The Mighty Quinns: Cameron Read Free Page A

he’d ordered after his own meal.
    The conversation was easy between them, which Sofie found odd. She usually wasn’t very comfortable around charming men, especially men she didn’t know. Her instincts usually tended to have her second-guessing everything that was said, looking for ulterior motives and hidden meanings. It was the side effects of working as a private investigator, she knew. Everyone she met was guilty of something.
    But this man, this Cameron Quinn, should have set off all her alarms. His reasons for being in Vulture Creek were cloudy at best. His wardrobe was more suited to a man who drove an expensive European sports car than a guy who took the Greyhound. And yet she couldn’t help but be attracted.
    In truth, she did need help. It had become almost impossible to cover all her bases with the case she was working, especially when she had to provide round-the-clock surveillance. And as a woman, she was more conspicuous in a small town like Vulture Creek. For whatever reason, people noticed her and they remembered her.
    The sooner she wrapped up this case, the better, and if Cameron Quinn could help, who was she to refuse? She’d been chasing cheating husbands and deadbeat dads for almost six months, and it was wearing on her nerves. As soon as she was physically able, she’d be back on the job with the Albuquerque Police Department, back doing the job she was meant to do.
    Sofie drew a deep breath. It had been two years since the accident, two years of recovery that seemed to progress an inch at a time. As much as she didn’t want to face it, she knew the reality of her situation.
    She might not make it back. She might never be able to pass the physical again. All she’d be left with was a hip that ached in the cold and a limp that made her the object of either pity or curiosity. Though she might be considered attractive, she was still damaged.
    Most men never saw beyond the imperfection. Hell, she couldn’t get beyond it herself most days. But sitting here, talking to Cameron, she could almost forget the flaw. He had a way of looking at her that made her feel as if she was the most fascinating woman he’d ever set eyes upon. And Sofie hadn’t felt that way in a very long time. Not since the “incident.”
    Sofie came from a family of law-enforcement officers. Her father was a cop in Albuquerque, and each of her five brothers worked in criminal justice. So it was only natural that Sofie, the youngest in the family, had set her sights on the same career.
    She’d begun work with the Albuquerque P.D. the year she graduated from college, and it had been a dream job. She’d worked her way up through the ranks and was undercover in Narcotics by the time she was twenty-six. Her team was in the midst of a major trafficking case when she got caught in a turf war between two rival drug gangs.
    Sofie had known the dangers, but they’d been so close to making their case. She hadn’t listened to her instincts or her superiors, believing that she could handle whatever came her way. But a speeding car and a half-crazed driver put her safety in someone else’s hands. And the resulting crash had put her in intensive care for three months.
    “You want another piece of pie?”
    Sofie blinked, then glanced up from her empty plate. “What?”
    “Pie,” Cam said. “The way you were looking, I was thinking you might just eat the plate.” He turned and searched for Millie. “Can we get another slice of the banana-cream pie?”
    “No,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m fine.”
    “I’m not,” he said. “I’ll have a piece of that banana-cream pie, please.”
    He sent her a smile, and Sofie felt a shiver skitter through her. Was she just imagining it, or was there an attraction between them? Sofie felt it, but was it mutual, or was it merely wishful thinking on her part?
    Just because they’d indulged in a little casual flirting over lunch didn’t mean that he was ready to pull her into his arms and