to him, but he knew he should try to break through the wall between them. He rented a car at LAX and drove to his house in the Hollywood Hills. Since Quinn had moved in with Orlando in San Francisco, Nate had been living there.
Quinn punched in the code that opened the gate and drove onto the circular driveway. He disarmed the alarm from outside and let himself in.
The house was dead quiet.
He went downstairs to the room Nate had been using. The bed was made, the dresser was empty, and there were no clothes in the closet.
Quinn had avoided checking the home’s security cameras when he was in San Francisco, so as not to interfere with Nate’s privacy, but he watched the playback now. Nate had been true to his word and cleared out the same day he had arrived back at the house.
Quinn checked around the house for any note or forwarding information, but there was none.
Not ready to give up, he spent the next few days trying to track down his former apprentice, going to Nate’s favorite restaurants, visiting the gym he used, and checking out the place Nate had lived before moving into Quinn’s house. There was no sign of him anywhere.
“He’s gone,” Quinn told Orlando over the phone as he drove to the airport.
“I can put out some feelers. Someone’s got to have seen him.”
“Don’t,” Quinn said. “He wants to disappear so we should let him.”
“Are you coming home?”
“I’ll be there in a few hours.”
“Good,” she said. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“He’ll come back.”
“Yeah,” Quinn said.
But he wasn’t sure he believed that.
What’s Next
Quinn will be back in 2018 in
The Fractured
And if you’d like to read more about
Ananke, Liesel, Rosario, and Dylan, check out
THE EXCOMS
the first book in The Excoms thriller series.
Book two will be out in fall 2017!
For updates on new work, sign up for my newsletter here.
About the Author
Brett Battles is a Barry Award-winning author of over thirty novels, including the Jonathan Quinn series, the Logan Harper series, and the time-hopping Rewinder series. He’s also the coauthor, with Robert Gregory Browne, of the Alexandra Poe series.
Keep updated on new releases and other book news, and get exclusive content by subscribing to Brett’s newsletter—click here.
You can learn more at his website: brettbattles.com
And around the internet:
Facebook • Twitter: @brettbattles • Instagram: ikstterb
Also By Brett Battles
THE JONATHAN QUINN THRILLERS
Novels
BECOMING QUINN
THE CLEANER
THE DECEIVED
SHADOW OF BETRAYAL (U.S.)/THE UNWANTED (U.K.)
THE SILENCED
THE DESTROYED
THE COLLECTED
THE ENRAGED
THE DISCARDED
THE BURIED
THE UNLEASHED
THE AGGRIEVED
THE FRACTURED (Coming 2018)
Novellas
NIGHT WORK
Short Stories
“Just Another Job”—A Jonathan Quinn Story
“Off the Clock”—A Jonathan Quinn Story
“The Assignment”—An Orlando Story
“Lesson Plan”—A Jonathan Quinn Story
“Quick Study”—An Orlando Story
THE EXCOMS THRILLERS
THE EXCOMS
THE EXCOMS 2 (Coming Fall 2017)
THE REWINDER THRILLERS
REWINDER
DESTROYER
SURVIVOR
THE LOGAN HARPER THRILLERS
LITTLE GIRL GONE
EVERY PRECIOUS THING
THE PROJECT EDEN THRILLERS
SICK
EXIT NINE
PALE HORSE
ASHES
EDEN RISING
DREAM SKY
DOWN
THE ALEXANDRA POE THRILLERS
COWRITTEN WITH ROBERT GREGORY BROWNE
POE
TAKEDOWN
STANDALONES
Novels
THE PULL OF GRAVITY
NO RETURN
MINE
Novellas
MINE: THE ARRIVAL
Short Stories
“Perfect Gentleman”
For Younger Readers
THE TROUBLE FAMILY CHRONICLES
HERE COMES MR. TROUBLE
The Aggrieved Page 30