New York, tattoos..and spirits, what could go wrong?

Ryland looked around the diner like she still wasn’t sure what awaited them around the next corner. Quinn knew how she felt — she was doing the same. Ryland looked back down at the menu, then a grin stole across her face when she regarded Quinn. “I mean, since Quinn is rich, we might as well.”

Quinn snorted. “That was my inheritance money. If I were rich, we’d be on a private jet to Barbados.” She’d withdrawn several thousand in cash from the bank before departing New York. From now on, it was all paper transactions and burner phones. Quinn instructed them to give their numbers to Jess in case she needed to reach them, and Nick sent a warning Emmett’s and Lara’s way as well. Only a small handful of people needed to know, and no one would know the location. Just that they were alive, and to be careful.

Ryland shoved her menu away, having made her choice. Quinn did the same, and lastly, Nick. Quinn ordered a bloody steak with a side salad and a baked potato while father and daughter opted for burgers and fries. No more vegetarian meals for them. Quinn tacked on a slice of red velvet and some apple pie — her treat.

“You know, we should dye our hair,” Ryland suggested. “I’m thinking black. Maybe even a nose ring. They’d never know it’s me.”

Nick eats his burger and looks to Ryland, he laughs “You know I wouldn’t care but your mother would, considering she’s not sure when she will ever see you again, I think we should wait till you’re 18.”

“Your father is right young lady” Jerry slips in next to Ryland, he nods to Nick, “I followed you here, I wish you all no harm. I know you’re in trouble and I want to be there for you. If you need money, I can help with that…just let me help.”

“I can save Quinn the trouble and tell you to fucking leave.” Nick looks at the guy, Jerry looks at him and looks to Quinn who has gone quiet. He nods and about to stand up, when suddenly a bullet goes past his shoulder. “Get down” Nick yells out and they all do, as more bullets just shoot through the diner. Waitresses fall to the ground and they crawl around, Nick yells for jerry to get Ryland out.

Quinn’s head was spinning. She’s been in shootouts before. She knew what to do, how to aim and fire, how to duck and cover, but she never thought she’d be in this particular situation. Ryland was the most important thing on her mind in that moment. Just get the kid out and do what you need to do.

She’d never known her father to not be armed. Even though she hated to look at him, much less speak to him, she knew Ryland would be safer with him than anyone else. If she was a good shot, it was because she’d been taught by the best sharpshooter around. Jeremiah Gallagher never missed his targets.

One look at him and he nodded. He reached into his holster, his free arm wrapping around Ryland while he grabbed his pistol. “You don’t gotta like me, sweetie, but you best listen,” he instructed. “Stay real close to me.” Ryland sneered, then glanced at Quinn. To the teen’s surprise, Quinn told her to go with the man they were all supposed to hate.

Quinn, her gun steady in her hands, crouched next to Nick as Jeremiah edged Ryland closer to the back exit. Suddenly Alex appeared, wide-eyed. He looked from Jeremiah to Quinn, then through the broken window at the men firing into the restaurant. She watched as a bullet whizzed through his chest, a guaranteed fatality if he wasn’t already a ghost.

“Tell them to stop!”

“What?” Quinn yelled. It was hard to hear over the gunshots. The sound was deafening.

“Stop them!” Alex screamed. “They’re waiting around the back to ambush you! There’s only three up front, like seven in the back. You gotta shoot those fuckers and run out the entrance.”

Quinn’s heart stopped. She yelled for her father to stop and come back. She relayed Alex’s words to them and instead of showing disgust this time, she saw relief in her father’s expression.  Her little satanic talent was helping them immensely right now.

Jeremiah turned Ryland around so that his back faced the window, her entire body shielded by his much larger frame. Slowly they retreated back to their old table and crouched beneath it. He gave Ryland the most awkward, grandfatherly smile. “Don’t worry, sug’. Just hang on a spell.”

He turned to Quinn, then, and quirked his brow in question. “You ready to show me what you got, Detective?”

Quinn grimaced and rolled her eyes. “Fuck you.” She rose a few inches, pointed past the cars outside, and found one of the assailants with an AR slung over his shoulder. She popped him once in the head and watched him fall.

