Need to Know

NEED TO KNOW by Susan Tuttle

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments

Now for the conclusion of Need to Know…

Quinn’s skin cooled when Noah pulled his hands away. What would have happened if he hadn’t been here? 
“Want me to call your sister?”
She froze. “No.”
His eyes narrowed in on her.
“I—I’ll call once we’re inside.  Can you grab my purse?”
The officer stepped in.  “Your purse still here?  Wasn’t this a robbery?”
Quinn’s stomach dropped.  Noah watched her closely. 
“Quinn?” he asked slowly.
Why did this have to happen?  She’d had a fresh start here. No one knew who her father was.  She could just be normal.  It was why she’d denied her father when he insisted on putting a body guard on her.  Once he found out what happened, he’d be furious, she’d have a body guard, and Noah wouldn’t think of her as a normal friend anymore.  She winced.
“She needs some pain killers, and I’ve got to get that wound cleaned and stitched.  You can speak with her once I’m through.”
She smiled her thanks.
A half-hour later her head dulled to a low throb as Noah worked from behind.
“You’re down a couple strands of hair.” His warm tone spoke in her ear.  He was in full-fledged doctor mode.
“I figured.  How’s it look?”
“Inch wide gap, not too deep.  I’ve just about got it closed.”
Silence descended again.  Finally he snapped off his gloves.  “You’re all set.”
Quinn slowly rolled onto her back and scooched up into a sitting position.  Noah leaned against a counter, watching her. 
“You ready to tell me what happened out there?”
She looked down.
“Are you in some sort of trouble, Quinn?”
Here went nothing.
“They wanted money.”
“You told the officer it wasn’t a robbery.”
She looked up at him.  “Ransom.  My father’s Robert Cummings.”
He stiffened.  His head tilted and his eyes looked her over from top to bottom.  “As in Robert Cummings, the billionaire who owns half of Los Angeles and may run for a Senate seat?”
“The one and only.”
“But your name—“
“I use my mother’s maiden name.”
She turned away from his stunned look.  “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
Noah bit back his reply.  A lot?  How about her entire life.
Her emerald eyes shone with unshed tears. 
“Why didn’t your father have a body guard with you?” he asked.
“I didn’t want one.”
“But you need one.”
“Noah, I just want to be normal for once and toting a body guard with me every where doesn’t exactly scream ‘normal’.”
“No, it doesn’t.  But your safety is worth more than that.”
She turned on him.  “You don’t understand.  People find out who I am and they change.  Either they are so intimidated that I never see them again, or they become friends with my money instead of me.  I’m not letting him put a guard on me.”
 Heat turned his gut.  “Apparently there’s a lot you don’t know about me, either, Quinn.  The top of that list is not letting people I care about get hurt.”
“It’s not your decision.”
Their stubborn gazes locked in a silent battle. She may think she could win, but no way was he letting her.
“Call your sister,” he said and strode from the room. 
Two days later, Quinn sat in the quiet hospital chapel.  Her stitches itched, but her head didn’t pound as much.  Her heart, on the other hand, ached. 
Word of who she was spread through the hospital.  People looked at her like she’d grown an extra head.  A few suddenly wanted to be her best friend.  None of that hurt as badly as Noah’s silence.  She’d not seen or heard from him since he’d stitched her head.  In the quiet of his absence her heart spoke.  She was in love with the man.  How and when that happened, she didn’t know.  But the moment before he almost kissed her in the garage replayed over and over in her mind. 
The chapel door swished open behind her.  She didn’t even look.  Her newly acquired body guard would stop any threat that may walk in.
“Sweetheart.”
Her father’s strong voice pulled her around. 
            “Daddy!  What are you doing here?”
“My daughter was attacked.  You didn’t think I’d come?”
She hugged him.  “I told you not to.  You were in Europe.”
“You’re more important than any business I could ever have.  Besides, I had pressing matter to attend to here.”
Apparently she looked confused because he smiled.  “That would be you, dear.  I wanted to see where you live.  Make sure you’re cared for adequately.  I’m still not fond of you living on the other side of the country from me, but I can at least make sure you’re watched out for.”
No surprise there.  She nodded to the back of the room.  “I already have the guard from the company you hired.  He hasn’t left me once.”
“Oh him?  He’s just temporary.  I hired your permanent body guard today—a young man who sought me out for the job.”
“Huh?”
The chapel door breezed open again, and Noah came striding towards them.
“Quinn, I’d like you to meet Noah Kingston.” Her father’s eyes twinkled at her.
“Huh?”  It was the only word in her arsenal right now.  She looked back and forth between the two men.  “No offense, but you know he’s a doctor and not a body guard, right?”
Her father’s laughter filled the room.  “I think I’ll let you two talk.” 
Noah slid into the pew next to her, his eyes on hers.
“My body guard?  How exactly did you sell him on that one?”
That smirk of his played over his face. She almost leaned in and kissed it off his face, but he spoke before she could.
“The Army paid for my college.”
“Yeah?  And being a member of the ROTC qualifies you?”
“No.  But I think the fact that I was an Army Rangers medic who served in special forces maybe pushed him over the edge.”
Quinn didn’t even blink.  “A lot I don’t know about you is right.”
He leaned in, his breath tickling her lips.  “How about this one, I’m crazy about you.”
Her heart skipped a beat.  “Really?”
“Really.” His lips lowered over hers in a soft kiss. 
That was all she needed to know.

