Chapter 26
I’m just finishing up at work, ready to head over to Quinn’s, when Miles strolls into the workshop. He has a huge smile on his face as walks over and punches me in the arm.
“Dude, what the hell?” I ask, punching him back.
My little brother laughs, throwing his arm around my shoulders now as he says, “So.”
He doesn’t say anything more, and even though I know exactly what he’s talking about, I prompt him back with another, “So.”
“You and Quinn, huh?”
I roll my eyes, elbowing him in the ribs as I say, “Yeah, you already knew we were together.”
“Yeah, but now you’re like, together-together, right?” he asks with a laugh.
“Miles, if this is your juvenile way of asking if Quinn and I are having sex because you can’t say fucking or whatever, then my answer would be, none of your business.”
He lets out a loud laugh, his arm slipping into a headlock as he says, “I don’t need to ask, dumbass, we all heard you.”
“So why did you feel the need to ask then?” I ask him.
“I’m asking if this is like seriously official, not if you two are fucking,” my brother says. “I know you, Kai, you’re never not fucking.”
No, not last night, that’s for sure.
It’s safe to say Quinn and I spent an awful lot of last night fucking.
And again this morning too. So much so that my blue balls have well and truly gone.
Not that I’ve gotten enough though, because I’m planning on pinning her against the front door as soon as I get to her house this afternoon.
Plan on fucking her all night again too.
I jab him in the stomach so he lets me go. “Yes, it’s official,” I tell him. “And before you ask, no, I am not seeing anyone else.”
“Good,” he says, giving me a smile.
Now it’s me smiling as I say, “Yeah, it is good, really good. So good, in fact, that I need to get going so I can go see my girl.” I turn and grab my stuff, leaving my brother standing in the middle of the workshop as I add, “Can you hit the lights and lock up before you leave? Thanks!”
“I told you it would happen one day,” Miles shouts, and I respond by flipping him off.
On the way to Quinn’s, I text her to let her know I’m on the way. She doesn’t respond, and when I turn into her long drive, I see why.
A huge-ass, black SUV is parked in front of her house, and when I look up at the front porch, I see Quinn, a fucking terrified look on her face, as some guy stands aggressively in front of her, his hands clenched into fists as he towers over her.
I’m out of the car before it’s even fully stopped, as I stalk up to the front porch and push this guy out of the way.
“Get the fuck away from her,” I shout, pulling Quinn into my arms. She’s trembling, her face streaked with tears as she clings to me. I press a kiss to her forehead, whispering, “You okay?”
This guy lets out a harsh laugh as he steps closer and says, “Do you know who the fuck I am?”
As soon as I look up at him, I know exactly who he is. And it’s not just because I’ve seen his photo plastered all over magazine covers or the internet, or that I’ve seen him on my brother’s band’s Instagram page either.
I wouldn’t need to recognize this douche to know who he is from the angry and possessive way he is staring at Quinn as I hold her in my arms.
Which is why I respond with, “I don’t give a fuck who you are, asshole, you need to leave.” No way am I giving this prick the satisfaction of fawning all over him.
He laughs again, shoving a hand through his slicked-back hair. His eyes are bloodshot, and I can’t help but wonder if he’s drunk. “No, you need to take your hands off my wife,” he shouts, lurching forward.
I stand my ground, my arms tightening around Quinn. “Ex-wife, asshole.”
“Not yet,” he says in a sing-song voice, like this is all a game to him. “She hasn’t signed the papers.”
I want to shout at him that it’s because she doesn’t want to be bought or gagged or treated like a piece of shit instead of the woman he supposedly loved. But this isn’t my stuff to say, and I sure as shit don’t want to give away any of how Quinn is feeling to this guy.
“Fuck. Off.”
Beside me, Quinn whispers, “He has my keys.”
This asshole holds them out, as though he’s taunting her, and I want to punch him so bad. Instead, I reach out and snatch the keys from his hand, fast enough to make him flinch. I smile at the movement, tipping my head toward his obnoxious car.
“Last time, asshole. Fuck off or I’m calling the cops.”
His gaze moves from me to Quinn, his eyes hard as he says, “This isn’t over, Quinn. This—”
I turn and unlock the door, taking her inside before he has a chance to finish his sentence. I watch from the peephole to make sure he leaves, and the second his tires spin on the gravel, I fall back against the front door, taking Quinn with me.
“Babe, are you okay?” I ask, cupping her face in my hands as I drop kisses to her wet cheeks.
Quinn shakes her head, her hands gripping my T-shirt as she says, “No.” She’s crying again, her body shaking as her knuckles turn white with the grip they have on me.
“He’s gone,” I whisper, kissing her forehead. “I’ve got you, babe. I promise I—”
“No,” she says again, shaking her head.
“Yeah, I have. I’ve—”
“No, Kai,” she says, her words firmer now. “You don’t, you can’t. You should just go.”
“What?” I ask, surprised. “Why would I go?”
She blinks, chewing on her bottom lip as she stares up at me. “How could you want to be involved in this?” she whispers. “He’s going to make my life hell. He’ll make your life hell too if you stick around. You’re better off leaving, Kai. Just forget you ever met me.”
My heart is pounding in my chest at her words, at what she’s asking me to do. “No,” I say, repeating the word back to her. “I’m not going anywhere, and I don’t care if he thinks he can ruin my life. I’ve got news for that asshole, he can’t.”