Not one to be outdone, Jerry rose and fired off two shots. Nick watched in shock as two bodies dropped, one for each bullet. Jeremiah met his gaze and his face hardened. “It’s good you hate me, son. Means you care about my girl. But right now, you need to take these girls and drive outta here. I’ll take care of the ones in the back.”

Nick doesn’t even stay back to agree, he grabs his daughter and runs to the car with Quinn. They get in and quickly speed off. Nick finally gets on the freeway and sees no one is behind him, “This was too close….we can’t keep doing this. You should take Ryland, keep her safe and I’ll go on my own, I’ll lead them away from you.”

“Dad, no!” Ryland begs.

Quinn shook her head. “Don’t be fucking stupid. This is the cartel. They’d kill us first just to prove a point to you. We’re better off together.”

They drove in silence for a short while. Ryland looked uneasily behind her every other minute. “Uh, Quinn, your dad’s for sure dead now, right? Alex said there were seven.”

Before Nick could admonish her for her bluntness, Quinn shrugged. “Who knows. My dad’s won shooting competitions all along the eastern seaboard, so don’t write him off yet.”

She didn’t want to feel pride, but damn if she wasn’t impressed. He’d jumped right into the action, no questions asked. She wasn’t sure how she’d process it if he were to die. He’d have gone out having done something worthwhile for once in his life.

She chose not to entertain those thoughts and instead pointed Nick toward the next exit. “Let’s hunker down for the night and we’ll decide what to do next.”

They get settled in at a motel and go get settled. Nick waits and waits, finally both the girls are fast asleep. As much as he feels for Quinn, Ryland he wants to make sure is okay.

He grabs his bag and quietly closes the door. He zips up his hoodie and puts the hood over and walks off. He leaves the car for the girls.

He walks off down the road, looking to hitchhike as he holds out his arm. A car pulls up to him and he goes to get in, he sees it is Jerry.

“I’ll take my chances with someone else..” he walks on and Jerry gets out, rushing after him, “Nicholas…, can I call you that?”

He stops and looks at him, “No one calls me Nicholas…” jerry comes to a stop. Jerry looks at him, “I can tell you’re sneaking off…”

“I don’t want something to happen to them, because of me. I know Quinn can look after herself and keep Ryland safe, if I can steer the cartel away from them.”

Jerry looks at the kid, finally nods “Let me help you then.”

“Why would you want to do that?” Nick asks, Jerry looks back, “You’re protecting your daughter, I’m protecting mine. You have my word that I will drive you and help you, keep the trouble away from our girls.”

Jerry holds out his hand and Nick finally shakes it, both men get in the truck and drive off.

Quinn awoke to the sound of a scream. Not Ryland’s, but a man’s. She jumped out of bed, hand on her gun, and looked around for Nick. He was gone, but Alex stood at the foot of the bed. “Thank fucking god! You sleep like a rock. Nick up and left your ass. Guess he’s trying to lead ‘em away.”

Quinn felt the anger bubbling up inside of her. “FUCK!”

Startled, Ryland jerked awake. “What? What’s going on?” She looked around the room, then back at Quinn. “Did Dad fucking leave us?” She was just as indignant as Quinn.

“Another thing,” Alex added. “He’s with your dad.”

She groaned. Of course. “God fucking dammit. Ryland, grab your shit. We’re leaving.”

Wordlessly, Ryland arose and gathered her things while Quinn did the same, then they both got into her car and set out to find them. Alex sat in the back, guiding her all the way.

Jerry drives, Nick stays silent and tries to sleep. “I should teach you how to shoot.” Nick opens his eyes and looks at him, “ What makes you think I don’t know how to do that?” Jerry laughs, “ Come on, you don’t look like a man who would.”

Nick looks at him, “ Are you looking for me to punch you in the face? At least I know how to be a father, is that manly enough for you?”

