[Quinn 04] - The Silenced

“No. You’re not.”

He stared at the building a moment longer, knowing she was right but wishing there was more he could do. He rubbed a hand across his eyes. The weight of it all seemed to be increasing every second.

“You’re not alone,” Orlando said softly as she put an arm around him. “This is our family in trouble, not just yours. And if we want to help them, we need to be sharp.”

He opened his eyes and looked at her, saying nothing.

“Okay?” she asked.

He said nothing for a moment, then he nodded once. “Okay.”

“I KNOW,” NATE SAID. “TAKE CARE OF LIZ.”

Quinn hesitated. “Yes. But also yourself.”

Then the line went dead.

Nate stared at his cell. His boss didn’t sound quite like the Quinn he knew. But, of course, Quinn had never been in a situation like this before. Nate had no idea how he would handle it if it was happening to him.

“What’s wrong?”

Liz was standing in the doorway to the tiny bathroom. She wore a baggy T-shirt they’d purchased that afternoon and was drying her hair with one of the thin hotel towels.

Nate slipped his cell into this pocket. “Everything’s fine.”

“Were you on the phone?”

He hesitated. No lies. “Yes. I was talking to Quinn.”

“I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to that name.”

“I could try to call him Jake if that helps.”

“That would be just as odd for you. Call him Quinn.” She let out a humorless laugh, then said “Quinn” again as if she was trying it out.

She shook her head, and rubbed the towel across her hair one last time before tossing it on the floor in the corner.

The room was barely big enough for the full-size bed that dominated it. There was no dresser, no desk, no table, no chairs. Just the bed. But the clerk downstairs had taken cash and had asked no questions, so the room was perfect.

“How was the water?”

“Started hot,” she said, then added, “but more lukewarm by the end.”

“No worries. I’m fine with lukewarm.”

The truth was he was glad she’d used up the hot water. The rain had stopped around four, so by the time they found the hotel their clothes were no longer soaking wet, only damp. But Liz had continued to shiver.

That would be ironic, Nate thought. Save her from whoever it was who was trying to kill her, only for her to die of pneumonia.

They did an awkward dance around the end of the bed. His hand accidently brushed against her stomach, but she showed no signs of noticing. Nate entered the bathroom and shut the door behind him. He put the lid down on the toilet, then sat down so he could remove his prosthetic leg. As he did, he could feel his stump sigh in relief.

Even on the most strenuous jobs with Quinn, he’d seldom had to push his leg as much as he had escaping with Liz. So it wasn’t surprising that his thigh muscles ached.

There was a knock at the bathroom door.

“I’m sorry,” Liz said from the other side. “I meant to grab my jeans so I could dry them on the heater.”

“Hold on,” Nate said.

He spotted them on the floor, picked them up, then opened the door just enough to slip them through.

“Thanks,” she said, then added, “My purse is in there, too.”

The smile she gave him made him forget for a moment about the pain in his leg.

“Sure,” he said.

He found her purse and gave it to her.

“Anything else?”

“No,” she said, again with the smile. “Enjoy your shower. Maybe it’s hot by now.”

As he closed the door he couldn’t help thinking that maybe he needed a cold shower more than a hot one. What he got was the lukewarm one he’d said earlier would be okay, but turned out to be as unsatisfying as it sounded. He spent the whole time alternating between praying to the water gods for hot and trying not to think about Liz. He was unsuccessful on both fronts.

Oh, no, he thought as the realization struck him. He’d been so focused on getting Liz to safety, he hadn’t thought about their sleeping arrangements. They were going to have to share a bed.