Chapter 25 Noah
Chapter Twenty-Five
NOAH
My brother eyed me from across his desk, a sardonic glint in his eyes. “Do you want to sit in?” he asked dryly.
“Yes.”
“I think it’s best if you don’t,” he said, his words measured as his gaze sobered.
“Not as an agent, just a supportive—” I cut myself off abruptly.
Dallas’s lips curled into a sly smile as he chuckled. “A supportive what?”
Leaning back in my chair, I let out a low chuckle and ran a hand through my hair. “Friend?” I offered helpfully.
“If you think you’re just Sasha’s friend, you’re more of an idiot than I thought,” my brother countered, all humor leaving his eyes.
“I know I’m not just her friend. Is this officially an interview, anyway?” I pressed.
Dallas shook his head. “I just want to take a look at that email. Sasha forwarded it, but since Quinn’s willing to let us look at the laptop, I want to see what else I can trace from it.
Since you’re wondering, I’ll let you know.
It doesn’t look like Quinn’s father has been involved.
As far as we can tell, it looks like his ID was stolen.
He’s not a criminal, but he is in a bit of a jam. ”
“What do you mean?” Unease slithered down my spine.
“He likes to gamble. That’s all. Nothing sinister, nothing even illegal. Unless remarkably poor judgment combined with a propensity to bet when he doesn’t have the financing to do so is criminal.”
“Fuck,” I muttered. “Do you think this means Quinn and Sasha are unsafe?”
Dallas shook his head quickly. “Oh no. If they had money, perhaps, but they don’t.
I’m more curious to see where Quinn’s father’s trail will lead us as far as getting more on the guys running this massive laundering scheme.
I’ve already interviewed him. He knows he made some dumb decisions, and this may be the first time in his life that he’s facing actual accountability for them. He’s fully cooperating.”
I didn’t realize how tense I was until I sagged into the chair, the tension bundled in the muscles along the back of my shoulders loosening for the first time in days. “Why do you think he reached out to Quinn?”
“He claims he didn’t. So your guess was right. Someone’s using him, not to get to Quinn, but to rattle him.”
“Fuck.”
Dallas stood from his desk, crossing over to a small table against the wall and pouring himself a cup of coffee from the coffee pot. “Would you like some?” He threw his question over his shoulder.
“Please.”
A moment later, he handed me a cup of black coffee before sitting down at his desk again.
I took a gulp, savoring the rich flavor.
We were lucky in the office here. One of the admin assistants made damn good coffee.
He tended to circle through the offices periodically throughout the day, making sure we all had fresh coffee.
Dallas and I sat in silence for a few moments while we sipped our drinks.
I contemplated my usual busy schedule. I tended to work a lot and not mind it.
Now, I wanted time with Sasha and Quinn.
Even though I wasn’t with Sasha every night, I didn’t want the adrenaline-driven exhaustion that came with working all the time.
I had something to look forward to, something else to focus on.
Specifically, two someones—Sasha and Quinn.
I didn’t even know how to absorb the emotion attached to two of them.
There were my feelings for Sasha, which were independent of Quinn, yet not.
Because Quinn was Sasha’s first priority.
As such, she had become mine as well in a very short span of time.
“You’re in love.” Dallas spoke with casual confidence.
My eyes whipped to his just as my heart gave a rattling kick in my chest, almost as if it were a gong sounding its agreement.
I took another swallow from my mug, trying to steady myself. “Do you think?” I returned with practiced nonchalance in my tone.
“I don’t think, I know. How are things going?”
I blinked at him, both relieved and disappointed that he didn’t press me to agree with him.
Now that was something to wonder about. While I was already coming to terms with just how quickly Sasha occupied the whole of my heart, I hadn’t yet put a label on it.
The adjustment psychologically for me was big.
My career has taken up so much space for so long.
“Good, I think,” I said slowly. “I think Sasha thinks we’re moving too fast.”
Dallas waved a hand dismissively in the air. “You’ve known her since we were kids.”
“That’s what I told her. There’s Quinn too.”
Dallas looked thoughtful. “Of course. What’s Quinn like?”
An image of Sasha’s self-assured, quirky daughter flashed in my thoughts—her dark hair, her eyes, so much like Sasha’s behind those big glasses, her sense of humor, and the youthfulness she exuded. Like most teenagers, she was both wise and young at once.
Before I could reply, there was a light knock on the office door. John, the very admin assistant who made great coffee, poked his head in the door. “Your appointment is here.”
“Send them on back,” Dallas replied.
“I guess you’ll see what Quinn is like for yourself,” I offered as soon as John hurried off. I’d planned to meet with Sasha to pick up Quinn with her, but Sasha had texted that she had a work errand near Quinn’s school, so they planned to walk over together since it wasn’t too far away.
My brother chuckled. “I will.”
Moments later, we were seated in a conference room adjacent to Dallas’s office, and I was wrestling with the urge to pull Sasha close. She looked worried, and I didn’t like seeing her worried. Quinn, on the other hand, was annoyed.
She looked at Dallas, narrowing her eyes with her lips twisting slightly. “So basically, my father is a dumbass.”
Dallas kept a straight face, although I saw the glint of laughter in his eyes. “If that’s how you would like to define his choices, that’s certainly your prerogative.”
“Well, gambling is dumb and reckless. I mean, unless you have the money to back it up to begin with. I don’t think it’s a smart decision.” Quinn looked toward Sasha and me as if seeking our agreement.
Sasha diplomatically shrugged. “Maybe.”
I offered, “People are complicated.”
Quinn rolled her eyes and looked back toward Dallas. “I brought my laptop,” she offered. “Mom said you might want to look at it.”
“I do if you don’t mind,” he replied.
“Since we forwarded the email to you, why do you want to see my laptop?” she asked as she pulled it out of her bag and slid it across the table to Dallas.
“Because I want to see source information and run a scan in your email to see if there are any other spam emails that link to that one.”
Quinn nodded. “How long do you need it?”
“Not long. I can take it down to our tech guys, and then why don’t we all go get lunch? Audrey is meeting me for lunch, and I thought we might as well all go together.”
“That would be great,” Sasha replied. “Audrey and I rarely manage to get together.”
I’d been hoping to steal Sasha away for lunch at my place again, but then I suppose that wouldn’t really work out with Quinn here.
“What time do you need to be back at school?” I asked, looking at Quinn as Dallas left the office to take the laptop to the tech forensics team.
“Mom took me out for the afternoon,” Quinn said with a bright smile. “Can we go to the place where you got those yummy meat pies?”
“Absolutely.”
Quinn’s brow creased. “What if Audrey and Dallas want to go somewhere else?”
“I can vouch that Dallas loves that place too.”
Quinn nodded before her gaze sobered quickly. “I wish my dad wasn’t an idiot.”
Sasha scooted her chair closer to Quinn. She curled her arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick side hug before pressing a kiss to her temple. “I’m sorry, honey. It sounds like he would like to be in touch. Would you like that?”
Quinn glanced at me. “What do you think?”
I almost countered with, “Me?” given how startled I was that she wanted my opinion, especially about an emotionally fraught topic such as this. I looked toward Sasha, trying to gauge if she wanted me to even answer. She nodded encouragingly.
I considered my words and my thoughts judiciously. “I think if your father wants to talk to you, you should consider how you’d feel if you decided not to. If it’s something you think you’ll regret, then give it a chance. You don’t have to do it alone. I know your mom will support you.”
Quinn bit her bottom lip, tracing a circle with her fingertip over her denim-covered knee. “I’ll have to think about it.”