At least Logan had gottenaway. He’dalready melted into the shadows further down the street, invisible for allintents and purposes.
He’d always been good at that,and I wasn’t sure I’d ever been more grateful for it than I was right now.After all we’d been through, getting arrested for knocking over a car wouldhave been pathetic.
“I’m calling the police,”Vincent said, as was traditional for men like him.
“I’d pause to consider that,”I said. “Firstly, I’ll be gone by the time they get here, and you’ll look likean idiot when you can’t prove anything.”
That was a bluff. It might’ve been Vincent’sword against mine, but there was every chance they’dtakehis word.Precautions aside, I couldn’t prove I was elsewhere.
Gray and Logan would havelied for me, but I didn’t want to drag them any further into this than Ialready had.
I’d expected it to go offwithout a hitch, and now I was treading water with the waves lapping at myears. It wouldn’t take much to sink me, but at least I was going down alone.
“Secondly,” I paused to letthe word hang, knowing this was by far my better argument for being let go. “Theonly thing I’ve taken never belonged to you in the first place, and if you laidclaim to having it, well… Quinn’s contract would be well and truly over.”
Nowthatlooked likeit was working. Vincent’s eyes narrowed.
The moment he reached forhis pocket—whatever he’d been planning on finding there—I ran.
In the opposite directionLogan had. No sense in making it easy if he decided to follow one of us, and Iknew from the map I’d looked at earlier that I could loop around and come back tothe car this way.
I needed to take up running again.How was I supposed to chase down a suspect if I couldn’t even run away from astartled businessman without getting winded?
Turning the left once andthen right at the end of the street brought Logan’s car into view. My legswere screaming that I was about to collapse onto the beautifully-manicuredgrass I was almost tripping, but I made it to the door and climbed in.
Logan took off with noconcern for whether or not I’d managed to get hold of a seat belt, and I couldn’thave been more grateful.
“Took you long enough,” hesaid. “Thought I was gonna have to mount a rescue mission.”
I sat back one I’d managed toclip the belt on, closing my eyes for a minute while I caught my breath, andput my hand on my jacket to feel the solid shape of Quinn’s notebook in there.
I had what I’d come for.
I could return it to Quinn.
“Thank you,” I managed bythe time Logan was on the freeway. There was no way we’d been followed, but itcouldn’t hurt to drive around aimlessly for a bit, just in case.
“I had fun.” Logan shrugged.
I looked at him, worryingthat he’dtaken another blow to the head for a moment.
“What? I had fun. We haven’tdone something like that in a while,” he said. “Nice working with you again.”
“You work with me every day,”I said, though I knew what he was getting at. We shared an office, but we didn’treallyworktogether.
It had been nice. For abrief, shining moment, it’d felt like havingpurposeagain.
“So, what’s next? Where doesQuinn live?”
I looked out the window atthe few cars driving along with us, wondering whatwasnext.
Quinn needed to know.
But I wasn’t sure he’d wantto see me. Not after everything. All I could possibly do was mess up his lifeeven more than I already had. He couldn’t be out.
Even if he could, he coulddo a lot better than someone like me.
I should have solved thisfaster. He deserved more than me standing on his doorstep begging for anotherchance.
