Oh, fuck this.
I spin on my heels, and I don’t wither from my brother’s glare. “I don’t need to ask them because Quinn didn’t spike their drinks!” I don’t need Simon’s extra testing to know that.
“I knew she hadn’t,” Maddie says. “I just knew it. You all heard what she said in the office. She didn’t want to put anyone else at risk.”
“Oh, please!” Mace says. “She was caught in the act.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” says Simon from the doorway. “But Reid’s right. The drinks weren’t tampered with.” He looks to me. “We don’t need to wait for labs. I’ve just tested the liquid in the vial. It was GHB, so the girls’ drinks should have tested positive too. They didn’t.”
“It could be that you interrupted her before she could do anything,” Hunter says.
Maddie glares at her husband. “Have you been standingthere with your fingers in your ears? Quinn told us to leavebeforeSimon had a chance to react.”
“She warned you?” I ask, welcoming the brief rush of relief. Not only is this the final piece of confirmation I need, but Maddie and Lily are on Quinn’s side too. That’s what they’d been arguing about.
Lily presses a hand to my back. “She made sure we were out before the Russians arrived,” she says. “And if Mace stopped being an ass for one minute and hacked into Ruby’s CCTV footage, he’d see that.”
“Anyway,” Simon says, ready to make his retreat. “The doc’s here if you need him to check on anyone.”
“You’re the one who needs checking out,” Hunter says. “Go and get your bullet wound seen to.”
“Wound?” gasps Lily. “You were shot? Why did no one tell us?”
“I’m fine. And you have better things to worry about,” Simon says.
“Not now I don’t,” Lily says, going to him. She ushers Simon out, but pauses at the door long enough to glare back at her husband. “Whatever Quinn did, she protected us when it counted. You have to find her. You don’t have to do it for her sake, but you do have to do it for Reid’s. You came very close today to being in his shoes.”
“Same goes for you,” Maddie says, prodding Hunter in the chest before following Lily. She stops to plant a gentle kiss on my cheek before she leaves. “You’ll find her.”
I wish I had Maddie’s confidence. Damn, I wish I had Quinn’s confidence. She’s relying on me. What she wasn’t counting on was me having my brothers’ full support, which is why she’s given me Strider’s number. It was a good move given how Mace is keeping his distance.
It’s Ash I can’t read. The roar stuck in my throat is getting too loud to hold back. “I can’t–”
Ash picks up Quinn’s burner phone, and holds my gaze as he hands it to me. “Let’s find out what Quinn expects from us,” he says. “Call Strider.”
It’s not an outright promise of support, but it isn’t a refusal either. I dial the only number in the phone’s memory and someone picks up immediately. No one speaks on the other end.
“Hello?” I ask.
“Who is this?” The man’s voice is electronically distorted, which feels consistent with the little I know about Strider.
“Someone who cares for Quinn,” I answer.
“And exactly how much do you care for her?”
“I’m ready to die for her,” I say, my voice hoarse. “Gladly.”
There’s a pause. “Shit. They’ve taken her?”
“About an hour ago. We–”
“Wait!” Strider barks down the phone.
I can hear him tapping furiously on his keyboard. He must be holding his jaw tense because his exhale comes out as a sharp hiss between clenched teeth.
“Fuck. Nothing’s showing.”
“What do you mean nothing’s showing?” I ask. “She has a tracker on her?” It’s not really a question.