NEED TO KNOW by Susan Tuttle

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments

Meet Susan Tuttle. Encourager extraordinaire. Thought-provoking blogger. Homeschooling mom of three. Loving wife of nearly fourteen years. Daughter of the King. And one of those friends who makes your life richer and sweeter from knowing her.

A member of ACFW, Susan is busy writing the stories and devotions God places on her heart with the goal of one day adding ‘published’ in front of ‘author’. Her heart’s desire is to keep people stepping forward into God’s grace. Her blog, StepSusan, offers inspiring and uplifting devotionals, where you’ll find comfort knowing you’re not alone on your journey.

Today and tomorrow, enjoy Susan’s short romantic story, Need to Know.

Need to Know

“Hey, Anderson!  Look alive!”

Quinn Anderson’s hand shot in the air to grab the icy can lobbed at her head.  “Cute, King, real cute.”  She popped the top on the Monster he’d just thrown at her and followed his laughter to the elevators. “You’d be sewing my head up if I’d miss that catch.”
“Nah.” Noah Kingston smiled as he punched the button for the parking garage.  “Your reflexes are too quick.  I knew you’d catch it.”
“You greatly underestimate my skills after a double shift.”  She covered a yawn.  “I need to wake up.”
His eyes shifted to her, moving from her pony-tailed head to her rubber-soled toes.  “Still going out?  That’s some lucky guy.” 
She didn’t miss his smirk.  Yeah, she was a mess.
“Look.  I stayed as a favor to you.  I’m going on this blind date as a favor to my sister.”
“And what about a favor to yourself?”
“Sleep.  Tonight.  After a very expensive meal.”
The elevator dinged and they stepped on. “Louie’s?”
She nodded.
They rode in silence until the elevator dropped them in the belly of the hospital.  Noah motioned her off first.
“You’re more of a steak and potatoes kinda gal.  Think you’ll handle all those forks all right or do I need to give you a crash course in table etiquette?”
If only he knew her parents.  It was one reason she was so comfortable around Noah.  The only thing he cared about was she was a good nurse—not the trust fund sitting in her father’s bank.
She took a long, noisy slurp from her caffeine fix and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. Her eyes cut to him and she grinned.  “Nah. I think I’ll be just fine.”
His rich laughter filled the garage followed by the beep of his car locks releasing.  “Can’t wait to hear how this goes.”
“You’ll hear every detail Sunday morning, long as you bring me a coffee.”
“I’ll be there—hospital chapel before our shift starts?”
“It’s a date.”
His face changed, the smirk gone as his eyes went from grey to black.  “Date?”
Heat crawled up her face and her insides twisted.  Who turned on the electric current that suddenly raced between them?  “Yeah, well…you know what I mean.  Coffee date, between two co-workers?”
He blinked, took a step closer.  “Come on, Quinn.  We’re more than co-workers.”
She inched backward.  “We…we are?” 
He took another step, backing her into the car behind her.  He leaned down to bring his face next to hers, his eyes flicked to her lips.  Was he going to kiss her?  Her breath caught in her throat. 
A car door slammed and Noah jerked back, his smirk suddenly back in place.  “We’re friends, right?”
A buzzing filled her ears, and she released her breath.  “Yep.  Friends.” 
Katy Perry’s ‘Firework’ played from her phone.
Noah’s left brow raised.  “Cute.”
Quinn fumbled for it.  “My niece was playing with my phone again.”  She slid her finger across the screen.  “Hey, Nicky.  Yeah, I stayed for an extra shift but I’ll be there.”  She looked at Noah.  “It’s my sister.  I gotta go.”
