Page 63 of Sultry Nights

He took the steps two at a time and lengthened his stride beyond where he should have. He wasn't letting age stop him today. He was getting Hanna.

As they landed on the third floor, he and Jared began opening the doors of each of the individual rooms and calling for Hanna.

Toward the middle of the hallway, one door had a new swivel staple safety lock installed. A padlock secured the door.

He grabbed the lock and tugged on it. "Hanna, are you in there?"

He beat on the door. "Hanna,"

She yelled, "Quinn, Quinn, I'm in here. I'm in here. Can you help me?"

She pounded on the door from inside.

Jared said, "I'll run to the building and get something to cut the lock."

Quinn shook his head. "Never mind. I'm busting the door down." He stepped back slightly and yelled. "Hanna, stand back."

He and Jared both kicked at the door near the lock. The wood on the door began to splinter, especially around where the safety swivel latch had been installed. Jared lifted his leg higher and kicked the door next to the latch. Trey reached the third floor and stood nearby as they kicked the door.

The wood cracked loudly and began to break away from the lock. A few more well-placed kicks and the lock broke away from the door. Quinn twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open.

Hanna ran into his arms.

His heart beat so hard and his eyes welled with tears the instant he held her. His arms wrapped tightly around her as she sobbed into his chest.

After a few moments, he whispered, "Let's get you out of here."

"Yes," she hiccupped. She lifted her hands to wipe her tears. That's when he saw the blood on her wrists and hands.

He felt a rage like he'd never felt before. "Honey, you’re hurt?"

"I want to get out of here. I want to get out of here. Please take me out of here before they come back."

Trey entered the room and looked around with his flashlight.

Quinn stared into her beautiful blue eyes. "Who are they?"

"Those women. Those women that Isaac catfished. That's who it is. They had me."

"Where are they now, honey?"

"They went to see if he's at the hotel. I don't know what they're going to do to him. They were going to blackmail you to get their money back in exchange for me."

"OK. Well, they're not going to do that now."

She stepped back slightly and took a deep breath. She swallowed and turned to see Jared breathing heavily, watching her closely. "Thank you, Jared."

Quinn watched as his nostrils flared and he took a deep breath. He was proud of his boy. So damned proud.

Focusing on Hanna once more, he asked, "Can you walk, honey?"

"Yes. Yes, I can walk."

They took a couple of steps and she moved slowly and surely. He bent down and picked her up. "Well, I don't care."

"Quinn, I can walk."

"I know. Just let me do this."

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