Free Quinn's Quest: Legacy, Book 4 by N.J. Walters Page B

He’d caught a scent.
    Bethany hurried to keep up with him, but it wasn’t easy. He was practically a blur as he rounded the corner. She was right behind him. There. Up ahead was a dilapidated building. The front boards had been torn away from the doorway. This close, she could smell herself, the blood she’d left on the wood as she’d struggled to get away.
    Quinn tore at what was left of the boards, flinging them to the side. By the time she reached him he was already inside. She heard Isaiah call her name but didn’t stop. There was no time to waste.
    It was much harder to go back inside than she’d imagined it would be. Her heart pounded as she paused at the place on the steps where she’d left Chrissten. She leaned down and pressed her hand against the scarred wood. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. She already knew her friend was no longer here. The place felt abandoned. Empty. They’d moved on and taken Chrissten with them. They were too late.
    Bethany’s heart ached. She’d failed. Her legs were like lead weights, her heart heavy as she descended into her own personal hell. Footfalls behind her were blocked by the unholy howl of pain that ripped through the air.
    Quinn .
    He’d found the empty cell. Bethany went to him, not knowing what she would do when she found him. “Sorry” was just a word. There was nothing she could say or do to take away his pain.
    He was sitting on Chrissten’s bunk, her pillow clutched in his arms. He looked broken. Lost. The bunk across from him was empty. The blanket partially dragged on the floor. Bethany refused to look at it. The walls seemed to close in around her, threatening to crush her. She swallowed her pain and the nightmares pushing at the fringes of her consciousness. Quinn needed her.
    She went to him, drawn by his pain, and sat beside him. “I’m so sorry.” Such inadequate words, but they were all she had to offer.
    He shook his head and stood. His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed as his gaze turned icy. He tossed the pillow back onto the bed and strode from the room without a backward glance.
    Bethany remained. She felt small. Afraid. Defeated. If she closed her eyes she could almost feel Chrissten beside her, hear her voice urging her to run. A door slammed and she jumped. Afraid of being locked inside, she hurried out of the room and almost knocked Hank over. She knew all of their names now, had been introduced on the ride over, but that was all she knew about them. He was tall and blond and quiet.
    He grabbed her by the upper arms and steadied her. “You okay?” She could see the honest concern written all over his face but didn’t quite know how to answer his question.
    Was she okay? She didn’t think she’d ever be okay again. Her life was one big mess. Nothing was what she’d thought it was. Who the hell would believe her if she told them what she was? They’d lock her up. If they believed her they’d be afraid of her. Instead of coming to understand herself better she felt even more isolated than she had. More alone.
    Ignorance was sometimes bliss. She hadn’t known that before.
    “I’m fine.” She had to be. There was no other choice.
    But Hank wasn’t listening to her. All his attention was on the bed behind her. His hands fell away from her arms and he walked around her, heading straight to Chrissten’s bunk. He picked up her pillow, put his nose to it and inhaled.
    She knew he was getting Chrissten’s scent to help him track her better. Bethany understood that. Yet, watching him, she was struck by how intimate an act it seemed to be. Unlike Quinn, he didn’t toss the pillow away, but tucked it under his arm.
    “You ready?”
    He appeared larger than he had even a few moments before. More determined. Dangerous. She couldn’t forget for even one moment that all these men were deadly predators beneath their human exterior.
    She nodded and they left the small room behind. Bethany followed Hank into the laboratory area. She