Natalie was already on her feet, waiting for him with the patience of a saint. "Hey," she whispered when she grabbed him around his neck and practically yanked his head off. "Thank you."
He didn't let go of Quinn's hand while he squeezed his sister with all his might. God, he loved her. And the baby she carried.
"Nothing to thank me for." He smoothed her hair back from her face when she finally let him go. "How is he?"
"He's sleeping right now. They had to pump his stomach to get all the shit out of him. Physically he seems fine. But … " she trailed off. She didn't want to say what she feared, not while the man's mother stood at her side.
"We got to him in time," Nathan said, hoping she wouldn't catch whiff of the lie. It was Lonnie's truth to tell now. Not his. Besides, Nathan could pretend that he believed his own lie and that they'd arrived in time to stop the foreplay part of their sick, twisted game. "We got to him in time, Nat."
She nodded and let him go. Tears welled in her eyes and she wiped them away. "We haven't heard anything about Drew," she said, failing to keep the tears at bay.
"They flew him out to Bethesda earlier, he's going to be fine." Nathan lied through his teeth. Quinn squeezed his hand hard making Nathan grimace. He had to lie. It was how he was going to get through the day. And until he knew for sure, then it wasn't really a lie.
"Nathan, Mrs. Ortiz wants to talk to you," Natalie said suddenly, almost like she'd forgotten that Mrs. Ortiz was standing right there. "And Daddy said to give him a call as soon as you got here. They're on the way back. They could be in the air now. I don't know."
"Go sit down, Nat, and you need to go home and get some rest. Soon, Natalie. I mean that. He's going to be okay, but you need to take care of yourself too. I'm not kidding," he ordered his sister. She smiled in the same way he did when he was placating his mother before she saluted him. "Brat," he said, hugging her again.
Mrs. Ortiz was hard to read. She should be angry with him for worrying her the day before. He wished he'd never visited her at all. He had no idea what to say to make this better.
"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Ortiz. I truly regret worrying you, and-"
Mrs. Ortiz ignored the hand he held out and went in for the hug. She was short compared to his sister, and he had to lean way down to accommodate her. "No apologies. I won't hear a single one. You were doing your job. And you saved my boy. Natalie told me what the three of you did. He's all I have left. And you gave him back to me." She sobbed in his ear. Nathan had to let go of Quinn's hand to hold her while she let it all go.
Quinn's eyes went very wide when she broke away from Nathan to hug him too. "Such a lovely man, and selfless. Your father would be so proud of you, Quinn Anders. And your mother. She would be so very proud of how you grew up. Thank you for saving my boy." Mrs. Ortiz pulled back and patted Quinn's face. He looked startled, tears shimmered in his eyes but he fought them back.
"Thank you, Mrs. Ortiz. I was happy to help." Quinn looked as if he'd been kicked in the balls. He seemed to sway on his feet. For a man who loved attention, he couldn't handle real praise. And most likely, he didn't feel he deserved Mrs. Ortiz's gratitude. "Lonnie is a good man."
Mrs. Ortiz patted his face one last time and let him go. "I won't keep you, go rest. And don't worry about our Natalie, I'll see that she's fed and put to bed very soon. For the sake of my granddaughter."
The shock in Natalie's eyes told Nathan that Natalie wasn't as great at keeping secrets as she thought she was. "She should probably tell our parents before the whole town knows." He winked at Mrs. Ortiz who winked back.
"Who says they don't already know, the town, I mean. This town knows everyone's business before we do, it seems."
"That it does, Mrs. Ortiz," Nathan said, trying not to laugh. "That it does."
When he'd said goodbye one last time, he took Quinn's hand again and got them the hell out of there before the smell of blood and death could make him purge the coffee that was burning a hole in his stomach. He stopped halfway to the elevator when he remembered he didn't have a ride.
"They never found my truck," he said to Quinn. "We're stuck here."
Quinn pulled his keys out of the waistband of the pair of scrubs he wore. Until that moment Nathan hadn't noticed he wasn't dressed like Quinn. "They left my car but took everything I was wearing. I left my wallet in the car. It's in the parking lot, I think. One of the deputies drove it back for me. That was hours ago."