Just Enough Light by AJ Quinn Page A

said. It was Kellen Ryan who saved my life and Kellen Ryan who helped build this business. I don’t care who she was before that. I only care about who she is today. But I worry that on some level, she’s always just a step from running. Disappearing.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “She once shared that she keeps a backpack in her front closet, filled with essentials in case she needs to run. I may not like it, but I do understand having it there helps her feel better, so I don’t interfere. Because it’s simply a part of who Kellen is. And that’s the same person I’ve known and loved for the last ten years.”
    Dana felt momentarily stunned by Annie’s revelation. That after all these years, Kellen would still keep a go bag ready in case she needed to run at a moment’s notice spoke of a level of fear she couldn’t begin to understand. She also wasn’t certain what it would take to turn things around.
    Whether it mattered or not, they still had no idea who Kellen had been prior to meeting with Annie and her father. And there was still someone out there, hunting her. Wanting to finish what he’d started a year earlier.
    There was also one other question that remained critical. If Kellen’s pattern was to disappear, would she do that now? With a clear threat, would she run? Or would she stand and face whoever was coming after her, knowing she’d established strong bonds of friendship here, built a community. One that was prepared to stand by her. Fight with her and for her.

    *

    Kellen stretched and sighed as she awoke. The stretch pulled at a tube attached to her arm, and it took a handful of frustrating seconds for her to orient herself and for her eyes to focus. That was when she found herself staring at an IV.
    What the hell? The realization came at the same instant she discovered two girls and a dog gathered beside her.
    Bogart immediately drew near and nudged her hand with his nose. He then looked at her with where the hell have you been? in his eyes. Good question. How long had she been out?
    Kellen scratched his head and looked at the girls. “What’s going on?”
    “Please don’t be upset, but you’ve been really sick,” Cody said.
    Before she could think of an appropriate response, Cody pressed her palm on Kellen’s forehead, then pressed it against her cheek. “I think your fever’s finally gone down. But it was really bad and when it kept getting higher, we had to ask the doc to come and take a look at you.”
    “Oh?” Kellen struggled to remember. “When was this?”
    “Um…three days ago. Please don’t scare us like that again.”
    Letting out a resigned sigh, Kellen sank back into the mattress. She sifted through her memory, but her thoughts remained foggy. Disjointed. Like a flickering movie. Slowly, vague recollections took shape. She remembered the failed rescue. Holding the boy in the river. Flying the boy’s body back to his parents.
    And then she remembered Calvin Grant.
    Damn. He’d talked about the man who had shot her. Speculated he was coming back after her. That she was a danger to her team. Worse, out of nowhere, he had raised questions about her past—or lack of one. In front of Annie and Dana.
    If she closed her eyes, she’d swear that had only happened minutes ago. Or yesterday. But if what Cody said was right, that clearly wasn’t the case. “Three days?” she whispered hoarsely.
    “We’ve all been taking turns watching you. Cooling you down with cold cloths and ice like Doc D showed us,” Ren said. “How are you feeling?”
    Doc D? Now wasn’t the time to question, because Kellen could see fear and concern warring in Ren’s eyes. Could hear it in her voice. She took a quick breath and forced a smile onto her face. “I’m not sure. You know nothing keeps me down for long, but for some reason I feel like I’ve been run over by a bear.”
    “Bears don’t run people over.” A giggle escaped Ren and she began to visibly relax. “They might nibble, but