10. I might start thinking you like the man if you keep acting this way.
TEN
I might start thinking you like the man if you keep acting this way.
At a little after eight in the morning, Professor Yale pulled into Quinn’s driveway. Armed with a folded check, I got out of the old man’s car. The house looked dark and quiet.
The roses lining his walkway caught my eye, and I blushed at the memory of having eaten one as a unicorn. To cover my embarrassment, I leaned down and stared through the window. “I’m going to wake him up, aren’t I?”
“No. I called him right before we left the hospital. Go get some sleep. You’re so tired you don’t even know which end is up anymore. I might start thinking you like the man if you keep acting this way, and you’d regret that later. Have fun at your sleepover party, little girl.”
Groaning, I stepped away from Professor Yale’s car and flipped my middle finger at him. “We need to have a long talk about your personal dictionary. It needs adjusted. In what alternate dimension do I have fun with Chief Quinn?”
He laughed. “Take care and get some sleep, Bailey.” Backing out of the driveway, he drove away with a departing wave.
“There’s nothing fun about being scolded by a police chief at eight in the morning, you know!” I called after him.
The bastard didn’t even slow. Sighing, I prepared for the worst and marched to the front door, knocking before I lost my nerve.
A yawning Quinn opened the door, shirtless and in nothing more than a pair of boxers. “Come on in. Sorry I didn’t pick you up from the hospital—Yale threatened dismemberment if I got underfoot.”
Since when did Quinn, half-naked or otherwise, act so nice? I could do nice, too. I could also talk to the man without slobbering all over him. “I’m so sorry for the trouble.”
“Get in the house already, Gardener.”
Right. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. “I have a hangover, so if I say anything stupid, that’s why. I’m really sorry.” At least I could try to prevent issues before they happened for a change.
“Yale already warned me you were paying for getting drunk on napalm. Who knew it’d be like alcohol for a unicorn? Conveniently, I have hangover meds on hand.”
“There’s medication for hangovers?” Where had those been all my life?
He laughed. “Sure is. It even works, too. Drink a couple glasses of water, take two of those tablets, and you’ll be feeling better in no time. Kitchen’s this way.”
Quinn led me through his home. He had moved his furniture, giving his home a calm, welcoming atmosphere. “You really do have a nice house.”
“Consider it yours for however long you need.”
Forever would be a good start, but I didn’t have the courage to tell him that. No one had ever invited me to make myself at home for any length of time, not in my adult life at least, not even my parents—especially not my parents. I swallowed so I wouldn’t cry in front of Quinn.
He wouldn’t understand.
“I really appreciate this.”
“You’re welcome.” Quinn filled a glass with water, dropped two orange tablets into it, stirring with a spoon until both tablets dissolved. “Drink this. It’ll help.”
I set my check on the counter and took the glass. The medicine tasted like oranges, and I guzzled it down before my stomach could rebel. “Did everything work out with the situation yesterday?”
I still had no idea what had happened. While I didn’t expect Quinn to tell me, I could fake being a good person with a little effort. People liked when others took an interest in their work—at least, I thought they did.
“I’m of the opinion it was a distraction to keep resources away from the 120 Wall Street incident. Fortunately, we had you on our side, else it would have gotten bad fast.”
I almost dropped the glass but set it down before I broke it. “What?”
Quinn pointed at the folded piece of paper. “That’s your check?”
“Yeah.”
“Haven’t looked at it yet, have you?”
Shaking my head, I regarded the payment for a long moment before flicking it with a finger and sending it fluttering across Quinn’s counter. “I assumed it was the standard fee for two incidents.” I’d be grateful for the extra two thousand dollars when I hunted for an apartment.
“Not quite. Go ahead and take a look. I can’t wait to see your face.”
I frowned, snatched up the paper, and unfolded the check. After the fifth zero, I forgot how numbers worked. My legs trembled, and I leaned on the counter so I wouldn’t melt into a puddle and ruin his nice clean tiles. “What the hell?”
“Yale thought you wouldn’t remember the provision in your contract with the CDC allowing the local and federal governments to augment the payment of any certified contractor. The mayor decided to ask the CDC how many lives were likely saved by your actions.”
