I’m looking forward to hearing how he thinkswe’regoing to get past the whole trying-to-murder-the-O’Connor-family thing. And it iswe’rebecause I am one hundred percent in when it comes to Quinn.
There’s nothing to stop me, either. Not the smug fucking Russian, not Ronin O’Connor… nothing is going to come between me and making that woman mine.
Chapter Forty
QUINN
All I hear are Aleksei’s comments, urging me to drive like we’re on the run. I haven’t stopped dropping into the smallest gaps, zigzagging in and out of lanes, and pressing the Audi’s accelerator to make the miles between the restaurant blur faster and faster away.
Part of it is, I’m still shaken up. The other part? This car is a dream to drive.
“Quinn!” Kade warns, pointing out to me a car that’s weaving in and out more than we are.
I’d already seen it while I was trying to figure out if racing past the small BMW or tucking in behind it would be better.
“In three hundred meters, take the A9 exit to Zelenograd.” The automated voice for the GPS interrupts the conversation Kade and I have been having since we left. It also decides my course of action. I lift my foot off the accelerator and drop into the left lane, letting the cars race past us.
I check on Kade again, for about the twentieth time since we left.
“I’m okay,” he says, squeezing my thigh.
He might be okay, butokayis a subjective word. And while I believe him, I’m more inclined to trust my own assessment of his welfare, based on my years of training and all. He’s pale, but so far, he doesn’t have any blue tinge to his lips. Him bleeding out is a long shot, but still not something I’m willing to risk.
I go to open my mouth at the same time Kade turns to face me, lifts the bottle of water, and takes a long drink. And the cheek I get when he puts it down proves he’s on to me. As if I care. Tonight, with Sergey out of the picture, I’m taking advantage of not hiding from the truth of who we are. Tomorrow, in the harsh light of day, who knows what will happen?
“Okay, so I get you and Santiago traded places with the other guards, and you’ve adopted their personas and such, but if he thinks you're dead, does that affect you at all?”
“No, no,” he says, and this time when he speaks, he doesn’t lift his head off the headrest, adding more substance to my argument we need to get to the house fast. Kade’s not doing great.
“What blood type are you?” I ask him, thumbing through the car menu until I find the phone system. Pressing Santiago’s number, it rings even before Kade has answered me.
“Bebe, what’s up?” Santiago answers the first ring.
“Kade, what blood type?” I demand.
“O positive,” he says, sinking further into the seat.
I check my mirrors, drop the clutch down, and race ahead, using the inside lane to pass cars going way too slow.
“I need O positive delivered to the house. I didn’t call Aleksei, because I knew you’re with him. It’s not a competition, so please don’t get cocky. I need help, though.”
“Of course,” Santiago says, and then I hear him talking with Aleksei in hushed tones.
The lack of tension between them is obvious, and I exhale, releasing some of the stress I’ve been holding. I’m not a fan of simmering tension, and those two had been like two pressure pots cooking at the same time.
Santiago comes back onto the call with me. “It will be there in about thirty minutes. Is that okay?”
“Yes.”
“Drive safe. And stay armed.”
“Yeah.” I go to hang up the call, but at the last minute don’t. “Can Aleksei hear me too?”
“Yes.”
“You can call Victor and let him know we got attacked at dinner. Keep the details light. Say you're mid emergency and don’t have time for a full debrief or something. At the moment, I’m of the opinion that running with the story I’ve been abducted is going to work against us. Keeping your update to Victor as light as possible means we can still move the story to fit once we decide what is best for us.”
There’s a hum of consensus, and while I wasn’t searching for their praise, I can admit, hearing it makes me feel steadier.