“He can,” she pleads. “He has money and connections and...” she trails off, a sob falling from her throat.
“Babe,” I say, pressing a soft kiss to her lips as my thumbs swipe away her tears. “He can’t hurt me, and even if he could, it wouldn’t change anything. This, here, is exactly what I want. There’s no way I could ever forget you. Don’t want to even try.”
Quinn sniffs, shaking her head a little as her grip on my T-shirt loosens and she flattens her palms against my chest. “Why?” she asks. “My life is a mess. I have so much baggage.”
Chuckling, I say, “Yeah, so? Baggage is nothing, babe. And baggage can always get lost too, you know.”
“Sean won’t ever get lost,” she says, her words laced with anger now. “He will never let this go until I give him what he wants.”
I close the distance between us, kissing her again as we lean back against the front door, this whole thing very different from the plans I originally had for her and this door when I came over here.
I don’t mind though, because taking care of Quinn is something I am quickly discovering I really like doing.
I want to be there for her, for any and every reason, because even though the sex between us is amazing, this is so much more than just sex.
This is us. Together-together, like Miles said.
“Babe,” I whisper, pulling back a little as I rest my forehead against hers. “We can get rid of him, you know. He will leave you alone.”
“But how?” she asks.
Grinning, I lift my head, my eyes meeting hers as I say, “Because we have a secret weapon.”
“We do?”
“Yep,” I confirm with a nod.
“What?” she asks, confused.
Chuckling, I reply, “Clearly, you’ve forgotten my brother and his band toured with them.
You think they don’t have a shit ton of dirt you can use against him?
” Quinn’s eyes widen, her mouth opening and then closing as though she doesn’t know what to say.
Laughing, I kiss her once more before I take her hand in mine.
“Come on, let’s take a quick shower, and then we’ll go speak to my brother. ”
Thirty minutes later, Quinn and I are freshly showered and in the car on the way to Miles and Daisy’s place.
I’d texted him before we left, just to give him a quick heads-up and he was cool about it.
I think he was more surprised than anything, especially given I’ve never told him who Quinn’s ex is.
“God, I can’t believe this shit has followed me to Hawaii,” she says as we pull into the drive.
“I mean, not gonna lie, babe, he does seem like a piece of shit. But don’t worry, we’ll get some dirt on him.”
“It’s not just Sean,” she says as we get out of the car.
“What do you mean?” I ask, taking her hand as we make our way up to the front door. I knock once before letting myself in.
“A reporter showed up at work this morning,” she replies, closing the door behind her. “Sally took care of it, but it means they’ve found me, and this isn’t going to stop, and it’s only—”
“Quinn,” I say, pulling her into my arms. I can hear Daze and Miles in the kitchen waiting for us.
“We’re going to fix this,” I say, kissing the top of her head.
“We’ll get rid of all the baggage, and you can go back to living in your hideous green and pink rental while I make good on my promise to make you come all night. ”
She bursts out laughing, burying her face in my chest because she knows my brother and Daisy likely heard what I just said. I don’t care, though, because she’s smiling again, even if it’s only for a brief moment.
“Welcome to dating my brother, Quinn,” Miles says, walking down the short corridor. “The guy who doesn’t get embarrassed about anything.”
“And why would I?” I ask as we follow Miles into the kitchen.
Daisy is waiting with beers for all of us, pulling Quinn into a tight hug the second she walks into the room.
“Thanks for this,” I say to my brother. “I know you don’t like talking about the shit that happened over there, but I really appreciate it.”
Miles smiles, a hand on my shoulder. “It’s all good. Giving you shit on that asshole will be good. Prick never made us sign an NDA either, so it’s on him that I’m gonna do this.”
“He was bad, huh?” I ask, knowing Miles has never really told any of us everything that went down on the mainland when they toured with Sean’s band.
All we know is that for the first six months, things were fine, great even. They were getting heaps of exposure, and their album was hanging out in the charts, with a second one promised as soon as the tour was over.
Then suddenly, nothing was being posted on their socials. The Provocation had to cancel a show before eventually announcing a new supporting act, and Miles showed up back on Maui. Lacey, too, apparently, although no one knew it at the time.
I think a part of us always thought it had something to do with Isaac and Daze hooking up, which brought Miles back, but then a couple of things were said when the band got back together, and now, seeing what Sean is really like, it feels like there is way more to the story.
“He was definitely a piece of work,” Miles says, turning to Quinn.
“Piece of shit, more like it,” she says, taking a sip of beer.
Miles chuckles. “I mean, yeah, there’s that too,” he says, glancing quickly at Daze.
“So I can tell you what I know, but there’s probably stuff the others know too.
I can text them to come over if you want, or we can chat with them later.
Some of it is...well, let’s just say it wasn’t always a good time on the tour. ”
Quinn huffs out a breath. “Yeah, I can only imagine. I only went once when we first started dating, and it was...eye-opening to say the least.” She pauses, taking a sip of beer as she looks at me before turning back to Miles.
“I was stupid to pretend he’d change when we got married,” she says, sadness in her voice.
“He didn’t, so I can’t even begin to picture what kept happening. ”
I pull her closer, wrapping my arm around her shoulders as I drop a kiss to the top of her head. Quinn leans into me, taking another sip of beer.
“So you want me to text the others?” Miles asks.
Quinn looks up at me before turning to Daisy and then my brother. “Is it okay if we just talk first?”