Nick’s words stung Jeremiah where it hurt, but he couldn’t say he didn’t deserve it. He’d been an awful father. A cheater, a hypocrite, and according to his AA group, a downright misogynistic asshole whenever he ranted about his daughter giving her life over to Satan. He’d hit her a few times. Never with a fist, though, always a backhand. Mostly used his belt. That wasn’t abuse to him. He’d gone through far worse, himself. But perhaps he had taken things a bit too far. He knew he had. If there was anyone he wanted to make things right with, it was his little girl. He still loved her like the dickens, even if she didn’t believe it.

“I earned that one,” Jeremiah admitted, his eyes on the road. “But to tell you the God’s honest truth, son, I don’t right much care what you think of me as long as my daughter’s safe. So if you can shoot, good. If you can’t, tell me and we’ll work on it.”

He side-eyed Nick for a moment. “The hell’d you get yourself into, anyway?”

Nick looks away, "Just drive, I am not looking to be friends with you. You offered to drive, deal with the silence."

Jeremiah held his breath for a moment, counted to five, and slowly exhaled through his nose. He knew he had a temper and he didn’t want to lose it. Hell, Quinn would never forgive him then.

“Suit yourself,” he grumbled, but Nick was already asleep.

A couple hours later they arrived at the Airbnb that Jeremiah had found on his phone. He parked and admired the scenery for a second. It was a ranch-style home in the middle of nowhere, nothing but grass all around. He’d be able to see any threats coming from a mile away.

He nudged Nick on the shoulder and watched him jerk awake, anger in his eyes. Jeremiah gritted his teeth. “So sorry to disturb you, Princess, but you’re gonna prove to me that you can protect my daughter. Get out.”

Nick looked pissed but he jumped out regardless and followed Jeremiah to the trunk. Inside was an entire chest of weapons. Like father, like daughter, as they say. He grabbed a pistol for Nick and one for himself, then led him back behind the house to the target he’d nailed to a tree trunk in the distance.

“Don’t think about shootin’ me, neither,” he warned, only halfway joking. “I can assure you I draw faster.”

Nick looks at him, “is this what proves I can protect her? She can protect herself. One main point I like about her…” Jerry looks at him and takes a shot, it gets the target easily. Nick just stands there in silence, Jerry smiles at him.

“Got the same “I did it” look as your daughter.” Nick says and holds up the gun. Jerry comes over and gives him some pointers, instead of a snappy retort Nick chose to listen and then finally took his shot.

“Not bad, tattoos” Jerry says looking at it, Nick looks at him, “I would prefer Nicholas.”

Jeremiah couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. He’d always wanted a son. The boy was tattooed, had an attitude, and armed criminals were on his tail, but Quinn clearly saw something in him.

He remembered the broken bed and scowled. Then he practiced his breathing, fixed his face, and waved for Nick to shoot again.

“Gettin’ better,” he noted with approval. “Good trigger discipline, nice stance. At this point it’s just practice.”

He’d found some lawn chairs out by the deck, so he sat down in one and wished like hell that he had a beer. “You know Quinn’s gonna come lookin’ for you. She’s stubborn, that girl. Don’t know when to quit.”

Nick looks at his phone, holds it up to Jerry and he can see the 29 missed calls. “No kidding she doesn’t stop.” He sits there,”how can I have her come with me? She can’t think that is okay. We barely know each other.”

“Also, why am I sharing this with you?” Nick says in more of question to himself. Jerry looks at him, “it’s nice to have an ear to listen to. You men these days are all about talk and sharing your feelings.”

Nick looks at him, “Welcome to 2021.”

As badly as Jeremiah might’ve wanted to go on a tangent about the newer generations, he pushed it aside and tried fishing for information. He couldn’t very well help if he didn’t know what was going on.

“Near as I can tell, I reckon you were involved in some dealings with some criminals, and my daughter the police detective didn’t even report it to her superiors,” Jerry said, tapping a finger against his chin in thought. “How’m I doin’ so far?”

Nick narrowed his eyes but didn’t answer. Jerry chortled and continued speaking. “It must be pretty damn serious for Quinn to not get her own people involved, so I’m guessin’ we can’t trust the police in this particular scenario. So corruption, criminals, likely big money for payoffs or big manpower for intimidation…”

He cleared his throat. “And, well, god forbid you cancel me for makin’ an observation here, but I happened to notice your assailants were of a particular, uh, persuasion. So that leaves me with an inkling that you might’ve been mixed up with some cartel mess. Am I close, Nicholas?”

