Quinn pulled back, resting his head against my mattress and grinned wickedly. “Still an anomaly, Liam?”
He was warm and comfortable to lie on, so I didn’t bother moving. I linked my fingers and rested against his chest. “Technically, since kissing a guy is a deviation from who I normally kiss, the answer is yes.”
Quinn roared out with laughter. “God, you’re impossible.” He slapped me on the ass and rolled me over. We nearly knocked over the breakfast tray, but Quinn steadied it and climbed off me. “I’ve got to get to my self-defense class. You can think about things, and we can chat over dinner tonight if you want.”
I propped myself up on my elbows. “How do I join one of these classes?”
“Shannon and I are starting a beginner’s course. Seven o’clock Wednesdays at the Rainbow Rec Center.” He stepped back slowly toward the door. His face glowed, as if the idea of me learning self-defense pleased him. Perhaps he thought it would free up his weekend evenings, but that seemed fair enough to me. “You can come along then if you like.”
I pushed myself into a sitting position. My lips still tingled and tasted of Quinn. I ran a tongue over my bottom lip as I watched him slink further toward the door. “Good call with that kiss, Quinn.”
He paused, squinting at me like he wasn’t quite sure what to say. He scratched his ear. “You don’t need time to think about it? Fret? Go and pretend it never happened?”
I pushed myself off the bed. The warm carpet under my toes rubbed the soles of my feet nicely. I slid over to the jeans that lay in a heap in the corner of the room. “Pretend it never happened? Why would I do that?” I pulled on the jeans andfound the phone I’d dropped on the bed. “Now I have some investigating to do. I think I’ll call Hannah and ask her out after all.”
Quinn opened his mouth to say something, but shut it immediately. His eyes lost their glimmer, dulling into a dark green. He stormed out of my room, murmuring as he went.
I rang Hannah and left a message. “Hannah, hi. Look, about us dating... I’m not yet sure that’s a great idea. Can we have a trial date and see how things go?”
A minute later, the front door clicked shut, and Quinn was gone.
“A trial date, Liam?”Hannah said as I slumped into my chair on Monday morning and opened my laptop.
I looked over at her tapping a red pen to her chin. “I realize it’s not the most romantic of propositions. But I feel we are both practical rather than sentimental at heart.”
She bit the top of her pen and processed my words. In a soft voice, she replied, “Lotte warned me this will likely never go anywhere. If you didn’t jump at the first offer, you never will, she said. I’m beginning to think she’s right.”
I opened my drawer, rummaged through pens and paper clips to the snacks I kept at the back. Pulling out one of the chocolate mints I knew she loved, I sent her a smile and handed one over. A peace offering of sorts.
She laughed as she picked it up and started unwrapping. “What’s this?”
“That’s me trying to say that I understand if you don’t want to go on a date.”
Holding the mint to her lips, she paused. “The thing is, Lotte rules her life with her heart and so far it’s brought nothing but drama and heartache.” She nibbled at the edge of the mint. “Pragmatism works for me. Let’s do dinner, make out some, and see what happens. How does Friday work for you?”
I brought up my calendar. Friday, the results of the first round of BCA placements. “I might have a party to attend afterward, but I think it could work.”
We shared a smile, jotted the date into our calendars, and got to work on our respective columns.
It was midday, after a short meeting with Chief Benedict, when Jill shuffled through theScribedoors. Normally, I’d see him across the room and duck my head to concentrate on my work, ignoring the guy completely. But today, I stared at him transfixed. Curious.
Suspicious.
He shifted awkwardly toward his desk in the far corner of the room, keeping his gaze cast toward the threadbare carpet and his Converse. But what glued my attention to him most was the way he cradled his left arm—
He glanced up, quickly scouring the room—probably searching for Jack—and our gazes locked. I wanted to pull away and avoid the snarky comment that would likely come during our staff meeting, but the dark-blue bruise around his eye held me there.
What had happened to Jill?
What had Jill done to deserve it?
Hunter’s words echoed in my mind.The vigilante broke his collarbone throwing him to the ground. He had to go to hospital. Now he’s telling everyone the assault came out of the blue...
Could it be so simple? Could Jill have earned vigilante payback by attacking some guy for being gay?
Instead of sneering like he normally would have, Jill tore his face from my view and sank behind his desk. Across from him, Jack’s working space was empty. He stared at his friend’s desk and bowed his head, likely wishing he had a confidante that would agree with what he’d done and have his back.
A sudden urge overcame me. I picked up my office-friend stapler and imagined myself leaving it on the empty desk and finding out if Jill was The Night Warrior guy threatening The Raven. Except, even if I found out itwasJill, it wouldn’t yield anything helpful if he didn’t admit the truth. And why would he do that?