I gasped and dropped my check. “Pen! Pen, pen, pen.” Snapping my fingers together, I dredged through my hazy memory for the names of the people I had condemned to death.
Quinn stared at me for a long moment before fetching a pad of paper and a pen from a nearby drawer. Snatching them out of his hand, I scribbled down their names. How could I have forgotten them? Tears stung my eyes over how many had died.
I had helped kill them, and I had forgotten all about them.
Leaning across the counter, Quinn peered at my work. “Ah. It’s all right, Bailey. We got the stills of their cards from the footage you recorded. Their families have already been notified. They were celebrated as heroes on the morning news today.”
“I killed them, Quinn.” I hadn’t just killed them. I had rejoiced in my flames, encouraging them to burn brighter and hotter, for Perky—and for Quinn.
Especially for Quinn.
Quinn picked up my check, folded it, and set it in front of me.
“When the mayor called the CDC, I was with him. That happened about ten minutes after you lit the place up. We thought you’d gone and kicked the bucket on us.
” Leaning forward, Quinn stared me in the eyes, close enough I could feel him breathe.
“Yale was with us, too. Guess what the mayor asked.”
“I have no idea.”
“He asked if sixty-three lives compared to the lives and well-being of everyone else in New York City. There were over a thousand people in 120 Wall Street when it was evacuated. If even one percent of those people were infected and became carriers, it would have triggered an epidemic. One newly whelped gorgon can petrify dozens before being isolated, contained, and taught how to control their powers. Someone attacked our city, and you stopped them. Not me, not anyone else on the force. You.”
There was no way I could tell Quinn why I’d gone on a fiery rampage. If he found out I’d done it because I was scared for him and for Perky, they’d never let me live it down. “I got drunk on napalm and burned down a building. That’s hardly commendable.”
“You sent my cops out to protect them long before you went on your little bender.”
“Little?”
“Okay, intense and rather insane napalm bender. Maybe you got a little carried away, but it worked out.”
I blushed and stared down at the check so I wouldn’t have to look him in the eyes. “Why?”
Why would anyone attack New York with gorgon dust, something so dangerous it was illegal on a global level and could petrify an entire city in minutes? With the volume I had destroyed, it was entirely possible Lower Manhattan, at the very minimum, would have been turned to stone.
Quinn sighed. “I don’t know, but I intend to find out.
” With a finger, he pinned my check to his counter.
“This represents every life you saved yesterday.” His expression changed, and fury darkened his eyes and twisted his mouth.
“You were willing to kill yourself to make sure that dust stayed contained. You didn’t even hesitate.
You knew what you faced. You had no way of knowing you’d survive, and you did it anyway. ”
“Yes.” How could one word hurt so much? I’d kept the same dead-end job most of my adult life, breaking the monotony with jobs for the CDC to boost my income enough to barely make a living.
I could’ve done better for myself if I’d just taken my certifications and worked directly for the CDC, but I hadn’t wanted to travel the world.
I had wanted to make friends and find someone to love, someone who’d love me back. That hadn’t worked out so well for me, but I’d kept trying and failing anyway. I couldn’t fool anyone.
Until I figured out how to have friends, I had no hope of finding someone just for me—if that someone existed. The man I wanted stood right in front of me, and all I had ever done was hurt him.
“Why?”
It was so easy to explain, yet the words stuck in my throat. Quinn waited, all his attention focused on me.
“Perky was right outside.” I stared at the check, wondering how that much money would change things for me.
It had more than five zeros, well over the amount I made in a single year—more than I had made in my entire life.
“I knew you’d come. I knew if you came—when you came—the dust might reach you.
They’d put you in a glass coffin, and they’d never let you out. I couldn’t let that happen.”
I’d already ruined his life enough. Maybe it’d set things straight between us, making up for the things I’d done and the hateful words I’d said to him.
“So you would have thrown your life away.”
I closed my eyes. “I’m not like you, Quinn.
I’m not respected. I’m not liked. I have no one.
For someone like me, when I die, that’s it.
Everyone else moves on. Someone might wonder what happened to the only human stupid enough to work at a faery-run coffee shop.
Some might even remember my name was Bailey because they thought it was funny I had the same name as an alcohol often served in coffee. You help people. Me? I mess things up.”
