“I can’t exactly do that because now we have one hell of problem to clean up,” he says. “Killing Ilya’s men is nothing short of an act of war. There’s no point hiding the bodies, Ilya isn’t going to simply assume two of his men took an unauthorized vacation. He’ll want to know who did it.” I don’t like the way he’s looking at Quinn. She’s going to be the Russian’s prime suspect.
“What do we do?” I ask.
Mace checks the ground around us, and picks up Quinn’s gun. “We make it so Quinn was never here, but we were. But first I need to speak to Ash.”
“OK. You and Jake do that, and I’ll stay here with Quinn.”
My brother holds my stare. “Fine.”
He’s about to walk away when Quinn reaches for the gun he’s holding. “That belongs to me.”
“I don’t think so,” he says, shoving it into his pocket.
“You can’t take my goddamn gun,” Quinn hisses, pulling away from me.
I yank her back. “You don’t need a gun because you won’t be staying here. Those two guys were planning on returning to the house for you, Quinn. You’re not safe, not now.”
“I can look after myself.”
“Not against the fucking Bratva. You of all people know how little respect they have for women.”
“Anyone else feel like they’re intruding on a domestic?” Jake mutters.
I ignore him. And my brother. Quinn’s obstinacy is infuriating, and it gets the better of me. “They called you Barrett’s whore, Quinn!”
She flinches. “Are you sure that’s what they called me? Because it sounds awfully close to how you described me the other night.”
“I’m not listening to this. The discussion’s over. You’re coming with me.”
Quinn reacts fast, too fast for me to deflect the punch she lands on my cheek. “The hell I am!”
“Ow! Jesus, Quinn,” I yelp. “Do you have to hit me every time we meet?”
“Count yourself lucky I didn’t blow your cock off like I should have done the other night!”
Mace snorts a laugh. “Too much information.”
Quinn pulls back her fist again, turning her venom on my brother. “With my gun, asshole!”
“Sounds like your mouth might be more lethal,” he counters, still smirking.
While she’s distracted, I grab hold of Quinn’s wrists, then turn to my brother. “Mace, can you just fuck off? I’ve got this.”
Quinn kicks me in the shin. “Why don’t you go with him?” she hisses as she tries to tug her hands free from my grasp. “How many more times do I have to say this, Reid? Leave me the hell alone! All of you! Just go!”
Jake scratches his chin absentmindedly, actively ignoring the writhing viper I’m struggling to contain. “Come on, Mace. We’ll take the bodies back to the stables and make that call.”
To the sound of one of those dead bodies being dragged through the undergrowth, I walk my captive backwards until she’s pinned against a tree trunk. The adrenaline that’s been holding me together for the last few minutes evaporates with my next exhale. She was almost killed. I was almost killed, and she saved me. Quinn Jamieson, or whatever her name is, saved my life.
“Please,” I beg her. “Don’t make me leave you here.”
Chapter 9
Quinn
I’m holding onto my composure by my fingertips. What the hell just happened?
I’d sneaked out of the house not long after Ilya’s goons had shown up. The first I’d known about their arrival was when the guard at the gate asked if they should be allowed in. Barrett hadn’t known we were about to get a visit, but he didn’t seem particularly bothered when I called to tell him.