He didn’t need for Nick to answer. The look on his face said everything. Jerry let out a low whistle and leaned back in his chair. “Well, I’ll be damned. Here I thought she was shackin’ up with a fellow scholar.”

Nick looks at him, “It’s late, I’m going to crash.” He gets up and goes into the house. He finds a room and it has a connecting washroom. He decides to have a shower, closing his eyes and trying to get lost in the hot water.

It’s when he hears a bang downstairs, he turns the water off and quickly gets some clothes on and hurried down the stairs. Jerry can see him and just points, it’s Quinn already.

“Can you at least give me more than a day?” Nick says at her frustrated.

Alex had led her straight to the house. It was as if they hadn’t even thought their decision through. She wasn’t just going to stop looking.

She stormed into the house without a second thought and the second she saw her father, she saw red. Hot, burning rage simmered beneath her skin, her jaw clenched, her body shook. This man. She couldn’t get away from this fucking man. Wasn’t her childhood bad enough? Hadn’t she lived in fear long enough? Did he have to take the one source of her happiness lately and whisk him off to the middle of fucking nowhere without so much as a phone call?

The pure fucking nerve.

She ran at him and he didn’t even go for a defensive pose. His ego was too big to ever assume someone would have the balls to strike him. And she did. For the first time in thirty-three years, she punched him right in the jaw with a left hook that would’ve made him proud.

He stumbled backward but regained his balance. This time his hands shot out in front of him. “Now, baby, we was only tryin’ to-“

She didn’t let him finish. When she screamed at him, her voice quivered with fury. She could kill him. She didn’t need him. The world didn’t need him. She pulled her gun from her holster and shook her head as if it would clear her of all violent thoughts. Her voice dropped lower than it had ever been before; if he once thought her to be a demon, he was getting one now. “Who the FUCK do you think you are?!”

In her peripheral she saw Nick, his eyes wide, and Ryland with her hand over her mouth. It should’ve given her pause but it didn’t. All she felt was every bit of the pain she’d shoved down for years. She wanted him to hurt like she hurt. Like he had made her hurt.

She forced her words through clenched teeth. “I could fucking kill you. You think I need you here? You think you can crash into my life and fuck shit up and make decisions for me? Put Nick’s life in danger because you think I can’t handle myself? Who the FUCK gave you the right?”

She pistol whipped him across the face, the force of it sending him crashing to the floor, and then she stepped back and grabbed hold of the nearest chair. She needed to get a handle on her emotions but all she wanted to do was break something. She slammed her pistol down on the table, threw the chair into a row of outdated kitchen cabinets, and watched as he dabbed at his face. She’d split his cheek open. Blood ran freely from the fresh cut. She hoped it hurt.

“Quinn, stop…I told him I was going off on my own and he came with me. It’s not all of his fault” he pulled her off, now she was looking at Nick and coming closer to him.

“This is not a joke, your father is here and so if my daughter but how insane is this? We just recently had sex and now we are running from the cartel? You can’t make this shit up! I don’t want anyone’s life in danger because of me.”

Ryland goes up and she slaps her own father, Ryland nods to Quinn “That does feel good.”

Ryland looks at her dad, “this one really cares about you dad, her face went pale white. Don’t forget about me. Please, we can do this together.” She starts to get upset, Nick is a softy and hugs her. She lets her dad do it.

Jerry looks at that and then to Quinn, “I wanted to help protect him, for you.” Nick looks at him, “Protecting?”

Jerry looks back, “You will need it with that shooting you can do, ain’t no one running from that. Maybe Ryland here has more talent.”

“She is 13….” Nick informs him, Jerry shrugs “Quinn learned when she was 9.”

Quinn’s hands turned into fists at her sides. She breathed in deep, then let it out in one long huff. Once she was as calm as she’d ever be, she turned to address everyone. “I am going to shower and then I’m going to bed. Ryland, I’m sorry you had to see that. I’m an adult who should’ve handled things better, so don’t fucking do what I do, I guess. Fuck it. See y’all in the morning.”