“Have a great time tonight.”
Something in his eyes didn’t match his words. 
She didn’t have time for this.  She definitely didn’t have room for whatever feelings he’d tugged from her a moment ago. 
“Sure.  I’ll see you Sunday.”
Noah slammed his car door.  Idiot!  He’d worked with the woman for six months and hadn’t asked her out yet. Hadn’t even told her he was interested. And he’d almost kissed her back there—no warning.  He’d meant to tease her about her slip-up, but stepping that close, her dark green eyes fixed wide on him, and her lavender scent filling his senses; he was lost. 
He revved his engine. His mother had taught him better than that.
Slipping out of his parking spot, his headlights illuminated the other end of the parking garage.  Man it was dark in here.  Where were the lights?  And why hadn’t he walked Quinn to her car? 
Because he was too busy kicking himself.
In the shadows of his headlights he could just make out her form ahead, still talking on her phone.  Movement to her left caught his attention, and he froze.  Two large men rushed towards her.  Quinn never had a chance.  One grabbed her arms, the other her legs and they moved towards a van. 
Noah hit the gas, his car catapulting into the back of their van.  The stunned men dropped Quinn and dove for their vehicle.  Noah erupted from his car, and launched himself at the man closest to him.  Two quick hits and the man was out.  He spun around to grab the second assailant and was met with the smell or burnt rubber as the van peeled out of the garage.  
For a fleeting second he thought about chasing the man, but a weak groan stopped him cold. 
Quinn.
Two quick steps brought him to her small frame.  He knelt next to her and her eyes flitted open.  She tried to sit up but he gently pushed her back.
“Lie still,” he ordered.  He stifled a curse at the small pool of blood beside her head.  She’d caught the sharp edge of a curb. 
“I’m fine.” Her eyes pinned on his, fire in their emerald depths.  Good.  Maybe she wasn’t hurt as badly as he first thought.
“No, you’re not.  You’re bleeding pretty good from a head wound.  Looks like I’m gonna have to sew you up tonight after all.”
She reached around to feel the back of her head.  “Ouch.”
His hand still held her down.  “Ouch is right.  You didn’t even see them coming.”
He palmed his cell phone and dialed for the hospital security and a stretcher.  She tensed beneath him, shoving his hand away. 
“No way am I going in on a stretcher.  Let me up.”
“Not on your life.”
She shoved at him, but he held her down.  “Be a good patient now, Quinn.”
She glared, but stopped fighting.
Red and blue strobes filled the garage and a navy uniform stepped out into the headlights. 
“Over here,” Noah called.
“Why’re the lights out?”
“Not sure.  But two men tried to grab my friend here.  One of them is to your left, on the pavement.”
The officer turned and looked at the man, out cold.  “Care to tell me what happened?”
A side door slammed opened before he could answer and two co-workers from upstairs spilled out.
“Look, I need to get her upstairs and stitched up.  Her head wound is bleeding heavily, and I’m worried she has a concussion.”
“I don’t.” Quinn’s steely voice answered.
“I’m doing a complete work-up so we can be sure.”
“Guess I’m gonna be late for that date.”
Noah shook his head and helped load her onto the stretcher.  Guilt filled him. Making her late—hoping she missed the date all together—had been his original plan when he asked her to stay for an extra shift.  If he’d kept his mouth shut she’d have been long gone, not attacked in a dark parking lot.  This was all his fault.
Will Quinn make her date? What is Quinn not telling him? Stay tuned tomorrow to find out.