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Hell. This wasn’t good.
He walked over to a metal gun cabinet that the guys had moved in from the former office. With a flick of his wrist, he spun the combination lock to open it. Then he reached in and plucked a second sidearm off the shelf. He checked it over before tucking it in the waist of his jeans. After pulling out several clips of ammo, he turned to Clay.
“I just got her back. I can’t take any chances.” Great—his throat clogged with emotion.
“I understand. She’s going to be safe. We got this handled, Livingston.”
He muttered an answer but didn’t respond further. “I’ll get the sisters into the vehicle and wait for the greenlight from you.”
Clay offered him a stiff nod. Quaide yanked his hat low over his eyes and walked out.
He almost plowed into Dove standing outside the door.
One look at her face told him that she’d been listening.
“How much did you hear?”
“All of it.” She lifted her jaw a small increment. “We have to keep my sister safe, Quaide.”
“I’m trying here.”
“I can figure out another way to get Rain out of town. We’ll leave you out of it,” she argued.
“Not possible.”
“Are you saying I’m incompetent?”
He gave his head a hard shake, reeling from her question. “You’re the most capable woman I’ve ever met, Dove. Hell, for that matter, you’re more capable than many of the Marines I served with, and FBI agents too. Don’t you see that you’re the one separating us by applying roles that no longer exist?”
Her lips parted but no sound came out.
He cupped her cheek and stared deep into her eyes. “I’m going to keep you both safe. Trust me.”
* * * * *
Clay stepped out of the room and stopped when he saw Quaide and Dove standing there, but caught up in a moment that went far deeper than what their discussion revealed.
Quaide dropped his hand from her cheek and they both turned to look at the man.
“A text just came through from Josiah Wynton. He can’t come today.”
The announcement punched the air out of Dove’s lungs. She felt her body deflate, and all the fear and nervous energy trickled out like helium through a pinhole on a balloon.
Quaide fisted his hand and dug a knuckle into his forehead over the crease lines. “You’re kidding me. They’re just now informing us of the change? We could have been on the road already.”
“Josiah’s wife is in labor.”
Quaide pushed out a sigh. “I can’t blame the guy for sticking by his wife. If it were Dove…”
Her stomach dipped.
“We’re just going to hold off another day. Possibly two,” Clay said.
A feminine cry came from behind them. All three of them turned to see Rain bouncing on her toes. “That means I’m not stuck on a smelly old ranch yet.”
“Rain—” she began tersely, but Quaide touched her elbow. The tender touch brought her down to earth and made her see that this delay could be a good thing. It was like getting stuck behind a slow driver and then down the road finding a car accident had just taken place. Sometimes the universe had other plans for people.
On the other hand…it might be good for Rain to find herself and grow. The ranch would be a safe place to do that, away from street thugs who laundered money. She could finally be her own woman.
