Those weren’t the words she expected to hear. Instead of disgust, she felt sorry for him. It was an action that had deeply affected him, and he obviously held remorse.Lord, give him the strength and courage he needs.
“I rebelled in my teens,” he continued. “I hit high school and got mixed up with the wrong people. They introduced me to things that I loved more than myself. Drugs, alcohol, and girls. Things I thought I needed. The lifestyle had a tight grip on me on the inside.” He took a deep breath. “It was a miracle I survived high school, much less graduated. Despite all the things I had done, I’d had very few run-ins with law enforcement. I spent several years high, doing anything I could to feed the habit.” He sat up straighter. “Fast-forward to about eight years ago. I was laying on my buddy’s couch, high as I could be, not a care in the world. Some dude bursts in the apartment, waving a gun around, demanding to see my friend.”
Quinn braced herself for what she was about to hear. It wasn’t going to be good.
“The guy was convinced my buddy was stealing from him. He shot him and then turned to me. I was able to wrestle the gun away. That’s when he pulled a knife out and charged me. I shot him.”
“That’s horrible but not your fault.” She laid her hand on his forearm.
“That’s what the police said, but it doesn’t make it any better knowing I took his life.”
“How does Joe fit in?”
“Joe had been in town for his father’s funeral and was visiting someone in the apartment next door. He heard the first gunshot and came to check on everything. He was ex-military and wanted to see if everything was okay. He caught the end of the fight and was my witness. If he hadn’t been there, I might have been charged with double homicide.” Reid took a deep breath.
“He helped me get clean. Found me a rehab center. I wouldn’t know until later, but he paid for it as well. He saw something in me, I guess. After I got out, he offered me a job to help get me back on my feet. At first, it was just running the office while he was out working cases. After a year, he started training me.”
He looked at her, his jaw tight and shoulders rigid, like he was waiting to be told how horrible he was. He really believed that.
She hugged him. He stayed statue-like, unaccepting of her love. Like he was unaccepting of God’s love. “You. Are. Worthy.”
His body twitched, but he said nothing.
“You are worthy of love. Of God’s love.” She squeezed him tighter. Just as she was about to let go, he relaxed and wrapped his arms around her, returning the hug. “Thank you for sharing.”
“Like I said, I don’t think it’s me connecting this whole thing.”
“No, but thank you anyway. Now, I know you a little better.” And what he’d said hadn’t made her think any less of him. It only solidified her feelings. He was a good man. A man she could see as a permanent fixture in their lives.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Reid had been sure that oncehis past was out, Quinn would put as much distance between them as possible, but she hadn’t run from the room screaming. Nor was she cowering over JJ, protecting him from a monster. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it. He was hopeful that maybe he wasn’t as unwanted as he thought. She said he was worthy of love. Couldshelove him? Was he really worthy of the love of God?
“What do we do now?” Quinn asked.
The wordwegave him solace. She wasn’t going to change her mind about him. “We start looking at Joe’s black-hat list.” He pulled open the document from Emily. “While you two were sleeping, I did some internet research. Trevor Samson was high on my list. He was a high-level drug dealer that Joe helped find and bring to justice. I looked at the Department of Corrections online inmate search and found where he died in prison a year ago.”
“It obviously wasn’t him.”
“Then, there’s Cole Clarkson. His girlfriend was found dead in their apartment, and Cole was nowhere to be found. Joe tracked him down. Turns out he witnessed the murder and went into hiding. He testified against the real murderer.”
“If he ended up not being the bad guy, why is he on the list?”
“The list isn’t made up of just bad guys. Sometimes, the clients don’t get the results they want, so they get angry. Or something happened during the case that was dangerous. In the Clarkson case, he was known to carry a gun and wasn’t afraid to use it.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think he’s our guy.”
“Me neither.” He scrolled through the list. “Everyone else is a cheating spouse, except Betsy Cotton.” He stopped on the picture of Betsy and showed it to Quinn.
“I know her!” Quinn said. “Only, her name isn’t Betsy. It’s Madison. She works at my bank, and she’s in the photo of Andrew and me.”
Reid’s heart thrummed. Was this the break they needed? He scrolled through her information. “It says she was suspected in the first robbery, but they didn’t have any proof, so the bank hired Joe when the police couldn’t get any more leads.”
“Why is she on his list? Is she dangerous?”
“Looks like she had gotten physical with Joe once. Shoved him and threatened to do more if he didn’t leave her alone. Then, she started calling his office and harassing Emily.”
Quinn shook her head. “I’ve seen her a lot in the bank. She’s always been so nice.”
