Reid
It hadn’t taken a genius to figure out where Quinn was going with the bottle of wine. She has no friends in Poulton Springs other than the people she works with, and I’d spotted Tandy working a shift in her mom’s coffee shop. Quinn had to be visiting Clara because there’s no way I was contemplating her spending the evening with the gardener.
My desire to protect Quinn has an edge of possessiveness I’ve never experienced before. I don’t want her hating anyone the way she hates me.
When she leaves Clara’s, I’m parked in the shadows further up the road. The streets aren’t safe right now, and she should have called a cab, but at least I get the chance to speak to her again.
Unbuckling my seatbelt, I turn to the man next to me. “I’m going to follow on foot.”
Jake flicks his gaze to the wound on my head. “Are you sure that’s such a good idea?”
Our head of security had returned with me to Poulton Springs for our latest mission. We’ve rented a group ofsecluded cabins on the outskirts of a neighboring town where our presence will raise fewer questions.
I’d gone into town alone earlier, but Mace being Mace, he’d hacked into local CCTV and was watching my encounter with Quinn. The back-up I’d insisted I didn’t need had been called before Quinn’s last missile had found its target.
A second SUV with Jake and four of our guys had arrived as I was paying for the paint Quinn had thrown at me. Jake treated the gash to my head with butterfly stitches, and hadn’t stopped laughing the whole time.
We’d sent the other guys back to the cabins, but Jake is refusing to let me out of his sight. From his smirk, I’m still a source of amusement to him.
“Do you know what’s funny?” I say, nodding to the retreating figure walking along the darkened street. “That you thought it necessary to send in a whole team to deal with one woman wielding cans of paint.”
Jake’s doesn’t blink. He’s in his forties and has seen a lot of action. “Check out the way she’s holding her purse. She’s carrying, Reid, and she’ll be nervous. Don’t be an idiot. If you have to get out, wear a vest.”
I want to argue that I’m safe with Quinn, but I could be fooling myself. It wasn’t that long ago that Mace lost all sense of reason over Lily. Infatuation can do that. If that’s what this is.
I leave my woolen coat in the car and fasten the bulletproof vest over my grey button-down shirt. I’m carrying a Glock, but I can’t imagine ever pulling it on Quinn, no matter what the circumstances. I’ve never pulled the trigger on anyone, although I have an uneasy feeling that’s going to change someday soon.
When I’m close enough, I listen to Quinn talking tosomeone on the phone. She glances over her shoulder and I dip into the shadows without her seeing me.
“I’m doing this for one person, and one person only,” I hear her say.
Is she talking about herself? Barrett? Ilya? It’s a small insight into her world, but I need to hear more. And I’d be particularly interested in knowing who she’s talking to.
Whoever it is, they’re worried about her safety. My cheeks flush despite the cold when she calls him by name. Strider. Who the fuck is he?
My brow furrows, wrinkling the dressing on my forehead when Quinn puts her phone back in her purse and keeps her hand there. As she slows, my long strides quickly make up the distance between us. I pray my gut instinct about this woman is correct.
“Please don’t shoot me,” I say, my mouth suddenly dry. “I don’t have an armored vehicle to protect me this time.”
Quinn takes a couple more steps. She’s remaining calm, which is a good sign. At least she didn’t spin around and fire off a shot at the sound of my voice, but an unruffled Quinn is almost as scary as the one who threw cans at me. She knew I was behind her.
When Quinn finally turns, I’m busy tightening the straps on my vest. We’re between street lamps, but she recognizes what I’m wearing and her head tips back with laughter. “Is that a bulletproof vest?”
I’m not ready to relax, but I do allow myself a smile. “Do you blame me?” I ask, pointing at my forehead.
Quinn purses her lips, her amusement quickly fading. For a second, I think she’s going to apologize. She should apologize. The attack was unwarranted and fucking vicious. And for reasons I can’t fathom, it turned me on. A throb of desire pulses through my cock, then dissipates just asquickly when Quinn pulls the gun from her purse and points it at my head.
A car engine growls to life and headlights stretch across the road to my left. I raise my hand in a gesture that hopefully tells Jake not to do anything rash. My gaze remains on Quinn.
“I’d advise not giving him a reason to take you out.”
Quinn squints into the gloom. “You brought back up?”
“My brothers seem to think I need a babysitter. They don’t believe we’re capable of holding a civil conversation,” I explain. “Care to prove them wrong?”
The barrel of the gun remains pointed at my head. “I’m hardly going to let my guard down when you have a habit of creeping up on me.”
“No creeping up on you, got it,” I say. “So could I have your number instead?”