“When Yale warned me you had enough self-esteem issues to keep an entire mental hospital busy, I’d really thought he was exaggerating.”
Professor Yale had said what? One day, I really would kill that old man, and I’d enjoy every moment of it. “He said what?”
“I’m going to have to apologize to him later for doubting him. I see where I’ve been going wrong. I’m obviously going to have to explain this in a way your pea-sized brain can understand.”
I stiffened at his insult, opened my eyes, and glared at him. “Hey!”
He closed the distance between us, and I tried to decide whether a handprint would look better on his right cheek or his left one.
His smug smile warned me of trouble, and I backed up until I bumped into the wall. With a gentle but firm touch, he took hold of my chin, lifted my head, and kissed me.
Kissing Samuel Quinn was a little like playing with fire, getting burned, and enjoying it despite the pain—or maybe because of it. I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure of anything except I never wanted him to stop.
I was in so much trouble.
When he pulled away, my heart pounded while I struggled to catch my breath. He stared into my eyes and whispered, “Do you understand now?”
A half-naked Quinn had kissed me in his kitchen, and all I could think about was how I wanted him to do it again. Not only did I want him to do it again, if he didn’t, I was seriously considering rubbing up against him until he cooperated in some fashion or another.
Then I remembered he hated me. He hated me so much he had trapped me against his kitchen wall and kissed me. What was wrong with him? Or me. Or both of us, together. There was definitely something wrong with us.
There was definitely something wrong about how much I liked his mouth on mine.
“But you hate me.” There. I managed to get the right words out instead of blabbering about how I’d really like him to keep me trapped against the wall so he could do whatever he wanted. I really wouldn’t mind a single bit. “Those pictures I took!”
Why was I stupid enough to mention the man’s ex-wife when I might be able to get him to kiss me again?
Stupid, stupid me.
“Yes, I hate you so much I want to strip you out of that little dress and make you like it.” He growled, and I longed for him to make the sound again.
“That dress on you should be classified as criminal. There’s a crime being committed in my kitchen, and I’m pretty sure it’s my job as a law enforcement officer to uphold the law and stop crime. ”
A hundred and one thoughts crashed through my head, and three in particular stood out to me: yes, please, and I was a virgin.
“I’m a virgin,” I blurted.
Crap.
It turned out it wasn’t actually possible to die from embarrassment, although I was sure I came close.
Why couldn’t I have said “Yes, please!” instead?
Then I’d have a decent chance of taking my virginity out back, clubbing it in the head, and leaving it to die in a ditch while I did things with New York’s prime stud, single-because-of-me Chief Quinn, who I had dreamed about far too often.
Instead, I guaranteed myself a lifetime of mockery the instant anyone found out.
“It seems I was right. There are definitely multiple crimes being committed in my kitchen. That also explains your offer to introduce me to some of your questionable friends.”
I whimpered at the reminder of what I’d said to him. “I never should have said that.”
Something about the way Quinn smiled warned me he had the upper hand and knew it. “I have you figured out, Bailey Gardener. You have no idea how to tell me how badly you want me, so you say the first stupid thing to pop into your head, hoping I won’t guess the truth.”
Oh my God. I had to be dreaming, hallucinating, or dead. Maybe I had died and gone to heaven, a heaven where Chief Samuel Quinn wanted to kiss me and fully intended to end my days of being a virgin, ripping my dress off in the process. There had to be a rational explanation for the situation.
“Am I dead, drugged, or dreaming?”
Quinn sighed, leaned forward, and banged his head into the wall before sighing again. “Obviously, this is going to be even more difficult than I thought. This explains so much. How can one woman be so incredibly dense?”
“Now you’re just being mean.”
“I’m going to put this as simply as possible so there are absolutely no misunderstandings. I am absolutely furious you tried to get yourself killed. I want to bend you over my knee and spank you until you swear never to do that again.”
“Yes, please.”
Crap. Why couldn’t my mouth stop blurting whatever the hell first came to mind?
He straightened, stared down at me, and blinked several times. The realization I’d just asked him to spank me sank in, and we stared at each other for a long time in utter silence.
I wanted him. I wanted him so much my entire body ached.
A slow, wicked smile spread across his lips. “Well, then. Since you asked so nicely, how could I possibly refuse?”