Which wasn’t at all what I’dbeen hired for, but too bloody bad. Harmony Records had already pissed meoff—if not for the fact that Quinn needed my help, I would have walked awayyesterday.
“Do you miss being in thearmy?” Quinn asked after a brief silence.
The question had obviouslybeen floating around in his mind, waiting for the moment when he felt like hecould ask it.
He couldn’t have known howhard it’d hit me, or how complicated the answer was.
“Yes. And no. It’s… are yousure you want to listen to this?”
Another time, I might havedeflected, laughed it off, but not with Quinn. If he wanted to know, I’d tell him.
He looked up at me again,gorgeous dark eyes staring as though he could see right into my soul. As if heknew he’djust found a wound and wanted to bandage it up.
I couldn’t deny him that.I’d seen enough ofhissoul, I owed it to him to show him some ofmine.
“I was an absolute terror asa teenager,” I began, figuring the beginning was as good a place as any. “Gotinto trouble. Got into fights. Spent more than one night in the local policestation with, luckily, coppers who weren’t interested in ruining my life. Thatcould have gone alotworse for me. Does, for a lot of people. Butmy dad knew everyone—he was a bus driver, which sounds like not much of a job,but we were all close. It’s not like it is here. Everyone lives in each other’spockets back home, even though it’s not a small town. Hard to explain toAmericans.”
“I think I get it,” Quinnsaid.
“Point is, after a lot ofhaving to be saved from myself, my dad had a recruitment officer come by andtalk to me. One on one, cup of tea and all. He’d lived just down the road fromus growing up. I knew his face. And he was… his shoulders were straight, andhis voice was calm and he seemed so…settled. Everything Iwasn’t.And I hadn’t thought I needed to be any of that before then, but… I knew. Iknew it was that or end up like the rest of my mates—in prison, couch surfingbecause their parents wouldn’t put up with them anymore, getting caught up withgangs and the like. I didn’t want that. My mum always looked so worried aboutme. So I signed up. And it changed my life.”
Quinn’s hand stoleinto mine, his fingers squeezing gently. I knew my voice was getting tight,long-buried feelings getting the better of me, but now that I’d started, Icouldn’t stop. The only way forward wasthrough.
“Anyway, turned out I wasgood at the work, after all. I was tapped on the shoulder for special ops earlyon, and then eventually put on a joint task force, and that was that. I had anew family and something worth protecting, and I just… settled down. Still gotclaws when I want to, though.”
“Oh yeah,” Quinn laughed. “Isaw that today. But you’re sweet, too.”
“Don’t let on,” I murmured,pressing another kiss to his forehead, a vice clamping around my heart as Imade contact.
Quinn was something worthprotecting. Not for a paycheck, not because it was myjob,but because…
A lump formed in my throat.Was this how Gray had felt about Miles?
It was, wasn’t it?
A dangerous path to tread.
“Your secret’s safe with me,”Quinn promised. “All your secrets.”
“I’ve never told anyone,” Isaid in a rush, wanting Quinn to know that this was important. That we weresharing something that was, as far as I was concerned, special.
“Not even your friends? Yournew family?”
I shook my head. “No. I mean… weall knew we’d had it rough before we signed up. Gray was the only one who’dstarted out an idealist. He still is, too. Wants to save the world, and if I’veever met anyone I thought could do it…”
Quinn smiled. He wasimpossiblypretty when he smiled. “Sounds like you love him.”
“I do,” I admitted. All ofthem. Gray, Logan, Lucas, Doc. Miles now, too. “Don’t tell him that, though. I’dnever live it down,” I joked.
We all knew. We would havedied for each other—gladly, willingly, happy to know one of us went on andsurvived.
“Must be nice,” Quinn said. “Tohave all those people around you, I mean. People who love you.”
This time, it was my turn tosqueeze Quinn’sfingers. My heart ached for him, feeling all alone in the world when that wasonly true because he’d been kept that way on purpose.
“If you were allowed to getclose to people, you’d be surrounded, too. People wouldflockto you. Lucylikes you.”
“John doesn’t like me,” hepointed out.
