Chapter 26 - Quinn #2
“It’s great,” Simon says. “They moved Lydia up to your old position, and Jed here got a bump up to manager. So now we’re both rolling in the dough.”
The stocky guy now known as Jed steps forward and nods to Olivia. Now there's two of them acting like I'm not here.
“Hi, Jed,” Olivia says. “Well, I'm glad to see the two of you are doing well.”
“Yes, things are fantastic,” Simon says before Jed can even speak a word. “How about you? I hear you took over your dad’s company after he passed. How is it going?”
“It’s uhh … it’s good,” Olivia says after hesitating and giving away the fact that it’s not going very well, which Simon and fucking Jed pick up on immediately. I can practically see them fighting back smiles from here.
“Oh,” says Simon, with a little pout. I recognize it as an attempt at being cute, and it fills my stomach with boiling hot rage.
“Yeah, it’s fine. This is Quinn, by the way,” Olivia says, finally acknowledging me. “We work together at Obsidian.”
And there it is. All the confirmation I need that Olivia is, in fact, not my girl.
Simon and Jed both give me quick looks that end with slight head nods.
I reciprocate with a nod upward, but no words are exchanged between us, and my dark devil lets out a low growl that only I can hear.
I wish they could hear it too, because then they’d know to say their goodbyes and be on their way.
But alas, the growl is only for me. Only I know how much danger is present.
As if luck were miles away from the Wonderland Bar, Simon turns to Jed with a wide smile, taps him on the chest, and points his thumb at Olivia.
“Remember the girl I told you about?” he says. “The one who taught me everything I know about the BDSM lifestyle?” Jed nods with raised eyebrows. “This is her.”
“Oh, shit,” Jed barks, bringing his fist to his mouth and leaning back. “Wow. So, you're the reason this guy is a freak?”
Olivia flashes a glance at me again, then tries to calm them down. “Woah, now. I wouldn't say all of that. Simon and I dated for a few months, and then it ended. We don't need to get into the details of our relationship.”
“Oh, don't worry about that,” Jed says as he takes a seat on the other side of Olivia. “He told me all about it already. You changed this guy’s life. He said you introduced him to all kinds of new kinks. He said he learned so much about himself while he was with you. Ain’t that right, Simon?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely,” Simon says with a laugh. “Before you, I was just a normal guy. Now I'm Christian Grey in the flesh and the ladies love it.”
Olivia rolls her eyes. “Wow. So you told him everything, huh?
Did you tell him about how you wouldn't honor my safe word?
Or about how you cheated on me with Lydia from work?
Or how you didn't respect my hard limits?
If you're going to tell all of our business, Simon, at least make sure you're honest.”
Simon’s wide smile quickly narrows. “Well, no. But why would I do that? I'm not trying to make myself look bad.”
Olivia rolls her eyes again as she spins back around on her stool. “Alright. Well, you two have a great night.”
“Our night is just getting started,” Simon says, just before he moves to the seat on Jed’s left.
He sits down, orders two beers—which the bartender brings him immediately—and angles his body toward Olivia.
“So, are you two on a date, Olivia? He the new guy you're showing the ropes? Or did he already know how to handle them when he met you?”
Finally, Olivia looks at me for more than a second. She places her hand on top of mine on the bartop and sighs. “Don't worry about him. There's a reason we’re not together anymore.”
“Ah, so he is your new beau,” Simon chirps with a giggle. “He's good-looking. Nice broad shoulders, thick arms. He's like the opposite of me. I must’ve really upset you if you're going out of your way to choose guys that are my exact opposite.”
I let out an exhale, but Olivia squeezes my hand and turns to Simon for me. “I really don't want to get into it, Simon. We’ve been done for months, and there's no need to keep talking about days gone by. Now, if you don't mind, we’re just going to go back to enjoying our evening.”
Simon raises his hands like he's backing off. “Oh, my apologies. I didn't mean to offend. But before we end the conversation, can I just say that you were the best I've ever had? Because you were. You're a lucky guy, homeboy. I hope you know it. Olivia is the best.”
As Jed and Simon chuckle like fucking idiots, Olivia squeezes my hand again, but it doesn't work this time.
Anger climbs up my body inch by inch. I tighten my jaw, trying not to ruin what started as a good night, but there's only so much I can take.
