“Of course. Of course.” Mrs. Stevenson scuttled to stand next to Detective Jacobs.
They started talking, but their words faded. Quinn wrapped her arms around her midsection and gave the tiniest of shivers. If Reid hadn’t had control, he’d have wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to his chest, warming her with his strength and determination, making sure she knew she was safe with him.
But after years as an unwanted, he’d learned to keep to himself. So, he leaned against a police cruiser, crossing his arms over his chest and his legs at the ankles, rooting himself to one spot.
Quinn stood rooted to her spot, staring off into the distance, no doubt sorting through various emotions and questions, while Mrs. Stevenson talked with the detective.
“Momma?”
She dropped her arms from her midsection and shook them out as she stepped back to the ambulance, where JJ sat. “Yes, baby?” She sat at the ambulance entrance and wrapped an arm around her son.
“What’s going to happen now?”
“I’m not really sure right now.” She squeezed him. “The police and firemen are going to finish their jobs here, and then hopefully, we’ll be able to go in and get some things, and then, we’ll find somewhere else to stay. Maybe a hotel.”
“With a swimming pool?” Excitement filled his voice.
Poor kid. He didn’t understand the gravity of the situation they were in, which would be good in the long run, at least for him emotionally. In his mind, they were on an adventure. But something as fun and innocent as a public swimming pool wasn’t a good idea until they figured out what was going on. Reid took a breath to interject and list the ways that was a bad idea.
“We’ll see,” Quinn said before he could speak. The universal response of mothers when the answer was probably no.
“No. No. You won’t be staying in a hotel.” Mrs. Stevenson stepped over and ruffled JJ’s hair. “How about a cabin in the woods?”
JJ’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. “Really?”
Where could they get a cabin? Isolation seemed safe at the moment, but then, would they be too isolated? Being hard to find when hiding was a positive, but if they were found by the wrong person, being hard to find could be tragic. He’d still take the cabin over a hotel. Even if it didn’t have a pool.
“Of course. You can stay in my cabin over by the lake.”
“You have a cabin?” Quinn asked.
“I do. It was my husband’s old hunting cabin.” She perched on the other side of JJ.
“Where are you going to stay? You can’t stay here. What if they come back?” Panic filled Quinn’s face.
“Don’t worry about me,” Mrs. Stevenson said. “I think it might be time for me to go visit my son.”
Quinn’s face relaxed.
“The detective told me that he thinks you’ll be able to go in and get some stuff in a while. Until then, why don’t we go over to my place?” She lowered her voice and leaned closer to Quinn. “I don’t know about this young man or that handsome fellow standing over there watching you, but I’m hungry.” She nodded in Reid’s direction.
She hadn’t lowered her voice enough, though. He wasn’t sure what to make of Mrs. Stevenson’s comment. Did she find him attractive? That was weird. She was probably old enough to be his grandmother. Did Quinn find him attractive? His neck heated as she gave him the once-over. She met his gaze and jerked her attention to Mrs. Stevenson. Obviously, she was rattled being caught checking him out.
“That sounds like a good idea to me.” She picked up JJ from the ambulance and looked over to Reid. “Mrs. Stevenson has invited us to her part of the duplex to wait on the police to do their thing, and then, we can pack a bag.”
“I think we should take her up on the cabin offer.” He didn’t budge. “It’s not connected to you or me on paper, so it will be hard to find. These people are going to look for us anywhere they can find us.”
She studied him.
“Look. Two attacks in one day prove they aren’t going to stop until their job—whatever it is—is done. Disappearing will also give us time to figure out who they are and why they’re after you. If we can do that, then we could put a stop to all of this.”
“Momma, are they really going to try to hurt us again?” JJ whimpered in her ear.
“Oh, baby. I’m not going to let that happen.”
Reid had no doubt she would give her life for her son, but he would make sure it didn’t come to that. “I’ll be there to help, too.” He patted JJ’s back.
“JJ, how about you come help me cook lunch and we let your momma and—” Mrs. Stevenson eyed Reid.