She turned to Nick and grabbed his arm. “Show me where the hell I’m supposed to be headed.”

Nick looks at Jerry to show Ryland to a room and he follows Quinn, he shows her the room he picked. She goes in and starts to get undressed and she’s mad, just stomping around.
“He is good to have around, look I know you have your history and it’s your call to make but I would not have left my daughter with him, if I thought he was that terrible. My best friend, sold me out and I’m doing my best to look past it. It’s what I do, I forgive because if I don’t, I will spend the rest of my life fucking angry.”

“Terrible is relative, don’t you think?” Quinn shot back. “I decide if I forgive him. Me. And yeah, he won’t lay a hand on your daughter. He’s not a creep. That much I can say, at least.”

She rummaged through her bag for some pajamas, naked and annoyed. “You know what, Nick? I don’t know why I came here. You keep asking that and believe me, I searched for answers over the long drive here, and I ain’t got shit figured out.” Her accent, usually carefully contained, came out when she was emotional. Like now. “Honestly? Maybe I care about you and maybe your daughter got me caring about her. Maybe I wasn’t that into my job and could use a vacation. Hell, maybe the sex is just that fucking good, I’ll risk my life for it. I don’t know. But so help me, Nick, if you take off again like a fuckin’ dumbass, the cartel will be the least of your worries.”

Quinn forgets she was going to shower, she goes to do that. He gets in the water and she’s not in long, before Nick joins her and before either can say anything, he pulls her into a hug and she hugs back. They simply stand like that for what feels like forever.

It doesn’t take long for it to become more than a hug, when Nick starts kissing her and lifting her up to be placed more against the wall. It’s slow and passionate, as he moves himself in and out of her. She moans into his kiss, as he blocks her screaming. They finish and he gets dressed, saying he will be back.

He checks on Ryland, makes sure she’s okay. Jerry just says good night to him and Nick just nods in respect. He goes back to Quinn, he sees her laying in bed already and he gets in next to her.

Quinn awoke next to Nick and smelled something cooking downstairs. Had Ryland decided to surprise them with breakfast? Surely her father wouldn’t cook. It was women’s work in his eyes.

Nick stirred and walked beside her down the stairs to see Ryland standing at the landing. “Guess your dad made us breakfast,” she said, but Quinn had to peek around the corner to believe it. Sure enough, her dad stood at the stove making what looked like bacon and omelets.

He had a big welt on his face and a two-inch scar across his cheek, but he smiled when he saw her. “Mornin’, kiddo.” He nodded toward Rowan and Nick and then pointed at the kitchen table. “Y’all go ahead and sit down. Least I can do is feed you and then we can go about discussin’ plans.”

Dumbfounded, Quinn checked the fridge and saw an assortment of random things. Eggs, milk, a pack of sausage. She pulled out a jug of orange juice and then just stood there staring at her father.

He pointed the spatula in his hand at the fridge. “You mind pulling out another stick of butter?”

It took a second to process. She was still half asleep. “What?”

He chuckled and turned to look at Nick. “I see she’s still a zombie in the mornings.” He looked at Quinn and repeated himself. “The butter, doll. Is it not in the fridge?”

She looked down and found some. Nodded her head. “Yes, sir.” It slipped from her mouth without thinking. She was the obedient daughter again and she didn’t want to go back to that dynamic. She cleared her throat quickly and passed him the butter wordlessly. “God, who else needs coffee?”

Nick looks at Quinn and how she’s uncomfortable, he looks to Jerry and tells him to stop trying so hard. They all sit and eat, Ryland wants to say thanks but isn’t sure. Ryland goes to drink some coffee, Nick takes the cup from her. Ryland says “hey…”

“Go watch tv or something.” He tells her, she grabs some bacon and leaves the room. Jerry looks at them, “I think you should all lay low for a couple days.”
“As great as this breakfast is, I will take suggestions from Quinn.Detective?” Nick looks at her.

Quinn took a big gulp of coffee and nodded, thankful for Nick’s consideration. “I made sure nobody followed us here. We’re in the middle of nowhere, signed in under a fake name. Might as well enjoy the nice, big house until we come up with a permanent solution.”