Pulling my bandana off my face, I pulled my hood over my eyes, keeping my head low, hoping I looked like a guy out for a walk rather than a guy running from a crime scene.
Knowing I was nearing my car, I glanced up to make sure there was no one around. I was in the car when I saw her emerging from the shadows, hoodie pulled low, blending with the night like we’d taught her. She walked swiftly to the passenger side door and then slipped in beside me.
“Drive,” Quinn ordered. “Get us out of here, and then you can tell me why you’re trying to get yourself arrested . . . or killed.”
We kept our heads low as I drove away, both of us watching foranyone watching us. We were a few miles from the house when she reached over and took my hand, looking at the damage.
“You’resoreckless.”
Without a word, I laced her fingers with mine, and she didn’t pull away, and I didn’t care that it hurt my damaged hand.
We drove in silence as I headed to my brother’s office, preparing myself for the fireworks that were coming.
But I had Harry, which meant I was close to the answers that had eluded me for so long. If I couldn’t make him talk, I had no doubt that Onyx would.
Lifting her hand to my mouth, I brushed my lips across her knuckles and held them there for the rest of the journey. She brought me peace, even when she drove me wild and made me reckless. Peace came when she was near.
After all, she was my sanctuary.
Chapter 12: Quinn
His lips never lifted from my skin. I didn’t care that it was uncomfortable, and after I had managed to stem the bleeding a little from his hand, we drove in silence. My heart was still racing, and the drive wasn’t calming me down. When Jett told me he needed me, I didn’t hesitate. Very few people could calm Gray down when he lost it, and for Jett to say he was in trouble . . . I knew it was bad.
I didn’t ask where Jett was taking me; I didn’t question why he circled a row of houses before he spotted Gray’s car and then made sure he parked nowhere near it.
I didn’t question when he told me to go wait by Gray’s car and be ready. Ready for what, he never told me. He pulled his bandana over his face, his hood low, and he was gone.
I didn’t have a bandana, but I had the sense to grab a hoodie on the way out with Jett, and I pulled my hood low, covering my hair completely as I walked in the opposite direction of the car in case anyone was watching. They taught me a long time ago to blend into my surroundings, never hurry, always walk with purpose, and never under any circumstances look like you were lost or checking out your surroundings.
When I approached Gray’s car, I passed it and kept on walking.
I saw the smoke from the house and the low flames.
He set a house on fire?
No. He wouldn’t. Gray was reckless sometimes, but he wasn’t stupid. He had never been stupid or careless. He took great efforts to make sure everything he did was thought out and planned. He was meticulous to the point of being unreasonable sometimes. When I saw him approach the car, I felt relief, but I had hung back to make sure there was no one else coming or following, and when I knewit was safe, I let him see me. I had so many questions, but I knew, when he was like this, not to ask. He would tell me when he was ready. As we drove, I realized how very similar we were.
Slowly, we approached Onyx’s building. Not just the building he worked in, but the building heowned. It was sometimes easy to forget they were so wealthy that they didn’t need to work hard at school or train hard; they could be privileged trust fund kids and do nothing. But they were too clever, too ambitious, and they had been raised to be exceptional.
Kerr, their father, had been successful in the draft but had never played pro. Kage did until his knee had one too many operations, and they told him he couldn’t play anymore. Kage was often a “celebrity” commentator, but it wasn’t his main income. When he was playing and earning good money, he and Kerr had invested it, and then they were advising Kage’s teammates on investments. Until they had their own agency of financial advisors.
Onyx had taken it a step further, and now he represented some of the biggest names in sports. His fee percentage was steep, but if asked, he would tell you that to be the best, you paid for the best. Gray was very close to his older brother, and I was not in the least bit surprised that it was Onyx who knew Gray had been reckless tonight.
As we parked in the underground parking reserved for the Santos, Gray let go of my hand and turned to look at me. His face was unreadable, but when he reached out to stroke my cheek with his hand, his touch was gentle.
“You okay?” he asked me in the quiet of the car.
“Yes.” I nodded to confirm as he watched me. “What did you do?”
“You need to stay outside,” he said instead of answering me. His finger on my lips cut off my protest. “You don’t need to hear it, not tonight.”
Swallowing my complaint, I nodded again.
Smoothly, he exited the car, and I followed nervously. Making our way to the elevator, the doors opened automatically, and I said nothing when he pressed the lower-level button. Glancing at him with concern, I saw he was watching me. With a quick movement, he hit the stop button, and then his mouth was on mine, as demanding as it was dominating. I opened my mouth when he licked the seam of my lips, and then he was really kissing me. His hands tangled in my hair, and somewhere my brain registered he had blood on his hands, but I didn’t stop him. He tasted of smoke from the fire, heightening the fact that he tasted of danger and ruthlessness.
Wild and raw.
I was helpless in his arms, and when he drew back, with only a breath between us, his lips were gentle when he kissed me again.
