on his flight let go of the suitcase he’d been wheeling and bent to greet the two mini-superheroes, a wide, loving smile on his face. The woman with the children joined them, and the look the man gave her made Gavin turn away. It was personal, intimate, even here among the throngs of a busy afternoon at SeaTac Airport. That “you’re mine and I’m yours” kind of look that meant a deep, irrevocable bond that might change over the years, but would never fade or break.
The kind of look Hayley gave Quinn, and more surprisingly, Quinn gave Hayley.
The kind of look no woman had ever given him.
Not, he thought wryly, that he’d ever earned it.
He let out a disgusted breath. The disgust was aimed, as it usually was lately, inwardly, not at Quinn Foxworth, one of the last few people on earth he trusted without reservation.
Unfortunately that few did not include himself any longer.
He made himself focus on the task of picking up the car. He’d refused Quinn’s offer that they would pick him up—by car, plane or helicopter, whichever he preferred—and insisted on the rental car. He wanted to be independently mobile, because recently there were times when he just couldn’t stay put.
He said he just felt restless.
Charlie said he was crazy-making.
So here he was, sent off to make the other Foxworth sibling crazy. Maybe that’s all it was, Charlie getting him off nerves he’d trod on too often.
He hoped Quinn had something going on he could seriously gnaw on. Not that it hadn’t been a challenging go-round last time. Taking down a governor was not simple, even when they mostly did the job for you. Gavin didn’t want to admit he’d been exhilarated by walking through that minefield; it made him wonder if he’d become some kind of adrenaline junky.
He knew some had assumed he always had been, what with the kind of headline grabbing cases he’d been involved in during his career in criminal defense, but that hadn’t been it at all. He’d been coolly analytical, helped by his knack for anticipating the moves of others. He’d been able to think on the fly and draw up almost any precedent-setting case he’d ever read about. He’d been—
Wrong. Don’t forget that one.
He interrupted his own thoughts with the sharp, bitter reminder. For he had been wrong. Very wrong, and it had pulled the rug out from under not just his career but his entire life.
By the time Gavin’s phone warned him he’d reached his destination even he had to admit his brain had eased up a bit, as if responding to the more peaceful surroundings. Just as Quinn said it did for him. Here on the other side of Puget Sound seemed a world away from the bustling city in feeling if not distance. He never would have thought he’d say it, but maybe Quinn was on to something here.
A light rain had begun just as he stepped under cover of the porch, and his hosts congratulated him on his timing. He was welcomed, his bags stowed in the guest room, and a drink poured and waiting for him by the fire crackling in the hearth before he recognized the luscious smell wafting from the kitchen was Quinn’s famous spicy chicken.
“I’m honored.” He tilted the glass of wine in a salute. “You cooked for me?”
“Don’t get used to it,” Quinn said.
Gavin managed a creditable grin before asking, “Where’s that rascal dog of yours?”
“On his nightly rounds,” Quinn said.
Gavin found himself laughing, to his own surprise. “Patrolling the neighborhood?”
“Morning and evening, every day we’re not on a case,” Hayley said.
“Strong sense of duty, that one,” Gavin said, not really kidding.
Quinn nodded. “Like most good operatives.”
Gavin had heard enough stories of the uncannily clever canine to know Quinn was dead serious. “Even Charlie has finally accepted that he’s an integral part of your team.”
“Speaking of Charlie,” Hayley began, then stopped.
Gavin studied her for a moment, then let out a long breath as he lowered his gaze. Quietly, he voiced what he’d been suspecting since his plane had cleared the Rockies. “You don’t have a case, do you?”
Hayley exchanged a glance with her husband. Quinn grimaced.
Quinn had never lied to him—one reason he trusted him—and Gavin knew he wouldn’t now. But before he could answer there was a sound at the rear door that drew their attention. Gavin turned just as a hinged section at the bottom of the door swung open. A second later Cutter was there, looking a bit damp from the rain, which had picked up now. He had something in his mouth, some toy Gavin guessed.
“He has his own door now?” he asked as Hayley grabbed a towel clearly kept by the door for that reason and turned to the dog.
“It’s easier,” Quinn said. “He’s got a mind of his own and—”
He stopped as the animal walked past Hayley and the towel, toward Gavin. He guessed that figured, given he hadn’t been here when the dog had left the house. Cutter sat at his feet, looking up at him intently. Did he even remember him? Gavin wondered. He hadn’t spent much time here last time, and—
His speculation broke off when he saw what the dog had in his mouth. It was not a toy. A cell phone? What was the dog doing with a phone? Whose phone? Where had he found it? And why the hell was he bringing it to him?
By the time he got through the string of mental questions Quinn and Hayley were at his side. Cutter allowed Hayley to take the phone from him, but the dog’s steady gaze never left Gavin. He found it strangely unsettling.
“It doesn’t look like it’s been lying around and he just found it,” Quinn said.
“No,” she agreed. “It’s not damaged at all. And it’s on, so it’s working.”
“Is he given to stealing things?” Gavin asked neutrally.
Quinn gave him a sideways glance. “In the interest of a good cause, it’s not unheard of.”
Gavin didn’t know what to say to that, so he said nothing as Hayley pressed a button on the side of the phone.
“Locked,” she said. “Charge is at 65 per cent.”
“Good. The owner will probably call it once they realize it’s gone,” Quinn said.
“Assuming they have another phone, and don’t already know because Cutter snatched it right out of their hand,” Hayley said, sounding a bit glum.
“Well, there’s that,” Quinn said, glancing at the dog. Hayley handed him the phone and went to work on the dog with the towel.
She had just finished when the doorbell rang. She put down the towel and looked at Quinn. “And maybe,” she said, “whoever it was—”
“—followed him here,” Quinn finished for her.
“I’ll