The same dark devil that loves to hurt Olivia in all the best ways, also wants to hurt these two fuckers in all the worst. My jaw stays clenched, but I can't fight the words back.
“Why are you calling me your fucking homeboy?” I growl.
“What?” Simon says, leaning forward to see around Jed and Olivia’s bodies.
“You heard me,” I reply. “I'm not your fucking homeboy, and Olivia asked you to stop talking to her about your history, but you keep going like you have no control. Are you trying to get a rise out of me? Trying to see how much shit I’ll let you get away with?
You're about to find out that my patience has limits.”
Jed is the first to stand up, but Simon does all the talking.
“Woah, buddy. I didn't mean any harm by it, but if you've got a problem, we can handle it right now.”
Olivia turns her back to both of them and looks me straight in the eyes. “Q, it’s fine. Don't let them bother you.”
“Oh, now I'm back to being Q?” I snip as my frustration starts to take over. “And it’s not fine. You think I’d stand by and let them disrespect you? I know we’re just fucking around or whatever, but you should at least be paying enough attention to know me better than that.”
“I'm sorry,” she says empathetically. “You're absolutely right, but there are two of them, Q.”
“And there's only one of you,” I answer. “Only one person worth fighting for. One person worth protecting. One person worth going absolutely ape shit over. Two of them makes no difference when you're my one.”
Olivia’s hand drops from mine as she looks at me like she's startled. Her eyes fixate on my face and don't move, but my attention shifts as I turn around and face the standing Jed, who’s trying to stare me down. I almost laugh. He's trying to intimidate me, but I see the fear in his eyes as he glares at me. The second I react, he’s going to act like the victim. That’s fine. I'm going to make him one.
“You really want to do this?” I ask him as I set my feet squarely on the floor. “You want to stand up and defend your friend, knowing he was crossing the line with what’s mine?”
Olivia’s eyes threaten to burn a hole in my flesh, but I ignore the searing pain. Even when she says, “Quinn.” I don't care.
“You can see it how you want to, bro,” Simon says like a voiceover as I watch Jed.
“So, do we have a fucking problem? Because I’m not disrespecting Olivia by saying she's the best I ever had and that she taught me how to be a Dom.
Maybe you're an insecure prick. Olivia, you better talk to him before he gets himself hurt.”
“Quinn,” Olivia says again, but I stop her there.
“Don't even think to try to stop me,” I say without looking at her. “Because you want to be taken care of. Don't you?”
I hear Olivia gasp as my words from the first day we ever hooked up come back to her, reminding her who I am and what I'm here to do. She may have forgotten over our time together, but I haven't. So no matter what she says, I'm not budging. This is why I'm here.
Olivia swallows hard, then she answers. “Yes.”
“Good,” I say quickly. “Then sit there and let me take care of you. If Jed here is smart, he’ll sit down, too. Otherwise, he’ll get knocked down.”
Like a movie playing in slow motion, Jed’s index finger sticks out and jabs me in the shoulder. “You're not going to do sh—”
I see it all happen like I'm not me. It’s an out-of-body-experience when my dark devil takes full control of my limbs.
I become a puppet, and the darkness is pulling all of the strings.
So I'm only watching when I reach up and grab his finger, twisting and pushing it backward until I hear the bone snap, and I see the moment I grab the neck of Jed’s beer bottle and bring the glass crashing down on the crown of his skull.
As he collapses onto himself, I stand up and backhand Simon before he can even get out of his seat.
He falls off of it but grabs onto the stranger next to him to keep himself upright, and he manages to stay on his feet.
As he steadies himself and prepares to swing, I lift my hand and reveal the half broken bottle still in my hand.
I point it at him, the jagged edge only inches from his nose, and he quickly comes to his senses, freezing in place.
“Good boy,” I say to him as his eyes cross to look at the glass hovering by his nostrils. “You're a Dom? Because you're looking much more like a submissive now. Move an inch, and you'll never be able to sniff Jed’s asshole again.”
I stand there with my weapon, holding it in place as the entire bar watches us on the edge of their seats. I don't even realize what I'm doing until I feel Olivia’s hand on my arm.
“Quinn, we have to go,” she says quietly. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
I steal another moment staring at Simon, making sure I've put the fear of God in him before I finally allow Olivia to pull me by the waist. I walk backward until I'm a few feet away from Jed’s unconscious body, then I drop the glass onto the floor and lead my woman out of the bar by her hand.