“What? It’s a fair request.” Why were they staring at her with wide eyes?
Ryan cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, I hate to point out the obvious here, but you do realize you’re wearing the remains of a bloodstained wedding dress, yes?”
She looked down at herself. Yep, she was still in the dress that would haunt her dreams. She wanted to burn the thing, as soon as humanly possible. Dried blood. Torn fabric. Hellish memories. Check, check, triple check.
“She was asleep when I carried her inside,” Nash said, voice curt and a bit too biting. “Didn’t think it would be gentlemanly to strip her while she was out cold. So I left the dress on her.”
Ryan rocked back onto his heels. “Oh, yeah. That’s you. The super gentleman. Not like you just didn’t trust yourself with her so you probably dropped her in bed, snatched the covers up to her chin, and ran away as fast as you could. No, sir, not like that happened at all.” He sucked in his cheeks as if fighting laughter.
“I can knock you out with one punch,” Nash assured him.
“Yes, you probably can, but I do believe that Delaney said for us not to fight, so if you punch me, you’ll just make her mad. If she’s mad, then she’ll be less likely to cooperate with us, won’t she? And we will need her cooperation for when the boss arrives.”
Cooperation. She latched onto that one word, and her brain finally started processing properly. Delaney blinked, and her gaze zeroed in on Ryan again. At first, she’d just figured Nash had called in his brother because he’d wanted someone he could trust at his side. But now suspicion simmered inside of her.
Ryan stood before her, dressed in an expensive, crisp blue dress shirt. A shirt that stretched at his shoulders and arms. Black dress pants. Gleaming, polished shoes. He and Nash were close in height, but Nash beat his brother in muscle span. Like Nash, Ryan also had dark hair, but Nash’s hair was pitch-black. Ryan’s eyes were a deep, dark brown. Sometimes, his gaze would appear warm, but other times, that gaze of Ryan’s could be chilling.
Not brothers by blood, but by choice. She still remembered the day that Nash had first arrived at the Quinn house. He’d been thirteen. She’d been two years younger, and so curious about the new member of the family.
Nash and Ryan had quickly become inseparable. One always watching the other’s back and… “Oh, no.” She had to voice her suspicion. “Are you CIA, too, Ryan?”
“Dammit!” Ryan glared at his brother. “You told her? You just seriously told the woman confidential information that we are supposed to take to our graves? The kind of intel that can’t even be tortured out of us? You just gave it to your ex?”
She took that response as a yes. “Holy crap, you are.” A shake of her head. “I remember when you joined the Marines but…” But after that, she’d been out of their lives.
“You just told her, dumbass,” Nash growled back at him. “I didn’t. And, shit, I have clothes for you, Delaney. Give me a minute.” He stalked from the room.
Which left her alone with Ryan.
Ryan had rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt, and she noticed the dark lines of one scary-looking tattoo on his forearm.
Soft laughter rolled from him. “That one’s real,” he told her, obviously catching her focus on the tat. “But you should have seen some of the ones I was sporting a few months back.”
Her brows snapped together.
A sigh slid from him. “Delaney, Delaney, Delaney…just what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into?” His arms fell to his sides as he began to advance toward her. “And are you seriously about to break my brother’s heart all over again?”
Her jaw nearly hit the floor. “What on earth are you talking about?”
Ryan just nodded. “You are. I can feel it coming.” A low whistle escaped him. “I think I should take over lead on this case. No way does Nash need to be doing the dirty work with you on this one.”
“Dirty work?” Did it sound like she was strangling? It certainly felt that way to her.
“Um. I’ll make the sacrifice. I’ll play bodyguard, and Nash can go back to handling ops in Eastern Europe. Done.”
Her head was spinning. And she was still in the stupid dress.
“So, I’ve got to ask. Did you know your groom was a psychopathic madman bent on being the number one criminal mastermind in the world when you said yes to him? Or did that big revelation come to you later?”
She blinked. “You are usually way more charming than this.”
“Noted. Technically, though, I’m usually pretending to be charming.” A shrug of one big shoulder. “But this time, we’re talking about my brother. You pulled him into your nightmare, and I’m trying to make sure that he’s not getting conned by a pretty face. Your groom is a sadistic criminal who has left a trail of bodies across Europe and the US. Let’s completely understand one another. Nash will not be part of that trail.”
One of her hands flew to her mouth. Her other dropped over her suddenly twisting stomach. “I think I’m going to be sick.” A trail of bodies? Oh, God. Oh, no.
“Here. Fresh clothes. Toiletries. Everything should fit.” Nash was back in the doorway. Filling it. Brushing his broad shoulders against the sides. He frowned at her. “Delaney, you okay?”
Nope, she was not. Delaney snatched the bag from him and dashed into the nearby bathroom. She slammed the door shut. Dropped the bag and then she turned on the water and began splashing it on her too hot face.
